Canadian Youths’ Mental Health Woes A ‘Ticking Time Bomb’

Posted on by Helen E. Trevino

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto is one of Canada’s largest research facilities for mental health


Cole BURSTON

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Canada is grappling with a ticking time bomb of violence, addiction and suicide linked to failing mental health services for its young people.

In the streets and subways of Toronto, Canada’s largest city, an ultra-modern metropolis that acts as a window into the nation’s economy and culture, many young people can be seen wandering, their eyes staring into space, shouting incomprehensibly.

Newspapers are filled with accounts of unprovoked attacks on strangers, opioid overdoses and other societal ills linked to addiction and mental health problems.

This was an acute phenomenon in big cities in the United States before also trending north of the border.

In Canada, decades of chronic underfunding of mental health services has left many young people struggling in the wake of the

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Mental Health Benefits of Exercise: For Depression and More

Posted on by Helen E. Trevino

Exercise can help to regulate stress hormones and trigger the release of mood-bosting neurotransmitters. When combined with other treatments, exercise can help with symptoms of several mental health conditions, including depression and ADHD.

It’s well known that regular exercise has numerous positive health outcomes for the body, such as strengthening the muscles, bones, heart, and lungs and helping to prevent certain diseases.

One often-overlooked benefit is the impact of physical activity on mental health.

Considering the high prevalence of anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions worldwide, countless people may benefit from the positive mental health effects of exercise.

In this article we’ll address the relationship among exercise, various mental health conditions, and the brain, as well as how diet may impact your mental health.

While exercising may seem fairly simple on the surface, a complex chemical cascade occurs inside your body each time you go for a run, hit

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How social media shapes women’s health

Posted on by Helen E. Trevino
social media
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

A new study led by researchers from the University of Sydney has found young women’s engagement with social media plays a major role in shaping how they think—and act—in relation to their health.

The research, published in the journal Health Marketing Quarterly, studied 30 women aged between 18 and 35 during the 2021 COVID-19 lockdowns to understand the factors influencing them to adopt diet and exercise messages on social media platforms Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

Lead author of the study, Ph.D. candidate Clare Davies from the Discipline of Media and Communications, said the initial findings suggest women are just as likely to accept health messages on social media—promoted by influencers—as they are from public health communicators.

“The women we spoke to were highly influenced to take up diet and exercise messages on social media if they felt a sense of ‘connection’, or relatability, with the

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Stacks of health care bills remain in limbo as Oregon lawmakers harden their stances in Salem

Posted on by Helen E. Trevino

Legislation to stem the opioid crisis, boost Oregon’s health care workforce, set minimum hospital staffing levels, overhaul the state’s controversial drug decriminalization law and others hang in the balance as the Republican walkout halts legislative work.

Democratic lawmakers say that months of work on health care legislation could unravel after a group of Senate Republicans and Independents announced Tuesday they’ll deny the chamber a quorum until June 25, the session’s last day. That’ll leave one day for lawmakers to pass a two-year budget as well as other legislation. Hundreds of bills have piled up since the walkout to protest abortion, gun and transgender health care bills began on May 3.

Sen. Cedric Hayden, R-Fall Creek (at center), in the Oregon Senate Chamber in session on March 21, 2023, before the walkout.

Sen. Cedric Hayden, R-Fall Creek (at center), in the Oregon Senate Chamber in session on March 21, 2023, before the walkout.

Jake Thomas / The Lund Report

The group of Republicans and Independents said in a statement they’ll return to

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A national safety board made transportation safer and could do the same for health care, say advocates

Posted on by Helen E. Trevino



KFF Health News
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People concerned about the safety of patients often compare health care to aviation. Why, they ask, can’t hospitals learn from medical errors the way airlines learn from plane crashes?

That’s the rationale behind calls to create a “National Patient Safety Board,” an independent federal agency that would be loosely modeled after the National Transportation Safety Board, which is credited with increasing the safety of skies, railways, and highways by investigating why accidents occur and recommending steps to avoid future mishaps.

But as worker shortages strain the U.S. health care system, heightening concerns about unsafe care, one proposal to create such a board has some patient safety advocates fearing that it wouldn’t provide the transparency and accountability they believe is necessary to drive improvement. One major reason: the power of the hospital industry.

Two measures are underway to create a safety board: A bill filed in

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