At first, someone with an addiction and someone with an eating disorder like anorexia may seem to be struggling with completely different issues. The person who is addicted to drugs or alcohol abuses the substance because they are preoccupied with a sensation. On the other hand, someone with anorexia or another eating disorder is consumed […]
Dealing with the Side Effects of Antidepressants
When used by people who need them, antidepressant drugs can be a very important part of treatment for a variety of mental health issues. They have helped countless people feel better about themselves and their environments, and contributed a great deal to holistic, therapeutic treatments that have helped many people thrive. However, for some users, […]
Missouri First State To Require Insurance Companies To Treat Eating Disorders
One state is taking big steps in fighting eating disorders. Missouri has just become the first state in the U.S. to pass a law requiring health insurance companies to cover treatment for all eating disorders. The law will begin taking effect next month (August 2015) and will help expand the coverage of health care plans […]
5 Ways to Know if Your Drug or Alcohol Use is Becoming Addictive
Addiction is defined as a recurring, long-term pull to use a substance, to the point the brain can think about nothing else, even in spite of negative consequences. It is a very specific brain disorder, and does not necessarily affect everyone who uses a particular substance. Some casual users may be able to use a […]
The Link Between Cocaine and Anorexia
Co-occurring disorders can come in the form of common links between particular drugs and associated mental health issues. The effects of certain drugs can influence or provide relief to specific symptoms of disorders, making them more likely to be an issue of addiction for someone that disorder. In the case of patients with anorexia, a […]
Living “One Day at a Time” Can Be a Way to Move on From a Painful Past
One common cliché, but powerful concept, repeated among people in recovery is the need to go through life “one day at a time.” The human brain, particularly one facing many challenges or struggling with anxiousness can often be fixated on regret about the past or worry about the future. Taking things one day at a […]
Multiple Addictions and Mental Health
When someone has an addictive personality and the vulnerability to engage in compulsive behavior it is not surprising if they suffer from multiple addictions. Cross addictions are all too common in the world of recovery as hardly anyone enters treatment with a simple cut-and-dry problem. With multiple addictions there are also likely to be mental […]
Dealing with Obsession in Recovery
Coming off an addiction can sometimes feel overwhelming and filled with many challenges. All aspects of your life and health have adapted and centered around you use of a particular substance, so going without that substance can be a huge adjustment for your physical health, social networks, and emotional processing. Yet the biggest challenge is […]
How Effective Are Anti-Depressants?
It has become much more common in the past decade or so for clinical depression to be treated with medication to improve chemical balance in the brain. Psychiatrists often prescribe treatment in the form of SSRIs or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Although these types of prescription antidepressants are very common, there is some controversy regarding […]
Tramadol Abuse Sky-rockets in Egypt
Addiction does not discriminate. It affects people all over the world, from every culture, ethnicity, socioeconomic level, and context imaginable. However, there are a number of factors that can increase a society’s vulnerability to addiction, including the prevalence of a substance and difficult circumstances such as widespread trauma or poverty. The combination of these factors […]