The Neuroscience of Holiday Shopping
By Melanie A. Greenberg, Ph.D. on November 22, 2011 in The Mindful Self-Express
'Tis that time of year again. The smell of pumpkin, cinnamon spice and peppermint frost mochas is in the air. The luxury department stores are rolling out their latest UGG boots, Juicy Couture velours and pastel cashmere scarves in an array of soft, soothing pastel colors. Read More
Daily Porn May Not Be Good for Your Mental Health
By Kevin B. Skinner, Ph.D. on November 22, 2011 in The Heart of Porn Addiction
How exactly does a daily dose of porn influence a persons mental health? My research with more than 400 men reveals that individuals who view porn everyday are experiencing elevated levels of depression. Read More
Calling All Parents: Think Before You Buy That Next Video Game Gift
By Hilarie Cash, Ph.D. on November 22, 2011 in Digital Addiction
"Jingle Bells" the ring tone will be heard all across the malls of America this holiday season. According to the wireless association CTIA there are now more wireless devices than people in the United States. And while most children will have some type of digital toy, game or device on their wish list, here's hoping that parents will consider adding some non-electronic gifts to those lists. Read More
Anthony Bourdain's Addiction Report Card
By Stanton Peele on November 22, 2011 in Addiction in Society
A famous heroin and cocaine addict, Anthony Bourdain now travels the world filming his drinking and eating episodes. I'm okay about the drinking—but wonder about the eating. Read More
The True Self: Unveiled by Dissociative Drugs? Part 1
By Marc Lewis, Ph.D. on November 21, 2011 in Addicted Brains
I've been talking to a young man about his drug issues, and he feels he's got a serious dilemma to unravel. Lately he's been taking dissociatives -- dextromethorphan (DXM) and ketamine -- and they get him to a place he can't seem to find without them. Read More
Serotonin and the Shopping Cure
By Susan Heitler, Ph.D. on November 21, 2011 in Resolution, Not Conflict
Let's face it. Shopping is fun, at least for some people. Buying gifts is even more fun, at least for many people. Receiving gifts is an upper too, for most people. Why? Read More
Camp Mariposa
By Claudia Black, M.S.W., Ph.D. on November 21, 2011 in The Many Faces of Addiction
Camp Mariposa for children affected by addiction in the family Read More
Why Is It So Hard to Believe in a Behavioral Addiction?
By Hilarie Cash, Ph.D. on November 20, 2011 in Digital Addiction
There are a lot of people who scoff at the idea of behavioral addictions. But neuroscience is revealing that what happens in the brain of a video game addict, a porn addict, an alcoholic, a gambler, and a pot-head is similar. Read More
What Motivates Sexual Promiscuity?
By Dr. Stephen A. Diamond, Ph.D. on November 17, 2011 in Evil Deeds
Promiscuity is formally defined as including not only frequent but "indiscriminate" sexual behavior. Preference for frequent sexual contacts is not necessarily the same as being sexually indiscriminating. The latter, in women, indicates a possible compulsive, and therefore, pathological quality to the excessive sexual behavior, referred to traditionally as nymphomania. Read More
Internet Addiction—Epidemic or Fad?
By Adi Jaffe, Ph.D. on November 17, 2011 in All About Addiction
Internet addiction is a term used more commonly today to describe unhealthy use of online resources. But is it really a disorder of epidemic proportions? Read More
Alcohol and Sleeping Pills—A Strange Combination
By Matthew J. Edlund, M.D. on November 17, 2011 in The Power of Rest
Did Ambien make a sleepless paramedic guzzle vodka and drive asleep in his underwear? Read More
Corrupted Choice—Not Disease—In the Addicted Brain
By Marc Lewis, Ph.D. on November 17, 2011 in Addicted Brains
You've probably heard about the controversy between the disease model of addiction and the choice model. Stanton Peele, a blogger here on the PT site, waxes eloquent on the topic. You may have even heard that it's a false dichotomy — a position I take myself. But I don't want to waste time trashing the disease model right now. Dr. Peele does that quite nicely. Read More
Pathological Systems: A Look at Penn State
By Sandra Brown, M.A. on November 17, 2011 in Pathological Relationships
The nation is aghast at the Penn State sexual abuse/rape and subsequent cover up of the repeated assaults of young boys over a 15 year period. This case reminds us that even the most loved of places, those with the best of reputations, can have pathology coursing in its veins and leadership. Read More
From Growing Pains to Starving Secrets
By Sheila Himmel on November 16, 2011 in You Must Be Hungry
A reality show about eating disorders? Really? Yes, Lifetime TV premieres Starving Secrets, hosted by Tracey Gold, starting Dec. 2. It sounds like the worst idea since Bridalplasty, an E! series pitting 12 women against each other to win a plastic surgery procedure and a dream wedding. Read More
Talking about Drugs, Addiction, and the Brain
By Marc Lewis, Ph.D. on November 16, 2011 in Addicted Brains
I recently wrote a book that recounts the story of my years of almost continuous drug taking and periods of intense addiction—interspersed with neuroscience—to help explain what was happening to me, why it was happening, and how it is that addictions are so hard to beat. The book is written from the perspective of a neuroscientist and a recovered addict. Read More
The Profit in Sex Addiction
By David J. Ley, Ph.D. on November 16, 2011 in Women Who Stray
One of my favorite sayings has always been, "When all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail." A similar philosophy applies to the treatment of sexual problems. The label of "sex addiction" is a big, lucrative hammer, and every sexual problem is just asking to be "nailed." Read More
Why Do Liberals Hate Smokeless Cigarettes?
By Ben Y. Hayden, Ph.D. on November 11, 2011 in The Decision Tree
Liberal tend to oppose e-cigarettes, but the reason is unclear Read More
The Process of Discovery for Women: Exercise vs. Body Work
By Karen Khaleghi, Ph.D. on November 11, 2011 in The Anatomy of Addiction
I have a fundamental and profound belief in discovery and recovery, and this belief guides me in my work with women. In discovery, I help women to understand that it is through looking back that they can make sense of their current reality. The need to have life make sense is intrinsic to all of us. Read More
Internet Porn Addiction – Why Is Free Porn So Irresistible and What Can Love Addicts Do?
By Adi Jaffe, Ph.D. on November 11, 2011 in All About Addiction
With so much free porn on the internet is it any wonder that porn addiction seems to be on the rise? Porn is no doubt healthy for many but it can become compulsive for some... Read More
The Varieties of Religious Therapy: Twelve Step Spirituality
By Ryan Howes, PhD, ABPP on November 9, 2011 in In Therapy
Most twelve step groups acknowledge a "Higher Power" as a central component of recovery. The outspoken Rabbi Rami Shapiro shares one perspective on this form of spirituality. Read More
