With the Obama administration characterizing prescription drug misuse as this generation’s crack epidemic, something like this seemed fated to happen: patients, pharmacists and manufacturers are reporting a serious shortage of …
Should addicts and alcoholics remain anonymous about their recovery? Eighteen years ago this month, I wrote my first op-ed for the Washington Post‘s Sunday Outlook section, arguing against that idea. It was headlined “Addicted to …
How does fear alter memory? A new study reveals that it can literally change our perception, a process that may help researchers better understand post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), other anxiety disorders and possibly …
Have you ever been so exhausted that you feel basically half-asleep? Turns out, that may be what’s literally going on in your brain, according to a new study published in Nature.
Ever find yourself physically cringing as you watch those hopeful contestants on American Idol who have no clue that they can’t sing? If so, you’re probably a highly empathetic person, according to new study published in the …
How can we motivate ourselves to do what we really want to do? By better understanding the brain’s unconscious tendencies and tactics, argues journalist Wray Herbert — or, in other words, tricking ourselves into doing it.
Schadenfreude — joy in another’s suffering or death — is a vicious pleasure. But it’s far less guilt-inducing when the victim is an enemy like Osama bin Laden, who has gotten his just deserts. Does that make it all right?
Yet more evidence that friends and family are the best medicine: a new study finds that the most social seniors had a 70% reduction in the rate of cognitive decline, compared with their least social peers.
What happens when children with Asperger’s grow up?
Bill Clinton. Newt Gingrich. Eliot Spitzer. Mark Sanford. Politicians who’ve been caught with their pants down tend to have one thing in common and it’s not political philosophy or party. Overwhelmingly, the philanderers are men. …
It sounds like an alcoholic’s vision of heaven: a free place to live, paid expenses (mostly), and an ample supply of booze. But the reality of “wet houses” for homeless alcoholics looks more like hell, even as these programs — …
How do you define recovery from anorexia? Tuesday’s New York Times explores this question — and highlights striking similarities to the debate over defining recovery from alcoholism and other drug addictions.
The common painkillers known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), a class of medication that includes aspirin, naproxen (Aleve), and ibuprofen (Advil), can significantly reduce the effectiveness of certain …