Blame it on craft beers, inexpensive wine or the down economy -- North Americans are sipping more alcohol, more often. (Twenty-two percent of you say you drink too much, up from 17 percent a decade ago.) And while you all know that problem drinking is a serious health risk (any more than two drinks [...]
In his first interview since becoming the incoming leader of the Anglican Church, Bishop Justin Welby revealed the struggles he had faced as a teenager at Eton, nursing his alcohol-dependant father whose behaviour had become increasingly erratic. Since the age of three, Justin had been brought up alone by his businessman father, Gavin Welby, a [...]
Christmas and New Year are often very difficult for people with mental health problems. Whether the time of year has troubling personal meaning or because you are supposed to be so happy and content or whether it is because everyone is with family and friends and an individual may be alone with mental health problems [...]
Few approaches to addiction generate as much controversy as 12-Step recovery. On one side are the ardent supporters of the program, some of whom credit it with saving their lives. On the other side are the critics and those who found that the program didn’t resonate with them or even hindered their recovery. Both have valid points, and both, [...]
An addict who once travelled the seedy underbelly of the world transporting drugs is now offering counselling services from one of the most respected addresses in the UK. Mark Dempster’s journey took him from Helensburgh through the Himalayas, hiding packages of drugs inside his body, and doing time in and out of prisons with stops [...]
Regular readers will remember my review of Howard Marks’s book about his adventures and high times in the drugs trade, which I suggested signalled a new form of travel book – the ‘how am I going to get through customs’ genre. Another remarkable example of this was Marching Powder, ghost-written by Rusty Young about the hair-raising experiences of [...]
FedEx and UPS have disclosed they are targets of a federal criminal investigation related to their dealings with online pharmacies, which are at the center of an international crackdown on prescription drug abuse. The shipping companies made the disclosures in regulatory filings over the last several weeks. FedEx spokesman Patrick Fitzgerald confirmed the probe in [...]
Recent research into the area of infidelity reveals some interesting data: women appear to be closing the gap. Until recently, it was believed that women cheated on their mates less frequently and for very different reasons than did men. Women were believed to cheat much less often, and only when they were no longer in [...]
There is little evidence that depression or suicide rates rise during the holidays, but the season is certainly known for its excesses. Although just as many people (if not more) need help for drug and alcohol addiction, fewer people reach out for treatment in the last couple months of the year. Addicts generally object to [...]
ALMOST 100 babies are born every month suffering withdrawal symptoms because of their “junkie” mothers’ drug addictions. Figures released by the NHS show that in the past five years a total of 5,424 babies have had to immediately go “cold turkey”. They had become addicted in the womb because their mothers had continued taking drugs [...]