Editorial Policy

This editorial policy is effective from 26 September 2026 and applies to every article on TrashyMinds Com.

This editorial policy sets out how TrashyMinds Com researches, writes, checks and corrects what it publishes. Mental health writing can do real harm when it is careless, so these rules are fixed rather than aspirational.

Our editorial policy on sources

Every guide starts from primary sources. In practice that means US health authorities and published research rather than other blogs. The bodies we lean on most are the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute of Mental Health, SAMHSA and the Food and Drug Administration.

Moreover, we link to those sources inside the article rather than listing them at the bottom, so you can check a specific claim at the point where we make it.

How an article is built

1. Question first. We start from something people actually ask, not from a keyword we would like to own.
2. Source gathering. We read the official guidance and the research before writing a line.
3. Drafting. We write in plain language, short sentences and the active voice, because a tired reader should not have to fight the prose.
4. Checking. Every number, date and claim is traced back to its source. Anything we cannot verify is cut rather than softened.
5. Safety pass. We add crisis contacts and the limits of the advice, and we remove anything that could read as a diagnosis.
6. Publication. The article goes out with a named author and a visible date.

What our editorial policy rules out

• A diagnosis. We describe patterns. We never tell a reader what condition they have.
• Dosage or medication instructions. Those belong with a prescriber who knows your history.
• Cure claims. No supplement, app or routine cures a mental health condition, and we will not imply otherwise.
• Method details around self-harm. We follow safe messaging practice and always pair the subject with help lines.
• Unlabelled paid content. If a piece is sponsored or carries an affiliate link, it says so at the top, in the same size text as the article.
• Fabricated experts or reviews. Every person named on this site exists, and no testimonial is invented.

Dates, updates and review

Guidance changes, so a health article with no date is a warning sign under any editorial policy. Consequently, every TrashyMinds Com article shows when it was published and, where relevant, when it was last updated. When official advice moves, we revise the page rather than leaving the old version online.

To be clear about our size: TrashyMinds Com is a small independent publication and we do not currently employ a clinical review board. We research and edit articles in-house against the sources above. Where we quote a clinician, we name them. We would rather state that plainly than imply a review process we do not have.

Corrections under this editorial policy

Our editorial policy is to fix mistakes in public. If you spot an error, email the article link and the exact sentence to admin@trashymindscom.com. We check confirmed reports within the same week.

• Factual error. We correct the text and add a dated correction note at the bottom of the article.
• Typo or broken link. We fix it quietly, since nothing about the meaning changed.
• Something unsafe. We take the passage down first and investigate afterwards.

Furthermore, we never delete an article to hide a mistake. If a piece has to come down entirely, the page explains why.

Independence

TrashyMinds Com is not owned by a clinic, an insurer, a treatment provider or an app maker. Nobody outside the editorial team sees an article before it is published, and no advertiser gets to approve, change or withdraw coverage. Our ownership and funding page sets out how the site pays for itself.

Artificial intelligence

We write about AI, so we should be clear about our own use of it. AI tools may assist with research shortlists, drafting help and proofreading. However, a named human decides what goes in, verifies every source, and takes responsibility for what is published. No article on TrashyMinds Com is published without a person reading it end to end.

Reminder: everything we publish is general information and education. It is not medical advice, a diagnosis or a treatment plan. Read our medical disclaimer in full, and in a crisis in the United States call or text 988 at any time.