January 24, 2025
(The Atlantic) – The greatest difficulty with measuring loneliness—and deciding how much to focus on ending it—may be that we don’t really know what loneliness is. Different people, researchers told me, seem to mean different things when they say they’re … Read More
January 23, 2025
(The Atlantic) – Three decades into the internet era, the Supreme Court finally appears ready to uphold age-verification laws. For practical purposes, however, American children can access porn as soon as they can figure out how to navigate a web … Read More
January 22, 2025
(New York Times) – It has turned doctors into stars, put taboo subjects on main and given all of us a place to explore our well-being. In tens of millions of videos, users have opened up about their health and … Read More
January 21, 2025
(KFF Health News) – That evening, the 49-year-old volunteered for a 14-hour shift at the city’s evacuation center, as did colleagues who had also been activated for emergency medical duty. Running on adrenaline and little sleep after finding shelter for … Read More
January 21, 2025
(KFF Health News) – A pair of dogs, tails wagging, had come by a nearby nursing station, causing about a dozen medical professionals to melt into a collective puddle of affection. A yellow Lab named Peppi showered Fraser in nuzzles … Read More
January 21, 2025
(Associated Press) – Vermont’s child welfare agency relied on baseless allegations about a pregnant woman’s mental health to secretly investigate her and win custody of her daughter before the baby was born, according to a lawsuit that alleges the state … Read More
January 21, 2025
(Wall Street Journal) – Most ads for liquor or beer include a reminder to “drink responsibly.” Still, the alcohol industry depends on people who drink more than public-health officials say is safe. A fifth of adults account for an estimated … Read More
January 20, 2025
(Wall Street Journal) – The strain of caregiving likely plays a role in murder-suicides among older adults, say researchers Donna Cohen, a retired psychiatry professor behind the research, found that a husband was acting as his wife’s caregiver in about … Read More
January 20, 2025
(Washington Post via MSN) – Recreational ketamine use has increased in the United States in recent years, outpacing its rise as a treatment for depression, a new analysis suggests. The hallucinogenic drug — a controlled substance designed for use as … Read More
January 20, 2025
(Discover Magazine) – Colloquially, a constant concern for health is known as hypochondria. But medically speaking, when this concern tips over to obsessive or harmful behavior, it’s referred to as illness anxiety disorder. Fear or concern of serious illness can … Read More
January 17, 2025
(Axios) – A growing number of states are banning cellphones in schools — almost always with bipartisan support. Why it matters: Parents are divided over these policies, which are meant to reduce distractions and boost students’ socialization. Where it stands: … Read More
January 16, 2025
(Undark) – The Netherlands allows medically assisted euthanasia for extreme mental suffering. Some doctors question the guardrails. In recent years, Dutch psychiatrists have seen a steep upswing in requests for medical assistance in dying, or MAID, on psychiatric grounds, rising … Read More
January 16, 2025
(New York Times) – Digital mental health platforms were supposed to expand access for the neediest patients. Researchers say that hasn’t happened. The increase in psychotherapy has occurred among groups that already enjoyed more access: people in higher-income brackets, living … Read More
January 15, 2025
(KFF Health News) – Only in recent years have the psychosocial hazards of construction work moved onto the public radar. Studies paint a grim picture, said Douglas Trout, an occupational medicine physician and deputy director of the Office of Construction … Read More
January 13, 2025
(Men’s Health) – Artificial intelligence might present some handy shortcuts, but it makes a terrible wingman Much has been made of the loneliness epidemic. During the summer of 2023, over in the US the surgeon general Dr Vivek Murthy laid … Read More
January 13, 2025
(NPR) – If you want to get high in Texas, your options are almost limitless. This law-and-order state of guns, God and capital punishment is awash in cannabis. Today, Texas has more than 7,000 cannabis dispensaries, almost twice as many … Read More
January 9, 2025
(New York Times) – D.D.D. is often associated with a history of emotional abuse or neglect. The symptoms can be brought on by anxiety, depression, the resurfacing of early trauma, major life stressors, cannabis and hallucinogens like LSD, said Dr. … Read More
January 8, 2025
(BBC) – One in five children and young people between the ages of eight and 25 in England are now thought to have a mental health disorder, according to official figures. Unsurprisingly, the NHS is struggling to keep up. In … Read More
January 7, 2025
(The New Yorker) – A scientist tried to discredit the theory that ultra-processed foods are killing us. Instead, he overturned his own understanding of obesity. When people were fed an ultra-processed diet that was calorie-dense and hyper-palatable, they ate around … Read More
January 6, 2025
(Vox) – “Glow up” challenges were all over my feed. So I tried one. Through my steadily more depressing TikTok algorithm, I learned that the worst thing you can do in life is let yourself get fat, and the second … Read More
January 3, 2025
(KFF Health News) – The mix of stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamines with fentanyl — a synthetic opioid 50 times as powerful as heroin — is driving what experts call the opioid epidemic’s “fourth wave.” The mixture of stimulants … Read More
December 31, 2024
(New York Times) – Early intervention tries to rein in psychotic disorders before they can ruin young lives. For Kevin Lopez, everything is on the line. An estimated 100,000 people experience a first episode of psychosis every year, roughly four … Read More
December 31, 2024
(ProPublica) – Health insurers frequently review patients’ progress to see if they can be moved down to a lower — and almost always cheaper — level of care. That can cut both ways. They sometimes cite a lack of progress … Read More
December 31, 2024
(The Guardian) – More than a third of 15-year-old girls are repeatedly drunk, compared with less than a quarter of boys, according to OECD research It is unclear why teenage girls appear more susceptible than boys to getting drunk regularly, … Read More
December 30, 2024
(The Hill) – A report from the Senate Intelligence Committee offers a critical look at the CIA’s handling of cases of unexplained health incidents, determining its approach hindered its ability to care for staff and alienated employees. The Friday report on … Read More
