Addiction Treatment under the Affordable Care Act, On-line Gambling, Zebrafish and the Stop Switch
More treatment under the Affordable Care Act is being envisioned, but it not may not be as easy as we might hope … also followup on online gambling, and research on the zebrafish is giving scientists a better understanding of the “stop- switch” and the “go-switch.” And more on e-cigarettes. PODCAST
Addiction to Smart Phones
.. the iPhone has defined a new kind of communication form … and some of interesting sociology … in the news this week is “nomophobia”, the fear of being away from your smart phone. People in the 18 to 24 year range seem most dependent on mobile technology with over 75% expressing discomfort with being away from their phones for more than a few minutes. The 25 to 34 year old group was only a bit behind with 68 percent. “Nomophobic people have a fear of losing connection with the outside world,” according to psychologist Elizabeth Waterman, who has started to address nomophobia in group therapy sessions at the Morningside Recovery Center in California. We discuss different aspects of the issue and how it relates to other addictions.
Deadly Helium Huffing and new Addiction Treatments
A 14 year old girl died recently from inhaling the inert gas helium. Though it has no psychoactive properties — the girl and those she was partying with likely were also combined drinking and pot smoking with super-cold helium straight out of a cylinder. We discuss this, and huffing in general, and also reported new off-label uses of the the stop-smoking medication Chantix (varenicline) for the treatment of other addictions.
Treatment: group or individual
Different kinds of therapy – group or individual – are appropriate at different times for different people. Yet controversy continues over which is “best.” Dr Inaba comments.
Mental Health Parity Act still delayed; aging baby-boomers change the landscape of addictions
The Mental Health Parity Act should go into effect this summer, increasing the availability of addiction treatment, just as aging baby-boomers begin to need more treatment for the cumulative effects of addictions.