Doctors are encouraged to offer mental-health screening for teens

Impulsive behavior gets kids in trouble, but science is honing in on the problem

"Teenagers are often impulsive." That's the opening sentence of a new scientific paper. Raise your hand if you're a parent of an...

A patient's social history isn't just checked-off answers

Ms. R., a retired nurse, lives with her husband in Dorchester.

Helping seniors live at home longer

Patricia McGinnis has six brothers and sisters who help her take care of their 89-year-old mother. Though their mother is alert and able...

Put your stress on vacation

Got stress?

Our body's old response to modern stress can be dangerous

It's 8:15 a.m., and the meeting you're supposed to be running started 15 minutes ago, and your boss would be on the phone chewing you out...

Division of duty is the name of the brain game

You may be lazing by the pool after a visit or two to the swim-up bar, but parts of your brain are always on duty — ready to leap into...

Online dating secrets, as revealed by math majors

For singles who brave the jungles of online dating, there's nothing like an experienced friend or two to offer advice. "Should I Photoshop...

Judge to rule on Jared Loughner's mental fitness for trial

A federal judge is set to determine this week whether Jared Lee Loughner, the man accused of shooting Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.)...

A key diagnostic deadline draws near

"Where are we going to put the narcissists?"

After brain damage, the creative juices flow for some

Artist Katherine Sherwood was just 44 when a hemorrhage in her brain's left hemisphere paralyzed the right side of her body —...

What it looks like inside a migraine

It can be hard to explain how your world looks to someone whose reality is very different. That's especially true for people with epilepsy...

Why are unhealthy people so reluctant to change their lifestyles?

Nobody's perfect. We all have bad habits we just can't seem to shake. Cigarettes have a hold on some people; others can't say no to alcohol,...

'Hypersexual disorder' might make DSM-5

Tiger Woods' mistresses. Arnold Schwarzenegger's secret child. Bill Clinton's sexual escapades in the Oval Office. Every case of a prominent...

Rodent of the Week: A sad mouse makes scientists happy

Researchers have taken a big step forward in studying depression in humans because they have succeeded in improving a mouse model of the...

Anxiety disorder may precede diabetes in Latinos, study finds

Latinos have higher rates of diabetes than other ethnic groups. They also appear to have higher rates of having both diabetes and a mood...

Irreconcilable differences at the end of the day: Men, women and housework

Men, it's your health and happiness or hers. Women, it's your health and happiness or his. At the end of the day, if there's housework to be...

Spouses affect each other's health dramatically, study finds

Spouses tend to share various symptoms and physical limitations and are influenced by each other's health problems, according to a new...

Women on war front more likely to get post-traumatic stress disorder than men, study finds

Women deployed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are emerging as a group especially vulnerable to post-traumatic stress disorder,...

Overwhelmed caregivers: Try meditation

HONOLULU -- Home-based caregivers of ill or elderly family members are under enormous physical and mental stress, but daily meditative...

College final exams are upon us, and ADHD medication is in demand

Honolulu -- Stimulant medications to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder are popular pills on college campuses during finals...

Most kids who lose a parent don't experience lengthy depression

HONOLULU — A significant number of children in the U.S. lose a parent to death each year. But a new study shows that, after a normal...

Synthetic marijuana is linked to psychosis that can last for months

HONOLULU — Synthetic marijuana, known on the street as Spice, can cause a lengthy bout of psychosis in some users, according to...

ADHD in adults may become easier to diagnose

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has traditionally been considered to be a problem of children. But research over the last two...

Mental health takes center stage

Looking for help and information with mental health issues should be a bit easier this month -- May is Mental Health Month.

A drug used for maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder lacks evidence, scientists contend

Abilify, the brand name of the drug aripiprazole, is an antipsychotic medication used to treat the acute phase of bipolar disorder as well...

Social networking 'success' doesn't extend to offline relationships

Social networking has been described as the contemporary way that people interact. While that may be true, an individual's social success in...

Using video to fight workplace stress

In the eight years Krista Lang Blackwood has been artistic director of a nonprofit choral group, she's heard it all: prospective donors...

A teen's friends are a powerful influence

My parents had it pretty easy with me when I was a teenager. I was a bit of a nerd. I earned straight A's in school, ran for student...

Heartache or headache, pain process is similar, studies find

Across cultures and language divides, people talk about the sting of social rejection as if it were a physical pain. We feel "burned" by a...