Addiction – Understanding the Illness

Addiction is often a misunderstood disease which can also make treatment difficult. The following is a guest post by Ian Koch, MS, LADC, and Operations Manager of North East Addiction Consultants, established to help families of drug addicts and alcoholics guide their loved one into recovery. Though they specialize in the northeast, their network spreads across the…

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Dating: Are They Hiding an Addiction?

When you are dating someone – is possible their drinking or drug use is an addiction? How can you tell? The following is a guest post by Victoria Levine, an artist, poet, author and life coach. A loving mother of three, Victoria becomes most inspired when surrounded by nature. She is the author of Wolf In…

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Addiction – 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,…

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Cancer Trumps Addiction – What’s With That!?

Addiction vs cancer or any number of other diseases for that matter… One of my biggest frustrations is the way friends, family, neighbors and society-at-large view and respond to people with diseases, like cancer, as compared to the way they respond to people with diseases like addiction (whether to drugs or alcohol) or mental illness.…

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Here’s to Neural Networks and Neurotransmitters: Keys to Brain (and Therefore Emotional/Physical) Health!

Neural networks, aka electro-chemical signaling process – are the brain and body’s communication system. The health of these networks is important to normal brain functioning and therefore emotional and physical health. ___________________ This new brain research is truly amazing and goes a long way to helping clinicians, medical professionals, addicts/alcoholics, family member & friends and…

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