Mental health

Mental health

So you keep hustling and double-down on working harder, justifying it with "rational" concerns that things could change anytime and, heck, your competition isn't resting. Even on vacation, you're thinking about work and constantly checking your messages to put out fires. You're in a beautiful place having an amazing meal with incredible entertainment, yet you're feeling numb like you're going through the motions and you're not emotionally present.

Childhood anxiety has been on the rise. Our instinct as parents is often to get more involved. But what if that's part of the problem? The statistics are grim. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), among U.S. adolescents ages 12 to 17 surveyed between 2021 and 2023, 20% reported symptoms of anxiety in the past two weeks, and 18% reported symptoms of depression. In 2023, almost 40% of high school students reported experiencing persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness

When I think back on my life, shyness feels like an inner prison I carried with me for years. Not a prison with bars and guards, but a quieter kind-made of hesitation, fear, and silence. It kept me standing still while life moved forward around me. One memory stays with me: my eighth-grade dance. The gym was alive with music, kids moving awkwardly but freely on the floor, laughing, bumping into one another, having fun.

When tough, but healthy coaches challenged us to try new things in gymnastics-in particular, dangerous skills that lent themselves to feelings of fear and potential injury-they did so in a way that was safe and supported: with spots and soft mats as needed, with endless drills that broke down the skills into manageable parts, and with a calm temperament that built trust (e.g., with statements like "I've got you," "We'll do it in slow motion," "Do you feel ready for the next step?"). We had a say in what we were doing with our own bodies, and coaches were there for us through the ups and downs of the learning process.

For most of my life, I have carried an invisible companion: a harsh inner voice that sounds like mine and tells me, over and over, that I am not enough. It's so oppressive that people close to me have often said they'd never met anyone so hard on themselves. Over decades of listening to that voice, I let it convince me that no achievement was ever sufficient.

My parents usually weren't in the same house at the same time, though they occasionally made an exception for holidays. We might have dinner, followed by arguments or passive aggressive comments about who didn't help whom prepare and clean up. I longed for the traditions that others had with their families: making hot chocolate, stringing popcorn-such random, small things, but so meaningful when done together as a family.

I've spent a lot of this year trying to perfect the art of leaving the house. This might sound like an odd mission until you've seen me spend 25 minutes getting distracted while looking for my wallet and sunnies, doubling back to grab my laptop, tripling back for my work pass, missing my train, arriving at my destination with 1% battery and only then realising the medication I was meant to take that morning is still sitting on the counter.

Have you ever noticed something change after a glass of wine or a cocktail? Maybe you or your partner suddenly become more talkative, affectionate, or emotionally open. It might feel like a wall has come down. For a little while, everything feels easier. More connected. More loving. Then the next morning, it's gone. If this feels familiar, there's a good reason. Alcohol can temporarily unlock emotions that feel stuck or out of reach.

All people have strengths and resources. Assess for, and focus on, these strengths and resources, and not on weaknesses and deficits. Utilize and leverage them when designing interventions. Each person is a unique individual. Each person has their own goals, values, and ways of experiencing and being in the world, along with their own unique sets of strengths and resources. Individualizing interventions is key.

If you ask Jodeah Wilson how his life got off track, he'll say it's all about money. He needs money for November rent. He also needs money to pay back the tuition he owes for the spring semester at Sacramento State University, which would allow him to re-enroll. Until then, he's stuck in limbo. "All I need is a goddamn job so I can pay this off myself," he said. But it's been months and so far, he's still unemployed.

I'm 37 and I don't think I've ever felt lonelier in my life than I have for the past 10 years or so. I used to think something was wrong with me or that I was unlikable in some way, but that wasn't the case. I feel a big reason is that I'm single and everyone is doing their own thing, whether it's their career, getting married, or trying to figure themselves out. I just know something is off, and I haven't quite figured out how to fix it. It's like a massive life transition.

The death of Marshawn Kneeland is a tragic reminder that athletes, even those rising to the top of their game, are human beings first. The best highlight reels can mask the weight of expectations and the psychological pain many athletes carry in silence. Sport psychology holds the power to support athletes as they navigate these pressures and sustain both their performance and their well-being.

In the past week, I have had three clients tell me that they have received letters from their insurance companies stating that their premiums will increase in the new year due to the changes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). According to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, if ACA premium tax credits expire at the end of the year, which seems more likely as the government shutdown continues, "premiums are predicted to increase for 2026 by an average of 75 percent."

If they tried to set [boundaries] as a kid, there would either be intense pushback to the point where it becomes not worth it, or a blow up to the point where it becomes not worth it,

According to the American Psychological Association's latest Stress in America™ 2025 survey, societal division has emerged as a major source of stress for U.S. adults. Conducted online by The Harris Poll, the survey found that 62% of 3,000 adults, ages 18 and older, identified societal division as a significant stressor in their lives. As we head into the holiday season, this finding feels especially relevant. The same gatherings that promise warmth and connection can also stir tension, particularly when social and political differences arise.

There's a moment in Black Panther (2018) when T'Challa stands before his father in the ancestral plane, wrestling with what kind of king-and what kind of man-he's supposed to be. He's torn between duty and doubt, between the world's expectations and his own quiet hopes. That scene captures something I've seen, and lived, in real time. Many of us were raised to believe that strength is the only language we're allowed to speak.

Infertility magnifies every communication challenge a couple already carries, as stress can distort our perception. Even simple differences of opinion can suddenly feel like rejection or blame. Spare me the Pain Our minds are wired to spare us from pain and uncertainty. Thought fallacies are the brain's way of managing that fear. When we face something unpredictable or beyond our control, the mind scrambles to restore order where none exists.

A few, for sure. About four times, actually. And my family's rather small. Suicide has impacted my old friend group quite a bit. I've lost friends. I've lost family. My older brother. My sister's youngest. I never thought I'd have that many people. Alcohol and depression, it comes hand-in-hand. One day the smiles stopped. I don't mind talking about it. You guys are actually talking to the right person.

The lawsuits filed Thursday in California state courts allege wrongful death, assisted suicide, involuntary manslaughter and negligence. Filed on behalf of six adults and one teenager by the Social Media Victims Law Center and Tech Justice Law Project, the lawsuits claim that OpenAI knowingly released GPT-4o prematurely, despite internal warnings that it was dangerously sycophantic and psychologically manipulative. Four of the victims died by suicide.

Imposter syndrome doesn't signal weakness-it signals you're exactly where you should be. That's the counterintuitive message from Scott Galloway, a NYU marketing professor and serial entrepreneur who has built and sold multiple companies for millions of dollars. In a recent episode of his podcast, The Prof G Pod, Galloway reframed one of professional life's most common anxieties as evidence of ambition, not inadequacy.

Before her passing, she recorded a series of interviews for Netflix in which she encouraged people to have hope, make a difference in the world, and never give up. In those interviews, Jane referred to the serious concerns of climate change and other global challenges we're living through. She reminded us that everyone has a role to play, including being mindful of how our daily actions impact other beings, the planet, and the future.

Eating disorders are among the most chronic and life-threatening psychiatric illnesses, with many affected individuals experiencing fatal outcomes. Recovery is often difficult because patients may fear changes to their bodies, struggle to relinquish control over eating and exercise, and live within a culture that reinforces disordered eating behaviors and unrealistic beauty ideals. As a result, harm reduction has increasingly been discussed as a necessary approach for individuals with long-term, chronic eating disorders.

I have two YouTube videos in my Watch Later that I have ironically been procrastinating on watching: replacing doomscrolling with writing (how to finally write your novel) and Self Education: Your Best Defense Against Brain Rot. Both videos take an almost combative stance against the use of social media, largely because spending time on the platform du jour often devolves into doomscrolling for hours until your brain rots.

For these individuals, extreme emotional distress, panic, anger, frustration, and even disgust have been noted (Brout, 2018). Misophonia is a neurophysiological condition in which the amygdala becomes activated by sounds that should not be alarming or dangerous (Kumar, 2017). The context of triggers-such as whether or not something is rude, offensive, or otherwise disgusting can affect the emotional aftermath of a trigger, but it does not change the aversive fight-flight-freeze response.

Westmeath GAA player Luke ­Loughlin has told TDs and senators that he "could not believe" the response when he spoke about his struggles with alcohol and substance abuse four years ago.

Westmeath GAA player Luke Loughlin has told TDs and senators that he "could not believe" the response when he opened up about his struggles with alcohol and substance abuse four years ago.

Pop's ex-wife was my biological grandmother, and there is no generation in our family that was not touched by her emotional, physical and financial abuse. In 1980, she kicked my teenage parents and me out of her house when I was an infant. She'd decided on a whim that my underemployed father and postpartum mother were able to make it on their own, without a single resource to their names.

The behavior has gained cultural visibility. On TikTok, the hashtag "hyper-independence" has racked up millions of views in videos tagged "hyper-independence is a trauma response" and "signs of hyper-independence." For many viewers, the content is striking because they assumed this was simply how success was achieved, not a survival strategy with hidden costs. That viral visibility makes it even more important for workplaces to recognize the pattern and promote healthier interdependence, rather than rewarding the unsustainable behaviors it reinforces.

I used to think it was a con, too. During my psychiatric residency, therapy was defined by patience and silence. I was taught to listen quietly, encourage patients to vent, and maybe prescribe an antidepressant. We didn't set measurable goals, and we certainly didn't expect recovery anytime soon. Progress was supposed to take months, or years. And it did! But now that I've been in practice with TEAM CBT for many decades, my experience is the opposite.