Scientists are making headway in the search for solutions to one of the most vexing problems in mental health: How to predict who is at risk for suicide. Researchers are hunting for so-called biomarkers, such as patterns of brain activity on fMRI scans or levels of stress hormones in the blood, linked to suicidal thoughts…
“New data shows 40 per cent of Canadians say they’ve experienced feelings of anxiety or depression — but haven’t sought medical help. The numbers come from a survey of more than 1,500 Canadian adults by Women’s College Hospital and Shoppers Drug Mart. The results offer a striking look at the level of stigma and shame…
“Likened by some to the gay rights movement, with its beginnings in personal revelation, the groundswell to lift the stigma connected with mental illness has had a multiplying effect accelerated by social media. The more people who “come out” about their mental illness and are met with acceptance, the more others feel it’s safe to…
I was catching up on a few episodes of the Freakonomics podcast the other day, and came across an interview with Tim Ferriss, author of the Four Hour Work Week, among other projects. In the interview, Tim discussed the struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts he had as a student, and he also suggested that…
It’s easy to put depression into a box of symptoms, and though we as a society are constantly told mental illness comes in all shapes and sizes, we are stuck with a mental health stock image in our heads that many people don’t match. When we see depression and anxiety in adolescents, we see teens struggling to get…
Social media sites like Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, etc. get a lot of bad publicity when it comes to mental health. That’s understandable, because too many people who are vulnerable to bad ideas, use them to feel bad about themselves, or interact with people who hurt them. Social networks are made of people at the end…
