Hear a participant's perspective on taking part in NCMH's Dementia research.

Thinking about getting involved in mental health research? We caught up with Sue, an <a href="https://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Alzheimer's Research UK</a> Champion who has recently participated in our UK Minds research and George, a Senior Psychology Assistant working on the project. UKMinds is a new study from NCMH which aims to find the causes and triggers of mental ill-health and cognitive disorders, such as dementia.&nbsp;If you have experienced schizophrenia, psychosis, depression, bipolar disorder or dementia, help us make a difference by registering your interest at <a href="https://www.ncmh.info/sign-up" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ncmh.info/sign-up</a>.

Episode 12: How dementia research hopes to change lives

PMDD is a mood-based disorder which affects around 5% of women and people who have periods

In this episode of the Piece of Mind podcast, we're joined by Becci Smart and Chloe Apsey to discuss the reality of living with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) and the research currently taking place at the NCMH that's looking to learn more to improve diagnosis and treatment. PMDD is a mood disorder that&nbsp;is estimated to affect around&nbsp;5% of women and people who have periods. That’s around 80,000 people in the UK. During the&nbsp;week before the onset of bleeding (known as the&nbsp;luteal phase of the menstrual cycle), these people with PMDD&nbsp;experience severe mood and emotional changes including anxiety and low mood, a decreased interest in their usual activities, difficulties concentrating and more.&nbsp;These symptoms improve within a few days after menstrual bleeding (the period).&nbsp;To be diagnosed with&nbsp;PMDD,&nbsp;these symptoms need to be associated with&nbsp;extreme&nbsp;distress and&nbsp;interfere&nbsp;with ‘everyday’ functioning.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; To learn more about the NCMH PreDDICT study looking into PMDD, visit <a href="https://www.ncmh.info/pmdd" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.ncmh.info/pmdd</a> Tools and organisations mentioned in this episode <ul><li>IAPMD: <a href="https://iapmd.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://iapmd.org/</a></li><li>Self-screening tool: <a href="https://iapmd.org/self-screen" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://iapmd.org/self-screen</a></li><li>Symptom tracking tool: <a href="https://iapmd.org/symptom-tracker" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://iapmd.org/symptom-tracker</a></li></ul> When referring to the experiences of women throughout this episode and within our research we acknowledge the experiences of AFAB (assigned female at birth) and non-binary individuals and encourage their participation in our research. Further guidance can be found at: <a href="https://iapmd.org/transgender-pmdd" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://iapmd.org/transgender-pmdd</a>

Episode 11: PMDD - the hidden link between hormones and mental health

Hear a participant's perspective on taking part in NCMH's research.

Thinking about getting involved in mental health research? We caught up with Dave, one of our NCMH Research Champions, after he'd taken part in our UKMinds survey and provided a blood sample with NCMH Psychology Assistant Emily. Dave and Emily take us through each part of the process to let you know what you can expect. UKMinds is a new study from NCMH which aims to find the causes and triggers of mental ill-health and cognitive disorders, such as dementia.&nbsp;If you have experienced schizophrenia, psychosis, depression, bipolar disorder or dementia, help us make a difference by registering your interest at <a href="https://www.ncmh.info/sign-up" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ncmh.info/sign-up</a>. Hear more about Dave's experience of finally receiving a bipolar disorder diagnosis at age 57 in Minisode: Mental health and dementia research.

Minisode: What's it like taking part in mental health research?

The Wolfson Centre for Young People's Mental Health has opened an exciting research study for young people who have a parent with a history of depression

In this episode of the Piece of Mind podcast, we're joined by co-director of the Wolfson Centre for Young People's Mental Health, Professor Frances Rice, and Catrin, a member of the Centre's Young Person's Advisory Group to discuss a new study for young people who have a parent with a history of depression. The Wolfson Centre for Young People's Mental Health has a focus on reducing anxiety and depression in young people, which includes finding ways to prevent depression in young people before it develops. To learn more about the Skills for Adolescent WELLbeing (SWELL) study, visit <a href="https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/wolfson-centre-for-young-peoples-mental-health/take-part/ws3-clinical-trial" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/wolfson-centre-for-young-peoples-mental-health/take-part/ws3-clinical-trial</a>.

Episode 10: Getting young people involved in mental health research

ADHD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental conditions, affecting around 1 in 20 young people...

In this episode we're joined by Dr Joanna Martin and Ellie, a non-binary young person, to discuss how research at Cardiff University is aiming to learn more about ADHD. Ellie also kindly shares their experience of being diagnosed with ADHD as an adult. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental conditions, affecting around 1 in 20 young people. However, in clinics only one girl will receive an ADHD diagnosis for every seven or eight boys. This gap in diagnosis is something that Joanna is investigating in her research into ADHD in girls, young women, and non-binary people at Cardiff University. Recruitment for young people, parents and carers, and healthcare professionals in this research has now closed. However, if you are an education professional the team are still looking to hear from you. To learn more, visit <a href="http://www.ncmh.info/adhd" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.ncmh.info/adhd</a>&nbsp;

Episode 9: ADHD in girls and women

Researchers at NCMH are looking for thousands of volunteers to take part in a study to help us understand the causes of mental illness and cognitive disorders, like dementia.

We're back and thrilled to be sitting down with Holly and Dave from the UKMinds project. UKMinds is a new study hosted by the National Centre for Mental Health which is looking to recruit thousands of volunteers to learn more about the causes of conditions like schizophrenia, psychosis, bipolar disorder and dementia. Take part today by <a href="https://www.ncmh.info/sign-up" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">registering your interest</a> with UKMinds. Following his bipolar disorder diagnosis at 57, Dave volunteered with NCMH sharing his story and later became involved in the UKMinds team, helping to shape research by sharing his experience of bipolar as well as his skills from his background in project management. Read more about Dave's experience on the <a href="https://www.ncmh.info/champions/dave/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NCMH website</a>. We're looking forward to sharing more on our latest research and lived-experience stories in the coming months. This episode was recorded at Cardiff University and features NCMH Research Champion Dave, NCMH Project Manager Holly Pearce and NCMH Communications Manager Catrin Hopkins. We hope you enjoy, and if you have any feedback please get in touch at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:info@ncmh.info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">info@ncmh.info</a> or on social media:<ul><li>Twitter - <a href="https://twitter.com/ncmh_wales" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@ncmh_wales</a></li><li>Insta - <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thencmh/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@thencmh</a></li><li>Facebook - <a href="https://facebook.com/walesmentalhealth" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">/walesmentalhealth</a></li></ul>

Minisode: Mental health and dementia research

Schizophrenia is a contentious diagnosis and source of often heated debate across the various professions and stakeholders associated with mental health. Some argue that it has outlasted its usefulness as a single diagnosis and should instead be viewed as the extreme end of a 'psychosis spectrum disorder'. To unpick the issues, we're delighted to be joined by award-winning author Nathan Filer, who is in conversation with Professor James Walters, deputy director at NCMH to discuss his latest book - The Heartland: Finding and Losing Schizophrenia. This episode was recorded live at <a href="https://www.bigmoosecoffeecompany.co/" target="_blank">Bigmoose Coffee Co.</a> in Cardiff. They're a fantastic bunch and do great work in the community, so if you're in town make sure you pop in for a coffee and try some of their amazing cakes. We hope you enjoy, and if you have any feedback please get in touch at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:info@ncmh.info" target="_blank">info@ncmh.info</a> or on social media:<ul><li>Twitter - <a href="https://twitter.com/ncmh_wales" target="_blank">@ncmh_wales</a></li><li>Insta - <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thencmh/" target="_blank">@thencmh</a></li><li>Facebook - <a href="https://facebook.com/walesmentalhealth" target="_blank">/walesmentalhealth</a></li></ul>

Ep8: Finding and losing schizophrenia

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how people perceive the world and interact with others.&nbsp;There are around 700,000 autistic people in the UK, and while it is usually diagnosed in childhood, some autistic people grow up without their condition being recognised until later in life. In this episode, we’re joined by Kat Williams, who was diagnosed as autistic when she was 32. In this episode she shares her experience of growing up without a diagnosis and parenting an autistic child, and discusses the impact of labels like ‘high functioning’. She’s joined by Professor Jeremy Hall, Director of Cardiff University’s Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute. He discusses some of the latest research into autism and how autistic people are more likely to experience mental health problems like depression and anxiety. For links and resources mentioned in this episode, visit&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncmh.info/?page_id=4121&amp;preview=true" target="_blank">http://www.ncmh.info/videos-and-podcasts/podcast/autism/</a> We hope you enjoy, and if you have any feedback please get in touch at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:info@ncmh.info" target="_blank">info@ncmh.info</a>

Episode 7: Autism

Research review

We’re delighted to be joined by Dr Sophie Legge and Dr Antonio Pardiñas for our latest minisode to discuss their latest research study. Sophie, Antonio and colleagues at Cardiff University’s MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics examined genetic data from more than 500 people of African descent taking clozapine, an anti-psychotic medication prescribed to people with treatment resistant schizophrenia. Clozapine is currently the most effective treatment for people with treatment-resistant schizophrenia, but it can cause a rare side effect called neutropenia. In the most extreme cases, this can develop into agranulocytosis; a severe and potentially life-threatening condition. These side-effects are characterised by lower neutrophil levels, a type of white blood cell, and these lower levels appear to be more common in people of African descent. The team were interested in learning whether genetic factors were at play, and in this minisode Sophie and Antonio explain what they found and how their results could help improve the management of clozapine treatment. For links and resources mentioned in this episode, visit&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncmh.info/podcast" target="_blank">https://www.ncmh.info/podcast</a> We hope you enjoy and we would be really grateful if you could leave us a review and help others find our podcast! If you've got any questions about this episode, get in touch at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:info@ncmh.info" target="_blank">info@ncmh.info</a>.

Minisode: Clozapine, neutropenia and treatment-resistant schizophrenia

Experiences of mental health problems and the science behind them

We bring you the latest on mental health research at the National Centre for Mental Health (NCMH) and the Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics at Cardiff University, plus real-life experiences of people affected by mental health problems. We would love to hear your feedback or ideas for future episodes, either comment on our latest episode, message us at <a href="mailto:info@ncmh.info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">info@ncmh.info</a> or include #POMpod in our social media posts.

Piece of Mind: Mental Health and Psychiatry

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