Post-Traumatic Growth: Healing From PTSDPTSD & TraumaBy PromisesDecember 30, 2014Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been part of the therapeutic lexicon since the 1980s, when PTSD was added to the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as a response to the biological, psychological, and social impact of catastrophic events such as war, rape, natural disasters and surviving prisoner-of-war or concentration…
Dual Diagnosis: PTSD and Substance AbusePTSD & TraumaBy PromisesDecember 26, 2014After a break-in and assault, a young woman self-medicates with prescription drugs. But not even the increasingly large amounts of narcotics can ease her anxiety. Sidney had been like most of the young women attending her prestigious women’s college; she was wide-eyed, eager and intellectually curious. Her parents described her as someone who “lit up…
Postpartum Depression Could Transition to Bipolar DisorderBipolarBy PromisesDecember 24, 2014Mental disorders like depression, anxiety and eating disorders have a tendency to surface during periods of significant hormonal changes, such as adolescence, menopause or pregnancy. The period following childbirth could be a time of vulnerability for women diagnosed with depression. Dr. Verinder Sharma, a psychiatrist from Canada’s Western University, says that changes during childbirth can…
Teens Who Get Addicted to MarijuanaTeen IssuesBy PromisesDecember 19, 2014Marijuana is more controversial than ever these days. With legalization for medical use in more than 20 states and legalization for recreational use in two, the drug continues to be the subject for debate. One of the hot topics is addiction. Some people claim that marijuana is not addictive, but most experts know better. While…
Getting Through the Holidays Sober and SaneStaying SoberBy PromisesDecember 17, 2014The weeks between Thanksgiving and the New Year can be a stressful time for those in recovery. It is usually a particularly stressful time if you are newly sober and not accustomed to getting through the holidays sober and without the crutch of a chemical to numb your feelings. It’s a busy time full of…
Why and How to Detach With LoveFamily ResourcesBy PromisesDecember 12, 2014When you love an alcoholic or addict, you probably experience a lot of unpredictability and pain in your life, including both extreme highs and extreme lows. You get caught up in frequent drama and are obsessed with trying to change situations you can’t control and you may spend time, money and energy trying to fix…
Drug Addicts Need Treatment, Not PrisonAddiction TreatmentBy PromisesDecember 12, 2014A disturbing statistic about modern American society is that we incarcerate a greater percentage of our population than any other country in the world. About 2.3 million Americans are in prison, and yet the rate of crime in the U.S. has dropped. What is happening? Many experts would say it is the war on drugs…
What’s the Link Between Depression and Teen Substance Use?Teen IssuesBy PromisesDecember 10, 2014Statistically speaking, teenagers who consume drugs or alcohol have elevated odds of developing symptoms of major depression or some other depressive illness. However, researchers don’t fully understand why the connection between depression and substance use exists among people in this age group. In a study published in September 2014 in the journal Drug and Alcohol…
Giving Back in RecoveryRecoveryBy PromisesDecember 10, 2014When a person is addicted to drugs or alcohol, she is struggling with a disease that makes her very selfish. She lives only to feed her need, and others are often shoved aside. Addicts commit crimes to get drugs. They neglect family. Some are even abusive to those they love. At the very least, addicts…
Binge Eating Disorder vs. BulimiaEating DisordersBy PromisesDecember 9, 2014The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health is the main tool for mental health professionals when diagnosing and treating patients with mental illness. The latest edition, known as DSM-V, included binge eating as a formal diagnosis, rather than its previous categorization as an Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. A recent global study finds that…
