News

Many people have suffered during the Covid-19 pandemic. One group of particular concern is people who are dealing with addiction and working hard at their recovery. Due to imposed lockdowns and social distancing, people in addiction recovery have been forced to transition from face-to-face treatment to online therapy. There’s no reason the pandemic should derail...

Every year, the number of college students misusing “study drugs” is increasing. In fact, prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing drug problem in the United States after alcohol and marijuana. So called study drugs are prescription stimulants that were approved by the FDA to treat conditions such as ADD, ADHD and narcolepsy; yet widespread...

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...

There’s a humorous meme that says, “If stress burned calories, we’d all be supermodels”. So true; we live in a world that leaves so many of us overwhelmed by stress; ranging from politics, crime, pollution and climate change to family dynamics, relationship and work pressure. Stress is an unavoidable fact of life. And it’s not...

Your brain is a complex matter yet it’s also quite a simple organ, in that it’s capable of reducing to ‘bare bones’ how we view and interpret events and relationships. This is known as cognitive bias and it’s our brain’s way of making sense of an information-laden world and reaching decisions with rapid speed. Everyone...

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...

There is a whole range of terms used to describe anxiety disorder. The news and the internet are awash with words related to health anxiety and illness anxiety disorder; some of the content is helpful, others not so much. Other illness anxiety-related terms Depending on who it is you are speaking to -the terms used...

In the 40-something years since its introduction, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been studied extensively and proven to be highly effective in treating a wide range of disorders; ranging from alcohol and drug addiction disorder to psychiatric disorders, psychological problems and medical issues with a psychiatric component. When patients change their underlying beliefs about themselves,...

Symptoms of withdrawal may occur when you abruptly stop using alcohol or a drug that you’ve developed a physical and mental dependence on over time. The intensity of withdrawal symptoms and how long they last vary depending on the type of drug or how heavy a drinker you are as well as biological make-up. Typical...

The simple definition of depression is a constant feeling of sadness and loss of interest which stops you from doing your normal activities. However, depression is no simple issue. There are different types of depression ranging from mild to chronic and debilitating. If you are concerned about someone in your life who is battling with...