MentalHealthDaily

CARES Addiction Risk Screening: 15-Stakeholder Preprint

by GLOOM

MHD featured image for CARES addiction risk screening implementation.

A 2026 medRxiv preprint interviewed 15 health-system stakeholders about CARES, a freestanding addiction-risk screening platform, and found a clear implementation split: people wanted better substance-use prevention tools than current clinic screening, but provider burden, stigma, knowledge gaps, and medical-record liability could block uptake.1 Research Highlights Stakeholders saw a screening gap: all 15 interviewees held leadership …

OCD DBS Reduced Y-BOCS 42.9% as GPe Alpha Activity Decreased

by GLOOM

MHD featured image for OCD DBS and GPe alpha activity.

A 2026 medRxiv preprint found that 10 severe obsessive-compulsive disorder patients treated with anterior-limb-of-internal-capsule DBS had a 42.9% average Y-BOCS symptom decrease over 6 months while alpha-band activity in the anterior globus pallidus externus fell.1 The strongest read is a response-marker signal: GPe alpha decreased during effective OCD DBS, but the sample is too small …

CBT-I Outperformed Added Sleep Medication in 15 RCTs

by GLOOM

Stylized illustration of a CBT-I therapy session and a pill bottle with arrows indicating combined treatment, representing the AASM systematic review on whether to combine cognitive behavioral therapy and sleep medication.

Patients with chronic insomnia frequently end up on both a sleep medication and cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), and a 2026 AASM meta-analysis of 15 RCTs from Buysse et al. found a clear asymmetry: adding CBT-I to medication helps, while adding medication to CBT-I adds little and may even worsen daytime depression scores.1 Research …

Teen Wellbeing: Genes Explain 81% Stability, Life Events 1% Change

by GLOOM

Stylized illustration of identical and fraternal twin silhouettes against a backdrop of overlapping life-event icons, representing the genetic vs. environmental contributions to adolescent wellbeing studied in twin designs.

People expect life events to drive adolescent wellbeing — conflicts and breakups push it down, friendships and successes push it up. A 2026 longitudinal twin study from Skaug et al. tested this directly in 2,879 Norwegian twins followed from ages 12 to 20 across three waves and found that genetics, not events, explain most of …

England Forensic Mental Health Services: 32-Team Map

by GLOOM

Community forensic mental health services are supposed to bridge secure hospitals, prisons, community psychiatry, and risk management. A 2026 mapping study of England found that these services still vary substantially in structure, referral routes, psychological treatments, and the way they handle restricted patients.1 Research Highlights 32 services were mapped: Freedom of Information responses from NHS …

Ethiopia Somali Region Stigma Delayed Mental Health Care

by GLOOM

MHD featured image for mental health stigma and care-seeking in Ethiopia's Somali Region.

A 2026 qualitative study from Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State found a harsh care-seeking pattern: mental illness was often recognized only when it looked like visible “madness,” was commonly explained through spiritual causes, and carried stigma severe enough to delay biomedical care.1 Research Highlights 16 interviews shaped the analysis: Warfa et al. interviewed health workers, service …

Preschool Sleep Under 9 Hours Linked to Anxiety in 1,589 Children

by GLOOM

MHD featured image for preschool sleep duration and anxiety symptoms.

A 2026 Shanghai study of 1,589 preschoolers found that children sleeping ≤9 hours at night had higher parent-rated anxiety scores than children sleeping >10 hours. The effect sizes were small, but the pattern appeared across total anxiety, physical injury fears, social phobia, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and generalized anxiety symptoms.1 Research Highlights 1,589 preschoolers were analyzed: Zhang …