Apr 1, 2021Opening up the conversation on founder mental healthWhen mental health is in the media, we take notice at Big Health. Thinking back to my first day, a story that stood out was Tom Blomfield’s departure from Monzo, his experience of anxiety and the binary ways in which we often perceive mental health (“well” vs. “mentally ill”) despite…Founders4 min readFounders4 min read
Feb 1, 2021Going all-in on mental healthIt was a casual question, asked quietly whilst we were preparing food over the Christmas break: “So why are you interested in mental health?” I’d answered the question lots of times. But this time felt different, asked with genuine curiosity, and it made me pause. …Mental Health6 min readMental Health6 min read
Jan 26, 2021Is age just a number? Exploring the link between mental health and life stages50% of mental health problems are established by age 14 and 75% by age 24. If these statistics from the Mental Health Foundation surprise you — here’s another: 70% of children and young people experiencing mental health problems have not had appropriate interventions at a sufficiently early age. Why does…Age4 min readAge4 min read
Jan 19, 2021It’s not just you: community psychology and the social determinants of healthFour days before Christmas, a crisis text line in the UK took over 4,000 conversations. Demand for the service soared in the context of a new strain of Covid, new restrictions on movement and a markedly different Christmas than the one promised. …Psychology4 min readPsychology4 min read
Dec 15, 2020What’s your addiction? Exploring the humanity and science behind a stigmatised topicWhat’s the link between ‘Cheers’ and alcohol-related deaths? One of my favourite public health case studies is the ‘Designated Driver’ project by Harvard’s TH Chan School of Public Health. Whilst the idea of a designated driver seems commonplace now, this wasn’t always the case. A concerted effort between major television…Addiction5 min readAddiction5 min read
Dec 8, 2020Are we measuring national success by the wrong metrics? The science behind wellbeingDoes wellbeing sound fluffy to you? Let’s compare and contrast. Currently, much of the world uses Gross Domestic Product (GDP, a measure of an economy’s value created via goods and services over a fixed time period) to track national progress. And yet studies show that improving GDP per person doesn’t…Wellbeing5 min readWellbeing5 min read
Nov 24, 2020We need to talk about race and mental health; lessons from the research“Racism isn’t a product of race: race is the (invented) product of racism” — Prof. Dorothy Roberts It’s impossible to write on this topic without touching on what’s happening right now. Systemic racial inequalities have been exacerbated by a global pandemic, playing a huge toll on our collective physical and…Racism5 min readRacism5 min read
Nov 17, 2020Why do I snooze my alarm? Understanding behaviour change & researching lonelinessDoes tech drive positive or negative behaviour when it comes to our mental health? From abandonment rates on wearables to varying engagement rates & outcomes for digital mental health products, it’s clear that behaviour change isn’t simple. And yet we’re all living through huge changes in our daily lives, habits…Health Technology6 min readHealth Technology6 min read
Nov 10, 2020What happened to you? Changing how we think about trauma and neglect‘Tell me about your childhood’ sounds like the start of every TV scene with a therapist. And yet studies show that when doctors write-up and code patient notes, they’re more likely to focus on a diagnosis rather than a patient’s life and social context. Why is that, and does it…Mental Health6 min readMental Health6 min read
Nov 3, 2020Why I’m writing a series on Mental Health & TechI’ve long been fascinated by the stories, science and technologies behind our mental health and wellbeing. The more I learn, the more strongly I believe that we need multiple perspectives to understand and address the pain points in this sector (very much our research approach at Kamet). …Mental Health2 min readMental Health2 min read
