Living on the Border of AlcoholismAlcohol AbuseBy Promises AustinDecember 30, 2014According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) 17.6 Americans abuse alcohol, making it the most oft used addictive substance in the nation. But what’s the dividing line between alcoholism and not-quite alcoholism? The number of folks living on the edges of alcoholism could be staggering. The NCADD defines alcoholism by the…
Post-Traumatic Growth: Healing From PTSDPTSD & TraumaBy Promises AustinDecember 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…
Tips on How to Deal with an Alcoholic Family Member During the HolidaysAlcohol AbuseBy Promises AustinDecember 27, 2014The holidays are a wonderful opportunity to get together and catch up with family and friends that you may not have seen in a while. However, the stress of preparing holiday dinners, buying gifts and decorating your home are likely to leave you yearning for a quiet, peaceful family gathering.
Dual Diagnosis: PTSD and Substance AbusePTSD & TraumaBy Promises AustinDecember 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…
Yoga, Meditation, Mindfulness and RecoveryRecoveryBy Promises AustinDecember 24, 2014Like most people, my views as an adult are a direct result of my early family life and upbringing. I was raised by my mother in an extremely open and liberal milieu—my world was filled with art, music and books. The bright, chaotic primary reds and yellows of post-modern art hung on the walls of…
Postpartum Depression Could Transition to Bipolar DisorderBipolarBy Promises AustinDecember 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 Promises AustinDecember 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 Promises AustinDecember 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 Promises AustinDecember 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 Promises AustinDecember 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…
