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Narcan Nasal Spray Is Now Available Over the Counter. Should You Get It?
Read More: Narcan Nasal Spray Is Now Available Over the Counter. Should You Get It?Have you heard of Narcan? Thatโs a brand name for a drug called naloxone โ and itโs a real lifesaver. Literally. It can block and reverse the effects of an opioid overdose and make the difference between life and death. The FDA approved over-the-counter (OTC) sales of naloxone nasal spray last week. As pharmacies, grocery…
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Why Alcohol Affects You More As You Age
Read More: Why Alcohol Affects You More As You AgeIt was March 2020, the early days of the pandemic. When uncertainty about, well, everything, was too much to bear, I found solace in a glass of wine. My husband and I took our weekend wine-and-cheese tradition and made it an everyday event. We started skipping the cheese, and one glass would morph into two,…
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Struggling to Quit Smoking? Your Genes Might Be at Fault
Read More: Struggling to Quit Smoking? Your Genes Might Be at FaultNovember 18 is the Great American Smokeout. At 15-years-old, Melinda Fenick tried her first cigarette in the girl’s bathroom of her high school. By her senior year, she was smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, and Fenick then spent more than two decades struggling with tobacco addiction. She craved cigarettes from morning to night,…
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Medication safety, Opioid use disorder, Opioids, Otc medication safety, Pregnancy, Prescription drugs, Substance abuse
Using for Two
Read More: Using for TwoJen Simon tried many times to quit using the opioids she first started taking to help with painful periods, and then, to ease her anxiety and depression. But, she just couldn’t seem to stop โ until she found out she was pregnant with her second son. “It was much easier to quit for someone else,”…
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chronic pain, Medication safety, Opioid use disorder, Opioids, Otc medication safety, Pain, Pain management, Prescription drugs, Research, Science, Substance abuse
Designing Less Addictive Opioids, Through Chemistry
Read More: Designing Less Addictive Opioids, Through ChemistryBy Aaron W. Harrison, Austin College What if there was a way for pain patients to get all the pain-relieving power of opioids with none of the addicting side effects? Opioids are one of the most powerful pain medications available, but millions of Americans have struggled with prescription opioid misuse after getting hooked on the…
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One Day at a Time: Mackenzie Phillips Wants to Help America Recover
Read More: One Day at a Time: Mackenzie Phillips Wants to Help America RecoverAfter playing Julie on the groundbreaking show, “One Day at a Time,” actress Mackenzie Phillips’ life took a dark turn. She spent decades struggling with addiction and relapsing multiple times. But today, Phillips is living a happy, sober life, working as a drug and alcohol counselor โ and she’s committed to helping people find hope…
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Alcohol Companies Make $17.5 Billion a Year off of Underage Drinking, While Prevention Efforts Are Starved for Cash
Read More: Alcohol Companies Make $17.5 Billion a Year off of Underage Drinking, While Prevention Efforts Are Starved for CashBy David H. Jernigan, Boston University Alcohol is still the most commonly used drug among high school students. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every year approximately 3,500 people under 21 die because of alcohol use. I have studied the relationship between alcohol marketing and youth drinking behavior for the past 20…
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Alcoholism, Anxiety, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Depression, mental health, Research, Self-Care, Sexual assault, Stress, Substance abuse
Women Now Drink as Much as Men โ and Are Prone to Sickness Sooner
Read More: Women Now Drink as Much as Men โ and Are Prone to Sickness SoonerBy Aneri Pattani, Kaiser Health News Victoria Cooper thought her drinking habits in college were just like everyone else’s. Shots at parties. Beers while bowling. Sure, she got more refills than some and missed classes while nursing hangovers, but she couldn’t have a problem, she thought. โBecause of what my picture of alcoholism was โ…
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Anxiety, Depression, Medication safety, mental health, Prescrption drugs, Self-Care, sleep, Stress, Substance abuse
New Antidepressants Can Lift Depression and Suicidal Thoughts Fast, but Donโt Expect Magic Cures
Read More: New Antidepressants Can Lift Depression and Suicidal Thoughts Fast, but Donโt Expect Magic CuresBy Nicholas Mischel, Wayne State University Depression is the most common cause of disability in the world. Chances are high that you or someone you know will experience a period when depression gets in the way of work, social life or family life. Nearly two in three people with depression will experience severe effects. As…
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Abuse, Alcoholism, Eating disorders, mental health, Real women real stories, Self-Care, Substance abuse
You Can’t Put a Band-Aid Over a Bullet Hole: How I Healed From Sexual Trauma and Substance Abuse
Read More: You Can’t Put a Band-Aid Over a Bullet Hole: How I Healed From Sexual Trauma and Substance AbuseI was raped when I was 12 years old and then twice more as a teenager. Those experiences, combined with other personal traumas, led me to turn to alcohol, marijuana and eventually crack in an attempt to escape. I tried to find control in self-harm, disordered eating and partying until I blacked out. I had…
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Addiction Treatment Shrinks During the Pandemic, Leaving People With Nowhere To Turn
Read More: Addiction Treatment Shrinks During the Pandemic, Leaving People With Nowhere To TurnBy Elizabeth Chiarello, Saint Louis University COVID-19 has overshadowed the U.S. opioid crisis, but that doesn’t mean opioid addiction has gone away. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the opioid crisis has gotten worse. Drug overdose death rates rose 13% in the first half of 2020. COVID-19 threatens to dismantle an already frayed addiction treatment system, creating…
