My Mental Health Experience @ Warwick Medical School | PostGradMedic 

It was really brave of you talking about this! Your videos have helped me tremendously overcome some of the fears I’m having of starting this year 😊

I’ve never heard someone speak so candidly and openly about self harm. This was extremely brave and generous to open up about this time in your life. Good to know you got the support you needed.

Well said Ollie. I hope next year is all smooth sailing for you.

P.S it’s quite normal, I’ve had it too. Many times, always under stress and sleep deprivation. The quickest way to get rid of the thoughts is to not feel concerned when they come up. The more attention you give a thought the more recurrent it becomes.

Really great video Ollie! Thank you for raising mental health awareness and well done for getting through it!

Very brave of you to share this Ollie, i've experienced similar things with my mh, it's very scary but it is so normal, everyone gets intrusive thoughts, some of us just experience them worse than others. Mine definetly flare up in periods of stress but you find ways to cope, i'm glad you got help and I hope you're feeling okay now! It's great to know how much help is on offer at Warwick!

fantastic video, so brave to share this.

I'm sorry to hear about the trouble you've been having. Well done for getting through tough times. I understand this was last year but the intrusive thoughts you've been/were experiencing sounds, although I would like to avoid labelling things, it could be classified as obsessive compulsive disorder. I say this as someone who, alone with every member of my family have suffered. I experienced troubling intrusive thoughts since probably like 10, CAMHS and GPs etc have diagnosed it as OCD/depression and obviously there is a huge overlap between everything, hence I like to avoid sort of labelling or catoregising these things. Quite often many people will associate OCD with very well defined compulsions, for example washing hands, or locking doors which is actually probably the least common manifestation of OCD. A term in the literature used is "pureO" or "pure obsessive" referring to the compulsions being purely part of the mental/emotional feedback following intrusive thoughts, rather than a physical behaviour, and so the compulsions seem absent. Probably most importantly is characteristic of any sort of OCD type condition, is the anxiety associated with it. A lot of people have all sorts of intrusive thoughts which come and go throughout life, some are the weirdest or the most frightening, however don't always impact them very much. Of course the individuals who suffer the most, when daily functionality is affected, this is when it might be considered a psychiatric condition. Long story short, it's incredibly common and anyone reading this feeling frightened by thoughts like these, understand you're not "mental" or "sick" , you are suffering with some mental health issues and regardless of the content of the intrusive thoughts, you are not alone so hang in there. Most importantly, as Ollie said, reach out to people. Anyway, well done for getting through, and I wish you well.

Well done for sharing this Ollie! It takes courage, maturity and humanity to open up about mental health struggles. Myself, I have shared about my struggles during public talks I was giving in the past and people were responding. They just need one to come forward in order to feel they are not alone. Also, let me note here since you are a scientist, that I am finding it very helpful when also see the issue from the scientific point of view (i.e. why the brain is doing what is doing, what empirical evidence is out there etc). That takes out some of the 'magic' and the unknown, and puts it in a realistic, scientific framework. At least it works for me to view it this way. Take care mate! P.S. some book proposals around the issue of brain and bevaviour/mental health: Phantoms in the brain, and The Tell Tale Brain, by Dr. Ramachadran, The man who mistook his wife for a hat, by Oliver Sacks (and anything from Sacks), My Stroke of Insight, by Jill Taylor (or watch the Ted talk), The Brain That Changes Itself, by Norman Doidge and more.

Wonderful video. We must do so much more to remove stigma associated around mental health. That it is shameful, or brave, to even share stories of signs/symptoms of mental health issues is quite sad. That said, its very inspiring to see you talk so frankly, openly and indeed usefully about your experiences and the value of seeking assistance. To do so in the climate that still exists ... good for you :)

You the man !

Well done for sharing this. Psychology was my first degree and I would say this is an anxiety related/burnout symptom. It doesn’t make you mentally ill, moreso a way the mind throws tests at itself under serious stress. I would add that sleep deprivation is one of the strongest catalysts for mental health related issues. This has been empirically proven constantly, so I would say it’s important you address the poor sleep issue. The stigma around familial depression, especially with such a horrible experience as what happened to your Cousin is also a reason your mind might trigger something like these thoughts. It’s almost a way of the mind questioning itself. If you’d like to discuss it at all please feel free to contact me. Best, Ally

I think it is an additional stress worrying about getting evidence to help with mitigation. Glad you got through it but it may come back again as your study and work is high stress. At least now you have an awareness.

Welldun Oli, u r a wise man inded my guru. However, sumtims gurus need supprt to. I am hear if u evar ned too talc xxxx

Just try to read the book I talked to you about.The revelation of Ares.Read thoroughly as a book...and then again just like your lecture to relieve your mind and to be sort mindful with your body especially your psyche.The more you will read it the better you will feel, and you will have to put in practice what is written in this book to increase the mindfulness aspect of it .The more you will act in goodness, in accordance with the book, which is like Medical ethics push to the extreme, the better you will be and feel.

fantastic video ollie..how is the weather in the uk？its rainy in india...i had a question...how do students select subjects in year 12 and 13？in india there is science which has option btw maths and bio with physics and chem compulsory,arts and commerce....i am curious to know about it