Shared Links (weekly) April 20, 2025
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The documentary will air on PBS in April. Obviously, it will be focused on Los Angeles, a place where this problem is especially acute, but one that we might see play out, at a smaller scale, anywhere. It’s an important topic that people still don’t quite get until it’s someone in their family, or that…
I think it’s important that we understand our need for both. As science keeps telling us, we are social creatures. Even introverts like me need some sort of social activity and friends. We also need those intimate relationships where we can hit those emotional connections. Romantic relationships are an obvious example here, but other relationships can also be our emotional connection.
The lack of one of these will feel like loneliness, but the “fix” will be different. If I’m well-connected to my wife but missing out on the variety of social connections that a larger friend group might provide, that’s where my focus should be, and it might show up differently. The lack of an emotional connection would also look different and brings with it a different set of risks.
Creating a new number was the easy part. Similar to raising awareness because it’s necessary, it’s essential, but if there is no one there to provide the help we encourage people to reach out for, it’s not nearly enough. Here’s hoping these state and local organizations can find and train people to provide the necessary help during these calls. That’s only a start, of course. We still have so much work to do to make that help accessible to everyone who needs it.
In some ways, this struggle to staff the hotline is a microcosm of the entire mental health field right now. We need a lot of resources that just aren’t there right now. Can we figure out a way to get change that?
‘We Can Talk About This’: Kids Benefit When Parents Open Up About Mental Health Struggles
COVID-19 Did Not Affect Mental Health the Way You Think
– Turns out there’s a lot of resiliency out there too, but it looks different for everyone.
How one woman’s experience with childhood sexual abuse inspired her to help others heal
Suicide is the single biggest killer of men under 45
– in the UK
“Never Look on the Dark Side”: The Science of Positivity from Early Eugenics to Today
Society doesn’t value rest, it may be hurting our mental health tremendously. The researchers discovered that regular sleep disruptions are associated with difficulty in shifting one’s attention away from negative information. This may mean that inadequate sleep is part of what makes negative intrusive thoughts stick around and interfere with people’s lives, they say. https://psychcentral.com/news/2018/01/07/not-enough-sleep-linked-to-depression-and-anxiety/130871.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook
They need to be better about that if we are going to make any kind of dent in the mental healthcare accessibility problem. Online therapy can be a difference maker if it can help people quicker and cheaper and with the same effectiveness. Those are the keys right now to improving the care system for all of us.