“Magic Mushrooms” Might Be More Magic than We First Thought
“Magic Mushrooms” Might Be More Magic than We First Thought In 1960, two promising young psychologists at Harvard, Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert, began to explore the effects of psychotropic substances on the human mind. They believed that psilocybin, the active chemical in “magic” mushrooms, had the power to change people’s brains for the better. They […]
Dialectical Behavior Therapy Helps Suicidal Individuals and Addicts Recover
Dialectical Behavior Therapy Helps Suicidal Individuals and Addicts Recover Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a research-based, cognitive-behavioral treatment. It was originally developed by Marsha Linehan at the University of Washington, to help clients with the suicidal and self-harm behaviors often seen in Borderline Personality Disorder. DBT has since been modified as a treatment for other complex […]
On the Cutting Edge of Addiction Treatment: The Global Addiction Conference
On the Cutting Edge of Addiction Treatment: The Global Addiction Conference I have spent the past week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at the Global Addiction Conference. There were presentations over several days on all sorts of topics, from country reports on incarceration of addicts and drug use statistics to research studies on co-occurring mental […]
Acupuncture May Be an Alternative to Opioid Drugs for Pain Relief
Acupuncture May Be an Alternative to Opioid Drugs for Pain Relief Many people are addicted to opioid drugs and need alternative pain relief therapies. The use of opioids for chronic pain has increased dramatically and has been accompanied by a major increase in opioid addiction and overdose deaths. An estimated 2.1 million people in the […]
Are You “Addicted” to Staying Connected?
Are You “Addicted” to Staying Connected? Can people be addicted to playing computer games or checking Facebook or email? Almost all universally recognized addictions are for substances such as drugs, alcohol and tobacco, because non-substance addictions, called “process disorders,” are so difficult to pin down. Now scientists are investigating addiction to the internet, cell phones […]
Society’s Perception of Addiction: Addicts Have a Moral Failing
Society’s Perception of Addiction: Addicts Have a Moral Failing A new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health study suggests that people are significantly more likely to have negative attitudes toward those dealing with drug addiction than those with mental illness. In addition, people generally do not support insurance, housing, and employment policies that benefit […]
Why Treatment Works: Developing a Positive Attitude, Motivation and Commitment
Why Treatment Works: Developing a Positive Attitude, Motivation and Commitment The first step in recovery is recognizing that a problem exists, but that in and of itself isn’t enough to make your recovery successful. Many people also need some form of motivation to begin and maintain the process of recovery. Motivation – having a reason […]
Suicide and Mental Health
Suicide and Mental Health Suicide is a major public health concern. Estimates indicate that around 38,000 people die by suicide each year in the United States. Knowing what the risk factors are can help reduce the suicide rate. A combination of individual, relational, community and societal factors influence and contribute to the problem of suicide. […]
Grandparents in Need of Help: Addiction and the Elderly
Grandparents in Need of Help: Addiction and the Elderly We often ignore troubling behavior in older people, letting these behaviors slide as signs of aging. Forgetfulness, falls or an inability to live alone may come with age, but they don’t have to. They can also be symptoms of substance abuse. Many, many of our aging […]
The Psychoactive Drug Revolution: Developing New Treatments for Addiction and Other Disorders
The Psychoactive Drug Revolution: Developing New Treatments for Addiction and Other Disorders The resurgence of research into the therapeutic potential of psychoactive entheogenic substances is helping scientists develop new treatments for post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, and addiction. Recent clinical examinations of psilocybin have indicated that it is helpful treating these […]