Very few kids make it through their school years without passing through some period of feeling sad and blue. But clinical, also known as major, depression is more than childhood or adolescent angst. It is more than feeling down because a friendship has ended or family difficulties have arisen.
When it comes to alcohol consumption, you may not be surprised to learn that men are bigger drinkers than women. Yet, men face serious risks related to heavy drinking; risks that shouldn’t be ignored.
Family 1: The Authoritarian Style In this family, everything is black and white. The father rules with an iron fist and the mother supports him in all ways. The kids learn early on not to argue with their parents, and not to question any rules of the house. Things are done one way and one…
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Parents worried about the cloud of smoke hanging over their teens’ heads can breathe a little easier. Teen smoking is at its lowest level in years, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But this type of risky behavior may have been traded for another, equally deadly one:…
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Researchers and public health officials know that peer pressure to consume alcohol can lead to increased participation in various types of dangerous drinking practices. However, such pressure could have the opposite effect if a person’s peer group promotes moderate alcohol intake. In a study published in June 2014 in the journal Addiction, researchers from two…
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Some parents reward their children with stickers, others with candy or other treats. By adolescence, many are delivering “atta-boys” with a much riskier reward: alcohol. One in four parents in the UK gives their teens ages 14-17 alcohol to celebrate rites of passage, such as passing exams or being on holiday, reports Drinkaware, an organization…
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Although the small upstate New York cities that line the Hudson River were late to the party, so to speak, crack cocaine use had reached epidemic proportions by the late 1990s. Add in the increasing heroin use and the chronic alcohol and marijuana issues that the communities faced and it was not all that surprising…
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Pluck the Twitter feed of any random 20-something on a Sunday morning and what are you likely to read about in 140 characters or less? Hangovers, massive hangovers. Excessive drinking among young adults in the U.S. and in Britain has simply normalized. Partying is just a way of life.
While more kids are getting treatment for mental illnesses, this has also meant a rise in prescriptions for psychotropic medications, including the problems that go along with them.
It was a bleary Tuesday afternoon and I sat awkwardly in a metal folding chair, trying not to squirm. There were six other folding chairs placed in a semi-circle beside me, filled with other women who looked at least as uncomfortable as I was. A woman with strawberry blonde hair, graying at the temples, and…
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