Horrible Trends Offer New Ways to Hate Your BodyEating DisordersBy Promises AustinOctober 29, 2014Chances are, the first time you heard the term “thigh gap” it was from someone warning you not to worry about having one. In this world of lightening-fast information dissemination, it can be nearly impossible to trace the course of a term, idea, image, etc., that has gone “viral.” But all to often, it seems… Details
Alcohol Addiction’s Impact on the Frontal LobeAlcohol AbuseBy Promises AustinOctober 23, 2014It’s discouraging watching a loved one struggle with alcohol dependence as the addict is compelled to make decisions that are self-destructive and damaging to their relationships, career and families. The individual may be fully aware of the problems they’re creating and yet be unable to make healthy choices. A new study provides clues to unhealthy… Details
How Does Delay Discounting Affect the Behavior of Cocaine Addicts?CocaineBy Promises AustinOctober 23, 2014Delay discounting is a term psychologists and psychiatrists use to describe the human tendency to favor tangible short-term rewards over potentially greater long-term rewards. The same term applies to the human tendency to weigh obvious short-term losses against potential long-term losses. In a study slated for publication in 2014 in the journal Addictive Behaviors, researchers… Details
The Difficulties of Bipolar Mothers BipolarBy Promises AustinOctober 22, 2014Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder affecting literally millions of Americans. Some of those struggling to overcome intense mood swings are brand new mothers. A study of women with various kinds of mental health disorders found that pregnant and post-partum moms with bipolar may have the toughest time of all. Researchers from Brown University conducted… Details
What Influences Quality of Life for Long-Term Recovering Alcoholics?Alcohol AbuseBy Promises AustinOctober 20, 2014Alcoholism (known more formally as alcohol dependence) is the well-known addiction characterized by such things as a physical/mental reliance on alcohol consumption and a destructive pattern of alcohol-fueled behavior. After going through the initial stages of alcoholism recovery, people affected by this addiction have a common goal of maintaining their sobriety for the remainder of… Details
Inhalant Use Can Impair Nervous System for 15 YearsOther AddictionsBy Promises AustinOctober 19, 2014Inhalants are a broad range of common, commercially available chemicals that get grouped together because they can function as makeshift drugs when inhaled through the nose or mouth. Use of these chemicals can trigger a number of serious or potentially fatal short- and long-term health problems. In a study published in 2013 in the journal… Details
Helper’s High: How Doing Good Can Make You Feel GoodPersonal ResourcesBy Promises AustinOctober 18, 2014By Edie Weinstein, LSW @EdieWeinstein1 “Practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty.” — Ann Herbert The term “random acts of kindness” has long been part of the vernacular. For some people, it may take the form of paying the toll for the person behind you on the turnpike. For others, it could… Details
Insomnia and Bipolar Disorder: What You Can DoBipolarBy Promises AustinOctober 16, 2014Just about everyone at some point has had the experience of being unable to turn off their mind and fall asleep at night. But for the person with bipolar disorder, racing thoughts are a regular symptom of the illness and the inability to get to sleep or remain asleep can become a real impediment to… Details
Cocaine Adulteration and Risks for Dangerous InfectionCocaineBy Promises AustinOctober 13, 2014Manufacturers of the illegal street drug cocaine commonly cheapen or adulterate their products with other substances in order to save money and make their drug supplies go farther. Since roughly 2003, one of the substances most frequently added to cocaine has been levamisole, a medication banned from human use in the United States. Cocaine users… Details
Healing Complex Trauma for Addiction RecoveryRecoveryBy Promises AustinOctober 8, 2014A young woman with self-described ‘commitment phobia’ turns to substances to numb the pain of a troubled childhood. A young woman drives into therapy. Aamori complains to her therapist that all of her relationships end just after the one-year mark, just as things begin to get serious. The reason, she explains, is that she gets… Details
