The second in a two-part series. Among the more than 6 million American children estimated to suffer from a serious mental disorder are the cases that elude clear-and-quick diagnosis. These elusive diagnoses can happen when multiple conditions camouflage or overlap the traits of one another. And the parents of those youths can face years of …
How to Fight for Coverage of Child’s Mental Illness Read More »
A mother struggles a decade before her son’s severe mental illness is treated right, and covered right, by insurance. First in a two-part series.
For a recovering alcoholic or addict, learning to find balance can be particularly challenging. Leading a balanced life means avoiding extreme highs or lows. It also means paying attention to tendencies that many addicts have to focus or obsess too much on one activity, such as exercise or work. When the scales are tipped too …
Humans are complicated beings whose attitudes and behaviors are shaped by numerous factors. These factors might be biological, psychological, social, or spiritual. Some are primarily neurobiological, others environmental. Sometimes these components combine to form one or more of the personality disorders in a trifecta of sociopathy, narcissism and borderline personality disorder.
Safety is a big deal in the automotive industry, and crash test dummies are getting heavier as a result. Obesity in America has created a need for larger crash test dummies to reduce the risk of death for overweight automobile drivers and passengers. Instead of being a svelte 170 pounds, the company that makes crash test dummies …
Crash Test Dummies Getting Bigger to Reflect America’s Growing Waistline Read More »
By nature, people tend to want to be rewarded for their behavior now rather than later. Psychologists call the preference for short-term rewards over long-term rewards delay discounting. In a study published in 2014 in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, researchers from two U.S. universities explored the ways in which delay discounting and depression …
Teens Who Smoke or Are Depressed Less Willing to Delay Rewards Read More »
Researchers and addiction specialists are well aware that people affected by physical dependence and drug addiction commonly have a susceptibility to certain social and environmental cues that make ongoing substance use and relapses during substance treatment more likely. However, fairly little is known about the specific drug cues that motivate people physically dependent on prescription …
Which Drug Use Cues Play a Role in Prescription Opioid Dependence? Read More »
You may joke about getting your daily afternoon sugar fix and about needing it to get through the rest of the day, but it isn’t particularly funny. As research keeps finding and confirming, sugar is addictive. It may not be heroin or cocaine, but it can get you hooked and it can cause major, long-term …
If you read anything in the news about drugs and addiction, the stories are usually bleak. More young people are abusing prescription drugs and a heroin epidemic, along with overdose deaths, is sweeping the country.
Are you a proud media multitasker? Better close out the 12 open windows on your laptop, turn off the pinging smartphone and pull out the earbuds.