America’s drug epidemic and its wide-ranging effects have made nationwide headlines, with the current presidential administration having declared opioid misuse a public health crisis. As a result, most people are well-informed about the dangers of overusing opioid medicines, and doctors and their patients alike are more wary about prescribing and...
Helping convince someone you care about to get professional help for a drug or alcohol addiction, especially when they are in denial about the extent of their disease, can feel like a daunting task. However, if you know someone whose self-destructive behavior is harming your...
When you picture an opioid abuser, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Perhaps you envision a young man injecting heroin or trying to buy drugs in the back alley of a big city. However, the extent of the opioid epidemic is far more...
It’s February — the month when winter begins to wear out its welcome. Even though the days are getting slightly longer, the weather is still cold, snowy and icy across much of the country. Nasty winter weather, combined with seemingly endless dreary, overcast days, can...
It’s easy to think high achievers have a magic formula for success; that it’s a seamless process of setting goals, tackling problems and achieving results. These “Type-A personalities” are believed to have vision, imagination, drive and commitment—along with an irrational love for risk-taking. Dynamic high...
It’s a new year and a fresh opportunity to set life on a more satisfying course. The moment 2018 ended, many of us shed past disappointments and donned a brighter, more optimistic outlook filled with hope for a new love interest, improved fitness level or...
After the mid-winter holidays, getting back in the school groove can be tough—and spring semester comes with its own set of challenges. Not only is the return to structured classwork and daily teacher interaction sometimes hard to manage, but students who slacked off during fall...
Opiate abuse and addiction is the fastest-growing substance use problem in the United States, and treatment for opiate addiction requires long-term management. Behavioral interventions alone have poor outcomes, with upwards of 80% of patients returning to drug use. acording to the National Institute of Health...
A guest post from Chris P. I had my first cigarette and drink at around aged 15. What I didn’t know at the time, was that I was a drug addict and alcoholic in the making. I would abuse anything I could get my hands on,...
Photo: Heart before and after prolonged use of cocaine, causing endocartis. The combination of alcohol and cocaine has more side effects than either substance alone. Cocaine produces a high while alcohol pulls down as a depressant, one substance can intensify and amplify the high of the...