Happy Wednesday.

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.

Missed a newsletter? Check out our archives!

🗞 A young sailor died by suicide. Her family blames health care gaps and long deployment. Jaimie Bethea, a 21-year-old Navy specialist, died by suicide in June after more than 11 months deployed on the USS Fort Lauderdale. Her family says gaps in health care and the length of her deployment played a role. Her sister is seeking "a semblance of justice." She did seek help, and the Navy put her on antidepressants, but the ship's medical care relied on a doctor and corpsmen, and a 2023 Department of Defense Inspector General report found a severe shortage of mental health professionals throughout the Navy, including on ships. Read more at NPR

🗞 Mayor Bass orders independent review of how LAPD responds to mental health crises.  Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has ordered an independent review of how the LAPD responds when someone is in a mental or behavioral health crisis. The audit will look at officers' training, de-escalation practices, use of force, less-lethal options, and how the department tracks repeat calls about the same person. It will also cover officer wellness after these encounters, and it will re-examine more than 60 fatal police shootings from 2021 to 2025. Bass framed the order around a wider problem: a severe shortage of mental health care leaves many people in crisis cycling between the streets, emergency rooms, and jail, so police often become the default responders. Read more at The LA Local

🗞 Mental Health Symptoms May Be Doing Something Unexpected Over Time. A large Dutch study suggests that common mental health problems are sticking around more than they did a decade ago: among adults with a disorder at the start, about 58 percent still had one at follow-up in the recent group, compared with about 43 percent in the earlier group. Symptoms also don't always come back in the same form, so someone whose anxiety has settled may later notice low mood, or vice versa. The study found links between persistence and being younger, living in a city, childhood trauma, and near-daily drug use, but these are associations, not proven causes. Read more at Yahoo! Health

🗞 Why Some Psychiatrists Prescribe GLP-1s. A small but growing group of psychiatrists is exploring whether GLP-1 medications like Wegovy, which are prescribed for weight loss and diabetes, might also ease depression and other mental health symptoms. Some patients report striking improvements. In one small study of 40 people, depression severity fell by about 30 percent within six months of starting a GLP-1, and researchers suspect a domino effect from better metabolic health, more energy, healthier food choices, and quieter "food noise." The evidence is still early, though: these drugs aren't approved as mental health treatments, results vary, and some people got worse. Read more at Yahoo! Health

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

Scientists Found An Unexpected Mental Health Benefit Of Weightlifting—And You Don't Have to Lift Heavy to Get It. A new study in the Journal of Affective Disorders found that 49 young women with anxiety symptoms saw large drops in depression scores after eight weeks of supervised lifting, whether they trained at moderate-to-high intensity or with very light weights. The heavier group improved by about 54 percent and the light group by about 43 percent, a gap too small to be statistically significant. One expert quoted suggests the benefits may come not just from lifting but from the routine, accountability, and human connection of showing up for a scheduled session, which is something I see often in my own work. Read More at Women’s Health

MYTH: A positive attitude can cure depression.

FACT: Depression can have many causes, biological, psychological, and environmental. A negative attitude does not cause depression and, while positive thinking can be helpful, it cannot cure depression. Telling someone to “cheer up” or “look on the bright side” is not only invalidating, but it can also be a barrier to them seeking the care and support they need.

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