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Loss of EmploymentLoss of Employment, MP3, 1.3MB
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Latest News Around the Web
Less Than Half Of Most Popular TikTok ADHD Content Is Clinically Accurate, Study Finds
Psychiatric News (3/20) reports a study found that “fewer than half [of] the claims about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the most popular TikTok videos on the topic were clinically accurate,” but “young adults, particularly those who diagnosed themselves with ADHD, reported that they were likely to recommend these videos to others as ADHD psychoeducation.” Two clinical psychologists analyzed 100 of the “most popular TikTok videos on a single day that included the hashtag #ADHD.” They found “there was 84.8% agreement between the two psychologists about the videos, and only 48.7% of the claims made in the videos were considered accurate by at least one of them.” The study was published in PLOS One.
Related Links:
— “TikTok ADHD Content Receives Millions of Views but Is Accurate Less Than Half the Time,” Psychiatric News, March 20, 2025
Federal Cuts To VA Disrupt Mental Health Services For Some Veterans
Reuters (3/20, Respaut ) reports the federal government eliminated about 2,400 jobs at the Department of Veterans Affairs “in the first wave of President Donald Trump’s efforts to shrink the federal workforce.” The Trump Administration “plans additional cuts to the VA of more than 80,000 personnel, according to an internal memo.” Reuters spoke to nine current and former VA employees “who said the changes were further disrupting some mental health services and fueling anxieties among those who provide and rely on them.” The employees “described cancellations of some in-person and telehealth appointments; confusion over staffing of a crisis hot-line; and professionals conducting telehealth visits in makeshift meeting rooms inside VA buildings.” A spokesperson for the VA “told Reuters mental health professionals…were not included in February’s staffing cuts, and the agency is working to recruit mental health [professionals] and improve wait times.”
Related Links:
— “VA shake-up hits mental health services for US veterans,” Robin Respaut, Reuters, March 20, 2025
Microdosing LSD Fails To Improve Symptoms Of Adult Patients With ADHD, Study Finds
MedPage Today (3/19) reports a study found that biweekly, “low-dose treatment with lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) failed to improve symptoms of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults.” Researchers concluded, “Although there are reports of microdosing effects by users, this first placebo-controlled trial in patients did not find such effects. Thus, expectancy and placebo effects are likely playing an important role in the perceived effects of microdosing psychedelics.” Moreover, they added, “A longer study duration would not have been likely to produce different results. We cannot exclude that different doses or daily dosing would be effective.” The study was published in JAMA Psychiatry.
Related Links:
— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)
APA Poll Finds Nearly 30% Of American Adults Gamble Online Daily
Psychiatric News (3/18) says new poll data from the American Psychiatric Association suggest “that more than one-quarter of American adults report a daily habit of online gambling.” According to the poll, among US adults, “28% have a daily habit of gambling online, with men being more likely than women to gamble online for at least a few minutes a day (36% compared with 20%, respectively). More than half of adults (58%) who gamble online daily said that they have intentionally taken a break or limited the amount of time they spend gambling, with men more likely to report doing so than women.” Additionally, the poll indicated that “one-third (35%) of respondents who said they gamble online daily said they began doing so between the ages of 18 and 25, suggesting that late adolescence and early adulthood is a crucial period for shaping attitudes toward online gambling.”
Related Links:
— “More Than a Quarter of American Adults Gamble Online Daily, APA Poll Finds,” Psychiatric News, March 18, 2025
Nearly one in three children live with chronic health condition
HealthDay (3/17, Thompson ) reports, “Nearly 1 in 3 children live with a chronic condition that could significantly affect their health for the rest of their lives, a new study says.” Researchers found that “chronic illnesses affected more than 30% of children ages 5 to 17 by 2018, up from around 23% in 1999.” That “adds up to about 130,000 more children each year being diagnosed with a chronic illness.” The findings were published in Academic Pediatrics.
Related Links:
— “ 1 in 3 Children Now Suffer From Chronic Illness
,” Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, March 17, 2025
Foundation News
Seeking Nominations for 2022 Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award
The annual Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry (MFP) Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award recognizes a worthy piece published in a major newspaper that accomplishes one or more of the following:
- Shares with the public their experience with mental illness in themselves, a family member, or simply in the community.
- Helps others to overcome their inability to talk about mental illness or their own mental illness.
- Imparts particularly insightful observations on the general subject of mental illness.
A Maryland author and/or newspaper is preferred. Click here for past winners and published articles.
The award carries a $500 prize, which is given at the Maryland Psychiatric Society annual meeting in April. To nominate a piece to be considered for the 2022 award, email it to mfp@mdpsych.org no later than January 10, 2022. The article should be published during the period from January 15, 2021 to January 10, 2022.
New PSA Examines Anxiety as Pandemic Improves
As the pandemic improves and restrictions and shutdowns are lifted, many people may be experiencing anxiety at returning to the world and being amongst people. This new PSA from the Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry, Inc. examines fears people may have as they try to navigate uncertainty about going outside as well as deal with conflicting messages about how to stay safe and healthy.
Post-Pandemic AnxietyPost Pandemic Anxiety, MP3, 1.3MB
You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.
Jamie and Sarah Raskin Recognized with Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award
Congressman Jamie Raskin and Sarah Bloom Raskin were awarded the Foundation’s 2021 Anti-Stigma Advocacy Prize for the tribute about their son, Tommy, posted on January 4, 2021. The MFP board of directors felt that it was very effective in conveying what a wonderful and gifted person their son was, that depression did not detract from this, and how painful and sad his loss and the loss of others suffering from depression can be. The board also greatly admired their courage in writing about him in such a forthright manner. The Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award was formally presented at the Maryland Psychiatric Society annual meeting on April 22.
The Foundation established this annual prize for a worthy media piece, preferably local or regional, that accomplishes one or more of the following:
- Shares with the public their experience with mental illness in themselves, a family member, or simply in the community.
- Helps others to overcome their inability to talk about mental illness or their own mental illness.
- Imparts particularly insightful observations on the general subject of mental illness.
Click here for information about past winners.
Psychiatrist Weighs Taking The COVID Vaccine in New Radio Ad
Psychiatrists aren’t necessarily on the front lines treating COVID patients in a hospital, so should they take or not take a COVID vaccine? In this new ad from The Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry, Inc., one psychiatrist goes trough his thoughts as he decided whether to take it. He examines the science, the risks, possible complications, and what his decision means to his patients as well as to mental health in general.
COVID Vaccination — Why You Should Take ItCOVID Vaccination — Why You Should Take It , MP3, 1.3MB
You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.
Political Anxiety PSA is Timely Again
As this election cycle nears election day, there is no guarantee we will know the results very soon. A combination of many factors, including a pandemic that brings its own anxiety and has seen record numbers use absentee voting and early voting to avoid crowds on election day, could cause delays in vote counts and that can add to the stress and anxiety of many people. We are featuring our PSA from 2017 which examines the wide variety of feelings people experience after a particularly divisive political campaign and things that can be done to help, ranging from breaks from Facebook and Twitter and similar sites to seeking actual help from professionals.
Listen to the PSA on our home page or on our PSA collection here, where you can listen to or download other advice given in past PSAs, also.