In the News
Back in 2008, Mary Hogden was homeless, living on the streets of Berkeley, Calif.
"I got beat up really badly out there," says Hogden, 62. "It's not a safe place for women."
She landed in the hospital and then in a boarding home for adults with mental illness. But her big break came when she started volunteering for a mental health program called the Pool of Consumer Champions, run by Alameda County.
WASHINGTON — The Army issued waivers over 13 months to more than 1,000 recruits who had been diagnosed and treated for mood disorders and 95 more for self-mutilation, according to data obtained by USA TODAY.
The acceptance of new soldiers with a history of serious behavioral health issues, some of which can be lifelong challenges, came as the Army struggled to meet its recruiting goals. The time period ran from Oct. 1, 2016, through Oct. 31, 2017.
Drew was in his early 30s. His medical history included alcohol abuse, but he had been sober for several months when he became my patient.
His previous doctor had given him a prescription for Ativan, or lorazepam, which is frequently used to allay tremors and seizures from alcohol withdrawal.
When student leaders from 23 California State University campuses came together last fall to set priorities for the academic year, improving campus mental health services received more nominations than any other issue. It beat out even that perennial concern, tuition costs.
Cal State Student Association president Maggie White said she's not surprised.
We might be known as 'snowflakes' to the generations before us - insinuating we're 'less resilient' and 'more emotionally vulnerable' than our elders - but new research indicates that the millennial generation (as well as Generation Z) are actually more prone to mental health issues than any other.
As more states legalize marijuana, there's growing interest in a cannabis extract — cannabidiol, also known as CBD.
It's marketed as a compound that can help relieve anxiety — and, perhaps, help ease aches and pains, too.
As Patrick Korellis remembers it, he arrived at the college support group in 2008 and introduced himself to the person standing closest to him, a young woman named Emily Haas. She was a junior at Virginia Tech, majoring in business. Mr. Korellis was a senior at Northern Illinois University, studying meteorology and geography.
They would later swap stories of the stereotypical college variety — about cafeteria food, campus life and their post-graduation plans — but first, Mr. Korellis and Ms. Haas connected over a horrific shared experience.
In jails and prisons across the United States, mental illness is prevalent and psychiatric disorders often worsen because inmates don't get the treatment they need, says journalist Alisa Roth.
In her new book Insane: America's Criminal Treatment of Mental Illness, Roth investigates the widespread incarceration of the mentally ill in the U.S., and what she sees as impossible burdens placed on correctional officers to act as mental health providers when they're not adequately trained.
PORTLAND, Ore. — In the midst of a harrowing psychotic episode in summer 2009, Annie broke into her ex-husband's house and used a hammer and scissors to lay waste to plates, knickknacks, clothing, "and honestly, I don't know what else."
Had the mother of four, a retired captain in the National Guard, chosen to plead guilty, as a first offender she might have gotten off with the six months she'd already spent in jail.
Rosie Zaballos liked to host playtime tea parties and was sweet to everyone she met. But her older brother worried that the 16-year-old, whom her family described as "a little slow," might someday become pregnant.
In his 30s and married, he had three kids of his own. And their mom was sick and needed help. So he took Rosie to be sterilized at a state-run hospital so she couldn't have babies who might place an extra burden on the family.