Social Impact Initiative

“Sometimes, the best therapist has fur and four legs” - Unknown The above quotation is something that one may see frequently on social media, often captioning a photo of a pet with its owner. In the following article, we will be looking into just how true this saying is through the lens of science! Pets have been around for a while … Archaeologic studies have shown that some animals, mostly dogs, have been man’s best friends for a very long time - around 12,000 to 14,000 years in fact! This is evident in the way that these furry family members were buried with their masters to provide companionship and protection in the afterlife, according to Morey, 2006. The same study shows that cats were also especially important in Ancient Egypt and that birds were the second most popular choice of domesticated animals after dogs in Ancient Greece - probably because of their ability to sing.  Pet Therapy In 1969, Boris Levinson was the one to introduce the idea of i...

Do you want to know what is it like to deal with eating disorders? Then read this interview. We talked to a 22-year old sales school student who enjoys playing in cuddling with animals (any kind, any time), watching series and drawing. Her struggle with eating disorders started in 2012, when she was 15. After 7 years her condition is much better, although her battle is not completely over, yet. According to the American Psychological Association (2017) eating disorders are characterised by severe disturbances in eating behaviours and related thoughts and emotions. People with eating disorders typically become pre-occupied with food and their body weight. Keep reading if you are interested in her answers. How would you describe your mental disorder? It’s sometimes like you don’t want to eat although your body needs the food, other times it’s like you know you have to eat but your body doesn’t let you. For every meal you struggle and fight before, after and/or in betwee...

Why do I not like my body? This is one of the questions that someone with body dissatisfaction could ask themselves. Sometimes it is not the whole body, but those parts of me that ... I wish! I wish they were a little thinner, more defined, larger or smaller, somewhat less wrinkled or without these ugly spots! We know that body dissatisfaction, understood as "a concern that produces discomfort towards some imaginary or extreme defect of   physical appearance "(1), is a risk factor for   developing and maintaining an eating disorder(anorexia and bulimia, mainly) (2). But almost all of us have something in our bodies that we would like to change, not just those who suffer from clinical problems. Why? People internalise the ideals of beauty that society transmits to us and we compare that with our own appearance. As long the way we perceive ourselves does not fit the ideal of beauty we will be dissatisfied with our bodies (3). The role of social media. ...

Hi there. I am a 22 year old student finishing my Bachelor degree. In my free time I like to read, write, watch movies, hike in the nature and take photos. I also like to spend time with my friends and family, probably just like you. If I had to point out something, that makes me different from most of you, I'd probably mention I am suffering from panic disorder. Panic disorder is characterized by reoccuring panic attacks, which are periods of intense fear that include somatic symptoms, like shortness of breath, palpitations etc. They lead to different behavioral and cognitive outcomes, such as avoidance of places associated with one of the attacks. In this interview, psychology students from EFPSA's Social Impact Initiative explored how life with this condition is like for me, and if you want to know more, you're most welcome to read it. . How would you (figuratively) describe your mental disorder? I would describe it as a ghost that starts strangling ...

As the theme of this year's Mental Health Awareness Week is stress, we decided to ask  doc. dr Nikola Petrovi ć from Department of Psychology at Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade a few questions about it… 1.         What are some of the most common reasons why people are under stress? Stress is a normal part of life. Everyone has different stress triggers. People usually get stressed about work, family issues, illnesses, deaths, financial issues or big changes in their lives, sometimes even very positive changes like getting married or winning the lottery. 2.         What are the typical thoughts of a person dealing with stress? Everyone reacts differently to stressors, but some people are more resilient than others. That means that some people have very irrational thoughts such as „This is horrible, I can’t handle this!“ that lead to undesired psychological outcomes and worsen the situ...

Let's get to know our National Coordinator in Spain, Maider Prieto Vila! 1. How did you decide to get involved in Mind the Mind campaign?                 I fell in love with the campaign ever since I first heard about it. I remember thinking: “That is what Spain needs, to change the perspective on mental disorders and psychotherapy”. Unfortunately, nowadays, the society still sees mental disorders as something strange. But, we should remember what World Health Organization says: “1 out of every 4 persons will have a mental disorder during their lives”. Or, the fact that in 2020 the depression will be the second leading cause of sick leave in the world behind cardiovascular diseases.  So, looking at this data, we, as psychology students, should try to change the stigma surrounding mental disorders. And we have the tools to do it. 2. What roles in the campaign did you have until now?       ...

We asked one of our new Local Coordinators for a quick interview! His name is Jan and he studies at the medical faculty in the Czech town - Brno. Jan is an example of the connection between psychology students and medicine students in our campaign. 1. Why did you decide to get involved into a psychological campaign? I felt that there is a lack of psychology projects in my home non-governmental organization of medical students called International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA). Furthermore, I am interested in psychology and miss this opportunity to practically use psychological knowledge during my medical studies. Plus, I perceive psychology as one of the most important subjects in medical education, because we treat people not diseases.  2. How do you feel in your role of Local Coordinator?  It is a great experience. Passing my enthusiasm to others is kind of natural for me. What I learn are the practical skills: o...