Even though pharmaceutical fentanyl was made to have a legitimate medical use, an epidemic of illegally-made fentanyl has caused problems in recent years. The amount of fentanyl needed for overdose is very small compared to morphine or heroin, and this is part of what makes...
Addiction to alcohol or drugs can be confusing, frustrating and devastating. Because it involves the reward chemicals in the brain, it’s not a disease with a quick cure. In fact, an addict may relapse up to six times before becoming sober for good. Our brains...
Filling out surveys seems to be one of the most common ways to determine one’s identity these days. What do you want to major in? What if you choose the wrong major? Are you trying to change career paths? How do you know which one...
“Prodependence” is the new buzzword in addiction healthcare today, promulgated by psychotherapist Dr. Robert Weiss, author of Prodependence: Moving Beyond Codependency. In his interview with The Book Brigade, published in Psychology Today, Dr. Weiss explains how prodependence is the new and improved version of the...
What can we learn from mindful meditation? Mindful meditation in addiction treatment is the practice of being “in the moment,” and it is much more than just simple relaxation. Practicing mindfulness is about increasing your self-awareness by observing your thoughts, attitudes, emotions, and environment without attaching...
What do we mean by spiritual recovery? The concept of spirituality in the problem of substance abuse addiction can be traced back to the 1930s when Bill Wilson founded Alcoholics Anonymous, based on the premise that alcoholism is an attempt to fill one’s thirst for God....
You know you want it, but you know it’s not good for you because you’ve already been down that road plenty of times. You’ve worked extremely hard to get to this point where you have recovered everything you’ve lost, but you can’t seem to drown...
Are you too young to be forgetful about certain things that only older adults worry about? You walk into a room and immediately forget what you were looking for. You’re out with friends or at the grocery store, only to realize that you forgot your...
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) defines addiction as “a complex condition, a brain disease manifested by compulsive substance use despite harm consequence.” By definition, addiction is a relationship formed between an individual and a substance rather than a human being with another human. When individuals...
Handle Fentanyl with Care: Fatal upon Contact Even the slightest physical contact with fentanyl can send people to the hospital for unintentional overdoses. When first responders and law enforcement officials engage in emergency and life-saving activities, they may accidentally inhale fentanyl and other fentanyl-related substances, or...