Mental Health Quiz

Want to have some fun and test yourself? Start our interactive quiz


Questions: 24

Time Limit: 10:00

Your Best Score: Login or Sign Up to track your scores

Score:

0 / 24

Time left:

Want to test yourself?

Questions

  1.   Sigmund Freud's popularly cited definition of mental health is the capacity to (What?) and (What?): Think; Work; Exist; or Love?
  2.      How much sleep per night is considered necessary to maintain good mental and physical health in adults: 4hrs; 4-6 hrs; 7-8hrs; or 9-10hrs?
  3.      Which poet's life, work and death helped inspire Al Alvarez's extraordinary seminal 1972 book on suicide and mental illness, The Savage God: Lord Byron; William Wordsworth; Sylvia Plath; or William Shakespeare?
  4.      The Greater London Authority report on London's Mental Health (2014) stated the annual cost of mental illness to the London area exceeds: £25m; £250m; £5bn; or £25bn?
  5.      In January 2018 an open letter by activist investors JANA partners and California State Teachers' Retirement System (a major US pension company) asked what giant corporation to address potential harm to children from using its technology?
  6.      Which organization produces ICD-10 (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems) including Chapter V - Mental and Behavioural Disorders: UN; EU; WHO; or NATO?
  7.      When work-related stress threatens someone's health, the most effective measure is: Medication; Clarify objectives; Increase pay; or Remove the cause of stress?
  8.      An England NHS survey announced 2017 what % of adults to be taking anti-depressants: 1; 3; 5 or 10?
  9.      Sean Parker, health advocate/philanthropist, is ex-president of which organization, about which he is quoted as saying: "God only knows what it's doing to our children's brains."?
  10.      The best exercise for overall physical and mental health is: Cycling;  Running; Weightlifting; or Dancing?
  11.   From 1970-2015 global suicide rates have: Increased 25%; Increased 35%; Increased 60%; or Declined 10%?
  12.   ADHD stands for what controversial condition, also called technically 'disturbance of activity and attention'?
  13.   The ancient Greek term for 'ravenous hunger' (from 'ox' and 'hunger') became in modern times the scientific term for what disorder?
  14.   What poorly understood disease, named after the German scientist who identified it c.1906, causes 60-70% of dementia?
  15.   Which of one these is helpful prior to sleeping: Watching TV; Reading a book; Eating a big meal; or Texting friends?
  16.   In what US city did the 'Zero Suicides Model' begin in 2001 (initially as Perfect Depression Care), achieving zero suicides by 2009 among patients of Henry Ford Behavioural Health Services hospitals: Los Angeles; New York; Toronto; or Detroit?
  17.   Refusing to eat and seeking unhealthy weight loss and an unnaturally thin body is technically what eating disorder?
  18.   Using your smartphone/tablet within 90minutes before bedtime will harm your sleep, True or False?
  19.   What percentage of autistic people are considered to have extraordinary capabilities, as in the term 'savant':  1; 2; 3; or 10?
  20.   The world organization for suicide/crisis support services and helplines is called (What?).org: Friendship; Friends; Friendly; or Befrienders?
  21.   The most helpful response to someone struggling with bereavement grief is: Ignore it and carry on as normal; Lots of work for distraction; Empathy and kindness; or Take them out and get them drunk?
  22.   What addiction did the World Health Organization add to the International Classification of Diseases in 2018: Sunbed tanning; Computer gaming; Sugar; or Shopping?
  23.   Globally in the 21st century the age group with fastest rising suicide rate is: Young people; 30-40s; 50-60s; or 70+?
  24.   What is proven in recent studies to be as dangerous as moderate levels of tobacco smoking and drinking alcohol: Commuting; Bereavement; Loneliness; or Fast food?

Questions & Answers

Interactive Quiz

  1.   Sigmund Freud's popularly cited definition of mental health is the capacity to (What?) and (What?): Think; Work; Exist; or Love?
    (two answers required)
  2.      How much sleep per night is considered necessary to maintain good mental and physical health in adults: 4hrs; 4-6 hrs; 7-8hrs; or 9-10hrs?
    7-8hrs (Studies confirm that adults need about 8 hours sleep each night to stay healthy; children and teenagers need more. There is increasing evidence of causal links between minimal sleep and many illnesses, i.e., sleeping for less than 7-8hrs per night is definitely bad for health, short-term and long-term. Screen use, especially smartphones, late at night, is proven beyond all doubt to reduce sleep quality. There are many simple methods of achieving 'clean sleep' that are commonly ignored, and parents and schools generally do not teach children these things very well. In the late 1900s a view became popularized that high-performing people could and should be able to function and stay healthy having six hours sleep or less per night. Science has now proven this belief to be grossly wrong, and actually quite dangerous.)
  3.      Which poet's life, work and death helped inspire Al Alvarez's extraordinary seminal 1972 book on suicide and mental illness, The Savage God: Lord Byron; William Wordsworth; Sylvia Plath; or William Shakespeare?
    Sylvia Plath (The Savage God, by Al Alvarez, is one of the most important books on suicide and 'mental illness' ever written. The term is expressed here as 'mental illness' because the book causes us to explore the term at a very deep level. Alvarez's remarkable brilliance as a writer, academic, and visionary, together with his own personal experiences of mental challenges and attempted suicide and survival [only just] enabled explanation of this most elusive aspect of the human condition, and its effects - within a historical and societal and emotional context – that is profoundly beautiful, life-changing, and helpful. The Savage God is a book that every person should read. Alvarez was the literary critic of The Observer who knew and introduced Sylvia Plath to the UK/world. Sylvia Plath took her own life in 196)    
  4.      The Greater London Authority report on London's Mental Health (2014) stated the annual cost of mental illness to the London area exceeds: £25m; £250m; £5bn; or £25bn?
    £25bn (Yes, more than £25billion, which equates to nearly 10% of the gross productivity value [GVA] of London. The full report is here: London Mental Health - the invisible costs of mental ill health - https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/gla_migrate_files_destination/Mental%20health%20report.pdf  - Incidentally the cost of suicides in London  - about 580 per year - is stated to be c. £0.65bn. Here is a compelling extract: “Suicide and self-harm in adults....  Between 2008 and 2010, there was an average of 579 suicides per year in London. However, many more people attempt suicide. Four point six per cent of adults in London, or 310,000 individuals, have attempted suicide in their lifetime. A further 2% of adults, 283,000 in London, have thought about suicide in the last year. Additionally, 6% of adults, around 310,000 in London, say they have deliberately self-harmed without the intention of killing themselves. The report is 2014 and the data a little older, but nothing much has changed, and many aspects have worsened greatly. London's challenges and costs and statistics are obviously shocking, but with relatively small variations, and costs adjusted for local economies, these sorts of numbers can be found globally; some places much worse.)
  5.      In January 2018 an open letter by activist investors JANA partners and California State Teachers' Retirement System (a major US pension company) asked what giant corporation to address potential harm to children from using its technology?
    Apple (Extracts from the evidence in the letter: “Professor Twenge’s research shows that US teenagers who spend 3 hours a day or more on electronic devices are 35% more likely, and those who spend 5 hours or more are 71% more likely, to have a risk factor for suicide than those who spend less than 1 hour. - This research also shows that 8th graders who are heavy users of social media have a 27% higher risk of depression, while those who exceed the average time spent playing sports, hanging out with friends in person, or doing homework have a significantly lower risk. Experiencing depression as a teenager significantly increases the risk of becoming depressed again later in life. -  Also, teens who spend 5 or more hours a day [versus less than 1] on electronic devices are 51% more likely to get less than 7 hours of sleep [versus the recommended 9]. Sleep deprivation is linked to long-term issues like weight gain and high blood pressure. - A study by UCLA researchers showed that after 5 days at a device-free outdoor camp, children performed far better on tests for empathy than a control group.”  N.B. JANA and California State Teachers' Retirement System clarified that Apple are being targeted not because they are the worst technology offenders in terms of risks to children's health. There are more dangerous technologies. Apple is being targeted because the corporation generally has a good reputation for corporate social responsibility, and because the technology design is relatively easy to fix, and make safer for children, notably by enabling parental moderation of usage. The full letter is here: https://thinkdifferentlyaboutkids.com/)
  6.      Which organization produces ICD-10 (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems) including Chapter V - Mental and Behavioural Disorders: UN; EU; WHO; or NATO?
    WHO (World Health Organization) (10 refers to the 10th Revision, completed in 199 Most of the major countries of the world use ICD-10, typically in local adapted and revised formats. For example, there are varying interpretations internationally and among professionals and academics as to the classification of grief and bereavement, and this reflects the fact that in some cases these feelings can be 'normal' and ok, and in other cases grief and bereavement can be a mental disorder and very threatening to health. Also interesting is the classification of 'normal' behaviours if they become extreme, for example, nose-picking is a listed mental disorder.. and apparently in a survey 91% of adults said they do it. Here is the Wikipedia page on Chapter V of ICD-10 -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICD-10_Chapter_V:_Mental_and_behavioural_disorders – The classification of mental disorders is fascinating also in so much as classification itself leads to all sorts of diagnosis and prescription, and helps to underpin a vast industry of pharmaceuticals, treatments, services, etc. There is no doubt that many people are taking drugs for mental and physical disorders completely unnecessarily, instead of changing lifestyle, or changing job, or changing an environmental situation. Lifestyle changes and other situational changes are often very difficult to achieve however, and tend not to be the default treatment, especially given the pressures of life, and also the power of the pharmaceutical industry and related long-standing, deeply embedded, systemic practices, especially of the 'developed' modern world, in defaulting to prescribed drugs. There is much evidence that drugs very commonly do not work well, and are commonly counter-productive, for many people. The situation is perhaps like tobacco-smoking in the early-mid 1900s, when for decades a vast global industry was able to persuade a vast global customer base, and vast distribution and regulatory systems, that cigarettes were safe (moreover 'healthy' in early marketing). This is not conspiracy theory; it's fact. Big business can be very cynical and irresponsible, especially in a free market, as we inhabit these days. Pharmaceuticals are more complex than tobacco of course, because many drugs are life-saving and life-changing, including some prescribed for mental disorders. Big business and profit have also been responsible for countless inventions and advancements in human healthcare that are absolutely 100% good for people (spectacles, hearing aids, artificial limbs, cancer treatments, vaccines, etc). We should nevertheless question increasingly whether drugs are so widely safe and helpful as the degree to which they are prescribed and used. As ever public perceptions are influenced by some very big forces, and societies and individuals could be more curious about what big business and governments say we should put into our bodies, and also what we teach our children to put into their bodies.)  
  7.      When work-related stress threatens someone's health, the most effective measure is: Medication; Clarify objectives; Increase pay; or Remove the cause of stress?
    Remove the cause of stress (Or reduce the cause of stress appropriately, for example extend timescales, and/or provide real impactful help, or in very serious situations remove the person from the stressful situation. Be under no illusion: too much stress can kill people, especially if it's on top of other pressures or mental disturbance, which is often hidden/unknown to outsiders. Before/besides this, too much stress makes millions of people very unwell and vulnerable to much more serious mental illness, easily extending to suicidal intent or action. Stress in small doses can be exciting, and different people can cope with different levels of stress, but if a situation/person/group gives anyone too much stress for too long then the stress will develop into clinical illness, often producing and being worsened by other consequential pressures such as poor sleep, poor eating, substance abuse, and a cycle of declining performance and self-image. Stress on top of existing mental conditions, such as depression or serious bereavement, can very quickly become life-threatening. Moderate levels of stress do not necessarily affect life expectancy, but being anxious about stress levels can impact on life expectancy, and it is very difficult to judge the difference. Stress is a health risk that depends on degree and individual character and situation, and so needs to be approached with care and concern, just like any other sign of ongoing emotional upset. A major factor in stress is the common perception that it is not very dangerous, which is an attitude or default position found widely in workplaces. The default position is that unless someone complains, then everything is assumed to be ok. Shame and stigma prevent very many people from talking about stress, and other emotional pressures, e.g., depression, anxiety, bereavement, and other mental disorders, so that stress is experienced on top of other problems, and this is a very dangerous mixture. We must also realise that we don't know how another person is feeling, and we cannot really begin to do so until we ask helpfully and safely, and listen with similar care.)
  8.      An England NHS survey announced 2017 what % of adults to be taking anti-depressants: 1; 3; 5 or 10?
    10% (Anti-depressants are the fastest increasing prescriptions of all medication. At 2016, 48% of adults were taking at least one prescribed drug. In the 10 years 2006-16 the number of prescriptions increased by 47%. One in seven adults are on statins [for cholesterol/cardio-vascular disease], and one in seven are taking drugs for high blood pressure. The strain on UK NHS and other national health systems is not just due to population growth, ageing demographics, budgetary and management and strategic challenges; it's also and arguably mainly because society is much more unwell than ever before.) 
  9.      Sean Parker, health advocate/philanthropist, is ex-president of which organization, about which he is quoted as saying: "God only knows what it's doing to our children's brains."?
    Facebook (Parker is among several disaffected senior ex-staff, e.g., Tristan Harris, Loren Brichter, James Williams, of  addictive social media platforms, who are now critics of the harmfulness of the technologies they helped create, especially for young people. They did this with the best intent, but the organizations and regulatory authorities have yet to appreciate and react to the risks that have been  There is a clear admission among several senior ex-developers/executives of globally popular social media platforms that addictiveness was and remains intentionally designed into the ways that these products operate. See Tristan Harris's Tedtalks: https://www.ted.com/talks/tristan_harris_the_manipulative_tricks_tech_companies_use_to_capture_your_attention  and earlier, from 2014 https://www.ted.com/talks/tristan_harris_how_better_tech_could_protect_us_from_distraction ) 
  10.      The best exercise for overall physical and mental health is: Cycling;  Running; Weightlifting; or Dancing?
    Dancing (Dancing comprises musical rhythm, memory, artistic expression, social connection, total body movement; coordination and balance. Dance stimulates and exercises the brain in many more ways than most other forms of exercise. Dancing is especially helpful in later life when socialising and more strenuous exercises and sports are less easy for many people. Dancing also offers countless varieties and formats, and degrees of physicality. Dancing is a fundamental and ancient natural human activity for which our bodies and brains are designed. There are very many other reasons that dancing is the best form of exercise for people, communities and societies worldwide, for which, see the dance page link)
  11.   From 1970-2015 global suicide rates have: Increased 25%; Increased 35%; Increased 60%; or Declined 10%?
    Increased 60% (According to the World Health Organization, this trend is still continuing, so that by 2020, globally, there will be a suicide every 20 seconds. At 2017 there is a suicide every 30-40 seconds. It is interesting that suicide rates are increasing so markedly in the period loosely equating to 'globalization' and the 'technology age' and 'digital age'. Suicide rates globally are rising fastest among young people, and in a third of all countries suicide is now the leading cause of death among young people. Suicide is by implication an indicator of the wider state of societal mental health. For every suicide there are approximately 20 attempts. For every attempt, scores of people consider it. Do the math... The world is more mentally and physically ill than in any previous centuries/millennia. Notwithstanding that a tenth of the world still has no clean drinking water, millions of babies die at birth, millions are starving to death, and millions are homeless and destitute, the rest of us, who live mostly today with good comfort, safety, healthcare, toys and gadgets and technology, are less well physically and mentally than ever. We live in the modern world less authentically and naturally than ever; less like humans are designed to live, and this is perhaps part of the explanation. A young woman from Ethiopia, settled in England, told me that the area she came in Ethiopia has no suicide, because everyone is too busy looking for food. Suicide is far more complicated than that obviously, but her statement is very interesting. A very important aspect of suicide statistics - greatly overlooked - is that very many suicides are not reported as suicides. Many drugs over-doses are recorded as accidents when they are suicides. Many fatal road crashes are reported as accidents when they are actually suicides. This is mainly because of shame and stigma, and also an understandable inquest verdict in any uncertainty. The under-reporting of suicides however does contribute to the world's denial about suicide generally. Add to this the millions who drink themselves to death or take drugs so that they die from abuse – these deaths  are never recorded as suicides, but actually very many are suicides, and the root cause is mental disorder. People who become addicted to tobacco smoking and wilfully persist in smoking at dangerous levels are also knowingly killing themselves, and again this is rooted in mental illness, namely addiction. None of these statistics are recorded and counted in suicides statistics, but they all result from the pressures of life, and they all have incalculable costs to the world.)
  12.   ADHD stands for what controversial condition, also called technically 'disturbance of activity and attention'?
    Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD was named in the 1960s in the USA. Disruptive 'hyperactive' inattentiveness in school-children has been the subject of study and attempted  classification by clinicians since the early 1900s, and the tendency of some children to fidget when they 'should' be sitting still and concentrating, has been recorded for many hundreds of years, although historically not in any real sense of 'mental disorder' as nowadays. Since the 1970s, ADHD, especially in children, has been subject to huge disagreement among clinical, behavioural and educational professionals, where over-diagnosis is said by many experts to be very common and harmful. Significantly [Wikipedia puts it well]: “...Although it causes impairment, particularly in modern society, many children with ADHD have a good attention span for tasks they find interesting...” What a surprise. Probably most adults would agree that this is a normal feature of work and life for adults too. ADHD [or whatever it is, and however it is classified] is more complex than that of course, but we could perhaps question more why societies and educational authorities expect all children to be interested in and committed to every subject that is prescribed in traditional education, and also question whether the classroom style of largely passive non-experiential, non-contextual, instructed memory/test-based L&D is actually suitable and natural for all children, especially as so many children who behave 'badly' at school subsequently thrive and achieve wonderful things later in life, when they can learn and develop and engage and be productive in ways that match their natural thinking/learning styles and individual skills and capabilities. If you have not yet seen/heard Sir Ken Robinson's remarkable 2010 presentation about education of children and ADHD then I urge you strongly to do so. It is just as relevant and meaningful today as ever: https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_changing_education_paradigms  - Sir Ken Robinson talks and writes about other aspects of education and life/work in similarly brilliant ways: https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution -  And this is the 2006 Ted talk that started it all for Sir Ken..  https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity . It is useful also to explore learning styles and multiple intelligence theory too.
  13.   The ancient Greek term for 'ravenous hunger' (from 'ox' and 'hunger') became in modern times the scientific term for what disorder?
    Bulimia (bulimia nervosa in full, meaning 'nervous ravenous hunger' – this is the eating disorder of binge-eating and purging/vomiting. Actually bulimia, long ago simply gorging, has existed for millennia. Bulimia nervosa has also existed relatively rarely in customs for millennia, although not in its modern form, instead notably for example among Roman soldiers before battle, and elite gluttons before feasting. Modern bulimia nervosa is far more complex, and common, and unrelated to feasting and wars, and a very dangerous facet of mental illness. As with most mental disorders, bulimia nervosa does not appear without reason; it is an illness caused by troubles in earlier life. Solutions extend beyond better treatments, to identifying and eradicating the causal factors in societies.) 
  14.   What poorly understood disease, named after the German scientist who identified it c.1906, causes 60-70% of dementia?
    Alzheimer's disease (after Aloysius Alzheimer, 1864-19 Over 30 million people globally are suffering with Alzheimer's disease. Millions of others are undiagnosed.  Alzheimer's is one of the most costly diseases to healthcare, societies, and economies; financially obviously, and in terms of  implications for families of sufferers. To a degree Alzheimer's is a feature of increasing life-expectancy, although this is not the full explanation. Lifestyles and the modern world produce causal effects too, and these are quite separate to age-related causes. Prevalence of Alzheimer's, adjusted for population growth, is increasing significantly. Prevalence of Alzheimer's in less developed nations, again adjusted for population and other distortions, is less than in developed nations, which is very revealing about the risks of the modern world. Besides this, treatments for Alzheimer's are widely inconsistent; with poor quality and insensitivity common too, despite the best efforts of most carers and health professionals. Alzheimer's is a very difficult disease to deal with, especially in patients who exhibit aggressive or offensive aspects of the condition. Alzheimer's and other dementia sufferers, by the nature of the condition and our poor understanding and handling of it, are among the most vulnerable victims of  health services difficulties everywhere. The effects of the disease on the modern world are incalculable. Alzheimer's and dementia are also [at 2018] incurable, and this prognosis means that the potential for emotional devastation is far greater than illnesses which offer some hope of recovery.)
  15.   Which of one these is helpful prior to sleeping: Watching TV; Reading a book; Eating a big meal; or Texting friends?
    Reading a book (This is provided that the book is a printed book and not a screen/e-book. The other things are proven to act against a good night's sleep. And yet most adults, and especially young people, eat too late, drink coffee too late, drink too much alcohol too late, and mess about on phones and tablets until just before sleeping, and most teenagers are using their phones in bed, way past a sensible sleep time. Adequate good sleep is proven beyond all doubt now to be a major aspect of keeping well, avoiding mental problems, and also vital for recovering from or coping with a mental disorder.)
  16.   In what US city did the 'Zero Suicides Model' begin in 2001 (initially as Perfect Depression Care), achieving zero suicides by 2009 among patients of Henry Ford Behavioural Health Services hospitals: Los Angeles; New York; Toronto; or Detroit?
    Detroit (This is a fascinating, inspiring, successful initiative to rethink and achieve a radical new approach to treating mental illness and especially suicidal vulnerability. The Detroit Zero Suicides Model is a sort of 'total quality' approach to suicidal prevention in a healthcare system, combined with a crucial simple ambitious transformational aim, and a team who wanted to make this bold vision a reality. The methodology, founded and pioneered and led in Detroit from 2001-2014 by Dr Ed Coffey, is remarkable in all sorts of ways, especially that Dr Coffey and his team dared to aim for zero suicides. The solutions that Dr Coffey and his team developed are being adapted and adopted internationally. All situations are different. It's not a simple matter of applying a template or a set process. But the model is extraordinary. It worked, sustainably. This is is a fabulous video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch
  17.   Refusing to eat and seeking unhealthy weight loss and an unnaturally thin body is technically what eating disorder?
    Anorexia (Fully anorexia nervosa. Ancient human civilizations did not generally suffer with this. People in war zones tend not struggle with this mental illness. Our modern world has created this disorder. For deep insights into anorexia, see: https://barebonesanorexia.com/what-is-anorexia/  and especially see the extraordinary story here:  https://barebonesanorexia.com/about-me/ )
  18.   Using your smartphone/tablet within 90minutes before bedtime will harm your sleep, True or False?
    True (screens such as phones and tablets and even TVs emit light that stimulates the brain, making sleep much more difficult. See the supporting information for the other sleep-related questions in this quiz. Good sleep is vital in for improving all aspects of mental problems and maintaining wellness. Too much sleep can be unhelpful, but this is not generally a problem for people, and is not a major problem for society. People might become overly lethargic due to having too much sleep, but too much sleep, within reason, tends not to cause serious mental problems or undermine wellness.)
  19.   What percentage of autistic people are considered to have extraordinary capabilities, as in the term 'savant':  1; 2; 3; or 10?
    10% (Autism remains very poorly understood. Autistic children throughout history have been neglected, marginalised, bullied, etc., or worse, treated as 'disabled' or 'mentally sub-normal'. While more sophisticated appreciation is now emerging, the potential of autistic people is generally poorly considered, identified, and developed. Despite this disadvantage, autistic people demonstrate an incidence of 10% brilliance in highly demanding disciplines such as maths, memory, art, music, etc., often far beyond the capability of 'normal' people.  Wikipedia states that “...A 2009 British study of 137 parents of autistic children found that 28% believe their children met the criteria for a savant skill, defined as a skill or power at a level that would be unusual even for 'normal' people...” We should  wonder how this % will increase when all autistic children and young people are given education and encouragement that 'normal' people are offered.)
  20.   The world organization for suicide/crisis support services and helplines is called (What?).org: Friendship; Friends; Friendly; or Befrienders?
    Befrienders.org (One of the most common and important features of many forms of mental disorder is isolation. Being isolated can easily cause a person's thinking and feelings to worsen and become highly irrational. Isolation can quickly cause stress or anxiety to develop into deeper problems and serious depression. Isolation and loneliness, and not being able to share personal worries with another person, usually due to shame or stigma, and/or simply being alone, are factors in very many suicides. Befrienders.org offers contact details of the main crisis support services in lots of countries. The point of this question is to emphasis the importance of talking, especially to a trained non-judgemental listener, at times of high anxiety or worry. When we talk to others, we are helped to reflect more objectively on our true situation, rather than the false reality that we can make in our heads. The majority of people will feel serious anxiety at some time in their lives. There is no shame in this, although societies everywhere still generally stigmatize people who struggle mentally. And yet emotional and mental struggles are part of being human. Life is not fair. Life can be terribly difficult. People die. We all die. And so at the very least, everyone will grieve and everyone will worry about their own death, even if we encounter no other worries, which of course is unrealistic. We can all experience a serious illness, or a redundancy, or a debt, or an accident, or anything else very difficult... and we all face these mental challenges. And so it's crazy that emotional and mental distress is so difficult to talk about; as if it only happens to other people. Talking and listening, like humans though history have done in smaller communities and connected family groups, help us stay well at times of pressure. It's good to talk, as the saying goes. So while the modern world makes it so difficult to talk and be open and vulnerable, www.befrienders.org show us who to call if we cannot talk to anyone else, or if we prefer to talk to a stranger. The real shame is not feeling troubled and low, the real shame is that our modern disconnected unfriendly world, full of stuff, yet increasingly empty of humanity and love, makes it so difficult for troubled people to talk to others. We can all make a difference to this.)  
  21.   The most helpful response to someone struggling with bereavement grief is: Ignore it and carry on as normal; Lots of work for distraction; Empathy and kindness; or Take them out and get them drunk?
    Empathy and kindness (While grief varies greatly person to person, it is known that the following are generally NOT helpful: alcohol and substance abuse, stress/pressure, ignoring a person's bereavement   or avoiding the person, and any intervention based on projecting an opinion or judgement. Instead people suffering from grief must be given space and time to heal, and to talk, and be listened to, sympathetically and empathically. It is not helpful to judge or prescribe. It is helpful to be non-judgemental and supportive. Reflection and unconditional understanding are helpful. Often merely 'being with' the person, literally to offer a shoulder to cry on, is all that's required. Grief can be unimaginably horrific and is usually inexplicable and indescribable. Grief is not like a headache or muscle strain or a physical wound that will heal in a few weeks.  A serious bereavement typically remains very raw for at least two years, sometimes longer. Some grief such as the loss of a child or partner persists quite seriously for ever, in different and changing ways. Typically friends and colleagues begin to carry on as normal soon after the funeral, albeit maybe suppressing quite a lot of sadness, yet this is usually when the most serious grieving begins for the 'closely bereaved' person, at the earliest. Some bereaved people are still in shock for six months or more; others for much longer than this, before processing the grief can actually begin. So 'closely bereaved' people generally need to be given much more time to heal than friends and colleagues typically imagine. This is a major reason that many friendships end after a bereavement, because the friend can no longer relate to the bereaved person, and vice-versa. Usually the best people to help with grief are those who've experienced it, especially a similar type of grief, and so understand what's happening, and that it takes time and rest and kindness to process. Grief increases the need to maintain and put in place basic enablers of wellness: good sleep, good diet, love and friendship, physical/human/intimate contact [hugging often, depending on culture and individuals], exercise, countryside/gardens/fields, pets and animals perhaps, talking and listening, creative and artistic outlets such as writing, etc. Activity and gentle encouragement, after a while, can be helpful if the bereaved person is open to this. Gently does it. Counter-intuitively, many bereaved people are able to accommodate surprisingly big levels of fun, laughter and humour. Grieving people want to be be understood, not regarded as pariahs or invalids. You see, grief is not always the total shut-down or complete darkness that its extreme nature might suggest. Grief is rather like a dual existence, where the 'normal' world can be switched into a sort of 'dead' world, and then it switches back again. Grief is often described as a hollowness or emptiness, as if the sufferer is a shell or a ghost. Grief is often described as 'coming in waves', sometimes very unexpectedly. There may be an obvious explanation for a 'wave' or 'rush' of grief, or there might be none at all. Many things can trigger a 'wave' of grief, like visiting somewhere, or hearing a song: anything which brings back a memory, especially if that particular experience and 'revisiting' has not been fully processed. Many experts in grief refer to 'dosing' grief; as if there is a certain amount to be 'processed' - some known, some hidden, and that our minds and bodies must release it, importantly at a rate that suits us and our strength at any time. This is multi-dimensional and can take years, although generally we become better at doing it, and understanding when and how to release; to open the tap, as we make the journey. The bigger the loss, then the bigger the journey. Grief can also entail feelings of euphoric wonderment, especially at natural things like moving water, clouds, trees, music, art, and other sensory things that in a 'normal' existence we take for granted. And so grief, like other forms of mental upset or disorder, is not necessarily one continuous bad thing; it can often include many beautiful things, and a very much heightened sense of self, and one's place in the universe. Grief is, after all, personal growth of the most profound sort. The grieving person probably won't appreciate this early in bereavement, although older people often do. It's like anything else that we learn to do. One huge outcome arising from serious bereavement is often a greatly increased compassion for others, and this can emerge surprisingly quickly, and for many this offers a really effective way to heal, provided the bereaved person's energy is not drained. That's fascinating isn't it.. that a brilliant way to heal is to help someone else, especially to help another person heal. Hence mutual support relationships and groups are often very effective methods for helping us through grief. On this point, bereaved people often seek isolation, and to a degree some time alone is usually necessary, but prolonged or excessive isolation is unhealthy, and so regular contact is generally very useful, especially as many friends are embarrassed or uncertain about how to respond to a friend's bereavement, and so ignore or avoid the bereaved person. Bereavement is commonly followed by intense shock and numbness, which is probably a naturally evolved protection, and typically enables many bereaved people to 'get through' the first few weeks, after which the numbness reduces, and grief can become most intense. We all go through bereavement grief at one time or another, in different ways. Some is relatively mild; some is horrific and life-threatening. Grief and death are increasingly taboo subjects in this modern sanitized world, and so it is important to consider intelligently and sensitively, proactively, how we respond to these things. The default reaction of many friends, do nothing, is not helpful. None of us will remain unaffected ever by grief. And it is different for each of us. If we accept that grief is a form of mental disorder or disturbance, which arguably it is depending on the medical manual you reference, then grief is among the most commonly experienced mental problems. We might less controversially say that grief, especially when extreme, is most definitely a mind-altering state, and is one which demands great sensitivity and care, as with any mental illness or disorder. Importantly we all go through grief, one way or another, so let's all be more open about it.)
  22.   What addiction did the World Health Organization add to the International Classification of Diseases in 2018: Sunbed tanning; Computer gaming; Sugar; or Shopping?
    Computer gaming (This is not to mean that computer gaming is a mental disorder. This means that 'addictive computer gaming' is considered a mental disorder. The inclusion of the classification identifies the practice as a threat to health, if not done in moderation. It is a matter of interpretation and diagnosis. The most significant point is perhaps that there are millions of very young people engaged in computer gaming to the virtual exclusion of everything else in their lives. For some this is a passing phase and it leaves no damage; for others such compulsive gaming can be damaging to health. And we do not understand these consequences yet, because computer gaming is a relatively recent phenomenon, and is changing very quickly and dramatically. Sitting glued to a chair and a screen for many hours is not healthy [although millions of adults do this at work every day, and it's called 'work']. We cannot know yet how much harm computer gaming is doing to young people, because computer gaming has never before been such a prevalent and potentially addictive activity. Several countries (by 2017) have begun to legislate to control and reduce access to computer gaming for young people, notably late night times, and we should regard this as indicating that threats to mental health and wellbeing are potentially more serious than generally appreciated. Young people are especially vulnerable to risks of modern computer gaming, and rather like the addictiveness of social media and many computer technologies and services, corporations and regulatory authorities do not understand the effects of what is being developed and consumed so freely.) 
  23.   Globally in the 21st century the age group with fastest rising suicide rate is: Young people; 30-40s; 50-60s; or 70+?
    Young people (This quiz has several questions about suicide because suicide is a potential extreme outcome of all mental disorders. Equally importantly suicide is a big taboo, and that makes it infinitely more dangerous. The suicide taboo is dangerous because it obstructs knowledge and awareness and debate, and the suicide taboo fosters shame and stigma and guilt and isolation, which in turn produce many more problems – for relatives and friends, sometimes hundreds of people, for every suicide. Most people who kill themselves are not receiving any treatment. Typically this is about 75% of all suicides. So improving treatment of suicidal people logically addresses 25% of the problem, because 75% of suicides are by people not being treated at all. And so also we need to find ways to help and treat people long before they become suicidal. The suicide taboo is a major reason that the 75% of people who kill themselves are hidden from help and support. For many others within the 25% being treated, they generally begin to be treated far too late, when they are in really serious danger or have actually attempted to kill themselves. The suicide taboo crucially also fosters wide ignorance about mental illness and its progression to suicidal intent, especially in young people. The suicide taboo and ignorance manifests in societies as a denial in governance, education, employment, the 'free market', and how we all live. Suicidal people are routinely ignored by health services everywhere, because health services are inadequately trained, funded and resourced. Young people are especially vulnerable, because rightly they look to the adult world to look after them, and the adult world is failing them, at the deepest level. We fail to educate children about mental health. We allow society and corporations to heap crazy levels of stress and unnatural lifestyles on them, and when young people start to struggle, as millions are struggling, we are blind to it. The world needs to change, obviously. Every adult must ask themselves: “Am I part of the solution, or part of the problem
  24.   What is proven in recent studies to be as dangerous as moderate levels of tobacco smoking and drinking alcohol: Commuting; Bereavement; Loneliness; or Fast food?
    Loneliness (This is not to say that moderate tobacco smoking and drinking alcohol are safe.. for example a recent study found that one cigarette a day equates roughly to 50% of the harm of 20 cigarettes a day, and one cigarette a day would be generally considered far less than 'moderate'. The question emphasises the extreme danger of loneliness. Social isolation is a very serious threat to physical and mental health, and is a major factor in many suicides. Loneliness and isolation are also considered major unhelpful factors in susceptibility to dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Isolation causes mental illness, and it worsens mental illness. Isolation and loneliness are not just a problem of elderly people, or bereaved people, or disabled people, or marginalised people, or immigrants, or the homeless, or the displaced, or the re-housed, or the armed forces veterans, or nightshift workers.. Isolation and loneliness can be a problem for anyone: for 'ordinary people' of all ages, people working away, university students, bullied children at school, anyone. Anyone can be lonely, and anyone can feel isolated, and many people are isolated by others. And it's so very dangerous. Isolation leaves us alone with our thoughts, without the benefits of human interaction, and without the crucial reflection and reactions of others to our feelings and thinking. Isolation makes us feel more alone, more worthless, more useless, especially if we think a bit like that already. Isolation can cause us to think that a really terrible idea is a really good course of action, or the only action; like drinking a bottle of vodka, or taking too many pills, or staying up all night using social media. Isolation can cause our minds to play tricks. Isolation deprives us of the vital joy in helping and giving something to others. Isolation can convince us that lies are true, and that fears are certainties, and doubts are failures. And that we are failures, when we are wonderful, really. And that our friends are our enemies, and that other people don't care, when really they do, but they are just not very clever at showing it. And that we are unloved, when actually we are loved. And that we would not be missed, when we would definitely be missed. Isolation can make us do crazy things. Because the mind is very powerful and it can create an entirely false reality if we are deprived of interaction, and we lose objectivity. Isolation is a feature of the modern world. People were not isolated or lonely when they lived in smaller communities and extended family groups, in recent human history and before that in our evolution. People are isolated today because of the modern world and the madness of modern life. So again, those of us who are not isolated or lonely must all ask ourselves: “Am I part of the problem, or part of the solution
See a mistake in the quiz?