Topic: adolescent addiction

…actually more of an issue now than in the 80’s, because of the presence of super-powerful opioids like fentanyl or carfentanil, and the growing risk of unintended overdose.

Our healthcare system supports more and in some cases better treatment based on the ability to pay for it.

Nobody knows exactly how extensive off label prescribing is, but estimates range from a fifth of all prescriptions written in the US, to a third if we just look at psychiatric meds.

Close to 20% reported being in recovery from one or more behavioral addictions – especially disordered eating, sex and love addiction, and self harm…

This is really about a continuous process of change. The unifying force is the addict’s subjective experience.

What underlies these defenses is anxiety. We’re afraid of what we might find out.

Many of us already have painkillers sitting on a shelf in the bathroom medicine cabinet, alongside the aspirin and the allergy meds. Sometimes they’re unused from prior medical or dental problems.

All successful negotiations depend on two outcomes, whether you’re dealing with your 15 year old, or mediating a border dispute in the Middle East.

Fifteen-year-old Andrea is out of control. She drinks, abuses drugs, and dances illegally at a strip club. What can Mom do about it? The answer is surprising.

Imagine a student sitting in the school auditorium listening to a teacher or police officer insist that marijuana makes you less intelligent. Meanwhile, he knows that the kid in front of him, an honor student, smokes pot every weekend.