You Have an Opportunity to Parent Such That Your Children Do Not Become Addicts I am the father of two small children, an infant, and a preschooler. And although I am a relatively new parent, I’ve learned a great deal about parenting over the years. Some of what I learned was gleaned from what my parents did[…]
Tag Archives: Mental Health
Addiction, Recovery & a Path to Prevention The practice of prevention—keeping young people safe and alive—often relies heavily on outcome-based evidence of educational approaches and initiatives, not to mention the psychosocial research that guides them. But there’s a companion approach to be found in the experience of addiction and recovery, both subjects of an expo sponsored by[…]
Drug, Alcohol, & Behavioral Addictions Have One Thing in Common: Compulsion I said I’d use the next few posts to share what I learned at a recent conference on behavioral addictions. I should emphasize that the conference, held in Budapest, was billed as the First International Conference on Behavioral Addictions. The idea that gambling, hypersexualized behavior, eating[…]
How to Turns Steps Backward into Leaps Forward You’ve been working hard to eat better, but one day you binge at Taco Bell. Or, you’ve tried to quit smoking several times, and only reached three weeks in the most recent attempt. Barbara Markway, Ph.D., is a psychologist with over twenty years of experience and the author of[…]
When Should Addicts Be Protected By Disability Laws? In Oregon, a police officer was fired in 2011 for driving an unmarked police car under the influence while off-duty. He refused a field sobriety test after driving the vehicle into a ditch. The arresting officer commented that the man was one of the most impaired people he’d ever[…]
Understanding How The Brain Heals Creates New Treatment Options For Addicts We used to think that the brain, once damaged, could not repair itself. Breakthroughs in neuroscience have shown that this is not true. Though individual neurons might be damaged beyond repair, the brain attempts to heal itself when damaged by making new connections or new neural[…]
Simple Tools to Help Addicts & Others Push Back Against Depression Symptoms Depression is probably the most common co-occurring disorder addicts present with. Unsurprisingly, addicts frequently feel demoralized and hopeless about their lives and health. Altered brain chemistry exacerbates these feelings and often leads to depression. The following suggestions, however, go a long way towards relieving the symptoms of[…]
The Loss of Spirituality Makes It Doubly Hard to Recover From Workaholism When work becomes the “sacred cow,” personal and often professional values change. Faith often weakens because little energy is left over to pursue and find the spiritual side of life. For those who have lost their spirituality, or never had it, this is a[…]
Relapse Does Not Have to Be Part of Addiction Recovery Generally, when an addict is sent to or voluntarily enters treatment, s/he is told to expect relapse, that returning to using is a natural part of the recovery process. While it is certainly true that many addicts and alcoholics do relapse during the early stages[…]
Stress, Anxiety, Nerves…Trade in Your Worries For Confidence & Courage Whether what you worry about marriage problems, money problems, relationship tensions, kids, health, work, or yet another negative situation that seems to be steaming your way, worrying and the anxiety that worries engender are a physically unpleasant, stressful, and unproductive use of your energies. This article explores alternatives[…]