What We Should Consider on World Mental Health Day: Brainstorm Health

Good afternoon, readers.

October 10 is World Mental Health Day—and Fortune has a special guest piece by Arianna Huffington (media titan, CEO of the wellness group Thrive Global, and one of our Brainstorm Health conference co-chairs) on the importance of shifting the theoretical conversations surrounding mental health to actual, well, action.

How, exactly, can we do that? “The answer lies in the science. Researchers at Stanford Medicine are revolutionizing the way we understand our own stress, empowering us to take meaningful action to manage the impact of stress in our everyday lives,” writes Huffington.

You can read the entire piece here. Back with more tomorrow.

Read on for the day’s news.

Sy Mukherjee, @the_sy_guy, sayak.mukherjee@fortune.com

DIGITAL HEALTH

Facebook launches new mental health-focused features. Speaking of Mental Health Day, Facebook is rolling out its own mental health-focused features in tandem with the World Health Organization. These include camera and Facebook messenger features designed to encourage people to reach out for support if they're feeling down—something they may be more prone to do online rather than in person. (Engadget)

THE BIG PICTURE

There are now 26 deaths and nearly 1,300 illnesses linked to vaping. The numbers keep piling up. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that there are now 1,299 reported cases of lung illnesses likely linked to vaping, and 26 deaths. It's still unclear exactly what is causing these illnesses (and the exploding number may well be linked to the fact that authorities are actively looking out for them). Public health officials have suggested, in the meantime, to stay away from any THC or off-market e-cig cartridges. (Reuters)