Addiction to alcohol usually has one of two starting points. Either the person gets involved with alcohol because he or she thinks it makes life more fun, or the person starts drinking in order to dull unpleasant thoughts and feelings. The person who overdrinks in an effort to intensify life usually won’t benefit from the…
In honor of Recovery Month, The Promises Foundation will host its 9th Annual Polo in the Palisades Charity Event to benefit Miriam’s House.
There are many assumptions we make about addiction and the sorts of people who suffer from it, and in many cases we’re wrong. We may think that young people and adults suffer the most from addiction, but healthcare professionals are growing increasingly concerned about addiction among the elderly. The problem is that our assumptions lead…
Starting next month, it will be easier to rid your home of unwanted narcotic painkillers. Calling prescription drug abuse “an urgent and growing threat to our nation and its citizens,” U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced this week that the Drug Enforcement Agency is loosening its rules to allow neighborhood pharmacies, hospitals and drug treatment…
In the U.S., hundreds of thousands of people use the illegal stimulant drug methamphetamine every month. In addition, tens of millions of people consume alcohol. There is a considerable degree of overlap between the methamphetamine-using population and the alcohol-using population. In a study scheduled for publication in 2014 in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence,…
Addiction is a harmful disease, and not just for the addict. Drug addicts and alcoholics impact everyone in their lives, but those they love are often hurt the most. If you have been living with an addict you might be at the end of your rope. You see the problem. You have been patient and…
Treating bipolar disorder can be so complicated that a patient ends up taking a variety of medications. A recent study investigated the challenges facing patients required to take multiple medications to treat their symptoms.
People who consume excessive amounts of alcohol have increased risks for developing damaging brain inflammation, especially when they maintain a pattern of heavy intake over time. In a study published in July 2014 in the journal PLOS One, researchers from three U.S. institutions explored the usefulness of fish oil, a substance with known anti-inflammatory properties,…
Why do some people repeatedly go under the knife (or opt for other enhancements such as Botox, repeated microdermabrasion and countless other non-surgical procedures)? Is it to feel better about themselves (they rarely do, if they keep going back)? Is it to overcome or compensate for perceived deficiencies? Is it to be more loved?
The huge drugstore chain CVS, having stunned the marketplace and the public with its February vow to stop selling tobacco products at its 7,700 stores by October, announced Wednesday that it was “smoke free” a month early.