It’s Hump Day!
Welcome to The Mental Minute where our goal is to make mental health a daily conversation. Take a few minutes to enjoy today’s news, tips, key resources and product reviews.
🗞 In The News
Credit: Yahoo News | Variety via Getty Images
A heartbreaking story is unfolding around Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his family after his son, Nick Reiner, 32, was arrested in connection with the deaths of his parents in their Los Angeles home. Nick’s life had been marked by a long, very public struggle with addiction and mental health, including years of rehab and periods of homelessness — struggles he spoke openly about in interviews and even co-wrote a movie about with his father.
Even though Rob and his wife Michele had supported him through countless ups and downs and publicly expressed hope for his recovery, the situation tragically spiraled into violence, leaving the entertainment world and many fans stunned.
This story reminds us that addiction and mental illness are complex, can affect anyone regardless of background, and often coexist with deep pain that’s hard to see from the outside.
Read More: Famous father, troubled son: How addiction tormented the Reiner family (Yahoo)
Credit: Self | Stocksy | Adobe Stock
Thinking about stopping your antidepressants? Researchers and mental-health pros agree it shouldn’t be done suddenly or on a whim — quitting “cold turkey” can lead to withdrawal symptoms and a higher risk of depression coming back. The best-supported way to stop is by tapering off slowly under a doctor’s guidance, giving your brain time to adjust as the dose gets lower. In fact, new research shows that slowly reducing your medication while also staying in therapy helps protect against relapse almost as well as staying on the medication itself.
Your doctor will tailor a taper plan based on which antidepressant you’re taking, how long you’ve been on it, and your mental-health history — because one size definitely doesn’t fit all.
And if you’re feeling good but thinking about stopping meds, chatting openly with your provider first can help you decide what’s right for you — including other supports like therapy, movement, or lifestyle changes that can keep your mood steady.
Read More: Best Way To Get Off Your Antidepressants (Self)
58.3 percent
Among people aged 12 or older in 2024, 58.3% used substances including tobacco, nicotine, alcohol, or illicit drugs in the past month - which is defined as ‘current use’.
📖 What’s The Meaning
Addictive behaviors are actions, often obsessive and destructive, that are related to abuse of or dependence on a substance and that dominate one’s life. Addictive behaviors may include drug-seeking behavior, risk taking, and breaking laws in the course of sustaining one’s drug habit. Overcoming an addiction is not a simple process and involves different stages of change. It’s normal for people to move back and forth between these stages and make several attempts.
Know someone struggling with addictive behavior? Recommended treatments for addictive behavior include withdrawal, detoxification and addiction rehabilitation, medications, counseling and also peer support. Recovering from addiction can be tough and takes time. With the right support, it's possible.
🆘 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: Daily Dot | Shutterstock
Feeling overwhelmed by big self-care goals? Tons of people on Reddit shared that tiny daily habits — not dramatic life overhauls — can genuinely boost your mental health over time. Simple things like going to sleep earlier, making your bed first thing, or taking a quick 10-minute walk can make your day feel more manageable and less chaotic.
Small tech shifts, like turning off social media notifications or checking the news less, helped others reduce anxiety and stay present. Writing one thought before bed or sipping green tea instead of coffee were other easy habits people said gave their mood a little extra stability. The theme? You don’t need huge changes to feel better — consistency with micro moves often creates noticeable, uplifting shifts in your mental state.
Read More: Small habits people say transformed their mental health (Daily Dot)
🕹 Mind Games
Practice your memory skills with the memory card game, also known as Match-Up or Concentration. Turn over two cards at a time, trying to find two that are identical, keeping them if you match, and flipping them back if you don't, all while remembering where cards are for future turns to clear the board.
Play Memory Game
✏ Take The Quiz: Addictions
Online Screening is a quick and easy way to see what mental health symptoms you may be experiencing. It’s quick, free, confidential, and backed by science.
Mental health conditions are real and common.
Take the Addictions or the Universal Mental Health Quiz
🛍 Product Review
Trendy wellness patches promising calm, energy, sleep support, or vitamins may sound cool and convenient, but the science behind them is more complicated than the marketing suggests.
While the idea of delivering nutrients through your skin comes from real medical patches (like nicotine or hormone patches), your skin is basically a super-strong barrier that blocks most molecules from getting in. Only very small, fat-loving molecules might pass through effectively, and most nutrients in patches are too big or water-soluble to get through in meaningful amounts.
That means a lot of patches are probably more about style and marketing than measurable health benefits, and many claims (like “detox,” “all-day energy,” or “overnight calm”) aren’t backed by solid research. But if wearing a patch gives you a sense of intention — like reminding you to breathe, hydrate, or slow down — the placebo effect can still help your mental well-being.
📞 Share the Health
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Thanks, and Be Well.
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