Support Our Work

Please donate so we can continue our work to reduce the stigma of psychiatric illness, encourage research, and support educational activities for behavioral health professionals and the public. Ways you can donate and help are on our Support and Donations page. Thank you!

More Info

Latest News Around the Web

Prescriptions For Anti-Anxiety Drugs And Sleeping Pills Have Reportedly Increased During The Pandemic

The Wall Street Journal (5/25, Petersen, Subscription Publication) reports some physicians are concerned about long-term abuse and addiction to anti-anxiety drugs and sleeping pills as prescriptions for both have increased during the pandemic. In an APA survey released in March, more than one-third of Americans say the pandemic has had a “serious impact” on their mental health.

Related Links:

— “More People Are Taking Drugs for Anxiety and Insomnia, and Doctors Are Worried, “Andrea Petersen, The Wall Street Journal, May 25, 2020

Mental Health Problems, Substance Abuse Appear To Be Common Among Police Officers, Systematic Review Indicates

HealthDay (5/22, Preidt) reported, “Mental health problems and substance abuse are common among” police officers, researchers concluded after reviewing “67 studies that included more than 272,000 police officers in 24 countries.” The systematic review revealed that “just under 26% screened positive for hazardous drinking, and 5% would be considered alcohol-dependent or drinking at harmful levels.” What’s more, “one in seven met the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder or depression, and about one in 10 met the criteria for anxiety disorder or had suicidal thoughts.” The findings were published online May 21 in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Mental Health is Big Issue For Police Officers Around The World: Study, ” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, May 22, 2020

Deaths Of Despair Leveled Off In 2018, Report Says

NBC News (5/21, Sullivan) reports, “Combined deaths from alcohol, drugs and suicide in the U.S. plateaued in 2018 for the first time in two decades, according to a” report (PDF) from Trust for America’s Health and the Well Being Trust. NBC News adds, “The so-called deaths of despair reached a high in 2017, and the leveling off in 2018 was driven by a decrease in overall drug overdose deaths – the first such decrease in a decade.”

However, CNN (5/21, Erdman) reports “that deaths of despair increased in some minority communities during the same time period. And separately alcohol-related deaths were up 4% and suicides were up 2%.”

Medscape (5/21, Brooks, Subscription Publication) reports experts warn that deaths of despair “may well increase in the wake of COVID-19.”

Related Links:

— “Drug overdose deaths drop in U.S. as other deaths of despair rise, report finds, “Kaitlin Sullivan, NBC News, May 21, 2020

Experts Say Action Must Be Taken To Protect The Health And Well-Being Of Healthcare Workers During The Pandemic

Psychiatric News (5/21) reports the leaders of the National Academy of Medicine Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience wrote an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine arguing that organizations must take actions to protect healthcare workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic. The authors wrote, “Before the virus struck, the U.S. clinical workforce was already experiencing a crisis of burnout. We are now facing a surge of physical and emotional harm that amounts to a parallel pandemic. Tragically, we are already seeing reports of clinicians dying by suicide amid the pandemic, including the highly publicized death of a prominent emergency medicine physician in Manhattan, the epicenter of the U.S. COVID-19 outbreak.”

Related Links:

— “Five Actions to Promote Well-Being of Health Care Workers During, After COVID-19, Psychiatric News, May 21, 2020

Stresses On Older People, Their Caregivers Associated With COVID-19 May Increase Risk Of Elder Abuse, Experts Say

Psychiatric News (5/20) reports, “The stresses on older people and their caregivers associated with COVID-19 – social isolation, financial hardship, difficulties accessing needed care and supplies, and anxiety about infection – may increase the risk of elder abuse,” experts concluded in an article published online May 18 in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “How to Identify, Help Older People in Potentially Abusive Situations, Psychiatric News , May 20, 2020

Foundation News

Nothing Found

It seems we can’t find what you’re looking for. Perhaps searching can help.