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An alarming new survey shows that American teen girls are experiencing record high levels of violence, sadness and suicide risk.

Schools may be the answer to improving what’s happening for young people, according to the report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

About 3 in 5 girls -- 57% -- said they felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021. That’s up 60...

Primary care doctors are no longer just in the physical health business: Americans are increasingly turning to them for mental health care, too, a new study finds.

Looking at Americans' primary care visits between 2006 and 2018, researchers found a 50% increase in the proportion of visits that addressed mental health concerns. That figure rose from just under 11% of visits, to 16% by the ...

Could asking teens a simple, but pointed, question about their mental health reveal whether they are at risk for suicide?

It might, new research suggests.

Since suicide is now the second leading cause of death among American teens, any strategy that could lower that risk may be worth trying.

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When Elizabeth R.’s husband passed away from bone cancer in 2016, she felt grateful that her employer offered generous bereavement leave.

Now 40, she worked in the development department of a large nonprofit cancer group at the time and felt ready to go back when her leave was up. However, about two weeks into her return, she realized it was too much, too soon.

“Every time I wou...

Antidepressants are often prescribed to people suffering from chronic pain, but a new evidence review argues that the science behind these prescriptions is shaky at best.

These drugs helped people in chronic pain in only a quarter of potential uses tested, and even then the effect ranged from low to moderate, according to a combined analysis of 26 prior reviews.

"We found that, for ...

A new study hints that treating low vitamin D levels with supplements might have a critical benefit for certain people: a decreased risk of attempting suicide.

In a study of more than 1 million U.S. veterans, researchers found that those prescribed vitamin D were nearly 50% less likely to attempt suicide over eight years, versus those who were not prescribed the supplements.

The ben...

Many adults with epilepsy have agoraphobia, or a fear of public places, new research suggests.

That impacts quality of life and is something doctors should include in other screening that looks for anxiety or depression, the investigators said.

"We know that agoraphobia can lead to delays in patient care because of a reluctance to go out in public, which includes appointments with ...

Actor Michael J. Fox details his experiences with Parkinson’s disease, including turning to alcohol and pills in an attempt to cope, in a new documentary.

Fox, 61, has had the degenerative brain disorder since 1991, but didn’t disclose it publicly until 1998.

The star — best known for the “Back to the Future” movies — said he was an alcoholic in the early days and also...

A cancer diagnosis can be devastating.

Now, new research shows that patients diagnosed with cancer have a risk of suicide 26% higher than the general population.

A variety of factors contribute to the elevated risk, including geography, race and ethnicity, economic status and clinical characteristics, American Cancer Society (ACS) researchers found.

The study also showed a dec...

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be an even bigger predictor of depression and anxiety in adulthood than autism is, a new study finds — highlighting the mental health side of the disorder.

It's known that kids and adults with ADHD often have co-existing conditions, including depression and anxiety. Research suggests that about 14% of children with ADHD have depression...

As numerous U.S. states move to restrict transgender health care, a new study shows that such care can substantially improve teenagers' mental health.

The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, followed transgender and nonbinary teenagers who received "gender-affirming" hormones -- either estrogen or testosterone -- for two years.

During that time, researc...

People suffering from depression or anxiety may be able to help themselves by helping others -- even in small ways, researchers report.

In a recent study of 122 people with depression or anxiety symptoms, those who started fitting small acts of kindness into their day showed an improvement in their symptoms.

And when it came to boosting feelings of social connectedness, those kind g...

Worries that clergy will urge depressed congregants to rely on prayer and not other mental health care appear to be unfounded.

A nationwide survey found that 90% of clergy members embraced a medical understanding of the causes and treatment of depression. About 10% said they would recomm...

When teenagers feel good about themselves and their lives, it may also do their hearts good in the long run, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that teenagers who generally felt happy, optimistic and loved went on to show better cardiovascular health in their 20s and 30s, versus kids who lacked that level of mental well-being.

Overall, they were more likely to maintain a healt...

Military service members who conceal their suicidal thoughts are also more likely to store their guns unsafely, a new study reveals.

“These findings highlight a real problem with our suicide prevention system,” said Michael Anestis, lead author of the study and...

An antidote to teenage depression might be found in school gymnasiums and on sports fields, a major new review argues.

Supervised exercise programs are associated with significant reductions in symptoms of depression among children and teenagers, according to the analysis of data from 21 studies involving more than 2,400 kids.

“This is the first time that we've been able to put en...

Generous parental leave policies at work can do wonders for a new mom's mental health.

This is among the key messages from a new review of 45 studies examining how parental leave policies affect mom and dad’s mental health and well-being.

Mothers working for companies with generous parental leave policies were less likely to experience symptoms of depression, poor mental heal...

College students who routinely cram at the last minute may not only see their grades suffer, but their health, too, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that of more than 3,500 college students they followed, those who scored high on a procrastination scale were more likely to report certain health issues nine months later. The list included body aches, poor sleep, and depression and a...

Made infamous as the club drug Special K, ketamine is nowadays being seen as a wonder drug for some folks with hard-to-treat depression.

However, a new study finds that some types of patients are more likely to gain a rapid and significant benefit from ketamine than others.

Overall, while most patients did benef...

Living in tight-knit communities where neighbors are connected to one another helped improve health outcomes for older Chinese Americans, a new study found.

Rutgers University researchers used data from a study of more than 3,100 elderly Chinese people in the Chicago area to investigate whether the perception of trust and connection among neighbors had an impact on their risk of death.

It's a scenario no parent would ever want to witness: Their child suffers a mental health crisis and is taken to the emergency room, only to have to wait 12 hours or more for the right medical care.

Sadly, it is what 1 in 5 of these young patients now face, new research finds.

"For kids with mental health conditions, long waits in the emergency department have been a compounding pr...

Depression can be tricky to detect in some people, and Black women may exhibit different symptoms, leading to missed care, researchers say.

Black women report sleep disturbances, self-criticism and irritability more often than the stereotypical low mood, according to a new study.

As a result, standard screening tools may underdiagnose depression in Black women, the study authors sai...

Scientists have pinpointed four genes that seem to play a part in how vulnerable you are to suicidal thoughts or behaviors.

"It's important to note that these genes do not predestine anyone to problems, but it's also important to understand that there could be heightened risks, particularly when combined with life events," said study co-author