If you are a heavy social drinker on the weekends, and maybe some weeknights, you are probably accustomed to waking to the feelings of a hangover – the dry mouth, the aching head, the spinning room. Does this mean that you have a problem? How do you know if you have crossed the line from …
Are You a Harmless Binger or a Functional Alcoholic? Read More »
As an addict’s use spins out of control, what happens to the rest of the family? In families where one or both parents develop an addiction, certain “rules” about how to behave and how to survive develop alongside the addiction. In addition to these rules, family members take on roles that shore up the rules …
Family Rules: Don’t Talk, Don’t Feel, Don’t Trust Read More »
The fact that some people are able to take substances without becoming addicted has long been a hot topic of research. This difference between individuals could suggest a biological or genetic marker for the development of addiction, which could therefore lead to a much more effective approach to treatment. A new study has looked at …
Why Do Only Some People Become Addicted to Alcohol? Read More »
Stress is a normal and inevitable part of life. We all experience situations or emotions that activate stress responses. Sometimes stress is relatively mild, such as becoming tangled in traffic before an appointment. Other times it’s severe and prolonged, such as the stress experienced by victims of ongoing emotional, physical, or sexual abuse. While we …
The Insidious Connection Between Substance Abuse and Stress Read More »
For alcoholics, drug addicts, and their families, treatment, and rehabilitation offer the hope of redemption and healing. But substance abusers and the people who love them are often unsure what exactly to expect from the treatment, and their tentative sense of optimism is often tempered by uncertainty and trepidation. Complicating things further, misconceptions about the …
Essentially all adults in the modern world are intimately familiar with stress, a reaction in the mind and body that produces effects such as increases in normal blood pressure and heart rate, as well as an increased susceptibility to the distorting influence of anxiety and fear. For several reasons, alcoholics typically have unusually elevated stress …
“Addiction treatment is too expensive.” “It takes too much time.” “Rehab doesn’t work.” Perhaps you’ve heard those excuses from a loved one – or made them yourself – when it comes to finally getting help for an addiction. Sadly, there are so many myths that enable addicts to put off recovery again…and again…again. But the …
It is well-established that long-term alcohol abuse can cause serious health problems, including brain damage and various forms of cancer. It also destroys relationships, finances, careers and emotional well-being. A series of recent studies show that alcohol abuse does even more damage than was previously known. Technological advances in neuroimaging allow scientists to observe alcohol’s …
If parents want to keep their teens clean and sober, they may need to look no further than the family dinner table, according to a new study shown in the I B Times. CASA recently released a report that shows the importance of having family dinners. Joseph A. Califano, Jr., with CASA, says that parental …
Researchers at the University of Michigan’s Health System have released the latest developments of their ongoing longitudinal study on women in their 30s and early 40s who are considered to be at high-risk for alcohol abuse, antisocial behavior, and depression.