Low vitamin D has been hailed as critical to bone and muscle development, and suspected as a factor in certain diseases, now including depression. A new study from Oregon State University (OSU) found that healthy young women with vitamin D deficiency have higher incidence of clinical depression, a disabling mental disorder that cloaks a person…
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Addiction is stealthy, nasty and unpredictable. In reality there is no reliable defense against addiction besides abstinence — don’t start drinking, drugging or gambling in the first place and nothing bad can happen. But human beings will always engage in a certain amount of risky behavior, putting themselves in the crosshairs without fully considering the…
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A team of British researchers has concluded that the presence of two related emotions—defeat and entrapment—is a prominent source of suicidal risk in post-traumatic stress disorder patients. People affected by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have heightened chances of thinking about suicide and making suicide attempts. This fact holds true even when the impact of co-existing…
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It’s not unusual for substance abuse and eating disorders to co-occur, but what happens when someone develops an eating disorder while in recovery for addiction? There are some important similarities between substance use disorders and eating disorders. Sometimes it happens that a person in recovery develops a substitute addiction, and if that substitute is binge…
DetailsWhen you made the decision to get sober, drinking and drugging were probably causing major problems in your life. You knew that you couldn’t go on doing what you were doing indefinitely. On some level, you knew you were causing deep pain to the people you love, but for a while alcohol and/or drugs were…
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A questionnaire called the Internet Sex Screening Test (ISST) can help doctors identify people affected by cybersex addiction, recent findings from an Italian research team indicate. Cybersex addiction is a behavioral disorder that combines features of sex addiction and Internet addiction. Currently, the condition has no consistently applied definition in the U.S. In a study…
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The RanchSM treatment center, set in the beautiful rolling hills of Nunnelly, Tennessee, is introducing deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and ketamine treatment for severe, treatment-resistant depression.
People affected by PTSD and certain other mental health problems may see a substantial reduction or complete resolution of their symptoms if they recover from related physical health issues, according to recent results published by a team of American researchers. Serious, potentially life-threatening physical health problems are known for their ability to act as triggers…
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Given the nature of sex addiction, maintaining a relationship before or during recovery can seem nearly impossible. The National Council on Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity describes this disorder as “engaging in persistent and escalating patterns of sexual behavior acted out despite increasing negative consequences to self and others.” These escalating behaviors can involve excessive use…
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I’ve been involved in mindfulness practices in some form or another for over 25 years. I dabbled in meditation related to my karate classes during high school, began studying yoga early in college, started teaching yoga in my mid-20s, and embarked on a study of Chinese martial arts in my late 20s which included tai…
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