People who suffered a financial, housing-related, or job-related hardship as a result of the Great Recession (which officially lasted from December 2007 to June 2009) were more likely to show increases in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and problematic drug use.

Oklahoma delivered a stinging blow to the drug manufacturing firm Johnson & Johnson on Monday, a landmark victory for the state that may help decide more than 2,000 lawsuits targeting opioid makers and distributors around the US. [CNN / Jacqueline Howard and Wayne Drash]

Adults who take prescription opioids for severe pain are more likely to have increased anxiety, depression and substance abuse issues if they also use marijuana.

"Given the fact that cannabis potentially has analgesic properties, some people are turning to it to potentially manage their pain," Andrew Rogers, said in describing the work.

You may have seen one of the following headlines over the past few days:

Suffering from depression? Eat dark chocolatesPeople who eat dark chocolate less likely to be depressedEating lots of dark chocolate 'lowers the risk of depression'Depression, Memory Loss, Heart Problems? Try Chocolate Therapy!

Does this mean therapists should recommend dark chocolate to their clients?

Not quite.

Harvard researchers are advising millions of people who take aspirin every day to prevent heart attacks to stop their daily use.

Some 29 million people 40 and older were taking an aspirin a day in 2017 despite not having a heart disease. The study also found that about 6.6 million of them were using aspirin on their own even though a doctor never recommended it to them. And nearly 10 million people over 70 who don’t have heart disease were taking daily aspirin for prevention.

Apathy is the most common neuropsychiatric symptom of dementia, with a bigger impact on function than memory loss. A new study has found that apathy is present nearly half of all people with dementia, with researchers finding it is often distinct from depression.

Although common, apathy is often ignored as it is less disruptive in settings such as care homes than symptoms like aggression. Defined by a loss of interest and emotions, it is extremely distressing for families and it is linked with more severe dementia and worse clinical symptoms.

A new study, published in Psychiatry Research, has concluded that psychiatric diagnoses are scientifically worthless as tools to identify discrete (either you have it or you don't) mental health disorders.

The main findings of the research were:

According to Statistics Canada, 23% of high school students across the country have tried a vaping product. Of that total, teens and young adults — between the ages of 15 and 24 — report the highest rates of vaping.

“It’s the ‘in’ thing now,” said Robert Schwartz, a senior scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). “Smoking amongst teens is acceptable, but it’s not the cool thing to do anymore.”

Schwartz said teens are likely attracted to vaping because the term “vaping” suggests water vapour, but it’s actually nicotine they’re taking in.

My Ramadan Diary: Fasting for 18 hours with depression and anxiety

The long hours of fasting for Ramadan can be challenging but what's it like when you're doing it with mental health issues?

Not eating food or drinking water makes each hour of the day harder for Maryam, who also writes as Maz Halima. But something else adds to the struggle - her depression and anxiety.

So what does a day look like for her during Ramadan? We wake up with Maryam at 2am, meet an imam, and find out why she thinks it's worth it.

A Montreal man was found guilty of manslaughter and has been sentenced to two years less a day for killing his wife, who was in the late stages of Alzheimer's disease (source). His lawyers portrayed him as an exhausted caregiver. They argued their client's judgment on the day of his wife's death was clouded by a major depression and years of suffering.