How Suicide Fuels Medical Debt

Americans who attempt to end their life are often sent medical bills for subsequent care that creates financial turmoil and more stress

This story contains descriptions of people attempting to end their life, which may be disturbing to some readers. If you or someone you know need help, consider calling the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1–800–273-TALK (8255) for English, 1–888–628–9454 for Spanish.

Bailey McCormick felt like nothing in her life was…

A Survivor’s Guide to Medical Debt

Suicide attempt survivors often deal with high medical bills from subsequent health care. Here’s a helpful guide for how to start navigating them.

If you or someone you know need help, consider calling The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1–800–273-TALK (8255) for English, 1–888–628–9454 for Spanish.

The last thing suicide attempt survivors think about in the first days and weeks of recovery is their medical bills. And yet as Elemental reported on Monday…

Chronic Stress Is an Underestimated Pandemic Risk Factor

Americans who bear the most chronic stress — predominantly people of color — are at an especially high risk for the severe outcomes of Covid-19

The pandemic is a stressful and traumatic experience for millions of people around the world. There’s constant feelings of lack of control, isolation, and fear of contracting Covid-19 and dying from it. Science has shown for decades that high levels of stress like this can put people’s immune systems at…

What We Lose When Retail Stores Disappear

Second-act careers for women vanish with the demise of department stores and malls

A graphic illustration of a big store with a “store closing” sign wrapped around it. Women wait in line 6 feet apart. — Illustration: Nashra Balagamwala

It was a job rooted in routine. That’s what I thought at first when my mother worked for JCPenney in a suburb of San Diego in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a customer service representative in the catalog department. …

Why People Turn to Puzzles for Stress Relief

For many, puzzling gives order to the chaos we feel right now

Danielle Levanas is on a puzzle streak.

Thanks to social distancing, the creative arts therapist has been holed up at home in Los Angeles with her husband and toddler since March. Between working at home and spending time with family in the last couple of months, she’s done five jigsaw…