Smell the coffee on mental health

Cafés are booming and may well be making a quiet positive contribution to the nation’s mental health in several ways.

As emergent research indicates, the stimulant caffeine can have a potent yet often overlooked value to our mental health, quite aside from perking us up, raising our attention, helping us get into or through our day by making us more cognitively alert, etc. In moderate amounts, caffeine has been linked to a reduction in depressive symptoms.

Of course, such intake may not favour those who are anxious, anxiously depressed, or subject to heart rhythm issues such as atrial fibrillation. But even there, decaffeinated coffee is widely available now and often indistinguishable from the unadulterated brew.

Importantly, whichever coffee is consumed, another positive that rarely gets a mention is how cafés can provide a ready, non-threatening environment for casual social interaction.

In my observations, I see people engaging in light conversation with baristas about everything from the weather, local matters, through to coffee bean choice and so forth.

Now this may seem unexceptional but for the many lonely people out there, this kind of gentle contact could make all the difference to their day and even week. Often, coffee drinkers will interact spontaneously with other customers during their visit, even make new friends.

In my novel, The Wonders of Doctor Bent, the power of coffee and café society features prominently. In fact, the novel is as dark as black coffee yet with milk on the side!

The worlds of Jason Hemp, an English lecturer, and Dr Bent, the unlikely Medical Director of high-security psychiatric hospital Foston Hall, come together in a dark tale of murder, revenge and abandonment. Attempting to track down his twin brother’s killer, Jason finds his life unravelling in unexpected and frightening ways, whilst visionary Dr Bent attempts to reform Foston Hall into a more humane place through what staff call ‘his wonders’, all while facing his own mental health challenges.

Quite aside from Dr Bent’s own coffee intake, Americanos, one of his reforms involves introducing a barista-staffed café for staff and patients, seeing its potential to counter the otherwise prisonlike quality of the hospital.

As a writer I enjoy frequenting cafés with a passion for Italian brews! Most of all, I enjoy taking coffee with my readers. Sime of the following deserve more than a flat white!

"Crawford is a master storyteller. The Wonders of Doctor Bent covers deep and dark themes in a compelling and highly engaging manner. Be prepared to be taken on a thrilling adventure that delves into the very essence of what makes us human...” - Professor Ahmed Hankir, Consultant Psychiatrist, and author of The Breakthrough

"A most intriguing book, never read anything quite like it! … a real page turner with so much professional insight into mental health issues” - Elizabeth Fothergill CBE

"Brooding, brilliant and beautiful." - Dave Chawner, standup and TV comedian, mental health campaigner and author of Weight Expectations

"A beautifully written and engaging psychological thriller that will keep you thinking long after the final page… With impeccable prose and a thought-provoking plot, this dark literary thriller not only captivates fans of the genre but also offers profound value to those with lived experience of or an interest in mental health, shedding light on the complexities of compassion and accountability." - Dr David Crepaz-Keay, Mental Health Foundation

“A moving tale of loss and love. Jason Hemp breaks down after his perfect brother is murdered and Dr Bent, an imperfect, thrill-seeking, motorcycle-riding healer, fights to transform the humiliating state of the public services. His revolutionary changes are undermined, and he is left wondering what it is all for, and resolves to repair his own dark wounds...” - Kam Bhui CBE, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Oxford

"A brilliantly written thriller which draws us into the dire consequences of adverse childhood experiences. It poignantly reveals the potential for recovery." - Gene Beresin MD, Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

"Moving storytelling and vivid characters take the reader on an emotional journey of grief, loss, and love. Though the themes are dark this novel is a celebration of the resilience of the human spirit. Crawford at his very best." - Thomas Curran, Leading psychologist and author of The Perfection Trap

The Wonders of Doctor Bent is available at Amazon, Waterstones, WHSmith, Foyles, Cranthorpe Millner, and all good bookshops. Author website: www.paulcrawfordauthor.com