Thanksgiving is a holiday to spend with family, a time to be thankful for all that we have, and a joyous time of celebration. When the table has been cleared, the dishes have been washed and all the guests have left, you might be feeling down or even depressed. The day was full of laughter,…
Addiction is a disease of the brain. It is a chronic disease that requires long-term treatment, just like any other chronic medical condition. As researchers continue to work toward understanding the disease of addiction, the picture becomes more complicated. There are many factors that go into a person becoming addicted to a substance. As a…
When it comes to Black Friday shopping, you’re in either one of two camps: crazy shopper intent on getting the best deals and giveaways and willing to stay up all night in line, or you stay home and avoid the day at all costs. If you fall into the first camp, you may be interested…
A new bill concerning edible marijuana products has passed the Colorado Legislature with bipartisan support. The new law requires that marijuana edibles be clearly recognizable as marijuana products even after they have been removed from their original container or packaging.
She stood on a podium in the middle of a stage in a suburban Philadelphia mega-church building, this musical legend with cloud-like hair billowing above her beautiful, life-etched face and beaming signature blue eyes. Enwrapped in a jewel-tone purple skirt, among her first words that greeted the anticipatory audience were, “OK, let’s get this out…
The chronic, excessive pattern of alcohol consumption associated with alcoholism is known for its ability to damage several key aspects of brain function. One of the most common indicators of alcohol-related brain damage is a loss in the volume of tissue contained in the brain’s main structures. In a study scheduled for publication in 2014…
With Richard Nixon’s declaration that drug abuse was “America’s public enemy No. 1” in 1971, the aim of the federal government and police departments across the country for the following decades was to lock up drug offenders. The idea was simply that punishment would make people realize they shouldn’t use drugs and that they would…
Mood disorders are a group of mental health conditions that involve dysfunctional changes in the everyday stability of mood or psychological/emotional state of mind. Well-known conditions within this group include major depression and the classic manic-depressive illness called bipolar I disorder. One of the widely used treatments for bipolar I disorder is the mood-stabilizing medication lithium.
Women with a history of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are more likely to meet certain criteria for food addiction, according to a new study from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. The results of the study were published Sept. 17 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.
On Nov. 2, 2014, a heartbeat ceased counting out the rhythm of a life that’d begun 29 years earlier. Along with her husband and parents, Brittany Maynard searched her conscience, consulted with the oncologist treating an end-stage glioblastoma, and decided to end her physical and emotional suffering under the physician’s supervision. She expressed her wishes…