Author: GuidaBrown
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Screening Pregnant Women for Substance Use: Key Insights
“You don’t want to go on a date with me, do you?” There’s no good way to answer this question. If I do want to go on a date, I’m actually disagreeing with the person asking me. If I don’t, well, you know…saying “You’re correct. I don’t,” is hard. I refer to this as the…
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The Crossroads of Addiction: Perceptions and Policies
Pete Hegseth, said in an interview with Megyn Kelley, “I’ve never had a drinking problem. No one’s ever approached me and said, ‘Oh, you should really look at getting help for drinking.’ Never. I’ve never sought counseling, never sought help. I respect and appreciate people who do.” He went on to say, “My plan going…
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Understanding Addiction: Insights from Dr. DuPont
Robert DuPont, MD, was the first director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, appointed in 1973, and he spent his career addressing substance use disorders. I first became acquainted with him while watching The Anonymous People, a feature documentary film produced in 2013 about the 23.5 million Americans living in long-term recovery from alcohol…
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Setting Boundaries with Emotional Vampires: A Guide
In a culture that loves to pathologize bad behaviors, I’m a big fan of distancing myself from emotional vampires, those who drain emotional energy from others. We all know one. Their behavior doesn’t necessarily rise to something that can be diagnosed…certainly not something that I am able to diagnose, since I’m likely not qualified to…
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Make 2025 Alcohol-Free: A Healthier New Year
It’s the day before January 1…New Year’s Eve Day, as it were…and people are making plans to ring in 2025 as well as resolutions to make 2025 the best year yet. Me? I’m typing in my pajamas with no intention of leaving the house. One of the resolutions that pops up in the top 10…
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Universal Testing for Neonates: A Crucial Need
We know the government is here to help, but the unintended consequences of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) may make it one of the lousiest pieces of legislation ever passed – and amended and amended again. It’s like we’re trying to polish a turd. We know that drug testing is rife with…
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Prenatal Substance Exposure: A Growing Crisis
“Nearly 1 in 12 newborns in the United States in 2020 – or about 300,000 infants – were exposed to alcohol, opioids, marijuana or cocaine before they were born. Exposure to these substances puts these newborns at a higher risk for premature birth, low birth weight and a variety of physical and mental disabilities” (The Conversation). Unfortunately, this number…
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The Role of Shame in Addiction Recovery
We know that feeling stigmatized – shamed, if you will – may reduce the willingness of those with substance use disorders (SUDs) to seek treatment. We also know that stigmatizing (shaming) language may negatively influence health care providers’ perceptions of people with SUDs, thereby negatively impacting care (pmc). We KNOW this. So our response, far…
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The Dangers of Ignoring Addiction Facts
If you’re looking for me, I’m over here banging my head on my desk. Why, you ask? I’m happy to explain! In the last week I’ve been discouraged at every turn where it comes to my expertise around substance use disorders. First, a person who may or may not have been pregnant was drinking wine.…
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We CAN Mitigate FASDs
One of the conditions that Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) may be mistaken for is Williams Syndrome. In general, it looks the same, the behaviors are the same, and the outcomes are the same. However, Williams Syndrome is typically diagnosed by the time a child is 3½, and FAS is, well, typically not ever diagnosed. Regarding…
Guided by Guida 