BY DR RAJ PERSAUD Can the widespread emotional disturbance produced by a pandemic set off a cascade of psychological processes which inevitably result in armed conflict?The Triumph of Death painting 1562 by Pieter Bruegel the Elder – Museo del Prado, Madrid, SpainSource: Public Domain commons wikimediaAccording to the psychology of ‘scapegoating’, the experience of profoundly […]

The Crying Game? When crying is good for you, and when it isn’t. Raj Persaud and Peter Bruggen Andy Murray will be remembered for crying after his Wimbledon Final just as much for his gutsy tennis. He said, through his tears, he was getting closer to eventual victory – but is his emotional reaction revealing […]

How to tell who is lying to you – the latest psychological research – Can science help spot deception at the Leveson Inquiry? by Dr Raj Persaud and Professor Aldert Vrij Syria’s UN envoy has condemned what he called a “tsunami of lies” being told by some members of the United Nations Security Council. Bashar […]

Men in Black the movie – but Men in White would be a better film? New research finds racial bias against films with black leading actors and white supporting roles is rife amongst mainstream newspaper movie critics – resulting in an average revenue loss for these films of up to $2.57 million, per movie. by […]

Women’s SexualFantasies – the latest scientific research – World Exclusive A team of psychologistslead by a woman has uncovered some surprising findings on one of the mostsecret aspects of female sexual fantasy Dr Raj Persaud and DrJenny Bivona While almost everyone hassexual fantasies, previous research into the subject has found between 31 and62% of women […]

ARE ASIANS MORE PRONE TO SEXUAL ABUSE? RAJ PERSAUD CONSULTANT PSYCHIATRIST A gang of Asian men sexually abusing a group of white girls has planted the spotlight firmly on the issue of ethnicity – is it a factor in sexual exploitation? Linda Kalof, a sociologist from George Mason University in Virgina USA published one of […]

When doctors go on strike, patients stop dying By Dr Raj Persaud, Consultant Psychiatrist, and Dr Peter Bruggen, retired Consultant Psychiatrist As doctors vote on whether to strike in the UK, what’s the likely impact of withdrawing medical care on the health of the nation? The doctor’s union, the British Medical Association, seems to be […]

MEET THE PARENTS – BUT BEWARE IF THEY ARE ASIAN? NEW RESEARCH SHOWS THAT PARENTS INEVITABLY GET INTO CONFLICT WITH THEIR CHILDREN OVER WHO THEY SHOULD MARRY – ITS IN THE GENES RAJ PERSAUD CONSULTANT PSYCHIATRIST Although Asians in the UK, particularly younger generations, increasingly resemble the host nation in many aspects of culture and […]

THE ‘WHAT THE HELL’ EFFECT AND HOW IT EXPLAINS WHY SO MANY DIETS FAIL Dr Raj Persaud Consultant Psychiatrist A new book entitled ‘Willpower’ by psychologist Roy Baumeister and science writer John Tierney (published by Allen Lane) devotes a whole chapter to the problem of dieting. The book is about the psychology of willpower and […]

THE WEST-END SIEGE – CAN WE LEARN TO BARGAIN BETTER IF WE USE HOSTAGE NEGOTIATION TECHNIQUES? Raj Persaud and Justin Borowsky On Friday swathes of the West-End of London were closed off, causing traffic chaos throughout the city, in a highly unusual incident for the UK. The authorities were dealing with a man who appeared […]

IN SEX RESEARCH – HAS THE HOLY GRAIL AT LAST BEEN FOUND? THE G-SPOT – IS THE FUMBLING SEARCH AT LAST OVER? RAJ PERSAUD AND NICHOLAS MORRIS The front page of The Daily Telegraph, and newspapers across the world, report breathlessly the famous G-Spot has at last been uncovered. Dr Adam Ostrzenski, a Gynaecologist based […]

Inside the Mind of the Lone Wolf Killer – have the psychiatrists made the correct diagnosis of Breivik? The new psychiatric report on the mental state of suspected terrorist Anders Behring Breivik released two days ago ensures his sanity will be the key issue in the forthcoming Norway massacre trial. The report concludes that Breivik […]

On the opening day of the trial, one focus of the prosecution was the revelation that Anders Breivik played World of Warcraft, an online immersive virtual reality game, apparently almost “full-time” for a year. In a clue as to where the central argument may turn on over the next few weeks, the prosecution described this […]

YOU’RE SO VAIN YOU PROBABLY THINK THIS SONG IS ABOUT YOU The narcissist and the cosmetic surgeon. Raj Persaud Consultant Psychiatrist. Carly Simon wrote and released one of the most iconic songs of the 1970’s, and controversy has raged ever since as to who the mysterious stranger was, who ‘had one eye on the mirror’, […]

DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW RACIST THEYARE? RAJ PERSAUD CONSULTANTPSYCHIATRIST The headlines ran along these lines all over the British media – ‘ Blood pressure drug reduces in-built racism’. Everyone was getting worked up following an intriguing study by researchers at Oxford University which found that Propanolol – a frequently prescribed cheap and relatively innocuous drug […]

WHYSACHIN TENDULKAR DOES NOT WANT TO BE GOD RAJPERSAUD CONSULTANT PSYCHIATRIST SachinTendulkar has been breaking records almost from the first time he twirled acricket bat; with V.G. Kambli in 1988 he set a record as schoolboys of 664 forany partnership. He had always been mature way beyond his years in handling themental aspect of the […]

LETS STOP CALLING IT ‘HONOUR KILLING’ RAJ PERSAUD CONSULTANT PSYCHIATRIST ‘One in five young Asians think honour violence can be justified’ is a statistic which has grabbed the headlines recently. The figure comes from a poll conducted on behalf of a recent BBC Panorama documentary investigation into honour crimes. The survey of 500 Asian men […]

NEW DATA SUGGESTS SOME SURPRISING TRENDS IN DEMOGRAPHICS, RAISING TROUBLING QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT ASIAN WOMEN REALLY FEEL ABOUT LIVING IN THEIR COMMUNITIES

YouTube VideoYouTube VideoClick here to listen to podcasts for public and professionals recorded by Dr Raj Persaud for the Royal College of Psychiatrists   Click here to view books written by Dr Raj Persaud   http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2003/05_may/19/ws_travels_mind.shtmlDr Raj Persaud Biography Dr Raj Persaud is a Consultant Psychiatrist who has worked at numerous prestigious institutions in psychiatry […]

Many view those who opt for cosmetic surgery as merely vain and self-obsessed – but new evidence challenges this presumption

NEW RESEARCH CONFIRMS THAT NATURALLLY BLONDE WOMEN, CONTRARY TO THE POPULAR STEREOTYPE OF LOWERED INTELLIGENCE, ACTUALLY EARN MORE THAN WOMEN OF OTHER HAIRCOLOURS.

OUR ATTEMPTS AT SELF-CONTROL ARE AS OLD AS HISTORY – AS OUR LAPSES AND RELAPSES – WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM ODYSSEUS AND DR WILLIAM JAMES IN OUR ATTEMPTS TO GAIN MORE SELF-CONTROL?

CAN PSYCHOLOGY HELP US UNRAVEL WHY CONVINCING THE POPULATION ABOUT WHAT REALLY HAPPENED ISN’T AS STRAIGHTFORWARD AS THE WHITE HOUSE BELIEVES? CONSULTANT PSYCHIATRIST DR RAJ PERSAUD AND PROFESSOR ADRIAN FURNHAM OF UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON EXPLAIN. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE SUBJECT OF CONSPIRACY THEORIES YOU CAN TAKE PART IN A CONFIDENTIAL SURVEY DESIGNED BY PSYCHOLOGIST DR VIREN SWAMI AND COLLABORATORS HERE

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Conspiracy_Theory

When you are thinking of seeing a cosmetic surgeon is it something on the outside that needs to change, or something on the inside? Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Raj Persaud investigates.

Using the example of losing weight as a goal, Psychiatrist Dr Raj Persaud explores some new research which suggests that Fear of Success could explain why we so often persist yet fail at attaining our goals

The latest fashion appears to be for labial surgery – why?

IT’S ENTIRELY POSSIBLE TO SUFFER FROM CLINICAL DEPRESSION BUT NOT REALISE IT – SURPRISED? CONSULTANT PSYCHIATRIST RAJ PERSAUD EXPLAINS

HOW TO RESPOND WHEN WE FIND WE HAVE FALLEN SHORT OF OUR GOALS

CONSULTANT PSYCHIATRIST DR RAJ PERSAUD DISCUSSES A RECENT REVIEW OF NARCISSISM PUBLISHED AS A WARNING TO COSMETIC SURGEONS

DEBATE RAGES AS TO WHETHER AND WHY LAWYERS TEND TO BE RELATIVELY UNHAPPY. UNDERSTANDING THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HAPPINESS AND ALSO THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SUCCESS REVEALS SOME OF THE ANSWERS TO THE MYSTERY OF WHY OFTEN SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE END UP BEING UNHAPPY. ARE THERE SECRETS TO HAPPINESS THAT LAWYERS AND THE REST OF US COULD LEARN FROM?

NEW RESEARCH INVESTIGATING THOSE WOMEN WHO FEEL ULTRA POSITIVE ABOUT THEIR BODIES FINDS THAT THEY WOULDN’T GO NEAR A COSMETIC SURGEON FOR SOME SURPRISING PSYCHOLOGICAL REASONS

YOU MAY BELIEVE YOU ARE SLAVE TO THE CLOCK – IT WAKES YOU UP AND TELLS YOU WHEN TO BE AT WORK, RETURN HOME, HAVE LUNCH, MEET THE FAMILY AND SO ON. BUT THERE IS ANOTHER CLOCK LYING IN YOUR BRAIN WHICH HAS MUCH MORE INFLUENCE OVER YOUR BODY AND MIND THAN YOU MAY REALISE

THE CENTRE FOR MENTAL HEALTH HAS PRODUCED A NEW ANALYSIS OF COSTS WHICH FINDS THAT THE BIGGEST EXPENSE TO SOCIETY OF MENTAL ILLNESS IS NOT IN FACT THE IMPACT ON EMPLOYMENT, CLAIMING BENEFITS OR EVEN THE COST TO THE HEALTH SERVICE…

HIGH RATES OF VARIOUS DISORDERS OF BODY IMAGE, SUCH AS EATING DISORDERS, AND THE DIFFICULTY TREATING THEM, COULD HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE WAY WOMEN INTEPRET FEEDBACK ABOUT THEIR LOOKS FROM OTHERS. WE KNOW THAT WHAT IS INTERPRETED AS TEASING OFTENTIMES PRECIPITATES A SPIRAL DOWNWARDS IN TERMS OF LOW MOOD AND SEEKING UNWARRANTED PROCEDURES. CONSULTANT PSYCHIATRIST DR RAJ PERSAUD REPORTS ON NEW RESEARCH DUE TO BE PUBLISHED SHORTLY WHICH EXAMINES THE ISSUE FEEDBACK ON APPEARANCE. SO – DO YOU KNOW HOW TO GIVE A COMPLIMENT?

Transcipt of lecture given by Professor Raj Persaud FRCPsych, Consultant Psychiatrist, at the FACE national conference at the Royal College of Physicians, Regents Park, London, UK, in July 2010. The transcript contains interaction between the lecturer and the audience.

RESULTS OF A SURVEY OF DOCTORS ON THEIR EXPERIENCE OF ATTITUDE TO MEDICAL ERROR

The England Football Team are subject to ‘blame and punish’ as a widespread attitude to error on the football field – but just how helpful is this in assisting any team to achieve better in the future? If it doesn’t work in sports – why do the managers of doctors believe it will work in the clinic? Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Raj Persaud explores the thorny issue of what to do about underperformance on both off and on the substitutes bench.

PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH SUGGESTS THAT THE KIND OF POLICY ANIMAL CURRENTLY TRYING SO HARD TO MAKE A UK POLITICAL MARRIAGE WORK, COULD BE DELUDING THEMSELVES.

HOW COME NICK CLEGG AND THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS CRASHED FROM LEADING THE POLLS AT ONE STAGE AND THEN ENDED UP WITH FEWER SEATS THIS TIME AROUND THAN AT THE LAST UK GENERAL ELECTION? DOES PSYCHOLOGY HAVE THE ANSWER?

RAJ PERSAUD CONSULTANT PSYCHIATRIST

CAN THE SCIENCE OF PSYCHOLOGY TELL YOU WHAT EACH CANDIDATE REALLY THOUGHT ON THURSDAY NIGHT? APRIL 15TH ELECTORAL TELEVISED DEBATE UK ELECTION

DR RAJ PERSAUD, CONSULTANT PSYCHIATRIST, CONSULTS WITH AN AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGIST SPECIALISINGI IN LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS, PROFESSOR JAMES PENNEBAKER, TO UNCOVER THE TRUTH BEHIND THE VERBAL JOUSTING

THE SECOND IN A SERIES OF ARTICLES WHERE DR RAJ PERSAUD, A UK CONSULTANT PSYCHIATRIST COLLABORATES WITH PROFESOR JAMES PENNEBAKER, A US PSYCHOLOGIST TO READ BETWEEN THE LINES AND PEER INSIDE THE MIND OF THE POLITICIANS DURING THE TELEVISED TV DEBATE SERIES IN THE UK ELECTION 2010

REPORTS THE RESULTS OF A UNIQUE EXPERIMENT CONDUCTED AT THE EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE FESTIVAL THAT MEASURED WHAT THE ACTUAL IMPACT OF WATCHING TWO WELL KNOWN CLIMATE CHANGE FILMS WERE ON THE PUBLIC

DOES THE EMOTIONAL ABSENCE OF PAUL DIRAC’S FATHER SUGGEST THAT A TOUGH CHILDHOOD WITHOUT PARENTS HELPS PRODUCE OUTSTANDING ABILITY?

DR RAJ PERSAUD IS A CONSULTANT PSYCHIATRIST WORKING IN THE UK NHS AS WELL AS PRIVATE PRACTICE AND SEES IN HIS PRIVATE PRACTICE POSSIBLY MORE PHYSICIANS THAN ANY OTHER PSYCHIATRIST IN THE UK. HERE HE WRITES A SHORT SYNOPSIS BASED ON HIS CLINICAL EXPERIENCE ON PART OF THE SECRET OF HOW TO BE HAPPY AND FULFILLED MEDIC.

A new study about the astouding level of medical bankruptcy in the USA should lead to pause for thought for policy makers elsewhere in the world when considering how to provide health care for their citizens. Dr Raj Persaud, Consultant Psychiatrist writes.