Category: Mental Health
Meditation Is Big Business. The Science Isn’t So Clear.
For more than two decades, various studies have suggested that meditation and mindfulness — that is, being aware of the present moment — can help reduce and improve pain management, lending some credence to the notion that the brain can affect the body. Such results have helped the field grow into a multibillion-dollar industry, populated by meditation apps, guided workshops, and upscale retreats.
Yet the field has also faced sharp criticism from psychologists and researchers who say the health benefits are overstated and some of the research methodologically flawed.
Perimenopause usually begins in your 40s. How do you know if it has started?
Perimenopause usually begins in the early to mid-40s. Some people even begin perimenopause earlier, due to premature ovarian insufficiency or medical treatments such as chemotherapy or surgical oophorectomy (ovary removal).
How can I get some sleep? Which treatments actually work?
You might have tried breathing exercises, calming music, white noise, going to bed in a dark and quiet bedroom, eating different foods in the evening, maintaining a regular sleep pattern, or reducing caffeine. But after three to four weeks of what seems like progress, your insomnia returns. What next?
How do stimulants actually work to reduce ADHD symptoms?
Stimulant drugs are thought to alter the activity of key neuotransmitters, dopamine and noradrenaline, in the brain. These neurotransmitters help with attention and focus, among other things.
Medical exceptions to abortion bans often exclude mental health conditions
Despite mental health conditions making up more than 20% of maternal deaths and 1 in 5 women suffering maternal mental health conditions, several states explicitly exclude mental health conditions as exceptions to abortion restrictions.
Insurers often shortchange mental health care coverage, despite a federal law
The Biden administration is pushing insurers and state regulators to improve mental health care coverage. The move comes as overdose deaths rise and youth mental health problems grow more rampant, disproportionately affecting communities of color. Inflation and a shortage of mental health care providers, including psychiatrists and specialists who treat adolescents, further hinder access to care.
Early indicators of dementia: 5 behaviour changes to look for after age 50
Five signs to look for: Apathy, affective dysregulation, lack of impulse control, social inappropriateness, and abnormal perceptions or thought.
Monitoring brainwaves to track how patients with depression respond the treatment
Depression recovery can be hard to measure − new research on deep brain stimulation shows how objective biomarkers could help make treatment more precise Christopher Rozell, Georgia Institute of Technology and Sankaraleengam Alagapan, Georgia Institute of Technology It can be challenging…
Commonly prescribed antidepressants and how they work
Antidepressants are among the most searched-for medications online. But there is a lot of information out there to sift through. The National Library of Medicine has pulled together some useful information about common types of these medications.
How Washington state is treating housing as health care
pple Health and Homes is a multi-agency state program launched last year that focuses on providing housing to people with health and behavioral health challenges. What’s unique is that the program taps Medicaid dollars to pay for housing subsidies, tenant services and more.
More adults than ever have been seeking ADHD medications – an ADHD expert explains what could be driving the trend
The average person has a couple of symptoms of ADHD, so it can be hard to draw the line between ADHD-like tendencies – such as a tendency to lose keys, having a messy desk or often finding your mind wandering during a dull task – and a diagnosable medical disorder.
Do psychedelics really work to treat depression and PTSD? Here’s what the evidence says
Early results from studies around the world have found psychedelic therapy might be effective for treating a range of psychological issues. However, as psychedelic research has grown, limitations of the research have been identified by researchers both within and outside the psychedelic field. One issue is that we aren’t sure whether findings might be due to a placebo effect, which occurs when a treatment works because people expect it to work.
Local resources for those with drug use disorders
Treatment: What’s available and how to access it
Body dysmorphic disorder: what to know about this mental health condition
Actress Megan Fox recently revealed she had body dysmorphic disorder. Many people are dissatisfied with some aspect of their appearance, but people with body dysmorphic disorder are consumed for several hours a day by intrusive thoughts and feelings about their perceived flaws.
Risk of rehospitalization in younger women after heart attack nearly double that of men
Higher rates of risk factors such as obesity, heart failure, and depression among women most likely contributed to the disparity.