Bipolar disorder not otherwise specified (BP-NOS) is the diagnostic category that mental health professionals use when describing bipolar symptoms that don’t fit the criteria for an official form of bipolar illness. As such, the category acts as a generalized depository for bipolar-related characteristics. Despite its catchall nature, a BP-NOS diagnosis is medically serious. In many …
What is Bipolar Disorder Not Otherwise Specified? Read More »
Numerous studies have shown that involvement with sports has protective benefits. Young people who participate in athletics often exhibit improved self-confidence, a more positive attitude and better overall health. Yet athletes also face a threefold greater risk for developing some form of eating disorder. Eating disorders often occur with or lead to depression. Researchers studied …
Athletic Success Boosts Self-Esteem, But There’s a Hidden Danger Read More »
Doctors and researchers know that some people who consume alcohol have a tendency to develop facial flushing, a condition marked by skin redness and an unusual feeling of warmth or burning. These individuals typically have a lower level of tolerance for alcohol’s physical effects inside the body. In a study published in April 2014 in …
Red Face From Drinking a Sign of Alcohol Intolerance Read More »
Risky behavior is the general term used to describe actions that increase a person’s chances of experiencing harmful or unwanted, short- or long-term life outcomes. People with a tendency toward such actions have heightened odds of getting involved in substance use. In turn, substance use is itself a risky behavior that can produce seriously damaging …
A significant number of American teenagers drink alcohol either occasionally or on a regular basis. Even more than adults, these teens expose themselves to a range of potentially severe alcohol-related health risks. In a study published in December 2013 in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, a team of British and American researchers sought …
Drug paraphernalia in the bedroom is an obvious indicator of marijuana use. But what are the more subtle signs that a teenager is smoking pot?
Eating disorders are a collection of mental health conditions characterized by a dysfunctional relationship between eating habits, body image and the beauty ideals of mainstream society. Two factors known to contribute to the development of these disorders are a negative attitude toward one’s body shape and size (body dissatisfaction) and an inability to accurately judge …
The quest for a leaner, more toned physique has led to many crazy potions, fad diets and pills. But who would have thought that Viagra would top that list? A new study suggests that in addition to sexual benefits for men, Viagra may also help with weight loss.
Most parents consider drug use to be a topic appropriate for kids in their mid-to-late teenage years, not to their pubescent daughters and sons barely out of middle school. However, research by the American Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) suggests that children as young as 12 are using drugs such as hallucinogens …
In Bailey’s sophomore year of high school, her parents divorced and her father moved across the country to be with another woman. Her mother, devastated by the affair she’d discovered months earlier, succumbed to depression. The stress of her parents’ divorce and her feelings of responsibility for her mother’s condition took a toll on her. …