Midlife Crisis Is Real—and International

Related Newser Stories

• Electric Therapy Can Relieve Depression

  Oct 21, 08 12:11 PM CDT
  People with major depression that doesn't respond to medication may get relief from a therapy that uses magnetic pulses to stimulate the cortex, the Wall Street Journal reports. In a clinical trial, transcranial magnetic stimulation worked in about a quarter of patients—about twice the success rate of patients on a placebo.
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• Suicide Rate Soars for Middle-Aged

  Oct 21, 08 5:02 AM CDT
  A sharp rise in the number of middle-aged white people taking their own lives has driven up the US suicide rate by nearly 5% since 1999, the Los Angeles Times reports. Experts are baffled by the nearly 16% hike in this group, but speculate that prescription drug abuse, a drop in the use of hormone replacement therapy by menopausal women, or post-9/11 stress could be the cause—as could widespread Boomer disappointment.
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• Exercise and Happiness Not Linked: Study

  Mar 17, 08 8:06 AM CDT
  Going for a run might not clear your head in quite the way thought, reports USA Today, and its supposed benefits on mental health may be misguided. Rather, Dutch researchers found that a single set of genes both determines one’s inclination toward exercise and happiness—making the most physically fit the most mentally fit as well. More »

• Therapy by Any Other Name

  Mar 12, 08 6:56 PM CDT
  A program that treats depression in Indian villages is seeking to transform mental health care throughout the developing world, the New York Times reports. Bypassing expensive doctors, the clinics train laypeople to avoid talk of mental illness—a shameful stigma in many cultures—by screening for "strain" and "tension," and offering patients therapy, yoga, and medication. More »

• Suicides Spike Among Middle-Aged

  Feb 19, 08 10:10 AM CST
  Suicide rates among middle-aged Americans have spiked dramatically in recent years, in contrast to flat or declining rates in younger and older demographics, mystifying experts, reports the New York Times. For people 45 to 54, the rate jumped 20% between 1999 and 2004;  for women, the increase was 31%. Theories about the cause include lack of support systems, declining hormone-replacement therapy use, and prevalence of prescription painkillers. More »