Problem Teens | Teen Help | Parents Searching the Internet

Problem teens can send parents to the Internet in search of help – whether it’s with their teen’s sudden attitude change, dropping grades, suspected substance misuse or withdrawal from the family. The following is a guest post by Sue Scheff, author, parent advocate, and founder of P.U.R.E. (Parent’s Universal Resource Experts, Inc.), an organization helping…

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The French Don’t Have Underage Drinking Figured Out, Either

Contrary to popular opinion, the French don’t have underage drinking figured out, anymore than does the United States, Great Britain, and a host of other countries around the world. Americans (and may other cultures) have long believed the French have it figured out when it comes to all things related to drinking alcohol — especially…

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Screening for Underage Drinking

Screening for underage drinking – how do pediatricians do it and what can we learn from their approach? NIAAA (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) has developed a two-question screening tool to help pediatricians broach the often difficult subject of drinking with their patients. And, while it is for pediatricians, the PDF is well…

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Stress and the Developing Brain

Stress and the developing brain – the impact of the chronic stress a child experiences when living with undiagnosed, unhealthily discussed substance abuse [something I refer to as secondhand drinking / drugging] can have a significant impact on the developing brain. To this point, Bruce S. McEwen’s September 21, 2011 article, “Effects of Stress on…

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Coping With Secondhand Drinking | Drugging as a Young Person Can Cause a Young Person to Wire Unhealthy Coping Skills

Secondhand Drinking | Drugging – when a young person is “forced” to cope with a family member’s ongoing drinking or drugging behaviors, it can actually change how that young person’s brain wires. This, in turn, means it can actually change that young person’s life. Impacts of Coping With Secondhand Drinking | Drugging In previous posts,…

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BreakingTheCycles.com Celebrates 3 Years!

by Lisa Frederiksen I wrote my first blog post for BreakingTheCycles.com three years ago, today!  Since then, I have expanded my work to include workshops and presentations, consulting services, books, and collaborative efforts focused on 21st century brain and addiction-related research in an attempt to help all concerned better understand that addiction, its causes (aka…

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