Mental Health News & Features
A Powerful Prescription for Grief and Illness: Dance
- How Parents Can Help Kids Tackle School Avoidance
September 12, 2024 — Scolionophobia, or fear of school, affects about 1 in 20 children at different points of childhood. Here's what parents need to know.
- Presidential Election Have You Stressed? Here's How to Cope
September 10, 2024 — More Americans than ever before are reporting feelings of anxiety around politics. But while it may feel like everything is out of your control, there are ways to cope and work through those feelings.
- Earth(quakes), Winds, and Fires Can Shake Your Mental Health
August 21, 2024 — Climate change is directly adding to climate event emergencies caused by extreme heat, wildfires, floods, tropical storms, and hurricanes, and the events are taking a toll not only on our physical health, but our mental health as well.
- Three Subtle Ways Climate Change Degrades Your Mental Health
July 3, 2024 — As the weather heats up, learn how heatwaves, air pollution, and rising CO2 levels can chip away at your mental well-being – and how to fight back.
- Olympic Athletes Use These Mindset Tricks – You Should Too
June 20, 2024 — Olympic athletes train their brains as much as their bodies so they can handle pressure and maintain a positive mindset. These same techniques can work for you.
- Psychedelic Therapy Sees Challenges Despite Promising Results
June 5, 2024 — Studies show that ketamine and MDMA therapies for depression and PTSD are promising, but obstacles remain that hinder their widespread adoption.
- Mindset: How You Think Can Affect Your Health
May 22, 2024 — When it comes to your health, mindset matters – whether you’re coping with yet another migraine or a serious cancer diagnosis. Research is finding that our mindset – core assumptions we make that lead to expectations and behaviors – affects outcomes.
- Postpartum PTSD: Right Diagnosis Can Help Mothers and Babies
May 6, 2024 — Many new mothers aren’t aware that postpartum PTSD even exists, but it’s far from rare. Here's what to know.
- Why Saying ‘Hello, Stranger’ Could Be Key to Better Health
April 8, 2024 — We tend to keep to ourselves in public – but experts say chatting with acquaintances and bystanders could be good for our mood and physical health.
- How the Body Reacts to Grief, and What It Can Mean
April 4, 2024 — Fatigue, headaches, stomach pain, and a higher risk of heart disease: Although these things may not make you think of grief at first, many people who have a significant loss get these and other physical symptoms.
- FDA Opens the Door to Clinical Use of LSD
March 26, 2024 — Studies show benefits for people with high anxiety, depression, and PTSD, but there are questions about how these drugs might be used.
- Can Spiritual/Religious Practice Improve Your Health?
A strong spiritual life may protect your mental health. Find out how religion and spirituality can boost your well-being.
- Neuroticism Isn’t Funny and May Impact Your Health
January 22, 2024 — Research links the personality trait with a range of health problems, like heart disease and Alzheimer’s. Here’s why, and what you can do about it.
- Alone Time vs. Loneliness: What’s a Good Balance?
December 22, 2023 — What's a good balance between having "me time" – being alone – and loneliness, which is already at epidemic levels? Here's how to find the sweet spot.
- The Holiday Blues: Protect Your Mental Health This Holiday Season
In the WebMD webinar, John Whyte, MD, MPH, explained what the holiday blues are, how they can affect you, and what ways you can prevent and overcome them.
- For Happier Holidays, Set Your Expectations – and Breathe
December 4, 2023 — Experts remind us to breathe and prioritize ourselves this holiday season.
- Perinatal and Postpartum OCD: 'I Was Falling Apart'
It’s natural to worry about your baby. But pregnancy-related obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can take over your life. Learn how two women learned to manage symptoms of perinatal and postpartum OCD.
- U.S. Life Expectancy Grows as Suicide Rates Hit Record: CDC
November 29, 2023 — New government data shows U.S. suicides hit another record high in 2022, but the numbers also contain good news about suicides among young people and about deaths in the U.S. overall.
- Soaring Use of Ketamine Creates a Health Care 'Wild West'
November 27, 2023 — The number of patients with a ketamine prescription rose more than fivefold from 2017 to 2022.
- Therapy Born on the Battlefield May Help Ease Anyone's PTSD
November 17, 2023 — Highly successful cognitive processing therapy helps female veterans overcome PTSD.
- Mediterranean Diet Linked to Fewer PTSD Symptoms: Study
October 23, 2023 — Following a Mediterranean diet may help people exposed to trauma limit how severe their posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms are, a new study suggests.
- Apple Watch Now Tracks Time Spent in the Sun
October 12, 2023 — Even though humans need sunlight for optimal health, less than 20% of people get outside every day for fun activities or relaxation, according to the 2021 General Social Survey. Now the same smartwatch that records your steps and sleep can also track your time in the sunshine.
- New Rankings List Nebraska as Top State for Mental Health
October 12, 2023 — The top state for mental health is Nebraska, according to new rankings based on things ranging from violent crime rates to air pollution. Rounding out the top five spots were Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Rhode Island.
- Caring for Adult Children with Mental Illness: How to Help
September 27, 2023 — New research is showing that caring for a loved one with a mental illness exacts a tremendous toll.
- Suppress Negative Thoughts to Improve Mental Health, Study Says
September 21, 2023 — A new study suggests that suppressing negative thoughts may improve people’s mental health.
- Roland Griffiths, who helped bring psychedelics back to science, dies at 77
Psychedelics scientist Roland Griffiths, who helped return scientific rigor to the study of psychedelic substances like psilocybin and MDMA, died Monday at age 77. Just a few weeks ago, he discussed his cancer diagnosis and a new Johns Hopkins endowment for psychedelics, with Manish Agrawal, MD,
- Moderate Coffee Intake Lowers Risk of Anxiety, Depression
September 15, 2023 — People who drink two to three cups of coffee per day are the least likely to have anxiety or depression, compared to people who drink more or less of the popular beverage.
- Why Explosive Anger Isn't Just a 'Bad Attitude,' But a Symptom
August 31, 2023 — Raging drivers, violent airline passengers, irate customers – we dismiss them as jerks, but experts say a little-known psychological disorder could be at play.
- Is Hopefulness the Key to Better Mental and Physical Health?
August 23, 2023 — Recent surveys suggest that our hopefulness is sorely lagging, and in some populations more than others. Learning hopefulness is not only a good skill to have; it could be lifesaving.
- Suicides in U.S. Reached All-Time High in 2022: CDC
August 11, 2023 — In 2022, 49,449 people in the U.S. died by suicide. That’s the most suicides in a single year in U.S. history and marks a 2.6% increase over the prior year, according to new figures released by the CDC this week.
- Child Abuse Memories May Affect Mental Health More Than the Abuse
July 10, 2023 — A person’s memories of childhood abuse or neglect may have a stronger impact on subsequent mental health than the experience itself, says a new study published in JAMA Psychiatry.
- Loneliness Epidemic Tied to Cancer, Dementia, Other Diseases
July 6, 2023 — Loneliness, once considered a mere longing for connection, is gaining recognition from doctors and scientists as something much more dangerous: a risk for heart disease, dementia, certain cancers, and even death.
- Limiting Social Media Use in Youths Brings Challenges, Benefits
June 26, 2023 — Recent research shows that limiting social media use among teens can be challenging, but the benefits can be worth it.
- Suicide, Addiction, Abuse and Other Crises: Can ChatGPT Help?
June 14, 2023 — More people facing crises such as suicidal feelings, addiction, or abuse are choosing artificial intelligence systems such as ChatGPT for help. But are they really helpful? A new study offers some insight.
- Could Smartwatches Solve the Mental Health Crisis?
June 13, 2023 — Mount Sinai researchers used smartwatches to assess people’s resilience and well-being, the latest advance in a slowly growing field studying wearables for monitoring mental health.
- Amid Therapy Waitlists, New AI Coach May Be Quicker Option
May 25, 2023 — Researchers from the University of Illinois Chicago and their colleagues have found that their AI app appears to be useful in treating anxiety and depression.
- Mental Health Issues for Adolescents Spiked During Pandemic
May 24, 2023 — During the COVID-19 pandemic, young people experienced spikes in mental health difficulties, with girls taking a harder hit, particularly adolescents developing eating disorders, according to a report this week in JAMA Network.
- Surgeon General Issues ‘Urgent’ Social Media Warning for Kids
May 23, 2023 — Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, called on policymakers and technology companies to fund more research and make social media safer.
- Swallowed Razors, Magnets, and More: New Advice for Doctors
May 22, 2023 — Two new studies suggest that even when a person swallows something as potentially harmful as a razor blade or a magnet, a doctor's best course of action may be to let nature takes it course.
- Early-Life Smartphone Use Tied to Poorer Mental Health in Gen Z
May 18, 2023 — A new report by Sapien Labs published this week used global data from 27,969 “Gen Z” young adults (ages 18-24) to focus on the possible relationship between childhood smartphone use and current mental health.
- Youth Mental Health Crisis Shows Improvement
May 12, 2023 — New CDC data suggests that the teen mental health crisis is improving, with year-over-year mental health emergency room visits declining significantly from 2021 to 2022.
- Experts Issue New Guidelines on Teen Social Media Use
May 9, 2023 — Just as a teenager must be trained to drive a car before getting a driver’s license, young people should be trained in how to safely use social media, says the top U.S. organization for therapists and psychologists.
- Suicide Rate in 2021 Marked a 20-Year Record: CDC
April 13, 2023 — During the first full year of the pandemic, the U.S. suicide rate increased more than in any year in the previous two decades, a new analysis from the CDC shows.
- How Exposure to Violence Worsens Health
Exposure to violence, whether from police or elsewhere in the community, can cause health effects that last a lifetime.
- What Is 'Rust Out' and What Can You Do About It?
March 8, 2023 — What to know about "rust out" -- which can lead to burnout -- and what you can do about it.
- Exercise Is Top Treatment for Depression, Anxiety: Study
February 27, 2023 — Exercise can be more effective than therapy or medication when treating depression and anxiety, according to researchers in Australia.
- Student Mental Health Week Focuses on Rates of Stress, Anxiety
February 8, 2023 — A recent study showed that nearly one-third of students worldwide said their mental health has worsened since returning to campus following the COVID-19 lockdowns.
- New Mental Health Crisis Hotline Sees Surge in Calls
January 23, 2023 — A national suicide and crisis hotline has been serving many more people since the call-in number switched to 988 last summer.
- Medical Gaslighting: When the Doctor Dismisses Your Concerns
January 20, 2023 — Having one’s symptoms dismissed by a health care professional is sometimes called “medical gaslighting." Here's what to know about it.