New York Times: We Have All Hit a Wall. “Call it a late-pandemic crisis of productivity, of will, of enthusiasm, of purpose. Call it a bout of existential work-related ennui provoked partly by the realization that sitting in the same chair in the same room staring at the same computer for 12 straight months (and counting!) has left many of us feeling like burned-out husks, dimwitted approximations of our once-productive selves.”
PsyPost: Belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories linked to increases in anxiety, according to new research. “A new study published in Personality and Individual Differences provides evidence that conspiracy theories about COVID-19 can have a negative personal impact on individuals who adhere to such beliefs. The research indicates that COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs predict heightened levels of mental distress.”
LAist: Kids Seek Pandemic Mental Health Support On Social Media Apps. “After a year of lockdown and remote schooling, young people are reporting growing levels of depression, stress, and anxiety. Many teens have been turning to social media apps such as Twitter and TikTok in search of community.”
The Guardian: Work pressure in Covid lockdown was shattering, say teachers. “One in four teachers who answered questions about their mental wellbeing told the NASUWT union that they had needed to see a doctor or other medical professional because of the pandemic’s impact, with many undergoing counselling or taking antidepressants. A small number of the 4,700 members who replied said they had self-harmed within the last 12 months as a result of their work. Others reported that their relationships had broken down during the pandemic, and nearly one in three said they had increased their alcohol consumption as a means to cope with their job.”
Washington Post: A mental health crisis was unraveling on college campuses. The pandemic has made it worse.. “Across the country, some school leaders and experts say the pandemic has brought new urgency to a mental health crisis that had been unraveling on college campuses for years. From social isolation to heightened feelings of inadequacy, students say it has made it harder to concentrate on school and put a strain on families and friendships.”
Reuters: U.S. lawmakers press Big Tech for internal research on kids’ mental health. “Four Republican U.S. lawmakers requested on Tuesday that Facebook Inc, Twitter Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google turn over any studies they have done on how their services affect children’s mental health. The request follows a joint hearing last week of two House Energy and Commerce subcommittees at which the companies’ chief executives discussed their content moderation practices in the wake of the siege on the Capitol in January.”
Washington Post: Why you just can’t choose: Parenting through pandemic decision fatigue. “Drive on icy roads for grocery pickup or try to cancel the order? Pay the nonrefundable deposit on summer camp or wait? Send kids to school or suffer remote learning? Keep or cancel the client meeting with spotty Internet? These are just a few of the many decisions Austin mom Jenny Lemmons Magic had to make over a few days in February. The 40-year-old mother of two boys, ages 4 and 8, went on Facebook and shared these and other tough choices in a post that started: ‘”Decision fatigue” will be how I remember this season of my life.’”
New York Times: First Covid, Then Psychosis: ‘The Most Terrifying Thing I’ve Ever Experienced’. “Doctors say such symptoms may be one manifestation of brain-related aftereffects of Covid-19. Along with more common issues like brain fog, memory loss and neurological problems, ‘new onset’ psychosis may result from an immune response, vascular issues or inflammation from the disease process, experts hypothesize. Sporadic cases have occurred with other viruses, and while such extreme symptoms are likely to affect only a small proportion of Covid survivors, cases have emerged worldwide.”
BBC: Body-editing apps on TikTok ‘trigger eating disorders’. “Body-editing apps advertised on social media platforms TikTok and Instagram are ‘triggering’ young people with eating disorders, campaigners fear. Adverts show how the apps can be used to alter body parts, including making waists slimmer and adding muscles.”
Next Web: My team experimented with ‘no screen mornings’ — it worked wonders. “Want to feel stressed, anxious, and/or completely exhausted before you even have breakfast? I highly recommend looking at your phone right when you wake up. I tend to look at Slack, email, and (*sigh*) Twitter right after I wake up. But sometimes I wonder if my head would be clearer if I just… didn’t. So I tried it out — and asked my coworkers at Zapier to join me.”
Mashable: Meet the chatbot that simulates a teen experiencing a mental health crisis. “In digital conversation, Riley is a young person who is trying to come out as genderqueer. When you message Riley, they’ll offer brief replies to open-ended questions, sprinkle ellipses throughout when saying something difficult, and type in lowercase, though they’ll capitalize a word or two for emphasis. Riley’s humanness is impressive given that they’re a chatbot driven by artificial intelligence to accomplish a unique goal: simulate what it’s like to talk to a young person in crisis so that volunteer counselors can become skilled at interacting with them and practice asking about thoughts of suicide.”
Indiana University: Self-compassion can alleviate feelings of loneliness due to remote work, IUPUI study finds. “When people feel lonely, the study found, they experience more depressive symptoms, and they are less likely to go above and beyond in their jobs, such as helping a co-worker — something many organizations may have hoped their employees would do during the pandemic. But there is hope — in the form of self-compassion.”
Lifehacker: Take This Free 10-Day Mental Health Course on Coping With the Pandemic. “Before we go any further, two things to note. First is that this or any online course is no substitute for working one-on-one with a mental health professional and should not be used in place of seeking help if you need it. Second is that therapy isn’t affordable and accessible for everyone, so tools like these are able to provide at least some form of information and guidance. This particular course was created by accredited, licensed clinicians, and includes daily lessons, guided experiences, and other tools to help people manage their feelings and prioritize their mental health.”
Medical XPress: COVID-19 pandemic impacts mental health worldwide. “A study conducted at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health reports a high global prevalence of both depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic and shows how implementation of mitigation strategies including public transportation and school closures, and stay-at-home orders impacted such disorders. The results are published in Psychological Medicine.”
PsyPost: Study uncovers severe mental health issues among flight attendants at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Flight attendants who were grounded at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic showed severe symptoms of depression and stress, according to a study published in Frontiers in Psychology. Those who were flying during this time showed severe symptoms of anxiety.”
