The hottest Mental health Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Health & Wellness Topics

Getting a new tooth

Disaffected Newsletter • 1199 implied HN points • 19 Apr 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Mental health
  1. Getting a dental implant can help you feel better about your appearance if you've lost a tooth. It's important to consider both the physical and mental effects of tooth loss.
  2. Delaying dental work can lead to more problems later, like losing jaw bone. Taking care of your teeth right away can save you money and hassle in the long run.
  3. The dental implant process involves several steps, but it doesn't have to be painful. With modern techniques and anesthetics, many people experience minimal discomfort during and after the procedure.

The Men Who Lost Their Babies

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 5393 implied HN points • 08 Feb 25
🏥 Health Politics Mental health
  1. Men experience deep emotional pain during pregnancy loss, but their feelings are often overlooked by society and medical professionals. This can lead to feelings of isolation and grief that are not acknowledged.
  2. Doctors sometimes say insensitive things that can hurt men grieving the loss of a child. It shows a lack of understanding about how fathers feel and are affected by these tragedies.
  3. There's a stereotype that men don’t have a role in pregnancy and childbirth discussions, which can leave them feeling sidelined. It's important to recognize that fathers also have emotional connections to their unborn children.

I am presently failing

Hoarse Whisperings • 4402 implied HN points • 19 Jun 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Mental health
  1. The author is currently struggling and feeling like they are failing.
  2. The post includes a dream about being trapped in a narrow cave with a crescent moon-shaped opening.
  3. Readers can subscribe to Hoarse Whisperings for new posts and support the author's work.
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There's got to be a morning after

Disaffected Newsletter • 2398 implied HN points • 19 Jan 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Mental health
  1. Depression can feel overwhelming and isolating, but it's a temporary state that eventually lifts. It's important to remember that even in the worst times, things can improve.
  2. Understanding your past and your triggers can help in managing depression. It's not always about one specific cause or issue, but a mix of experiences and emotions.
  3. Finding small moments of joy or connection, like laughing or listening to music, can help you feel less alone. It's essential to hold onto those moments as signs of hope and recovery.

American Bulk

Culture Study • 5514 implied HN points • 22 Jan 25
🎭️ Culture Mental health
  1. Bulk shopping reflects a deep cultural connection to abundance in America. It's not just about getting what you need; it's tied to feelings of security and desire.
  2. Family dynamics and personal histories impact our relationship with stuff. Experiences with parents and grandparents can shape how we view consuming and accumulating items.
  3. There are complexities in how we handle issues of body image and weight. Personal acceptance is often mixed with societal pressures, and it's okay to feel conflicting emotions about it.

Psychology’s Biggest Misses—Honorable Mentions

Living Fossils • 2 implied HN points • 11 Mar 26
🔬 Science Mental health
  1. Many famous effects in psychology, like social priming and strong birth-order personality claims, don’t replicate well and are often statistical flukes or very weak.
  2. Boosting self-esteem doesn’t reliably cause better achievement; usually success and competence lead to higher self-esteem instead.
  3. Popular explanations like “emotional intelligence” or simple chemical‑imbalance models of mental illness are vague or unsupported, with poor measurement and limited predictive power, so we still don’t really know the causes of most mental disorders.

mRNA Injury Series - New paper: first reported case of new-onset mania and psychosis post bivalent mRNA COVID-19 booster Vaccination (4th dose) (Dec.2023, from Singapore) - 16 cases in the literature

COVID Intel - by Dr.William Makis • 2083 implied HN points • 02 Feb 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Mental health
  1. First reported case of new-onset mania and psychosis after receiving a bivalent mRNA COVID-19 booster vaccination
  2. 16 cases of similar reactions documented in the literature
  3. The post discusses these cases in detail and requires a subscription to read further

Friday Thread: What Are You Struggling With That No One Else Sees?

Culture Study • 1526 implied HN points • 22 Aug 25
🎭️ Culture Mental health
  1. People often struggle with issues that they feel others can't see or understand. It's important to talk about these hidden struggles.
  2. Sharing personal challenges can create a supportive environment where others feel they aren’t alone. It’s a reminder that everyone has their own battles.
  3. Finding a community to discuss these feelings can bring comfort and connection. Opening up about what's tough can help lighten the load.

Fighting Discrimination Does Not Entail Defending Shitty Social Behavior

Freddie deBoer • 6373 implied HN points • 06 Dec 24
🎭️ Culture Mental health
  1. Fighting for rights is important, but we shouldn't excuse bad behavior in the process. It's okay to say 'knock it off' when people act inappropriately.
  2. Many young people mimic serious disorders for attention, but this can be harmful to those who genuinely struggle with those issues. It's important to critique this without fear of backlash.
  3. Online fandoms can become hostile, with people using accusations of bigotry to silence criticism. It's necessary for communities to be able to set healthy boundaries and address bad behavior.

We Can’t Stop Conversion Therapy. But We Have to Try.

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 528 implied HN points • 24 Nov 25
🎭️ Culture Mental health
  1. Conversion therapy causes real, severe harm — survivors report deep trauma and even suicide attempts, yet kids are still being sent to these programs.
  2. The Supreme Court is being asked to weigh in, so the legal system could determine whether conversion therapy is allowed or can be restricted, making this a high-stakes fight.
  3. Survivors and advocates bear the emotional labor of confronting parents and answering pleas for help; some parents are conflicted and might change, but engaging them is exhausting.

Covid-19 wimpy wave is here, corn sweats, SSRIs, the optimal number of steps, and more

Your Local Epidemiologist • 1864 implied HN points • 28 Jul 25
🏥 Health & Wellness Mental health
  1. Covid-19 cases are rising a bit, but it's not as bad as last summer. Most people are still catching common colds instead.
  2. This summer brings 'corn sweat' because of humidity from cornfields, making it feel hotter. Staying hydrated and avoiding heat can help prevent heat-related illnesses.
  3. Walking about 7,000 steps a day can improve health significantly, and it's better than aiming for the old goal of 10,000 steps. Just getting up and moving can make a big difference!

we are each other's heaters

Both Are True • 158 implied HN points • 16 Jan 26
🎭️ Culture Mental health
  1. Having a warm, reliable place or community makes the coldness of sharing creative work feel manageable.
  2. Other people act like heaters — honest, caring relationships let us be vulnerable, recharge, and go back out into the cold again.
  3. If we don’t have real warmth we chase surface-level online validation that won’t truly warm us, and those tokens only mean more when we’re already whole inside.

School Shootings Rise Along with ADHD Diagnoses, While Public Officials Continue to Ignore Mental Health Treatment

The DisInformation Chronicle • 290 implied HN points • 17 Dec 25
🏥 Health Politics Mental health
  1. School shootings and student exposure to gun violence have increased, and schools often respond with security tech like metal detectors instead of tackling underlying issues.
  2. Many children are being diagnosed and medicated for ADHD at high rates, and stimulant medications can sometimes increase aggression or trigger a cascade of more drugs to treat side effects.
  3. What’s missing are real behavioral and mental-health interventions and accountability for educators and clinicians who neglect non-drug treatments or mismanage diagnoses.

Why you’re not an impostor and you don’t need a best friend

Granted • 4452 implied HN points • 19 Feb 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Mental health
  1. Friendship is about mutuality, not exclusivity. You don't have to rank friends or rely on one person for everything.
  2. Cultural differences impact communication styles. Americans being perceived as fake and the Dutch as rude is explored in a behavioral science article.
  3. Impostor syndrome is contradictory. When others believe in you but you doubt yourself, it might be time to trust their judgment over your own.

The Revolt Against Authority

Reality's Last Stand • 2142 implied HN points • 17 Jan 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Mental health
  1. There is a societal rebellion against authority, including parental and reality-based authority.
  2. Adolescent rebellion can manifest in various ways, such as identifying as transgender.
  3. Parental authority is being challenged and undermined by societal influences, impacting how parents can guide their children.

understanding pain, mental illness, and grief

Midnight Musings • 39 implied HN points • 11 Sep 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Mental health
  1. Pain happens when there's a mismatch between how we think things should be and how they actually are. It's like a warning sign from our brain telling us to rethink our beliefs.
  2. Mental illness can be seen as our struggle to deal with pain in a healthy way. Anxiety might come from fearing that pain, while depression can stem from being unable to accept our current situation.
  3. Grief starts when we adjust our beliefs to match our experiences. It's a complex emotion, but it's a part of being human and shows our understanding of life's unpredictability.

How to Work Harder and Get Worse Results

Range Widely • 2771 implied HN points • 05 Dec 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Mental health
  1. Individual differences in brain chemistry can influence how people respond to stressful situations and medications.
  2. Using 'smart drugs' like Ritalin and Adderall may make people try harder but perform worse on certain tasks.
  3. It's important to understand your own ideal level of arousal for peak performance and adjust your work environment accordingly.

When Ghosting Is Right

Disaffected Newsletter • 1698 implied HN points • 12 Feb 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Mental health
  1. Sometimes, ghosting someone can protect your safety, especially if they are harmful or toxic. It’s okay to stop communication if it's necessary for your well-being.
  2. Not everyone acts like a normal person; some people can be manipulative or cruel. Being aware of these types can help you decide when to distance yourself.
  3. You shouldn't feel guilty about ghosting. It's important to trust your instincts and know when it's better to quietly back away from a relationship.

Phone addiction, Stanley stans and the out-of-office message I struggled to send

Links I Would Gchat You If We Were Friends • 2016 implied HN points • 14 Jan 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Mental health
  1. The author discusses the challenges of crafting an out-of-office message after a personal tragedy, highlighting the struggle of balancing professionalism and personal disclosure.
  2. The societal expectations around grief and the pressure to provide a 'good excuse' for taking time off work are explored, shedding light on the complexities of navigating personal loss in professional settings.
  3. The post touches on broader themes related to privacy, empathy, and the need for more open conversations around grief and loss, emphasizing the importance of acknowledging and accepting one's emotional state.

The Anti-Autism Manifesto

Wood From Eden • 5952 implied HN points • 15 Nov 24
🏥 Health Politics Mental health
  1. The high-functioning autism label may not accurately describe many individuals who don't fit classic autism criteria, but rather those with unique personality traits.
  2. There are concerns that mental health professionals overlook disorders like schizoid personality disorder by mislabeling them as autism, which can hinder proper treatment.
  3. Mental health discussions should acknowledge individual preferences and personality differences rather than solely focusing on skills or deficits.

Does child abuse cause homosexuality?

Disaffected Newsletter • 759 implied HN points • 05 May 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Mental health
  1. The discussion explores the link between child abuse and homosexuality. It suggests that there might be connections worth investigating.
  2. Joseph Sciambra, who speaks from personal experience, highlights existing research on this topic. He emphasizes that there's literature supporting his views.
  3. The talk also touches on the behaviors seen in protests and violence at American colleges, linking those to psychological dynamics.

Political Psychology Links, 12/20/2025

In My Tribe • 243 implied HN points • 20 Dec 25
🎭️ Culture Mental health
  1. A large genetic study finds that many psychiatric disorders share most of their genetic risk, grouping into several overlapping factors and a general "p-factor" that helps explain why people often have multiple diagnoses.
  2. Generation Z is a digitally native, alienated cohort whose political energy often plays out online as viral trends, which risks being short-lived and having limited real-world staying power unless it is organized offline.
  3. Volkish thought was a romantic, anti-modern nationalism that idealized rural life and culture while demonizing urban, scientific, and commercial modernity, and it scapegoated Jews as a supposed 'anti-type,' laying cultural groundwork that preceded Nazism.

I have a problem: a desistor's manifesto - part 4

Parents with Inconvenient Truths about Trans (PITT) • 1768 implied HN points • 31 Jan 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Mental health
  1. Trans ideology has sinister agendas like profit-making and promoting sterilization of vulnerable individuals.
  2. The trans movement intersects with groups like pedophiles, satanists, and drag queens, leading to concerning implications.
  3. Criticism of the trans movement includes concerns about authoritarianism, hypocrisy, and its roots in Marxist ideology.

Why happiness fuels success

A Bit Gamey • 27 implied HN points • 01 Mar 26
🏥 Health & Wellness Mental health
  1. Happiness fuels success. When you're positive your brain works better, you think more clearly, and you recover from setbacks faster.
  2. Happiness is something you practice by choosing your perspective and habits. Small starting steps and simple environment changes make good habits easy and build momentum.
  3. Setbacks can become opportunities when you reframe them and focus on what you can control. Investing in relationships and community boosts resilience and helps you succeed.

“Fear is Excitement without the Breath”

Seven Senses • 299 implied HN points • 06 Jul 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Mental health
  1. Fear and excitement often go hand in hand. When something new and thrilling happens, it's common to feel both excited and a little scared at the same time.
  2. Breathing is key when dealing with the mix of excitement and anxiety. Taking deep breaths can help calm those overwhelming feelings and bring clarity.
  3. Both fear and excitement activate similar responses in our bodies. Learning to identify these feelings can help us manage them better and enjoy the positive parts more.

It's Fair To Describe Schizophrenia As Probably Mostly Genetic

Astral Codex Ten • 13077 implied HN points • 01 Feb 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Mental health
  1. Schizophrenia is likely mostly genetic but may not be described as a genetic disease based on heritability estimates.
  2. Genes play a crucial role in schizophrenia, serving as a risk factor and potentially a cause for the condition.
  3. Despite the complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors, schizophrenia can be colloquially referred to as genetic due to the significant genetic contribution in its development.

How to turn your phone addiction into a ripped body

Altered States of Monetary Consciousness • 1232 implied HN points • 15 Aug 25
🏥 Health & Wellness Mental health
  1. Many people struggle with phone addiction, and social media can cause stress and anxiety. It's important to find ways to limit exposure and create healthier habits.
  2. Creating physical rituals can help manage digital interactions. For example, doing exercises before and after checking social media can help make the experience more mindful.
  3. Understanding the networks we interact with and how they impact our lives is key. By mapping these networks and being intentional about our digital habits, we can reduce toxicity and feel more connected.