Media

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.

"Tully," a movie about motherhood starring Charlize Theron that doesn't open until Friday, is already generating a heated conversation about its portrayal of postpartum depression, a subject rarely depicted onscreen.

Now Diablo Cody, the writer of the film, has addressed the controversy for the first time.

"Well, you look like you're doing great," my primary care physician cheerfully informed me.

I stared at her from the examination table in disbelief. I had just told her that I wasn't enjoying being with my children and was having trouble doing what needed to be done at work and at home. As a health journalist, I had interviewed dozens of physicians and psychologists. I knew that being unable to live one's life was the big red flag signaling it was time to get help.

WHAT WE EAT AND HOW WE eat it are closely associated with our emotions and mental health. A growing body of research is revealing not only the power of particular nutrients to increase well-being, but also the multifaceted ways in which our attitude and choices regarding food impact our state of mind.

In Stephen King's The Shining, the character Jack Torrance epitomises the popular horror trope of crazed killer who can no longer distinguish reality from hallucination. As Jack slowly descends into madness, he befriends a number of murderous spirits who eventually convince him to kill his wife and son – or die trying.

"I'm not able to authorize payment."

It's a line I've heard many times in the five years I've been practicing psychiatry, so I was ready for it. I'd been on the phone for 45 minutes telling the insurance company representative how my patient came into the hospital emergency room so depressed he could hardly function. How he'd missed nearly every day of work for the last few weeks and was close to losing his job.