Men experience stress challenges at all stages of their education private and work life. This includes re-training, redundancy and unemployment. Men's physical health (including male cancers), result  in shorter male life expectancy and high workplace male deaths. In 2018 with 4,903 men took their own lives (13 per day) in ...

Carolyn Harris lMP launched a House of Commons Bill, which recently reached the "second reading" stage. If passed will provide an important opportunity for women and families. It aims to improve the support and services given to those experiencing Menopause in the UK, including – crucially – the exemption of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) from N...

Before we start, a word of warning. Reading some of the material you may feel  uncomfortable. I did ask a local BAME network to review these materials. In recent years. black British history month has publicised key black figures from the UK, such as: Walter Tull, the first black officer to command white troops in the British Army and one of E...

In inclusive workplaces all employees are valued and contribute towards the success of their organisation. In 2021, Inclusive Employers have chosen the theme #UnitedForInclusion.  They are using this year's Inclusion Week to create a platform for sharing best practice, for learning, for the sharing of challenges and solutions.  By pa...

"The smartphone is perhaps the first object to challenge the house itself (and possibly the workplace) in terms of the amount of time we dwell in it, while awake,"  says Prof Daniel Miller.  "We are always 'at home' in our smartphone. " "We have become human snails carrying our home in our pockets." The smartphone has changed the ways we ...

"Self-murder" became a crime under common law in England in the mid-13th Century. It was not only an offence against God, but against the King and against nature. They were tried posthumously by a coroner's jury. If they were convicted as having murdered themselves, this was "felo de se" (a felon of himself ). Their goods, including all househ...

The first World Suicide Prevention Day was launched in Stockholm, on 10 September 2003. It was an initiative of IASP and the World Health Organisation (WHO),  They designated the day as a way of focusing attention on the problem world-wide and confirming the message: Suicides are Preventable. World Suicide Prevention Day aims to put the i...

The picture on the right, is on the Carlton Clinic site. What little remains of the Garlands Hospital buildings are now incorporated into a housing estate. This is an extract from J Pitt "the first 10 years of Garlands". Building began in 1838, and on 2nd January, 1862, the institution was opened with accommodation for 200 inmat...

What does it mean to be human ? Every day, you take 23,000 breaths and your heart beats 100,000 times.  Humans are capable of more complex thoughts and emotions than any other animal on the planet.  For life to survive : temperature, acidity, oxygen concentration must be precisely controlled.  We are different to other species, we ha...

Taking a deeper dive into the experience of uncertainty. Raheem Sterling steered in Luke Shaw's cross after 75 minutes. As we continued watching, a creeping fear emerged that Germany would score a goal. But England's win was secured with another moment of significance, four minutes from time. Captain Harry Kane headed in from substitute Jack Greali...

Resilience can be thought of your personal ability to bounce back from an adverse life event. Post lockdown return to work for some, may be the adverse life event.  Like an iceberg, this is hidden.  When you are hit with a fundamental change of working and home living, that feels seemingly endless, you can cope by adapting the w...

A word of warning – my blog contains sexual references and detailed clinical descriptions of abusive practice, that may offend or upset you.  It is based on published academic literature. Key extracts have been taken from the book Curing Queers by Tommy Dickinson.  It also outlines the rise of modern gay rights social movement and the act...

Dandelions are demonised as a weed, but hold back on the mowing and you'll find a whole range of garden wildlife depends on them for food. The Banks community land at Bowness on Solway are the official beginning or end of the Hadrian's walk. The grass is mown monthly not weekly as for most gardens in the village. Volunteers look after the...

Developed by Cumbria Local Nature Partnership, and delivered by Cumbria Wildlife Trust (CWT),  'Get Cumbria Buzzing' is an ambitious and innovative 3-year project (2019-2022) that includes a wide range of partners who have joined forces to help reverse the decline of pollinators across Northwest Cumbria. They are:  Allerdale Borough ...

How many hours have you spent looking at a screen ? How many times have you checked your smartphone today ? Concentrating hard at work in your air-conditioned office or heated home, you might not even have noticed the weather ? Nature is not a luxury. It is a resource that must be available for everyone to enjoy - as basic as having ...

 Does being kind to others mean Helping others you do not know ? Being emotionally warm to those who are close to you ? Or is kindness really about Putting others first and you last ? Sacrificing your longer term personal needs so that others benefit ? Or is kindness (to myself and others) when we boil it all down to its essence Looking good, ...

People with Generalised Anxiety Disorder worry about the same types of things that everybody else does in their lives: family, work or school, finances, their health and the health of loved ones, relationships with friends or work colleagues, minor matters, such as punctuality or making small decisions. What does it does it feel like...

Smartphones are changing the way people approach mental health. Apps can be helpful for people who may be unwilling or unable to attend face-to-face treatment and they can also provide support in between sessions. Whilst these apps can be useful, they are not a replacement for seeking medical advice Since so many of us use our smartphone constantly...

 In the last 100 years, our modern way of living means we sleep less. Mathew Walker in his book "why we sleep", explains how it affects our wellbeing and the dangers lurking in your bedroom. (Photo by Gregory Pappas on Unsplash) Quality sleep enhances our ability to learn, memorise work routines and make logical business decisions. Biologicall...

 The pandemic is hitting some of us hard post Christmas. Cumbria CE Mind's latest call trends are concerning. If you are in despair or distress and need to talk right now, there are lots of helplines staffed by experienced people ready to listen without judging you. They could help you make sense of what you're feeling.&nbs...