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The way we talk about the world shapes our experience of the world. In 2022, the researchers Lucy Foulkes and Jack L. Andrews coined the term prevalence inflation to describe the way that some people, especially young people, consume so much information about anxiety disorders that they begin to process normal problems of living as signs of a decline in mental health. “If people are repeatedly told that mental health problems are common and that they might experience them … they might start to interpret any negative thoughts and feelings through this lens,” Foulkes and Andrews write. (Derek Thompson, 12/13)

No one ever feels truly “ready” for a pregnancy, but for a significant portion of our female population – those without access to quality women’s health care – the dangers of pregnancy are heightened if not paired with compassionate, medically accurate care.  And receiving that care early is critical. (Kailey Cornett, 12/12)

I had a persistent small growth on the back of my scalp. After a year, I decided to have it removed, concerned that it could be cancerous. It was less than one-half inch in size. (Wayne Kaniewskl, 12/12)

Thanks to tax preferences dating back two generations, patients have come to expect most medical treatment and procedures — even routine prescriptions — to be covered by health insurance. Consequently, insurers wield far more economic clout than patients do. Providers — doctors, hospitals, urgent care facilities — are forced to accommodate the demands of insurance companies, since it is they who pay the tab. (Jeff Jacoby, 12/13)

Roughly 65 million adult Americans suffer from a diagnosable mental illness. Some 16 million suffer from a major one. Fifty-five million Americans struggle with substance abuse of some kind. And 15 million Americans have reported serious thoughts of suicide (costing us nearly 50,000 American lives last year). The more concerning statistic to me is that less than half of the 65 million suffering from a mental illness will seek help, and about 5% of those with a substance issue will. (Jacob Durst, 12/12)

Every day, thousands of individuals across the United States call 911 due to concern about someone who is intoxicated in public. Their concern is warranted: The potential harms from public intoxication are significant. They are at risk of being the target of assault, violence, or theft or may suffer injury or death from an underlying health condition. In addition to risk of death in custody, there may also be a heightened danger for some racial or ethnic groups when law enforcement becomes involved. (Shannon Smith-Bernardin, 12/13)