Author Archive
The New York Times By Katie Hafner May 25, 2020 Psychologists say anxiety and uncertainty prompt irrational decisions — like turning down a transplant when an organ becomes available. It was the call Lance Hansen, gravely ill with liver disease, had been waiting weeks for, and it came just before midnight in late April. A... read more
How to Tell if It’s More Than Just a Bad Mood
The New York Times By Nancy Wartik May 21, 2020 It is understandable if the coronavirus pandemic has put you in a funk, but depression should be evaluated and treated. For quite a while after it hit, life wasn’t bad. I had a job, at least, and was buoyed by family togetherness, by connecting and... read more
How women and girls with ADHD are given short shrift with treatment, other forms of help
The Washington Post By Katherine Ellison May 19, 2020 After a lifetime of arriving late, missing deadlines and having friends call her a ditz, Leslie Crawford wanted to know whether her chronic distraction meant she had attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, ADHD. And, if that were true, could medication help? Over three visits with her managed-care plan doctor... read more
Postpartum Depression Can Be Dangerous. Here’s How to Recognize It and Seek Treatment.
The New York Times By Tara Haelle April 17, 2020 This guide was originally published on June 10, 2019 in NYT Parenting. The Gist Postpartum depression is a serious mental health issue and can include symptoms such as feeling disconnected from your baby, feeling intense sadness or feeling incompetent as a mother. If these symptoms... read more
ADVOCACY BRIEF
Agenda Item: Caring for Immigrant Patients and Families in our Community Key points: San Diego County is currently home to 3.1 million residents with approximately 21.5% of the county's population being immigrants, including refugees, who come from other countries (1). The relationship between immigration and mental health has significant implications for both psychiatric symptomatology... read more
Los Angeles Times By From Staff and Wire Reports March 25, 2020 At first, Jonathon Seidl wasn’t worried about the coronavirus despite his anxiety disorder. But that changed. The 33-year-old digital media strategist from Dallas, who takes medication for his condition, said his concern was less about getting sick than about the battering the economy... read more
Alzheimer’s affects 5.8 million people 65 and older. In 2050, that number may be close to 14 million.
The Washington Post By Linda Searing March 16, 2020 Alzheimer’s disease, the most common dementia among older adults, now affects about 5.8 million U.S. residents 65 and older — 10 percent of that age group, according to a new report from the Alzheimer’s Association. Age is considered the biggest risk factor for Alzheimer’s, with 3 percent... read more
The New York Times By Austin Frakt and Aaron E. Carroll March 11, 2020 For a long time, medical researchers were unsure whether Alcoholics Anonymous worked better than other approaches to treating people with alcohol use disorder. In 2006, a review of the evidence concluded we didn’t have enough evidence to judge. That has changed. An updated... read more
Celebrities are talking more about their own mental health. It’s helping — even if it’s complicated.
The Washington Post By Bethonie Butler Feb. 20, 2020 Demi Lovato leaned into the microphone. “I tried to talk to my piano,” she sang softly, stopping as she broke into tears. It was her first performance since she suffered a drug overdose in 2018. The audience — gathered in Los Angeles’s Staples Center last month... read more
How Chaos at Chain Pharmacies Is Putting Patients at Risk
The New York Times Jan 31, 2020 By Ellen Gabler Pharmacists across the U.S. warn that the push to do more with less has made medication errors more likely. “I am a danger to the public,” one wrote to a regulator. For Alyssa Watrous, the medication mix-up meant a pounding headache, nausea and dizziness. In September,... read more