It’s Sunday morning as I type this, the day after a bloody day in America. Unless you live under a rock, you know why. 20 dead in El Paso, Texas. 9 dead in Dayton, Ohio. The elected official in me – indeed, the human – is outraged. 29 dead YESTERDAY ALONE in mass shootings because … Continue reading How mass shootings affect (everyone else’s) mental health
This Bloomberg story came out about two weeks ago and reviewed America’s rising suicide numbers. It’s findings, as you can imagine, are damning. Some of the salient points: In 2017, 47,000 people died by suicide – and 1.4 million made attempts. From 2000-2006, the suicide rate increased by 1% annually. From 2006-2016, that increased to … Continue reading An in-depth look at America’s suicide numbers
I wrote last week about how the particularly sharp rise in suicide and mental illness among our youngest is particularly alarming, arguing it doesn’t bode well for our society if our youngest are becoming so sick so young. USA Today ran a related story last week about a similar topic, making an argument which has … Continue reading “Deaths of despair”
When it comes to mental illness, video games often get a bad rap. There is a ton of talk in the media about how video games cause violent behavior (it’s not that simple) and how video game addiction is a real thing (it is, but not as big of a problem as some may lead … Continue reading Video games can help fight depression
This Pew study. Wow. According to a new study by the Pew Research Center, a whopping 96% of teens view depression and anxiety as a major or minor problem among their peers, far outpacing literally every other societal problem, including bullying, alcohol, poverty, teen pregnancy and more. And the numbers aren’t even close. Per the … Continue reading American Teenagers: Depression is our biggest problem
Does the internet help with depression in the long term? Social media definitely doesn’t. But, that’s not to say that all social media is evil. Some of it is downright wonderful. One of the most popular social media/internet forums is Reddit. Reddit, for those of you who don’t know, is one of the longest running … Continue reading I’m just gonna try to make you smile for a second: Here are seven subreddits you should look at
You know how I’ve written about how social media and phones can cause depression? Well, it turns out, your phone can also tell if you are depressed. The study, from the University of Stanford, shows that face and speech software on your phone can detect depression based on your facial expressions and speech patterns: The … Continue reading Your smartphone can tell if you’re depressed
Yesterday, I wrote a little bit about a really insightful technical package offered by the Centers for Disease Control. It’s a long document, but for those of you who care about how we can stop suicide and are looking for ideas (if you are involved in the government or not!), I think it’s a great … Continue reading How the Center for the Disease Control says we can stop suicide
The news about depression is – well, depressing. According to the most recent information, major depression is on the rise, and that spike is particularly acute among teens and young adults. Meanwhile, a new CDC report shows that suicide is at a twenty year high, having jumped more than 25% across America since 1999. In … Continue reading Depression is on the rise; here are some guesses about why
I’ve written about it before, and now there is even more proof: A new study has linked social media and depression I caught this article in Forbes, which notes: The team calculated that for every 10% rise in negative social media interactions a person experienced, their risk of depression rose significantly—by 20%. For every 10% … Continue reading New study links social media and depression
