MFP/ANA e-Newsletter: August 1, 2025

Each week a quote is shared for your consideration. Some quotes might offer comfort, hope, a challenge, a chuckle, or inspiration. You may or may not agree with the quote, but it is offered simply to help you reflect and ponder.

A Dietitian Tells Us the Ideal Amount of Vegetables to Eat per Day for Healthy Aging—and Good Health Overall (opens new window)

Forget cold plunges, pricey pills, and IV drips: These simple biohacks can boost your healthspan naturally (opens new window)

From Sick to Strong: 'Granny Guns' on Embracing Bodybuilding in Her 60s (opens new window)

Bethenny Frankel shares 4 tips she swears by to stay fit and youthful at 54 (opens new window)

This Nurse’s Tiny House Clinic Is Reimagining Black Mental Health Care (opens new window)

In a state where mental health care access can be limited, especially for Black communities, one nurse is serving Black Atlantans in an unconventional way – by running a clinic on wheels. Psychiatric nurse practitioner Joanne Patterson launched a virtual practice in 2019 and served over 6,000 patients during the past six years. But after the COVID-19 pandemic, she began rethinking her approach to care In 2023, she bought a tiny house and converted it into a fully operational mobile mental health clinic. Read more (opens new window)

The power of words: respectful language in ADHD research (opens new window)

Language is powerful. It reflects and shapes our understanding of the difficulties people face, the paradigms in which researchers and clinicians conduct research and practice while also influencing public perceptions and the expectations of people with lived experiences. Here, we aim to start a constructive dialogue around language use (ie, language that is respectful, not stigmatising, or discriminatory) related to ADHD, to encourage researchers, clinicians, and others to consider the potential impact of their words. A greater awareness of the impact of language and a much-needed shift towards more compassionate and respectful language can positively affect individuals with ADHD, clinical practice, and research, by fostering a more accurate and nuanced understanding of ADHD and associated needs of people with ADHD. Read more (opens new window)

Two Psychiatrists: A Closer Look at Empathy (opens new window)

At a time when core values are under attack, empathy is increasingly misunderstood and dismissed as a soft or misguided emotional reaction. But empathy is not weakness. It is a vital human capacity that enables us to perceive suffering and then respond with compassion and reason. Neuroscience shows that empathy engages both emotional and cognitive parts of the brain. The emotional side helps us resonate with others; it’s why we instinctively flinch when we see others suffering. But empathy does not stop there. Read more (opens new window)

Psychopathology and Gaming Disorder in Adolescents (opens new window)

Question: Is preexisting psychopathology associated with subsequent gaming disorder among adolescents, or is compulsive gaming associated with the development of psychopathology? Findings: In this cohort study of 4289 adolescents, longitudinal models revealed that higher baseline levels of psychopathology were significantly associated with an increased risk of developing gaming disorder 1 year later. However, there was no significant association between gaming disorder and the development or worsening of psychopathology. Meaning: These findings suggest that preexisting psychopathology is associated with the development of gaming disorder among adolescents. Read more (opens new window)

Understanding the research landscape of over-the-counter herbal products, dietary supplements, and medications evaluated for depressive symptoms in adults (opens new window)

Depression is common—the prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD) varies between 2% and 21%, depending on the country and measure used (Gutiérrez-Rojas et al., 2020), and prevalence is increasing over time (Moreno-Agostino et al., 2021). MDD is defined according to the DSM-V as the presence of five or more out of nine symptoms experienced frequently within the same two-week period, including depressed mood and loss of pleasure, in addition to other symptoms such as changes in appetite, insomnia, and fatigue. Symptoms must also cause distress or impairment, with the severity of depression determined by the level of impairment, and the condition cannot be better explained by another cause (Uher et al., 2014). Read more (opens new window) (opens new window)

Topological data mapping of online hate speech, misinformation, and general mental health: A large language model based study (opens new window)

The advent of social media has led to an increased concern over its potential to propagate hate speech and misinformation, which, in addition to contributing to prejudice and discrimination, has been suspecting of playing a role in increasing social violence and crimes in the United States. While literature has shown the existence of an association between posting hate speech and misinformation online and certain personality traits of posters, the general relationship between online hate speech, misinformation, and general mental health remains unclear. Read more (opens new window)

Cognitive Scores Improve With Lifestyle Changes, Trial Shows (opens new window)

Two lifestyle interventions -- one structured, the other self-guided -- improved cognition in older adults at risk of cognitive decline, the 2-year U.S. POINTER trial showed. Global cognitive scores increased from baseline in both the structured group (mean annual increase rate 0.243 SD, 95% CI 0.227-0.258) and the self-guided group (0.213 SD, 95% CI 0.198-0.229), reported Laura Baker, PhD, of Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference. Read more (opens new window)

Anger management specialist shares steps to help kids' mental health as they go back to school (opens new window)

With kids heading back to school, there is an increased focus on their mental health and well-being. Gary Dumas joined KCRA 3 in the studio to talk about good emotional fitness for kids as they head back to class. Dumas is an anger management expert and the founder of ReRouted, a nonprofit organization with a mission to provide transformative resources that foster acts of love, emotional fitness, and personal development programs. In the interview, Dumas shared his "emotional thermometer" game, with simple things kids can do if they start to feel anger or anxiety building. Read more (opens new window)