It takes a village to raise a child, as the saying goes, but a partnership of two committed parents can go a long way toward smoothing out the inevitable bumps in the road. But when one parent has struggled with addiction, those bumps can seem pretty difficult to navigate and can create a legacy of…
Most people who end up in court and in front of a judge for drug offenses are addicted. The disease of addiction causes many people to make choices they wouldn’t have otherwise, to commit crimes in order to get money to feed their habit. Many also end up getting into trouble simply for possessing an…
When someone is trapped in addiction every facet of their life is affected. It’s hard to watch the life of someone you love come unraveled piece by piece. Family members often start out by trying to ignore the problem and simply love the person back into health. When that fails, they may confront the addict…
Ideally, every child would be born into a family with two loving and healthy parents. In less than ideal cases children are born into homes where one or both parents are abusing substances, which means these kids are at greater risk for being abused, neglected or otherwise impaired. For children to thrive and succeed a…
Methamphetamine is a synthetically manufactured stimulant known for its ability to profoundly alter the brain’s chemical environment and foster both drug abuse and drug addiction. Some of the brain changes found in users of the drug may appear before problems with abuse and addiction begin, while others may stem from the direct impact of chronic…
Binge drinking is a common form of problematic alcohol consumption in the U.S., especially among young adults. Public health officials are well aware that people who engage in this practice have significantly increased chances of participating in risky, unplanned sexual conduct. In a study published in April 2014 in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental…
Opioid use disorder is the official American Psychiatric Association term for all diagnosable cases of addiction to an opioid drug or medication, as well as all diagnosable cases of a non-addicted, destructive pattern of opioid drug or medication abuse. In any given year, some of the people who legitimately hold a prescription for an opioid…
Addiction specialists and researchers know that exercise can potentially improve the outcomes of people recovering from an addiction to a substance of abuse. However, past results have indicated that the recovery-related benefits of exercise tend to appear only in people who participate in physical activity on a regular basis. In a study presented in April…
Methamphetamine and stimulant ADHD medications such as Ritalin and Adderall have a number of chemical similarities, and people affected by serious problems stemming from the use of any of these substances may qualify for diagnosis of a condition called stimulant use disorder. However, according to the results of a study scheduled for publication in May…
The word “ritual” is defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary as: A formal ceremony or series of acts that is always performed in the same way. An act or series of acts done in a particular situation and in the same way each time. Many people relate the term to religious practice and most in recovery have…
