Hello and welcome to last edition of Best 5 Reads of the week. And yes, weekend is coming! Let me know what you plan to do this weekend in the comment box below!
1) Suicides Have Increased. Is This an Existential Crisis?
Many argue that this is a crisis of mental health care, that people are not getting the services they need. The proposed solution is better therapies, more effective antidepressants and greater access to treatment.
This assessment may be correct. However, the suicide rate has increased even as more people are seeking treatment for depression and anxiety, and even as treatment for those conditions has become more widely available. An additional explanation seems to be needed.
As a behavioral scientist who studies basic psychological needs, including the need for meaning, I am convinced that our nation’s suicide crisis is in part a crisis of meaninglessness. Fully addressing it will require an understanding of how recent changes in American society — changes in the direction of greater detachment and a weaker sense of belonging — are increasing the risk of existential despair.
2) Insurance Company Sets Goal for Reducing Opioid Overdoses by 25%
Through their predictive analytics, Cigna can identify customers most likely to suffer from an overdose and can prompt interventions.
3) From Abused Child to Serial Killer: Investigating Nature vs Nurture in Methods of Murder
Not all abused children become serial killers, and not all serial killers are victims of childhood abuse. However, the connection between the two cannot be dismissed as just coincidence.
4) Mind over matter: Amygdala circuit counteracts pain-driven emotion
Two pathways in the brain converging at the amygdala regulate the anxiety and depression that often accompanies chronic pain, suggests research in male rats. One of these pathways may represent a top-down mechanism that controls negative emotion under stress.
5) Negative Social Media Interactions Have Significant Effects on Depressive Symptoms
It may be important to increase awareness of avoiding negative social media encounters to reduce the risk for depressive symptoms.
Have a nice weekend and see you tomorrow for weekend quote.
Best Regards,
Vikram
PsiHub 
Well done!
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Thank you for stopping by Lawrence 🙂
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I am very much aware of the seriousness of the suicide rate. I have been writing on this issue on My Blog, in the hope of more people becoming aware of “Mental Illnesses and understanding that they are also just like physical illnesses, and to be understanding about them”!
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