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Anxiety

Kids are more anxious than ever. Here are some ways parents can help

Charlie's 12-year-old daughter is so anxious that she bites her nails until they bleed. Here are some ways parents can help children in distress.
A girl with a pony tail, white top and jeans sits on a couch and looks out the window, she appears worried

Dogs used to help students with reading anxiety

Primary-school students around Australia are tackling their reading anxiety by reading to dogs thanks to volunteer program Story Dogs.
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Reading to a Fluffy Friend, Reducing Anxiety: a small grey brown dog.
Duration: 1 minute 34 seconds

Amy Poehler on the importance of complex emotions

Amy Poehler reprises her role as Joy in the upcoming Inside Out 2, a film that explores the changing emotions of adolescence — and she says complex ones like anxiety can help teach us more about connection.
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ABC News Current
Duration: 3 minutes 10 seconds

As school refusals rise, this college offers students like Emily a creative alternative

With 38 per cent of Australian students classed as "chronically absent", Alesco Secondary College, in the Hunter region of New South Wales, offers students a flexible approach and an alternative to mainstream schooling.
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A woman stands in front of a school smiling.

Teen circadian rhythms are different to the rest of us and could be key to improving their sleep and wellbeing

With a perfect biological and psychological storm stealing the slumber of teenagers, experts are calling for sleep to become a mainstay of their mental health treatment.
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Boy wearing glasses with phone light reflecting on his lenses

'There's a radicalisation happening online': Fears hardcore porn could be behind rising rates of teen sexual assaults

By the time she was 19, Rikki Hoyland had already been sexually assaulted twice. The Queensland youth worker represents a new generation of adolescents experiencing sexual assault at rates never seen before.
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Rikki Hoyland takes a selfie in a car

analysis:Why are girls suffering so much right now? The problem is bigger than you think

Considering the rise in mental health crises in young women, a new approach is desperately needed.
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An illustration of a girl side on with flowers growing out of her brain. 

Life after coffee: Why quitting caffeine makes sense for your mind and your bank balance

After decades as a big coffee drinker, Jesse recently gave it away, and says he is already noticing health improvements. Experts agree there are a range of benefits to ditching the daily grind.
A man holds a coffee mug as he sits on a balcony overlooking a valley.

A community radio presenter who attempted suicide faced 'dehumanising' hospital treatment

Patients and workers within the health system say the mistreatment of people with self-inflicted wounds is "normalised" due to a lack of training on best practice.
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A person in a blue shirt speaking into a microphone and pressing buttons on a board.

'It was all pretty confronting': How to support a girl who starts puberty early

Girls who go through puberty early are at higher risk of anxiety and depression than their later-developing counterparts. Why does this happen, and how can parents help kids through this time?
An illustration of a depressed girl surrounded by smiling peers

Four Corners profiled Ange's mum in 1996. Now she's a mum trying to do things differently

Childhood maltreatment is responsible for up to 41 per cent of common mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, substance abuse, self-harm and suicide attempts, according to a new study.
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Mother smiles adoringly with her arm around her daughter as they look into each other's eyes.

There's a mental health crisis gripping kids today, but the way out is a job for all of us

Helping teenagers navigate their mental health is a job for entire communities — not just parents. But how do we support them best? Send us your questions and we'll do our best to find the answers.
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A digital illustration of a purple and blue hand painting over an image of a dark figure, with their head in hands.

You’re achieving your goals, but are you enjoying it? It might be time to talk about anxiety

'High functioning' can be a loaded term but in relation to anxiety, a clinical psychologist says it's use can have positive outcomes. 
A woman with her head in her hand in front of a computer screen.

What is Lupus? Selena Gomez opens up about her health battles and self-love journey

Selena Gomez has opened up about her struggles with mental illness and her journey to self-acceptance while on a panel at the SXSW festival in the United States. Gomez has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and the autoimmune disease lupus. 
Selena Gomez blowing a kiss. Side profile. Short brown hair, earrings, black suit jacket

analysis:How can I stop overthinking everything? A clinical psychologist offers practical solutions

It's like a vinyl record playing the same part of the song over and over. With a record, this is usually because of a scratch. Why we overthink is a little more complicated, writes Kirsty Ross.
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A woman with a beige headband sits at her desk, with closed eyes, holding her glasses in her hand

In an instant, Lesley Powell went from being a loved-up academic to a patient in a mental health ward after a menopause-related breakdown

From mood swings and anxiety to full-blown psychosis, many women experience significant changes in their mental health in the years leading up to menopause, but experts say a holistic approach can be key to alleviating the symptoms.
A smiling blonde woman turns to face the camera as she paints a picture of a woman on an easel.

The school where the 'vibe' is right for students to thrive outside mainstream education

What does it take to engage the kids who, for many reasons, have failed to find their place in the mainstream system? This school may have found the answer. 
a young man holding an acoustic guitar looks pensive

Women are dying from perinatal depression and anxiety. What can be done about it?

According to new research perinatal depression and anxiety is one of the leading causes of maternal death in Australia. It's a shocking statistic. How can it be turned around?
Close-up photo of woman with brown hair and denim collar smiling with mouth closed.

This soldier 'lost his identity' after leaving the army but found it again where he had been deployed

PTSD, anxiety and depression dogged Michael Jefferies after he left the military, but he was able to start healing in an unexpected place.
Michael Jeffries was diagnosed with PTSD and major depressive disorder after he left the Australian army.

'I had nothing left in the tank': How border collie Ash Barky helped propel a new mum onto 'beautiful things'

Cilla Pershouse admits she "lost her sense of self" after the birth of her third child, but help came in the unexpected form of a new colleague at her farm — a border collie puppy named Ash Barky.
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Woman in pink check shirt and broad-brimmed hat cuddles puppy and sits on the grass

These seven tips can help lighten your mental load

Mental load is burden created by the unseen, exhausting unpaid labour associated with juggling work, family and running a household. But there are ways to ease the pressure.
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Woman with a striped jumper works on a laptop while holding a baby at a desk in her home.

Rebecca's job was making her unhappy so she made a huge change. Here's her advice for doing the same

The discomfort of change can be better than the discomfort of not changing, and living a dissatisfied life. It's a lesson these people learnt through personal experience.
Rebecca Ray, with short brown hair and floral shirt, smiles widely sitting on desk, with dog at her legs looking up at her.

More and more kids are refusing to go to school, but this specialist school is trying to fix that

Ava Towers stopped attending school, refusing to get out of the car at drop-off. Her father didn't know what to do, until a specialist team reached out to help.
Children in a classroom

Yasmin is choosing to sing about her OCD so more people understand what it's really like

Many Australians experience obsessive-compulsive disorder and Yasmin Arkinstall is one of them. She's telling her story through a one-person opera.
A young woman in a blue dress holds a microphone to their face as they sing behind a blue backdrop

'Boob choir' spreads joy and awareness about breast cancer through song

Twila Whittingham always thought of music as medicine, so when doctors found a pre-cancerous tumour in her breast mid-last year, she knew she would need more than conventional treatment to cope.
A group of women in pink headbands and white shirts sing