Catharsis is an ancient Greek term primarily used to refer to the way we can purge our emotions through drama.
Today, we’ve expanded on this idea, using drama therapy to connect with our emotions, process and express them and thereby find healing.
Have you ever found answers to your life’s problems in the pages of a book? Readers have long known that books can be a safe space to explore complex personal and interpersonal problems, troubleshoot solutions, and come to a better understanding of ourselves and others.
Bibliotherapy is the practice of guided reading to help patients work through problems. While books are no substitute for a professional therapist, they can enable self-examination and provide much-needed perspective and connection.
Have you ever read The Secret Garden? It’s a children’s story about a girl, damaged, suspicious, and neglected after the death of her parents. However, when the girl finds a walled garden, overgrown and in disrepair, she decides to revive it. In this secret garden, she finds what she calls “magic”: a connecting force that allows her to heal and thrive.
Over the past several years, we have begun to have a larger discussion on whether or not to permit the use of marijuana in our societies. We’ve seen a multitude of states, so far, legalize the recreational use of cannabis, such as Washington and Colorado. However, this conversation still needs to continue, and we need to be more educated on the effects that marijuana can have on communities. Aside the from health aspects, another important factor to consider is what it means for people, financially. Recently, a study was conducted in New Zealand to determine just that. Here’s some information on what these findings show about the subject...
One of the most important steps that needs to be taken in the fight against addiction is to prevent hospitals and pharmacies from becoming a place where drug abuse is able to grow and foster. The truth is, a lot of drugs that are used to help treat a variety of ailments can be danger, if used recreationally. Currently, our system is quite inadequate at solving this problem, as rising rates of addiction have stemmed from increased prescription drug abuse. Solving this problem will be a difficult, complicated task, but it is one that we absolutely need to take if we are to reduce the rising rates of addiction in our country...
Addiction is an epidemic that is sweeping the country, and has a profound effect on every single demographic in the population. However, it is important to note that there are certain demographics who have been inadvertently affected more than others. While the statistics are often changing, and we see a shifting narrative of many types of demographics, there has been a consistent trend of certain types of people being affected. Here is some information about the demographics of drug abuse and addiction...
There is a strong tendency in society to shame behavior that we deem inappropriate, or bad for communities. Indeed, the idea of shame is a big piece of the penal system and why it is the way it is. However, the aspect of shame seems to be very prevalent in the world of addiction, as though the use of shame will help enable addicts to see their mistakes and grow beyond them. Is this a reasonable response, though? And is shame a tool that should continue to be used when dealing with people who struggle with addiction? Here is some information on shame and addiction...
Watching a loved one struggle with addiction can be an absolutely trying experience. Seeing someone that you care so much about feel their lives slip beyond what they can control on their own is an experience that few people can understand until they've seen it happen. However, these times in life are not the times to wallow in despair. Instead, realize that this is the time in life where this person that you love needs you now more than ever. In order to end the epidemic of addiction, we must all do our part in helping the people we care about in the recovery process, and that means doing whatever we can to prevent a relapse. Here is some information on how to do just that...
There are many complicated nuances that go into the study of human behavior, and particularly what drives people to head down a path of addiction that is difficult to reverse. However, researchers are working a lot harder to discover some of the traits that might be driving the rises in addiction that we are seeing in our culture. Perhaps, along with the socioeconomic factors that are behind it, there is a psychological foundation that has caused this to be so. One such way that researchers have begun to look into, as far as addiction goes, is whether or not personalities that are perceived as risk-takers are more susceptible to getting wrapped up in addiction than people who are not. Here is how this phenomenon has had an effect...
One important thing to remember about the dangers of drug use is that they make you feel really, really good. Sometimes people forget about this fact, and it makes it harder to empathize and understand exactly what it is that an addict is going through. The reason, though, that drugs are able to make people feel so euphoric, and thus develop stronger and stronger addictions is because it causes the brain to artificially create more dopamine. This is especially true of incredibly horrific substances like heroin or methamphetamines, which cause the most ‘good feelings’ out of any street drugs. This makes it important for recovering addicts to understand how a healthy lifestyle can increase dopamine levels, without all of the struggle and horror of substance abuse. Here are some healthy ways to raise your dopamine level...
