Can Screening For Mental Illness Help Prevent Substance Use Disorders For Some? Mental and substance use disorders are common in the United States, affecting millions each year. In some cases, substance and alcohol abuse occur along with a mental illness. While these illnesses are serious and often recurring, they are treatable. Prevention programs, early intervention, and screenings are[…]
Tag Archives: Self-Medication
09
Feb
Feb
Chronic Stress Can Increase Vulnerability to Addiction Stress is a key risk factor in addiction initiation, maintenance, relapse, and thus treatment failure (Sinha & Jastreboff, 2013). Stressful life events combined with poor coping skills may impact the risk of addiction through increasing impulsive responses and self-medication. While it may not be possible to eliminate stress, we[…]
08
Feb
Feb
How Do You Know You Have an Addiction? Drawing from research on addiction in neuroscience, psychology, and clinical practice, the following list identifies several key behavioral patterns associated with addiction: Shahram Heshmat, Ph.D., is an associate professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Springfield with a Ph.D. in Managerial Economics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He specializes in the Health Economics[…]
25
Jan
Jan
Stuck in Negative Thoughts They Can’t Escape, Many Fall Prey to Sadness People’s thoughts and attitudes explain why some develop depression following stressful life events. The following list provides an overview of various vulnerability factors that put a person at risk for developing depression. There are indications that these distorted beliefs precede the initial onset of depression. Thus, improving faulty thinking may[…]