Mental Health

Repeated drug use progresses from dependence and tolerance to addiction, known as substance use disorder. Addiction is a complex brain disorder and a mental illness caused by harmful substances that change how nerve cells send, receive and process information. It's helpful to know how drugs alter your brain structure to understand the mental disorder better....

There are over 200 classified mental health disorders globally, ranging from an anxiety disorder, the most common to schizophrenia, the most severe and Apotemnophilia, one of the rarest (an uncontrollable urge to amputate healthy body parts). Mental disorders are treatable health conditions that respond to an integrated treatment approach that includes medication, psychotherapy, holistic therapies, exercise,...

Addictive behaviours don't get as much attention as alcohol and drug addiction, but they can cause just as much damage. Behavioural addiction covers everything from gambling, sex and shopping addiction to the Internet, gaming, self-harm and plastic surgery addiction. What is Behavioral addiction? Behaviour addiction refers to non-substance habits. They include a range of activities...

Let’s be honest. Many of us still have a prejudiced idea of what an “addict looks like” or what type of background they come from. So it may come as a complete shock when your son or daughter is diagnosed with an active addiction. Your child came from a good home, had a happy childhood...

Talk therapy is the backbone of an integrated addiction treatment Program. Talk therapy helps people with substance use disorder deal with negative thoughts and feelings and make positive changes. The proper name for talk therapy is psychotherapy. What is talk therapy? Talk therapy aims to help you look at and react differently to thoughts and...

"Unawareness of a mental illness is a symptom brought on by the disease. It is not a choice that an ill person makes." Dr Xavier Amador, an internationally renowned clinical psychologist and leader in his field, made this statement in his book “I’m not sick. I don’t need help”. If someone you love lives with...

Common mental disorders such as depression, anxiety and PTSD are linked to sleep deprivation. Insomnia or poor quality sleep also increases the risk of drug and alcohol use which can lead to dependency and ultimately addiction. We look at the connection between sleep and substance abuse disorders and provide insight into how important it is...

Drug and alcohol addiction does not discriminate based on social status, race, gender or education. Addiction can happen to everyone; even successful lawyers, chefs, doctors, pilots and professional athletes. It has everything to do with genetics and environment factors and little to do with whether you are somehow “better or worse off” than others. Substance...

Addiction does not discriminate; it doesn’t care if you are rich or poor, male or female, young or old, black or white. It takes you on a long and harrowing road from experimenting to dependency and then addiction. But there is hope because there are exit ramps along the way; where you can get off,...

You might not know it but your brain is like a muscle. It’s not a true muscle because it doesn’t relax or contract; rather, it’s a complex cellular structure that functions in a very similar way to your body’s muscles. And just like the muscles of our arms, legs and abs; it has the potential...

High-functioning anxiety is a mysterious condition, mainly because those who experience it usually hide it well from the world. On the outside, people with high-functioning anxiety come across as super successful, organised and are often over-achievers. However, on the inside, they are driven by fear and live in turmoil; experiencing debilitating worry, stress and tension...

It’s perfectly natural to feel sad at certain times in your life. Sadness can be brought on by the loss of a loved one, a breakup, moving away from friends and family, struggling financially or working in a job you don’t enjoy. Sadness comes in waves and usually passes with time. However, if it does...