Underage Drinking | Drug Use Prevention
April is Alcohol Awareness Month
Alcohol Awareness Month, held every April, was founded by and has been sponsored by NCADD (National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence) since 1987 to increase public awareness and understanding aimed at reducing the stigma that too often prevents individuals and families from seeking help. In 2012, NCADD celebrates the 26th Anniversary of Alcohol Awareness Month with the…
Read MoreUnderage Drinking – New eBook Offers Conversation Starters
Underage drinking – how do you talk about it with your teen and what should you say? According to The Partnership at DrugFree.org, the MOST influential person in a child’s decision to drink (or use drugs) is their parent. “90% of addictions start in the teen years,” reports The Partnership. “Cut the risk in half…
Read MoreScreening for Underage Drinking
Underage drinking — is a screening really necessary? And what could it tell you? 1 in 3 children starts drinking by the end of 8th grade … and of them, half report having been drunk. NIAAA This is the opening quote in the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism’s (NIAAA)’s recently released alcohol screening tool…
Read MoreAddiction – It’s Time to Tell the Whole Truth About Puberty
Addiction is a developmental disease that often begins in adolescence. It is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease, which is why the brain changes associated with puberty and ages 12-25 are so important to understand. So what is the brain / puberty / addiction connection? How does it relate to substance abuse, addiction, treatment, intervention,…
Read MoreAddiction and Adolescence – Stopping It Where It Often Starts
Addiction and Adolescence – as you read in my last post, “Addiction is a Developmental Disease – People Are Not Born Addicts/Alcoholics,” addiction often begins in adolescence. Not only that, but a person has to abuse a substance (drugs or alcohol) in order to set up the chemical and structural brain changes that lead to…
Read MoreWondering What to Do About a Loved One’s Substance Abuse?
Loved one’s substance abuse – does it have you worried? are you wondering what you can or should try to do? I get a lot of phone calls from people — especially family members — husbands, wives, siblings, parents — desperate for answers about what to do for a loved one with a substance abuse…
Read MoreSo How Does a Person Choose to Drink and Risk Getting a DUI?
Choose to drink and drive – how does a person do it?! This is a re-post of a 10-minute show that I did with Pen TV in which I shared the science and brain research that explains why a person may “choose” to drink and risk getting a DUI and why knowing this may stop a…
Read MoreContinuing Care – the Equally Important 3rd Phase of Addiction Treatment & Recovery
Continuing care – the equally important and often neglected 3rd phase of addiction treatment. This sentence in Abigail Sullivan Moore’s January 20, 2012, article, “A Bridge to Recovery on Campus,” appearing on NewYorkTimes.com, really grabbed my attention: “….Until recently, public policy focused on prevention and treatment. “We never talked about recovery as a kind of…
Read More