This post has been updated to reflect the latest developments in the criminal case against Aaron Hernandez. The powerful street drug PCP, largely unheard of since its violent heyday in the 1970s, may go higher profile as the saga of former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez continues to unfold. Hernandez, already charged with murder …
Addiction has long been limited to the abuse of chemical substances that leads to physical and emotional dependence. While still debated by some experts, many now agree that there are indisputable similarities between traditional substance addictions and what are called process addictions. These are addictions to any kind of activity or behavior, and do not …
A new study published in the online journal Biological Psychiatry provides the first evidence that prenatal exposure to the stress hormones glucocorticoids predicts smoking and nicotine dependence later in life among women. The study confirmed previous research on prenatal smoking, and suggested that this increased risk of nicotine addiction is the result of exposure to …
Opioid dependence is the term used to describe a reliance on the effects of opioid drugs or medications. In some cases, dependent people go on to develop the drug cravings and dysfunctional behaviors associated with opioid addiction. Opioid-dependent people often use cannabis in the form of marijuana, hashish or hashish oil. In a study published …
Does Cannabis Use Change Outcome of Opioid Dependence Treatment? Read More »
Don’t let your children pay the price for your denial and inaction. You’ve probably never tried to pull one of your own teeth. But if you have, and you are also the parent of an adolescent son or daughter, you may have discovered that talking to your kids about serious and important topics is actually …
Cigarette smoking is responsible for approximately one in every five deaths in the U.S., taking the lives of over 440,000 people per year, according to the CDC. That’s why any intervention that aims to reduce the huge morbidity and mortality associated with smoking is such a potential boon for public health. If it can do …
Quitting Smoking With Lasers: Too Good to Be True? Read More »
Until recently, there wasn’t a reliable way to predict which of the patients suffering from first-episode psychosis (FEP) would respond well to treatment, and which would not. However, a new study conducted by researchers at the King’s College London Institute of Psychiatry shows that brain-imaging technology may be used to identify patients who will likely …
Brain Imaging Shows Who Will Benefit From Psychosis Treatment Read More »
The attachment that mothers form with their infants is an important part of the mother-child relationship. This early bonding sets the stage for your future relationship with your child. Having a strong relationship, in turn, helps your child to succeed in life and to be mentally, physically, socially and emotionally healthy. Attachment, in most cases, …
Mothers With Mental Illness May Need Support to Bond With Baby Read More »
If it sometimes seems like you can’t escape the memories of your addictive past, there is a solution: The only way to get past the past involves forgiving yourself for whatever you have done and then to get busy living life in the present, making new memories. This holiday season, while others you know and …
Give Thanks for Sobriety, Make New Memories in Recovery Read More »
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s been the pie-faced punch line since his blustery denials of drug use were disputed by video of him smoking crack. TV’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, on the eve of the Thanksgiving Macy’s Parade, even joked that the portly Ford does helium benders.