In autumn and winter, the days get shorter, and skies are often cloudy, depriving us of natural sunlight and unleashing all sorts of mood disturbances in many people. This is often known as seasonal depression, winter depression, or seasonal affective disorder (SAD)....
Mental Health
Alcohol & Antidepressants Drug Interactions
If you're taking an antidepressant, it's important to understand the risks of combining alcohol with this medication. Alcohol is a depressant, so mixing it with antidepressants can make you feel worse. You may have more side effects from your antidepressants when...
The Connection Between Trauma & Addiction
Trauma can come from a single event or ongoing issues, such as domestic violence, sexual assault, or neglect. Trauma experienced in childhood can have lifelong effects on your health and mental well-being. While the impact of trauma might not seem related to addiction...
Can Drugs Cause Permanent Brain Damage?
Drugs and alcohol can have short- and long-term effects on the brain. People with substance use disorders often experience brain injuries resulting from damaged brain cells. These types of injuries can happen due to the toxic effects of drugs and alcohol or as a...
Can Drinking Alcohol Cause Memory Loss?
Over time, drinking alcohol can cause memory loss that’s difficult to repair. Chronic alcohol consumption affects the brain in countless ways, including impairing memory. While some people forget details about a night of binge drinking after a blackout, drinking...
How to Cope With Loneliness Without Alcohol
At one point or another, we all have felt lonely. That transient state can make us feel distressed or discontent with our current situation. It often happens when we’re craving human connections or social interactions. Many experienced it during lockdowns in the...
Is Addiction Considered a Mental Illness?
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, a substance use disorder is a mental disorder that affects a person’s brain and behavior. These changes in the brain’s structure and chemical composition lead to a person’s inability to control their use of...
Can Drug Abuse Cause Bipolar Disorder?
Bipolar disorder is a common mental health disorder affecting approximately 5.7 million adults in the United States. Numerous studies have reported a connection between alcohol and drug abuse and bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is characterized by extreme mood and...
Types of Meditation
Having excellent control of your mind and body can help you overcome any craving that can lead to long-lasting addictions. Many therapists also recommend taking meditation as a way of dealing with addictions. But, most people don’t realize there are different types of...
Why Doctors Don’t Use Barbiturates for Anxiety Anymore
What caused the barbiturates to go from the sedative of choice from the 1920s to the 1950s to a now mostly abandoned medicine? Despite what you might think, it wasn’t a lack of efficacy. Barbiturates are potent and effective. However, this hasn’t been enough to...