English: The Mountainlair is the Student Union building at West Virginia University (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Grapple is an old-fashion word… You don’t often hear someone use the word “grapple” or the phrase “grappling with;” today we are using it in the sense of being engaged in a struggle or to try to overcome or deal...Read More

Signs of alcohol poisoning (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Did you notice the headline on alcohol poisoning? If you didn’t notice the January 6, 2015, headline “alcohol poisoning kills six Americans every day,”  then there is a good chance you will still catch one of these headlines, as more and more news outlets are continuing to report...Read More

Do you drink responsibly? This is one of those questions that can catch you off guard. Think about the last time you had a couple of glasses of wine with dinner, or maybe a few beers while watching a sporting event on television…or there is the neighborhood barbecue, the family reunion, the wedding, or even...Read More

Homer statue in front of Old Cabell Hall at the University of Virginia (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Autumn days on college campuses… College campus news is filled with varied articles, with the fall semester now three to four weeks old. Most news offers the latest developments in academia or sports events. And then of course, some...Read More

Logo of the United States National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, part of the National Institutes of Health. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Part 2: College, binge drinking and more What are the consequences of college drinking? Depending on your own life experience, you may already be aware of the consequences of college drinking, or at...Read More

Just play it cool, boy… Real cool!    Stephen Sondheim Part 1: College, binge drinking and more Cool students on college campuses…and more “Cool” is an interesting word. As a society we’ve used this word in a number of ways. Here is a great definition: calmly audacious or impudent! Every generation finds a way to latch...Read More

Does your medical professional routinely screen you for alcohol use? Think about this question before you rush to answer it. If you’ve been a patient of the same primary care medical team for a number of years, then there is a good chance that the last time you were asked about your use of alcohol...Read More

A conversation about mental illness ~ new research, living with and Active Minds Results of largest assessment of substance use among the severely mentally ill On January 1, 2014, the results of new research were published in JAMA Psychiatry: Comorbidity of Severe Psychotic Disorders With Measures of Substance Use. The study was conducted by researchers...Read More

Female friendly alcohol marketing Do you have 31 seconds to watch a television ad featuring “cake and caramels”? Who doesn’t like cake or caramels? Obviously this ad is not about “cake and caramels”, but vodka! CDC Report: A Serious, Under-Recognized Problem Among Women and Girls – Binge Drinking This week the Centers for Disease Control...Read More

Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Have you ever heard a parent say to their teenager, “What were you thinking?” Let’s face it, raising teenagers can be challenging and often our teenage children do something that just makes no sense to us as parents. Would it surprise you to know that...Read More