News & Articles

The coronavirus pandemic’s stresses on hospitals and mental health providers have made access to help more difficult.

Changes in sleep or appetite could be indicative of one of three subtypes of major depressive disorder, an Orygen study has confirmed.

The study analysed data from 275 young people participating in Orygen’s Youth Depression Alleviation (YoDA) studies to identify subtypes of depression and differences in brain structure between the subtypes.

More than 88,000 additional people have developed anxiety or depression as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new data released today by Mental Health America (MHA) from its online screening program.

For anyone working with children or young people, it will come as no surprise to discover that the prevalence of poor mental health is growing, with most teachers able to think of at least one student struggling with low mood. Recent UK data suggests that 9% of 11-16 year olds and 15% of 17-19 years have a diagnosable disorder such as anxiety or depression (Vizard et al., 2018), however many argue that this is just the tip of the iceberg, with there being many more young people just below the threshold for diagnosis (Bertha & Balazs, 2013).

Experts are warning that the United States is ill prepared for a coming mental health crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 100,000 people in the nation and caused millions to lose their jobs.

Barriers to mental health care existed before the pandemic, but those challenges are being exacerbated now as millions report feelings of stress, depression and isolation.

Would you do us a favor? Would you be willing to describe how the coronavirus is affecting your mental health? Is the combination of isolation and existential stress making you feel more depressed and anxious?