Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Study highlights brain area that plays a key role in psychological loss

Psychological loss can occur when someone loses a job, loses a sense of control or safety or when a spouse dies.

21 Sep 2023

California officials seek ‘CARE’ without coercion as new mental health courts launch this fall

The first time Heidi Sweeney began hallucinating, the voices in her head told her Orange County's Huntington Beach was where she would be safe.

21 Sep 2023

Think again: Suppressing negative thoughts may actually improve mental health

Suppressing negative thoughts may not be harmful after all, says new study from University of Cambridge researchers. Training participants to actively suppress worrisome thoughts led to less vivid fears and improved mental health, challenging the notion that thought suppression is maladaptive.

21 Sep 2023

Has the COVID-19 pandemic made young adults less fit?

A recent study in Scientific Reports reveals that one year after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, young adults experienced significant declines in physical fitness parameters, including explosive power, aerobic and anaerobic capacities, and weight. These changes could have serious health implications, especially for those with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, underscoring the importance of promoting physical activity during and after pandemics.

20 Sep 2023

Is social media fatigue making you more likely to share fake news?

The study explores how social media fatigue, cognitive ability, and narcissistic traits influence the sharing of misinformation, particularly related to COVID-19, across eight countries. It finds that social media fatigue and narcissism are linked to higher rates of believing and sharing false information, especially among those with low cognitive ability.

20 Sep 2023

New study maps the spread of brain changes in psychosis

Psychoses like schizophrenia cost billions of dollars annually and derail the lives of people struggling with the disease.

20 Sep 2023

Cognitive behavioral therapy can significantly reduce the burden of fibromyalgia

Patients living with fibromyalgia (FM) – a disease that predominantly affects women and is characterized by chronic pain, fatigue and brain fog – often find limited treatment options and a scarcity of explanations for their symptoms.

20 Sep 2023

Calm and hope may be promising routes to psychological wellbeing after crisis

Periods of collective stress, such as a pandemic or climate crisis, have a major impact on our psychological wellbeing.

20 Sep 2023

Study highlights mental health toll of the pandemic on older adults with COPD

A new longitudinal study published online in the International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease found that older adults with COPD had a heightened risk of depression during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

20 Sep 2023

Doctors need better guidance on treating ADHD in over 50s

Doctors urgently need better international guidance on treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the over 50s, conclude world-leading experts reviewing current research on this increasing issue globally.

20 Sep 2023

New brain biomarker predicts recovery from treatment-resistant depression

Using a novel deep brain stimulation (DBS) device capable of recording brain signals, researchers have identified a pattern of brain activity or "biomarker" related to clinical signs of recovery from treatment-resistant depression.

20 Sep 2023

Could reducing light exposure help you sleep better and improve your mental health during pregnancy?

Higher light exposure at night and poor sleep quality are associated with poorer mental health outcomes.

20 Sep 2023

Recovery colleges support people with mental health issues around the world, survey reveals

For the first time ever, results from a global survey - spanning 28 countries - reveal how many recovery colleges exist internationally, how they work and how they are supporting people with mental health issues around the world.

19 Sep 2023

Does losing your sense of purpose signal the onset of cognitive decline?

A recent study in JAMA Network Open explores how an individual's sense of purpose in life changes before and after the onset of cognitive impairment, using data from two large, longitudinal studies. The research finds that while there are modest declines in purpose before cognitive decline, these reductions become significantly greater after cognitive impairment sets in, suggesting that maintaining a sense of purpose could be crucial for cognitive health.

19 Sep 2023

New NIH plan outlines HSV research framework with four strategic priorities

In response to the persistent health challenges of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2, today the National Institutes of Health released the Strategic Plan for Herpes Simplex Virus Research.

19 Sep 2023

Prolonged Grief Disorder rates during COVID-19 pandemic found to be higher than pre-pandemic times

Cases of Prolonged Grief Disorder among people bereaved during the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to be significantly higher than pre-pandemic, indicates new research from the University of Bristol and Cardiff University.

19 Sep 2023

Using both cannabis and tobacco linked to higher rates of depression and anxiety

People who use both cannabis and tobacco have significantly higher rates of depression and anxiety than those who use either substance alone or not at all, according to a new study by UC San Francisco researchers.

19 Sep 2023

Vaping increases the risk of asthma in adolescents, study suggests

A new study from the Texas A&M University School of Public Health suggests that vaping increases the risk of asthma in adolescents who have never smoked conventional tobacco products.

19 Sep 2023

Trajectory of fear of cancer recurrence levels six to 18 months post-breast cancer diagnosis

Researchers examined the predictors of fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) and its trajectory among breast cancer (BC) patients.

19 Sep 2023

New study suggests higher buprenorphine doses could help save lives

Individuals with opioid use disorder who were prescribed a lower buprenorphine dose were 20% more likely to discontinue treatment than those on a higher dose, according to a study of patients prescribed buprenorphine in Rhode Island from 2016 to 2020, as fentanyl became widely available.

19 Sep 2023