Thinking about my death when other people die
When someone close dies, it presents an opportunity to think about what it means to lose someone and what it means for them to die. But it also offers an opportunity to think about the nature of one’s own death. When other people die, I can observe what is going on...
The consumption of profits is the main driver for gambling harm
The source of harm from gambling is commonly located with the excessive consumption by a small group of people referred to as “problem gamblers”. While, certainly, the misery experienced by problem gamblers and their families are of major concern, this is not where...
Our reluctance to speak about spiritual encounters
While a sizeable proportion of people (varying between 30-60%) admit to having had some form of spiritual encounter, many struggle to speak with anyone else about them. Some might choose to avoid talking about them altogether, even to those who are closest to them....
Gambling machine rooms are designed to promote problem play
The widespread proliferation of commercial gambling machines (also variously referred to as ‘slots’, ‘fruit machines’, ‘poker machines’, ‘pokies’ or ‘electronic gambling machines’) and improvements to their design have contributed to rising levels of harm from...
New Zealand Government’s deal with Auckland casino
During 2013 New Zealand's centre-right (National) government, led by the then Prime Minister John Key, made a deal with Auckland's SkyCity casino for a number of licensing concessions with the understanding they would fund the construction of a large convention...
Addictions are powerful and perplexing
The power of addictive processes are difficult to make sense of. I recall during my early years as a clinical psychologist being asked by hospital staff to speak with a 32-year-old man addicted to alcohol who was being discharged following treatment for...
The Scot’s alcohol legislation finally made it
The most interesting aspect of the Scottish change in alcohol legislation on May 2018 is how long it took to implement its new policy. The story tracks back twelve years ago to rising public concerns in Scotland about increasing levels of drinking and...
Common tactics of pro-gun lobbyist mirror those used by the tobacco, alcohol and gambling industries
The Al Jazeera two-part documentary, How to Sell a Massacre, details discussions between senior members of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party and the (US) National Rifle Association (NRA) with the intention of obtaining funds to undermine the tight Australian gun...
Addictions only partially intersect with mental health
On January 24, 2018, the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, announced Labour’s promised government inquiry into mental health and addiction services and on November 28 the report, He Ara Oranga, was released. The whole process was good news for mental health field...
The inevitability of my own death
The main challenge in reflecting on one’s own death is the way the various aspects of death and dying are intertwined which make it difficult to discern personal mortality. First there is the prospect of me dying; of me entering whatever is in store at the end of...
Influence of unhealthy commodity industries on governments
Why, over the last fifty years, have successive governments in New Zealand, like their counterparts overseas, consistently favoured less effective interventions for tobacco, alcohol, gambling and unhealthy food and beverages over what research indicates are more...
PM’s deft use of metaphors during lockdown
Bubbles, long tails, burning embers and half-way down mountains: Jacinda Ardern’s exemplary use of metaphors during COVID 19. New Zealand’s success at containing the corona virus has benefited from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s clear communication during her...
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