General Mental Health Articles
- There is a silent mental health crisis in rural America. Like so many of the problems I found in my book, “Land Rich, Cash Poor,” on the disappearing American farmer – risks to our food supply, economic devastation, and many of our deepest divisions – what rural Americans are experiencing reveals the true depths of a national problem. Here in the heartland, mental health is in its rawest form, hidden because of the way we refuse to talk about it. Read more here.
- Depression has many faces. Some people can’t sleep, while others struggle to get out of bed. Even though symptoms and severity can vary from person to person, a recent study found that a specific brain circuit might be associated with the mental health malady. Read more here.
Youth Mental Health
- A new study has found a link between vaping and the mental health of teenagers. According to research done by Australia's Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, 20% of students who participated demonstrated symptoms of moderate to severe depression. This result could potentially lead to intervention related to mental health and e-cigarette use, The Guardian reports. Read more here.
- The presidential debate was the perfect opportunity for both candidates to inform voters how they will address the most pressing public health issue of our time. There is no denying that we are in a mental health crisis. The CDC recently released data showing that 53% of high school girls report being persistently sad or hopeless. It’s no wonder that parents of children under 18 now rank mental health as their top concern. Read more here.
The Opioid Crisis and Addiction Issues
- The three largest U.S. drug distributors have agreed to pay $300 million to resolve claims by health insurers and benefit plans that they helped fuel the deadly U.S. opioid epidemic, according to court papers filed. Read more here.
- Treating and screening for non-substance-related mental health disorders could help drive down overdoses, a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found. The study found that of the 63,424 people who died from drug overdoses across 43 states and Washington, D.C. in 2022, 22% had a separate mental health disorder. Analyzing data from the CDC’s State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System, the researchers found that the most common disorders were depression, anxiety, and bipolar. Read more here.
- America’s sky-high rate of fatal fentanyl overdoses could be halved if users were treated with another opioid, Biden administration officials and a bipartisan group of senators believe. They and others who support expanded access to methadone argue that allowing addiction specialists to prescribe it outside of the clinics now permitted to dispense it would save tens of thousands of lives. Read more here.
Workforce Issues
- Continued worker burnout and more demand for care from an aging population will drive health care workforce shortages into 2028 — though with significant variations by state, according to a Mercer analysis. Read more here.
Gun Violence
- The fact that law enforcement knew of alleged threats from the shooter over a year ago and were still unable to stop the shooting or prevent the suspect from getting a gun points to how difficult it is to prevent mass shootings in advance. The ubiquity of guns makes preventing a mass shooting extremely difficult. However, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to prevent mass shootings. Read more here.
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