Menopause Medically

Menopause is a point in time when a person has gone 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period. Menopause is a natural part of aging and marks the end of your reproductive years. On average, menopause happens at age 52.




Lynn Pattimakiel, MD, explains the common symptoms associated with menopause and the importance of monitoring them.

What is menopause?

Menopause is a point in time when you’ve gone 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period. It happens, on average, at age 52. It’s a natural process that occurs when your ovaries stop producing reproductive hormones. When menopause happens due to surgery or medical treatment, it’s called induced menopause.

Hormonal changes due to menopause can cause uncomfortable physical and emotional symptoms. There are treatments available to help with symptoms of menopause, like hormone therapy, medication or lifestyle adjustments.
What are the three stages of menopause?

Menopause is the permanent ending of menstruation. If it doesn’t happen because of any type of medical treatment or surgery, the process is gradual and happens in three stages:Perimenopause or “menopause transition:” Perimenopause can begin eight to 10 years before menopause when your ovaries gradually produce less and less estrogen. It usually starts when you’re in your 40s. You can be in perimenopause for several months or several years. Many people begin feeling symptoms like irregular periods, hot flashes and mood swings in perimenopause.
Menopause: Menopause is the point when you no longer have menstrual periods. At this stage, your ovaries don’t release eggs, and your body doesn’t produce much estrogen. A healthcare provider diagnoses menopause when you’ve gone without a period for 12 consecutive months. Unlike the other stages, menopause itself is a defined moment, so you don’t stay in this stage.
Postmenopause: This is the time after menopause. You stay in postmenopause for the rest of your life. While most symptoms of menopause ease up in postmenopause, you can continue to have mild menopausal symptoms for several years in postmenopause. People in the postmenopausal phase are at an increased risk for osteoporosis and heart disease due to low estrogen levels.
What is premature menopause?

Menopause, when it occurs between the ages of 45 and 55, is considered “natural” and is a normal part of aging. Menopause that occurs before the age of 45 is called early menopause. Menopause that occurs at 40 or younger is considered premature menopause. When there’s no medical or surgical cause for premature menopause, it’s called primary ovarian insufficiency.
What is the average age for menopause?

The average age of menopause in the United States is 52 years old. But the transition to menopause usually begins in your mid-40s.
How long does menopause last?

Menopause is a point in time, so you don’t stay in menopause. You reach it when you haven’t gotten a menstrual period for one year. Immediately after you reach menopause, you move into postmenopause. This stage lasts for the rest of your life.


Symptoms and Causes
There are several symptoms that may mean you’re transitioning into menopause.

What are the signs of menopause?

You may be transitioning into menopause if you begin experiencing some or all of the following symptoms:Irregular periods or periods that are heavier or lighter than usual
Hot flashes, also known as vasomotor symptoms (a sudden feeling of warmth that spreads over your body)
Night sweats and/or cold flashes
Vaginal dryness that causes discomfort during sex
Urinary urgency (a pressing need to pee more frequently)
Difficulty sleeping (insomnia)
Emotional changes (irritability, mood swings or depression)
Dry skin, dry eyes or dry mouth
Worsening premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
Breast tenderness

Some people might also experience:Racing heart
Headaches
Joint and muscle aches and pains
Changes in libido (sex drive)
Difficulty concentrating or memory lapses (often temporary)
Weight gain
Hair loss or thinning

Changes in your hormone levels cause these symptoms. Some people have intense symptoms of menopause, while others have mild symptoms. Not everyone will have the same symptoms as they transition to menopause.

Contact a healthcare provider if you’re unsure if your symptoms are related to menopause or another health condition.
How long do you have symptoms of menopause?

You can have symptoms of menopause for up to 10 years before it officially occurs. The average length of menopause symptoms is about seven years. Most women say their symptoms ease up or disappear completely once they reach postmenopause.
What makes menopause symptoms worse?

It depends on your symptoms. For example, if hot flashes and sweating are your main symptoms, you may want to avoid warm environments or stop eating spicy foods. If you have symptoms like anxiety or insomnia, you may find that relaxing activities like yoga or reading before bed help calm your mind and lead to a more peaceful sleep.

Some women find keeping a journal of symptoms helps them identify what causes their symptoms to worsen. Then, you can take steps to avoid certain activities that make your menopause symptoms worse.
How do I know if I’m in menopause?

You’ll know you’ve reached menopause when you’ve gone 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period. Contact your healthcare provider if you have any type of vaginal bleeding after menopause. Vaginal bleeding after menopause could be a sign of a more serious health issue.
Why does menopause happen?

When menopause happens on its own (natural menopause), it’s a normal part of aging. Menopause is defined as a complete year without menstrual bleeding, in the absence of any surgery or medical condition that may cause bleeding to stop, like hormonal birth control, chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Surgical removal of your ovaries will result in menopause if your surgeon removes both ovaries.

As you age, your reproductive cycle begins to slow down and prepares to stop. This cycle has been continuously functioning since puberty. As menopause nears, your ovaries make less estrogen. When this decrease occurs, your menstrual cycle (period) starts to change. It can become irregular and then stop.

Physical changes can also happen as your body adapts to different hormone levels. The symptoms you experience during each stage of menopause are all part of your body’s adjustment to these changes.
What hormonal changes happen during menopause?

The traditional changes we think of as “menopause” happen when your ovaries no longer produce high levels of hormones. Your ovaries produce the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Together, estrogen and progesterone control menstruation. Estrogen also influences how your body uses calcium and maintains cholesterol levels in your blood.

As menopause nears, your ovaries no longer release eggs, and you’ll have your last menstrual cycle.

Diagnosis and Tests

How is menopause diagnosed?

There are several ways your healthcare provider can diagnose menopause. The first is discussing your menstrual cycle over the last year. Menopause is unique in that your provider will diagnose it after it occurs. If you’ve gone a full year (12 straight months) without a period, you’ve entered menopause and are postmenopausal.

Blood tests that check certain hormone levels can suggest that you’ve reached menopause. Usually, though, blood work isn’t necessary. In some situations, blood tests can be misleading because so many hormonal fluctuations occur during the perimenopause stage. Your provider may want to check hormone levels if they suspect an underlying health condition may be causing your symptoms.

Management and Treatment

What are treatments for menopause?

Menopause is a natural process that your body goes through. In some cases, you may not need any treatment for it. When discussing treatment for menopause with your healthcare provider, it’s about treating the symptoms of menopause that disrupt your life. There are many different types of treatments for managing menopause symptoms. The main types are:Hormone therapy (HT). A term used for hormones offered to those going through menopause at natural ages (after age 45).
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The word replacement is added when using hormones to treat menopause which occurs at a young age, especially before age 40.
Nonhormonal treatments.

It’s important to talk to your provider while you’re going through menopause to craft a treatment plan that works for you. Every person is different and has unique needs. People experiencing menopause before age 40 should be offered hormone replacement therapy, except in rare circumstances (such as a personal history of breast cancer at a young age).
What is hormone therapy for menopause like?

During menopause, your body goes through major hormonal changes — decreasing the amount of hormones it makes. When your ovaries no longer make enough estrogen and progesterone, hormone therapy can make up for lost hormones. Hormone therapy boosts your hormone levels and can help with symptoms like hot flashes and vaginal dryness. It can also help prevent osteoporosis.

There are two main types of hormone therapy:Estrogen therapy (ET): In this treatment, you take estrogen alone. Your provider prescribes it in a low dose. Estrogen comes in many forms, such as a patch, pill, cream, vaginal ring, gel or spray. Estrogen therapy can’t be used alone (without a progestogen) if you still have a uterus.
Estrogen progestogen therapy (EPT): This treatment is also called combination therapy because it uses doses of estrogen and a hormone similar to progesterone. Progesterone is available in its natural form or also as a progestin (a synthetic form of progesterone). Progestogen is a general name for treatments that can include both natural progesterone and synthetic progestins. This type of hormone therapy is for those who still have their uteruses.

There are risks to hormone therapy. Talk to your provider about the risks and benefits and whether hormone therapy is an option for you based on your health history, age and other factors.
What are nonhormonal treatments for menopause?

Though hormone therapy is an effective method for relieving menopause symptoms, it’s not the perfect treatment for everyone. Nonhormonal treatments include things like lifestyle changes and nonhormonal medications. These treatments are often good options for women who have medical reasons to avoid estrogen, including a personal history of blood clots or receiving breast cancer treatment. Some of the nonhormonal treatments that your provider may recommend include:Changing what you eat
Avoiding triggers to hot flashes
Getting regular physical activity or exercise
Joining support groups
Prescription medications
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
Hypnotherapy
Changing what you eat and drink

Sometimes, changing what you eat can help relieve menopause symptoms. Limiting the amount of caffeine you consume daily and cutting back on spicy foods can make your hot flashes less severe. You can also eat more foods that contain phytoestrogens (nutrients that have estrogen-like properties in the human body). Foods to try include:Soybeans
Chickpeas
Lentils
Flaxseed
Grains
Beans
Fruits
Vegetables
Avoiding triggers for hot flashes

Certain things in your daily life may trigger hot flashes. To help relieve your symptoms, try to identify these triggers and work around them. This could include keeping your bedroom cool at night, wearing layers of clothing or quitting smoking. Maintaining a weight that’s healthy for you can also help with hot flashes.
Exercising

Exercise can be difficult if you’re dealing with hot flashes, but getting regular physical activity can help relieve several other symptoms of menopause. Any type of physical activity is good for you, even yard work or swimming laps in a pool. Calm, tranquil types of movement like yoga can also help with your mood and relieve anxiety.
Joining support groups

Talking to other women who are also transitioning to menopause can be a great relief for many people. Joining a support group can give you an outlet for the many emotions running through your head and may also help answer questions you may not even know you have. Be careful about joining groups that are not led by a menopause specialist.
Taking prescription medications

There are nonhormonal prescriptions you can get from your healthcare provider that improve menopause symptoms. Some of them are:Birth control pills to help balance hormones
Antidepressants (SSRIs and SNRIs) to manage symptoms like mood swings and hot flashes
Gabapentin (a seizure medication) or fezolinetant to treat hot flashes
Oxybutynin. A medication for overactive bladder that also treats hot flashes
Vaginal creams and lubricants to help with vaginal dryness

Speak with your provider to see if nonhormonal medications could help manage symptoms.

Outlook / Prognosis

What is the best thing to do for menopause?

Everyone experiences menopause differently. Because it’s so unique, there isn’t one best thing you can do for it. There are many different approaches to treating bothersome symptoms of menopause. What works for you may not work for your sister or best friend.

Talk to your healthcare provider about your symptoms and let them recommend what’s best based on your situation.
What are the health risks of menopause?

You’re at higher risk for conditions like osteoporosis and cardiovascular diseases after menopause. This is mainly due to low estrogen levels. Your healthcare provider may want to keep a close eye on your health to make sure your risk levels for these conditions isn’t too high. They may even prescribe treatment as necessary.
Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis occurs when the insides of your bones become less dense, making them more fragile and likely to fracture. Estrogen plays an important role in preserving bone mass. Estrogen signals cells in the bones to stop breaking down.

On average, you'll lose 25% of your bone mass from the time of menopause to age 60. This is largely because of the loss of estrogen. Your healthcare provider may want to test the strength of your bones over time. Bone mineral density testing, also called bone densitometry, is a quick way to see how much calcium you have in certain parts of your bones.
Cardiovascular diseases

After menopause, your risk for cardiovascular disease tends to increase because of several things, including:The loss of estrogen
Increased blood pressure
Certain lifestyle habits like smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol or eating unhealthy foods (if these habits apply to you)
A decrease in physical activity, which can lead to high cholesterol and other conditions (depending on your activity levels after menopause)

Living With

When should I see my healthcare provider?

Contact your healthcare provider if symptoms of menopause are bothering you and affecting your quality of life. Most women begin the transition to menopause with mild symptoms like irregular periods or changes to their typical menstrual cycle. But symptoms can become severe and interrupt your daily life. Your provider can recommend treatments to help ease your symptoms.

Irregular vaginal bleeding can sometimes be a sign of other health conditions. Your healthcare provider may want to be sure menopause is causing your symptoms. You should contact your provider as a precaution if you have any of the following symptoms:Your periods become much heavier than usual.
You pass several large blood clots (larger than a quarter).
You have your period for longer than seven days.
The length of time between your periods is less than 21 days.
You skip periods before the age of 45.
You bleed or spot between periods.
You bleed after sex.
What questions should I ask my healthcare provider?

Some questions you may want to ask your provider include:How do I know when I’ve reached menopause?
What kind of treatments will help my symptoms?
Is hormone therapy an option for me?
How long should I expect my symptoms to last?
Do you recommend any lifestyle changes?
How do I know that this is menopause and not something else?

Additional Common Questions

Can I get pregnant during menopause?

Yes. Until you know for sure that you’ve completed menopause, there’s a chance of pregnancy. If you don’t want to become pregnant, continue to use some form of birth control until you’re sure you’ve gone through menopause.
Can menopause affect sleep?

Yes, you can experience trouble sleeping during menopause. This can be a normal side effect of menopause itself, or it could be due to another symptom of menopause. Hot flashes are a common culprit of sleepless nights during menopause.
Can menopause affect my sex life?

Yes, it can. Your declining hormone levels may affect how pleasurable sex is to you. Symptoms like vaginal dryness can make sex painful or uncomfortable. Not all women experience a decreased sexual desire. In some cases, it’s just the opposite. This could be because there’s no longer any fear of getting pregnant like there was before menopause. For many, this allows them to enjoy sex without worrying about family planning.

Don’t be afraid to talk to your healthcare provider about your sex drive or how sex feels. Your provider will discuss options to help you feel better.
Does menopause cause weight gain?

It may. Hormone changes can impact your weight. For example, you may start to lose muscle as you get older, which can affect how your body gains weight.
Are there any emotional changes that can happen during menopause?

Menopause can cause a variety of emotional changes, including:A lack of motivation and difficulty concentrating
Anxiety, depression, mood changes and tension
Aggressiveness and irritability

These emotional changes can happen outside of menopause, too. You’ve probably experienced some of them throughout your life.

Your healthcare provider may be able to prescribe a medication to help you. It may also help to just know that there’s a name for the feelings you’re experiencing. Support groups and counseling are useful tools when dealing with emotional changes during menopause.

During your conversation, your provider will tell you about different treatment types and check to make sure there isn’t another medical condition causing your depression.
Do men go through menopause?

Andropause, or male menopause, is a term that describes decreasing testosterone levels in men. Testosterone production in men declines about 1% per year — much more gradually than estrogen production in women. Healthcare providers often debate calling this slow decline in testosterone “menopause” since it’s not as drastic of a hormone shift and doesn’t carry the same intensity of side effects. Some men won’t even notice the change because it happens over many years or decades. Other names for the male version of menopause are age-related low testosterone, male hypogonadism or androgen deficiency.
A note from Cleveland Clinic


Menopause is a natural and normal part of the aging process. But knowing it’s going to happen doesn’t make it easier. The physical and emotional symptoms of menopause can be challenging and uncomfortable for many people. Fortunately, there are many treatments available to help you deal with the disruptive symptoms of menopause.

You don’t have to cope with menopause alone. Talk to your healthcare provider about the symptoms you’re experiencing and how they impact your quality of life. They can recommend treatments to manage your symptoms and make you feel better.

SOURCE:

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21841-menopause(accessed 30.4.26)

10 Tips to take care of an elderly person at home

The provision of care is not carried out exclusively in the home environment but extends to different public and private institutions, however, family care is one of the scenarios where it is most visible and common.

Undoubtedly, caring for another represents a great challenge that only with teamwork and with the full awareness that a single person cannot solve everything, better conditions can be built for both caregivers and dependents. Here are 10 tips for caring for an elderly person at home.
Carry out a needs assessment

You must start from reality, you have to list what the needs of your family member are, as well as the resources available to face them. Once what is needed has been established, a realistic action plan will be drawn up of what each family member can contribute, as well as looking for the means and people to facilitate the process.
Make family agreements

When your family member begins to become dependent, it is necessary to reach family agreements regarding the responsibilities that each child will take on. Disagreements and friction are common, the recommendation is to establish a family meeting to openly discuss the expectations, possibilities, and responsibilities that each of the members must meet with the objective of strengthening family ties.

If it is difficult to reach these agreements, we recommend you go to a professional who can guide you to make the process of adaptation and change in family dynamics positive and constructive.
Assemble a good team of professionals to support

Generally, an elderly person presents various pathologies, the most advisable thing is to have a Geriatrician who can guide them as a family in the care and treatment of their relative.

If you require personalized assistance and support to carry out activities of daily living, consider the option of hiring an assistance service for the elderly in your home, in case you require advanced medical care contact a nursing service.
Establish a daily routine for your family member

It is advisable to have a schedule for each activity during the day, from breakfast, personal hygiene, recreational and social activities, among others, so that our family member gets used to doing them without problems. Having a structured routine helps to keep their activities in order, making our family members feel safe in addition to promoting the person to keep their sleep and wake schedules; and be always physically and mentally active.
Establish a safety plan

In an elderly person, the risks of accidents are increased as their senses begin to diminish, we recommend making a list of some risk factors and taking actions in this regard.

One of the dangers older adults continually face is falling. To prevent this from happening, you need to make a review of the living space of your family member and remove obstacles, rugs, fragile tables where he can trip. Modifications must also be made in certain critical areas such as the bathroom, where support bars must be installed and slip-resistant mats must be installed. It is essential to have good lighting and free spaces to be able to circulate easily.

If your family member has cognitive impairment, you should anticipate that he may leave the home and get lost in the surroundings, for this we recommend keeping the door locked and providing him with identification that he can wear all day.
Keep a record of medications

It is common for the elderly to consume several medications and may become confused and double their dose, on the other hand, there is a tendency towards self-medication, this is very dangerous and, therefore, it is necessary for you, as a family member, to take control of the situation. We recommend that you keep the daily control of each medication in a notebook or log and use controlled pillboxes.
Establish an eating plan

In advanced age, there is a tendency to consume less food since it is of only one type. Eating a balanced diet is recommended to prevent any health problems in addition to helping your family member to become physically and mentally strong.
Help him stay physically and cognitively active

Immobility and memory disorders must be prevented. We can promote activity with a simple daily walk, hobbies, or activities within the home that motivate your family member to continue an active and healthy life.

Memory tends to decline with age that is why we must help them to have tools to stimulate their mind such as puzzles, riddles, word searches, crossword puzzles, among others. Let us always be aware that they can learn new things every day.
Help him stay socially connected

It is important to promote socialization with our family members and allow interaction not only with family but with close circles of friends. This will help them continue to live a quality life and give them the opportunity to set new goals, new interests, and lifestyles in order to feel more fulfilled.
Provide affection, attention, and details

At the end of the day, the most important thing is the affection and love that we can give our family members. Perhaps there will be material needs that are difficult to meet, but the time, the details, and the affection that we give them every day will make them feel happy and loved no matter the conditions in which they are.

SOURCE:

https://awoc.org/diet/10-tips-to-take-care-of-an-elderly-person-at-home/(accessed 28.04.26)

Smashed: Γιατί η πρόληψη της ανήλικης κατανάλωσης αλκοόλ ξεκινά από την εκπαίδευση

Γιώτα Καλλιπολίτου
7 Απριλίου 2026



Σε μια περίοδο όπου η πρόληψη της ανήλικης κατανάλωσης αλκοόλ αποτελεί βασική προτεραιότητα δημόσιας υγείας, η DIAGEO παρουσίασε το πρόγραμμα Smashed, το οποίο υλοποιείται με τη στήριξη του Υπουργείου Υγείας, συμβάλλοντας στην ενίσχυση των εθνικών στόχων για την πρόληψη και την προαγωγή της δημόσιας υγείας.


Το διεθνώς αναγνωρισμένο και πιστοποιημένο εκπαιδευτικό πρόγραμμα υλοποιείται στην Ελλάδα από το 2021, μέσω των εκδοχών Smashed Online και Smashed Live, έχοντας ήδη προσεγγίσει περισσότερους από 16.000 εφήβους 13–17 ετών σε όλη τη χώρα. Μέσα από μια διαδραστική παράσταση που παρουσιάζει την ιστορία τριών εφήβων, οι μαθητές δεν παρακολουθούν απλώς, αλλά συμμετέχουν ενεργά, ταυτίζονται και καλούνται να πάρουν θέση απέναντι σε πραγματικά διλήμματα που συνδέονται με την κατανάλωση αλκοόλ και την πίεση της εφηβείας.



Το 2026 σηματοδοτεί ένα νέο κεφάλαιο για το πρόγραμμα με το «Smashed Theater». Πρόκειται για μια μόνιμη θεατρική παραγωγή με την σκηνοθεσία και την καλλιτεχνική επιμέλεια του Θεάτρου Τέχνης, που μεταφέρει την πρόληψη σε έναν ζωντανό χώρο πολιτισμού, ενισχύοντας περαιτέρω το εύρος και τη βιωματική διάσταση της εμπειρίας.

Η επίδραση του προγράμματος στην Ελλάδα αποτυπώνεται σε σαφή, μετρήσιμα και πιστοποιημένα αποτελέσματα, βάσει ερωτηματολογίων που συμπληρώνονται πριν και μετά την παρακολούθησή του. Το 63% των μαθητών δηλώνει αλλαγή στάσης απέναντι στο αλκοόλ, ενώ καταγράφεται σημαντική βελτίωση σε κρίσιμους δείκτες γνώσης και συμπεριφοράς: η κατανόηση των κινδύνων της κατανάλωσης από ανηλίκους αυξάνεται από 41% σε 76%, η ικανότητα λήψης υπεύθυνων αποφάσεων από 40% σε 80%, ενώ το ποσοστό των μαθητών που γνωρίζουν πού και πώς να αναζητήσουν βοήθεια αυξάνεται από 32% σε 87%.



Η Δρ. Φωτεινή Κουλούρη, Προϊσταμένη Γενικής Διεύθυνσης Δημόσιας Υγείας και Ποιότητας Ζωής του Υπουργείου Υγείας, δήλωσε: « Η πρόληψη δεν αποτελεί απλώς έναν τομέα πολιτικής, αλλά θεμελιώδη πυλώνα της Δημόσιας Υγείας και στρατηγική επένδυση στο μέλλον της κοινωνίας. Η Πολιτεία προχωρά με συνέπεια και αποφασιστικότητα στην ενίσχυση του πλαισίου προστασίας των ανηλίκων, μέσα από σύγχρονες νομοθετικές πρωτοβουλίες και καινοτόμα εργαλεία, όπως η ψηφιακή πιστοποίηση ηλικίας, που διασφαλίζουν την ουσιαστική εφαρμογή των κανόνων τόσο στον φυσικό όσο και στον ψηφιακό χώρο. Η ουσιαστική πρόληψη ξεκινά από την εκπαίδευση και την καλλιέργεια δεξιοτήτων ζωής, που επιτρέπουν στους νέους να σκέφτονται κριτικά, να αναγνωρίζουν τους κινδύνους και να προβαίνουν σε συνειδητές επιλογές. Σε αυτό το πλαίσιο, προγράμματα όπως το «Smashed» αποτελούν πρότυπο καλής πρακτικής, καθώς μετατρέπουν την πρόληψη σε εμπειρία και προσωπικό βίωμα».

Η Έφη Μπούρα, Διευθύντρια Εταιρικών Σχέσεων της DIAGEO, ανέφερε:
«Τα αποτελέσματα του Smashed στην Ελλάδα αποδεικνύουν έμπρακτα την αξία και το ουσιαστικό αποτύπωμα του προγράμματος στους εφήβους, τόσο σε επίπεδο γνώσης όσο και στη διαμόρφωση στάσεων απέναντι στο αλκοόλ. Με το Smashed Theater προχωρούμε σε ένα επόμενο, στρατηγικό βήμα, επεκτείνοντας το πρόγραμμα σε μόνιμη θεατρική παραγωγή με το Θέατρο Τέχνης, με στόχο να προσεγγίσουμε ακόμη περισσότερους νέους, σε κάθε εκπαιδευτικό περιβάλλον, όπου μπορούμε να συναντήσουμε έφηβους-μαθητές. Η σύμπραξή μας με το Υπουργείο Υγείας είναι καθοριστική, καθώς ενισχύει την εμβέλεια και την αποτελεσματικότητα της προσπάθειας, στο πλαίσιο της δέσμευσής μας ως DIAGEO να συμβάλλουμε ενεργά στην υλοποίηση του εθνικού σχεδίου δράσης για την προστασία των ανηλίκων, αλλά και στην προώθηση της υπεύθυνης κατανάλωσης αλκοόλ συνολικά».




Ο Δημήτρης Μαγγίνας, Ηθοποιός & Σκηνοθέτης Θέατρο Τέχνης, σημείωσε: «Η δύναμη του θεάτρου βρίσκεται στη δημιουργία εμπειριών που αγγίζουν πραγματικά το κοινό. Η μετάβαση του Smashed σε μια μόνιμη θεατρική παραγωγή του δίνει νέα δυναμική και τη δυνατότητα να εξελίσσεται διαρκώς. Για εμάς στο Θέατρο Τέχνης, αποτελεί μια δημιουργική διαδικασία που μας επιτρέπει να εμβαθύνουμε στο υλικό και να χτίζουμε κάθε φορά μια πιο ουσιαστική σύνδεση με το νεανικό κοινό, μέσα από μια εμπειρία ζωντανή και επίκαιρη. Η συνεργασία μας με τη DIAGEO και η συμμετοχή μας στο Smashed είναι τιμητική, καθώς μας δίνει τη δυνατότητα να συμβάλλουμε, μέσα από την τέχνη, σε μια μοναδική πρωτοβουλία με αποδεδειγμένο αντίκτυπο στους εφήβους».

ΠΗΓΗ:

https://childit.gr/108319/smashed-diageo-%cf%85%cf%80%ce%bf%cf%85%cf%81%ce%b3%ce%b5%ce%af%ce%bf-%cf%85%ce%b3%ce%b5%ce%af%ce%b1%cf%82-%ce%b5%ce%bd%cf%8e%ce%bd%ce%bf%cf%85%ce%bd-%ce%b4%cf%85%ce%bd%ce%ac%ce%bc%ce%b5%ce%b9/(accessed 28.4.26)

‘They can turn a normal city street into a jungle'

Ella Rhodes spoke to Dr Reshanne Reeder (Lecturer in Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, University of Liverpool), who researches extremes of mental imagery, individual differences in mental imagery, and their impacts.

20 April 2026


How did you get interested in researching mental imagery?

Ever since my Master's, I've had an interest in the relationship between perception, mental imagery and hallucinations, and how people with different mental imagery and different perceptual experiences can have very different realities. During my postdoc years, my supervisor was really great and told me to explore whatever I wanted, so I decided to start looking into mental imagery.

Previously, mental imagery had been presented as a dichotomy – either people had it or didn't. But people weren't really talking about individual differences. I started coming up with psychology paradigms to try to bring out these individual differences in perception. I started with what's called pareidolia, which is the perception of meaning in random patterns, like seeing dinosaurs in the clouds (or Jesus in toast!).

I would give people pictures of randomly scrambled black and white pixels and ask them whether they saw a face. I would tell people there were faces sometimes – prompting people to see things which weren't there – and I found this very reliable correlation between mental imagery vividness and people's perception of faces. So it seemed that mental imagery was affecting what people actually perceived, and I was wondering if this had any link with hallucinations.

I started exploring different ways of probing differences in actual perception, not just mental images, in people. I got into using the Ganzflicker which is this rhythmic flickering paradigm where after just a few seconds, people start to see very subjective induced hallucinations. They usually start out very simple – different colours or patterns, but people with very vivid imagery will start to see extremely complex and semantically meaningful things like faces, animals and landscapes. Now my research is starting to look into whether there's a way we can understand why people see different things in these paradigms that elicit these very subjective visual experiences, so that we can better understand clinical hallucinations as well.

Could you tell us what we know about hyperphantasia?

Ever since aphantasia, which is a complete lack of mental imagery, started being discussed, people have wondered about the other end of the spectrum. Research on this group started with questionnaire studies – particularly the vividness of visual imagery questionnaire – and if they scored 75 out of 80, they were hyperphantasic. But that's a very simplified definition and classification, and as we know, aphantasics experience a very multi-dimensional pattern of experiences – they often have severely deficient autobiographical memory, they can't picture faces of their family members, and I think hyperphantasia is similarly multidimensional.

I started interviewing people with hyperphantasia back in 2021, in the middle of the pandemic. I have a citizen science collaborator who at the time was running a YouTube channel for extreme imagery and he knew a bunch of people from his channel who wanted to be interviewed about their imagery experiences. We interviewed people from his YouTube channel, we recruited from Reddit and a few research assistants interviewed people across campus when the university opened up again.

We ended up with around 40 hyperphantasics and during those interviews, which ran across a few years, we were finding hyperphantasia was a very multidimensional construct – it wasn't just 75 out of 80 on a questionnaire. People with hyperphantasia would have these very extreme experiences, like maladaptive daydreaming, and they would report being able to project their mental images into the real world, which I call prophantasia, which is basically imagery-augmented reality. Just like augmented reality games, like Pokemon GO, where you can see the Pokemon on your phone as if it's in the real world, people with hyperphantasia can do that with their mind's eye. They can turn a normal city street into a jungle. It's a super immersive experience.

They also seem to have very immersive inner worlds. Oftentimes, they'll have a fantasy world that they created when they were kids, and they just have kept building this world over the years, and they can constantly go back to it. There will be whole stories with characters – like a TV series that lasts forever but it's in their minds.

There was a guy who was a memory champion who would remember long strings of numbers after just hearing them once. He said that his way of remembering the numbers was very visual – he would put the numbers into different rooms in his 'memory palace'. Another person said that their hyperphantasia really helped them with anatomy classes – they would remember a 3D picture of a hand with different layers of bones, muscles, nerves, and tendons, all labelled in great detail.

I know there have been some studies which have found an association between aphantasia and autism, but how about hyperphantasia?

I've been hypothesising for a while, and nothing's really been published yet about this, but I think that because autism is a spectrum of extremes (e.g., sensory hyposensitivities and hyperpsensitivities, attention difficulties and hyperfocus, just to name a couple), you're going to see both extremes of the imagery spectrum in autism. There is a higher prevalence of aphantasia among autistic samples (about 20 per cent, compared to a general population prevalence of about 1-4 per cent), and I think you're also going to see a higher prevalence of hyperphantasia, but people tend to focus on aphantasia because of some outdated ideas about autism.

Simon Baron Cohen, one of the most prominent autism researchers, came up with the Autism Spectrum Quotient, and he claimed that one of the cornerstone symptoms of autism is a lack of imagination, and he put it on the questionnaire. That has filtered into these stereotypes that people with autism are not very imaginative, so it's not much of a leap to make the connection to aphantasia. But we need to look at the link to hyperphantasia. We know that some very famous autistic individuals have hyperphantasia, such as Temple Grandin, who wrote an autobiography, Thinking in Pictures – her hyperphantasia is obviously a big part of her identity if it's the title of her book!

Are we going to ignore potentially a whole half of the autism spectrum that probably has hyperphantasia just because of this old stereotype that they lack imagination? We're working on this, but it is very tricky. I think we just have to be open to the possibility that we're ignoring this potential connection. Let's see what the research says, but I suspect there's quite a lot of hyperphantasics who are also autistic.

Can you say what you've found about mental health treatment and symptoms in extremes of imagery?

We know from an earlier study we did on aphantasia and mental health that people with aphantasia experience mental health symptoms differently, and they experience therapy differently from someone with typical imagery, because common treatments also involve a lot of mental imagery techniques – if you have aphantasia, that's not going to work for you.

I was really interested to see whether people with hyperphantasia would find imagery-focused CBT useful. But actually, that's not what we found. We found that people with hyperphantasia have similar difficulties with CBT as people with aphantasia, and the reason for that is that their imagery is uncontrollable. If you ask someone with hyperphantasia to relax and imagine themselves on a beach, they'll start to imagine the beach, all of a sudden they're sitting there and they can feel the sand getting into their swimsuit, they're distracted by a crab walking towards them, they realise they've forgotten sunscreen! They start to experience these uncontrollable images that aren't relaxing for them.


I have typical imagery, and if I'm asked to imagine a relaxing beach, I can imagine a relaxing beach, but because hyperphantasics come up with so many extraneous details on a daily basis in their imagery, they can't stop all the very realistic and non-relaxing things from popping into their head.

I also think hyperphantasics are going to experience mental health symptoms differently from typical imagers because they're so prone to intrusive images, even positive images. If they start to experience intrusive imagery because of something like post-traumatic stress disorder, it will be even worse than someone with typical imagery, it'll be really enhanced, and so that can be really hard to extinguish or treat.

This is something we've touched on in our research, there are a lot of misconceptions about the role of mental imagery in mental health symptoms and there hasn't been a lot of research. I'm really trying to get these results out there and get it recognised that what we thought we knew about the role of mental imagery in symptoms and treatment is completely wrong. I think that's important to know, so that therapists can help their clients, and also for people seeking mental health services.

I'd be interested to hear more about mental health symptoms in aphantasia.

There's a misconception going around that aphantasics are protected against PTSD. There have been a couple of studies, but not about clinical symptoms. These studies, which have been on watching scary videos or reading scary stories, have perpetuated the idea that people with aphantasia have reduced emotional reactions to these stimuli. But when it comes to clinically relevant stimuli, things people would seek mental healthcare for, it's a very different picture.

It's true that it's rare for people with aphantasia to have visual or sensory flashbacks after trauma, but they might start to have panic attacks and emotional flashbacks that are really hard to describe and pin down because there's no image attached to it. If they go to seek mental health care because they're having panic attacks, they feel are related to trauma, the clinician might not diagnose them with PTSD because they aren't having visual flashbacks – one of the main symptoms of PTSD. Now, of course, we're learning that PTSD is also more complicated. There's also complex PTSD or CPTSD, which might not include visual flashbacks, but usually someone's first port of call will be going to their GP and it will be hard for those people to get the services they need.

How might hyperphantasia impact mental health symptoms?

I think if they experience a severe psychiatric condition like psychosis they are very likely to experience hallucinations – arguably the most severe symptom of psychosis or schizophrenia, very debilitating and disturbing. I think if we can explore these relationships, then we can predict who is going to experience what symptoms and then maybe even get them help faster. If people start to experience clinically relevant hallucinations that are disturbing and impact the quality of life, that can be hard for people to admit, because they think it's so crazy. If we can normalise it and tell people 'this is just a symptom that is related to or exacerbated by hyperphantasia' then they can get the help that they need.

I think that all hallucinations come from the same cognitive mechanisms, and clinical hallucinations are just on the extreme of that spectrum. But it could be possible to reduce it to a more normal level, even in people with psychosis. That's what I'm going to be exploring in my future research – how to normalise hallucinations and predict hallucinations and potentially even reduce hallucinatory symptoms in people with psychosis.

SOURCE:

https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/they-can-turn-normal-city-street-jungle(accessed 23.4.26)

Does what you know affect what you see?

A new paper adds fuel to a long-standing debate.

14 April 2026

By Emma Young


This long-debated question has been investigated in a number of studies, with some suggesting that prior knowledge, emotions, and desires can influence visual perceptions — however, as the authors of a recent paper in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General write, the idea is still hotly contested.

Michael A. Cohen at MIT and colleagues decided to focus on probing one particular claim: that a person's prior knowledge of the colour of an object can influence the colour that they see. Their work suggests that this can indeed happen — at least, in certain circumstances.

The researchers first identified sixteen colourful objects and images that they were sure would be very familiar to the 15 student participants that they recruited for the main experiment. These included the Facebook logo, the American flag, the Incredible Hulk and a road Stop sign.

Each participant first went into a dimly lit room, where they were shown glossy grey-scale posters of each of the 16 stimuli. Each time, they were asked if the image seemed to be in colour or black and white — and if they did see a colour, they were asked what that colour was, and how vivid it was. The participants then repeated this procedure, but in bright light.

Then, back in dim light, they were shown the posters again, but this time, the images had been mostly covered, so that only a small segment was visible. An experimenter did tell them what the full image was, however. Again, they were asked about what colours, if any, they saw.

When the team analysed the data, they found that, when the participants viewed the full grey-scale images in bright light, they did not see any colours. Neither did they report seeing any colours when they were shown only small, ambiguous portions of the images in dim light — despite being told what the images were.

However, in dim light, when viewing the full grey-scale images, the participants consistently reported seeing the corresponding colours. So, when viewing a grey-scale Facebook logo, for example, in bright light they reported seeing no colour, though in dim light, it had appeared to be blue. "Overall, we believe that these findings demonstrate a robust and subjectively appreciable memory colour effect under ambiguous viewing conditions (i.e. dim light)," the researchers write.

It was notable that even when the participants were told what the full image was, when they saw only a small part of it, they didn't see colours. "This result suggests that although top-down knowledge can induce a memory color effect, it cannot do so in the abstract alone; there must be sufficient visual input that such knowledge can act upon," the team notes.

It's worth noting that the sample size in this study, of just fifteen, is small. However, their findings do fit with the popular 'predictive processing' model of perception. According to this model, the brain uses both raw sensory data and expectations, based on prior experience, to generate sensory perceptions. However, the theory goes, if one is lacking — if the sensory data is of poor quality, or, alternatively, if the brain can't identify prior experiences to draw on — it will rely more heavily on the other source of information to generate perceptions. This is exactly what seems to have happened in this study.

Understanding when and how the brain 'fills in' colour has potential practical implications for improving safety and communication in the dark, for example, and designing signage for low-light settings, the team thinks. But, by providing clear evidence that existing knowledge can influence colour perception, this study also contributes to the ongoing debate about when, and in what circumstances, 'top-down' knowledge can have an impact on what we see.

SOURCE:

https://www.bps.org.uk/research-digest/does-what-you-know-affect-what-you-see(accessed 20.4.26)