Substance Abuse/Addiction

Researchers Identify risk factors for long-term benzodiazepine use to prevent harmful effects.

From Forbes: Increasing evidence shows that smartphones can be addictive, and that smartphone addiction can have a very negative impact on our mental health, especially...

New research demonstrates that children diagnosed with ADHD at younger ages are more likely than those diagnosed later to receive multiple medications within five years of their diagnosis.

From The Washington Post: In Massachusetts, which has one of the highest rates of opioid deaths nationally, addiction-related civil commitments have doubled in the past...

From Scientific American: The current medical consensus is that addiction is a chronic and relapsing brain disease in which drug use becomes involuntary despite its...

From Psych Central: According to a new study, teens who are dependent on marijuana and alcohol are less likely to marry, go to college, or work...

From The Guardian: The number of children and young adults experiencing mental health problems is rapidly rising. More than ever, young people are growing up in...

From TIME: According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, the suicide rate among teen girls reached a 40-year high in 2015. From 2007...

Adolescent risk taking is explored contextually, beyond models of brain imbalances and adverse consequences.

Researchers report that dangerous side effects are not being adequately reported in the trials of ketamine for depression.

A large review and meta-analysis of 167 studies across 60 years dissects placebo-controlled randomized controlled trials of antipsychotic drugs.

Researchers interviewed doctors about the barriers that prevent them from being able to decrease excess medications.

Researchers find that support and self-care were helpful for users during discontinuation, but that mental health professionals were not very helpful.

The researchers found that, of those who were initially prescribed both antidepressants and benzodiazepines, approximately 12% went on to engage in long-term benzodiazepine use.

From The Sydney Morning Herald: New data from Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme shows that a total of 16,570 Australian toddlers, children, and teens under 17 were...

From The Boston Globe: An increasing number of families are filing lawsuits against insurance companies that refuse to cover wilderness therapy for their children's mental...

The Commission was addressed by organizations engaged with various aspects of addiction treatment. Much of the input seemed apropos, but one voice was missing. Speakers failed to include even one practicing physician or advocate for the pain patients who have been blamed for the so-called “opioid epidemic.”

From Science Daily: A new study shows that students who experience bullying in the fifth grade are at a higher risk for depression and substance use...

Men who report being self-reliant may be at greater risk of suicidal thinking.

False beliefs about biological differences between races are associated with a failure to provide recommended pain treatments to Black people.

A new three-part series from Parents Opposed to Pot explores the link between marijuana and suicide. Part 1: Marijuana and Suicide, a Growing Risk for Our...

From The Atlantic: Throughout history, doctors have often stigmatized and discounted patients suffering from pain without visible injury. The rise of X-rays and other "objective"...

A new study suggests that smoking cessation is related to depressive symptom improvement, but that depression may also make it harder to quit.

A recent review found that hypnotic medications are associated with risks of suicide and suicidal ideation.

Primary care clinicians and mental health providers face a particular set of challenges when treating individuals with chronic pain. These problems are compounded by...