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Tag: mental health issues

  • Noah Cyrus Talks Anxiety, Depression

    Noah Cyrus Talks Anxiety, Depression

    On her new EP, Miley Cyrus’s younger sister opens up about depression and “how it’s okay to feel those feelings.”

    Noah Cyrus is the other famous daughter of country star Billy Ray Cyrus and she also has showbiz in her blood. She made her acting debut on the show Doc at the age of three, and sang the theme song for the animated movie Ponyo at the age of eight.

    Now Noah is one of a number of young pop stars who is getting candid about her depression and anxiety struggles.

    Noah says that her experiences with anxiety and depression shaped her upcoming EP. She told L’Officiel her latest release is “mostly just about how my emotions have been, and about my anxiety, and how I’ve been struggling with depression, and how it’s okay to feel those feelings.”

    Noah has dealt with the struggle of becoming a celebrity in the day and age of social media, adding, “A lot of people like to judge you, and make fun of you on the internet, and people make you feel crazy whenever you’re in a depression or having anxiety or having a panic attack.”

    Noah’s new music also deals with “being sad and having your emotions and not being able to ignore the feelings you’re having.”

    Her new music has been an outlet for her emotions, and with her latest single, “Make Me (Cry),” a duet with Labrinth, she’s showing the world more of her self-proclaimed “emo side.”

    Noah says that releasing a single where she’s more in touch with her feelings may have been influenced by her brother, Trace Cyrus, the lead singer of Metro Station. “I think [it] probably stems from growing up with Trace in my house because he was the king of emo.”

    In addition to being more in touch with her mental health in her music, Cyrus has also been dating rapper Lil Xan, who has been outspoken against drug abuse in the hip-hop community. They’ve already recorded a song together, “Live or Die,” and Cyrus told People, “He’s a little teddy bear.”

    In the past, Noah’s sister Miley has also been open about her own struggles with anxiety, depression and substance abuse. She announced to the world that she quit marijuana last year, and she told ABC in 2014, “I went through a time where I was really depressed. I locked myself in my room and my dad had to break my door down. It was a lot to do with, like, I had really bad skin, and I felt really bullied because of that.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Emma Stone Talks To Jennifer Lawrence About Her Anxiety Struggles

    Emma Stone Talks To Jennifer Lawrence About Her Anxiety Struggles

    In an interview for Elle magazine, Emma Stone spoke candidly about mental health to her close friend Jennifer Lawrence.

    Emma Stone has been very open about her struggles with anxiety, which she’s had since she was a child. Now, Stone and fellow actress Jennifer Lawrence have interviewed each other for Elle magazine, in which the Hollywood BFFs spoke about struggling with anxiety and how acting can be a release.

    In the interview, Lawrence asked Stone, “What do you think caused your anxiety? Do you think you were born like that, or do you think something happened that made you extremely sensitive, or do you think that you’re naturally pathetic?”

    Stone, who has battled anxiety since she was seven years old, replied, “I think your wiring is just kind of what you are. My mom always says that I was born with my nerves outside of my body. But I’m lucky for the anxiety, because it also makes me high-energy.”

    Stone has reached out to Lawrence on the phone, on what Lawrence calls Emma’s “frequent sleepless nights.” Stone’s racing thoughts have also been kicking up lately because she’ll soon be turning 30.

    Stone is currently taking a break from Hollywood. “I haven’t shot anything for six months, which has been amazing because there’s been more time to be with friends or travel.”

    Lawrence also pointed out that Stone doesn’t have a “big social media presence,” to which Stone replied, “I think it wouldn’t be a positive thing for me. If people can handle that sort of output and input in the social media sphere, power to them.”

    While Lawrence didn’t talk about her own anxiety in her conversation with Stone, the Hunger Games star did talk about her mental health struggles to Esperanza. Like Stone, Lawrence used acting as an escape and as a way of healing her self-image.

    Growing up, Lawrence felt like she was “a weirdo… I’ve always had this weird anxiety. I hated recess. Parties really stressed me out. I was having trouble at school and I had a lot of social anxieties.”

    Lawrence’s parents also took her to a therapist, and like Stone, she realized performing “was the one that that [made] anxiety go away. I didn’t feel good about myself until I discovered acting and how happy it made me feel.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Ariana Grande Talks Manchester Attack, Anxiety In Emotional Interview

    Ariana Grande Talks Manchester Attack, Anxiety In Emotional Interview

    “You try not to give in to fear. You want to keep going. You want to not be afraid.”

    In a new interview, singer Ariana Grande described how “everything” changed after the 2017 bombing attack on her concert at Manchester Arena in England.

    Ebro Darden of Beats 1 radio addressed speculation that “Get Well Soon,” a song on her new album Sweetener, had to do with the aftermath of the Manchester attack.

    “You have really been working through recovering from what took place in Manchester with your fans, with your family, with yourself,” Darden said. “Was that song important to put out some of that energy and let people know that we’re all working to get well?”

    In her emotional response, Grande said the song was about that and more. “[The song is about] just being there for each other and helping each other through scary times and anxiety,” she said. “We just have to be there for each other as much as we can because you never fucking know.”

    She continued, “It’s also about personal demons and anxiety, more intimate tragedies as well. Mental health is so important. People don’t pay enough mind to it… People don’t pay attention to what’s happening inside.”

    At the time, NBC News reported that 22 people were killed and about 59 were wounded.

    “You try not to give in to fear,” Grande said. “That was the point of finishing my tour, to set an example for my fans, who were fearless enough to show up to the shows. You want to keep going. You want to not be afraid.”

    Less than a month after the attack, Grande returned to Manchester for the One Love Manchester benefit concert, which featured Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams, and Coldplay. The pop star performed in front of 55,000 people that night.

    Grande, who previously addressed the emotional scar that the attack left on her in a Vogue interview, told Darden that in the aftermath of Manchester, she can’t help but fear for her safety.

    “You don’t want to give in, you don’t want to be afraid, but it’s still there,” she said. “It changes everything, changes your life quite a bit. You want to be more present and follow happy impulses and figure it out later and stay in the moment.”

    In a June interview with Vogue, Grande said the attack left her with a crippling amount of anxiety. “I think a lot of people have anxiety, especially right now. My anxiety has anxiety,” she said. “I’ve always had anxiety. I’ve never really spoken about it because I thought everyone had it, but when I got home from tour it was the most severe I think it’s ever been.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Taraji P Henson Launches Mental Health Foundation

    Taraji P Henson Launches Mental Health Foundation

    The “Empire” star launched the foundation in honor of her late father who battled mental health issues.

    Actress Taraji P. Henson has launched a foundation to promote mental health support for the African American community, in honor of her late father Boris Lawrence Henson, who she said struggled with mental health issues.

    According to its official website, the three main goals of the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation (BLHF) are to provide mental health support in urban schools, increase the number of African American therapists, and to reduce the prison recidivism rate.

    Through her foundation, Henson is targeting the African American community specifically to eradicate the stigma around mental health issues, hoping to break the silence and encourage the community to be open about their struggles.

    “African Americans have regarded such communication as a sign of weakness and our vision is to change that perception,” said Tracie Jenkins, executive director of BLHF, according to People.

    “One in five Americans suffer from mental illness. African Americans are the least likely population to seek treatment,” according to the BLHF website. “We are taught to hold our problems close to the vest out of fear of being labeled and further demonized as inapt, weak, and/or inadequate.”

    Henson launched the foundation in honor of her father, Boris Lawrence Henson, who passed away in 2006 at the age of 58 after battling liver cancer.

    “I named the organization after my father because of his complete and unconditional love for me; his unabashed, unashamed ability to tell the truth, even if it hurt; and his strength to push through his own battles with mental health issues,” said the Empire actress.

    “My dad fought in the Vietnam War for our country, returned broken, and received little to no physical and emotional support. I stand now in his absence, committed to offering support to African Americans who face trauma daily, simply because they are black.”

    The foundation will provide scholarships for African American students majoring in mental health, and work with urban school districts to support mental health therapists, social workers and counselors for African American children in need.

    “African American youth in this country are exposed to trauma daily. Issues like poverty, mass incarceration and violence plague the lives of many of our children, leaving them scarred and anxious,” according to the BLHF website. “Yet many of the children facing these problems rarely get the therapeutic help they need, carrying the effects of these issues into adulthood.”

    The website continues, “Instead of stigmatizing mental health issues, we must normalize the issue. We must learn to equate the importance of emotional health with the importance of physical health. Needing help is not a shame, the shame is in the inability and fear to do so.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Treating Teens’ Depression Can Benefit Parents Too

    Treating Teens’ Depression Can Benefit Parents Too

    A new study explores how a family member receiving mental health treatment impacts their loved ones.

    Depression touches not only the individual—often, it affects the community around them, too.

    For teens, parents are often a significant part of this “community,” and can experience depression second-hand. But when a teen receives treatment, the benefits will ripple through the whole family, according to preliminary research presented at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association on Saturday (August 11).

    The study of 325 American teens and their parents—which has yet to be peer-reviewed and published—analyzed data from a larger 2007 study of how teens living with depression responded to antidepressant drug treatment or cognitive behavioral therapy.

    The team observed that regardless of which kind of mental health treatment the teens received, the psychological health of the parents improved as well.

    It’s easy to guess why this would happen. The official symptoms of depression include irritability, a lack of energy, anxiety, and loss of interest in normal activities. It’s not hard to see how any one of these symptoms could negatively affect the people around the depressed individual.

    “It’s possible that the feedback, the control, and the involvement in the treatment may have been beneficial,” said Kelsey Howard, co-author of the research and a doctoral candidate at Northwestern University. “It could be in how the family is interacting with each other: The kid is more pleasant to be around, the kid is making less negative statements, which can affect how other family members think.”

    As one writer noted in Psychology Today, “[Families] contribute powerfully to the emotional atmosphere the depressed person inhabits, and so can be agents of recovery.”

    Some treatment professionals say the family’s input is necessary to correctly diagnose depression.

    S. Nassir Ghaemi, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard University, says he’ll ask patients seeking an evaluation to bring in a family member. “Then I ask the family to feel free to call me any time the patient is developing mood symptoms of any variety,” he told Psychology Today.

    Ghaemi also uses the family to keep the patient on track with medication, if necessary. With the support of family members, the patient can stay on track of taking his or her medication. And if the family is not on board with the treatment plan, Ghaemi teaches patients how to navigate this challenge.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Snapchat Dysmorphia: A Growing Trend Among Social Media Users

    Snapchat Dysmorphia: A Growing Trend Among Social Media Users

    Snapchat dysmorphia was first identified in a 2017 plastic surgery survey.

    Apparently, some people are taking their love of photo filters a bit TOO far. That’s according to a recent paper published in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery, which describes the emerging phenomenon known as “Snapchat dysmorphia.”

    Body dysmorphic disorder is characterized by obsessive thoughts of the flaws in one’s appearance, though these perceived flaws may not be noticeable to others.

    Photo filters and retouching tools in smartphone apps like Snapchat and Facetune allow just about anybody to edit away any perceived flaws in their “selfies”— but for some people, this just isn’t enough.

    Some doctors say that while previously, cosmetic surgery patients would bring in images of celebrities whose features they want to emulate, these days, patients will try and emulate the “filtered versions” of themselves.

    “Most of the time, [patients] want to talk about how they appear in their edited photos. And they are looking to explore options of how to translate that into reality,” Noëlle Sherber, who runs a dermatology and plastic surgery practice in Washington, DC, told Vox.

    The term “Snapchat dysmorphia” appears in a paper published in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery on August 2, based on a trend first identified in the 2017 Annual American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) survey.

    The paper cited a recent study that found that adolescent girls who “manipulated their photos more reported a higher level of concern with their bodies and an overestimation of body shape and weight.” A higher level of body dissatisfaction was also associated with a higher level of engagement on social media. 

    According to the AAFPRS survey, in 2015, 42% of patients requested surgery to improve their selfies. That number is now 55%.

    The paper in JAMA notes that many of the features that appear in retouched selfies are unattainable with cosmetic surgery. This “trend” of “Snapchat dysmorphia” is alarming, the authors say, because it is “blurring the line of reality and fantasy.”

    Sherber echoed this point to Vox, “Some of the changes [patients] are making to their faces are not achievable. We can’t do that in real life. And if they really can’t be made to match that, they will be inherently disappointed.”

    Rather than cosmetic surgery, the authors of the paper say that behavior indicative of body dysmorphic disorder should be addressed with counseling.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • "Hilarious World of Depression" Podcast To Feature Andrew Zimmern, Neko Case

    "Hilarious World of Depression" Podcast To Feature Andrew Zimmern, Neko Case

    The hit podcast is set to return for its third season on August 13th. 

    TV personality and chef Andrew Zimmern will be a guest on this season’s Hilarious World of Depression podcast, the podcast that sheds light on the dark world of depression.

    In each episode, host John Moe and his guests untangle the mystery (and stigma) of depression through candid conversation.

    Rachel Bloom, co-creator and star of the TV series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, was a guest last season. Moe described her character, Rebecca Bunch, as “one of the most truthful portrayals of mental illness that I’ve seen, both the devastating effects and the just-getting-through-the-day parts.”

    The pair discuss Bloom’s childhood in Manhattan Beach, her upbringing, love of musical theater—and, of course, her history with depression.

    “At around age 9, I started to develop really, really intense, intrusive looping thoughts,” she told Moe. “And so for me, depression has always been wrapped up in intrusive, looping, negative thoughts.”

    Former guests also include singer-songwriter Aimee Mann and Jeff Tweedy of the band Wilco.

    Moe shared that the new season will incorporate the podcast’s listeners more, so they may comment and ask questions.

    “This is our audience season. We will continue to have celebrity guests and hear their stories, but we’re also going to have more of our listeners be part of the podcast,” said Moe. “This show has evolved to become part of the mental health discussion, and that brings even more voices to the conversation.” 

    The Hilarious World of Depression is part of the Make It OK campaign by HealthPartners, to reduce stigma surrounding mental health issues.

    “Humor can open a door for conversation about mental illnesses and begin the healing process,” says Donna Zimmerman, HealthPartners senior vice president for government and community relations. “The Make It OK campaign works to reduce the stigma of mental illnesses and we are delighted to continue our partnership to reach new audiences this season with messages of hope and recovery.”

    Season 3 is set to debut on Monday, August 13. This season will also feature Scott Thompson (Kids in the Hall), singer-songwriter Neko Case, and comedian and actor Charlyne Yi, among others.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Hay Fever's Link To Mental Health Issues Examined

    Hay Fever's Link To Mental Health Issues Examined

    Researchers examined the link between hay fever and depression in adolescents for a study.

    For many people, itchy eyes, sneezing and a scratchy throat are a right of passage every spring as the flowers bloom and the pollen begins to blow.

    However, although it might be common, one report found that hay fever is linked to depression and anxiety in adolescents.

    A review published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology looked over 25 studies of individuals with hay fever, concentrating on patients who were between the ages of 10 and 19. The review found that adolescents with hay fever had a lower quality of life than other teens, were more likely to have their sleep and routines disrupted, and have academic consequences.

    “Although [hay fever is] sometimes perceived as trivial conditions, this review indicates that [the] effect on adolescent life is negative and far-reaching,” the authors wrote. “It is critical that clinicians gain a greater understanding of the unique burden of [hay fever] in adolescents to ensure they receive prompt and appropriate care and treatment to improve clinical and academic outcomes.”

    “The emotional burden of hay fever can be huge for adolescents,” lead study author Dr. Michael Blaiss told Medical News Today. “Three of the studies in our review examined how adolescents are emotionally affected by hay fever […] and hay fever with eye allergies (allergic rhinoconjunctivitis). They found adolescents with hay fever had higher rates of anxiety and depression, and a lower resistance to stress. [They] also exhibited more hostility, impulsivity, and changed their minds often.” 

    Blaiss pointed out that adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the effects of disruption to their sleep. 

    “Lack of sleep or poor sleep are both huge issues for adolescents, and it can be made worse by the symptoms of hay fever with or without eye allergies,” he said. “Poor sleep can have a negative impact on school attendance, performance, and academic achievement.”

    Between 15 and 38% of teens have hay fever, so understanding the social and emotional consequences is important for public health. It’s also important economically, since millions of doctors visits and sick days are caused by hay fever each year.

    Researchers also pointed out that teens might have their hay fever present differently from younger children or from adults. For example, teens are more likely to say that itchy eyes or sneezing is their most pressing symptom.

    However, symptoms like snoring at night and night waking are the cause for the most concern, since they can lead to sleep disruption. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • How Rising Temperatures May Affect Mental Health

    How Rising Temperatures May Affect Mental Health

    A new article examined the grim link between high temperatures and suicide rates.

    Not only is climate change dangerous to the natural environment, one writer posits, it can negatively affect mental health as well.

    In a new article, Bloomberg columnist Leonid Bershidsky cites research that has found that rising temperatures can increase the likelihood of suicide.

    Most recently, a report by Marshall Burke and his colleagues of Stanford University, estimated that a “1 degree Celsius increase in average monthly temperature produces a 0.68% increase in the monthly suicide rate in the U.S.,” Bershidsky wrote. In Mexico, the resulting increase in the monthly suicide rate was even higher—2.1%.

    This year’s North American heat wave may have come and gone, while western Europe is predicted to be hit next with dangerous heat during the first week of August, average temperatures are on the rise.

    According to the U.S. Office for Coastal Management, the five warmest years on record in the United States all have occurred since 2006. 

    This research is significant given that average temperatures are predicted to continue to rise. According to the Office for Coastal Management, if we continue on this trajectory, by 2050, “the average American will likely see 27 to 50 days over 90 degrees (Fahrenheit) each year.”

    According to Burke’s research, this could have a grim impact on people’s mental health. His team calculated that a 2.5 degree increase in U.S. average temperatures by 2050 would increase the suicide rate by 1.4%, causing more than 14,000 more suicides.

    Bershidsky cites other research that came to similar outcomes, showing that hotter temperatures affected suicide rates.

    A report in 2007 from Lisa Page and colleagues at the London Institute of Psychiatry discovered that with “each degree above 18 degrees Celsius (64.4 degrees Fahrenheit), the suicide rate increased 3.8%.”

    But despite discovering these correlations, it’s still a mystery as to why exactly weather can affect people in this way.

    “While speculative, perhaps the most promising mechanism to link suicide with high temperatures is a psychological one,” wrote Page. “High temperatures have been found to lead individuals to behave in a more disinhibited, aggressive and violent manner, which might in turn result in an increased propensity for suicidal acts.”

    Bershidsky concludes that based on this research, communities should make a “better effort” to deal with the effects of climate change by investing in mental health support.

    During a heat wave, defined as a prolonged period of abnormally hot weather, it is advised to drink plenty of water and avoid strenuous activity during the midday and afternoon to avoid heat exhaustion or stroke, and to take care that the elderly, children and pets, especially, are kept out of the heat.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • How Processed Meats May Affect Mental Health

    How Processed Meats May Affect Mental Health

    A new study examined whether the nitrates used to cure meat played a role in manic episodes. 

    Nitrates, a chemical relied on to cure meat, is believed to be linked to mania, a symptom of mental illness, Newsweek reports.  

    According to Psych Central, manic episodes are “a mood state characterized by period of at least one week where an elevated, expansive, or unusually irritable mood exists.”

    Those having manic episodes are often energized beyond their normal and may describe it as being “on top of the world.”

    Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine studied data on 1,101 people with and without mental illnesses between 2007 and 2017. The information in the data included health, dietary and demographic information about those who participated. Of those who participated, about 55% were female, 55% were Caucasian and 36% were African American.

    Researchers initially intended to determine whether being exposed to certain infections made individuals more likely to have a mental illness.

    However, the researchers discovered that individuals who had been hospitalized for mania were 3.5 times more likely to have consumed processed meat before their hospitalization in comparison to a group without mental illnesses.

    To test their theory, the researchers fed rats nitrates. In doing so, they discovered that those rats were more likely to exhibit hyperactivity and irregular sleep patterns when compared to rats on a normal diet.

    They also found that the rats that consumed nitrates had a different bacteria makeup in their digestive systems and exhibited differences in their brain’s molecular pathways linked to bipolar disorder. 

    Dr. Robert Yolken, lead author of the study and professor of neurovirology in pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, released a statement acknowledging the prominence of processed meat in the diets of those with manic episodes.

    “We looked at a number of different dietary exposures and cured meat really stood out,” he stated, according to Newsweek. “It wasn’t just that people with mania have an abnormal diet.”

    Previously, Yolken and his team conducted another study that implied that probiotics could decrease the likelihood that someone with mania would be re-hospitalized in the six months following hospitalization.

    “There’s growing evidence that germs in the intestines can influence the brain,” he said. “And this work on nitrates opens the door for future studies on how that may be happening.”

    Seva Khambadkone is an M.D. and Ph.D. student at Johns Hopkins who participated in the study. According to Newsweek, he says genetic and environmental factors play a role in mental illness.

    “It’s clear that mania is a complex neuropsychiatric state, and that both genetic vulnerabilities and environmental factors are likely involved in the emergence and severity of bipolar disorder and associated manic episodes,” he stated. “Our results suggest that nitrated cured meat could be one environmental player in mediating mania.”

    View the original article at thefix.com