mental health

National

Pilots say they're afraid to seek mental health care. The FAA says it's listening

3:44pm December 06, 2023

by Joel Rose

At a summit on mental health in aviation, pilots and safety experts urged regulators to reform rules that discourage people from seeking treatment because they're afraid of losing clearance to fly.

Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter attends a rally at the US Capitol in March 2008 when she helped get the mental health parity law enacted. Carter died on Nov. 19 at age 96.

Health & Safety

First Lady Rosalynn Carter's legacy on mental health boils down to one word: Hope

5:05am November 24, 2023

by Christine Herman

The former first lady fought with persistence to put care for mental and physical health on equal footing and to eliminate discrimination toward people with mental illnesses.

Christine Rogers of Wake Forest, North Carolina, was asked to complete a mental health questionnaire as part of her annual physical. A brief conversation with her doctor landed her with a charge for a separate consultation.

Health & Safety

She talked about depression at a checkup — and got billed for two visits

4:48pm October 30, 2023

Completing a routine depression screening questionnaire during an annual checkup is cost-free under federal law. But, as one woman discovered, answering a doctor's follow-up questions might not be.

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Left: A Palestinian woman cries at the garden of Al-Ahli Arabi Baptist Hospital after it was hit in Gaza City, Gaza on Oct. 18. Right: After an attack by Hamas on a kibbutz near the Gaza border, a swing is left intact while most of this family's house is in ruins. Five family members were kidnapped.

Health & Safety

The Middle East crisis is stirring up a 'tsunami' of mental health woes

4:56pm October 25, 2023

by Rhitu Chatterjee

The Israel-Gaza conflict is likely to leave people in the region struggling with trauma-related mental health symptoms for a long time to come.

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Middle school is a good time to encourage kids to embrace the benefits of bike riding, says Esther Walker of Outride, a nonprofit which promotes cycling at school.

Bike riding in middle school may boost mental health, study finds

7:54pm October 18, 2023

by Maria Godoy

Middle school can be a challenging time and it turns out bike riding may help. Researchers found students who took part in a 6 to 8 week cycling class reported having a more positive outlook on life.

Ozempic, approved by the Food and Drug Administration for Type 2 diabetes, is racking up blockbuster sales because many people are taking it to lose weight. As more people try it, reports to the FDA about possible side effects are rising.

Health & Safety

As Ozempic use grows, so do reports of possible mental health side effects

4:26pm September 21, 2023

by Sydney Lupkin

Many people taking Ozempic and related drugs have reported mental health concerns. Those side effects aren't in Ozempic's instructions for use. Are the problems a coincidence or related to the drug?

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A study of nearly 300,000 people in the U.K. found that people who maintained at least five of seven healthy habits cut their risk of depression by 57%.

These habits can cut the risk of depression in half, a new study finds

11:26am September 19, 2023

by Allison Aubrey

New evidence shows that people who maintain a range of healthy habits, from good sleep to physical activity to strong social connections, are significantly less likely to experience depression.

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Jess Hegstrom, a public health worker for Lewis and Clark County in Montana, tries to start conversations about suicide risk at gun shows. "I'm not here to waggle my finger at you," she says.

Health & Safety

Storing guns away from home could reduce suicides, but there are legal hurdles

5:01am September 06, 2023

by Aaron Bolton

New ideas like "safe storage maps" show gun owners where to put their firearms in safekeeping if a mental health crisis happens. The idea has support, but obstacles are in the way in some states.

Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska heads the country's mental health campaign, called "How Are You?" She says the country is still overcoming the legacy of the Soviet era, when the government sometimes said dissidents had "psychiatric problems" and locked them in mental institutions. She's shown here meeting with students in Paris last December.

With a simple question, Ukrainians probe mental health at a time of war

5:13pm August 17, 2023

by Greg Myre

Ukraine calculates the agony of war in many ways. Lives lost, homes destroyed, families turned into refugees. There's also trauma that's harder to measure — the collective mental health crisis.

When humans interact with dogs, the feel-good hormone oxytocin increases — in the person and the dog.

Petting other people's dogs, even briefly, can boost your health

3:41pm August 03, 2023

by Maria Godoy

You don't even have to own one. Research shows just 5 to 20 minutes interacting with other people's pooches can reduce stress hormones and increase well-being.

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