Partying has become a standard part of the college experience. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, more than one third of college students report binge drinking within the past month and about 20 percent of college students used an illicit drug at least once in the past month. While these statistics… Continue Reading 5 Signs that College Drinking has Become a Problem
“Drunkorexia” is a colloquial term combining an eating disorder and binge drinking. It is the practice of offsetting calories from binge drinking by skipping meals or purging so that the binge drinking doesn’t lead to weight gain. While the practice is particularly common among college aged women, men do it as well. A study by… Continue Reading What is “Drunkorexia”?
Addiction is a family disease in several ways. First, there is a strong genetic component. Experts believe about half of your addiction risk is genetic because of various genes and gene expressions that affect how you respond to drugs and alcohol or make you more vulnerable to certain mental health issues associated with addiction. Second,… Continue Reading Do These 5 Things if There’s Addiction in Your Family
Self-care is extremely important in recovery. It includes the activities you specifically do to maintain your recovery and the things you do just to stay healthy and happy. In reality, there’s no separation between things you do for yourself and things you do for recovery. This might include going to therapy, exercising, eating, getting enough… Continue Reading How to Make Time for Self-care
It can be hard to be in a relationship with someone with depression. For one thing, it’s hard to see someone you love suffer. Also, depression can make someone more irritable, angry, or withdrawn. The symptoms of depression may lead to more arguments, frustration, or feelings of alienation. It can be frustrating when you want… Continue Reading 9 Tips for Helping a Partner with Depression
Bipolar disorder affects nearly six million Americans every year. Bipolar is characterized by both episodes of major depression and episodes of mania or hypomania. Symptoms of depressive episodes are identical to those of unipolar depression and include sadness, lethargy, disturbed sleep, slow movements, feelings of hopelessness, poor concentration, physical aches, losing interest in things you… Continue Reading What’s the Difference Between a Good Mood and a Manic Episode?
Narcan is the brand name of the drug naloxone, which is a drug used to reverse opioid overdoses. Naloxone is an opioid antagonist, meaning it binds more strongly than opioid drugs to mu receptors but does not activate them. As a result, naloxone shoves opioid molecules off of mu receptors and prevents them from reattaching,… Continue Reading How Narcan Reverses an Opioid Overdose
Social anxiety disorder and avoidant personality disorder are both conditions that cause people to feel extremely anxious in social situations. People with these conditions will avoid social interaction as much as possible, despite the fact they typically desire social connection and close relationships. Both conditions can significantly impair one’s ability to form relationships and hinder… Continue Reading What’s the Difference Between Social Anxiety Disorder and Avoidant Personality Disorder?
Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder has three main characteristics: Inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. People with ADHD have difficulty focusing for very long, often bouncing from one train of thought to another or becoming distracted by something in the environment. They are often restless, with excessive energy that can make it hard to sit still or sleep. They… Continue Reading How ADHD Can Lead to Addiction
People with avoidant personality disorder have low self-esteem and consequently have an intense fear of being judged or criticized by others. This fear makes them extremely uncomfortable in social situations and therefore they avoid social situations whenever possible. Avoidant personality disorder affects about two and a half percent of the population and it affects men… Continue Reading What is Avoidant Personality Disorder?