Behavior Health and Wellness Blog

Individual Protective Factors

Living With Existential Depression

Existential depression is a deeply challenging experience where individuals grapple with finding meaning in their lives and existence itself. This struggle can lead to a lack of motivation in daily life, fixation on thoughts of death and dying, indifference toward the seemingly “unfixable” state of the world, and avoidance of connections with others. While these feelings can be overwhelming, it’s important to remember that existential depression is not a formal

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Cannabis-Involved Emergency Department Visits Among Persons Aged <25 Years Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, 2019–2022

During the COVID-19 pandemic, cannabis-involved emergency department (ED) visits among young people under 25 years rose significantly, according to CDC data from the National Syndromic Surveillance Program spanning 2019–2022. Weekly averages were consistently higher in 2020, 2021, and 2022 compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, with notable spikes among children aged 10 years. While ED visit rates for adolescents aged 11–14 showed no sex differences initially, rates for females surpassed

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5 Types of Self-Care for Every Area of Your Life

Self-care is essential for maintaining balance and preventing burnout, as no amount of stress-relief activities can compensate if we neglect ourselves. Defined as a “multidimensional, multifaceted process of purposeful engagement in strategies that promote healthy functioning and enhance well-being,” self-care simply means ensuring our physical and emotional needs are met. It involves reconnecting with our ability to play, relax, have fun, and build connections. Good self-care can take many forms,

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Health Problems Caused by Secondhand Smoke

There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke, as even brief exposure can cause immediate harm. In adults who do not smoke, secondhand smoke increases the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and adverse reproductive health effects in women, such as low birth weight. For infants and children, secondhand smoke is linked to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), respiratory infections, ear infections, and asthma attacks. The

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