Many people have depression or chronic illness. Unfortunately, many people do not seek or have access to adequate mental or physical healthcare. As a result, many people develop bad coping strategies for their pain using alcohol, opioids, or other drugs. This can complicate things and build bad habits which are ... Read More
The Troubling Connection Between Substance Abuse and Veterans
The challenges facing uniformed service members when they come home is enormous. They risk so much and get so little in return. Many vets return to America with trauma to their bodies and their mind. Untreated PTSD and/or chronic pain is a recipe for trouble vis-à-vis substance abuse, depression, and ... Read More
Components of Self-Care
Depression, and compulsive behavior often all feed into each other. A self-perpetuating cycle, they are two sides of the same side, making each other worse. The good thing is that we can interrupt the flow with self-care. Importance of Self-Care There was a line in a book where the lead character could "smell ... Read More
How Much Money Does It Take To Be Happy?
Although we are raised to believe that the more money we have the happier we'll be, studies show that this is only true up to a point. The needs of safety and emotional well being remain consistently important even while there is an upper limit where the effects of money are less important. Gambling ... Read More
What’s the Difference Between Opiates and Opioids?
The terms "opiate" and "opioid" are often used interchangeably. There is a difference, but both a similar in how they work and both are quite addictive. Natural Opiates Opiates are derived naturally from the poppy plant. Some opiates include: Morphine Codeine Thebaine And, of course: opium Although ... Read More
Words, Not Numbers, When Describing Pain
NPR recently had an eye-opening article called Words Matter When Talking About Pain With Your Doctor. The premise was that because we all experience pain differently, telling your doctor "I feel like I'm at a 6 out of 10" or so is too subjective to give the doctor any real information. The Problem Let's say that ... Read More
An Implant to Fight Opioid Addiction
In May of 2016, the FDA announced an exciting new technology to fight opioid addiction. It sounds like science fiction, but doctors have developed an implant to deliver low-level measured doses of a drug used to wean a person off dependence on opioids. Who It's For This implant is called Probuphine. It is used in ... Read More
A Short History of Opiates
America has an opioid crisis and its causes and solutions are complex. In our efforts to find a solution to our current problems, it may help to take a look back at the past. An Ancient Drug Many people seem to think of drugs as being a recent phenomenon. This is far from true. The poppies that opium comes ... Read More