3 Tips on Trauma and Addiction
The following tips explore the concept of self-medication, the profound impact of trauma on consciousness, and the often-overlooked role of sugar dependence in clients with complex trauma. This knowledge enables us to address the underlying causes of substance use, offer meaningful alternatives, and provide comprehensive care that supports lasting recovery.
What Cookies and Meth Have in Common
As a psychiatrist, I have yet to meet a patient who enjoys being addicted to drugs or compulsively overeating. Why would anyone continue to use recreational drugs despite the medical consequences and social condemnation? What makes someone eat more and more in the face of poor health?
How Severe, Ongoing Stress Can Affect A Child's Brain
A quiet, unsmiling little girl with big brown eyes crawls inside a carpeted cubicle, hugs a stuffed teddy bear tight, and turns her head away from the noisy classroom.
The safe spaces, quiet times and breathing exercises for her and the other preschoolers at the Verner Center for Early Learning are designed to help kids cope with intense stress so they can learn. But experts hope there's an even bigger benefit - protecting young bodies and brains from stress so persistent that it becomes toxic.
‘Pacemaker’ for the Brain Can Help Memory, Study Finds
Well-timed pulses from electrodes implanted in the brain can enhance memory in some people, scientists reported on Thursday, in the most rigorous demonstration to date of how a pacemaker-like approach might help reduce symptoms of dementia, head injuries and other conditions.
Resensitization: Coming Back to Life after Trauma
Trauma dysregulates the body. It moves energy levels away from baseline to extremes of hyperarousal (“too much,” panic, overwhelm) and sometimes hypoarousal (“low,” lethargy, emptiness), not only alternating but sometimes getting stuck in either extreme.
