I work with AI professionally. I use it to get things done and to support research, but I never trust or depend on it. It’s a tool. For mental health, it can also be a tool, and I’m sure many of you are finding it helpful. I would caution all of us to be careful, though. Mental health professionals have serious reservations; I would keep them in mind.
I think this is interesting. Of course, access to a park or walkable neighborhoods would lead to better mental health outcomes. At least that is what we’d expect. But for some young people, when that park or neighborhood isn’t safe, it might turn into yet another place to be hyperalert and anxious about.
If we’re going to become a less lonely society, we need to take advantage of opportunities to gather together. It’s that simple. It’s also becoming more challenging to do as we hide behind social media and news media, more interested in keeping us afraid of “others” so that we will continue to give them our attention.
I don’t claim to have all of the answers to the challenge of suicide prevention, but the basics are relatively straightforward. This research into teenagers shows us precisely what keeps people alive:
Despite high suicide risk, most teens can identify reasons to live, from family bonds to small future dreams – offering hope for prevention.
Doing what we can to lift people out of poverty, homelessness, food insecurity, etc., is mental healthcare.
That description of restlessness is familiar to me. That’s how I feel when I’m not engaged in learning something. That’s why I remain curious about the things I care about and why I share so much here and elsewhere online. It’s a motivation for me to continue learning, and that, in turn, helps my mental health.
It’s self-care for me.
