Mental Health

Iran Nuclear Talks Bog Down As Tuesday Deadline Approaches

9:49am March 31, 2015

by Peter Kenyon

Talks aimed at limiting Iran's nuclear program to peaceful purposes continue. An Iranian negotiator is quoted as rejecting the idea that Iran would ship some of its nuclear fuel out of the country.

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Flight crew in cockpit, rear view (zoom effect).

Is There Any Way To Screen The World's Pilots For Suicidal Tendencies?

3:45pm March 27, 2015

by Emily Sohn

There are questionnaires that aim to identify people at risk of killing themselves. But the tests are flawed — and it's not at all clear they'd be effective in assessing the mental state of pilots.

Most teenagers with mental health problems don't get any help.

New York City To Teens: TXT ME With Mental Health Worries

12:57pm March 27, 2015

by Maanvi Singh

In an effort to connect teenagers with mental health services, New York is testing counseling via text for high school students. They join a growing trend.

Researchers and therapists are developing strategies to help people cut back on drinking, including tracker cards and tools to screen for dependence.

Rethinking Alcohol: Can Heavy Drinkers Learn To Cut Back?

11:19am March 24, 2015

by Allison Aubrey

The limit for healthy drinking may be less than you think — one drink a day for women and two for men, according to health experts. New strategies aim to help heavy drinkers reduce their intake.

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Laury Sacks and her husband, Eric. The actress and writer developed frontotemporal dementia in her late 40s and died in 2008 at age 52.

'Looks Like Laury' Shines The Power Of Friendship On A Failing Mind

8:09am March 23, 2015

by Deborah Franklin

When actress and writer Laury Sacks started losing words fast, her best friends, who happened to be filmmakers, captured her experience. Looks Like Laury, Sounds Like Laury shows how they reached her.

It's hard to sleep when the light's on and the monitor's beeping.

For A Good Snooze, Take One Melatonin, Add Eye Mask And Earplugs

3:16pm March 20, 2015

by Nancy Shute

Hospitals are notoriously difficult places to sleep, despite efforts to make them less noisy. Cheap, simple workarounds can help, a study says. Taking the sleep hormone melatonin helped the most.

Health & Safety

Workplace Suicide Rates Rise Sharply

8:30am March 19, 2015

by Patti Neighmond

Overall, men were more likely to take their lives than women on the job. And workers between the ages of 65 and 74 were more likely to commit suicide at work than their younger counterparts.

Your Drinking Habits May Be Influenced By How Much You Make

8:30am March 19, 2015

by Nancy Shute

Genetic differences explain more of the wide variation in drinking habits among people with low incomes, while higher-income people tended to drink alike.

Jonathan Keleher talks with a colleague, Rafael Wainhaus, at work. Keleher was born without a cerebellum, but his brain has developed work-arounds for solving problems of balance and abstract thought.

Clues To Autism, Schizophrenia Emerge From Cerebellum Research

4:27pm March 17, 2015

by Jon Hamilton

The brain's cerebellum helps shape thinking and emotion, as well as physical coordination, research shows. Could stimulating that part of the brain help ease some aspects of autism and schizophrenia?

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After a post has been flagged for review, Facebook intervenes with a supportive message.

Facebook's Suicide Prevention Tools Connect Friends, Test Privacy

3:41pm March 17, 2015

by Emma Bowman

When online social networks open up spaces for suicide prevention with untrained peer support, they walk the fragile line between invasion of privacy and supporting those who need help.