It can be overwhelming trying to keep up with the latest trends in addiction, what new warning signs parents and teachers should be on the lookout for, and the latest everyday item teens are using to get high and endanger their health. Sometimes it is best to get back to basics. Our general understanding of
Keep ReadingIt’s a fine line between providing treatment instead of punishment and overlooking bad behavior. While it’s proven that those arrested and jailed for addiction-related crimes don’t benefit from being incarcerated, especially since there is rarely treatment provided, most agree that crimes should be punished, even when there are extenuating circumstances. So what should be done
Keep ReadingIn a culture like ours, materialism is simply part of the landscape. Stores always seem to have some new sale to advertise, regardless of time or season. There are plenty of people who can handle the lure of a sale, content to buy a few planned items or one sought-after bargain. Others, though, have a
Keep ReadingProcess addictions are nothing new, but the average person usually has a harder time understanding how something like gambling, eating, shopping or sex can be addictive in the same way drugs or alcohol can. Still, process addictions are very real, and they can be as debilitating as substance addiction. And as we continue to make
Keep ReadingA legitimate disorder, IAD is garnering more interest, and new studies are being undertaken regularly to learn more about how excessive Internet use affects us. We’ve all heard someone joke about their growing Internet addiction (maybe you’ve even said it about yourself), but the relatively new Internet addiction disorder (IAD) is no laughing matter. In
Keep ReadingIt makes for a dramatic headline, but people are really dying from their video game addictions, making some question the time they devote to that XBox or Playstation. It’s a problem parents know all too well. Some children seem glued to their portable video game systems or permanently attached to their console controllers. We joke
Keep ReadingA new study finds that a non-chemical addiction like obsessive Internet use can cause changes to the brain that are similar to those produced by illicit drugs. The public’s understanding of addiction seems to be growing, with a more general acceptance of the scientific reality that it is a disease, not a personal weakness. At
Keep ReadingFrom “social” to “pro,” the different classifications of gamblers each have different characteristics and degrees of danger associated with them. All gamblers are not created equal. There are a variety of different types of the characteristics and reasons for indulging are varied as well. Understanding them can help in identifying pathological gamblers – or those
Keep ReadingThe recession may find shopping addicts hitting rock bottom sooner. How do you know if you’re out of control? You can’t turn on the TV news or a morning show without hearing how people are cutting back during the current economic downturn. One story that isn’t getting much coverage, though, is how the recession is
Keep ReadingYour child has impulse control issues or can’t get enough of swapping trading cards on the playground. Could it be a sign of a future addiction? In our accelerated culture, we see increasingly younger children facing very adult problems. The latest vice to become an issue for kids is gambling addiction. Of course, you don’t
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