Publications - Depression
How to Detect Your Child’s Emotional Distress Before the School’s AI Does, by Julie Jargon, The Wall Street Journal, Sep 18 2021.
“School districts use artificial-intelligence software that can scan student communications and web searches on school-issued devices—and even devices that are logged in via school networks—for signs of suicidal ideation, violence against fellow students, bullying and more. Included in the scans are emails and chats between friends, as well as student musings composed in Google Docs or Microsoft Word. Many school districts have used monitoring software over the past three years to prevent school shootings, but it has evolved to become a tool to spot a range of mental-health issues, including anxiety, depression and eating disorders. School administrators say such surveillance is more important than ever as students return to the classroom after 18 months of pandemic-related stress, uncertainty and loss. Critics say it raises questions about privacy, misuse and students’ ability to express feelings freely or search for answers. ”
Just one night of sleep loss harms your well-being, new study finds, by Sarah Molano, CNN, Jul 9 2021.
“One night of sleep loss is enough to disrupt your day-to-day mental and physical well-being, according to a new study, and consecutive days of sleep loss can increase these negative impacts. “Consecutive sleep loss was associated with decreases in positive emotions, increases in negative emotions, and greater frequency of severity of physical symptoms,” said Soomi Lee, lead author of the study, which published Monday in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine. Adults should get at least seven hours of sleep per night, but 1 in 3 of them don’t, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The negative effects of poor sleep have been well documented, with its occurrence linked to higher risk of a variety of conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity and, in another recent study, dementia. ”
How A Hospital And A School District Teamed Up To Help Kids In Emotional Crisis, by Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, Jun 11 2021.
“The concerning rise in mental health issues noticed by school administrators mirrors national trends. Roughly 1 in 5 U.S. children meet criteria for a mental health disorder, and the rate of suicide attempts among youth has risen over the past decade, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Around the country, most kids who have mental health issues don't get treatment. There's a shortage of providers who work with children and it can take months to get an appointment. "The wait times on an average to see a mental health specialist on an emergency basis is somewhere between two to three months, and for regular basis is up to 12 months, which is an unacceptable wait time," says Dr. Ujjwal Ramtekkar, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Nationwide Children's Hospital. ”
Mental health services struggled to meet increased demand during pandemic, study finds, by Tori Powell, CBS News, May 1 2021.
“The study analyzed data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found that 27% more adults in the U.S. reported symptoms of anxiety or depression during the pandemic, between April 2020 and February 2021, compared to in 2019. ER visits for drug overdoses increased by 36% and ER visits for suicide attempts rose by 26% in the past year compared to the same time period of the year earlier. ”
Special Report: As U.S. schools shuttered, student mental health cratered, Reuters finds, by Benjamin Lesser, Reuters, Mar 19 2021.
“Reuters surveyed school districts nationwide in February to assess the mental health impacts of full or partial school shutdowns. The districts, large and small, rural and urban, serve more than 2.2 million students across the United States. Of the 74 districts that responded, 74% reported multiple indicators of increased mental health stresses among students. More than half reported rises in mental health referrals and counseling. Nearly 90% of responding districts cited higher rates of absenteeism or disengagement, metrics commonly used to gauge student emotional health. The lack of in person education was a driver of these warning signs of trouble, more than half of districts said. ”
Lawmakers push mental health days for kids amid pandemic, by Sopia Eppolitio, Associated Press, Jan 30 2021.
“State lawmakers are increasingly seeking more support for kids. This year, legislation proposed in Utah and Arizona would add mental or behavioral health to the list of reasons students can be absent from class, similar to staying out with a physical illness. Similar laws have passed in Oregon, Maine, Colorado and Virginia in the past two years. ”
Pandemic's toll on mental health accentuated in cities, by Kanwal Syed and Naitian Zhou, NBC News, Nov 23 2020.
“Covid-19 hasn't been the only catastrophe sweeping the country this year. Health experts say Americans are experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression made worse by pandemic-related stressors, including job loss, evictions, remote learning, travel restrictions and limits on gathering. The contentious presidential election, increased racial tensions and natural disasters, in addition to Covid-19, added to Americans' stressors, said Dr. Joshua Gordon, director of the National Institute of Mental Health. ”
After COVID-19 Diagnosis, Nearly 1 In 5 Are Diagnosed With Mental Disorder, by Laurel Wamsley, NPR, Nov 11 2020.
“New research has found that nearly 1 person in 5 diagnosed with COVID-19 is diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder like anxiety, depression or insomnia within three months. The analysis was conducted by researchers at the University of Oxford, using electronic health records for 69.8 million patients in the U.S. — including more than 62,000 diagnosed with COVID-19. Compared with patients who had experienced certain other health events this year — such as influenza, kidney stones or a major bone fracture – those diagnosed with COVID-19 were more likely to have a subsequent psychiatric diagnosis in the following 14 to 90 days. ”
CDC study sheds new light on mental health crisis linked to coronavirus pandemic, by Jacqueline Howard & Andrea Kane, CNN Health, Aug 13 2020.
“The Covid-19 crisis has brought with it a mental health crisis in the United States, and new data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show just how broad the pandemic's impact on mental health might be. A new CDC survey found that almost 41% of respondents are struggling with mental health issues stemming from the pandemic -- both related to the coronavirus pandemic itself and the measures put in place to contain it, including physical distancing and stay-at-home orders. ”
An Era of Peril for Black Mental Health, by Joseph P. Williams, U.S. News & World Report, Aug 13 2020.
“n Cook County, Illinois, home to Chicago, officials say suicides in the Black community this year have been happening at an extreme pace, with men accounting for nearly 80% of victims. Meanwhile, snapshot government data collected last month indicates 4 in 10 Black Americans were struggling with anxiety or depression, while a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released Thursday showed that 15% of Black survey respondents in late June had seriously considered suicide in the past 30 days, compared with about 8% of whites. ”
Botox could ease depression in addition to wrinkles, study finds, by Kristen Rogers, CNN Health, Jul 30 2020.
“More than 264 million people worldwide are suffering from depression. But common treatments for depression aren't effective for nearly one third of these people, even when they stick to their treatment plans and tolerate the medications, according to the study, which published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports. ”
Can probiotics help with depression? New research suggests a link, by Katie Hunt, CNN, Jul 6 2020.
“A gut-wrenching experience. Butterflies in your stomach. Many of us instinctively feel the connection between our gut and our brain. That connection and how the range of bacteria residing in our digestive tract -- our microbiome -- might help treat mental illness has become a field of interest for scientists in recent years. A new review of medical literature has suggested that probiotics -- foods or supplements containing microbes thought to exert a positive influence on our gut -- could help ease depression. ”
How to Help Children Cope with Depression and Anxiety Right Now, by Tessa Yannone, Boston Magazine, Jun 16 2020.
“Growing up like a “regular kid” is anything but regular these days. From virtual learning to days on end spent with parents and siblings instead of friends and classmates, plus urgent new Black Lives Matter protests (read more on how to speak to kids about the protest movement here) and nonstop fireworks keeping neighborhoods up at night, parents may be wondering how to gauge how anxious kids are and how to help. This article addresses this issue! ”
Mental illness is a health issue, not a police issue, by Pete Earley , Washington Post, Jun 15 2020.
“Pete Earley is the parent designee on the Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee, which advises the federal government about mental health reform. Americans with mental illnesses make up nearly a quarter of those killed by police officers, according to The Post’s Fatal Force database. Meanwhile, a cumulative list shows 115 police officers have been killed since the 1970s by individuals with untreated serious mental illnesses. ”
These are challenging times — here's how to get free mental health assistance, by Cory Stieg, CNBC, Jun 7 2020.
“As millions of people around the world are protesting police brutality in the wake of George Floyd's death, the Covid-19 pandemic continues to sweep the nation. Many people are experiencing increased levels of stress and anxiety as a result. From therapy to coping mechanisms, here are some free and low-cost resources that can help you during this time: ”
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