Happy Hump Day!

June is designated as National PTSD Awareness Month, aimed at raising public understanding of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and promoting evidence-based treatments. It also highlights that PTSD is highly treatable and encourages those affected to seek help.

While highly associated with Veterans (with an estimated 11-20 out of every 100 experiencing it), PTSD affects approximately 12 million adults in the U.S. and can happen to anyone of any age.

It can develop after experiencing or witnessing traumatic events like combat, accidents, natural disasters, or abuse.

Missed a newsletter? Check out our archives!

At least five people were hospitalized after a suspect with a documented history of serious mental illness went on a slashing spree at Penn Station — coming just one month after another mentally ill repeat offender allegedly pushed an elderly man to his death down subway steps, hours after being released from a psych evaluation.

Experts argue these tragedies aren't a funding problem — NYC already spends close to $1 billion on mental health services annually — but a leadership failure, with officials consistently downplaying transit violence and resisting involuntary treatment interventions for those who are clearly a danger to themselves and others.

Read More: Nothing About the Penn Station Slashing Is Normal (City Journal)

A major new study found that remote workers experienced a 58% rise in hours spent alone and a 72% increase in the chances of spending an entire day with zero human contact — not even a wave to a barista — and the isolation didn't get offset by socializing after work either.

The mental health toll was real and measurable: more anxiety, more depression, more psychiatric medications, and more visits to mental health providers — with solo-living remote workers hit nearly twice as hard as those with family at home.

Read More: People Love Working From Home. But Does It Love Them Back? A New Study Says No (NPR)

The National Center for PTSD is the world’s leading research and educational center for excellence on trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Established by Congress in 1989 within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, it is dedicated to studying PTSD and improving the well-being of Veterans and all trauma survivors.

Read More: U.S. Dept of Veteran Affairs - National Center for PTSD | PTSD Treatment Decision Aid | Veteran Crisis Line - Dial 988 then Press 1

The trial of the man charged with the fatal stabbing of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a North Carolina commuter train has been delayed after a federal judge ruled the suspect is not currently competent to stand trial — ordering up to four months of psychiatric treatment in a prison medical facility to attempt to restore his competency.

Federal mental health examiners found that the suspect is suffering from a mental disease that renders him unable to understand the nature of the proceedings or assist in his own defense, though his prognosis for restoration was described as favorable with appropriate medication. This is a reminder that our legal and mental health systems are deeply intertwined — and that justice for victims and treatment for those with serious mental illness are not opposing goals.

Read More: Trial Over Ukrainian Woman's Killing On Train Delayed for Mental Health Reasons (ABC News)

MYTH: PTSD only affects military veterans.

FACT: PTSD can affect anyone who has encountered a traumatic event and can even take months or years to appear.

The Mental Minute is your #1 source for the latest mental health news, tips, key resources and product reviews. Our goal is to make mental health an everyday conversation.

Don’t keep us all to yourself. Sharing is caring - so share The Mental Minute with all of your friends!

Thanks, and Be Well.

— The Mental Minute