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A leading doctors group on Thursday formally withdrew its approval of a 2009 paper on “excited delirium,” a document that critics say has been used to justify excessive force by police. The American College of Emergency Physicians in a statement called the paper outdated and said the term excited delirium should not be used by members who testify in civil or criminal cases. The group’s directors voted on the matter Thursday in Philadelphia. (Johnson, 10/12)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Doctors Abandon A Diagnosis Used To Justify Police Custody Deaths. It Might Live On, Anyway

Brooks Walsh hadn’t questioned whether “excited delirium syndrome” was a legitimate medical diagnosis before the high-profile police killings of Elijah McClain in Colorado in 2019 and George Floyd in Minnesota in 2020. The emergency physician in Bridgeport, Connecticut, was familiar with the term from treating patients who were so severely agitated and combative that they needed medication just to be evaluated. (Hawryluk and Rayasam, 10/16)

Sens. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., don’t have much in common. They hail from opposite areas of the country, they sit on opposite sides of the aisle, and their paths to Washington couldn’t have been more different. Outside of their mutual love for dogs, Padilla and Tillis bonded over something else: their experiences caring for loved ones undergoing mental health crises. Their conversations transformed into action when, a few months later, they launched a caucus that, for the first time, would focus solely on the issue. (Tsirkin and Santaliz, 10/16)

Mental health experts warn that the violent, shocking images and news about the conflict exacerbate traumatic stress. The barrage of information and images elicits a response that – even though a person has not been directly exposed to an event – can have profound effects on health and well-being. (Cuevas, 10/15)

As more children emerge from the pandemic grappling with mental health issues, their parents are seeking ways for them to build emotional resilience. And toy companies are paying close attention. While still in its early phase, a growing number of toy marketers are embracing MESH — or mental, emotional and social health — as a designation for toys that teach kids skills like how to adjust to new challenges, resolve conflict, advocate for themselves, or solve problems. (D'Innocenzio, 10/14)

A group of youngsters who say they suffer from addiction to social media can sue Facebook, TikTok and other platforms for practices allegedly intended to induce them to spend more time online, increasing the providers’ advertising revenue while causing mental harm to the youths, a judge ruled Friday. (Egelko, 10/13)

As young Americans turn to TikTok for information on mental health, the T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard is building its own team of influencers. (Barry, 10/16)