mental health

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Repeat Combat Tours Zap Troops' Mental Health

Survey finds steep rise in mental problems among soldiers on third, fourth tours

(Newser) - Cutting the time soldiers have between tours of duty helped the Pentagon boost troop numbers in Iraq—but has taken a heavy toll on soldiers' mental health, Reuters reports. An Army survey found a steep rise in mental health problems among soldiers returning for their third or fourth combat tour,...

House Passes Mental Health 'Parity' Bill

Requires comparable insurance coverage for illnesses of body, mind

(Newser) - The House has passed a bill requiring most group health insurers to provide comparable coverage for treatment of mental illness and addiction as they do for physical illness, the New York Times reports. "Illness of the brain must be treated just like illness anywhere else in the body,"...

Kin, Cops' Secret 'Drill' Got Brit to Psych Ward

Careful plan between parents and police cost LA $25,000

(Newser) - Family arrangements with police to get troubled pop star Britney Spears into UCLA Medical Center for an enforced 72-hour psychiatric evaluation yesterday unfolded with almost military precision, reports the Los Angeles Times. Spears' parents, convinced their daughter is suffering from serious mental health problems, had been talking to LA police...

Midlife Crisis Is Real—and International

Depression peaks in 40s around the globe, huge study reveals

(Newser) - Just being middle-aged may lead to depression, with sufferers most vulnerable at age 44, USA Today reports. Studying more than 2 million people over 35 years led British and American economists to conclude that middle age is the nadir of lifetime happiness. "If you are finding life tough in...

Lead Exposure May Speed Mental Decline

Build-up of pollutants seen contributing to memory loss in elderly

(Newser) - Mental decline is widely considered an unavoidable aspect of aging, but a slew of recent studies link reduced functioning in the elderly to past lead exposure, the AP reports. Common pollutants aren't singlehandedly responsible for memory loss or tremors. But breathing or ingesting lead, pesticides, or mercury early in life...

Religious Belief Linked to Loneliness

Study also associates love for pets, computers with social isolation

(Newser) - Most people can't stomach loneliness, and they're more prone to believing in the supernatural or creating strong bonds with pets and household objects to compensate, a new study finds. It's a throwback to our ancestors, who relied on group living to survive, LiveScience reports. "Being socially isolated is just...

PTSD: Vets Wage Internal Wars
PTSD: Vets Wage Internal Wars
Jan 13, 2008 10:04 PM CST

PTSD: Vets Wage Internal Wars

Combat trauma continues to plague returning soldiers

(Newser) - Records of post-traumatic stress disorder go as far back as The Odyssey, and Iraq veterans are adding to the list. Combat trauma has been repeatedly linked with rates of unemployment, substance abuse, domestic violence and criminality above the national average. Yet  PTSD victims aren't getting the treatment they need, and...

College Suicide Prevention Trumps Privacy

Cornell seeks signs of student anxiety, brings parents into loop

(Newser) - After the Virginia Tech massacre highlighted the issue of student safety, more colleges began risking legal action by telling parents when their kids suffer from mental health problems, the Wall Street Journal reports. Cornell University, battling a reputation for stressed-out students, is now training staff to seek out and report...

Bigger Babies Become Happier Adults

Study links low birth weight with depression and anxiety

(Newser) - A new study links the size of a baby at birth with its happiness later in life, Reuters reports. Researchers found that adults suffering depression or anxiety were more likely to have weighed less at birth, according to a study in the journal Biological Psychiatry. "As birth weight progressively...

FBI's Mental Health Gun-Ban List Doubles

Addition highlights scope of 'background check loophole'

(Newser) - Spurred by April shootings at Virginia Tech, new reporting of mental health data has doubled the number of Americans banned from purchasing guns on such grounds, Attorney General Michael Mukasey said today. Nearly 220,000 names have been added to the FBI list, highlighting the data-sharing gap that allowed shooter...

Serbs Reject Charges of Patient Abuse

Government disputes group's claim that disabled are neglected, tortured

(Newser) - Officials in Serbia today called "dark propaganda" a report by a US human-rights group that alleged patients with mental and physical disabilities were systematically abused, and that staff at one facility tortured retarded children. "We may be suffering staffing and financial problems," one administrator said, "but...

Vets' Mental Issues Slow to Surface: Study

Troops more likely to report disorders 3-6 months after return from combat

(Newser) - US troops report worse mental health several months after returning from Iraq than immediately after getting home, an Army study shows. Upon return home, one general said, “you’re almost euphoric,” but later “the stress starts to resurface.” The study also found that National Guard reservists...

Mental Patients Benefit From Larry David Therapy

TV's finest imbodiment of social dysfunction helps cure the mentally unwell

(Newser) - However difficult Larry David might be, don’t call him unhelpful. The comic misfit's cringe-worthy gaffes turn out to be just the tonic for schizophrenics suffering from paralyzing social anxieties. A University of North Carolina grad student noticed his stubbornly  uncommunicative patients respond well to sitcoms, especially “Curb Your...

Veteran Stress Cases Surge
Veteran Stress Cases Surge
Oct 19, 2007 6:20 AM CDT

Veteran Stress Cases Surge

VA took on 20,000 new cases—up 70% —in one year

(Newser) - The Department of Veterans Affairs reported treating 20,000 new cases of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in a 12-month period ending in June, up an astounding 70% from the same time the previous year, reports USA Today. The VA counts a total of nearly 50,000 PTSD cases, and expects the...

Blue? Your Job May Be to Blame
Blue? Your Job May Be to Blame
Oct 14, 2007 3:06 PM CDT

Blue? Your Job May Be to Blame

Survey ranks professions according to depression rates

(Newser) - Those who care professionally for children or the elderly and those who dish out food and drinks tend to suffer from depression more than anyone else, a new government study says. To ward off the blues, try becoming an architect, an engineer or a surveyor, the job categories with the...

Worst Chronic Disease Is Depression

Docs tie better mental health treatment to better overall health

(Newser) - Depression is more debilitating than diabetes, asthma, arthritis, or angina—and people suffering from chronic illness and depression are in worse health than those diagnosed with any other combination of diseases, the BBC reports. "These results indicate the urgency of addressing depression as a public health priority," says...

Army Suicides Climb; Rate Highest in 26 Years

99 active-duty soldiers took their own lives in 2006

(Newser) - American soldiers are killing themselves at the highest rate since the Persian Gulf War, the AP reports. Statistics out today show 99 active-duty soldiers committed suicide in 2006, both the highest single number and the highest rate per deployed since 1991. The problem was worst in Iraq, the most common...

Big Boys Do Cry
Big Boys
Do Cry
Aug 11, 2007 4:03 PM CDT

Big Boys Do Cry

Sumo wrestler in tears after Japanese association won't let him go home

(Newser) - Japan's Sumo Association forbid a Mongolian wrestler from returning home after the ponderous athlete was in tears—diagnosed with a near breakdown. The organization, which suspended defending champion Asashoryu from two tournaments, said it wants the bawling behemoth to seek treatment at a Japanese hospital, against his doctor’s orders...

Va. Tech Shooter May Have Practiced
Va. Tech Shooter May Have Practiced
Aug 10, 2007 3:49 PM CDT

Va. Tech Shooter May Have Practiced

Investigators reveal new details of deadly April rampage

(Newser) - The Virginia Tech killer may have rehearsed his rampage 2 days before the massacre of 32 people on April 16, police investigators said today. One witness reported spotted a suspicious-looking hooded male near doors inside the academic building where the shootings took place on April 14, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports;...

Long Combat Tours Take Mental Toll
Long Combat Tours Take Mental Toll
Aug 3, 2007 5:48 AM CDT

Long Combat Tours Take Mental Toll

Brit Study: Alcoholism, post traumatic stress soar after 13 months

(Newser) - Soldiers who serve extended tours in combat zones have much higher rates of alcoholism, post traumatic stress syndrome and problems at home, a large British study has found. Of those in war zones for more than 13 months over three years, one in four had "severe" alcohol problems, compared...

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