Legality is an important factor when it comes to drug use. A suburban mother or Wall Street executive, both of whom would never be found scoring drugs in a back alley, will take and often become addicted to Adderall. After all, it is a widely-prescribed pharmaceutical medication. And there within lies the problem with kratom—it, … Read More
Historically, the word clean referred to anything that was not dirty. “Clean as a whistle.” Similarly, pure meant something that was uncontaminated or virtuous. “Pure as the driven snow.” Only in the past two decades have both of these commonly used words taken on entirely new meanings. Today clean and pure are synonymous with healthy … Read More
Cigarette smoking was a commonplace activity midway through the previous century. Smoking was cool, sexy, made additionally enticing by its presence in blockbuster movies and popular television shows. It took decades for science to catch up with culture. Not until 1966 did the federal government place a label on cigarette packages, warning of their danger. … Read More
An estimated 88,000 people (approximately 62,000 men and 26,000 women) die from alcohol-related causes annually, making alcohol the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Accidents and illnesses such as pancreatitis, cancer, heart disease and cirrhosis of the liver account for many of these deaths. Another lesser-known cause is suicide; the risk … Read More
September is National Suicide Prevention month; therefore, much is being written and talked about regarding this topic. Yet, rarely do we hear about the geographic demographics of this growing problem, namely how shockingly prevalent it is in rural areas. Although populations are low, Montana, Alaska and Wyoming lead the country in suicide deaths. Last May, … Read More
The world lost two extraordinary people last week. One a revolutionary fashion designer, the other a talented chef and beloved television personality. In both cases, media outlets exploded with sad and shocked commentary due to the cause of the premature deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain: suicide. And then came the commensurate outpouring of … Read More
Last month, Oprah Winfrey addressed the issue of trauma in our country on a 60 Minutes segment. The report received a great deal of attention, as it should. She introduced the idea of trauma-informed care and called it “a revolutionary approach spreading across the country.” However, this approach to treatment is not necessarily new to the National … Read More
A recent research study validated something that treatment professionals have always known: early identification of eating disorders is crucial; and in fact, may be key to saving young lives. According to a six-year study conducted at Newcastle University in the UK, girls and boys with more eating disorder symptoms at age nine also had a … Read More
A recent study in JAMA Psychiatry, a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal published by the American Medical Association, concluded that the daughters of women exposed to childhood trauma are at increased risk for serious psychiatric disorders. Researchers studied 46,877 Finnish children who were evacuated to Sweden during World War II between 1940 and 1944. They then tracked … Read More
It’s not uncommon for teasing to be an aspect of a young person’s life, whether within the confines of the family, or on the playground of the schoolyard. Teasing can be connected to minor things such as possessing a multitude of freckles, or being the shortest kid in the family. But sometimes, making fun of … Read More
