Are Rich People Heavy Drinkers?
February 6th, 2012
Much has been made of a 2010 Gallup survey finding that the proportion of people saying they drink alcohol increases steadily with income. Alcohol consumption went from 46 percent for people earning less than $20,000 to 81 percent for people earning over $75,000. Hence the oft-repeated claim that affluent people drink more.
In a famous episode of the TV show South Park, two boys play a video game called "World of Warcraft" 21 hours a day for weeks on end. The game consumes their life in such a way that they subsist on energy drinks and Hot Pocket sandwiches, wear diapers, and forget about bathing, getting haircuts, or even sleeping. The show entitled "Make Love Not War Craft," struck a nerve with a whole generation of gamers, all of whom knew someone who was addicted to a similar game in real life.
Now researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuhan have affirmed the notion that people can indeed become addicted to the Internet and that such an addiction causes chemical alterations in their brains that may make it impossible for them to quit. The study indicated that Internet addiction was most likely to involve gaming or social websites such as Facebook and MySpace.
For this new study, Dr. Hao Lei and his colleagues first recruited 18 people ages 14 to 21 years old who had been diagnosed with Internet Addiction Disorder by the psychiatry department of the Shanghai Mental Health Center. Eighteen young people who did not have the diagnosis were matched to the first group by age, gender, and education. Next, the research team used brain imaging technology to scan the brains of all participants, and found "abnormal white matter integrity in brain regions involved in emotional generation and processing, executive attention, decision-making and cognitive control," Dr. Lei said. "The results also suggest that IAD may share psychological and neural mechanisms with other types of substance addiction and impulse control disorders," Dr. Lei said.
The new study, published in the journal Public Library of Science One, noted that the symptoms of Internet Addiction Disorder are excessive use of the Internet even to the neglect of basic drives, such as hunger; withdrawal symptoms when Internet use is stopped; tolerance or the need for better equipment and longer hours of use; and negative consequences such as poor achievement, poor health, and social isolation.
Internet Addiction Disorder, like addictions to sex and shopping, is not recognized in the United States. The only behavioral-based mental disorder officially recognized in the American Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is pathological gambling.
Scientists across the world were quick to criticize the Chinese study as a small study of only 36 people, and the brain scans of three could not be used. It was also based on self-reported information. Until more research is performed, it is too early to say that an estimated 5% to 10% of the world’s population has an addiction to the Internet.
Blissful Love Can Make You Sick or Crazy
February 5th, 2012
Love, when it involves an initial state of bliss, can later make you feel sick or crazy, whether or not the object of your affection has left your life. Bliss is an emotion that people seek. A surge of extreme pleasure and rapture is felt when it is activated, and you seem to transcend your self or merge with another person.
Authenticity Unplugged
February 5th, 2012
Can you remember a distinct, personal and private moment from your past? One where you felt connected to yourself, your purpose, or your essential nature?
Do You Have an Alcohol or Drug Problem?
February 4th, 2012
Marijuana Prescription Drug Hopes for FDA Approval by 2013
February 4th, 2012
A British company known as GW Pharma hopes to get approval for the first ever prescription drug derived from the cannabis plant to help treat cancer patients. The company hopes to have FDA approval by 2013 so they can release the medicine in the form of a mouth spray. They are now in advanced trial periods testing the drug which will be developed from raw marijuana rather than synthetic equivalents.
According to an article in USA today, the new product is called Sativex and has already been approved for use in Canada and in eight European countries for different types of use, such as relief for Multiple Sclerosis pain.
Getting the FDA approval would prove to be a big milestone toward the nation’s uneasy relationship with the drug. Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have already allowed residents to legally use the drug with a doctor’s recommendation. However, the DEA believes it is a dangerous drug which can be addictive.
If there is future availability of the prescription drug that may lead to increased pressure on our federal government to reevaluate their position and encourage other pharmaceutical companies to follow GW Pharma’s lead. A pharmacology professor with Virginia Commonwealth University believes there is disconnect between public demands, state demands and what this market actually provides. Possession of marijuana is still illegal in the UK but nearly ten years ago, the founder of GW Pharma, Dr. Geoffrey Guy was allowed permission to develop and grow it for prescription drug use.
Our Thirst for Wholeness
February 4th, 2012
The majority of people’s problems are caused by the fact that they are disconnected with the rest of creation. (C.S. Lewis)
We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. We made a decision to turn out will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. (Steps 2 and 3 of the 12 Steps of AA)
As If You Needed Another Reason to Quit
February 4th, 2012
Nicotine changes the way genes are expressed, which may prime the brain for addiction.
Irish Singer Sinead O’Connor in Rehab Treatment for Depression
February 4th, 2012
Last week, Sinead O’Connor tweeted about her current medical condition revealing her recent hospitalization for depression. O’Connor told fans not to worry that she’d be off the radar for several weeks as she pulls herself out of her state of depression and seeks the help she needs, according to a recent post on MSNBC.
The 45 year old Irish singer says she’s needed help since the ending to her short marriage to Barry Herridge, who was a drug counselor for teens. O’Connor had recently tweeted to fans for help saying she needed to resume her medications and was in grave danger if she did not receive assistance. The singer hopes going into the hospital for treatment will help her get it together quickly and feels it is the right decision for her.
The singer stated she has attempted to get help in the past but was routinely treated with drugs instead of having her emotional state evaluated. She added that she has often been misdiagnosed with other mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder when the truth was she suffered from serious PTSD, or post traumatic stress disorder caused by her upbringing.
O’Connor also admitted she had a baby for another person’s husband and the result of this decision left her suicidal and depressed for five months postpartum. The singer has experienced difficulty in seeking medical treatment she believes because of who she is and has expressed the huge obstacle her celebrity has been in overcoming her depression.