There is little doubt that compulsive shopping can cause severe impairment and distress, two key criteria for formal recognition as a mental disorder. But the rest remains up for grabs: Is compulsive shopping a biologically driven disease of the brain, a learned habit run amok, an addiction in its own right or a symptom of….
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“Drugs” is not a respected word in our dictionary. Scientifically, drugs are small fine substances that are very effective in modifying the normal regular functions of a body. The different types of drugs are identified in three basic categories namely “depressants”, “stimulants” and “hallucinogens”. Drugs are widely used by doctors and hospitals, in required proportions….
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15-year-old who woke each morning wanting a drink has sobered up after therapy involving mountain biking and abseiling. The boy who spent eight months on a Christchurch City Mission adventure therapy course agreed to speak to The Press after an Otago University study into the care of young people with alcohol and drug problems. The….
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ALCOHOL has become the treatment of choice for an unfortunate number of Australian troops left traumatised by their service in East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq. Taxpayers are now funding rehabilitation and sometimes compensation for their addiction, not to mention attempts to break it, as troops return from mostly dry operations to deal with their problems….
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We must fully debate our attitude to alcohol, or acknowledgment of our dysfunctionality will be suppressed, writes BRIAN O’CONNELL A soon-to-be-published study attempts to define, with some clarity, what the health consequences of our national hangover are. The report examined alcohol-attributable deaths and hospitalisation in Ireland from 2000 to 2004. In that period, one-in-10 bed-days….
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