It didn’t feel like the typical celebrity update written by a publicist when Bhad Bhabie typed, “Bad news from my doctor yesterday.” It was sudden. Nearly incomplete. And maybe that was the idea. Since announcing her diagnosis in November 2024, the 22-year-old rapper, whose real name is Danielle Bregoli, has been fighting cancer. The revelation at the time was made out of frustration rather than in an interview with a glitzy magazine. Her weight loss had been the subject of fan comments. She resisted, claiming that the cancer drug was to blame. Her tone then was defiant. Something is more…
Author: Michael Martinez
A psychiatry clinic’s waiting room on a Tuesday night in Manhattan feels subtly divided. With her prescription bottle visible in her handbag, one patient browses through her phone. A different person looks through a workbook called “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Skills.” They are both here to provide relief. They are simply pursuing it differently. In many of these rooms, there is a seemingly straightforward question: Can therapy take the place of medication? The American Psychological Association states that for mild to moderate anxiety and depression, psychotherapy is frequently very successful on its own. CBT and other structured talk therapies have been…
The high street in Guildford feels surprisingly quiet on a gloomy weekday morning. As they rush past cafés, commuters are absorbed in their phones. Bupa’s new “Mindplace” clinic is getting ready to open just a few doors down, behind covert frosted glass. It’s not ostentatious. quiet reception, muted walls, and soft lighting. It’s the kind of place where you can feel your heart rate drop as soon as you enter. The consistent, noticeable growth of private therapy clinics in the UK, however, is something much bigger than what is occurring here. A portion of the story is revealed by the…
Teenagers scroll through filtered lives, product advertisements, and brief videos in the late-night blue glow of a bedroom illuminated solely by a phone screen. Almost instinctively, the thumb moves. A notification appears. One more swipe. Another jolt of something minor but pressing. It’s difficult to ignore how little thought goes into those situations. The current research question seems surprisingly straightforward: Is social media exposing or causing impulsive behavior? According to recent research, the response might be unsettling. General impulsivity and problematic social media use were consistently found to be positively correlated in a 2025 meta-analysis of Problematic Social Network Sites…
Last summer, on a muggy afternoon in Phoenix, a 29-year-old marketing executive left a supermarket with the conviction that she was dying. She could hear the pounding of her heart in her ears. It felt too bright under the fluorescent lights. The air felt thin. Ten minutes later, as shoppers pushed carts past her as if nothing had happened, paramedics were in the parking lot checking her pulse. No heart attack occurred. A panic attack occurred. Panic disorder diagnoses are on the rise, and stories like these are becoming more widespread in the US. About 2.7% of American adults suffer…
Under the dazzling lights of the Olympic arena, Simone Biles withdrew from competition on a late summer evening in Tokyo. Cameras panned in. Commentators paused. Before the judges had even shared their scores, social media was in full swing. Sometimes in the same tweet, her decision to step away for mental health reasons was denounced as weak and hailed as brave. Real-time observation of the backlash gave the impression that something more significant than gymnastics was at risk. The public’s perception of strength is just as important as medals. Confessions by celebrities about their mental health have become hot topics…
A woman in her thirties sits forward on the couch with her hands clasped loosely as the radiator hisses in a therapy office in Brooklyn on a gray afternoon. She is not in tears. That is the issue. She tells her therapist, “I should feel something.” Two months ago, her father passed away. She hugged family members, gave a eulogy, and went to the funeral. However, the grief has not yet arrived. Neither is joyful. “Everything seems to be on mute.” This story is increasingly being told to therapists. CategoryDetailsResearch InstitutionNational Institutes of HealthClinical FocusEmotional blunting in Major Depressive Disorder…
A boy sits at the kitchen table on a sunny suburban Chicago elementary school morning, staring at his homework while the cereal gets soggy. The change starts ten minutes after a tiny capsule is swallowed with orange juice. He straightens his back. His gaze becomes more piercing. The seemingly insurmountable worksheet suddenly appears doable. This scene is familiar to millions of families. For many years, doctors have prescribed ADHD medications, especially stimulants like methylphenidate and amphetamine-based medications. Once the right stimulant and dosage are identified, roughly 80% of children respond favorably, according to Cleveland Clinic clinicians. Concentration gets better. Impulsivity…