Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia are associated with overlapping symptoms of anxiety and depression. More accurate discrimination between emerging neuropsychiatric and cognitive symptoms would better assist illness detection. The potential for protection against cognitive decline and dementia following early identification and intervention of neuropsychiatric symptoms warrants investigation.

There is strong research evidence to support the pharmacological treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a second line to trauma-focused psychological interventions. Fluoxetine, paroxetine, sertraline and venlafaxine are the best-evidenced drugs, with lower-level evidence for other medications. It is important that prescribing for PTSD is evidence-based.

We explore the potential of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, a skills-based intervention that provides participants with sustainable tools for adaptive responses to stress and negative mood, for the large group of young people with depression or anxiety who only partially or briefly respond to currently available first-line interventions.

The massive burden of mental disorders adversely affects global health, economy and human rights situations. Yet research investments are shifting from psychiatry toward other more cost-effective fields of medicine. This editorial calls for conscious capitalism and prioritisation of mental health by reflecting on mental health disparities through the prism of justice.

The diagnosis of personality disorder is sometimes tolerated but often reviled as a label to attach to people we do not like. This is hardly surprising when we consider that problems in interpersonal relationships constitute the main feature of the disorder. But we cannot escape the fact that personality problems are extremely common and rejection on grounds of perceived undesirability is doltish. Both the DSM-5 (2013) alternative model and new ICD-11 classification of personality may help understanding as they are more in tune with science. Most of the previous classifications have failed to help practitioners or patients.

There is growing evidence for yoga's neurobiological effects in people with psychiatric disorders. Postulated mechanisms of action include: (a) modulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis; (b) enhancement of GABAergic neurotransmission; (c) autonomic modulation; and (d) neuroendocrinological effects. Yoga as a therapeutic intervention in psychiatric disorders appears promising and merits further attention in clinical practice and research.

Moral injury, characterised by guilt, shame and self-condemnation, is conceptualised either as an adjunct to post-traumatic stress disorder or as a new syndrome. Studies of symptoms and potentially morally injurious events have produced a possible definition and informed the design of rating scales. The current challenge remains the design of effective interventions. Because moral injury relates to ethical behaviour, the meaning attached to events and perceptions of the self, moral philosophy and spirituality could contribute to the design of treatments.

By protecting vulnerable people from poverty and debt, welfare systems can be powerful tools for promoting mental health. However, the details of how welfare systems are implemented determine whether they also cause harm. Here, we review evidence and principles that might guide the development of mental health-promoting welfare systems.

Eating disorders are prevalent, potentially lethal, and treatable, yet remain underprioritised within clinical care, research and policy. Further, with rising public health focus on obesity, there is heightened risk for inadvertent exacerbation of disordered eating and further marginalisation of these serious mental disorders. This editorial calls for corrective action.

The stigma associated with mental health problems leaves many feeling they have to ‘hide’ their difficulties. Supporting them in making disclosure decisions can potentially improve well-being, reduce self-stigma and support recovery processes. In this editorial we discuss the case for interventions designed for this purpose and present one prominent programme: Honest, Open, Proud.

Developing a realistic multifactorial model of human performance in psychiatry will better inform interventions targeting clinician overwork and burnout, which contribute to risk and error in medicine. This heralds a new approach, allowing better detection by individuals, colleagues and automated systems, to responding to degraded performance in psychiatry.

There are few topics that divide public opinion as sharply as the use of psychoactive substances and it is easy to see why. Substance use is complex and can be examined from numerous perspectives, including legal, health, economic, cultural and ethical. These varying approaches can lead to a range of different conclusions. Here we explore some of the common approaches adopted towards drug policy and suggest a number of principles, which may inform a psychiatrist's own view.

It is increasingly recognised that the preconception period is a window of opportunity to intervene to improve outcomes for women and the next generation. The importance of preconception mental health and comorbidity problems has not traditionally been taken into account by policy makers or mental health service providers. We argue that by addressing preconception physical and mental health in men and women, medical health professionals could improve health outcomes across the whole life course.