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Welcome to The Mental Minute where our goal is to make mental health an everyday conversation. Take a few minutes to enjoy today’s news, tips, key resources and product reviews.
🗞 In The News
Credit: WSJ | AP
In a high-profile legal development, Google and AI chatbot maker Character.AI have agreed to settle several U.S. lawsuits brought by families who say the companies’ chatbots contributed to teens’ mental-health crises and even suicides. One of the most prominent cases involved a 14-year-old who reportedly became emotionally attached to a chatbot and later took his own life, sparking debate about how conversational AI interacts with vulnerable young people.
The settlements — which cover lawsuits from Florida, Colorado, New York, and Texas — are confidential and don’t require the companies to admit liability, but they mark a rare moment of tech accountability in the AI era. Following the controversy, Character.AI has banned open-ended chats for users under 18 and added safety features to try to protect young users. The cases have also pushed calls for clearer rules and stronger safeguards around AI, especially as teens increasingly turn to chatbots for connection.
Read More: Google, Character.AI Agree to Settle US Lawsuit Over Teen’s Suicide (Yahoo)
Credit: UC San Diego | iStock
A new study has found that pharmacists and female pharmacy technicians across the U.S. face a significantly higher risk of suicide compared with the general population, highlighting a serious but often overlooked mental-health crisis in this workforce. Researchers say the unique stressors of pharmacy jobs — long hours, high pressure, insurance hurdles, and limited recognition — can take a real toll on mental well-being and workplace satisfaction.
Male pharmacists were about 21 % more likely to die by suicide than other men, and female technicians also showed elevated risk compared with women in the general population. Many of those deaths were linked to job-related stress or prior mental-health struggles. Experts who led the study emphasize that this isn’t just a numbers problem — it’s a call to improve workplace support, access to care, and stigma reduction for health-care workers who are often the helpers but rarely get help themselves.
Read More: Pharmacists are at Elevated Risk for Suicide, Study Finds (UCSD)
12 million
In 2024, 4.5% (12 million) of all adults (aged 18 years and older) in the United States reported using at least one psychedelic substance in the last 12 months.
📖 What’s The Meaning
Psychedelics are substances that alter perception, mood, and thought, often causing vivid sensory experiences and shifts in how people see themselves and the world around them. Drugs like psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA are being studied for their potential to help treat depression, trauma, and addiction — especially when used in carefully controlled, clinical settings. But outside of medical supervision, psychedelics can be unpredictable and intense, particularly for people with anxiety, mood disorders, or a family history of psychosis.
Know someone struggling with psychedelics? The most important thing is to listen without judgment, keep them grounded, and encourage professional support rather than trying to fix it yourself. Helping them connect with a therapist, doctor, or harm-reduction resource can make a real difference.
🆘 Help for All
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Mental Health: In Crisis? Call or Text 988
Veterans Crisis Line: Call 988 and press ‘1’ or Text 838255
Youth Helpline: 2NDFLOOR - (888) 222-2228
National Domestic Violence Hotline: (800) 799-SAFE (7233)
National Suicide Prevention Hotline: (800) 273-TALK (8255)
Addiction: Start Your Recovery - (800) 662-4357
🗞 More News
Credit: Time | Getty Images
AI chatbots feel like a comfy friend you can talk to anytime, but Time warns they can be a bit like emotional junk food — soothing in the moment but lacking the real “nutrients” that lead to genuine healing. Real therapy involves both validation and challenge: feeling heard and being supported to grow, which requires human empathy and accountability that machines just can’t truly provide.
AI systems often mirror what you say without pushing you toward real change, and they can’t handle crisis situations or moral responsibility, which is why relying on them as a mental-health substitute can be risky. This isn’t to say AI has no place at all — it might help with stress or self-reflection — but experts stress that it shouldn’t replace real human support or professional care.
Read More: Therapy Should Be Hard. That’s Why AI Can’t Replace It (Time)
🕹 Mind Games
A tile slide puzzle (or sliding puzzle) is a combination game with a grid of numbered or pictured tiles, one of which is missing, where the goal is to rearrange the scrambled tiles into the correct order (like numbers 1-15) by sliding adjacent tiles into the empty spot.
Play Tile Slide Puzzle
🛍 Product Review
Mushroom chocolate bars are edible chocolates infused with psilocybin, the psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms, and they’re often marketed as an easy, low-key way to experience a psychedelic high. Once eaten, psilocybin can alter mood, perception, and emotions for several hours, sometimes leading to feelings of insight or euphoria.
These products are largely illegal and unregulated, so there’s no reliable way to know the dose or even what’s actually inside the bar. Some have been found to contain synthetic or unknown compounds, increasing the risk of panic, nausea, or serious mental-health reactions. For people dealing with anxiety, depression, or past trauma, the experience can be especially intense and unpredictable.
📞 Share the Health
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Thanks, and Be Well.
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