#mental health

#mental health

It shows up in songs, films, ads, social-media posts-but it says more about Americans' idealization of youth than it does about what it actually feels like to be young today. The 2024 World Happiness Report found that when American adults were asked to rate the extent to which they were living their "best possible life," those over 60 answered the most positively, followed by 45-to-59-year-olds. People younger than 30 trailed behind.

As the season of gratitude approaches, most of us begin to think about the people, opportunities, and experiences that enrich our lives. These matter deeply. But in my work exploring the rewilding of the human mind, I've found that one of the greatest sources of support in our lives is something we rarely acknowledge-because it's all around us, all the time.

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

We are listening to more than music. In addition to music, SiriusXM, a satellite radio company, provides sports talk, news, talk shows, and podcasts. As of 2024, SiriusXM boasted 150 million listeners. As of 2025, 4,509,765 podcasts have been registered around the world, with Apple alone hosting 2,800,138. In the United States, over 200 million people have listened to a podcast at least once, and 158 million consume podcasts on a monthly basis.

Me ready fi run you know!

Emerson's lawyers said he had an unusual reaction to psilocybin, the active ingredient in the drug. He was left feeling detached from reality for several days, a condition known as Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder. Emerson "believed he was either trapped in a dream or already dead," his lawyers wrote in a sentencing memo filed Wednesday. They add that he didn't believe Flight 2059 was real, but he boarded because he believed it would help him wake up and see his family again.

"Over the last few weeks, it's just starting to get a bit better, so I'm back on the grass, which is great for me," Wyke told BBC Radio Cumbria. "It's nice to be outside. "I'm at the point now, or I was a few weeks ago, where if I played one more game, that would be enough. "There's still a long way to go with the extent of the injury and how bad it was. But I'm a bit more positive than I was last week, so things are looking up."

His parents filed a lawsuit against the jail staff who had been responsible for his care. His father is working to pass Theris' Law, legislation that would empower people to put family members into emergency treatment. And Coats' father and uncle in recent months created a nonprofit, Brothers Against Drug Deaths, to advocate for mental health and addiction support particularly within Black and other underserved communities.

I first became interested in silence over 15 years ago when an overdose of New York City noise got me wondering if and how I could find refuge in its opposite, in absolute quiet-something that was not merely a reduction in or lack of noise, but a vibrant counterpoint to the sounds which we assume define and shape our lives.

Michael Duarte, the influencer and chef known for his love of all things barbecue, died in a horrible incident while traveling with his family in Texas, his friends and agent confirmed Tuesday. The self-taught grill master, who posted about his craft under the Instagram handle Food with Bear Hands, died on Saturday, just three short days after he and his wife, Jessica Duarte, celebrated their ninth year wedding anniversary, according to a GoFundMe set up for his family.

When someone we love dies we often yearn for the impossible: one more conversation. Maybe we want the opportunity to finally gain clarity about a difficult relationship or to say, I love you one last time to someone we cherish. While raising the dead is still out of reach more and more people are turning to generative AI tools such as Replika to conjure the essence of their loved ones and have those final conversations.

Alice Figueiredo, 22, took her own life in a mental health unit at Goodmayes Hospital, Redbridge, after more than 10 similar attempts. Her death on 7 July 2015 followed a failure to remove items from the communal toilets on Hepworth Ward that had been used by her to self-harm. Following an Old Bailey trial, North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) was found guilty of failing to ensure

Let's be honest: we've all got that one celebrity, influencer, or podcast host who lives rent-free in our heads. You know their dog's name, their morning routine, their trauma story, and their oat milk brand of choice. You might even find yourself defending them in comment sections like they're your actual friend. Congratulations, you've formed a parasocial relationship. For those who aren't as active on social media, that's a one-sided bond we form with people we don't actually know.

In a video posted on social media on Monday, Ms Miller admitted to lying about the diagnosis and said it came from "one stupid sentence that I deeply regret". "I said something to someone within my immediate circle in confidence. I said I had an illness, which was cancer," she said in the emotional post. "I didn't do this with malicious intent or to scam people, I did this out of desperation, I did it to keep the people in my life close to me."

Her mother has criticised hospital staff for their "indifference, ignorance, even at times cruelty".

It was really important for us to craft an engaging yet poignant story highlighting the struggles many of us face every day

The producer and singer's second album is a freewheeling journey through clubs, bedrooms, and panic that's as cheeky and propulsive as it is heavy. Where her debut Forever, Ya Girl was affirmational and atmospheric, healing incense for working folks trying to get by, Hooke's Law is an accelerant. Over staggering tracks overrun with rhythms, melodies, and voices, keiyaA hurtles through the abyss and dares you to keep up.

If you ask Jodeah Wilson how his life got off track, he'll say it's all about money. He needs money for November rent. He also needs money to pay back the tuition he owes for the spring semester at Sacramento State University, which would allow him to re-enroll. Until then, he's stuck in limbo. "All I need is a goddamn job so I can pay this off myself," he said. But it's been months and so far, he's still unemployed.

Most of us probably have an auntie or neighbor who deeply loves their garden, and it's easy to view this as a pastime for retired folks, or for those super wholesome types. But, if you ask your neighbor what the appeal is, you may be surprised to learn it's doing something for him that even the busiest and most serious among us could use more of.

Gascoigne's new book is called Eight, not just for the number he wore during his playing career, but also because he addresses the emotions he experienced during his life. It's about my eight demons, everything I've had to face up to, he told FourFourTwo. I've conquered most of them. The rest are hard to conquer, but I just try to deal with them the best I can.

I am a 66-year-old woman, married with two daughters. I am 5-foot-2 and weigh 108 pounds. This is not something new. But whenever there is a gathering with my in-laws, at least one of them says I need to put meat on my bones in those exact words. I think it's rude and offensive. I am certainly not telling any of them to take meat off their bones. I cannot help my size, metabolism or genetics, and I am tired of the comments.

She and I were best friends for the last 25 years. She's 55 and divorced, with a grown daughter but no man in her life. She's extremely lonely and has only us as emotional support. During the last year, she has had to move her 78-year-old mother (with whom she has a tumultuous relationship) in with her. Justine's daughter has distanced herself from her mother because Justine has erratic moods.

The U.S. Surgeon General recently called loneliness a public health epidemic, comparing its impact on our health to smoking fifteen cigarettes a day. It's not hyperbole. It's data. In one CDC survey, nearly a third of adults said they feel lonely at least once a week. Among younger adults, that number rises to almost half. Harvard researchers found that 61 percent of young people and over half of mothers with small children report "serious loneliness."

Fajr Khan has learned the value of small things - giving somebody a meal, providing a safe place to sleep, or being fully engaged during a conversation with a lonely person. Most her volunteer work with homeless people has been done quietly. But now the senior is trying to grasp a very different experience that is not so anonymous: winning a Rhodes Scholarship. "It still hasn't really settled in," Khan said with a laugh. "It just feels very not real. There's like this level of disbelief. But it's very cool and exciting."

Some of these users, like 48-year-old Allan Brooks, survived, but allege that ChatGPT wrought emotional and psychological harm, and in some cases led to crises requiring emergency psychiatric care. Others, the suits claim, tragically took their lives following obsessive interactions with the consumer-facing chatbot. Per the WSJ, the suits include claims of assisted suicide, manslaughter, and wrongful death, among other allegations.

"I've gotten to a place where I don't need the show financially," she said. "I'm lucky to have other forms of employment, because it's no longer good for my mental health." According to Stause, show creator Adam DiVello has been calling and texting "100 times a day," but she's at a point now where even "Jesus Christ himself" couldn't get her to come back for a tenth season.