Recent posts

Want to Be a Doctor? Take Your Chances in a Closed Room With Strangers

By drwong
August 17, 2020

The New York Times By Roni Caryn Rabin Aug. 7, 2020 Admissions tests for many graduate schools have gone online. But not the MCAT, the exam for aspiring doctors. It must still be taken in person, pandemic or not. Students applying to graduate schools can take the GRE, the LSAT and other tests at home...   read more


With Eating Disorders, Looks Can Be Deceiving

By drwong
August 17, 2020

The New York Times By Jane E. Brody July 27, 2020 Distorted eating behaviors occur in young people irrespective of their weight, gender, race, ethnicity or sexual orientation. Appearances, as I’m sure you know, can be deceiving. In one all-too-common example, adolescents and young adults with disordered eating habits or outright eating disorders often go...   read more


FCC Approves 988 as Suicide Prevention, Mental Health Crisis Number

By drwong
July 21, 2020

American Psychiatric Association Fri Jul 17, 2020 Thursday, July 16th the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) unanimously approved 988 as a nationwide, three-digit phone number that people in crisis can call to speak with suicide prevention and mental health crisis counselors. All phone service providers are required to direct all 988 calls to the existing National Suicide Prevention...   read more


What Makes Some People More Resilient Than Others

By drwong
July 4, 2020

The New York Times By Eilene Zimmerman June 18, 2020 The very earliest days of our lives, and our closest relationships, can offer clues about how we cope with adversity. This article is part of a series on resilience in troubled times — what we can learn about it from history and personal experiences. A few years...   read more


Depression and anxiety spiked among black Americans after George Floyd’s death

By drwong
July 4, 2020

The Washington Post By Alyssa Fowers June 12, 2020 Asians and African Americans show sharp increases in mental health problems amid protests, while white Americans were relatively untouched, Census Bureau finds. Americans were already struggling with historic levels of mental health problems amid the coronavirus pandemic. Then came the video of George Floyd’s death at the hands of police....   read more


‘A Train Wreck In Slow Motion’: San Diego VA Takes Suicidal Vets Off Treatment

By drwong
July 4, 2020

KPBS By Brad Racino / inewsource Thursday June 4, 2020 Dr. David Feifel’s vacation in Israel was wrapping up last October when the psychiatrist turned on his cellphone. He scrolled through messages he’d missed during the Jewish holiday but stopped on one text, dumbfounded, and read it over and again. This isn’t real, he thought,...   read more


4 Ways to Help if Your Kid Is Depressed

By drwong
June 7, 2020

The New York Times By Melinda Wenner Moyer June 2, 2020 Some children may need professional help during the lockdown, but there are several things parents can do to ease the quarantine blues. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a worrying shift in my 9-year-old. His characteristic silliness — his goofy giggles and incessant...   read more


APA Condemns Racism, Police Brutality and Calls for End to Racial Inequities

By drwong
June 7, 2020

American Psychiatric Association June 1, 2020 APA has issued statements in response to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man in police custody in Minneapolis, and the resulting civil unrest this past weekend as demonstrators across the nation protested police brutality and institutional racism. APA believes that all forms of racism and racial discrimination affect mental...   read more


Fear of Covid-19 Leads Other Patients to Decline Critical Treatment

By drwong
June 7, 2020

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

By drwong
June 7, 2020

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