Streamed Execution Sparks PTSD Concerns; 17% of Teens Anxious; Actor Dies of Suicide

Mental health experts warned that livestreaming the firing squad execution of former army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan, MD, who killed 13 people at the Fort Hood military base, could trigger post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in viewers. (The Guardian)

Roughly 17% of U.S. adolescents reported moderate to severe anxiety symptoms, yet nearly half received no mental health treatment, according to national survey data. (JAMA Pediatrics)

Pushing back on popular assumptions, a child psychiatrist argued that screens are not the primary driver behind rising anxiety and depression rates among youth. (New York Times)

Meanwhile, a longitudinal study linked positive childhood experiences to a lower likelihood of psychiatric disorders in early adulthood, with the strongest protective effect against depression. (American Journal of Psychiatry)

Targeted interventions addressing withdrawal, side effects, dependency fears, and housing instability could boost buprenorphine adoption for opioid use disorder in emergency department patients, research in JAMA Network Open suggested.

And a JAMA Internal Medicine study found near therapeutic equivalence between phenobarbital and diazepam for alcohol withdrawal syndrome.

Construction has wrapped on a new $383 million state-run psychiatric hospital serving Southeast Michigan. (Axios)

The World Health Organization released new global guidance to assist nations in transitioning away from institutionalizing people for mental health conditions.

Women with autoimmune conditions were more likely than men to be told their symptoms had psychiatric or psychosomatic causes, survey data showed. (eClinicalMedicine)

Sending follow-up “caring letters” to veterans at high risk of suicide who called the VA Veterans Crisis Line was not associated with a lower risk of suicide mortality. (JAMA Psychiatry)

Actor R.J. Mitte, the disability-rights activist with cerebral palsy known for playing Walter White Jr. in the hit show “Breaking Bad,” died of suicide at age 34. (People)

Meanwhile, the first suicide memorial by a U.S. archdiocese signals a compassionate shift in the Catholic Church’s approach to mental health and grief. (AP)

A new report highlighted the rising suicide rates among Black Americans. (NPR)