Mental health

Mental health

My mom loved a Pepsi. One thing about my mother, that's her favorite drink,

When people hear the words domestic violence they usually think of intimate partner violence, but there is another form of domestic violence that's just as real and often just as dangerous, although few want to talk about it: Parents who are abused and sometimes killed by their own children. This is called filial domestic violence. In my work, it's not rare and it's not mild.

There's something about walking into our childhood home that can make many of us feel like we're 13 again. We arrive as capable adults with our own lives, and 10 minutes later find ourselves defending choices we made years ago or falling into arguments we swore we would never have again. It can be hard to watch ourselves from the outside and think, I don't act like this anywhere else, so why do I do it here?

Foster's experience aligns with a well-known and disturbing trend in American health care: more children are having mental health problems. In 2023, 40% of high school students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and 20% had seriously considered attempting suicide, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study. Studies also found that more young people are going to emergency rooms for care an expensive option that can cost thousands of dollars.

The Washington Post analyzed TikTok usage, finding what topics the algorithm nudges users towards more: TikTok's algorithm favors mental health content over many other topics, including politics, cats and Taylor Swift, according to a Washington Post analysis of nearly 900 U.S. TikTok users who shared their viewing histories. The analysis found that mental health content is stickier than many other videos: It's easier to spawn more of it after watching with a video, and harder to get it out of your feed afterward.

I didn't become vegan overnight. It started with asking one honest question: 'What's the most loving choice I can make, every day, for others and for myself?'

I was absolutely thrilled to become a mother and I loved taking care of my baby. At the same time, though, some of those late nights breastfeeding her during those first six months were some of the loneliest and most desperate hours of my life. I had never been so tired. In the dark of my daughter's nursery, it sometimes felt like I was the only awake adult on the planet.

Grief doesn't follow a script. Whether you've lost someone suddenly or are navigating the slow unraveling that follows a major life change, it can be hard to find space for your emotions, let alone make sense of them. That's where journaling comes in. This commonly therapist-recommended tool has been shown to ease stress, clarify emotions, and support long-term healing. And, no, it doesn't have to be done daily to make a difference.

In 2023, I lost my soul dog, Chubbs. He had been with me for 14 years through every apartment, every move, and even a cross-country relocation from Texas to New York. When he passed, it felt like someone had pulled the anchor from my life. I didn't just lose my dog; I lost my sense of safety and the steady presence that had guided every chapter of my adult life. The grief felt overwhelming.

As winter break approaches, college students are returning home for much-needed rest. Many will retreat to their rooms to recharge, while others may rush to reconnect with friends, even bypassing the open arms of their parents. College life is demanding, and most students develop coping skills to manage the semester's accumulated stress. For some, however, academic, social, and independent-living pressures can feel overwhelming, triggering new mental health or substance-use concerns or exacerbating existing vulnerabilities.

Start by getting a physical examination to make sure that your body is healthy. Talk to your doctor about how you are feeling, and ask for recommendations to support your new routine. Next, map out things you can do during the workday to up your energy. Typically, people get a bit lethargic after lunch and toward late afternoon. Can you take a 15-minute break right before you normally get sluggish and take a vigorous walk outside your building?

At the end of September, Malika Brittingham was arrested after falsely reporting an active shooter at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey. She'd sent a text saying that she'd heard five or six shots and was "hiding with her co-workers." After a lockdown and law enforcement response, Brittingham sheepishly admitted she'd made it up so she could "trauma bond" with her coworkers.

Stress tolerance is a key executive function skill that relates to our ability to cope with pressure, uncertainty, and change. Stress tolerance involves being able to navigate incoming demands and manage stressful situations. For some of us, this is a significant strength, and we may find that we thrive in uncertain, novel, and changing environments. For others, atypical circumstances can be very stressful (Dawson and Guare, 2016).

Overuse of AI for mental health support could well lead to the next public health emergency if the government does not take urgent action. We shouldn't be surprised that teenagers are turning to tools such as ChatGPT in this way. NHS waiting lists are rising, and one in five young people are living with a mental health condition. It is unacceptable that young people who require support for their mental health are unable to access the services they need, before they reach crisis point.

Lately, my sessions have been filled with clients reflecting on the tension that often arises during periods of transition. Some feel proud of their growth, while others feel discouraged by goals left unmet or intentions that quietly fell away as life became overwhelming. Many wonder what to do with this disappointment and whether to carry these unfinished hopes forward. As an art therapist, I guide clients toward practices rooted not in self-judgment but in intentionality, embodiment, and creative self-understanding.

No one should ever have to go through one shooting, let alone two.

When you've saved a lot of money, early retirement becomes a possibility. That's the situation this Reddit poster is in. The poster has a net worth of $8.1 million at 48 years old and is ready to stop working. They set their son up with enough money for college and grad school, as well as a $250,000 stock account. The poster feels guilty about leaving the workforce during their prime earning years, though.

I worked for a family-owned realty company for nearly 30 years. I am not a family member. We started out as just four of us while the company expanded into one of the largest real estate firms in our community. I was an intricate piece of it, but as it grew, I felt more and more left in the dark by their decisions and considerations. It felt hostile to me.

Grief can make some people hole up indoors. But in Northampton, Massachusetts a walking bereavement group gathers outside once a week on warm days and chilly ones. Most join the group after a spouse has died, but some are there to remember a sibling, a parent or a child. Maureen Cahillane, 91, walked with a cane around a local park with about two dozen other people.

I was so panicked by the grief I might experience if my loved one died that it prevented me from giving my loved one what I needed [to]," says Lambert, 54, who lives in London. That was back in 2017. Over time, through trial and error, Lambert says, she learned she had to put her own feelings aside in the moment and focus on the person in front of her.

When Violet and I finally decided to get married, I was in the middle of a depression so deep it had developed into something more like psychosis. I felt like I was pretending to be myself. I don't mean I was playing "the role" of the husband-to-be, the good son, the whatever. I mean I was going around thinking, What would I do right now if I were Malcolm?

Jennings's article focused on people using TikTok gain a more in-depth knowledge of ADHD. "Arguably no part of mental health TikTok is as omnipresent or as fraught as ADHD TikTok," Jennings wrote - and addressed one of the biggest challenges that arose from its prominence, namely: at what point does getting advice from an app overtake getting actual medical advice?

Women in fertility treatment often feel they can't catch a break; the issues keep stacking up, cycle after cycle, complication after complication, diagnosis after diagnosis. It can feel like jumping through one hoop only to find three more waiting. Living in a state of fight or flight becomes the norm. What makes it even harder is that this pressure builds quietly over time.

My son was not outside. He lay in bed, in a darkened room, unable to tolerate the noise, the light, the movement of his own body. The celebration happening just beyond our walls might as well have been on another planet. So often, over the years since my children developed neuroimmune conditions, I felt hollow. There was a hole inside me that nothing could fill.

The most significant finding from the study is the powerful positive effect a hybrid work model has on women's mental health. The sweet spot appears to be working mainly from home while spending one to two days per week in the office. For women who were already experiencing poor mental health, this arrangement provided a mental health boost comparable to a 15% increase in household income. This suggests the benefits go far beyond simply cutting down on commute time. The flexibility to better manage work and family responsibilities and experience less work-related stress are likely major contributing factors.

Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often experience symptoms like difficulty sustaining attention, impulsivity, restlessness, and challenges with organization and time management that can affect work, relationships, and daily life. ADHD was long thought of as primarily a childhood condition, but research over the past decade has shown that many people continue to have symptoms into adulthood, and some never received a diagnosis earlier in life.

Many people assume mental health clinicians are immune to mental health concerns. In reality, therapists experience stressors and emotional struggles just like anyone else. Some of the most effective healers are those who take the time to do inner work on their own trauma history. "But you're a therapist, so you probably won't understand," she said with a sideways glance in my direction. "You probably have everything together." I still laugh when I remember that moment.

Her voice trembled in a way that tightened the air around us, as if the memory itself were still present in the room. She stared at the floor while describing how he threatened her into silence and how she froze, hoping someone would come, even though she already knew no one would. The next morning, she told her mother because she believed love meant protection, but instead her mother slapped her and accused her of lying.

When you stop to consider all that parents are juggling, it actually isn't so surprising anymore. There are kids' weekend and after-school schedules, spirit weeks (yet again) at their school, homework to manage, sports practices, dance events, band lessons, in addition to trying to also somewhat manage an adult life that also likely consists of work, responsibilities, relationships, plus physical health, and parental mental health needs.