Substance Abuse: Professional Treatment vs Self-Medication
When it comes to professional treatment vs self-medication, both sides have pros and cons, and in this article, we will help explain those. If self-help books work for relationships, finances, career prospects, and the power of attraction, why can’t self-help replace addiction treatment? Self-help is particularly successful in relationships, finances, and career issues because the […]
Disease of Addiction
Is Addiction a Disease? According to The Center on Addiction, addiction is a complex disease of the brain and body that involves compulsive use of one or more substances despite serious health and social consequences. Addiction disrupts regions of the brain that are responsible for reward, motivation, learning, judgment and memory. In addition to these […]
Anxiety and Addiction
Anxiety and Addiction Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders Anxiety is a complex condition that affects millions of people worldwide. It’s a broad term that can manifest differently in everyone. It is commonly defined as “a nervous disorder characterized by a state of excessive uneasiness and apprehension, typically with compulsive behavior or panic attacks.” Anxiety and addiction […]
State Autonomy or Federal Negligence? Medicaid Cuts in the Fight Against Opioid Addiction
State Autonomy or Federal Negligence? Medicaid Cuts in the Fight Against Opioid Addiction State and federal governments pay deeply for addiction. One study conducted by researchers at the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control estimates that the opioid addiction crisis has cost the United States more than $78 billion. The cost is staggering. As […]
The United States’ Greatest Barriers to Improved Mental Health Care Services and What Advocates Can Do to Enhance Care
The United States’ Greatest Barriers to Improved Mental Health Care Services and What Advocates Can Do to Enhance Care What stops people who need mental health treatment from getting the support they need? While on average one in five American adults experiences some form of mental illness every year, just over 40% of people living […]
How Medicaid’s Addiction Treatment Services Will Change as a Block-Grant Program
How Medicaid’s Addiction Treatment Services Will Change as a Block-Grant Program Last weekend Counselor to the President, Kellyanne Conway, said in an interview that replacing the Affordable Care Act could include a shift in Medicaid’s financing to block grants. Since it was created in 1965, Medicaid has been a open-ended federal entitlement program, meaning that […]
Opioid Addiction is Predictable and Potentially Avoidable if Physicians Change Screening Habits
Opioid Addiction is Predictable and Potentially Avoidable if Physicians Change Screening Habits Most people only use prescription opioids for a short period of time. According to a new study published in PAIN, The Journal of the International Association for the Study of Pain, less than two percent of people prescribed opioid-based pain killers are still […]
More than an Rx: How Can Doctors End the Opioid Epidemic?
More than an Rx: How Can Doctors End the Opioid Epidemic? How can we combat addiction? While nearly 20,000 people died from a prescription opioid-related overdose in 2014, community leaders and elected officials are still scrambling to answer this question. Some advocates point to physicians in their role as key suppliers of prescription opioids as the group […]
Voting Yes for Medical or Recreational Marijuana Legalization Will Probably Save Lives: Your Vote Matters
Voting Yes for Medical or Recreational Marijuana Legalization Will Probably Save Lives: Your Vote Matters This year’s election is already underway and while most of us are paying attention to the presidential candidates, there are a lot of other elected positions and ballot measures that are important to consider. One issue, being voted on in […]
How and Why You Should Keep Your Temper in Check
How and Why You Should Keep Your Temper in Check It never feels good to lose your temper. Nothing can end a conversation or hurt a relationship as quickly and deeply as a few angry words uttered in the heat of the moment. You may feel like these outbursts are out of your control, or […]