If you have any doubt that addiction is spreading like a plague across the nation, check out the statistical storyboard created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and shared below. It’s a sobering assortment of interactive bar graphs, charts and maps that tracks the changes in drug overdose deaths from 2002 to 2014 …
Addiction touches most lives at some point. Whether you’ve personally faced it or have watched a family member or friend struggle with it, it’s on your radar. Only you know the true impact that it’s had on you. Perhaps addiction has cost you your job, relationship, freedom, vehicle or health. It might have led to …
Mark was an avid racquetball player, hitting the court nearly every day until his shoulder, weakened by years of baseball, finally gave out on him. He went in for surgery, but in addition to getting his body repaired, Mark acquired a liking — and soon an obsessive need — for opioid painkillers. At first, the …
Two young men who were sexually exploited as children need to own the consequences of their self-destructive behavior. From a distance, Twig and Lenny may seem like they have their lives together. The couple is frequently spotted in designer clothing, stepping out of town cars, sitting VIP in the hottest clubs, partying it up with …
It is always important to keep an informed perspective on drugs of abuse. The most important is that these are mind-altering substances. Whether the drug is heroin, a prescription narcotic, cocaine, marijuana or ecstasy, it goes into your brain, activates certain receptors and gets you high. It changes your brain and makes you feel, think …
A new study out of Australia finds that the development of drug addiction is related to brain levels of serotonin. Researcher Sarah Bradbury at Victoria University in Wellington recently announced the findings of a research project she carried out to determine the role played by neurotransmitters in the onset and continuation of drug addiction. For …
Drug Addiction Blamed on Low Levels of Serotonin Read More »
It’s a sad fact of life that the celebration of America’s independence is a day — make that a weekend — that is also synonymous with out-of-control drinking, drugging, and associated violence, overdose and deaths. Young or old, age makes no difference when it comes to people losing their senses and partying much too hard. …
Male and female athletes of all ages and types are no strangers to trying to get an edge, to be one up on the competition. The goals are what every athlete wants: to be stronger, faster, and more agile, to have more stamina, increased energy and focus, and to quickly be able to adapt to …
Addicted Athletes: Unintended Consequences of Performance-Enhancing Drugs Read More »
One of the most widely repeated pieces of advice on dealing with addiction in a loved one is that “tough love” is the best approach. He or she has to hit “rock bottom,” you’re told, and when that happens, there will be a tremendous transformation. The son or daughter who once wanted nothing but to …
Using Phrases Like ‘Rock Bottom’ Is Easy; Living With Them Is Hard Read More »
A new study has underlined the importance of bullying in substance abuse and hints at the potential benefits of raising awareness of its long-term effects.