Minneapolis St. Paul Mental Health Blog

Mental Health | Adolescents who misused prescription opioids were, on average, 1.51 times more likely to have experienced suicidal ideation...

Mental Health | When it comes to predicting suicide in at-risk young adults....

Mental Health help | A multitude of factors contribute to a person being at risk of suicide, and clinicians need to understand those contributors in order to help prevent suicide.

Mental Health Update | A new study finds that long-term depression may have neurodegenerative effects.

Years of untreated depression may lead to neurodegenerative levels of brain inflammation.

That statistic indicates that nearly 1 in 5 American adults deals with a mental illness or substance abuse problem each year...

...according to a U.S. government study. More is needed to better understand and give people the help they need.

Oregon has the highest rate, and New Jersey the lowest, according to 2012-2014 data analyzed by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Mental Health Help | When we are stressed out, the fix isn’t easy, however avoidance isn’t the answer either.

The latest study is using hair to measure long-term levels of the stress hormone cortisol, UK researchers confirm the link between chronic stress and packing on pounds, as well as difficulty shedding excess weight.

Vitamin D, also known as the ‘sunshine vitamin’, is a steroid hormone precursor.

It was originally thought to play a role only in the mineralization of bones and teeth by maintaining the correct phosphorous / calcium ratio.

Almost 10% of Americans have had DSM-5 drug use disorder (DUD) at some point in their life, many of them also with potentially disabling comorbidities, according to a large national survey.

Complicating matters further, fewer than 25% have received treatment for DUD, according to data from the first nationally representative survey of individuals after Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) replaced DSM-IV in 2013.

Loneliness is not just an excruciating feeling that can lead to other mental health problems, it can actually be a cause of premature death.

While loneliness can affect anyone at any point in life, it is particularly common among the rapidly increasing population of old people. When you read stories about how many old people live alone and say the television is their main company, you realise that tackling loneliness is one of the greatest challenges facing our society.

Now a new study in humans and rhesus macaques suggests that loneliness is associated with inflammation of the brain. This is potentially a very important finding, but it is important not to jump to conclusions.

Understanding the biological response to a condition like loneliness should lead to a more holistic understanding of mental health problems rather than a knee-jerk solution like a quick-fix drug.