In the News

Mental health problems are more common than we might think.

The National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) estimate that 16.2 million people in the United States have experienced major depression at least once in the past year.

For about six months, starting in late 2012, Valerie Gaus found herself much busier than usual. The New York area psychologist sees adults with autism, and a number of them suddenly seemed to be grappling with a new set of anxieties. They brought up their fears over and over again in their sessions. It seemed, Gaus recalls, as if they felt the sky was falling.

Combat veterans from the Vietnam-era through the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan often turn to Vet Center counselors for help with post-traumatic stress or depression. And some of these counselors are themselves feeling stress - in part, they say, because of what they're calling unrealistic productivity requirements.

Sticking to a normal daily rhythm -- being active during the day and sleeping at night -- can have more benefits than you might expect.

A new study found that it is linked to improvements in mood and cognitive functioning as well as a decreased likelihood of developing major depression and bipolar disorder.

Emet Oden tried reaching out in the only way he knew how.

"I had been struggling with my mental health and, specifically, suicidal thoughts since the eighth grade," said Oden, who is now 18.

"I didn't want to talk to my friends about it, because they never knew how to handle it. I just didn't want to bother them."

It's mental health awareness week, 2018. And that's good. It's important to be aware of something that affects literally everyone, and that a quarter of the population regularly struggle with. It's weird that anyone wouldn't be when you put it in those terms, but that does seem to the case.

About five years ago, pediatricians at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville found that more and more of their inpatient beds at the children's hospital were occupied by children and adolescents with mental health issues, especially those who had come in because of suicide attempts, or suicidal thoughts. These patients were known as "boarders": They were waiting for psychiatric placement because it wasn't safe for them to go home.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan signed a bill into law on Tuesday to prohibit health professionals from practicing "gay conversion therapy" on minors, as a growing number of states and municipalities are banning it.