In the spring of 2013 there were 12 mass shootings and one terrorist bombing on American soil. Most often the discussion afterward focuses on what was wrong in the life of the perpetrator. While mental health professionals are concerned with what inspires these kinds of acts, they’re also concerned with how they affect people already dealing…
Details
You are starting to come to the realization that you have a problem with drugs or alcohol. You may have tried to stop drinking and drugging on your own, only to go right back to substance abuse, maybe with increasingly concerning consequences. You know you’re hurting your loved ones and yourself, but you can’t seem…
Details
In the U.S., women have a much higher chance than men of developing depression. This increased risk applies to the severe illness known as major depression and includes certain forms of depression unique to women. In a new study published in the Archives of Women’s Mental Health, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh sought to…
Details
One of the trickier skills to develop in early recovery is that of decision-making. While you were using, making decisions may have been a relatively simple affair—more often than not, you chose the path that protected your ability to continue to drink or use drugs. But now, in recovery, learning to trust yourself and make…
Details
Elements Behavioral Health opens The Ranch – Pennsylvania, a substance abuse and mental health treatment center that blends traditional, experiential and adventure-based therapies, exceptional clinical and medical staff, and upscale amenities in a mountainside setting overlooking the Susquehanna River.
A large study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has found results that go against the accepted wisdom for the treatment of social anxiety disorder. For years, antidepressants have been the most commonly prescribed treatment for social anxiety disorder (SAD). However, the new study analyzed data from 101 clinical trials featuring 13,164…
Details
It’s hard to be objective when it comes to figuring out whether you or your loved one has a problem with drinking. Emotions run high, rationalizations and denials lead to confusion and it can seem hard to draw the line between what’s acceptable and what’s going too far. Although the boundaries are fuzzy, issues with…
Details
A new report has investigated the growing heroin epidemic in Pennsylvania, finding – among other things – that heroin is both easier to get than wine and cheaper than beer in the rural regions of the state. Heroin is a growing problem all across the U.S., and the rise in use of the drug is…
Details
People affected by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are unusually likely to develop problems with alcohol use disorder (alcoholism and/or alcohol abuse). In addition, when a person with PTSD drinks excessively, he or she commonly experiences a worsening of PTSD symptoms. In a study scheduled for publication in February 2015 in the journal Addictive Behaviors, a…
Details
A new study from the University of Bordeaux in France suggests that a condition classified in the DSM-IV as post-concussion syndrome (PCS) may actually be post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Post-concussion syndrome is the name for long-term symptoms that some patients experience after suffering a concussion. Many experts have expressed dissatisfaction with this label, objecting that…
Details