There’s one night a year when you’ll find University of Alabama coaches surrounded not in red, but in blue. In a sea of navy tables and cerulean lights, the coaches sport blue sneakers for a cause. Former Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive was a uniter, but I think he would even be shocked at the amount of Bama fans in blue. It’s all for the late sports exec&#8217;s foundation and the Blue Shoe Ball that raises money for prostate cancer research.
Slive was a numbers guy. (You kind of have to be to run arguably the greatest conference in college athletics.) But a stat you won’t find in any box score is that prostate cancer affects one out of eight men. In black men, it’s one out of six.
The longtime SEC leader started the SEC Network, which nearly doubles the next conference TV channel in viewership, but I think the number he may be most proud of now, if he were still here, would be the more than $5 million raised through his foundation thanks to his vision being carried out by his daughter, Anna, and a whole lot of sports legends who loved Mike.
It’s my fifth year in a row attending the Blue Shoe Ball in Birmingham, Alabama, and my second year hosting this marquee event for cancer research. We have fun, we dress up, we take pictures, and we talk to the coaches and athletes who make our Southern sports world go &#8217;round.
This year I hosted alongside ESPN’s Jay Harris, a prostate cancer survivor, and Greg McElroy, whom I’m sure you heard this past weekend call the Ole Miss-Louisville game if you’re a football fan.
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<div id="attachment_1174355" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1174355" class="size-large wp-image-1174355" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/09/Untitled-design-98-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/09/Untitled-design-98-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/09/Untitled-design-98-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/09/Untitled-design-98-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/09/Untitled-design-98.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Credit: RDMoore Photography</div>
Standing alongside two household names in sports, who are taking time out of the busiest sports season of the year to raise awareness for a type of cancer men don’t love to talk about, showed me how sports do so much more than entertain. They change lives.
&#8220;While we raise money for prostate cancer research and pray for a cure, men, let us do the one thing that costs us absolutely nothing… Let&#8217;s talk,&#8221; Harris said to a ballroom full of men and women all in blue shoes, representing the color associated with prostate cancer.
Harris, through his own story, taught the crowd at Regions Field how to have a conversation about prostate cancer. It’s not as exciting as prop bets, but it’s way more important.
&#8220;Prostate cancer is nothing to be ashamed of … even the side effects from the surgery or radiation is nothing to be ashamed of; erectile dysfunction is nothing to be ashamed of,&#8221; Harris said.
His story with prostate cancer is truly a family affair. His dad had it, but that’s about all Harris knew about the cancer at the time — until he got his positive test back. Then he put on his reporter boots and went to work to learn everything about this disease that he came to know killed two of his uncles and some of his cousins.
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<div id="attachment_1174339" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1174339" class="size-large wp-image-1174339" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/09/Untitled-design-2026-09-08T145340.466-864x576.png" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/09/Untitled-design-2026-09-08T145340.466-864x576.png 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/09/Untitled-design-2026-09-08T145340.466-300x200.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/09/Untitled-design-2026-09-08T145340.466-768x512.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/09/Untitled-design-2026-09-08T145340.466.png 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Credit: RDMoore Photography</div>
Harris said he knows that outcome shouldn’t have happened.
&#8220;I shared my story with my younger brother. I said, &#8216;Please make sure your doctor checks your [prostate-specific antigen levels] the next time you go for your annual physical.&#8217; And he did,&#8221; Harris said. “They drew the blood and they tested it and guess what? Prostate cancer. His is not aggressive, and I hope it stays that way.&#8221;
That conversation could have saved his younger brother’s life because of early detection.
My friend’s dad also had early detection thanks to former Auburn coach Bruce Pearl and the Mike Slive Foundation setting up testing centers at an Auburn basketball game. One conversation between Mr. Jerry and his wife about getting tested before tip-off changed his life. That early detection helped him fight off the disease.
&#8220;Who knew you could effectively fight cancer with a conversation?&#8221; Harris asked.
Several men in attendance at the Blue Shoe Ball credited their wives with getting them to the doctor&#8217;s office. I get it, we women love to talk! Whether it&#8217;s about our kids, spouse, or that high school classmate that we keep tabs on through Facebook, we aren&#8217;t afraid to discuss the good and the bad, and that goes for health issues too.
Sure, sometimes we ladies can go over the top talking about our bodily issues, but Harris recognized this as a strength. We do our yearly appointments, as invasive as they are, and tell our friends, and go about our days. Harris said men could learn something from women and mammograms.
&#8220;That&#8217;s what y&#8217;all do every year, and you just go and you talk about it and you just go,&#8221; Harris added. &#8220;Men, it&#8217;s a blood test.&#8221;
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<div id="attachment_1174363" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1174363" class="size-large wp-image-1174363" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/09/Untitled-design-99-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/09/Untitled-design-99-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/09/Untitled-design-99-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/09/Untitled-design-99-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/09/Untitled-design-99.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Credit: RDMoore Photography</div>
I was in awe of Harris’ candor last Thursday. He knows his face is on national television, but he wanted to make his testimony personal.
&#8220;Men, anything we have to do below the belt, they might mess with our sexual prowess, and we don&#8217;t like it. You know what else messes with your sexual prowess? You being dead. I ain&#8217;t never seen a dead person have sex,&#8221; Harris said with a laugh.
That’s banter you won’t see on SportsCenter, but the veteran broadcaster made his point clear that men don’t have to die from the most common cancer.
&#8220;I&#8217;m a prostate cancer survivor, and I want other people to be the same way.&#8221;
Jay Harris isn’t scared to have a conversation. Mike Slive wasn’t scared to have a conversation; anyone who got to talk to him at the legendary Salem’s Diner in Homewood knows that much.
What a good reminder during the time of year when most men will spend more time talking in group texts thanks to fantasy football and DraftKings, that talking about prostate cancer may be the one conversation that keeps them in the game.
&#8220;Let&#8217;s keep talking and keep living,&#8221; Harris said.

Credit: RDMoore Photography

How Sports Legends Are Tackling A Taboo Health Crisis Head-On

bruce pearl

cancer research

health

mike slive

prostate cancer

southeastern conference

Price transparency is Congress&#8217; <a href="https://protect.checkpoint.com/v2/r01/___https:/www.politico.com/news/2026/07/26/health-care-price-transparency-insurers-hospitals-01011835___.YXAzOmNyY2E6YzpvZmZpY2UzNjVfZW1haWxzX2F0dGFjaG1lbnQ6NGMyNDM2NWUwYjI1OWMzZWQ0Nzk2NWE2NjA5ZDhkYjU6Nzo2MWVmOmExMjQ3NTljMTU3MmI2N2ZmNDE5M2RkMzcwZTgwZWM0OWMwY2RmZDEzOTkxMGQ4MjYxN2YyYWE2NDIyOWQ5NmU6cDpUOkY">top bipartisan healthcare priority</a>. The Senate&#8217;s Patients Deserve Price Tags Act and the House of Representatives&#8217; Health DATA Act give legislators the chance to make it a reality by requiring upfront prices, including discounted cash and insurance-negotiated rates, across the healthcare system. 
 
American national health expenditures are <a href="https://protect.checkpoint.com/v2/r01/___https:/www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2026.00642___.YXAzOmNyY2E6YzpvZmZpY2UzNjVfZW1haWxzX2F0dGFjaG1lbnQ6NGMyNDM2NWUwYjI1OWMzZWQ0Nzk2NWE2NjA5ZDhkYjU6Nzo2NWE5OmMzNjE5NWY5NTM0MmE0OTBkZDZkY2ZhNDk3NmU3MWM2OWIwN2JiYTgxMTUwYWU2M2ZkYWI3NjdkMDAzZmY1NDE6cDpUOkY#EX1">projected to reach $6 trillion</a> in 2026, nearly 20% of GDP and twice the developed-world average. Americans are working one day in every five to pay for healthcare. The costs of employer-provided health benefits are expected to <a href="https://protect.checkpoint.com/v2/r01/___https:/www.nytimes.com/2026/09/02/business/health-insurance-increases.html___.YXAzOmNyY2E6YzpvZmZpY2UzNjVfZW1haWxzX2F0dGFjaG1lbnQ6NGMyNDM2NWUwYjI1OWMzZWQ0Nzk2NWE2NjA5ZDhkYjU6NzpmNGU5OmUzMTA1MmVjYWY1OWRkNDkzNmIxYjcwNjY4ZDgyZTM5OTkxYzc4ZGM0M2YzZjM5ODg5MGJhZjgzMTY1ZTZmZDg6cDpUOkY">rise 8%</a> — more than double the rate of inflation — in 2027. 
 
According to the <a href="https://protect.checkpoint.com/v2/r01/___https:/jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2752664___.YXAzOmNyY2E6YzpvZmZpY2UzNjVfZW1haWxzX2F0dGFjaG1lbnQ6NGMyNDM2NWUwYjI1OWMzZWQ0Nzk2NWE2NjA5ZDhkYjU6Nzo1NWEyOmRhMDI3ODE5NzU4MjkzNmUxY2RmY2NhYjI0MzExZWVhMzM5MTFhNjk3M2Q1YzViYThiMzQzZTYwNjdhODQ4Y2I6cDpUOkY">medical journal JAMA</a>, 25% of healthcare spending is waste — including administrative complexity, overcharges, and fraud. By creating a functional, competitive marketplace with billing and payment accountability to known prices, price transparency can return over $1 trillion annually to the productive growth of the public and private sectors, including workers&#8217; wages and family budgets. Empowering consumers and employers to lower their healthcare costs will reduce inflation and improve affordability. 
 
Prices are the lifeblood of a healthy economy, and without them, markets break down and costs rise. Consider the routine price gouging and price variations — sometimes <a href="https://protect.checkpoint.com/v2/r01/___https:/www.patientrightsadvocate.org/pricevariationreport___.YXAzOmNyY2E6YzpvZmZpY2UzNjVfZW1haWxzX2F0dGFjaG1lbnQ6NGMyNDM2NWUwYjI1OWMzZWQ0Nzk2NWE2NjA5ZDhkYjU6Nzo0MTk0OjZiMmQ2ZDQwNGY1YjJlY2MzMGNkYzM1YjYxZjBkMTA1ODYwNjRmZWEwZThiNTIwMWI5NzNhNWQxNzNhMmFmNDE6cDpUOkY">tenfold or more</a> — for identical services that exist under the opaque healthcare status quo. Fraud, spread pricing, and other inflationary billing games proliferate in the dark. 
 
By restoring choice and competition, upfront prices can put downward pressure on costs. Consumers, including employers and unions, could compare and save, paying <a href="https://protect.checkpoint.com/v2/r01/___https:/www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2026/07/29/his-surgery-was-23000-after-shopping-around-he-paid-less-than-5000/___.YXAzOmNyY2E6YzpvZmZpY2UzNjVfZW1haWxzX2F0dGFjaG1lbnQ6NGMyNDM2NWUwYjI1OWMzZWQ0Nzk2NWE2NjA5ZDhkYjU6Nzo3MGI1OjNlMmI5MTM1NWY0MzI3ZWY1NTA5YzU0NDZlMGMxZDUzNzI0OTEyYWIzZGU4ZjZmMjUxZmYyMWNjYmI4NWM4ZDg6cDpUOkY">$2,900 for hernia surgeries instead of $23,000</a> and $300 for MRIs instead of $3,000. Actual prices protect patients from overcharges and give them peace of mind that routine care won&#8217;t lead to debt or bankruptcy. 
 
A transparent marketplace allows employers and unions, which provide coverage for <a href="https://protect.checkpoint.com/v2/r01/___https:/www2.census.gov/library/publications/2025/demo/p60-288.pdf___.YXAzOmNyY2E6YzpvZmZpY2UzNjVfZW1haWxzX2F0dGFjaG1lbnQ6NGMyNDM2NWUwYjI1OWMzZWQ0Nzk2NWE2NjA5ZDhkYjU6Nzo2NmI4OjBiNGU4Yjk4NWNmNDI5ZDU1ZTIwNjZhNzgzNzM4OTQ5ODljYzc0YzNkMjk2ZmNhNmM0NmI3MTc1NDYzNTNjZWE6cDpUOkY">most Americans</a>, to steer employees to the most cost- and quality-efficient care. With actual prices, employers can ensure bills are accurate, honest, and match agreed-upon prices. This power to review bills against prices for accuracy before payment stops overcharges, errors, and fraud.
Honest billing can eliminate the many middlemen that have egregiously paid themselves in the shadows. Insurance can return to its role of affordably protecting families from catastrophic injury or illness. 
 
Businesses can use their health plan savings to expand, hire, and raise wages, generating an enormous economic stimulus. For decades, workers&#8217; wages have <a href="https://protect.checkpoint.com/v2/r01/___https:/www.wtwco.com/en-us/insights/2023/05/healthcare-usa-the-big-paycheck-squeeze___.YXAzOmNyY2E6YzpvZmZpY2UzNjVfZW1haWxzX2F0dGFjaG1lbnQ6NGMyNDM2NWUwYjI1OWMzZWQ0Nzk2NWE2NjA5ZDhkYjU6NzpjZjVjOmZlOGE2MTE3NmM5YzNjZGUxNjRkZTc1ODMyNGU1NGQ1ZTE1YWIyN2JjMTJmMmMzZWVhOTU5MmZlODIzMTE4NDE6cDpUOkY">been suppressed</a> by rapidly rising health plan premiums. As a result, the true cost of healthcare to the American worker and economy has been obscured. 
 
A recent <a href="https://protect.checkpoint.com/v2/r01/___https:/repository.library.brown.edu/studio/item/bdr:7dgwbwgp/___.YXAzOmNyY2E6YzpvZmZpY2UzNjVfZW1haWxzX2F0dGFjaG1lbnQ6NGMyNDM2NWUwYjI1OWMzZWQ0Nzk2NWE2NjA5ZDhkYjU6NzowMjEyOjkyZDJkZjgzZjc3ZTZmNGIwYTdiOWQxZTQwMDA2OGM1ZDBiNTQ3YjVmMzY5NDEwMTRjMTJlMTk2NGU1NzY2YTQ6cDpUOkY">study</a> from Brown University health economists Christopher Whaley and Daniel Arnold estimates that the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act and Health DATA Act would generate $38 billion in higher wages per year, an average of $1,600 per family of four covered by an employer-sponsored health plan. 
 
Despite spending so much more on healthcare, Americans have a lower life expectancy than their counterparts in other wealthy nations. In addition to substantially reducing costs, price transparency can improve U.S. health outcomes. According to <a href="https://protect.checkpoint.com/v2/r01/___https:/www.independent.co.uk/us/money/us-medical-costs-doctors-health-insurance-b3026479.html___.YXAzOmNyY2E6YzpvZmZpY2UzNjVfZW1haWxzX2F0dGFjaG1lbnQ6NGMyNDM2NWUwYjI1OWMzZWQ0Nzk2NWE2NjA5ZDhkYjU6NzpkNDhmOjJkZjkyYzgwYzhlZmRhMGEwYzI2ZGE2MzM0MDY0MThjY2U2Mjk2OWZlMTk3OTNhNTc4YzZmNzFiMjZlYTcyNWE6cDpUOkY">a recent survey</a>, 92% of Americans delay or abandon care because of costs. With financial certainty at known prices, consumers can get the care they need when they need it. Competition will also improve the quality of care. Such well-informed Americans can live longer and healthier lives.
Members of Congress should listen to their constituents&#8217; frustrations with the opaque healthcare status quo and finish what they started when they return from summer recess. The overcharging horror stories that almost every American has under the current predatory billing dynamic should motivate lawmakers to pass the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act and Health DATA Act and fix the American healthcare system.
***
Cynthia A. Fisher is founder and chairman of PatientRightsAdvocate.org. Arthur B. Laffer is founder and chairman of Laffer Associates.

Stethoscope And Hospital Invoice

How Price Transparency Can Save American Healthcare

congress

health data act

healthcare costs

healthcare price transparency

patients deserve price tags act

Think back to your happiest memories of childhood. I am not a gambler, but I would wager it did not involve a screen – or if it did, the happy memory probably had more to do with who you were with than the particulars of what you were watching. I think back to my own childhood, and I remember overturning rocks in the creek bed in search of crawfish or catching minnows and tadpoles; learning needlepoint from my grandmother and fishing with my grandfather; riding bikes and spontaneous games of kick-the-can or hide-and-seek with neighborhood kids.
What memories will this generation of children have to look back on? Because according to most available data, they are not spending their time outdoors or with family or friends. They are largely living their lives on screens.
This is why the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ new “Live Real Life” initiative is both timely and necessary. Screens are here to stay, for better or for worse. But we need to restore them to their rightful place as a tool to be used occasionally, rather than ordering our lives, or more critically, the lives of our children, around them.
Much of the national conversation around children and screens up to now has focused on content and risk, and that is completely understandable because the risks are considerable and the potential for exposure to harmful and explicit content is so great. Even in recent weeks, Meta has settled a multi-state <a href="https://concernedwomen.org/meta-and-tiktok-settlements-must-compel-congress-to-pass-kids-online-safety-act-app-store-accountability-act/">lawsuit</a> focused on addictive design, and Roblox is under investigation for explicit content present on the platform and its connection to real-life child sex abuse.
Too many parents consider it a “win” if their child is watching Mark Rober on YouTube rather than “Skibidi Toilet” brain rot. But the deeper problem is not merely what children encounter on screens. It is what screens are replacing.
Nearly everyone today is familiar with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. At the bottom of the pyramid are physiological needs: sleep, food, shelter — those things that are essential for survival. At the apex of the pyramid is self-actualization. Human beings cannot flourish at the top if the foundations underneath are crumbling.
The data now shows that screens attack a child’s well-being at every level: crowding out <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7907989/">sleep</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002231662200709X">nutrition</a>, which are necessary underpinnings for learning; threatening their safety through <a href="https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/27-03-2024-one-in-six-school-aged-children-experiences-cyberbullying--finds-new-who-europe-study">cyberbullying</a> and content that encourages <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10884122/">disordered eating</a> or fosters <a href="https://neurosciencenews.com/social-media-youth-anxiety-suicidal-ideation-31124/">suicidal ideation</a>; <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/a-deeper-wellness/202308/how-your-social-media-habits-are-damaging-your-relationships?msockid=18d0a59b720361120d90b3e173896093">crippling their connection to friends and family</a> and displacing real relationships; undermining their <a href="https://cyberpsychology.eu/article/view/35656">self-esteem</a>, and ultimately, their ability to thrive as adults.
But the point is not merely to subtract screens. It is to restore what children require to grow into their full humanity.
When children are outdoors, they move their bodies, test their strength, invent games, negotiate rules, resolve conflict, advocate for themselves, solve problems, and encounter the physical world as something more challenging and demanding — but also more rewarding — than anything they might encounter online.
Outdoor time is associated with <a href="https://hsph.harvard.edu/news/time-spent-in-nature-can-boost-physical-and-mental-well-being/">better physical</a> and <a href="https://healthcare.utah.edu/healthfeed/2026/06/spending-time-outdoors-can-boost-your-mental-health">mental health</a>, higher activity levels, reduced sedentary behavior, and even <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aos.13403">protection against myopia</a> (just two hours a day outdoors can help delay or prevent nearsightedness). Regular physical activity brings its own benefits. The <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/physical-activity-basics/guidelines/children.html">CDC recommends</a> at least 60 minutes a day for school-age children and links it to stronger bones and muscles, lower body fat, better heart and metabolic health, improved attention and memory, stronger academic performance, and reduced symptoms of depression. Reading, too, gives children something screens cannot: sustained attention, language, imagination, moral understanding, and the capacity to enter another person’s experience. Literacy research connects childhood reading not only to academic and economic outcomes, but also to long-term health, emotional awareness, and social connection.
The same is true of all the ordinary, embodied activities that make a child more fully human: eating dinner with family, talking with friends face to face, playing sports, serving in church or community programs, caring for younger siblings, helping a neighbor, or volunteering for a cause beyond the self. These experiences teach children patience, responsibility, empathy, and resilience. Recent research has linked civic engagement and volunteering programs to improved youth mental health outcomes, including reduced anxiety and sadness, increased resilience, a stronger sense of belonging, and better interpersonal and leadership skills. In other words, real life is not empty space left over after screen time is reduced. It is the developmental ecosystem children need.
That is also why this cannot be solved family by family, one exhausted parent at a time. Screens have become a collective-action problem. Even parents who see the harms often feel trapped: if every class assignment, social plan, team update, and friendship circle runs through a device, opting out can mean social isolation for the child and constant conflict for the parent. A serious “Live Real Life” movement will require commitment from families, schools, churches, pediatricians, policymakers, coaches, and communities to rebuild screen-free norms together.
***
Melissa Henson is the Senior Policy Advisor for Media and Culture for <a href="http://www.concernedwomen.org/">Concerned Women for America</a>, the nation’s public policy women’s organization, dedicated to promoting biblical values and constitutional principles in public policy. On X: @CWforA

Two girls jumping into the water from a bathing jetty by a lake on a summer evening.

How A New HHS Initiative Can Help Reclaim Real-Life Childhood

child development

roblox

screen time

us department of health and human services

As an experiment to see how easy it is to get prescription drugs in America, I saw nine telehealth psychiatrists in 13 days. The result was 12 prescriptions representing over 300 pills: antidepressants, anxiolytics, alpha-blockers, sedatives, antihistamines, benzodiazepines, and antipsychotics. I never set foot in a doctor’s office. I never identified with a mental illness. I never spent more than 30 minutes with a doctor.
Like many 22-year-old women, I sometimes stay up too late and find that I’ve disrupted my sleep schedule and can’t crash when I want to. And like many 22-year-old women, I have an Instagram feed flooded with advertisements for therapy and psychiatric drugs offering to fix the imperfections in my life. Telehealth apps promise easy download, quick diagnostic quizzes, insurance compatibility, and (most importantly for a post-COVID generation) doing it all from home. 
One night I pulled out my phone and searched &#8220;insomnia treatment&#8221; on Google. I was immediately directed to “Get Ambien Fast Online” from Klarity Health, a telehealth company founded in 2020 to be a “trusted destination for mental health, weight loss and primary care needs.” I booked an appointment for 9 a.m. the next day. 
The session lasted 12 minutes. I told the doctor I wasn’t falling asleep as quickly as I would like, and he assured me, “You will sleep well tonight,” after prescribing me 50 mg of Trazodone and 5 mg of Ambien. I had the drugs in hand two hours later. I paid $1.76 at the pharmacy, where I was not asked to show an ID. 
The psychiatrist must have asked about my lifestyle, medical history, and objectives for treatment, right? Wrong. The appointment lasted less than 15 minutes, and the doctor made $280 off my insurance company. Apparently his schedule doesn’t leave much time for chitchat. 
What did he give me, anyway? Ambien is a sedative-hypnotic that works by binding to GABA-A receptors in the central nervous system, enhancing the effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the brain&#8217;s main inhibitory neurotransmitter. Ambien rapidly slows down nerve activity in the brain, inducing sedation. It is known to cause dangerous sleepwalking episodes, a side effect that became well-known after a class action lawsuit in 2006. My doctor neglected to mention any side effects. 
Trazodone is a serotonin antagonist and reuptake inhibitor (SARI) that works by blocking specific serotonin receptors and stopping nerves from reabsorbing serotonin, thus producing an excess. Serotonergic antidepressants like SARIs and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were popularized after the theory that depression was caused by a dearth of serotonin in the brain was posited in 1967. The theory (which was never supported by empirical evidence) was finally discredited by a British psychiatrist’s comprehensive umbrella review in 2022, but not before a billion-dollar drug industry was founded on its guiding premise. Trazodone in particular is known to cause sleepiness, which explains why I was prescribed an antidepressant for insomnia. My subsequent appointments would reveal that doctors don’t need much of an excuse to throw antidepressants into the mix. 
Dealer’s choice
I signed up for eight more appointments over the next two weeks through the telepsych companies that seemed to spawn endlessly on my social media feed: Rula, UpLift, Sondermind, A&amp;M Wellness Resources, Brightside, ZocDoc, Talkiatry, and TalkSpace. The average length of a session was 20 minutes. When asked to describe what brought me into the virtual office, I would say that my sleep is inconsistent, I get anxious when public speaking and in crowded rooms, and I wish I had more energy. One doctor asked me if I was depressed.
“I don’t think so, not anything I wouldn’t say is normal melancholy,” I said with a shrug.
“Melancholy is not normal,” she rebuked. “Have you felt sad in the last two weeks?”
I admitted that I have. She wrote a prescription for Seroquel, an antipsychotic developed to treat schizophrenia. Without ever using the word depression in later sessions, I was prescribed five different antidepressants.
My total prescription haul includes: Ambien, Atarax (prescribed twice), Buspar, Desyrel, Effexor, Lexapro, Propranolol, Seroquel, Wellbutrin, Zoloft, and Xanax. According to my doctors, I have depression, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, insomnia, and — potentially — PTSD. (I was assured I have all the symptoms; I was just short a traumatic event.) I was never sent away from a first session without a prescription. Not one doctor told me how long I would be taking drugs. 
While I was offered Ambien and Xanax hastily (the latter in a record-setting four minutes), most of my doctors were wary of prescribing anything associated with a euphoric high and instead opted for medications associated with chronic numbing. Serotonergic antidepressants are known to cause severe sexual dysfunction, blunted emotions, cognitive impairment, and suicidal ideation. My anxiolytics and antipsychotics share most of the same side effect portfolios but add movement disorders, weight gain, amnesia, and more: in sum, the SSRI zombie effect. 
If everybody’s sick, nobody is
It may be appropriate in some cases to burden a seriously distressed person with these risks in the pursuit of short-term stabilization. But I was written these prescriptions without expressing any serious distress. My intermittent sadness, fatigue, restlessness, distractibility, or nervousness were enough to warrant mental illness labels and chemical intervention. 
The mental illness paradigm has become totalizing, and that is no accident. An estimated 23.4% of Americans carry a mental illness diagnosis, and one in six is currently on an antidepressant. BetterHelp advertises on Instagram that “62% of Americans can’t sleep” and “66% of Americans can’t stop worrying.” The implication? You’re probably one of them and need to see a doctor.
If we are openly suggesting that a majority of Americans may need psychiatric treatment, we have adopted a dysfunctional worldview. Unwanted feelings, thoughts, behaviors, and habits are not signs of a medical disorder. They are part of being human. 
Psychiatrists have been discontent with a narrow sphere of influence. Rather than concerning themselves only with neurologically sick individuals with biologically measurable symptoms, they have pushed treatment on the masses.
They did it by convincing us that personal distress is a medical problem with a medical solution. They told us it was their business to discover (and sell) inner peace. My doctors didn’t think twice about writing me prescriptions because they evidently believe that everyone experiencing dissatisfaction needs one of their cures. Never mind the fact that dissatisfaction is a universal human problem. Melancholy is, in fact, normal. Doctors cannot offer salvation from meaninglessness, pain, anxiety, or guilt. That requires more than biohacks. 
Today SSRIs are trending. Tomorrow, the new home-order Ketamine nasal spray may take off. Apps such as Joyous and Mindbloom are already advertising Spravato on Instagram for “treatment-resistant depression” — functionally defined as anything your SSRIs didn’t cure. This is the entrepreneurial spirit governing our inner lives. Without a limiting principle for medicalization, anyone can have a bed in the virtual psych ward.
***
Gabriella (Ellie) DiPrima has a background in philosophy, economics, and psychology that she applies to political work and freelance writing.
This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/upstream" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream</a>, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.

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Three Hundred Pills In 13 Days: Welcome To Telepsych

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Hundreds of millions of people worldwide are living with brutal, long-term conditions caused by past infections while scientists are nearing answers that could finally offer relief.
An estimated 400 million people suffer from long COVID, chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), or similar conditions. For decades, patients complaining of crippling brain fog, exhaustion, and chronic pain after catching a virus were routinely dismissed as hypochondriacs. But after the 2020 COVID pandemic, the global medical community realized just how much a routine infection can leave lasting damage.
&#8220;Almost every infection. viral, bacterial, parasite, is associated with chronic symptoms where a subset of people don&#8217;t recover,&#8221; <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-02683-2">warns</a> Dr. Amy Proal, a microbiologist who suffered from ME/CFS for years before co-founding PolyBio, a Massachusetts foundation studying these illnesses.
Top researchers from institutions like Yale, Mount Sinai, and Imperial College London are teaming up to tackle the root causes of these devastating conditions. Instead of treating the conditions as isolated accidents, experts are connecting the dots between long COVID, post-Lyme, and ME/CFS, realizing they share the same blueprints.
The primary problem is that the virus may never actually leave. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41579-022-00846-2">Evidence shows</a> that genetic fragments or lingering residues of SARS-CoV-2 hide in the gut and brain for years, quietly stoking inflammation. To make matters worse, these residues can awaken viruses already lurking in the body, such as herpesviruses, sending the immune system into total chaos.
Scientists are also uncovering immune cells that mistake the body&#8217;s own healthy tissue for foreign enemies and attack it. In recent breakthrough studies, injecting human autoantibodies into mice triggered severe pain, providing evidence that autoimmunity drives the symptoms. Other damage includes impaired blood vessels, starving organs of oxygen and mitochondria.
With new federal funding, researchers are jettisoning slow-moving trials to test aggressive treatments. Teams in New York and Alabama are trying triple-drug antiviral blends aimed at flushing out lingering fragments while keeping sleeping herpes at bay. They have found massive symptom relief in early trials. Over in Europe, doctors are testing targeted therapies that wipe out antibody-producing cells.
While standard bloodwork still comes back &#8220;normal&#8221; for many people, researchers think they are finally beginning to solve the biological puzzle.

Demonstration for people with ME/CFS

Hundreds Of Millions Trapped In Post-Viral Nightmare As Scientists Race For Cure

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The Department of Health and Human Services is releasing a new children&#8217;s book that encourages kids to put down screens and rediscover the joys of creative play as part of a national effort to combat the harms of excessive screen use.
&#8220;The Magic Tablet&#8221; tells the story of little girl named Eleanor, who discovers a world of wonder when she spends a day using her imagination after her parents won&#8217;t let her have a tablet. Young readers follow Eleanor and her magic tablet through a wonderful day filled with drawing with her brother, spending time with friends at a playground, and enjoying a healthy family dinner — all without screens.
&#8220;The Magic Tablet reminds us of something simple and powerful: Children do not need a device to discover a new world. They need imagination,&#8221; Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. writes in the book&#8217;s introduction.
The Department of Health and Human Services is publishing the book as part of its Live Real Life campaign, which aims to give kids a healthier childhood by decreasing harmful screen use. The book is dedicated to the &#8220;amazing&#8221; kids living in America and the adults &#8220;who have the pleasure of guiding their childhood and the delight in watching them grow up.&#8221;
On Tuesday, the department will host a <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/live/live-2/index.html">Live Real Life Symposium</a>, bringing together leaders in medicine, technology, and education to discuss how to help kids &#8220;thrive offline.&#8221; The list of speakers includes Kennedy and Haridopolos, as well as Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz.
&#8220;HHS is convening healthcare leaders, researchers, advocates, and technology companies for a Live Real Life symposium focused on screen-related harms and practical solutions to help kids thrive offline,&#8221; the department says. &#8220;This builds on the Office of the Surgeon General’s <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/reports-and-publications/screen-use-harms/index.html" data-once="externalLinks">Advisory</a> outlining the health and developmental concerns tied to social media and technology use in children and adolescents.&#8221;
&#8220;More than 40 percent of school-aged children and adolescents have at least one chronic health condition,&#8221; Kennedy adds. &#8220;Screens now surround children from their earliest days and have become a profound driver of this decline. Many children spend more time looking at screens than sleeping, exercising, playing outside, or talking face-to-face with family and friends. Too many of our kids are growing up isolated and caught in unhealthy relationships with technology. But childhood does not have to look this way.&#8221;
Dr. Stephanie Haridopolos, director of National Health Communication for the Office of the Surgeon General, adds in the book&#8217;s foreward that childhood &#8220;should always be full of magic.&#8221;
Encouraging kids to have a healthy relationship with technology &#8220;is not only about what we ask young people to put down,&#8221; Haridopolos writes. &#8220;It is also about what we encourage them to pick up, and what they might discover when they do.&#8221;

HHS Secretary Kennedy Hosts Food Policy Celebration And MAHA Agenda

EXCLUSIVE: How The Trump Administration Is Encouraging Kids To Ditch Screens And ‘Live Real Life’

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Singer Lionel Richie was hospitalized over the weekend following a string of health-related issues this summer.
The 77-year-old singer checked himself into the ICU after his performance in St. Louis on Saturday, as TMZ originally <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2026/08/31/lionel-richie-hospitalized/">reported</a>. The outlet noted that the Grammy Award winner had requested a chair while performing his final song, “All Night Long.” 
Sources told TMZ that Richie checked himself into the hospital out of an abundance of caution, and doctors were looking into possible dehydration. Richie is hoping to be discharged on Tuesday, one source told TMZ.
As of Monday night, reps for the singer had not released a statement on his condition.
Richie is currently on tour with Earth, Wind &amp; Fire for his “Sing a Song All Night Long” tour. His next scheduled performance is on September 26 in San Francisco.
In June, the “Stuck on You” singer left a show in Saint Paul, Minnesota, early after reportedly feeling dizzy. “When you’re feeling dizzy, sit your ass down,” he said at the time before sitting down at a piano to play “Three Times a Lady,” <a href="https://www.startribune.com/lionel-richie-health-concerns-cut-concert-short/601859500">per</a> the Minnesota Star Tribune.
He then postponed the following two shows to recover. 
Richie returned to the stage later in June and made a joke about his health, saying, “Had you worried there for a minute, huh?” 
He added, &#8220;You have no idea what I have been through in the last 24 hours, listening to my friends tell me their advice on what I should be doing.&#8221;
On July 4, the legendary crooner addressed all the fans who were concerned about his health. 
“Thank you for every message, every kind word, and for all your love,” he <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DaYqOG4lZeQ/?img_index=1">wrote</a> at the time. “I’m doing well, and I’m grateful for all of you. Pittsburgh and Detroit were an absolute joy. The energy, the dancing, the faces in the crowd … we made real memories together. See you in Toronto &#8230; let’s party all night long!”
Richie began his musical career as the lead singer and songwriter of the Commodores. He went on to launch a hugely successful solo career in the 1980s with hits like &#8220;All Night Long&#8221; and &#8220;Hello.&#8221; He won Grammys, an Oscar, and later became a beloved American Idol judge, cementing his status as a music icon.

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Lionel Richie Hospitalized After Asking For Chair During Performance

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A swarm of giant cockroaches could one day crawl through earthquake rubble, locate trapped victims, and deliver lifesaving medicine before human rescuers can reach them.
Researchers at the University of Queensland and the University of New South Wales have developed “paraborgs” — cyborg cockroaches equipped with cameras and miniature drug-injection systems designed for search-and-rescue missions.
The technology is as unsettling as it sounds. But it could also solve a major problem for emergency responders: reaching people trapped in spaces too narrow, unstable, or dangerous for humans and conventional rescue robots.
The researchers used giant burrowing cockroaches native to northern Queensland, which can grow to roughly 3.3 inches long and weigh up to 40 grams. Tiny implanted electrodes allow human operators to remotely steer the insects, while removable backpacks can carry cameras or an auto-injection mechanism.
Fortunately, the cockroaches are not making medical decisions themselves. Human operators control their movements and trigger the injection once the insect is positioned near its target.
In laboratory testing, the insects successfully navigated to designated checkpoints in all 25 trials. The complete mission — navigating to a target, positioning themselves, and delivering medication — succeeded in 72% of trials. When the injection was attempted within roughly six inches of the target, the success rate rose to about 95%.
Researchers tested the system using silicone targets and pig skin, and have not conducted human trials. The technology could eventually allow rescue teams to deliver basic emergency treatment to people trapped beneath collapsed buildings or inside caves, potentially buying critical time before victims can be extracted.
“A lot of people might not like the sight of a giant cockroach scurrying towards them,” Ph.D. candidate Hai Nhan Le said. “But if you&#8217;re trapped in rubble or stuck in a cave and need help, it could make a real difference between life and death.”
The researchers envision eventually deploying swarms of specialized cyborg insects, with some carrying cameras and environmental sensors while others deliver medical supplies. The team estimates real-world deployment could still be five to 10 years away, pending further testing and regulatory approval.
So yes, the future of emergency medicine may involve a giant cockroach crawling toward you with a syringe strapped to its back. And if you’re trapped under 20 feet of rubble, that might be exactly what you want to see.

Expert in Peru enhances exotic pet care with insects

Why Scientists Are Turning Cockroaches Into Cyborgs

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The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement scored another win this week when global food company General Mills announced it has ditched dyes from its cereal, including Lucky Charms and Trix.
The company said on Wednesday that all of its cereals are now made without artificial colors and that 90% of its U.S. retail products have transitioned away from synthetic dyes. Other popular dye-free cereals from General Mills include Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Reese&#8217;s Puffs, Chex, Cocoa Puffs, Golden Grahams, Cookie Crisp, and Wheaties.
&#8220;As the leader in cereal, General Mills is focused on giving people what they are looking for from the brands they know and love,&#8221; General Mills&#8217; president of cereal Bethany Quam said in a statement. She added that the company is &#8220;evolving with consumer needs while continuing to offer food that tastes great, delivers quality, and provides value.&#8221;
The MAHA movement has targeted synthetic dyes in popular foods, especially foods marketed toward children. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been at the helm of steering such changes, and many GOP-led states have gotten on board too.
Kennedy made removing artificial dyes a priority early in his tenure. On March 10, 2025, he told food industry leaders, including executives from General Mills and WK Kellogg Co., that he wanted artificial color additives removed from their products before he left office.
Then, on April 22, 2025, Kennedy and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a plan to phase out petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the nation&#8217;s food supply. The administration called for the industry to eliminate six remaining dyes — including Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2, and Green 3 — by the end of 2026, while also pushing companies to remove Red 3 ahead of an existing 2027 deadline.
In 2025, following an investigation by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, General Mills agreed to remove synthetic dyes from all its products by the end of 2027. The company said this week that it&#8217;s on track to meet the goal.
General Mills&#8217; announcement follows other major retail stores and brands making the same MAHA switch. WK Kellogg, for example, said earlier this month that it&#8217;s removing artificial colors from all its U.S. cereals by the end of 2026. WK Kellogg makes popular cereals like Froot Loops and Apple Jacks.
Earlier this year, Target said it would drop any cereals with synthetic dyes, and Walmart announced artificial colors would be removed from its store brands by January 2027.

Lucky Charms At Costco Wholesale

MAHA Notches Another Win In America’s Cereal Aisle

MAHA Scores Another Win: General Mills Ditching Dyes From Cereal Favorites

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As Lindsay Clancy&#8217;s murder trial moves through a Massachusetts courtroom, the country is talking about postpartum psychosis. It&#8217;s a conversation I know well, and something important is missing.
Eleven years ago, I lived the illness now being argued over in a court of law. I had given birth to my second child five and a half months prior. I was a registered nurse and had been seen by health care professionals throughout both pregnancies. And I had never once been taught that postpartum psychosis could happen to me.
Neither had my husband. When I became severely ill, he didn&#8217;t know the term. He just knew something was terribly wrong. After days of almost no sleep, I grew increasingly energetic and hyper-religious. Then came paranoia, hallucinations, delusions. I lost touch with reality.
My husband called 911. That decision may have saved my life.
I spent two weeks in a psychiatric unit with a 24-hour sitter. Yet after all that, when I was discharged, there was no collaborative planning meeting with my family. There was no warm handoff to a perinatal specialist. I followed up with my obstetrician because I understood the importance — not because any system made sure I did.
I recovered. Saying that matters, because cases like mine rarely make the news. Postpartum psychosis enters the national conversation almost exclusively through tragedy. Clancy&#8217;s case, in which her attorney plans to argue insanity tied to severe postpartum illness, is only the latest example.
By reducing the Lindsay Clancy trial to viral commentary and dramatic courtroom spectacle, we trade genuine horror for spectator entertainment while missing the entire point of postpartum psychosis advocacy. This is not advocacy for murder, but for prevention — a call for families and providers to recognize warning signs and deliver critical psychiatric care before an emergency becomes an unfathomable tragedy. Most postpartum psychosis stories don&#8217;t end the way hers did. Survivors are all around us. Our experience belongs at the center of this conversation, and so do the lessons it can teach.
First, awareness has to happen before tragedy — not after.
Families cannot recognize an illness they&#8217;ve never been told exists. A person in psychosis often doesn&#8217;t know she&#8217;s ill, which makes educating partners and extended family just as urgent as educating the patient. Health care professionals across every discipline that touches a new mother — obstetrics, pediatrics, emergency medicine, primary care — need training to recognize warning signs and respond fast. A trial can produce accountability and, to some degree, raise awareness. It cannot produce prevention.
Second, the gaps in our prevention system are bigger than any single case or verdict can show.
After a devastating outcome, it’s easy to point to the one moment someone should have acted differently. Accountability matters. But fixating on individual decisions in one case avoids a harder truth: our maternal mental health care system is fragmented by design.
Gaps exist in education, screening, recognition, emergency response, access to specialized care, and continuity of care. Even our definition of “postpartum” contributes to the problem. It implies that the problem fits neatly inside a six-week or three-month period after delivery. My crisis did not. Other women with later symptoms may not believe it can be happening to them.
Systemic failures are playing out case by case. A trial, however closely watched, will not address most of them.
Third, survivors need to be front and center. We know what the warning signs looked like before anyone else recognized them. We know what helped, what was missing, what our families needed, and what recovery looks like once the crisis has passed. Our stories aren&#8217;t a substitute for clinical expertise. They are an essential part of it — and they&#8217;re largely absent from the news coverage of a murder trial.
The next time the country pays attention to postpartum psychosis, it shouldn’t be because of another tragedy or verdict. We already know enough to do better: listen to survivors, educate families before symptoms appear, equip health care professionals across every specialty that sees new mothers, and strengthen continuity of care. Make maternal mental health education routine — not an afterthought delivered in a hospital hallway or reconstructed later in a courtroom.
The goal should never be simply to understand what went wrong after a catastrophe. The goal should be preventing the next one.
***
Kristina Dulaney, RN, PMH-C, is a postpartum psychosis survivor and the founder and executive director of Cherished Mom, a nonprofit organization dedicated to perinatal mental health awareness, postpartum psychosis advocacy, and ending maternal suicide.

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I Survived Postpartum Psychosis — What Nobody Warned Me About

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday approved a groundbreaking new treatment for advanced pancreatic cancer that nearly doubled median survival in a clinical trial, marking what experts are calling one of the biggest advances against the deadly disease in decades.
The drug, daraxonrasib, which will be sold under the brand name Rasonque, is approved for metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma, the most common form of pancreatic cancer. Developed by Revolution Medicines, Rasonque is a once-daily pill designed to block RAS proteins that play a key role in driving tumor growth.
The FDA approved Rasonque for adults with metastatic pancreatic cancer who have already received at least one cancer treatment, such as chemotherapy, or who cannot undergo combination treatment. The approval came approximately 6.5 months ahead of the FDA&#8217;s goal date, following an expedited review.
&#8220;Today’s approval provides a critical new option for patients facing an extraordinarily difficult and historically hard-to-treat cancer. It is our fundamental duty to deliver more cures and meaningful treatments to patients as quickly as possible,” acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas said in a press release. “I am immensely proud of the dedicated FDA scientists whose fast, thorough review and relentless commitment made this groundbreaking milestone a reality.”
The decision was based on results from a trial that included 500 patients whose metastatic pancreatic cancer had progressed after previous treatment. Patients who received daraxonrasib had a median overall survival of 13.2 months, compared with 6.7 months for those who received standard chemotherapy.
The drug also significantly delayed disease progression. Patients taking Rasonque went about twice as long without their cancer getting worse compared with those receiving standard chemotherapy. The risk of death was reduced by 60% in the trial.
“It will be transformative in the way we treat pancreas cancer. It’s the biggest development we’ve had in pancreas cancer in decades,” Andrew Ko, a gastrointestinal cancer specialist at the University of California, <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2026/08/26/pancreatic-cancer-drug-rasonque-approved/">told</a> STAT. “I’m so thankful for this as an advance for our patients.”
Rachna Shroff, a pancreatic cancer specialist at the University of Arizona Cancer Center, described an emotional reaction to the trial results earlier this year.
“Having treated pancreatic cancer for 16 years, I actually started crying in the clinic,” Shroff said, <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2026/05/31/pancreatic-cancer-daraxonrasib-revolution-medicines-results-asco-2026/">according</a> to STAT. “This is such an incredibly impactful study for our patients.”
The National Cancer Institute estimates that 67,530 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2026, while 52,740 are expected to die from the disease. The overall five-year relative survival rate is just 13.3%.
The FDA said the most common side effects associated with Rasonque include rash, diarrhea, inflammation of the mouth, nausea, fatigue, vomiting, abdominal pain, swelling, decreased appetite, and hemorrhage.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/diary-reveals-fauci-slow-played-vaccine-rollout-to-damage-trump?author=Blake+Schaper&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Diary+Reveals+Fauci+Slow-Played+Vaccine+Rollout+To+Damage+Trump">Diary Reveals Fauci Slow-Played Vaccine Rollout To Damage Trump</a>
</div>

In this photo illustration, the United States Food and Drug

FDA Approves Pancreatic Cancer Drug That Nearly Doubled Survival In Trial

FDA Approves Breakthrough Pancreatic Cancer Drug 

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More and more moms are getting diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) alongside their children, saying that when they saw what their kids were going through, something just clicked.
The New York Post shared the <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/08/25/health/moms-are-being-diagnosed-with-adhd-because-of-their-kids/?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=nypost&amp;utm_source=twitter">story</a> of one woman, Cassie Blakely, who was diagnosed at 37 — all because she recognized things from her own childhood as her daughters went through the process of getting answers for themselves: &#8220;I realized through them &#8230; watching both of my daughters struggle kind of felt like my own childhood was being repeated in front of me.&#8221;
Blakely is one of many adults living with ADHD — which is officially classified as a <a href="https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd">neurodevelopmental condition</a> that can change how the brain is able to regulate things like focus, attention, impulse control, and physical activity — and the number of adult diagnoses has grown dramatically in recent years, nearly doubling between 2018 and 2023 to over 15 million.
So why the explosion in diagnoses? Many of the adults being diagnosed in recent years grew up in the 1980s and 1990s — when such diagnoses were relatively scarce, particularly among women. In the 1980s, approximately one child in 20 was diagnosed with the condition — but current numbers are closer to one in nine.
The major factors driving increased diagnoses among children include greater awareness of the condition itself, better diagnostic tools, and a broader range of indicators that can trigger further examination.
For example, in the 1980s, the typical ADHD case was most likely a boy who routinely displayed behavior that was disruptive enough to land him in the principal&#8217;s office at school.
But because girls with ADHD typically present with different symptoms — they&#8217;re often inattentive rather than disruptive — they were simply labeled as &#8220;lazy.&#8221; Teachers and parents would lament that the girls were smart, but still somehow failing to live up to their obvious potential. Girls who were dismissed as daydreamers or space cadets were struggling internally with other ADHD symptoms like executive dysfunction — meaning that they could fully understand how to execute a task but feel paralyzed when it came to either starting the task or seeing it through to completion.
<a href="https://www.calgaryadhd.com/post/why-your-adhd-was-missed-in-the-80s-it-wasn-t-just-neglect">Diagnoses were also missed</a> in part because the parenting landscape was very different in the 1980s and 1990s. The Baby Boomers were raising children during those decades, and most of them had been raised by World War II veterans and survivors of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, meaning that they had all been taught to tough things out — and expected the same from their own children.
Inattentiveness or daydreaming — which today might be flagged as a sign of executive dysfunction — was written off as laziness. Physically acting out was often, at least at first, attributed to a lack of discipline or respect.
Children were different in those decades as well — raised primarily without technology, they were often expected to entertain themselves and encouraged to solve their own problems. Many found ways to mask their ADHD symptoms, either by becoming perfectionists or by procrastinating and relying on adrenaline surges to help them get things done at the last minute.
So what is the <a href="https://www.apa.org/monitor/2023/03/adult-adhd-diagnosis">benefit</a> of getting a diagnosis years later? Many of the children who slipped through the diagnostic cracks in the 1980s and 1990s grew up feeling like they had done something wrong. After years of being called &#8220;lazy&#8221; or being told that they just needed to work harder, they can finally get some answers that explain why their brains did not function the same way other kids&#8217; brains did.

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