VIVA! Communications external planning workshop 2019

Team VIVA! set off early Thursday, January 17, for our annual workshop at Lilianfels Blue Mountains Resort & Spa, positioned at the edge of Echo Point, in the picturesque town of Katoomba. We arrived ready to begin what would prove an intensive two-day learning experience, capped off with fantastic food, a touch of wine and…

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Creatives are more prone to becoming addicted to drugs

Psychology researchers have uncovered a link between creative people and the development of mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder and depression. A propensity in extremely creative individuals to become drug abusers has been studied for centuries, with some experts attributing the link to creatives being hyper sensitive to their environment. While being creative doesn’t necessarily…

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Analysis of 2,000 brains unlocking some clues to schizophrenia & autism

Researchers are now a step closer to potentially identifying a link between molecular mechanisms and neuropsychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. In a study performed by the scientific collaboration, The PsychENCODE project, researchers assessed DNA, RNA and protein data to obtain more information about the brain’s architecture. The study, which kicked off in…

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Maintaining Mental Health at Christmas

For someone with a mental illness, the holiday season could present a lot of challenges From stress over buying gifts, to dealing with large crowds, crazy traffic, and attending family events – the festive season isn’t always a joyous occasion. Things like family tensions, excessive alcohol consumption, poor food choices, loneliness, isolation and money worries…

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