For a long time, postpartum depression has been written off as the “baby blues” but new national guidelines and efforts by insurance companies to highlight the costs of untreated post-partum and incentivize OBs to screen moms-to-be are helping to change this mindset.

Recent studies show women endure Alzheimer’s disease more than men. For years it was written off as an age issue because women live longer than men. Now, neurologists are studying that is could be for more reasons than just life expectancy.

E-cigarettes are being adapted to allow kids as young as middle school age to smoke illicit drugs, a trend becoming much more dangerous than many parents are aware of and one that is beginning to impact hospital ERs.

A new study shows that addiction to smart phones can cause buildup in plaque in the brain, the same plaque that is linked to Alzheimer’s. Brain scans of young people in their 20’s are showing plaque buildup from constant technology use. Millennials (and I'm one of them) are the test-dummy generation for perpetual technology use.

Though the ongoing opioid crisis has understandably been one of the top behavioral health priorities in the United States in recent years, the misuse of another category of prescription drugs has become a cause for concern in the healthcare community as well.

Teens who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender are much more vulnerable to attempting suicide, with a staggering 40% having considered it in the past year according to a recent study.

The Trevor Project, which provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBT kids ages 13-24, is researching how experiences like eating disorders, conversion therapy and homelessness effect suicidal ideation rates by gender identity, race, and sexual orientation.

Netflix recently debuted the show “Atypical,” a story about Sam, an 18 year old high school student on the autism spectrum who wishes to be in a romantic relationship. 'I haven't watched it but will,'  says Karen Collier, a Connecticut parent whose still battling a complicated educational system for her 15-year-old 8th grader. 

The latest fad to hit the market are fidget spinners. Often given a medical connotation called “focus spinners,” these little toys are marketed as helping those with anxiety or ADHD to help satisfy their need to tap their finger. General Psychiatrist Dr. Nan Link M.D., of Sutter Health in California, says there’s a time and place for these toys, but since it’s not a medical device it opens the doors to being a distraction in the classroom.

As behavioral health becomes more integrated into treatment diagnosis and planning, there will be increased focus on diagnosing and addressing anxiety, but there is a national shortage of psychologists and a rise in treatable anxiety that complicate this.

Dr. House once famously smirked at his asthma patient who sadly, albeit creatively misused her inhaler, a scene that created in my mind anyway a true snapshot of accountability gone wrong.

The link between depression and dehydration is real and it appears there are either gaps in hospital discharge communications with families and physicians, or gaps in what caregivers and families are able to provide in helping their family.

The prevalence of patients approved for physical therapy visits who ultimately need mental health services and not PT appears to be growing and it's creating broader policy questions.