Category Archives: Mental Health

The kava plant, a psychoactive crop found natively in islands throughout the Pacific, may serve as a natural treatment for chronic anxiety, according to a recent study conducted by Australian researchers. In the study, subjects diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder took tablets containing kava extract for six consecutive weeks, and experienced significant relief from their anxiety symptoms in comparison to a group of subjects that were given placebos instead. Previous studies have also suggested that kava can relieve anxiety, though some of these studies cautioned that kava could cause liver toxicity. The new study worked toward disproving this notion. The notion could have widespread benefits, as the Anxiety and Depression Association of America reports that around 40 million adults suffer from anxiety in the U.S. alone.

An alarmingly high number of people report skipping doses of their medication in order to save money, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC also counted many reports of individuals saving money by delaying the fulfillment of their prescriptions. In total, the organization found that 12.6% of individuals between age 18 and 64 stray from the prescriptions given to them by their health care providers in order to pinch pennies. By comparison, just 5.8% of people over the age of 64 said the same, providing some reassurance. The survey used to come to these findings was distributed nationally in 2011.