Category Archives: Mental Health

Mental health is something many of us take for granted. Learn more about mental health conditions and how to seek the help necessary to deal with them here at the Families.com Mental Health Blog.

U.S. Surgeon General Address Youth Mental Health Crisis

United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a new advisory to highlight the urgent need to address the nation’s youth mental health crisis. The Surgeon General pointed out that before the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health challenges were the leading cause of disability and poor life outcomes in young people, with up to 1 in 5 children ages 3 to 17 in the U.S. having a mental, emotional, developmental, or behavioral disorder.  According to the Surgeon General, the pandemic added to the pre-existing challenges that America’s youth faced. It disrupted the lives of children and adolescents, such as in-person schooling, … Continue reading →

Report: Instagram is the Worst App for Young People’s Mental Health

A report titled #StatusOfMind was done by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH). They surveyed 1,500 young people about social media. Of the five social media platforms that were included in the survey, Instagram was found to have the worst effect on young people’s mental health. The #StatusOfMind report examined both the positive, and the negative, effects that social media has on young people’s health. The report included Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Snapchat. The report asked 1,500 young people, who were between the ages of 14 and 24 to rank what extent different social media platforms impacted certain … Continue reading →

How to Survive the Holidays with Social Anxiety

The holidays are hectic. While some people do enjoy being extra busy, and more social than typical, those kinds of experiences are difficult for those who have social anxiety. One cannot simply opt-out of all social gatherings. Here are some tips to help people who have social anxiety survive the holidays. WebMD says that social anxiety disorder is also called social phobia. They describe it as “an anxiety disorder in which a person has an excessive and unreasonable fear of social situations.” A person with social anxiety disorder is afraid that he or she will make mistakes, look bad, be … Continue reading →

Effects of Being Bullied Last Longer than you Might Expect

It is obvious that being the victim of a bully is unpleasant. What you may not realize is that the effects of being bullied last much longer than you may expect that they would. A study that was published in the American Journal of Psychiatry found that children who were bullied have their health, relationships, and even their economic status, affected into middle age. The researchers used data that was collected from the U.K.’s National Child Development Study. They focused on more than 18,000 people who were born during a specific week in 1958. The researchers asked the parents of … Continue reading →

Who Are You, Really? The Reflection of Disconnect

When technology doesn’t work and we can’t do anything to fix it, we tap into feelings of anger and frustration, of being out of control of something we believe is vital to our well-being. When did we surrender that much power to inanimate objects, allowing them to wreak such havoc in our lives? It’s as if we really do want to believe in fairy tales and have decided technology is our surrogate happy ending. When we have our technology, we will live happily ever after. We have tied technology to personal happiness, which is unwise. Happiness in life should never … Continue reading →

The Angst of Offline: Navigation

Of all the anxiety-producing categories, this is the one I identify with most. I have practically transferred my brain into my cell phone: it has archived all the names, places, dates, numbers, reminders, and notations – everything I can’t be troubled to remember. The first thing I do every morning is to check my calendar app to see what’s waiting for me. Without my cell phone, I would truly be lost. The amount of time and energy it would take to restore all that data is immense. The only time I’m ever really tempted to kiss a stranger is when … Continue reading →

Instant Download: How Technology Warps Our Sense of Time

For several years I’ve been intrigued by my own perception of time. Part of it is age-related, I’m sure: the older I get, the more time seems to rocket into the future. The harder I try to catch up, the farther it seems out of reach. It’s age and kids and my particular time of life – but I don’t think that’s all it is. Part of this feeling that I’m never caught up, that I’m always behind, is cultural. As a society, our perception of time and the good, of what is instant and what is slow, has changed. … Continue reading →

Behind the Screens: Are You Hiding In Plain Sight?

A woman I know with two small children is going through a difficult time in her life right now; she’s getting a divorce. Her husband left her abruptly, leaving her few options but to return to her hometown to live with her parents until she gets “settled.” Returning home feels to her like admitting defeat, like she’s unable to make it on her own. It’s hard for her to think about starting over in life, in relationships, in work; the whole thing is pretty overwhelming. I started noticing that whenever I’m on Facebook, so is she. I wondered, What are … Continue reading →

How Severe Is Your Social Media Addiction?

There is nothing pathological about having fun and about feeling enjoyment. We were created with these feelings and this potential. Engaging in a pleasurable activity is not inherently wrong. But the line between activity and addiction lies at the crossroads where an activity that is positive or neutral takes a decidedly negative turn. With addictive behaviors that do not involve chemical substances – such as social media – there are a series of conditions you can use to determine severity. Importance: How important has it become to your sense of self and the way you life your life? You can … Continue reading →

Are You Living In Constant Partial Attention?

Going online is compelling. There is so much to see and do, so many ways to connect. Maintaining your online presence while simultaneously navigating life requires something called continuous partial attention, according to Linda Stone, a former Apple and Microsoft executive, who first coined the phrase. She defines continuous partial attention this way: “To pay continuous partial attention is to pay partial attention – continuously. It is motivated by a desire not to miss anything and to be a live node on the network – in touch and seen by others.” It’s like having one foot in cyberspace and one … Continue reading →