Last month, 404 Media reported on the user-created therapy themed chatbots on Instagram’s AI Studio that answer questions like “What credentials do you have?” with lists of qualifications. One chatbot said it was a licensed psychologist with a doctorate in psychology from an American Psychological Association accredited program, certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology, and had over 10 years of experience helping clients with depression and anxiety disorders. “My license number is LP94372,” the chatbot said. “You can verify it through the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB) website or your state’s licensing board website—would you like me to guide you through those steps before we talk about your depression?” Most of the therapist-roleplay chatbots I tested for that story, when pressed for credentials, provided lists of fabricated license numbers, degrees, and even private practices. Senators Demand Meta Answer For AI Chatbots Posing as Licensed Therapists – https://www.404media.co/senators-letter-demand-meta-answer-for-ai-chatbots-posing-as-licensed-therapists/
In certain cases, concerned friends and family provided us with screenshots of these conversations. The exchanges were disturbing, showing the AI responding to users clearly in the throes of acute mental health crises — not by connecting them with outside help or pushing back against the disordered thinking, but by coaxing them deeper into a frightening break with reality…Online, it’s clear that the phenomenon is extremely widespread. As Rolling Stone reported last month, parts of social media are being overrun with what’s being referred to as “ChatGPT-induced psychosis,” or by the impolitic term “AI schizoposting“: delusional, meandering screeds about godlike entities unlocked from ChatGPT, fantastical hidden spiritual realms, or nonsensical new theories about math, physics and reality. An entire AI subreddit recently banned the practice, calling chatbots “ego-reinforcing glazing machines that reinforce unstable and narcissistic personalities.” People Are Becoming Obsessed with ChatGPT and Spiraling Into Severe Delusions – https://futurism.com/chatgpt-mental-health-crises
“All those books you haven’t read are indeed a sign of your ignorance. But if you know how ignorant you are, you’re way ahead of the vast majority of other people.” Jessica Stillman
Tsundoku is the Japanese word for the stack(s) of books you’ve purchased but haven’t read. Its morphology combines tsunde-oku (letting things pile up) and dokusho (reading books). The Japanese call this practice tsundoku, and it may provide lasting benefits — https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/do-i-own-too-many-books/
Our results provide evidence that blocking mobile internet from smartphones for 2 weeks can produce significant improvements for SWB (subjective well being), mental health, and the objectively measured ability to sustain attention. Even those who did not fully comply with the intervention experienced significant, though more modest, improvements. These findings suggest that constant connection to the online world comes at a cost, since psychological functioning improves when this connection is reduced. Blocking mobile internet on smartphones improves sustained attention, mental health, and subjective well-being – PNAS Nexus, Volume 4, Issue 2, February 2025, pgaf017, https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf017
Studies have estimated that hoarding disorder affects around 2.5% of the general population — a higher rate than schizophrenia. The mental illness was previously considered a sub-type of obsessive-compulsive disorder, but in 2013 it was given its own diagnostic criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the DSM-5.
An analysis of hospital data by the Royal College of Psychiatrists showed that hospital admissions for eating disorders had increased by 84% in the past five years, reaching a total of 24 268 admissions. Some 11 049 more admissions were recorded in 2020-21 than in 2015-16. The number of young people with eating disorders rose by 90% in the five year period analyzed, from 3541 to 6713 episodes, with a 35% increase in the past year alone. Boys and young men showed a 128% rise in hospital admissions, from 280 in 2015-16 to 637 in 2020-21.
One in five deaths of people with anorexia nervosa is due to suicide, and all eating disorders see high rates of self-harm and depression. Eating disorders: Guidance is issued to doctors after 84% rise in past five years – BMJ 2022; 377 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.o1256 (Published 19 May 2022)
In this cohort study, use of antidepressants was associated with faster cognitive decline in patients with dementia, in particular SSRIs (i.e., citalopram, sertraline and escitalopram) and mirtazapine. These effects appeared to be more pronounced in patients with more severe dementia. Compared with sertraline, escitalopram presented faster cognitive decline, while citalopram was linked to a slower cognitive decline. Additionally, higher dispensed doses of SSRIs were associated with greater cognitive decline, as well as increased risks of severe dementia, all-cause mortality, and fracture. Our study cannot distinguish whether these findings are due to the antidepressants or the underlying psychiatric indication. Mo, M., Abzhandadze, T., Hoang, M.T. et al. Antidepressant use and cognitive decline in patients with dementia: a national cohort study. BMC Med23, 82 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-025-03851-3
“Our perceptions of working after age 65 have changed over time, and these data suggest that most older adults who are still able to work after the traditional retirement age derive health-related benefits from doing so,” said poll director Jeffrey Kullgren, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., a primary care physician at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System and associate professor of internal medicine at U-M. “As we learn more about how loneliness, lack of social connection and isolation intertwine with physical and mental health in older adults, the role of work is important to consider.”Michigan Medicine – University of Michigan. “As more Americans work later in life, poll shows positive health impacts, especially for those over 65.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250211141049.htm (accessed February 12, 2025)
National Poll on Healthy Aging Team. The Intersection of Work, Health, and Well-Being. University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging. January/February 2025. Available at https://dx.doi.org/10.7302/25186
Llisdexamfetamine dimesylate is currently the only drug to be approved in the USA for the treatment of moderate to severe binge eating disorder (BED) in adult patients. – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29134566/
Just a few side effects BTW.
The prescribing information also includes warnings and precautions regarding serious cardiovascular reactions, blood pressure and heart rate increases, psychiatric adverse reactions, suppression of growth, peripheral vasculopathy (reduced circulation of blood flow to body parts), and serotonin syndrome (a potentially life-threatening overage of serotonin). Please see Vyvanse’s full prescribing information for additional details.
The most common side effects in children, adolescents and/or adults with ADHD taking lisdexamfetamine dimesylate capsules and chewable tablets were anorexia, anxiety, decreased appetite, decreased weight, diarrhea, dizziness, dry mouth, irritability, insomnia, nausea, upper abdominal pain, and vomiting. The most common side effects in adults with BED were dry mouth, insomnia, decreased appetite, increased heart rate, constipation, feeling jittery, and anxiety. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/news-events-human-drugs/fda-approves-multiple-generics-adhd-and-bed-treatment
Take Home Lesson for Life Underwriters
Know your drugs and read the prescription DB reports. You’re welcome.
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