Chronic pain is the accepted term for significant pain that lasts for anywhere from weeks to years instead of resolving rapidly with or without treatment. Opioid medications are a powerful class of prescription substances frequently used to ease the effects of serious and chronic pain. However, ongoing use of prescription opioids comes with a considerable …
Which Pain Patients Are Most Likely to Abuse Opioids? Read More »
At what point does an emotionally healthy person cross into depression, and can it be predicted? One depression therapy is to ask patients to record their mood throughout the day in order to track mood patterns and potential triggers. What if your smartphone were to question you repeatedly through the day about how you were …
Much of the new research into addiction talks about how drugs change the brain. What does this mean? We know that whatever those changes are, they make a person dependent on the drug, but how does it work? It turns out that our brains have an amazing degree of plasticity, which means the brain can …
For many people, Veterans Day brings to mind celebratory traditions such as parades and family gatherings. It’s a day that marks the service of all U.S. military veterans, so if you or other members of your family are veterans, celebrations may be even more wild or intense.
Synthetic marijuana products are drugs that contain a combination of mind-altering substances called synthetic cannabinoids and some type of inactive plant material. Most of the well-known main ingredients in these drugs are banned under federal law; however, illicit drug manufacturers commonly use chemical tricks to technically avoid legal liability for their actions. In a study …
Synthetic Marijuana Use Common Among Young Adults, Study Finds Read More »
Mental illness affects many of our family members, neighbors and co-workers, yet attitudes remain negative. In the U.S. 11.4 million adults and 2 million adolescents, around 20 percent of the general population, suffer with some form of mental illness. In Canada 6.5 million live with mental illness or substance abuse. Too often people don’t search …
Just when you’d grown weary of hearing about everyone’s “thigh gap” obsession, there’s a new body trend causing anxiety for young women. It’s cleverly labeled the “bikini bridge”. The term describes the look created when a woman lies down and her bikini bottoms hang suspended between her hip bones, showing off her enviably flat – …
Social Media’s Potential Influence on Eating Disorders Read More »
No one, it seems, wants to go to rehab. It is a necessity for many addicts, but not a choice that is easy to make. And it isn’t easy to follow through with that choice and go. One of the most important factors holding many people back from going to rehab is fear. Not all …
Slowly but surely, America’s long-standing prohibition of marijuana is going up in smoke. On Nov. 4, two more states – Oregon and Alaska – officially legalized the sale of pot for recreational use. Meanwhile, voters in Washington, D.C., voted to lift a sizeable portion of the criminal sanctions against the sale and distribution of marijuana, subject …
Marijuana Now Legal in Two More States, District of Columbia Read More »
When compulsive gamblers begin facing serious negative consequences due to their gambling addiction, one step often recommended by professional therapists is to self-ban from casinos. This is a good move, but not the only action that should be taken.