Gray Area Drinking: The Habit Between Fine and a Problem
Just 54% of U.S. adults report drinking alcohol at all this year, the lowest share in Gallup’s trend dating back to 1939, and down from 67% four years ago. Among the people…
Mental Health Tips
Tips and guides for better mental health
High-Functioning Depression: Why Coping Well Hides It
She runs the Monday meeting, remembers everyone’s birthday, and has not missed a deadline in six years. She also cannot remember the last time she felt anything about any of it. When…
Empty Nest Syndrome: Who Actually Struggles and Why
Every September, parents drive home from a college drop-off to a house that is suddenly too quiet. Many of them are bracing for what they have been told is coming: empty nest…
Intrusive Thoughts: Why You Have Them and When to Get Help
You’re standing on a balcony and a thought arrives, uninvited: what if I jumped? You’re holding a kitchen knife and, for a half-second, picture using it on someone you love. You’re driving…
Seasonal Affective Disorder Starts Earlier Than You Think: How to Get Ahead of It This Fall
Nobody notices the first week. The mornings are a little darker, the evening walk gets skipped, and the second helping of pasta feels earned. By late October the pattern has a shape…
How to Ask Someone If They’re Thinking About Suicide (and What to Say Next)
There’s a particular kind of silence that happens when you’re worried about someone. You’ve noticed the changes — they’ve gone quiet, cancelled plans twice, said something offhand about being “done” or “tired…
AI Companion Chatbots and Teens: What Parents Need to Know Right Now
A researcher at the Child Mind Institute recently noticed something in the way teenagers talk about the AI apps on their phones: they call it “Chat,” like it’s a person’s name. Not…
Panic Attacks vs. Anxiety Attacks: What’s Actually Happening in Your Body
“Panic attacks vs anxiety attacks” is one of the most common searches in mental health, and the confusion makes sense — the two terms get used as if they’re interchangeable, even though…
Financial Stress and Mental Health: What the Research Actually Shows
Money trouble doesn’t stay contained to a bank statement. Miss a credit card payment, watch a checking account dip into the red the week before payday, or open a collection notice you’ve…