depression

After a dose of ketamine, special video games that offered a depressed player positive feedback, in the form of smiling faces or encouraging words, seemed to boost the length of time the drug quelled depression.

Smiling faces might help the drug ketamine keep depression at bay

5:02am October 31, 2022

by Jon Hamilton

In a recent small study, the antidepressant effects of ketamine lasted longer when an intravenous dose was followed with computer games featuring smiling faces or words aimed at boosting self-esteem.

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NC school districts offer tips to help talk about school violence after Texas shooting

5:06pm May 25, 2022

by Keri Brown

Local school districts are responding to a recent mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas.

Student Journalists

(Re-Air) Dispatches From Within: The one-hour special

2:50pm May 06, 2022

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

Queue Listen Now

New research finds that previous studies of mental illness using brain scans may be too small for the results to be reliable.

Brain scans may reveal a lot about mental illness, but not until studies get bigger

5:01am April 26, 2022

by Jon Hamilton

Scientists are using MRI scans to understand how mental illness shows up in the bran. But new research raises concerns that existing studies are not reliable because the sample sizes are too small.

Eleanor Cole, Ph.D., demonstrates the treatment on trial participant Deirdre Lehman in May 2019 at the Stanford Brain Stimulation Lab.

Health & Safety

An experimental depression treatment uses electric currents to bring relief

6:01am February 06, 2022

by Lesley McClurg

The remedy is a new type of transcranial magnetic stimulation that's showing good results in just five days of treatment. For some patients, it's life-changing.

A girl looks out of her bedroom window as the sun is setting.

Health & Safety

Pediatricians say the mental health crisis among kids has become a national emergency

6:10pm October 20, 2021

by Deepa Shivaram

Three leading pediatric health organizations are sounding the alarm about "soaring rates" of depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts among children and adolescents.

For many Americans who struggle with depression, anxiety or other mood disorders, cost remains a major hurdle to getting treatment, according to a survey published by the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

More Americans Are Reaching Out For Mental Health Support — But Can't Get It

3:03pm August 24, 2021

by Rhitu Chatterjee

The pandemic has made people more open to seeking help, a new survey finds, but cost and difficulty in finding a mental health care provider are still big obstacles.

Unpaid Caregivers Were Already Struggling. It's Only Gotten Worse During The Pandemic

7:58pm June 17, 2021

by Rhitu Chatterjee

A new CDC study finds that people who provide unpaid care for their children or adult loved ones are twice as likely as noncaregivers to have experienced depression or anxiety, or thoughts of suicide.