Tag: mental health

James Talarico Changes Story About Doctor Visit While Responding to Mental Hospital Rumors in First Interviews Since Disappearance

Texas Democratic Senate Nominee James Talarico broke his silence on his two-week hiatus this afternoon in interviews with NBC and MS Now, swearing that he “just had the flu” as claims that he was suffering a mental health episode continue to circulate. 

The Gateway Pundit reported earlier on allegations that Talarico was admitted to a mental institution in Ohio during his mysterious absence. An employee at the Lindner Center of HOPE in Mason, Ohio, allegedly confirmed on Saturday during a recorded phone call that Talarico had been “just discharged” from the facility. However, Talarico’s team denied the claim, saying “Talarico was home in Austin, Texas recovering from the flu.”

Talarico previously claimed, from a hotel room somewhere, that he had been diagnosed with a flu so bad that he went to an urgent care in Dallas during a virtual appearance at a United States Hispanic Business Council forum on September 30.

“I was starting to feel kind of under the weather a few days ago, and last night it got so bad that I went to the urgent care here in Dallas,” he said. “And I was diagnosed with the flu, and so uh I’m running a fever, and I’m my most contagious uh right now.”

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Ohio Mental Hospital Reportedly Confirms that James Talarico was Discharged as Dem’s Campaign Screams ‘This is a Lie!’ and Calls It a ‘Pathetic Conspiracy Theory’

Receipts were just dropped by several investigative reporters producing a recorded call with a mental hospital that claimed that Texan Democrat James Talarico was just discharged. His campaign is still claiming he had the flu. More damning evidence is coming – time for Talarico to bow out of the race.

And there it is… Looks like Texan soy boy Democratic Senate candidate and all-around Marxist James Talarico has some ‘splainin’ to do, and the clock is ticking. As reported previously, Talarico was missing for roughly two weeks. His campaign claimed he had the flu, and Friday he finally showed his face with some supporters at the Austin City Limits music festival for about 15 minutes. However, investigative reporter Rhein Amacher confirmed with a mental hospital in Mason, Ohio, that Talarico was checked in there and has now been discharged. Oops.

Rumors are still swirling around the claim, but it now has a lot of credence since Amacher recorded that call. The reporter said he personally confirmed Talarico’s stay by calling the hospital, and he produced the receipts. That’s pretty damning.

“During my recorded call, an individual identifying themselves as a female facility employee reportedly stated that Talarico was no longer a patient and had been discharged within the previous 24–48 hours,” he posted on X.

The unidentified woman Amacher spoke with checked her records and told him that Talarico “was just discharged this evening; that’s why I don’t have it,” after telling him she could not confirm he was an inpatient. Except she just did.

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Antidepressants (SSRI) Trigger Hyponatremia, Which Causes Severe Anxiety

Hyponatremia, or low sodium in the blood, is one of the most common electrolyte disorders seen in clinical settings, and its effects are anything but minor. Sodium keeps your nerves firing and your muscles working. When levels dip, even slightly, you feel drained, confused, or shaky. Push it further and symptoms like nausea, seizures, or fainting start to appear. In severe cases, sodium imbalance drives long hospital stays, lasting cognitive decline, and death.

Antidepressants such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are routinely prescribed for mood disorders, but what often gets overlooked is how they disrupt sodium balance in your body. This translates into real-world risks like falls, broken bones, and worsening mental health. Older adults, especially women, are hit the hardest, with even short-term use setting off dramatic shifts in sodium control.

The severity of harm varies depending on the drug, the dose, and how long it’s used, yet the outcome is always unpredictable — and sometimes catastrophic. Research makes it clear that these medications disrupt sodium balance in dangerous ways, and a major study to track this problem shows exactly how quickly and severely those drops in sodium occur.

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20,000 people in Oregon have now received legal psilocybin therapy, and the outcomes are overwhelmingly positive

In 2020, Oregon became the first US state to approve the use of psilocybin therapy, and new data suggests that the psychedelic drug is being used to great effect at state-regulated clinics.

Among those accessing legal psilocybin therapy in Oregon, the majority report significant improvements in mental health, wellbeing, and life satisfaction in the three months after treatment, with very few patients experiencing adverse events.

Since 2023, more than 20,000 people have legally accessed psilocybin therapy in Oregon, with 26 treatment centers currently holding licenses to administer the drug. Using data from 24 of these clinics, researchers analyzed the experiences and outcomes of 346 patients, all of whom underwent treatment between November 2024 and March 2026.

“Most participants were highly satisfied with their psilocybin experience, would recommend their licensed service center and facilitator, felt the experience was beneficial, and that their goals for seeking services had been met,” write the study authors.

One month after taking the drug, 92.2 percent of individuals stated that they had benefited from their treatment, with 58.6 percent ranking the experience among the 10 most meaningful events of their life.

Prior to treatment, 63 percent of participants said they were satisfied with their lives, yet this figure rose to 82.3 percent three months after taking psilocybin. On average, scores on a standard test that measures wellbeing rose from 22.1 at baseline to 25.3 at the three-month follow-up.

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Meta Faces Unprecedented Legal Reckoning Over Youth Mental Health As Massive Multistate Trial Begins

Meta Platforms is facing a critical juncture in its battle over youth online safety. Just weeks after suffering a massive legal defeat in New Mexico, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram is now defending itself in a California federal court against a bipartisan coalition of 29 states. The states say Meta deliberately designed its platforms to addict children and harvested their data in violation of federal law.

The California Showdown

A sweeping multistate trial opens Tuesday in Oakland, California, overseen by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. Attorneys for Colorado, California, New Jersey and Kentucky – leading a bipartisan group of 29 states – will deliver opening statements. Those four states’ claims about addictive design and deceptive marketing are what this trial tests, while all 29 states are involved over data-harvesting claims. 

Interestingly – the eight-person jury hearing the case won’t actually decide it. Rogers empaneled it in a purely advisory capacity, which is rare. The jurors will answer specific questions she selects, and she is free to disregard their findings entirely when she issues her ruling after the trial concludes in October, Reuters reports.

The states argue that features like infinite scroll were purposely engineered to keep young users hooked, that Meta misled the public about the safety of its platforms for adolescents, and that the company improperly collected and monetized children’s personal data in violation of federal law.

The financial exposure is the largest of any case Meta has faced. The company has warned that maximum statutory penalties could theoretically reach $1.4 trillion, while the attorneys general have indicated they may seek around $200 billion.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week found that 85 percent of Americans believe social media can be addictive for children.

Beyond money, the coalition wants nationwide structural changes: age restrictions, deletion of algorithms and AI models built with children’s data, elimination of infinite scroll and notifications, strict time limits for young users, and an algorithm retuned to prioritize well-being over engagement. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri are both expected to testify, alongside former employees and outside experts.

What Happened In New Mexico

The multistate trial arrives on the heels of a devastating legal blow in New Mexico. On Aug. 6, State Judge Bryan Biedscheid ruled that Meta had created a public nuisance and ordered the company to pay $567 million into a youth mental health fund, allocating $420 million to treatment, $90 million to screening and assessment, $33 million to prevention and awareness, and $15 million to referrals and care coordination over five years. The award followed a $375 million penalty a New Mexico jury imposed in March for violations of the state’s Unfair Practices Act.

The award fell well short of New Mexico’s request. The state had sought $1 billion toward a $3.7 billion plan to expand children’s mental health services.

“The Court finds that the weight of the evidence presented demonstrates that Meta’s platforms are a cause of and substantial contributing factor to the youth mental health crisis in New Mexico.”

Biedscheid compared the platforms to a polluting factory, writing that the harms “do not stay contained” but migrate “to the real world” and burden families, schools, hospitals and law enforcement.

The order, a win for New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez, also imposes five years of operational changes: monthly limits on teen use of Facebook and Instagram, restrictions on notifications, tighter controls on adult contact with minors, safeguards for AI chatbots, and enhanced review of child sexual abuse reports. Meta must file written progress reports twice a year. The template is now sitting in front of the 29-state coalition.

Meta’s Defense

Meta plans to appeal the New Mexico ruling and maintains that the attorneys general in the California trial are chasing an “outlandish payout” without proof of actual harm. “We remain confident in our record of protecting teens online and will continue to defend ourselves against claims that misrepresent the facts,” the company said after the New Mexico decision.

The company argues it has invested heavily in creating a safe environment for teens, employing child safety experts and deploying technology to root out predators and harmful content. Company spokespeople have characterized the state lawsuits as an attempt to penalize Meta for industry-wide problems, such as the complexities of age verification.

The litigation traces back to 2021, when whistleblower Frances Haugen testified before the U.S. Senate and provided internal documents indicating Meta knew its platforms could harm young users but prioritized engagement over safety.

Meta is not alone. Alongside Snap, TikTok parent ByteDance and YouTube parent Alphabet, it faces more than 3,000 federal lawsuits consolidated before Rogers and another 3,300 pending in Los Angeles state court. Eight states, including Tennessee and Arkansas, opted out of the federal case and filed in their own courts. Tennessee’s trial is already underway.

Meta has told investors that legal and regulatory blowback over youth safety “could significantly impact our business and financial results.”

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USS Abraham Lincoln sailors tried to jump overboard amid extended deployment – reports

Military families and Congress members are sounding the alarm about an intensifying mental health crisis onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, as its 5,000 sailors and marines endure a record-breaking deployment at sea tied to the war with Iran.

Two leading specialist military papers, the Navy Times and Stars and Stripes, are reporting that there have been multiple attempts by sailors to jump overboard as poor conditions and mental stresses on the Lincoln reach the breaking point. The crew is in its ninth month at sea, and has spent 250 days consecutively without making land – a record for an aircraft carrier in modern times.

Worried families vented their anxieties about loved ones onboard the Lincoln at an emotional town hall meeting with navy leaders in San Diego last Thursday, Stars and Stripes reported. One spouse among the 200 or so family members said that her husband had texted her that day saying “he hopes he doesn’t wake up tomorrow”.

The families’ worries were expressed directly to navy leadership, represented at the town hall by the acting navy secretary, Hung Cao, and other top officials.

A woman at the meeting told Cao that the navy had “broken trust between us and the leadership”, the paper reported.

The Navy Times gave details of thwarted suicide attempts onboard the aircraft carrier during the current deployment. Annabelle Loma told the outlet that her husband had tried to jump overboard after his spell at sea kept being extended.

“He’s scared. He thinks he’ll get a dishonorable discharge, and just because he was burnt out his 13-year career is ruined, just like that,” she said.

The paper quoted another sailor’s wife whose husband was involved in a separate incident onboard the Lincoln in which he prevented a fellow crew member from jumping, grabbing them and bringing them back on deck.

Mike Levin, a Democratic member of Congress from California, has sounded the alarm over conditions onboard the warship, which is in its fifth month of combat operations against Iran. He described the lot of the crew on X as “moldy showers, broken toilets, laundry down for weeks, long stretches with no hot water, a meal that came down to half a cup of rice and two tortillas. No soap, deodorant, or toothpaste.”

Jason Crow, a Democratic Congress member from Colorado who is a former army ranger having served in Afghanistan and Iraq, has warned that the strain on service members and their families on the Lincoln is “building week by week”.

The current crunch has been months in the making. The warship left San Diego on 21 November and was originally intended for the Pacific but was redirected to the Middle East once the US-Israel war with Iran began.

Since then, MS Now revealed, the 5,000-plus crew has had only two days on land, in Guam in December and Oman in July. The deployment was scheduled to end in May but has been extended a couple of times amid the ongoing war.

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University of Michigan to Bury Grades for First Year Students Starting in 2027 to ‘Curb the Mental Health Crisis’

Starting in 2027, the University of Michigan is changing from letter grades to system of pass or incomplete for first year students, claiming that they are doing it to ‘curb’ the mental health crisis.

If you can’t handle getting a letter grade that you don’t like, maybe you are the problem. Maybe you’re just not ready for college.

This is just more coddling, safe space nonsense that higher education has become known for in recent years.

Campus Reform reported on this:

UMich to bury first-semester grades in bid to ‘curb the mental health crisis’

The University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) will stop reporting traditional letter grades on first-semester transcripts for incoming freshmen beginning in Fall 2027, replacing them with “pass” or “no credit” designations as part of a pilot program aimed at reducing student stress and curbing a “mental health crisis”.

Students will still earn letter grades and receive instructor feedback in every course. However, those grades will remain internal, will not appear on official transcripts, and will not affect first-semester GPAs.

University officials say the policy is intended to help freshmen transition to college, support student well-being, and encourage students to take academically challenging courses without worrying that one difficult semester could permanently affect their records.

”We believe that covering grades will help students start strong and curb the mental health crisis unfolding among college-aged individuals,” the policy page states.

The school argues the program will shift students’ focus from grades to learning by promoting collaboration over competition and allowing freshmen to explore unfamiliar subjects without fear of damaging their GPAs.

America desperately needs more young people to go to trade schools and learn to fix things. Mike Rowe has been sounding the alarm about that for years.

If college students want less stress, they should consider learning to weld or becoming a plumber. The income will be better and there will be less student loan debt involved.

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Schools Are Pushing Mental Health Screening. Research Shows It Does More Harm Than Good

An increasing number of children are likely to face mental health screening when they return to school this fall. But experts warned those screenings pose more risk than benefit — and urged parents to opt out their child.

“While early identification sounds responsible, in practice it risks doing more harm than good,” Gretchen Watson, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and researcher, told The Defender.

School-based routine or universal mental health screening “often functions as an entry point into a therapeutic culture that pathologizes normal childhood distress, erodes resilience and funnels children toward psychiatric labels, therapy, and medication,” Watson said.

Nearly one-third of U.S. schools now conduct some form of mental health screening — and that number is likely to increase, as more states work to pass mental health screening mandates.

Last year, Illinois became the first state to require students in grades three through 12 to undergo a mental health screening each year.

In January, lawmakers in South Carolina proposed a bill that would create a statewide mental health screening program for students in grades six through 12. The bill is in committee.

It’s a trend that has experts like Watson worried.

Watson is one of the foremost authorities in the U.S. on the overmedicalization of children with psychiatric drugs. She is also the author of the forthcoming book, “The Prescription Affliction: Why We Overmedicate Young Minds with Psychiatric Drugs ― and How to Stop It.”

Mental health screening tools flag many false positives, Watson said. For example, a child grieving the loss of a grandparent, or who is simply more intense or imaginative than the average student, can easily be flagged as needing further evaluation.

“That evaluation can start a cascade: a label, a treatment plan and, in many cases, medication,” she said.

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Combining Marijuana And Music Enhances Medical Benefits, Reduces Prescription Drug Use And Boosts Emotions, Government-Funded Study Shows

A new government-funded study is putting quantifiable evidence behind the idea that marijuana use enhances the experience of listening to music. But the new research also suggests that the combination can bolster the therapeutic benefits of cannabis.

The study, published in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research and conducted by researchers at Dalhousie University and other schools in Canada, examined self-reported data from 122 marijuana consumers who completed an exhaustive, 176-question survey.

The findings support one of most anecdotally well-established effects of marijuana use: That is, “most participants viewed the combination of cannabis and music favorably, reporting enhanced relaxation, improved mood, and increased feelings of connection,” the paper says.

Marijuana use was further linked to “altered responses to imposed music in various settings and a heightened likelihood of using music during routine activities,” the research, which was partially funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, determined.

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Therapists Publish Article Claiming Woke Ideology in Psychology is Making Leftists Even Crazier

Two therapists have just published an academic article claiming that woke ideology in psychology is damaging the field and the minds of leftists.

In their writing, the two actually acknowledge that progressives have ‘poorer’ mental health than people on the right, something conservatives have known for years.

They suggest that the integration of wokeness with their field has worsened the problem.

The College Fix reports:

Therapists warn: ‘Woke’ ideology undermining cognitive-behavioral therapy

A new scholarly article describes the mechanisms of how leftist ideology has likely led to a worsening of mental health counseling and classroom curriculum on the subject.

Arnold Cantú and Nathan Gallo are the two social work professionals who authored the article in the latest special Issue of Current Opinion in Psychology.

In it, they attempt to provide “an alternative explanation for potential causes behind the rise in psychiatric diagnoses and poorer mental health outcomes for people who identify as liberal or left-leaning in the United States.”

“Research regularly suggests that left-leaning people have poorer mental health than conservatives,” the two said in an emailed statement to The College Fix, adding it’s a “notable finding that has become increasingly applicable to the younger generation.”

“This article argues that woke ideology—what we refer to as critical social justice ideology—has warped a well-established psychotherapy approach often used to treat various kinds of psychological distress, known as cognitive-behavioral therapy,” they added.

“This ideology’s main tenets are full of ‘cognitive distortions,’ which are faulty, automatic patterns of thinking that CBT attempts to treat. Instead, woke ideology intentionally promotes these patterns, resulting in poorer mental health for clients, families, and therapists who buy into it.”

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