Patients in therapy to overcome addictions have a new arena to test their coping skills—the virtual world. A new study by University of Houston Associate Professor Patrick Bordnick found that a virtual reality (VR) environment can provide the climate necessary to spark an alcohol craving so that patients can practice how to say “no” in….
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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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There are many myths about drug and alcohol treatment and the things that you can expect (or should not expect) to get out of treatment. If you are thinking that by getting help for a drug or alcohol addiction that once you are done with treatment you will magically be healed and won’t have to….
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Fa-la-la! ‘Tis the holiday season, and there’s Nanna getting into the eggnog and batting her eyes. Or Pops, with a face as red as Santa Claus refilling his glass, laughing a little too much. Nice that the old folks are having such a good time! They’ve worked hard for so many years. Now they can….
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Suffering from excruciating spinal deterioration, Robby Garvin, 24, of South Carolina, tried many painkillers before his doctor prescribed methadone in June 2006, just before Mr. Garvin and his friend Joey Sutton set off for a weekend at an amusement park. On Saturday night Mr. Garvin called his mother to say, “Mama, this is the first….
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