Substance Abuse Articles

Listed by most recent articles first.

• White Elephants
  As I cried, I wanted to believe it was the alcohol that induced Mom’s words.  I had to believe it was the alcohol.  I don’t want them.  The words rang in my ears.  That’s the ...
• Adolescent Tragedies and My Teenager
  Once again I am writing about a terrible tragedy. Fifteen dead children. Fifteen lives ...
• Tragic Beauty: The Dark Side of Venus Aphrodite and the Loss and Regeneration of Soul
  Everyone has met Aphrodite -- the girl who enters a room and men turn their heads to gawk, the girl who always has a man clutching her arm while several others wait in the wings. ...
• Loud In The House of Myself: Memoir of a Strange Girl
  I found "Loud In The House of Myself: Memoir of a Strange Girl" by Stacy Pershall to be a superbly written, first-person account of a young girl's struggle with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and bipolar ...
• What’s My Zip Code?
  When I first saw this book "What's My Zip Code?" by David Stringer, it was in download format and I wondered what exactly it would be about because it seemed like an odd title to ...
• Seeking Drug and Alcohol Treatment for Employees
  [caption id="attachment_9713" align="alignright" width="211" caption="Credit: PHILIP LEE HARVEY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY"][/caption]If you currently know of or have known of an employee who ...
• An Anatomy of Addiction: Sigmund Freud, William Halsted, and the Miracle Drug Cocaine
  In An Anatomy of Addiction: Sigmund Freud, William Halsted, and the Miracle Drug Cocaine, physician and medical historian Howard Markel, M.D., recounts the story of two geniuses who used themselves as guinea pigs in their ...
• Cry Depression, Celebrate Recovery: My Journey through Mental Illness
  Barbara Altman, a St. Louis, Mo., native, earned her Bachelor of Music degree at Fontbonne University and taught music therapy at St. Louis Institute of Music.  She now teaches piano and guitar in her home ...
• History of a Suicide: My Sister’s Unfinished Life
  After reading History of a Suicide, written by Jill Bialosky, I was moved by the way the author not only shared her story of her sister's suicide, but also how committed she was to researching ...
• How Is Suboxone Treatment Different than Drug Abuse?
  Physicians who treat opioid addiction also have the option of utilizing 'medication-assisted treatment,' and the most common medications used in the treatment of opioid dependence today are methadone, naltrexone, and buprenorphine (Suboxone). Most people ...
• Opioid Dependence and Withdrawal
  A person is said to have physical opioid dependence if they have high 'tolerance' of opioids, meaning they need more of ...
• Identifying Signs of Addiction
  While drug and alcohol use and abuse manifest themselves in different ways, they share a number of common signs and symptoms. Often, addicts ...
• Differences Between Outpatient and Inpatient Treatment Programs
  For patients needing drug and alcohol treatment, outpatient and residential (inpatient) treatment programs can provide an essential level of ...
• Is Trying To Change an Addictive Habit Worth It?
  Drugs. Alcohol. Food. Exercise. Shopping. Gambling. Attempts to change or fix other people. Trying to make more ...
• Keeping Your Child Free from Addiction
  The single most pressing concern for the parents I see in my psychotherapy practice, whether their child is 4 ...
• Can Smoking Cause Depression?
  Researchers have made bold claims about cigarette smoking leading to depression. It has long been known that smokers have higher rates of ...
• Higher Risk of Mental Health Problems for Homosexuals
  Homosexual people tend to experience more mental health problems than heterosexual people, research indicates. Discrimination may contribute to the higher risk, believes lead researcher Dr. Apu Chakraborty of University College London, UK. His team looked at ...
• Family Involvement is Important in Substance Abuse Treatment
  For family and friends of drug- or alcohol-addicted individuals, addressing the addiction is one of the most difficult ...
• Suicide and the Military
  When someone commits suicide, it’s a tragedy. When we are losing more soldiers to suicide than to ...
• Full Recovery: Creating a Personal Action Plan for Life Beyond Sobriety
  Full Recovery: Creating a Personal Action Plan for Life Beyond Sobriety is both an inspiring and a very practical book for those who are in recovery as well as anyone who wants to grow ...
• The Book That Started It All: The Original Working Manuscript of Alcoholics Anonymous
  Chances are you can ask almost anyone if they know what the Big Book is and you will get a response along the lines of "Yes, that's the bible for alcoholics, right?"  According to Bill ...
• The Health Impact of Regular Marijuana Use
  A recent global review of marijuana (cannabis) suggests it has been used by one in 25 adults aged 15 to 64 ...
• A New Day, A New Life
  “If you are reading this, it’s likely that you decided to create a healthy, rewarding life.” And so begins the 365-day journey A New Day, A New Life: A Guided Journal Blending Science & Spirituality, ...
• Scattershot: My Bipolar Family
  It was back in the '50s. One day my friend's mother just disappeared. That Sunday as they gathered in the church parking lot, the other mothers whispered. My friend stood next to me and cried. ...
• Bonding with Your Teen: A Hidden Opportunity
  This column is part of a series of vignettes representing themes common to families and adolescents. Different sides of a dilemma are presented – the parent’s point of view and the adolescent’s view. ...