Dr Sarb Johal is an expert in emergency management and disaster psychology. His advice has been central to our government’s world-leading Covid-19 response, and he’s helped NZ, the UK and WHO develop psychosocial responses to crises such as H1N1, the Canterbury earthquakes, and the Christchurch mosque attack. This is an extract from his new book … Read more
In the final episode of the first season of Conversations That Count – Ngā Kōrero Whai Take, we discuss and dissect the way that Aotearoa talks about mental wellbeing. Content warning: this episode contains extensive discussions of mental health, including brief mentions of suicide and abuse. It goes without saying that New Zealand’s approach to … Read more
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Dr Elizabeth Berryman, founder and CEO of mental health app Chnnl. Those in the medical profession have difficult … Read more
Covid-19 and its economic impacts have wreaked havoc on New Zealanders’ mental health – especially in the workplace. But amid all the chaos and noise, there are small ways to keep yourself present and calm. It’s been nearly a year since Covid-19 first emerged into our lives, and the devastating mental health effects of living … Read more
Over lockdown, mental health hotlines saw a massive spike in calls and texts from distressed New Zealanders. Their numbers still haven’t returned to normal, and growing research suggests demand won’t be going away anytime soon. In April and May, Lifeline experienced a 25% increase in calls and texts from people in distress. For many, lockdown … Read more
A new Twilight book launches today. Its author told Catherine Woulfe about gender politics, anxiety, and the challenges of writing the Twilight story from Edward Cullen’s perspective. Midnight Sun is the original Twilight story, except instead of Bella Swan narrating it’s her vampire love, Edward Cullen. It’s a book that I and the rest of … Read more
When Elizabeth Heritage forgot how to read, poetry brought her back. This is the story of my reading of Funkhaus, the new poetry collection by Hinemoana Baker (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Toa, Te Āti Awa) writing from Berlin. I sing of fear and confusion: mine not Baker’s. Let me start with my favourite poem … Read more
Thank goodness for Wendyl Nissen and her chooks. After my second miscarriage, the counsellor at Fertility Associates told us to think about what our ideal lives would look like if we were unable to have a second child. The only thing I could think of was: chickens. I would like chickens, maybe five or six … Read more
They’re calling level two a return to normality, but for many of us that’s not really true. Sam Brooks, for one, is anxious as hell about the prospect of a world that’s more open, and more dangerous. Less than two minutes after Jacinda Ardern announced we would be moving to level two, I messaged two … Read more
TL;DR: you probably will read a book again. Maybe even write one. How’s your brain been? Quite shite? Same. Anyway, after many fits and starts and much staring out the window and also rewatching Twilight, here is a Q&A with very patient and busy clinical psychologist Dr Kimberly Falconer. (Falconer, in lockdown with her husband … Read more
With more New Zealanders feeling isolated, anxious and stressed from the Covid-19 effect, the need to take a moment and establish a sense of calm has never been more important. That’s where a new free app can help. In late 2018, when mental health advocate and All Black legend Sir John Kirwan launched his company … Read more
A new fantasy series by Isa Pearl Ritchie focuses on a girl who struggles with anxiety and panic attacks. Here, Ritchie explains how her own childhood sparked Awa and the Dreamrealm. I was confused a lot of the way through my schooling. I would zone out a lot in class and I struggled to pay … Read more
Prolific, award-winning Palmerston North poet Paula Harris somehow manages to be stroppy and properly vulnerable all at once. Here, she writes about her first slam competition – and why she cried all the way home. I am old enough to have given birth to most of the people here. Sure, there’s a couple of parents … Read more
Today is ‘Gumboot Friday’, a fundraiser for the charity I Am Hope, in which New Zealanders are encouraged to walk in the shoes of a child who needs mental health support. All funds raised provide free counselling to children in need. We asked a mother to share what it’s like to parent a child with … Read more
The hours are long and lonely, your creations are constantly criticised and alcohol is everywhere – is it any wonder many brewers are struggling? Content warning: suicidal thoughts From the outside, the beer industry seems like a brilliant lifestyle choice. What could be better than making beer all day, drinking free beer at night, selling … Read more
A personal essay by Paula Harris: “I was admitted, under the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992, to the secure unit of the psychiatric ward just after noon on Friday…” Content warning: This essay contains references to suicidal ideation which may be confronting for some readers. It was Friday the 13th. That isn’t … Read more
Behind closed doors, and in public facing judgement and contempt, mothers and fathers are doing their best to support their children through anxiety and other mental health issues. Here is one mother’s story. It is 9.30pm and I sit listening for the thumps, the bangs, the shrieks that will eventually build into crescendo of hysterical … Read more
The intricacies of social media were exacerbating her anxiety, eventually culminating in the loss of a close friendship. So she decided to go on a social media detox. I needed to detox from social media long before I had the willpower to do it. I thought: no need to self-flagellate about my social media habit. … Read more
At the Spinoff Parents we talk a lot about mental illness among parents. Today editor Emily Writes shares a group post that outlines the many ways perinatal anxiety, depression, and psychosis have affected New Zealand parents. We hope that anyone who sees themselves or their loved ones in these stories will seek help. Content warning: … Read more
Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes is an anxious mess, which is why she’s constantly talking about mental health in mothers and the need to get help if you need it. She recently spoke to a clinical psychologist who specialises in treating mothers with anxiety and depression and other mental health issues. This is the fourth … Read more
An essay by Linda Jane Keegan about postnatal depression, coming out the other side, and the knowledge that you’ll forever be changed. Content warning: This post contains a descriptions of mental illness. It may be upsetting to people who are struggling with their own mental health. There are helplines at the bottom of the piece … Read more
Yesterday we published a critical review of First, We Make the Beast Beautiful, Australian writer Sarah Wilson’s book about her anxiety issues. Today Naomi Arnold, a fan of the book, responds. Fucking anxiety, eh. I have/have had anxiety, and so have about three dozen people I know, admire, and love, some of them brilliant and … Read more
“I know it may appear mean-spirited,” says Deborah Hill-Cone, “to write a bad review about anyone who has the courage to speak publicly about their mental illness.” And then she proceeds to write the bad review. Sarah Wilson writes in First We Make the Beast Beautiful, “I’d spent my life agile and I arrogantly traded … Read more
Mum of three and clinical psychologist Holly Coombes has some tips for all parents about supporting children through anxiety. One of the hardest things as a parent can be to see your child struggling, and not know what to do. Parenting a child with anxiety can take this to the next level. You want to … Read more
This is The Spinoff Parents podcast, Dear Mamas, a straight-talking parenting conversation with Holly Walker and Emily Writes. Our brilliant and talented sponsors are Little Big Crate. Little Big Crate delivers gorgeous threads for your little big person, right to your front door. This episode includes discussion of mental illness including PND, anxiety, ante-natal depression and … Read more
Today is the final day of Perinatal Depression and Anxiety (PNDA) Awareness Week 2016. To mark the occasion, Anna Reed writes about anxiety in mothering, and the value of finding other mothers who are going through the same thing. Some days we don’t leave the house. My little boy whistles on my chest and bounces … Read more