All posts tagged: mental

Ravi Gulati Eastenders mental health storyline to reach climax this month

Ravi Gulati Eastenders mental health storyline to reach climax this month

Published by Daniella Wilson

This article includes discussion of suicide that some readers may find distressing. Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) is to reach a crisis point on EastEnders later this month. The BBC One soap has been airing an ongoing storyline surrounding the character’s mental health in recent months as Ravi has begun to self-harm and grown increasingly erratic and unstable. In a career-best performance from Thiara, viewers have seen Ravi dealing with immense guilt surrounding his criminal exploitation of vulnerable Kojo Asare (Dayo Koleosho) and Harry Mitchell (Elijah Holloway) in a drug operation. If that wasn’t enough, he’s also had to come to terms with violently attacking his son Davinder ‘Nugget’ Gulati (Juhaim Rasul Choudhury) after being spiked in a revenge plot by the Mitchells, and also dealing with the pressure of being an undercover informant for the police in an organised crime organisation. In the coming weeks, as he continues to fear for protecting his family, Ravi’s spiralling mental health will lead him to consider taking his own life. Aaron Thiara as Ravi Gulati in EastEnders. BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron …

Russia brutally mocks ‘arrogant’ Trump over Iran ‘defeat’ and ‘declining mental state’ | World | News

Russia brutally mocks ‘arrogant’ Trump over Iran ‘defeat’ and ‘declining mental state’ | World | News

Published by Sam Flores

Russia has brutally mocked “arrogant” Donald Trump and even made a veiled swipe at his “feverish” mental state. The country’s media do not agree with the US President’s claims of “total victory” over Iran, BBC Steve Rosenberg said, analysing the content of Russian newspapers. “Trump has escaped from the trap of his own making. But only the feverish mind of the American himself can consider this a triumphant victory,” one of the newspapers reported. The Russian Editor for the BBC also explained how Russian media believe there is “a mass of political bonuses for Iran”. Referring to the 10-point ceasefire, Moscow-based daily newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets wrote: “The only thing missing from the list is the demand that the arrogant American leader himself personally come to Tehran, crawl 10km, periodically kissing the bombed asphalt, and then publicly repent.” The Russian government paper Rassiska Gazeta said “the United States saw the limit of its capablities” in Iran. “The US is not omnipotent. Its ability to impose its will in any way is significant but limited. Everyone will …

Is Separating Neurodevelopment and Mental Health Services Helpful?

Is Separating Neurodevelopment and Mental Health Services Helpful?

Published by Jenni Sidey

Neurodevelopmental conditions are defined in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)1 and the 11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11)2 as conditions that arise early in development. They include attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, intellectual disabilities, communication disorders, specific learning disorders (e.g., dyslexia), and motor disorders that include developmental co-ordination disorder (and tic disorders in the case of DSM-5). Conceptual Differences There is a rationale for grouping these conditions3 insofar as they typically arise early in development, although they may not be identified until later. Neurodevelopmental conditions show strong overlap with each other and share risk factors in common, including family history and genetic liability. Typically, the clinical course of neurodevelopmental conditions, except for tic disorders, tends to change with maturation but otherwise usually shows a relatively steady state, rather than display a remitting and relapsing pattern. They also do not behave as clear-cut yes/no diagnostic categories; rather, they each lie on a continuum. Finally, neurodevelopmental conditions often are associated with educational differences and challenges. This spectrum …

Study: Adolescents Who Received Gender Reassignment Have Worse Mental Health

Study: Adolescents Who Received Gender Reassignment Have Worse Mental Health

Published by Jenni Sidey

This republished article first appeared in the National Review. A new medical study out of Finland has found that gender-dysphoric adolescents and young adults who were subjected to gender reassignment interventions had worse mental health outcomes than a control group that did not receive such bodily alterations. The study tracked 2,083 people who had sought medical services for gender confusion between 1996 and 2019. The findings are quite specific. From, “Psychiatric Morbidity Among Adolescents and Young Adults Who Contacted Specialised Gender Identity Services in Finland in 1996–2019,” just published in Acta Paediatrica (my emphases, citations omitted): Gender-referred adolescents showed significantly higher psychiatric morbidity than controls both before (45.7% vs. 15.0%) and ≥ 2 years after referral (61.7% vs. 14.6%). Those referred after 2010 had greater psychiatric needs than earlier cohorts, both before (47.9% vs. 15.3%) and ≥ 2 years after (61.3% vs. 14.2%) referral. Among adolescents who underwent medical gender reassignment, psychiatric morbidity increased markedly during follow-up — rising from 9.8% to 60.7% in feminising gender reassignment and from 21.6% to 54.5% in masculinising gender reassignment. After adjusting for prior psychiatric treatment, all gender-referred adolescents had similarly elevated …

AI marches right into the mental health field, despite some calls for caution : NPR

AI marches right into the mental health field, despite some calls for caution : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Jonathan Kitchen/Getty Images Artificial intelligence has arrived in the field of mental health. Large health systems and independent therapists alike have begun to adopt different AI tools to manage the delivery of mental health treatment. The speed of the adoption — alongside disturbing incidents of individuals using general-use AI chatbots with catastrophic consequences — is causing some concern among practitioners and researchers. “There is a lot of fear and anxiety about AI,” says psychologist Vaile Wright, senior director of health care innovation at the American Psychological Association (APA). “And in particular fear around AI replacing jobs.” Those concerns were a key issue last month, when 2,400 mental health care providers for Kaiser Permanente in Northern California and the Central Valley went on a 24-hour strike. Triage via tech and a lower-paid worker One of the therapists who went on strike is Ilana Marcucci-Morris. Since 2019, Marcucci-Morris worked as a triage clinician at Kaiser Permanente’s telepsychiatry intake hub. But that changed in May 2025. “I have been reassigned from triage to other duties,” says Marcucci-Morris, a …

The hidden mental cost of emotional rigidity in young adults

The hidden mental cost of emotional rigidity in young adults

Published by José Betancourt

Young adults often face daily challenges with focus, emotional regulation, and planning. A recent study published in Psychological Reports reveals that a rigid mindset might bridge the gap between certain personality traits and these everyday cognitive hiccups. The findings suggest that psychological inflexibility plays a mediating role in how feelings of anxiety or goal-orientation relate to a person’s perceived mental efficiency. The human brain undergoes continuous development well into a person’s twenties. During this time, the prefrontal cortex is still maturing. This brain area is responsible for executive functions, which are advanced mental skills that allow people to navigate complex environments. These functions include planning future actions, prioritizing tasks, ignoring distractions, and keeping emotional outbursts under control. When these prefrontal systems operate below peak efficiency, people might experience what psychologists term prefrontal symptomatology. In everyday life, these symptoms manifest as ordinary mental errors rather than severe clinical deficits. A person might forget an appointment, struggle to initiate a difficult academic assignment, or snap at a friend out of sudden frustration. They represent natural variations in …

What Does Mental Well-Being Look Like?

What Does Mental Well-Being Look Like?

Published by Jenni Sidey

Our discourse is saturated with talk of mental health, often with resources to back this up. Mental health has assumed a (rightful) place at the top of the health pyramid, and we are better for it. A central irony in this “era of mental health,” however, is that we often lack a clear or consensus definition of it as a workable term and concept. Mindful of this gap, I offer some thoughts from mid-20th-century psychologist Erich Fromm as a potential guide toward a positive notion of mental health. What Mental Health Is Not In recent years, I designed a course called What Is Mental Health? and began by asking a simple question: “What does mental health look like?” This always produces a perplexed response and no easy answer. People usually know what poor mental health looks like—anxiety, depression, low mood, low motivation, panic attacks, paranoia, etc. This is easy. When faced with the opposite, however—good mental health—we usually need more than simply saying “no anxiety” or “no depression.” A conversation about mental health thus evokes …

Trump’s former White House lawyer says he is ‘clearly insane’ and questions the president’s mental fitness

Trump’s former White House lawyer says he is ‘clearly insane’ and questions the president’s mental fitness

Published by Sam Flores

A former White House lawyer believes that President Donald Trump has gone insane. “The cabinet will not invoke the 25th Amendment for a man who is clearly insane,” Ty Cobb, who served as a senior attorney during the first Trump term, told former CNN anchor Jim Acosta in an interview released Tuesday. The 25th Amendment allows the vice president and cabinet to remove a president whom they decide is unfit for office. Cobb argued that the ongoing war with Iran, his ballroom project and the president’s late-night social media tirades are evidence of a declining mental state. “Trump historically and continuously has been guided exclusively by his narcissism. His whims, desires, impulses, have been on full display‚” Cobb said on the Jim Acosta Show. “We’re going to see more and more crazy stuff.” Former Trump administration attorney Ty Cobb argues that President Trump is ‘clearly insane,’ based on the ongoing Iran war, the destructive renovation of the White House and the president’s frequent social media rants (Getty Images / CNN) “Ty Cobb should immediately seek …

Take a Secret 2-Minute Mental Vacation from Stress

Take a Secret 2-Minute Mental Vacation from Stress

Published by Jenni Sidey

The stress of the holidays is past. And just when you thought you could breathe a sigh of relief, along came the start of tax and audit season. Let’s not forget the uncertainty around inflation and a myriad of worldly worries. If you’re feeling like you don’t have enough energy reserves, that you are on edge, upset, anxious, angry, sad, depressed, or feeling disengaged from work and others, you are not alone. These are normal reactions to feelings of overwork and uncertainty. Is there anything you can do to reverse this harmful trend, both personally and in your workplace? Fortunately, there is a proven way to help you recover and recharge from stress. Best of all, you can do this secretly–at work or home. Best of all, it only takes a couple of minutes! But first, you need to know the dirty truth that no one told you: Change and transition drive anxiety, stress, and burnout. Plus, you’re probably coping with more rapid change and stress than ever before. Research shows that you don’t need …

Childhood trauma linked to elevated risk of simultaneous physical and mental illness in old age

Childhood trauma linked to elevated risk of simultaneous physical and mental illness in old age

Published by José Betancourt

Individuals who endured difficult and traumatic experiences during their very early years face an elevated risk of developing simultaneous physical and mental health conditions in later life. A recent observational study tracked thousands of middle-aged and older adults over several years, finding that childhood adversity strongly predicts the later coexistence of chronic physical diseases and clinical depression. The research, which offers new insights into how early life trauma shapes long-term human health, was published in the Journal of Affective Disorders. Adverse childhood experiences encompass a wide variety of severe hardships that happen before a person reaches adulthood. These traumatic events include direct harm like physical abuse, emotional violence, continuous bullying, and general parental neglect. The concept also covers broader household dysfunctions, such as witnessing domestic violence, living with a family member who has a severe mental illness, or enduring extreme poverty and parental loss. Health researchers study how these early hardships shape human biology and behavior over an entire lifetime, seeking to understand the long shadows cast by early trauma as a person physically ages. …