Healio (6/22, Marabito) reports, “Adults with depressive symptoms used more humor and sarcasm to cope with challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic,” researchers concluded in a digital survey of “661 Canadian adults during the height of COVID-19 restrictions, between April 27 and July 17, 2020.” The survey study also revealed that “adults with anxiety used more sarcasm but less humor during the pandemic, and those with psychiatric disorders reported using more humor.” The findings were published online ahead of print in the August issue of the Journal of Psychiatric Research.

Related Links:

— “Adults with depression, anxiety use more humor, sarcasm to cope with COVID-19 pandemic “Maria Marabito, Healio, June 22, 2021

MedPage Today (6/22, Grant) reports, “Cannabis use may be associated with suicidality trends among young adults, regardless of their depression status, according to a survey study” published in JAMA Network Open. The “analysis of data from the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)” on “over 280,000 young adults ages 18 to 34” found “increases in suicidal ideation, plan, and attempt ranging from 40% to 60% over the past decade – increases beyond those attributable to either cannabis use or major depressive episodes (MDE) alone, reported” researchers.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

The Wall Street Journal (6/21, Reddy, Subscription Publication) reports that experts nationwide are saying the pandemic’s social isolation may have triggered eating disorders in many adolescents and young adults. Data show that the demand for treatment has risen to new levels.

Related Links:

— “Eating Disorders Surged Among Adolescents in Pandemic “Sumathi Reddy, The Wall Street Journal, June 21, 2021

Healio (6/21, Marabito) reports “cognitive behavioral, behavioral activation, problem-solving, ‘third wave therapy,’ interpersonal psychotherapy, psychodynamic, and life-review therapy” may treat depression “more effectively and acceptably, with several” of these psychotherapies “having significant long-term effects after 1 year,” according to a studypublished in World Psychiatry. Study investigators “conducted network and random-effects pairwise meta-analyses on 331 randomized trials with 34,285 patients” and found “greater efficacies for all assessed therapies than care-as-usual and waiting list control conditions.”

Related Links:

— “Certain psychotherapies offer effective, long-term treatment for adult depression “Maria Marabito, Healio, June 21, 2021

The Washington Post (6/20, Waters) reported “cities around the country are looking into or already pursuing” efforts to divert some emergency calls to mental health workers rather than police. For example, CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets) is a Eugene, Oregon-based service “that sends a mental health crisis worker and EMT, rather than police, to people in mental health distress.” In Phoenix, a “consortium of nonprofit agencies led by Solari Crisis and Human Services, has built a crisis line and mobile response system that, in one recent 30-day period, handled 20,000 calls and dispatched mobile crisis teams composed of a mental health clinician and a paraprofessional – and not police – 2,200 times.”

Related Links:

— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)