mental health

Heightened food worries linked to worse mental health during COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns may have worsened worries over food insecurity among many Canadians and negatively impacted their mental health, according to a nationwide survey conducted during the first wave.

Sep 23, 2021

Virtual contact in pandemic prompts over 60s’ loneliness

Older adults who had more virtual contact than their peers during the pandemic actually experienced increased loneliness, according to new research published today.

Jul 26, 2021

Health and wellbeing a top priority as students return to campus

As UBC prepares to welcome students back to campus this September, the university is taking extra care to keep them safe and in good health.

Jul 22, 2021

New survey aims to improve care for families grieving loss of baby

A new University of British Columbia survey looks to improve future care for Canadian families coping with stillbirth and neonatal loss. The findings will contribute to an international study led by researchers in Australia.

Jul 8, 2021

Study highlights pandemic impact on adolescent mental health

Adolescents who were in a good headspace before COVID-19 suffered a decline during the pandemic, whereas those with poor mental health fared better, according to new research.

Jun 28, 2021

Better mental health supports for nurses needed, study finds

Working in the highly charged environment of COVID-19 has had a huge impact on the mental health of nurses, according to a new survey by researchers at UBC and the Institute for Work & Health in Toronto.

Jun 24, 2021

COVID-19 survey shows almost eight out of 10 adults are worried, bored, stressed, lonely or sad

The pandemic continues to take an emotional toll on people in Canada, with 77 per cent of adults reporting negative emotions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the latest mental health survey by UBC researchers, in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA).

May 3, 2021

Knowing someone with COVID-19 increased men’s anxiety more than women’s

It started as a research project to track student mental health over an entire term at university. Then, COVID-19 hit. Suddenly, a group of UBC researchers and their partners had an unprecedented opportunity to learn how students were faring emotionally as a global pandemic inched closer and closer to them.

Mar 25, 2021

Autism, or autism spectrum disorder, is a complex brain development disorder that impacts approximately 2.6 per cent of the U.S. population. Credit: Caleb Woods/Unsplash

Mental health conditions alarmingly high among children with autism

Nearly 78 per cent of children with autism have at least one mental health condition and nearly half have two mental health conditions or more, according to a new U.S. study from UBC’s department of psychology and the AJ Drexel Autism Institute at Drexel University (Pennsylvania).

Jan 19, 2021

New national survey finds Canadians’ mental health eroding as pandemic continues

The second wave of the pandemic has intensified feelings of stress and anxiety, causing alarming levels of despair, suicidal thoughts and hopelessness in the Canadian population.

Dec 3, 2020

The unique mental health and brain impacts of COVID-19

As COVID-19 infections spike around the globe, with no end in sight for months, questions are beginning to arise around the long-term effects of the pandemic on our mental health and brain health.

Nov 6, 2020

Will we ever shake hands again?

Dr. Lakshmi Yatham, professor and head of the UBC department of psychiatry, explores the psychological toll of COVID-19 and offers his advice on combating stress and anxiety.

Oct 9, 2020

New UBC study reveals older adults coped with pandemic best

Adults aged 60 and up have fared better emotionally compared to younger adults (18–39) and middle-aged adults (40–59) amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jul 22, 2020

COVID-19 survey highlights growing suicide and mental health risks across various groups

COVID-19 has significantly increased the suicide risk for Canadians with preexisting mental health challenges and experiences of marginalization, reveals a new survey by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) in partnership with researchers at the University of British Columbia.

Jun 25, 2020

Woman planking in bleachers. Credit: Julia Ballew/Unsplash

Pandemic provides opportunity for studying impact of exercise on mental health

The COVID-19 crisis has been hard on people’s mental and physical health. UBC’s School of Kinesiology is set to launch two separate studies that will examine the impact of exercise programs on mental health during the current crisis.

May 28, 2020

Emily Overholt, an Olympic bronze medallist in swimming and third-year kinesiology student at UBC, credits her recovery from depression with learning how to recognize the symptoms of the mood disorder.

Mental Illness Awareness Week: UBC swimmer sheds stigma of depression

When UBC Thunderbirds swimmer Emily Overholt won a bronze medal after competing in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, she should have felt like she was on top of the world. Instead, she faced debilitating depression.

Oct 7, 2019

Patty Hambler (left), director of health promotion and education at UBC Student Services, and Agnes d’Entremont (right), mechanical engineering instructor and faculty lead for a pilot project in UBC’s mechanical engineering program that teaches second-year students about mental health literacy and understanding the stress response. Credit: Paul Joseph/University of British Columbia

‘Help is available’: Student mental health services at UBC

Sitting on a bench outside Totem Park student residence, Kirsten Tarasoff remembers feeling an overwhelming sense of hopelessness.

Mar 25, 2019

Teach Mental Health aims to expand mental health literacy among those studying to be teachers, and among those they teach. Credit: Flickr

New, free online resource for teachers, teacher candidates, or anyone who wants to support youth mental health

Four Canadian universities, including the University of British Columbia, launched a new online curriculum resource earlier this month called Teach Mental Health.

Aug 30, 2018

The study showed that asking men to describe their experiences of grief and loss through photographs and storytelling could be therapeutic.

Self-care and social ties can help men recover from the suicide of a loved one

Recovering from the suicide of a friend, partner or family member can be emotionally challenging for men, largely due to masculine ideals that dictate men should remain stoic and keep their feelings bottled up.

Jun 20, 2018

Study sheds light on B.C. youths’ experiences with mental health services

It is 2012 and Smiley, a young woman in her early 20s, lives in a single room occupancy (SRO) building in Vancouver.

Feb 27, 2017