Tag: AI psychosis

Reading of the Week: Economic Burden of Depression – the New Nature Med Study; Also, AI & Delusions and Dr. Garfinkle-Crowell on Young Women

September 17, 2026 / / 0 Comments

From the Editor

This month, Reading of the Week celebrates its 12th anniversary. Over these past years, the program has grown, with partnerships in seven countries and promotion in three more.  

A quick word of thanks for your ongoing interest.

We usually think about depression on the individual level – our patients tell stories of lost jobs, broken relationships, and personal tragedies. But what are the societal costs? In a new Nature Medicine paper, Zhong Cao (of Heidelberg University) and his co-authors attempt to answer that question. They analyzed World Bank data; using labour force participation, education, and work experience, they projected the global economic burden of depression to 2050. “Overall, depression places a heavy strain on the global economy, accounting for about 0.460% of the world’s annual GDP. This burden, however, is uneven across regions.” We consider the paper and its implications.

In the second selection, from JAMA Psychiatry, Philip R. Corlett (of Yale University) weighs in on AI and psychosis in a new commentary. Does AI cause psychosis? Does it exacerbate problems for those who are vulnerable? Corlett reviews this young literature and offers his thoughts. “I suspect that they are not merely old wine in new bottles, but rather new wine in new bottles.”

Finally, in the third selection, Dr. Suzanne Garfinkle-Crowell (of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai) writes about therapy-speak and young women for The New York Times. She describes the trend and its implications – and warns against dismissing it. “Ideally, we should create an environment in which girls can stop blaming their own brains for every problem and where they don’t feel they have to be sick to be heard.”

DG

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Reading of the Week: Pediatric Self-Injury – the New JAMA Peds Study; Also, Lithium as King, and High-Risk Human-AI Engagement

June 4, 2026 /

From the Editor

Recently, I saw an adolescent who described using self-harm as a way to cope. She discussed learning different techniques through social media. “At first, I thought it was strange.”

Presentations of self-injury appear to be becoming more common. How often are healthcare visits for it? How commonly do youth report self-injury? Have these numbers changed over time? In a new study published in JAMA Pediatrics, Dr. Natasha Saunders (of the University of Toronto) and her co-authors attempt to address these questions by drawing on 42 studies with a combined population of 234 million individuals across a dozen nations over a 25-year period. They conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis, finding an average 3.5% relative annual increase. “These findings highlight a consistent rise in health care encounters and self-reported self-injury among children and youth, particularly female individuals, over the past 2 decades.” We consider the study and its implications.

In the second selection from The British Journal of Psychiatry, Dr. Gurubhaskar Shivakumar (of The University of Sydney) and his co-authors write about lithium. They note its declining use and the problems with its safety. Yet they argue that lithium remains the “king” of bipolar disorder treatment. “Ever since its discovery, lithium continues to command authority having repeatedly reclaimed its throne.” 

Finally, in the third selection, Dr. Lena Palaniyappan (of McGill University) and his co-authors discuss high-risk human-AI relationships in a paper for The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. They offer a framework and constructive suggestions – both highly relevant in the age of AI chatbots. “Risk for problematic AI engagement cuts across diagnostic categories, rooted in distress, isolation, and cognitive style.”

DG

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Reading of the Week: Yoga for Opioid Withdrawal? The New JAMA Psych Paper; Also, MAOIs & History, and AI-Associated Psychosis

January 29, 2026 /

From the Editor

Yoga is increasingly recognized as having a role in the treatment of those with mood and anxiety problems. But what about substance misuse?

In the first selection, from JAMA Psychiatry, Suddala Goutham (of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India) and his co-authors attempt to answer that question in a new, early-stage randomized clinical trial. In the study, 59 men were randomized to yoga and buprenorphine or buprenorphine alone. “Those receiving yoga alongside standard buprenorphine treatment achieved withdrawal stabilization 4.4 times faster than controls (median, 5 vs 9 days) and showed significant improvements in heart rate variability, anxiety, sleep, and pain measures.” We consider the study and its implications.

In the second selection, from The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, Vincent Van den Eynde (of Radboud University) and his co-authors write about the MAOI class of antidepressants. In a commentary paper, they argue that these medications are underappreciated. “We thus emphasize the need for renewed attention to the classic MAOIs in clinical practice and research.”

And in the third selection, Dr. Joseph M. Pierre (of the University of California, San Francisco) and his co-authors write about AI-associated psychosis for Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience. They discuss what they suggest is the first journal-published case report, detailing the struggles of a practicing medical professional. “Although multiple pre-existing risk factors may be associated with psychosis proneness, the sycophancy of AI chatbots together with AI chatbot immersion and deification on the part of users may represent particular red flags for the emergence of AI-associated psychosis.”

DG

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