Fall is here, y’all.

Being from the Midwest, we love a good szn change and today officially marks the beginning of fall. See how experts say we can harness all the feels of autumn to increase mindfulness and resilience (oh la la)!

So other than the very predictable change in weather, what’s going on?

Work

The impact of unpaid labor on mental health (The Guardian)

Many upon many a studies have shown (and perhaps you know personally) that women often do the majority of unpaid labor - things like laundry, dishes, appointment scheduling, childcare, you name it. But few studies have aimed to show just what type of impact this unpaid labor has on the mental health of women, until now. After reviewing 14 separate studies – some of which examined housework time, childcare, and unpaid labor – a meta-study in Australia concluded that “inequities in the division of unpaid [labor] expose women to greater risk of poorer mental health than men”, a result of “so-called role conflict and role overload, which triggers stress-related pathways and thereby can affect psychological wellbeing”. GASP! Who knew?

Not shocking or revolutionary findings but always good when science validates what many have been experiencing for so long.

Treatment

You get a screening! And you get a screening! (NYT)

As many American adults continue to cope with things like illness, isolation and loss from the pandemic in addition to other stressors like inflation, a panel of medical experts, called the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, have recommended for the first time that doctors screen all adult patients under 65 for anxiety. They say the guidance is intended to help prevent mental health disorders from going undetected and untreated for years or even decades.

And hopefully it helps. Some studies have shown it can take up to 11 years (!!) for someone to seek help for a mental health condition.

Let's get groovy (or like just curb our anxiety a little) (NPR)

There has been a lot of talk lately about the potential for psychedelics like ketamine, MDMA (aka Molly or Ecstasy), and psilocybin (aka magic mushrooms) to treat depression, anxiety, substance disorders and PTSD.

An increasing body of research shows that these plant-based compounds have promise but of course don’t come without risk. Learn more about psychedelics in mental health and how these drugs affect the brain, alter states of consciousness and the stigma still associated with them in this recent NPR interview.

Policy + Advocacy

The White House is putting spotlight on mental health (Yahoo)

We’ve talked in previous newsletters about what the current Administration is doing to address the mental health crisis in America. Fortunately, it’s a lot (the rollout of a national suicide prevention line, increased funding for schools, incentives to become a trained mental health professional, etc.) but unfortunately there is still much to be done and by many measures, U.S. mental health is getting worse.

The Health & Human Services released an issue brief earlier this month detailing its “Roadmap for Behavioral Health Integration” intended to more effectively incorporate mental health and substance use care into the broader healthcare system.

You can see the full issue brief from HHS here.

Tech + Business

Generational spending (Axios)

Younger people aren't necessarily more anxious and depressed than us older folk — they're just more comfortable seeking out help and spending money for it.

According to a recent article in Axios, people under 25 make up 36% of the population, they accounted for 42% of spending on mental health and substance abuse treatment in 2020, vs. only 20% of overall health care spending. By contrast, people ages 55-64 accounted for 27% of overall health care spending but only 11% of mental health expenditures.

All the ‘ings

Here is what we’re watch/read/do/listen/explor/consum’ing this week.

Reading

The New York Times Opinion: Mental Health America

We are loving this recent Opinion piece from the New York Times that explores mental health in America.The current mental health crisis isn’t just a direct outcome of our individual mental health (or lack thereof). In many ways, it is a product of the collective world we live in: our economy, technology, workplaces, healthcare systems, structures and policies.The list goes on. Because we’ve long viewed mental illness as an individual problem, we’ve treated mental illness in that way, with individual interventions like therapy, medication, mindfulness, etc. But until we realize that so much more than our individual lives shape our mental health and wellbeing, we won’t be able to fully thrive individually or collectively.

We could go on and on. But check it out for yourself and let us know your thoughts.

Listening

In the latest episode of The Money By Katie Show (Morning Brew), host Katie Gatti Tassin explores how we can harness our anxiety around money for better financial outcomes. Give a listen. There are some serious nuggets of wisdom there.

Doing

These 10 brain exercises to help boost memory (cuz let’s face it, we ain’t getting any younger).

And just for fun

We bet you can’t watch this just once.

That’s all for now. If you love what you read, do us a favor and share it around!

See you next week(ish)!

<3 the here fam