Placing a teen in alcohol or drug rehab is one of the most difficult things a parent will do. While you’re probably relieved that your child is finally getting help, you may also be worried about what the future holds. As a parent, there are actions you can take right now to give your teenager …
When Your Teen Is in Drug Rehab – Tips for Parents Read More »
Cannabis use disorder is a new mental health term used to identify people seriously affected by issues related to cannabis (marijuana or hashish) abuse or addiction. It belongs to a range of abuse- and addiction-related problems called substance use disorders. According to the results of a study published in November 2013 in the journal Drug …
Teens With Cannabis Use Disorder Lose Brain Function Read More »
From foot-binding to neck-stretching to skin-lightening, different cultures have defined beauty, and particularly women’s beauty, in ways that have seemed both extreme and unhealthy. There are ancient traditions in cultures around the world of doing things to women’s bodies (and sometimes male bodies, too) that seem to the outsider to be terribly unwise, unhealthy or …
Anorexia nervosa is an unusually deadly mental disorder centered on a fixation with thinness and weight loss. Current guidelines allow doctors to diagnose the disorder in individuals whose body weight falls below 85 percent of expected norms. However, according to the results of a new report published in September 2013 in the American Academy of …
Many Teens Develop First Signs of Anorexia While Obese Read More »
Delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS) is a condition characterized by a change in sleeping patterns that delays a person’s habitual sleeping sessions by two or more hours a night. The condition forms one specific subtype of a group of officially recognized mental health disorders called circadian rhythm sleep disorders. Teenagers develop DSPS more often than …
Extreme Night Owl Teens May Have Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome Read More »
You may have seen the signs. Your child, once obsessed with Little League, SpongeBob and skateboarding, now seems to be squirreled away in his bedroom for hours at a time. He has developed a jailhouse pallor. On the rare occasions you see him, it’s just long enough for him to raid the fridge before scurrying …
Gender dysphoria is the mental health term for a disruptive inner conflict between one’s physical/biological gender and one’s personal identification as male or female. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) began using this term in 2013 when it released the newest edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. In a study published in …
“Bath salts” is the common, collective nickname for a group of artificial, mind-altering drugs sold illegally or illicitly throughout various parts of the United States. All of these drugs contain at least one form of a group of amphetamine-related substances called synthetic cathinones. Doctors and mental health researchers are well aware of the severe health …
‘Bath Salts’ More Addictive Than Meth, Study Finds Read More »
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has labeled underage drinking a major health concern. There are nearly 5,000 kids aged 12 to 20 who die every year from alcohol poisoning. The year 2010 saw 189,060 emergency room visits tied to underage drinking, with almost 77,000 of those kids being 12 to 17 years old. …
The most widely used public method of preventing suicides — crisis hotlines — may not be as effective as previously thought. New evidence suggests that teens in particular are highly unlikely to contact a hotline if they are experiencing suicidal thoughts or tendencies. Since adolescents are at higher risk of committing suicide than many others, …
Suicidal Teens Turn Away From Hotlines, Seek Solace in Social Media Read More »