Did you know that about 100 billion neurons (that is—100,000,000,000) are hard at work in your brain as you processes the content of this post? That’s a lot happening at once in the ol’ melon if you ask me.  As trillions of synapses occur between these neurons, info is processed at speeds exceeding 250 miles/hr, and we are allowed to function and live because of it. No one can fully appreciate or understand the amazing human mind—but anyone can abuse it. Of course there are obvious ways you could abuse your brain, like hitting your head against a wall or reading about fiscal USA. But it’s a more creative and subtle method of abuse that hurts nearly 20 million Americans Read More →

A Tennessee judge was having sex and buying pills during courtroom breaks from convicts he had previously sentenced, read an article from the Associated Press last week. Published the same day, an article from Press-Citizen revealed how a former Iowa City nurse was charged with stealing her patient’s medications from the hospital’s drug dispensing machine. Read More →

“Hey. Did you hear what I did at the party last weekend? It was crazy awesome.” In society today, teens view drinking as normal and cool. They will boast about the crazy things they do while drunk. But while they view drinking as cool, new drinkers haven’t learned to like the bitter taste of alcohol. So what do they drink instead? Alcopops. Read More →

When taking a prescription drug, addictive qualities of the drug should be considered. Some kinds of prescription drugs are more addictive than others. Prescription pain relievers can be highly addictive and include drugs such as oxycodone, or "oxy" as it is sometimes called, Xanax, Valium, and Vicodin, among others. How addictive each is depends on several factors. Warning Signs for Prescription Drug Addiction Read More →

Have you ever chased something—a person, a job, or an idea—only to discover that that wasn’t really what you wanted or thought it would be? Sometimes we alcoholics and addicts chase being “clean” and “dry” in the same way. We say, “If I could just get dry” or “If I could just stay clean.” But then we get dry for a few hours or days, and discover we’re miserable. If we’re honest with ourselves, just being dry and clean didn’t cut it for us—so, we easily go back to what made us happy—drinking and Read More →

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that any teenager desires to have fun. Everybody wants to have a good time, to enjoy themselves. But do you need a drug to get you there? Is it true that a party can’t be a party unless everybody there is on ecstasy? Let’s reconsider. Read More →

In general, we addicts and alcoholics pop our pills and drink our alcohol because the substance makes us feel better. Maybe we just fought with our spouse. Maybe we just had a bad day at work. Maybe we just watched our favorite TV show. Either way, we needed to escape reality, so we could feel better. So what do we do after we’ve been dry and sober? How do we re-create that good feeling without using or drinking? Read More →

We’ve all heard the tragic news about Whitney Houston’s death. Sadly, she is being added to the list of countless others who have died from drug overdoses--Heath Ledger, Michael Jackson, North California teen Takeimi Rao… The sadness we sense at their loss, though, might cause us to reflect on some important reminders in our lives. Read More →

The romantic and stereotypical image of our grandparents sitting in their rocking chairs on the front porch enjoying the sunset is just that—romantic. And not reality. The reality is that the number of senior citizens who have been treated for addiction over a recent 5-year period (2004-2009) has risen nearly 50%, according to a January 2012 Data Spotlight, released by the government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The same report also cited experts who believe that the number of senior citizens needing substance abuse treatment will reach 5.7 million people by 2020. Read More →

We just made it through trying to stay sober during the holidays. Whether we passed with flying colors or struggled, it’s a new year and we can stay sober, no matter how difficult, day by day. Read More →