Mental Health

Leo Perez played football in college and believes he may struggle with CTE.

Meet 4 people who worry about CTE, but never played in the NFL

4:48pm December 23, 2021

by Sacha Pfeiffer

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is infamous in the NFL. But there's a quiet population of everyday people who never played pro sports yet fear CTE. Here are some of their stories.

"I use the word 'doom,' " T.J. Abraham said of his fear that he has CTE from past head injuries, "because I feel like there's no easy way out of this and there's no good outcome."

Everyday people fear they have CTE. A dubious market has sprung up to treat them

4:39pm December 23, 2021

by Sacha Pfeiffer

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) goes far beyond the NFL. Everyday men and women worry they have the fatal disease, and they've turned to questionable brain products for help.

Grimsley High School teacher Sierra Hannipole checks in with a student at the Greensboro, N.C., school's learning hub. According to new federal data, 6 in 10 schools around the U.S., including Grimsley, have given extra training to teachers to support stu

Here's what schools are doing to try to address students' social-emotional needs

7:01am December 23, 2021

by Anya Kamenetz

New federal numbers show the nation's schools are hiring and training staff and expanding previous curricula to address student mental health.

Student Journalists

Dispatches From Within: The one-hour special

4:59pm December 22, 2021

by Radio 101 class at R.J. Reynolds High School

At the beginning of the school year, the Radio 101 class at R.J. Reynolds high school was tasked to look into the issue of teen mental health.

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Dave 'Cowboy' Graham stands at a destroyed gas station in Dawson Springs, Kentucky.

National

For tornado survivors, 'Cowboy' offers a listening ear

5:39pm December 21, 2021

by Sarah McCammon

Dave Graham of Frederickstown, Ohio, has volunteered after natural disasters around the country. He's been spending time offering to listen to stories of tornado survivors in Dawson Springs, Ky.

The Biden administration is launching a new phone number for mental health crises

5:41pm December 20, 2021

by Rhitu Chatterjee

The Biden administration is putting a quarter of a billion dollars into a new national suicide prevention line. But some say that's not enough to build the infrastructure that's needed.

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Encore: The Weatherman

5:13pm December 20, 2021

by Abby Wendle

A meteorologist goes up against Alabama's deadly tornadoes, as NPR's Invisibilia explores our relationship with uncertainty.

Grief is tied to all sorts of different brain functions, says researcher and author Mary-Frances O'Connor. That can range from being able to recall memories to taking the perspective of another person, to even things like regulating our heart rate and the

How your brain copes with grief, and why it takes time to heal

2:55pm December 20, 2021

by Berly McCoy

Grieving is a form of learning, says a scientist who studies the brain's response to loss. When someone you love dies, you have to learn new rules for navigating the world and your brain has to adapt.

Dispatches From Within: I'm fat, I'm ugly, and I'm stupid

7:28am December 20, 2021

by Sarah Bettis, Kaeleigh Brenner and Sarah Rhoades Cox

WFDD's Radio 101 has chosen to use only the first initial of the student in the following story due to the sensitive subject matter and to protect the students' privacy.

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Second-graders hold their heads as they talk about "thoughts" and how they compare with "feelings" and resulting "actions," at Paw Paw Elementary School earlier this month, in Paw Paw, Mich.

Schools embrace social and emotional learning to help 'overwhelmed' students

2:30am December 20, 2021

by The Associated Press

School officials believe that kids can't succeed academically if they are struggling emotionally.