Studying mice modeling a human genetic disease that causes irregular heartbeats and can lead to sudden death, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers have shown that emotional stress seems to promote symptoms of the disease and worsens its progression. The researchers say in their study, published Nov. 24, 2020, in the Journal of Clinical Medicine, that physicians […]
Machine learning could aid mental health diagnoses
A way of using machine learning to more accurately identify patients with a mix of psychotic and depressive symptoms has been developed by researchers at the University of Birmingham. Patients with depression or psychosis rarely experience symptoms of purely one or the other illness. Historically, this has meant that mental health clinicians give a diagnosis […]
Feeling lonely during the pandemic? You’re up to 10 times more likely to have worse mental health
While COVID-19 may itself compromise a person’s mental health, the social conditions of the pandemic are also having a negative impact. Economic hardship, heavy COVID-related media exposure, reduced social contact and domestic violence are just some factors that may have affected people. Indeed, studies have shown that mental health has declined during the pandemic. Our […]
How to tell your new partner that you're struggling with your mental health
We all need people, particularly when we’re going through a rough patch in our lives. And, whether it’s a friend, family member or romantic partner, very often turning to those closest to us can have a positive effect on our mental state. Having conversations about our mental health allows us to see that there are […]
Family Mourns Man With Mental Illness Killed by Police and Calls for Change
Rulennis Muñoz remembers the phone ringing on Sept. 13. Her mother was calling from the car, frustrated. Rulennis could also hear her brother Ricardo shouting in the background. Her mom told her that Ricardo, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia five years earlier, wouldn’t take his medication. Within an hour, Ricardo Muñoz, 27, was […]
New study shows correlation between teen obesity and mental health issues
Half of all young people treated for severe obesity have neuropsychiatric problems, according to a new study by researchers from Lund University and Gothenburg, Sweden, among others. Two thirds of the teens suffered from some type of mental health problem, as reported by themselves or their parents. Both obesity and mental illness have increased among […]
Expert says family can help seniors avoid pandemic mental health crises
Many older adults are becoming increasingly isolated during the pandemic as people continue to physically distance. Families may be afraid of getting loved ones sick, seniors may sequester themselves over fear of contracting the virus or shared living facilities may have visiting restrictions. All of this contributes to loneliness, which can ultimately lead to a […]
No, it’s not weird to talk to yourself. Mental health experts point to pandemic, unrest as possible reasons
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to keep much of the population in their homes for most of the day, it’s taking a toll on our collective mental health. In Baltimore, calls to the city’s crisis hotline have doubled during the pandemic and Sheppard Pratt Health System, one of the nation’s leading mental health care providers, […]
For young Californians, climate change is a mental health crisis too
Maddie Cole in eighth grade stopped running cross country. She’d competed the year before, but the air quality in her native Sacramento, California, was so bad that she got sick during a race; she soon learned she had asthma. The next year the sky above Sacramento turned gray with smoke from the 2018 Camp fire. […]
Working From Home May Negatively Impact Physical, Mental Health
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 16, 2020 — People working from home during the pandemic overall report decreased physical and mental well-being, according to a study published online Nov. 23 in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Yijing Xiao, from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and colleagues surveyed 988 people working from home during […]