Radio Health Journal
The latest in health, science, technology, and the intersection of medicine and public policy.
Around a half million people are homeless in the US on any given night, but the street homeless who are most visible often incorrectly influence our assumptions about the homeless. A noted researcher discusses myths and truths about their addictions, employment, residences, and more, and why people often become homeless.
Even if the Covid pandemic were to disappear tomorrow, a new study shows that the human toll of Covid would go on. Then, among college-educated women, unwed motherhood isn't as rare as it used to be. And finally… people with bipolar disorder may someday be given dietary guidelines to help control it.
Many people in prison have a mental illness that keeps them from following the rules of society. Prison, its rules, and often its punitive intent may be the worst place for them, especially since treatment is often lacking there. A noted prison psychiatrist and behavioral scientist discusses this, and alternatives that may produce less recidivism when these …
A new CDC report shows that suicide among veterinarians is much higher than in the general population. Experts discuss the unique stresses that affect these professionals, including financial, compassion fatigue, euthanasia, and online harassment. They also discuss measures being taken to prevent mental health struggles and suicide.
Experts explain the reality—that ECT is a quiet procedure that provokes a short brain seizure, releasing huge amounts of neurotransmitters to reset the brain in what is the quickest and most dependable treatment for severe and often suicidal depression.
Therapists report an increase in orthorexia, a not-yet recognized eating disorder where people become fixated on eating only healthy things and/or exercising hours per day. It can take over an afflicted person’s life and result in physical symptoms much like anorexia.
While most people who contract Covid-19 survive, those who suffer often-changing symptoms for months on end can only wonder when they’ll get well. A survey of members of a long-haul survivors support group find that many who don’t have “textbook” symptoms suffer poor medical care and discrimination as a result.
The Covid-19 lockdown has triggered increased alcohol use in many people, and an alcohol use disorder in some. Help can be difficult to access, as face-to-face counseling and group sessions have been halted. For women, it can be even more difficult, as they are much more comfortable in more rare single-sex sharing situations. Two experts discuss today’s …
Mass shootings and other forms of mass violence are on the increase. Where to assess blame is in sharp dispute. A new report from a blue ribbon panel of behavioral scientists has found that mental illnesses carry some of the blame, but mental “distress” is a much more likely factor. Panel members discuss mental health first aid, red flag laws, and other …
Nail biting is an extremely common habit, but some people bite their nails so badly and so often that they suffer damage to their hands. Experts discuss why so many of us are driven to bite our nails, what can be done to stop it, and the damage that can occur when we can’t stop.
Many people having a mental health crisis go to the emergency room. However, ER’s are not well equipped to handle them, and many patients are boarded there for hours or even days without treatment. Experts discuss the reasons for the failure, the outcomes it produces, and solutions that have been successful in limited trials.
Schools would be a good place for programs to screen for mental health issues in students, and to educate about mental health to lessen the pervasive stigma. Some states are making programs mandatory, but elsewhere schools and personnel may resist, seeing mental health as outside the normal role of teachers. Experts discuss how inventive programs are …
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