Posts Tagged: anxiety

News

Will California follow Oregon’s ‘strategic’ approach to psychedelics?

Image courtesy of 24K-Production

There is a growing acceptance in mental health circles that some psychedelics – particularly psilocybin, MDMA, Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and mescaline – have great promise for treating certain mental health disorders, including post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression. But some observers fear legalizing it could kick off a psilocybin Gold Rush that emphasizes profits over patient care.

Opinion

Exercise key to fight COVID-19’s toll on mental, behavioral health

A hiker takes a break during the pandemic. (Photo: Leah-Anne Thompson, via Shutterstock.

OPINION: The coronavirus pandemic is taking a toll on public health, a toll that extends well beyond those who have been infected by the virus. Nearly all of us have experienced or witnessed the effects: increased stress, heightened anxiety, at least a bit of depression. These conditions are to be expected given the isolation and disruption of our daily lives.

Opinion

The critical need to electrify our transportation system

An electric vehicle takes in juice at a charging station. (Photo: Tim Siegert-batcam, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: In order to stave off the worst impacts of climate change we need to electrify our transportation system. According to the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) latest greenhouse gas inventory, transportation makes up over 41% of the state’s GHG pollution and cars make up a staggering 29%!

Opinion

Great Depression: Mental health is crucial to COVID-19 recovery

A portrait of a man alone and in distress. (Image icsnaps, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: The economic and health-related impacts of COVID-19 have perpetuated feelings of uncertainty, anxiousness and loneliness across a broad swath of California’s population. A third of Americans are experiencing these emotions, according to a recent Census Bureau survey, and that’s concerning because stressors can trigger or re-ignite more severe mental health issues.

Opinion

Millions of seniors pushed into poverty

A senior citizen on a pension displays the remaining funds for this month. (Photo: Gudrun Speck)

OPINION: It is no secret that Californians are living longer, but not necessarily better. By 2030, the state’s senior population will increase by 4 million people, yet the state is woefully unprepared to care for this growing and financially unstable demographic. The lack of any strategy or organized master plan has pushed millions of seniors into poverty, unable to access high-quality, affordable healthcare, dental care, housing and supportive services.

News

Indigenous farm workers have scant access to mental health services

Irene Gomez, manager of a domestic violence and mental health outreach program for indigenous farmworkers in Oxnard, helps a client. (Photo: Scott Erickson.)

Although many counties have programs that provide at least some medical care to this population, access to mental health services is extremely limited in most parts of the state. This is despite the fact that indigenous farmworkers are believed to face higher amounts of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder than the general population.

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