Quitting Smoking With Lasers: Too Good to Be True?AddictionBy Promises Behavioral HealthNovember 28, 2013Cigarette smoking is responsible for approximately one in every five deaths in the U.S., taking the lives of over 440,000 people per year, according to the CDC. That’s why any intervention that aims to reduce the huge morbidity and mortality associated with smoking is such a potential boon for public health. If it can do…
Brain Imaging Shows Who Will Benefit From Psychosis TreatmentNews and ResearchBy Promises Behavioral HealthNovember 28, 2013Until recently, there wasn’t a reliable way to predict which of the patients suffering from first-episode psychosis (FEP) would respond well to treatment, and which would not. However, a new study conducted by researchers at the King’s College London Institute of Psychiatry shows that brain-imaging technology may be used to identify patients who will likely…
Give Thanks for Sobriety, Make New Memories in RecoveryRecoveryBy Promises Behavioral HealthNovember 27, 2013If it sometimes seems like you can’t escape the memories of your addictive past, there is a solution: The only way to get past the past involves forgiving yourself for whatever you have done and then to get busy living life in the present, making new memories. This holiday season, while others you know and…
By ‘Seeking Professional Help,’ Much-Maligned Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Has Shown Hope for ChangeAddictionBy Promises Behavioral HealthNovember 27, 2013Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s been the pie-faced punch line since his blustery denials of drug use were disputed by video of him smoking crack. TV’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, on the eve of the Thanksgiving Macy’s Parade, even joked that the portly Ford does helium benders.
Racism Takes a Toll on a Child’s Mental Health, Study FindsNews and ResearchBy Promises Behavioral HealthNovember 27, 2013In order to determine the effects of racism and prejudice on the psychological health and welfare of children and adolescents, a team of researchers from the University of Melbourne in Australia reviewed 461 case studies that explored potential links between racially-motivated discrimination and mental health difficulties in young people. Most of the kids whose experiences…
Psychotropic Medications Often Prescribed Without a DiagnosisMental HealthBy Promises Behavioral HealthNovember 26, 2013A new study published in the online journal Psychiatric Services suggests that more than half of the people who receive prescriptions for psychotropic medications have not received a formal diagnosis of a mental illness. The study examined the MarketScan claims of more than 5 million patients, and found that 58.2 percent of patients on at…
Hold the Extra Drumstick – Eat Mindfully This ThanksgivingAddictionBy Promises Behavioral HealthNovember 26, 2013Television ads don’t do the holidays justice when it comes to healthy eating at Thanksgiving – and Christmas and New Year’s. The image of a plump Thanksgiving turkey on a banquet table filled to overflowing may serve as a trigger to over-prepare high-fat, high-sugar foods and overeat at the table.
Homeless Veteran’s Makeover Leaves Addiction IntactAddictionBy Promises Behavioral HealthNovember 25, 2013Fifteen million people have watched the video makeover of Jim Wolf, from scruffy homeless veteran to well-groomed man in a suit. In 2 minutes and 50 seconds, a time-lapse transformation emerges of a fashionably bearded man ready for work. Wolf felt grateful, his sister said, for the global attention that drew atta-boys and job offers;…
How to Teach Your Kids About PornographyAdolescent IssuesBy Promises Behavioral HealthNovember 23, 2013Porn addiction is a legitimate threat to kids and teens in an age of increasing access to high-speed Internet and personal Internet browsing devices such as iPads and smartphones. The effects of hardcore, high-speed Internet pornography on the brains of young viewers are grave, setting them up for porn addiction and skewed views of women…
The Role of Spirituality in 12-Step RecoveryRecoveryBy Promises Behavioral HealthNovember 21, 2013Spirituality is the general term for a worldview that places an emphasis on interconnection and the presence of larger forces beyond the realm of the individual human being. This worldview differs from a strictly religious orientation, which seeks to describe reality in terms of a specific set of organized beliefs. In a study published in…
