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Mental health
Mood, anxiety, stress, behavioural health, the mind–body link.
25 posts in this body system.
Full-text search across every page — patient-education library, /pulse news commentary, and site pages. Try statin, TGA peptides, insomnia.
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First-episode psychosis
Psychosis recognition and early intervention: the AU general practice approach
First-episode psychosis in Australia — how GPs recognise it early, what the workup includes, and how to connect people to early intervention services.
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Prolonged grief disorder
Grief and bereavement: normal grief, prolonged grief disorder, and AU GP care
How Australian GPs support bereaved patients, recognise prolonged grief disorder, and apply Complicated Grief Therapy and appropriate medication.
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Adolescent major depressive disorder
Adolescent depression: AU general practice assessment and treatment
Depression in young Australians aged 12–25 — how to assess it, what treatments work, when medication is appropriate, and the GP's role in safety planning.
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ADHD in females
ADHD in girls and women: recognition and management in AU general practice
ADHD in females — why diagnosis is delayed, hormonal modulation, the AADPA 2022 pathway, Schedule 8 stimulants, and comorbidities.
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Adjustment disorder / Acute stress disorder
Adjustment disorder and acute stress: the Australian general practice approach
Adjustment disorder and acute stress disorder in Australian GP — diagnosis, psychological first-line approaches, safety-netting, and when to refer.
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Hazardous alcohol use
Alcohol brief intervention: AUDIT-C screening in Australian general practice
How Australian GPs screen for hazardous drinking and deliver a brief intervention — among the highest-yield preventive activities in general practice.
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Burnout and workplace mental health
Burnout and workplace mental health: the Australian GP approach
Burnout — exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced efficacy from chronic workplace stress — and how Australian GPs assess, certify, refer, and support recovery.
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Suicidal ideation and behaviour
Suicidal ideation and safety planning in Australian general practice
Structured assessment, Safety Planning Intervention, means restriction, and AU management pathways for suicidality in general practice.
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Eating disorders (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder)
Eating disorders: anorexia, bulimia, BED — AU general practice guide
Eating disorders in Australian general practice — types, SCOFF screen, MBS Eating Disorder Plan, evidence-based therapies, medications, and when to escalate.
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Postnatal depression
Postnatal depression: AU general practice assessment and management
Postnatal depression affects 10–16% of Australian mothers. How to screen, diagnose, and manage safely — including SSRI choice in breastfeeding and red flags.
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Generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder
Generalised anxiety and panic disorder: AU general practice approach
How Australian GPs assess and manage GAD and panic disorder — CBT pathways, SSRI selection, avoiding benzodiazepine dependence, and when to escalate.
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Major depressive disorder
Major depressive disorder: diagnosis and treatment in AU general practice
How Australian GPs diagnose and manage MDD — PHQ-9, stepped care, antidepressant selection, and the safety flags that change management.
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Premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder
PMS and PMDD: premenstrual syndrome in AU general practice
Premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder — prospective symptom diary, SSRI and drospirenone COC options, and how to manage in general practice.
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Perinatal mental health
Perinatal mental health: EPDS screening, sertraline, and postpartum psychosis
Perinatal depression, anxiety, and postpartum psychosis — EPDS screening, sertraline in pregnancy and breastfeeding, PANDA referral, and MBS pathways.
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Alcohol use disorder
Alcohol use disorder: the AU general practice approach
Alcohol use disorder — diagnosis, PBS-subsidised pharmacotherapy, withdrawal management, and the AU care pathway in general practice.
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Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder: recognition, lithium monitoring, and GP shared care
Bipolar disorder — MDQ screening, lithium as first-line maintenance, valproate restrictions, monitoring protocols, and GP shared care in Australia.
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Adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Adult ADHD: diagnosis and management in Australian general practice
Adult ADHD affects ~3–5% of Australians. How diagnosis, stimulant therapy, and GP shared care work — based on the AADPA 2022 guideline.
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Post-traumatic stress disorder
PTSD: trauma-focused therapy first — the AU general practice approach
PTSD in Australia — trauma-focused therapy (CPT, PE, EMDR) is first-line. SSRIs as adjunct. GP entry via Mental Health Care Plan + Better Access.
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Anxiety disorders
Anxiety disorders: CBT first, SSRIs when severity warrants — the AU GP pathway
Anxiety disorders — GAD, panic and phobic types, GAD-7 thresholds, CBT access, SSRIs, AU Mental Health Treatment Plan pathway, lifestyle inputs, escalation.
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Major depressive disorder
Depression: psychotherapy, medication, and what your bloods can't tell you
Major depressive disorder — PHQ-9 thresholds, first-line psychotherapy, SSRIs, Mental Health Treatment Plan access, lifestyle evidence, caveats.
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Mind-body interventions
Mind-body in chronic disease: placebo, expectation, and the contested zone
Mind-body interventions in chronic disease — placebo evidence, expectation effects, psychosomatic research, and where AU general practice sits.
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Adverse childhood experiences and adult health
Childhood adversity and adult chronic disease: the ACE evidence and AU response
What the ACE study showed about childhood adversity and adult chronic disease, what's contested, and how AU general practice addresses it.
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Chronic stress
Stress management: what the AU trial evidence actually supports
Non-pharmacological stress management — what the AU trial evidence supports, what doesn't, and how it fits into general practice chronic-disease prevention.
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Meditation and mindfulness interventions
Meditation: what Cochrane and the major trials actually show
Meditation evidence — what Cochrane and the major trials show for blood pressure, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain, and how AU general practice uses it.
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Depression and anxiety — dietary management
Diet and mental health: what the SMILES trial and follow-ups actually showed
Diet and mental health — what the SMILES trial showed, the Mediterranean pattern, and how AU general practice integrates diet into depression care.