Is Alcohol a Drug?Addiction, Addiction Recovery, Addiction Treatment, Drug Addiction, drug rehab, Substance AbuseBy Promises Behavioral HealthMarch 3, 2020People often refer to drugs and alcohol, which makes it sound as though alcohol is in a separate category. But some people wonder, is alcohol a drug? The short answer is yes. It affects the body in a number of ways, and can be very detrimental if it’s misused or abused. Fortunately, at Promises Behavioral Health we can…
Celebrating Our Renewed CommitmentUncategorizedBy Promises Behavioral HealthMarch 2, 2020When we think of anniversaries, we often think of our memories of happiness, friendship, family and personal transformation. We think of the new habits and ideas we’ve discovered and the changes we’ve made to better our lives. We think of the people who supported us throughout the year and how their dedication helped us in…
Addictive Prescription Painkillers and Their DangersAddiction, Drug Addiction, Substance AbuseBy Promises Behavioral HealthMarch 2, 2020There are a lot of people living with chronic pain, and many of their doctors have given them addictive prescription painkillers. The pharmaceutical companies that created these medications told the doctors, in many cases, that those drugs were not addictive. However, that was not the case. Addiction was a real possibility, and it happened fast. Now there are…
Dangerous Prescription Medication: Are You Putting Yourself at Risk?Addiction, Drug Addiction, Substance AbuseBy Promises Behavioral HealthMarch 1, 2020If you’re trying to figure out if the medication you’re taking is dangerous, doing some research is a good idea. There are dangerous prescription medication options out there, especially if you’re taking something that wasn’t prescribed for you or you’re taking a dosage that’s more than your doctor recommended. However, you don’t have to live…
Teen Drinking Linked to Behavioral ProblemsNews and ResearchBy Promises Behavioral HealthFebruary 28, 2020Teens who drink heavily are more likely than their peers to have behavioral and attention problems and suffer from anxiety and depression, new research finds. Science Daily reports that a team led by researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology based their research on a study of nearly 9,000 Norwegian teenagers aged 13-19…
What’s the Difference Between Bipolar 1 and Bipolar 2?Depression, Mental Health, Mood Disorders, News and ResearchBy Promises Behavioral HealthFebruary 27, 2020What’s the difference between bipolar 1 and bipolar 2? These two conditions are closely related but have crucial differences between them. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, around 2.6 % of the U.S. adult population has suffered from bipolar disorder in the past year, and about 3.9 % has it over the course…
Withdrawal from AntidepressantsDepression, Mental Health, Mood DisordersBy Promises Behavioral HealthFebruary 27, 2020If you’re looking to safely withdraw from antidepressants like Paxil, Lexapro, or Prozac, you should never quit “cold turkey.” To safely remove yourself from antidepressants, it is important to slowly wean yourself off of them by using smaller and smaller doses. Summer Beretsky wrote a piece for the World of Psychology blog on PsychCentral.com that…
What Is C-PTSD? Causes of Complex Post-Traumatic Stress DisorderAnxiety Disorders, Mental Health, News and ResearchBy Promises Behavioral HealthFebruary 26, 2020If you are a person who has experienced repetitive, long-term captivity or abuse, you can develop a disorder known as complex post-traumatic stress disorder, or C-PTSD. The causes of complex post-traumatic stress disorder are usually a series of traumas that occur over a long period of time, rather than by a single traumatic event. Being…
How to Help a Loved One Suffering From Post-Acute WithdrawalAddiction, Addiction Recovery, RecoveryBy Promises Behavioral HealthFebruary 25, 2020What Is Post-Acute Withdrawal? After a prolonged period of substance abuse, a drug user who enters recovery will go through three main phases: detox, acute withdrawal, and post-acute withdrawal. During the detox period, it is important that the patient be supervised by trained medical professionals as some drugs can cause life-threatening conditions during the detox…
Depression, Substance Abuse, and Mental Illness in the MilitaryAddiction, Depression, Dual Diagnosis, Mental Health, News and Research, Professionals Treatment & Issues, Substance AbuseBy Promises Behavioral HealthFebruary 25, 2020A 2007 CBS News story recounted the life of a soldier, Staff Sgt. Daniel Shannon, who had been injured in combat and subsequently suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Shannon was prone to violent outbursts, where he would find himself destroying furniture in fits of rage. Sadly, stories like his are common; as the wars…
