Some say the holidays are the best time of the year. But for some, the busy holiday season can be the most stressful.

A new national survey of 1,000 Americans commissioned by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine shows that 46% of Americans say they don’t get the private time they need during the holidays.

In addition, 56% of survey respondents say that it is very important for their mental health to have enough private time.

Sophie Lazarus, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist at Ohio State’s Department of Mental and Behavioral Health, says that in a world that glorifies being busy, taking a short break can be good for the mind and body. .

Taking a few minutes alone can reduce seasonal stress and help mental health, she said.

«Just by taking a short break, our nervous system can calm down, our mind can calm down, our body can calm down. And I think that can be important. We know that the stress of a chronic mind is not good for us,» said Lazarus.

It’s important to put yourself first, and this can be achieved by adding something simple to your routine that doesn’t require a lot of time or effort, Lasaro said.

Lazarus, who focuses on mental, emotional and anxiety interventions, has a few suggestions to help stressed people stay present throughout the busy holiday season.

«Try putting your phone in a completely different room when you decide to spend some time alone, you know how hard it is to not pick it up, to attract our attention and things to come first in our lives,» said Lazarus. «Or take two or three minutes in the car before you go to pick up your kids or before you go home after work to be alone.»

Lazarus says to think about what works best for you when making these changes in your schedule.

«One level does not suit everyone. Flexibility and finding the best balance,» Lazaru said.

Lazarus reminds patients that it’s okay to take time alone.

«I think it’s important to remember that just because you’re putting yourself first right now doesn’t mean you’re selfish and it doesn’t mean you always make the choice to put yourself first,» Lazarus said.

Private time doesn’t have to be solitary, either.

«Some people might have time to go to the movies alone or go to a park where there are a lot of people, or go to a coffee shop,» Lazarus said. «It may also be the absence of having to do or interact with the community in a more direct way.»

This survey was conducted by SSRS on its Opinion Panel Omnibus platform. The SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus is a national, bimonthly, probability-based survey. Data collection was conducted from October 4-October 7, 2024, among a sample of 1,004 respondents.

The survey was conducted online (n=974) and telephone (n=30) and was administered in English. The margin of error for the overall respondents is +/- 3.5 percentage points at the 95% level. All data in the SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus is averaged to represent the population of US adults age 18 or older.

Prince and Princess Michael of Kent’s daughter, Lady Gabriella Kingston, said her husband died after deciding on an ‘emergency operation’ to take his own life after suffering adverse effects from the treatment he was given.

Thomas Kingston, 45, died of a gunshot wound to the head at his beloved parents’ home Cotswolds on 25 February.

Rachel married Queen Gabriella at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, in 2019 with the Queen and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh among the guests.

At an inquest into her death held at Gloucestershire Coroner’s Court on Tuesday, Lady Gabriella, 43, said people needed to be warned about the effects of drugs used to treat mental health conditions or more people could die.

In a statement read by senior detective Katy Skerrett, Miss Gabriella said: «(The job) has been challenging for her for many years, but I strongly doubt that it would have led to her taking her own life, and it seemed to and weight.improved.

‘If there was something that was bothering him, I’m sure he would have said that he was struggling a lot.

‘The fact that he took his own life in the home of his beloved parents suggests that the decision was the result of sudden impulse.’

He said he believed her death «may have been precipitated» by an adverse reaction to medication she had started, and then stopped, weeks before her death.

Thomas Kingston (left) died of a gunshot wound to the head, a pathologist found

Mr Kingston (pictured), the husband of Lady Gabriella Windsor, took his own life after an adverse reaction to the medication he was prescribed, an inquest heard.

Mr Kingston watched the race with Queen Camilla from the Royal Box at Ascot in June 2023.

He was initially prescribed Sertraline – an anti-depressant – and Zopiclone, a sleeping pill, by a GP at the Royal Mews Surgery – a practice used by royal staff – after complaining of difficulty sleeping after of stress at work.

Mr Kingston complained that this did not make him feel better and his doctor switched him from Sertraline to Citalopram, a serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) used as an anti-depressant. .

‘The lack of any evidence of propensity seems to me very likely that he had a bad reaction to the pills that caused him to kill himself,’ Lady Gabriella said.

‘I believe that anyone taking pills like these should be warned about the side effects to prevent future deaths.

‘If this can happen to Tom, it can happen to anyone.’

In the first days of his death, Mr. Kingston had stopped taking medication, and toxicology tests showed caffeine and a small amount of zopiclone in his system.

In his final weeks, Ms Gabriella said, her husband «seemed normal», except the morning after he first took zopiclone, which she said made him seem » want to faint».

In her statement, she described their marriage as one of ‘deep love and trust’ and said she had never expressed suicidal thoughts to herself or others.

He also said he was deeply affected by his friend’s suicide and «the negative impact it had on other people’s loved ones».

Miss Gabriella cried as she sat in the court of inquiry when her statement was read.

The couple are pictured here at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in July 2019

Lady Gabriella and Thomas Kingston had official photos taken on their wedding day – here with the Queen and Prince Philip sitting to their right.

Thomas Kingston and court side Lady Gabriella Kingston on day two of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships last year

Mr. Kingston’s father, William Martin Kingston, wept as he described finding his son in the locked bathroom of the annexe, having used a doorknob to break the door.

He told the court that his son has always had a strong, unstable character, as he previously suffered from pain that left him needing help to climb the stairs.

Mr Kingston added that before his son’s death there did not appear to be a suicide investigation, and there was no will or note, describing the process as ‘very active and it was just ‘out of character’.

Closing the story, Ms Skerrett, Gloucestershire’s chief constable, said: ‘Mr Kingston took his own life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

‘The evidence of his wife, his family and his business partner all support the lack of intent to kill himself. He was having bad side effects from the medication he had just been given.’

Dr David Healy, a psychiatrist who gave evidence at the hearing, said zopiclone could also cause anxiety, while sertraline and citalopram were both serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and while exactly the same.

Dr Healy said Mr Kingston’s complaints that sertraline continued to bother him was a sign SSRIs were ‘not working for him’, and he should not have been prescribed the same thing again.

He said the guidelines and labels for SSRIs were not clear enough about using the drug first, or what the effect would be when switching from one to another.

He said: ‘We need a clearer statement that these drugs can cause people to kill themselves who otherwise wouldn’t.

Speaking to the doctor, Martin Porter, the family’s adviser, said: ‘The family is not to blame (her doctor) Dr Naunton Morgan, he worked like a good doctor.

‘But the question is whether there is enough advice to doctors about SSRIs.’

Queen Camilla, King Charles III, Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston watch the Royal Box Race as they attend day 5 of Royal Ascot 2023.

Miss Gabriella paid tribute to her husband in a joint statement with his family after his death, describing him as ‘a special man who brightened the lives of all who knew him’.

They described his death as ‘a huge shock to the whole family’.

The King and Queen sent their ‘heartfelt thoughts and prayers’ to Miss Gabriella, known as Ella, and Mr Kingston’s parents and siblings.

Mr Kingston was buried in a private service on March 12.

Around 140 friends and family, including Prince William, Queen Gabriella’s parents Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, and Princess Alexandra, gathered at the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace in London for the funeral.

Lady Gabriella is King’s second cousin. Both are great-grandsons of King George V.

Mr. Kingston was a director of Devonport Capital, which specializes in providing financing for companies in the economic market.

The University of Bristol graduate had also worked in Baghdad, Iraq, to ​​secure the release of hostages after joining the Foreign Office embassy.

When an inquest opened in March, Gloucestershire chief constable Katy Skerrett said Mr Kingston’s body was found in an outhouse at his parents’ home.

Mofekotsana said that Mr. Kingston was visiting his parents, and after lunch, his father went out to walk the dogs.

‘When he came back, Mr Kingston was not in the house’, he said, and after about 30 minutes his mother went to look for him.

‘His father forced his way into the locked building when no answer could be found.’

For free, confidential support, call Samaritans on 116 123, visit samaritans.org or visit www.thecalmzone.net/get-support.

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Pharma vs Congress: The latest telehealth debate

Eli Lilly and Pfizer have responded to senators who pressed them to share information about their online platforms LillyDirect and PfizerForAll, demanding to know whether the pharma giants are violating federal anti-kickback laws when they instruct patients to choose telehealth platforms that can prescribe them. drugs, my colleague Katie Palmer tells us.

Both companies asked detailed questions about the financial conditions of the Internet, as well as how patients who provide services can access the websites. Instead, they reiterated that mobile providers connected to the platform are not paid or incentivized to provide their specialty drugs.

In its response, Pfizer explained how it pays companies UpScriptHealth and Populus Health Technologies fixed monthly fees. Much of Lilly’s response did not focus on its own platform, but instead called out other telehealth companies that offer generic versions of GLP-1 drugs such as Lilly’s Tirzepatide. «Potential problems with their operation are more than worrying about the financial relationships you present in your letter,» reads its response.

Stay tuned for more as the latest news continues. Meanwhile, if you want to get up to speed on the broader issue, read a story Katie wrote not too long ago: How drug makers are turning telehealth into an advertising gold mine.

Using AI to design small molecule drugs is difficult

My colleague Brittany Trang has immersed herself in the world of small molecule drugs, which she compares to «an endless bag of pick-your-own frozen yogurt flavors» rather than a «boutique ice cream shop cream» provided by normal antibodies. are drugs that are classified by the amino acid alphabet.

That large number of possible compounds also means that it is difficult to show enough types of AI molecules and interactions with biologically relevant receptors for the mechanism to be more complete than has already been seen. And the models for small molecule drug design are changing, according to Pat Walters, chief data officer at Relay Therapeutics. «These models, for the most part, understand syntax, but they don’t really understand chemistry,» he says. that an organic chemist would look at and say, ‘That’s not chemically stable.’»

That hasn’t stopped new startups from raising hundreds of millions of dollars to try to push AI to suggest or design small molecule drugs. In her youth, Brittany introduces us to five of them.

In case you forgot, this is part of a new Who Should Know series that STAT started a few months ago to give you a closer look at the key influencers in modern healthcare, from research and educational courses to pharma execs, startups and investors.

Where exactly are we in AI drug discovery?

Speaking of AI in drug discovery, this week we heard from Bison Ventures investor Caleb Appleton who asks if it’s the beginning of the end for AI drug discovery companies – especially after a series of failed experiments ‘a great success. Appleton writes: «I’m already seeing a very waning appetite for supporting platform-based discovery companies, taking on big changes in the space and reinventing defined asset companies.» narrowly.» «There’s a long history of early failure to turn the field around too much: Investors pull back, talent looks everywhere, and times start to slip.» If you’ve had a chance to read Appleton’s First Opinion piece, let me know where you fall on the debate.

Doctors warn about environmental impact of health data

Three doctors write for STAT about the growing environmental crisis created by digitized medical data, from notes to radiographs. While that data can be useful medically and for billing, storing it creates an incredible amount of carbon; and e-waste is a public health hazard, they argue. «With the continuous growth of healthcare data in electronic health records worldwide, we as a healthcare community must take proactive measures to prevent environmental damage caused by storage more information and management,» they write. Read more.

Garth Graham of YouTube Health on health misinformation

The YouTube video platform sees itself as more than just a source of entertainment – it’s also where people go for practical information, including health-related information, according to Garth Graham, global head of health. beauty and public health. In an interview with STAT at the Milken Institute’s Future of Life Conference, Graham, a cardiologist, told my colleague Nicholas St. Fleur about how YouTube fights misinformation – and, in the line of questioning I found to be particularly important in today’s politics, how to balance removing harmful misinformation and saying that it is «free speech.» Read the Q&A here.

What we read

• Recursion minimizes multiple functions after completing the integration, STAT
• The founder who ended up seeking dismissal of the federal charges, Bloomberg Law
• Despite state restrictions, Wisconsonites are getting abortions over the phone, WPR
• You had a hysterectomy. What Did the Doctor Leave? New York Times