Category: Mental Health

Categories : Exercise Mental HealthTags :

Exercise to Treat Depression Yields Similar Results to Therapy and Antidepressants

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Researchers found that exercise can have a moderate benefit in reducing depressive symptoms, comparable to therapy and antidepressants

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Exercise may reduce symptoms of depression to a similar extent as psychological therapy, according to an updated Cochrane review. When compared with antidepressant medication, exercise also showed a similar effect, but the evidence was of low certainty.  

Depression is a leading cause of ill health and disability, affecting over 280 million people worldwide. Exercise is low-cost, widely available, and comes with additional health benefits, making it an attractive option for patients and healthcare providers.

The review, conducted by researchers from the University of Lancashire, and supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration North-West Coast (ARC NWC), examined 73 randomised controlled trials including nearly 5000 adults with depression. The studies compared exercise with no treatment or control interventions, as well as with psychological therapies and antidepressant medications.

The results show that exercising can have a moderate benefit on reducing depressive symptoms, compared with no treatment or a control intervention. When compared with psychological therapy, exercise had a similar effect on depressive symptoms, based on moderate-certainty evidence from ten trials. Comparisons with antidepressant medication also suggested a similar effect, but the evidence is limited and of low certainty. Long-term effects are unclear as few studies followed participants after treatment.  

Side effects were rare, including occasional musculoskeletal injuries for those exercising and typical medication-related effects for those taking antidepressants, such as fatigue and gastrointestinal problems.

“Our findings suggest that exercise appears to be a safe and accessible option for helping to manage symptoms of depression,” said Professor Andrew Clegg, lead author of the review. “This suggests that exercise works well for some people, but not for everyone, and finding approaches that individuals are willing and able to maintain is important.”

The review found that light to moderate intensity exercise may be more beneficial than vigorous exercise, and that completing between 13 and 36 exercise sessions of light to moderate intensity exercise was associated with greater improvements in depressive symptoms.

No single type of exercise was clearly superior, although mixed exercise programmes and resistance training appeared more effective than aerobic exercise alone. Some forms of exercise, such as yoga, qigong and stretching, were not included in the analysis and represent areas for future research. Long-term effects are unclear as few studies followed participants after treatment.  

This update adds 35 new trials to previous versions of this Cochrane review published in 2008 and 2013, which were supported by the NIHR. Despite the additional evidence, the overall conclusions remain largely unchanged. This is because the majority of trials were small, with fewer than 100 participants, making it difficult to draw firm conclusions.  

“Although we’ve added more trials in this update, the findings are similar,” said Professor Clegg. “Exercise can help people with depression, but if we want to find which types work best, for who and whether the benefits last over time, we still need larger, high-quality studies. One large, well-conducted trial is much better than numerous poor quality small trials with limited numbers of participants in each.” 

By Mia Parkinson

Source: Cochrane

Categories : Mental HealthTags :

New Study Radically Shifts Ideas About Psychosis and Delusions

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New paper challenges old notions of ‘glitched brain’ idea of delusions and instead focuses on physical experiences of strong and deeply held emotion.

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People experiencing delusions during an episode of psychosis may be ‘living out’ a deeply held emotion, according to new research that provides a ‘radically different perspective’ on one of the most puzzling elements of psychosis.

About 2–3% of the UK and Australian population will experience psychosis at some point in their lives, with people commonly experiencing their first psychotic episode between the ages of 16 and 30 years old. Delusions are often described as fixed or false beliefs, understood to be reasoning or cognitive deficits and usually portrayed as incomprehensible and bizarre in popular culture.

New research by the University of Birmingham, University of Melbourne, and the University of York, in collaboration with the Australian youth mental health research institute Orygen, offers the first-known study of how delusions in psychosis are shaped by emotions and language, leading those experiencing delusions to ‘live in metaphor.’

The study has been published in The Lancet Psychiatry.

Our research provides a radically different perspective on psychotic delusions, demonstrating how they emerge from the emotional, bodily, and linguistic fabric of people’s lives.Dr Rosa Ritunnano, University of Birmingham

Conducted with young adults receiving care from Early Intervention in Psychosis services, the research combines clinical assessment, phenomenological interviews, and life-story narratives to explore how people’s sense of self and their perception of reality change during psychosis.

Dr Rosa Ritunnano, from the Institute for Mental Health at the University of Birmingham, consultant psychiatrist and author of the study, said: “Our research provides a radically different perspective on psychotic delusions, demonstrating how they emerge from the emotional, bodily, and linguistic fabric of people’s lives.

“For a long time, clinicians have struggled to understand where delusions come from and how they take shape. Our research offers new insight by showing how delusions are grounded in emotional experiences that involve great bodily turmoil.”

Strong emotions

The findings reveal that delusions are not isolated ideas produced by ‘glitches in the brain,’ but they reflect distinctive patterns of the body reacting to strong emotions or experiences of dissociation.

Participants described alternating states of intense emotional embodiment, such as feeling exposed, powerful, or connected to God, and disembodiment, such as feeling unreal or detached from one’s body, other people, and the world.

Before the delusions started, people often went through upsetting or traumatic experiences that triggered the same intense feelings they later felt during the delusions, especially being shamed.

Repeated negative experiences such as being publicly mocked and shamed by bullies could induce the bodily perception of being surveilled by others when no one is present (so-called ‘reference delusions’). These turn into persecutory beliefs that others are out to get them, and that an audience can literally see what they are doing or hear what they are thinking at all times — leaving no space for privacy (delusions of ‘thought broadcasting’).

Importantly, delusional experiences were not always negative. For some participants, they involved powerful feelings of awe, love, and spiritual connection, fostering a positive sense of identity and a renewed sense of hope about the future.

Figurative language

A striking feature of participants’ accounts was their use of figurative and metonymic language (expressions linking bodily sensations with complex emotions or abstract ideas). This helps explain why delusional content can appear unusual or bizarre. For instance, feeling ‘exposed’ or ‘tainted’ might be expressed through the beliefs of being watched by cameras or being contaminated (as in delusions of parasitosis).

As a result of having endured strong (often negative) emotional experiences, which are then responded to by the body, and shaped by everyday language use, people experiencing psychotic delusions really are living in metaphor. People may feel delighted and say they are so happy they can ‘touch the sky’; this could lead them to experience the delusion of thinking they can fly.Professor Jeannette Littlemore, University of Birmingham

The language reflects how emotion concepts take shape in bodily experiences, establishing fundamental cognitive links between, for instance, the emotion of parental love and the physical sensation of warmth, or the emotion of shame and the physical sensation of being ‘seen’ by others.

Jeannette Littlemore, Professor of Linguistics and Communication at the University of Birmingham and co-author of the paper, said: “We all use metaphors and narratives to understand our experiences and make sense of our lives. But psychosis patients do so more intensely. As a result of having endured strong (often negative) emotional experiences, which are then responded to by the body, and shaped by everyday language use, people experiencing psychotic delusions really are living in metaphor. People may feel delighted and say they are so happy they can ‘touch the sky’; this could lead them to experience the delusion of thinking they can fly.”

The study argues that better insight into how delusions come about can be used to create more effective care for people experiencing psychosis. Participants felt that there was no space to talk about the meaning of their delusions in the context of their treatment and recovery from psychosis, which led to more shame and increased the sense of being dismissed and marginalised.

The researchers highlight the importance of attending to people’s bodily and emotional worlds, and how they express them, when developing compassionate, effective approaches to psychosis care.

The paper concludes that delusions are not simply beliefs gone wrong, but embodied attempts to restore meaning and emotional balance when life becomes overwhelming. The metaphors and narratives people use are keys to understanding their suffering and are not signs of irrationality.

Source: University of Birmingham

Categories : Antibiotics Mental HealthTags :

A Common Antibiotic may Reduce Schizophrenia Risk in Young People

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A commonly prescribed antibiotic could help reduce the risk of some young people developing schizophrenia, new research suggests. Experts found that patients of adolescent mental health services who were treated with the antibiotic doxycycline were significantly less likely to go on to develop schizophrenia in adulthood compared with patients treated with other antibiotics.

The researchers say that the findings highlight the potential to repurpose an existing, widely used medication as a preventive intervention for severe mental illness.

Lower risk

Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder that typically emerges in early adulthood and is often associated with hallucinations and delusional beliefs.

To better understand potential ways of preventing the condition, researchers from the University of Edinburgh, in collaboration with the University of Oulu and University College Dublin, applied advanced statistical modelling to large-scale healthcare register data from Finland.

The team analysed data from more than 56 000 adolescents attending mental health services who had been prescribed antibiotics. They found that those treated with doxycycline had a 30–35% lower risk of developing schizophrenia than peers who received other antibiotics.

The researchers hypothesised that the protective effect could be linked to doxycycline’s impact on inflammation and brain development.

Reduce inflammation

Doxycycline is a broad-spectrum antibiotic commonly used to treat infections and acne. Previous studies suggest it can reduce inflammation in brain cells and influence synaptic pruning – a natural process where the brain refines its neural connections. Excessive pruning has been associated with the development of schizophrenia.

Further analyses showed that the lower risk wasn’t simply because the young people may have been treated for acne rather than having infections, and was unlikely to be explained by other hidden differences between the groups.

The study is published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. It involved researchers from the University of Edinburgh, the University of Oulu, University College Dublin, and St John of God Hospitaller Services Group, and was funded by the Health Research Board.

As many as half of the people who develop schizophrenia had previously attended child and adolescent mental health services for other mental health problems. At present, though, we don’t have any interventions that are known to reduce the risk of going on to develop schizophrenia in these young people. That makes these findings exciting.

Because the study was observational in nature and not a randomised controlled trial, it means we can’t draw firm conclusions on causality, but this is an important signal to further investigate the protective effect of doxycycline and other anti-inflammatory treatments in adolescent psychiatry patients as a way to potentially reduce the risk of developing severe mental illness in adulthood.

 Professor Ian Kelleher, Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Edinburgh

Source: University of Edinburgh

Categories : Mental Health Metabolic DisordersTags :

This is How Happy We Need to be to Have Lower Chronic Disease Mortality Risk

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Research shows that greater subjective well-being can lead to enhanced immune function and a lower incidence of chronic disease. But when does happiness start to exert its positive influence, and is there a point when this effect caps out? Researchers looked at national level data from 123 countries and found there is: on a scale from zero to 10, people started gaining health benefits once they surpassed a threshold that lies at around 2.7. Once above, each 1% of additional happiness could lead to a small decrease in mortality risk from non-communicable diseases.

Heart disease, cancer, asthma, and diabetes: All are chronic or non-communicable diseases (NCD), which accounted for about 75% of non-pandemic related deaths in 2021. They may result from genetic, environmental, and behavioural factors, or a combination thereof. But can other factors also influence disease risk?

Now, a new Frontiers in Medicine study has investigated the relationship between happiness and health to find out if happier always means healthier and to determine if happiness and co-occurring health benefits are linear or follow a specific pattern.

“We show that subjective well-being, or happiness, appears to function as a population health asset only once a minimum threshold of approximately 2.7 on the Life Ladder scale is surpassed,” said first author Prof Iulia Iuga, a researcher at 1 Decembrie 1918 University of Alba Iulia. “Above this tipping point, increased happiness is associated with a decrease in NCD mortality.”

Happy equals healthy

“The life ladder can be imaged as a simple zero to 10 happiness ruler, where zero means the worst possible life and 10 means the best possible life,” explained Iuga. “People imagine where they currently stand on that ladder.” The team used data sourced from different health organisations, global development statistics, and public opinion polls. The data came from 123 countries and was collected between 2006 and 2021.

A score of 2.7 can be found towards the lower end of the ladder, and people or countries finding themselves there are generally considered unhappy or struggling. “An adjective that fits this level could be ‘barely coping’,” said Iuga. Nevertheless, already at this point, improvements in happiness begin to translate into measurable health benefits.

Once the threshold is surpassed and a country’s collective happiness rises above it, the study found that each 1% increase in subjective well-being is linked to an estimated 0.43% decrease in that country’s 30-to-70-year NCD mortality rate. This rate refers to the percentage of deaths due to NCDs among individuals aged between 30 and 70.

“Within the observed range, we found no evidence of adverse effects from ‘excessive’ happiness,” Iuga added. Below the 2.7-point threshold, small improvements in happiness (for example, from a score of 2 to 2.2) do not translate to measurable reduction in NCD deaths, the data indicated. Before measurable changes can be unlocked, very low well-being needs to be remedied, the study suggested.

Read and download original article

Health unlocked

Countries that exceeded this threshold tend to have higher per person health spending, stronger social safety nets, and more stable governance as opposed to the countries falling below it. The average life ladder score across the examined countries during the study period was 5.45, with a minimum of 2.18 and a maximum of 7.97.

There are several ways that governments could raise countries above a score of 2.7, for example through promoting healthy living by expanding obesity prevention and tightening alcohol availability; improving the environment through stricter air-quality standard; and increasing their per capita health spending. The authors said their insights could help guide health and social policies and might aid to integrate well-being into nations’ agendas.

The authors pointed out that the life ladder scores making up their data were self-reported, which may have resulted in measurement errors, differences in cross-cultural response styles, or reporting bias. It is also possible that subnational differences between populations were captured inadequately. In the future, studies should include more measures, such as years lived with disability or hospital admission records, include subnational micro-data, and expand coverage to low-income or conflict states, which may have been overlooked in the data they used, the team pointed out.

Nevertheless, identifying the protective effects of happiness could be an important step towards healthier people. “Identifying this tipping point could provide more accurate evidence for health policy,” concluded Iuga. “Happiness is not just a personal feeling but also a measurable public health resource.”

Source: Frontiers

Categories : Mental HealthTags :

Largest Study Reveals Best Treatment Options for ADHD

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The most comprehensive review to date of ADHD treatments has found that medication for children and adults, and cognitive behavioural therapy for adults, remain the most effective approaches, backed by the strongest short-term trial evidence.

Researchers led by the Université Paris Nanterre (France), Institut Robert-Debré du Cerveau de l’Enfant (France), and the University of Southampton (UK) analysed over 200 meta-analyses covering different treatment types, participant groups, and clinical outcomes in a study published in The BMJ.

The research was funded by public and peer-reviewed research grants from Agence Nationale de la Recherche (France), France 2030 program (France), and National Institute for Health and Care Research (UK).

To help people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and their clinicians make more informed, shared decisions, the team has created an interactive website that clearly presents the findings and the evidence behind each treatment based on the review (ebiadhd-database.org ).

“We know that people with ADHD and their families are often overwhelmed by conflicting messages about which treatments work,” says Professor Samuele Cortese , an NIHR Research Professor at the University of Southampton and senior lead author on the paper.

“We believe this study and the accompanying website provide the most authoritative, evidence-based, and accessible guidance currently available.

“The Evidence-Based Interventions for ADHD website provides freely available, evidence-based, and continuously updated information in an easy-to-understand way. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first platform in the world to do so based on such a rigorous synthesis of the available evidence.”

Overall, five medications in children and adolescents, and two medications and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) in adults were shown to be effective while supported by a relatively robust evidence base. Critically, all this evidence was limited to the short-term, despite long-term treatment being common in clinical practice.

Treatments like acupuncture, mindfulness and exercise showed promise, but the evidence supporting their use was of a low quality due to small numbers of participants and risk of bias. The limitations applied to studies evaluating cognitive behavioural therapy in children and adolescents, as well as research on the long-term effects of mindfulness in adults, although mindfulness was the only intervention to demonstrate large beneficial effects at extended follow-up.

Dr Corentin Gosling, Associate Professor at the Paris Nanterre University and first lead author of the study, says: “Long waiting lists for mental health services are a major issue. Having incorrect information about treatments can make people’s journeys even more difficult, by wasting time and money on non-evidence-based approaches, for example.

“By contrast, taking the time to review all treatment options within a shared decision-making process using the web app we developed can empower people with ADHD, leading to better treatment adherence, improved outcomes, and an overall better patient experience.”

The findings generally complement current international clinical guidelines, not only by providing convenient access to current high-quality evidence, but also by covering interventions not usually mentioned in clinical guidelines.

The team hope this new project will achieve a similar impact in influencing clinical guidelines and practice as their previous project (ebiact-database.com), which looked at treatments for autism.

Benefits and harms of ADHD interventions: umbrella review and platform for shared decision making is published in The BMJ and is available online.

Source: University of Southampton

Categories : Mental HealthTags :

How Our Social Circle Shapes Body Perception

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© UNIVERSIDAD CARLOS III DE MADRID

A scientific study led by Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) and partly funded by the European Research Council (ERC) has determined that the size and composition of our social support networks directly influence how we perceive our body image. The findings could help us in treating conditions such as body dysmorphic disorder, anorexia, and other eating disorders.

Published in iScience, the study involved over 100 participants and used the “Footsteps Illusion,” an experiment in which the sounds of a person’s footsteps are modified in real time to simulate those of a lighter or heavier body. These auditory changes shift people’s perception of their own weight and trigger behavioral, emotional, and physiological variations, demonstrating how malleable body image is to sensory input.

Participants were asked to walk while listening to three types of footstep sounds: one unmodified, one with footsteps that sounded as if they were produced by a lighter body, and one with footsteps that sounded as if they were produced by a heavier body. In addition, participants answered questionnaires about their body image, possible symptoms of eating disorders, and the breadth of their social support networks.

The results of this experiment showed that people with larger and more diverse social networks were generally less influenced by the sound illusion and tended to be more satisfied with their body image and have fewer symptoms of eating disorders. Conversely, the modified effects of the steps were more intense in people with smaller social networks, leading to the conclusion that body perception and its malleability not only depend on immediate sensory stimuli but are also influenced by the social structure in which the person is integrated. 

‘The implications of our study are that your circle of friends influences how you perceive your own body. If you have a wider circle of friends, you perceive your body in a more positive way,’ says Anxo Sánchez, a researcher in the Department of Mathematics at UC3M. ‘People would think that self-perception depends on oneself, but in reality it depends on the number of people who support you and surround you,’ explains another of the study’s authors, Amar D’Adamo, a researcher in the Department of Computer Science at UC3M.

These findings show that having broad and diverse social support reinforces the stability of body self-perception and protects against the influence of external signals that could distort it. This discovery, in turn, opens the door to new social interventions that serve to promote a more positive body image and mitigate the effects of weight-related stigma.

In addition, the team proposes the use of mobile applications to help people who may suffer from disorders associated with a negative self-perception of their own body: ‘At the i_mBODY Lab, we develop sensory technologies that allow us to change the perception of the body. We are also very focused on applications because we want to understand how we can use these technologies to support people,’ explains Ana Tajadura, head of the i_mBODY Lab, researcher at the Department of Computer Science at UC3M and ERC grantee.

Source: Carlos III University of Madrid

Categories : Mental Health PaediatricsTags :

Social Media Use Drives Distrust Among Gen Z Teenage Girls

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Social media use in adolescence is linked to delayed bedtimes, negative self-image and, especially among teenage girls, greater distrust, shows a new study from University College London. In turn, these changes are associated with more symptoms of depression and anxiety, risk of self-harm, and suicidal behaviours several years later. 

Published in Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, the study examined how use of social media on the cusp of adolescence (11-years-old) was indirectly associated with a range of psychiatric symptoms, including psychological distress, self-harm and suicidal behaviours, in late adolescence (17-years-old). 

The study found three mechanisms linking social media use in early adolescence to small overall increases in subsequent mental health problems. Both boys and girls who were using social media from early on (at age 11) tended to sleep a little later on average, and had more negative thoughts about their physical appearance at age 14, compared to those who had not used social media. Crucially, teenage girls who had been using social media at age 11 reported greater distrust of other people at age 14.  

The three key mechanisms, which involved later bedtimes, more negative perceptions of body image, and distrust, mediated the association between early social media use and subsequent mental health problems. These small but significant relationships held true even after adjusting for socioeconomic and demographic factors, any maternal mental health problems, and children’s prior mental health difficulties (at age 7).  

The findings were based on data from the UK’s nationally representative Millennium Cohort Study, which was designed to track the lives of around 19 000 children born in 2000 to 2001 (and who belong to ‘Gen Z’, that is, children born between 1997 and 2012).  

During 2011-2012, at around age 11, the participants were asked: “How often do you visit a social networking website on the internet, such as Facebook or Bebo?”. Around three years later, they were followed up and asked about their usual bedtime, their trust in others, and their self-perception. A range of mental health challenges were subsequently tracked another three years later, at age 17. 

Lead author, Dr Dimitris Tsomokos (UCL Institute of Education) said: “These findings suggest that interpersonal distrust was a significant driver of psychiatric symptoms among Gen Z girls who used social media from early adolescence. 

“This distrust of others may be a particularly female response to the pressures of social media, which can sadly be fertile ground for social comparison, cyberbullying and perceived exclusion.” 

“We know that teenage girls display more empathetic concern and tend to place higher value on reciprocal relationships, and perhaps this is what drives greater distrust among them.” 

As policymakers and parents grapple with how to navigate technology use in childhood, the study’s authors recommend greater intervention in early adolescence, focused on fostering a sense of trust and social safety. They believe this can help mitigate the negative impacts of social media usage on young people’s long term mental health. 

Source: University College London

Categories : IT in Healthcare Mental HealthTags :

South Africa, PATH, and Wellcome Launch World’s First AI Framework for Mental Health at G20 Social Summit

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As artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly enters the mental health space, from therapy chatbots to diagnostic tools, the world faces a critical question: can AI expand access to care without putting people at risk?

At the G20 Social Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa announced a landmark national effort to answer that question. The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) and PATH, with funding from Wellcome, have launched the Comprehensive AI Regulation and Evaluation for Mental Health (CARE MH) program to develop the world’s first regulatory framework for artificial intelligence in mental health.

CARE MH will establish a science-based and ethically robust regulatory framework that describes how AI tools need to be evaluated for safety, inclusivity, and effectiveness before they can be given market authorization and made available to potential service users. It aims to strengthen trust in digital health innovation and will serve as a model for other countries seeking to strike a balance between innovation and oversight.

 “You wouldn’t give your child or loved one a vaccine or drug that hadn’t been tested or evaluated for safety,” saidBilal Mateen, Chief AI Officer at PATH. “We’re working to bring that same standard of rigorous evaluation to AI tools in mental health, because trust must be earned, not assumed.”  

The framework will be developed and tested in South Africa, with the intention of extending its application across the African continent and to international partners.

“SAHPRA is proud to lead the development of Africa’s first regulatory framework for AI in mental health linked directly to market authorization,” said Christelna Reynecke, Chief Operations Officer of SAHPRA. “Our true goal is even more ambitious, though; we want to create a regulatory environment for AI4health in general, one that keeps pace with innovation, grounded in scientific rigor, ethical oversight, and public accountability.”

“Millions of people across the globe are being held back by mental health problems, which are projected to become the world’s biggest health burden by 2030,” said Professor Miranda Wolpert MBE, Director of Mental Health at Wellcome. “CARE MH is a vital step toward ensuring that AI technologies in this space are safe, effective, and equitable.”

The goal is simple: help more people, safely.

Through CARE MH, the partners behind this initiative are setting the foundation for the next generation of ethical, evidence-based AI in mental health. Supported by global experts from the following institutions:  Audere Africa, African Health Research Institute, the UK’s Centre for Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation for AI & Digital Health, the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, University of Birmingham, University of Washington, and the Wits Health Consortium, CARE MH is built to protect and empower people everywhere.

Categories : Mental HealthTags :

Life Imitates Art: Google Searches for Lorazepam Spiked with TV Show

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In season three of the hit television series The White Lotus, the character Victoria Ratliff takes the prescription anti-anxiety medication lorazepam to help with her social anxiety and inability to sleep. Her casual usage of the powerful benzodiazepine – often in combination with white wine – leads to her becoming visibly loopy, slurring her words, and falling asleep at dinner.

A recent study led by researchers at University of California San Diego has found that the show’s portrayal of lorazepam use was associated with a surge in Google searches for the medication, including queries related to acquiring it online.

The findings, published in JAMA Health Forum, suggest that the show generated 1.6 million more searches for lorazepam over a 12-week period than what would normally be expected for the time period. This increase in interest was not observed for other commonly prescribed benzodiazepines, such as alprazolam and clonazepam, which were not mentioned in the show.

“It’s a really interesting phenomenon of how entertainment media can really reflect and drive human behavior,” said lead author Kevin Yang, M.D., resident physician in the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine.

The study also analyzed searches for how and where to acquire lorazepam online.

“We saw significant increases in searches related to acquiring lorazepam as well,” said senior author Eric Leas, Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor at UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science and affiliate faculty at Qualcomm Institute. “It shows that there might be a subset of people that are actually wanting to figure out how to obtain that medication online.”

During the course of the season, Victoria Ratliff offers lorazepam to her husband Timothy, who eventually steals her pills and develops a dependence on the drug amid a personal financial crisis.

“Not only would he take it, but he would also combine it with alcohol, which we know is very dangerous,” said Yang. “ For the treatment of anxiety, lorazepam is typically prescribed for the short term  because long-term use can lead to tolerance and dependence as well as misuse. Studies have shown that almost one in five people who are prescribed benzodiazepines eventually end up misusing them.”

That’s concerning because the show emphasized the benefits of lorazepam usage, not the potential risks, such as dependence, respiratory depression and cognitive impairment, according to Yang.

“It didn’t really portray any of the adverse effects that might come from taking too much or from stopping it all of a sudden,”  he said.

Yang recommends that the entertainment industry and show producers take note of the potential impact of depicted drug use on viewer behavior and develop best practices around this type of content, which could include warnings at the beginning and the end of each episode. He also recommends that search engines provide informational warnings when people search for how to obtain the drug online, focusing on accurate, evidence-based information and support resources.

For viewers, Yang suggests taking a skeptical approach when searching for information online.

”My suggestion would be to take everything that is portrayed in the media, whether that’s on TV, film or in music, with a grain of salt,” he said. “It’s only showing one aspect of the medication, and that there are possible downsides. But ultimately, for things like medications, it’s important to talk with your doctor.”

The study was published on November 14, 2025 in JAMA Health Forum.

Source: University of California – San Diego

Categories : Mental Health PaediatricsTags :

Mental Health and the NICU Mom: The Silent Battle Behind the Glass

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If you’ve ever walked through a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), you’ll know the atmosphere – quiet, sterile, filled with tiny machines keeping even tinier lives stable. What you might not see, though, is the emotional toll it takes on mothers standing behind that glass.

For many moms of premature babies, the NICU isn’t just a place of healing – it’s a battlefield of fear, hope, and heartache. Studies suggest that up to 70% of mothers with babies in NICU experience symptoms of anxiety or depression, and a significant number show signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) even months after discharge.

“Having a baby in NICU can be one of the most emotionally isolating experiences a mother faces,” says Sr Londe, independent midwife and Vital Baby South Africa’s trusted advisor. “You’re told to be strong, to hold it together. But inside, you’re scared and feel powerless.”

Unlike traditional postpartum depression, which often develops after birth, NICU-related mental health challenges can begin immediately; triggered by medical uncertainty, feelings of guilt, or the inability to bond physically with your baby.

“You may only be allowed to touch your baby for minutes at a time,” says Sr Londe. “That separation can deeply impact bonding and confidence.”

Feeling numb, struggling to sleep even when your baby is safe, replaying traumatic moments, or feeling disconnected from your child – these are all warning signs of trauma or depression. And yet, many mothers dismiss them.

“There’s still a stigma around maternal mental health,” says Sr Londe. “We need to normalise the conversation and remind mothers that they’re not alone.”

Talking to your healthcare provider, joining a support group, or connecting with a therapist who specialises in perinatal mental health can make a world of difference. Hospitals are also increasingly introducing peer-support programmes where NICU graduates’ parents help new families navigate the emotional maze.

“It’s okay to need help,” says Sr Londe. “You’re not failing as a mother, you’re processing an extraordinary experience.” 

As the conversation around maternal mental health grows, brands like Vital Baby are helping raise awareness that caring for moms is as important as caring for their babies. Because behind every incubator, there’s a mother who needs healing too. 

Vital Baby is a family-run business with over 45 years of experience in the baby industry. Our mission is to create products that make family time effortless and enjoyable for parents. The Vital Baby range is 100% BPA-free and covers every stage of your baby’s development, from feeding and weaning to hygiene and soothing. Explore the range online at Vital Baby® (vitalbabyshop.co.za) and enjoy delivery within South Africa or find us on shelf at Clicks and Dischem.