John Wanjiru

02/10/2026

How Finland halved male su***de rates.
What works in su***de prevention.

🤔 Do you know that Finland has the highest Gross National Happiness (GNH)?

Finland once experienced a sharp rise in su***de rates.

In response, the country developed the “Finland Su***de Prevention Project”

The project began in 1986, with a pivotal research phase known as “Su***de in Finland 1987.”

This comprehensive approach helped identify patterns, missed opportunities, and vulnerabilities within health & social systems.

𝘾𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨
1. 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙬𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝
→ Every su***de was systematically investigated across the country.

𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒆: A psychological autopsy of 1,397 completed su***des was conducted.
This involves a careful evaluation of the life of the deceased by mental health professionals to identify individual, clinical, social, and systemic vulnerabilities.

→ The findings generated a national evidence base for su***de prevention.

2. 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜
→ Primary-care doctors and other healthcare professionals received training to recognize depression and mental-health disorders.
→ Earlier recognition created opportunities for intervention before su***de.

3. 𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙡 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨
→ Measures were introduced to reduce access to highly lethal methods.

4. 𝘾𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨
→ Modern psychiatric treatment was more widely implemented.
→ Antidepressant treatment (SSRIs) and other treatment approaches became increasingly available.

5. 𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜
→ Media practices around reporting su***de were changed.
→ The objective was to reduce harmful contagion effects and promote more responsible public communication.

Let's talk 💬

💡 𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒆: The same neuroplasticity that allows for maladaptive changes also allows for adaptive changes.

DM: Are you a mental health professional and need a ghostwriter? I offer ghostwriting services for research-oriented writing✍️

D.M: Am an adept mental health and wellness researcher, writer and trainer

♻️ 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘦share, 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 💡
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***deprevention

29/09/2026

29/09/2026

Words are the abracadabra of the human species.

With articulation, one is able to bring into being the contents of one’s mind....

𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰, 𝘥𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘦𝘴,
T𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 😲, 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵. 𝘞𝘰𝘸! 1,475+💚 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘓𝘦𝘵'𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘵 1500.

presents 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨

🔗👇 https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/nature-words-john-wanjiru--b3ajf

📌 Injecting playful lexicon, humor, storytelling and simplicity to articulate the subject to 𝒚𝒐𝒖

PS: series is 𝑨𝑰 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆

D.M: Am an adept mental health and wellness researcher, writer and trainer.

♻️ 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘦share, 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 💡
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25/09/2026

Change is a verb.
Habit formation takes 66 days and not 21 days.

🤔 Why is it that most people never change?
Why is it that you consume motivation but never change?

→Developing and sustaining a new set of behaviour is a process.
→The brain has to set up the infrastructure to enable a new habit or habit change.

The brain is plastic (neuroplasticity), which allows you to:
→ Learn
→ Unlearn
→ Relearn

Stages of Change (Based on Motivational Interviewing Theory)

1. 𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣
→ No insight into your problem
→ Still in denial
→ Not considering change, e.g. unawareness of the problematic effects of your scrolling habits.

2. 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣
→ Have insight into your problem
→ You are thinking about change but are still ambivalent.
𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒆: Change requires both mental and physical energy. Change means that you will need to rewire some brain connections, weaken some, and prune others through your deliberate actions.

3. 𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙩𝒊𝒐𝒏
→ Making plans to change
→ E.g. buying some books and planning which social media platforms you don’t want to use.

4. 𝘼𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣
→ Actively making changes
→ Deliberate attention and effort towards the new behaviour
→ E.g. deleting some social apps.

5. 𝙈𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚
→ Sustaining the change over time, often involving deliberate efforts.

𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒆:
→ Research by Dr. Phillippa Lally shows that it takes an average of 66 days to learn a new habit, not 21 days as people say.
→ It’s important to consider that rarely does anyone fit the average; the actual range was between 18–254 days.

💡 𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒆: The same neuroplasticity that allows for maladaptive changes also allows for adaptive changes.

𝙄𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙩: Matt Talbot Recovery

DM: Are you a mental health professional and need a ghostwriter? I offer ghostwriting services for research-oriented writing✍️

D.M: Am an adept mental health and wellness researcher, writer and trainer

♻️ 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘦share, 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 💡
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22/09/2026

Stress, too, compounds.
Chronic stress is a silent killer.

Please learn to learn to identify your chronic stressors before they become chronic illnesses.

𝙏𝙤𝙥 10 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙘 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙨
1. 𝙇𝙤𝙬 𝙨𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙤𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙘 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙨
Persistent financial strain, poverty, and limited access to resources are chronic sources of stress.

2. 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙘 𝙟𝙤𝙗 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙪𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩
Persistent uncertainty about employment, income can maintain psychological distress.

3. 𝘼𝙙𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨
High demands, low control, and inadequate rewards can contribute to burnout. E.g. working under a boss you hate.

4. 𝙇𝙤𝙣𝙜-𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜
E.g. caring for someone with a chronic illness or disability can drain individual resources and lead to burnout.

5. 𝙀𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮-𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙮
Childhood trauma, abuse, and neglect can affect the development and regulation of stress-response systems i.e a hyperactive HPA axis.

6. 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣
Persistent marital conflict and ongoing interpersonal distress can become chronic stressors, e.g.
→Being in a toxic marriage
→Having a bully in school or the workplace.

7. 𝙎𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨
Lack of meaningful social connection and social support can contribute to prolonged psychological distress.

8. 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣
Discrimination based on race, gender, or social position can function as a persistent psychosocial stressor.

9. 𝙇𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙘𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙘 𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨
Persistent pain, complex treatment demands, and uncertainty about one's health is a source of distress.

10. 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙍𝙪𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣
Repetitive rumination about the past and catastrophic anticipation of the future can prolong physiological distress.
𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒆:
→Chronic stress → repeated physiological activation and psychological distress → impacts mental and physical health.
→Chronically elevated cortisol (stress hormone) is linked to metabolic disorders, e.g. hypertension, anxiety, and depression.

💡 𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒆: The same neuroplasticity that allows for maladaptive changes also allows for adaptive changes.

DM: Are you a mental health professional and need a ghostwriter? I offer ghostwriting services for research-oriented writing✍️

D.M: Am an adept mental health and wellness researcher, writer and trainer

♻️ 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘦share, 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 💡
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21/09/2026

Understand Bipolar disorder:
How Bipolar depression develops.

Bipolar depression is a complex mood disorder characterised by episodes of depression and mania or hypomania.

🤔 How does bipolar disorder develop?

Causes
1. 𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙫𝙪𝙡𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮
→ Family and twin studies show that genetics account for 40%–80% of the risk.
→ The risk is polygenic (multiple genes).

𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒆: Genes don’t determine the disorder on their own. They interact with environmental and developmental factors.

2. 𝙉𝙚𝙪𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙮𝙨𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣
→ Dopamine pathways (reward & motivation).
→ Serotonin pathways (mood and sleep).
→ Norepinephrine signalling (focus, attention, and energy).

𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒆: High levels are associated with manic/hypomanic episodes, and low levels are associated with depression.

3. 𝙉𝙚𝙪𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙧𝙘𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙙𝙮𝙨𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣
Neuroimaging studies have identified structural and functional differences in BD patients:
→ Alterations in the prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex.
→ Altered connectivity between prefrontal and limbic regions affects emotional regulation.
→ Studies have reported increased ventricular volume and decreased gray matter.

Risk Factors
1. 𝙁𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮
→ Having a first-degree relative with BD increases vulnerability.

2. 𝙀𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮-𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙮
→ Childhood trauma can increase vulnerability.

3. 𝙎𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙥 + 𝙘𝙞𝙧𝙘𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙧𝙝𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙢 𝙙𝙮𝙨𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣
→ Sleep and circadian rhythms are closely connected to mood regulation.
→ Disrupted sleep can worsen mood regulation.

4. 𝙎𝙪𝙗𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙚
→ Alcohol and drugs can trigger or worsen mood episodes.
→ Substance use can also complicate diagnosis and treatment.

5. 𝙋𝙨𝙮𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨
→ Major life events and prolonged stress can trigger episodes in vulnerable individuals.

Treatment
1. 𝙋𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙘𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙮
→ Mood stabilisers and antipsychotic medication.
→ Treatment aims to stabilise mood and reduce relapse.

2. 𝙋𝙨𝙮𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨
→ Psychoeducation.
→ Cognitive behavioural therapy.
→ Interpersonal and social rhythm therapy.
→ Sleep and routine stabilisation.
→Family therapy

📌They help to improve self-management, treatment adherence, and relapse prevention.

Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dMbrwxGC

💡 𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒆: The same neuroplasticity that allows for maladaptive changes also allows for adaptive changes.

DM: Are you a mental health professional and need a ghostwriter? I offer ghostwriting services for research-oriented writing✍️

D.M: Am an adept mental health and wellness researcher, writer and trainer

♻️ 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘦share, 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 💡
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17/09/2026

Learn skills.
Learn to self-educate.
Practice to upskill.
Hone interconnected skills.
Transform your life.
Create opportunities.
And increase your earning potential.
Skills and upskilling creates liberty.