substance abuse

Narcan Nasal Spray Is Now Available Over the Counter

Narcan Nasal Spray Is Now Available Over the Counter. Should You Get It?

Here’s why the lifesaving medication naloxone — commonly known by the brand name Narcan — should be in your medicine cabinet

Why Alcohol Affects You More As You Age

Why Alcohol Affects You More As You Age

As you get older and your metabolism slows, that one glass might feel like much more — and that can be bad news for your overall health

Struggling to Quit Smoking? Your Genes Might Be at Fault

Struggling to Quit Smoking? Your Genes Might Be at Fault

How environment, behavior and genetics affect nicotine dependence

Pregnant woman taking pill

Using for Two

Our webinar, Healthy Pregnancy, Healthy Mom: Reducing Barriers to Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder, addressed challenges and support for women with opioid use disorder

Red and white capsules

Designing Less Addictive Opioids, Through Chemistry

One potential way to make opioids less addictive is to make them target injured tissue rather than the healthy brain

Mackenzie Phillips

One Day at a Time: Mackenzie Phillips Wants to Help America Recover

NY Times bestselling author and actress Mackenzie Phillips shares her recovery story in hope of inspiring others

Teenage booze at a house party

Alcohol Companies Make $17.5 Billion a Year off of Underage Drinking, While Prevention Efforts Are Starved for Cash

Companies are making literally billions of dollars from the very behavior they say they want to prevent

Close up of a bartender pouring alcohol

Women Now Drink as Much as Men — and Are Prone to Sickness Sooner

This trend parallels the rise in mental health concerns among young women

New Antidepressants Can Lift Depression and Suicidal Thoughts Fast, but Don’t Expect Magic Cures

New Antidepressants Can Lift Depression and Suicidal Thoughts Fast, but Don’t Expect Magic Cures

Alleviating major depression for the long term involves more than just drugs

Jennifer Storm sitting on a chair

You Can't Put a Band-Aid Over a Bullet Hole: How I Healed From Sexual Trauma and Substance Abuse

I realized I had to deal with the painful secrets and trauma underlying my addiction in order to find a pathway to recovery.

bottle of pills

Addiction Treatment Shrinks During the Pandemic, Leaving People With Nowhere To Turn

Here is how the COVID-19 pandemic is making the opioid crisis worse.

Drinking Surged During The Pandemic. Do You Know The Signs Of Addiction?

Drinking Surged During The Pandemic. Do You Know The Signs Of Addiction?

Those with obsessive-compulsive disorder and other serious anxieties face uniquely difficult mental health battles, including trying to distinguish concerns brought on by their conditions from general fears shared by the public about COVID-19.

Drinking During Rough Times

Drinking During Rough Times

If you are drinking more to cope with the stress, anxiety or boredom of the coronavirus pandemic, it's important to know how alcohol can affect your health.

AA Still Best to Beat Problem Drinking, Review Finds

AA Still Best to Beat Problem Drinking, Review Finds

Researchers found that Alcoholics Anonymous was more effective than behavioral therapies when it came to helping people remain abstinent.

Vaping is Bad for Everyone, and It’s Especially Unhealthy for Children

Vaping is Bad for Everyone, and It's Especially Unhealthy for Children

Vaping and e-cigarettes have become an epidemic. This is a serious public health and women’s health problem because many adolescents and young people have started vaping recently, and vaping is now associated with deaths and of severe lung injuries.

Women and Opioids: The Unseen Impact

Women and Opioids: The Unseen Impact

A national joint education campaign launched by HealthyWomen & Healthline to promote visibility and awareness of opioid use disorder, especially its impact on women and their families and communities.

Could CBD Treat Opioid Addiction?

Could CBD Treat Opioid Addiction?

Cannabidiol (CBD) has been receiving a lot of attention lately as a potential treatment for everything from epilepsy to anxiety. Now, researchers report it might also help curb the cravings that come with opioid addiction.

Do You Drink Too Much?

Do You Drink Too Much?

Middle-aged Americans are hitting the sauce too hard and too often, a new poll shows. Are you one of them?

Is Opioid Addiction Hereditary

Is Opioid Addiction Hereditary?

When parents abuse prescription painkillers, their teenagers may follow their example.

Fentanyl Now the No. 1 Opioid OD Killer

Fentanyl Now the No. 1 Opioid OD Killer

As the U.S. opioid epidemic grinds on, fentanyl is fast becoming the main culprit in drug overdose deaths.

Childbirth In The Age Of Addiction: New Mom Worries About Maintaining Sobriety

Childbirth In The Age Of Addiction: New Mom Worries About Maintaining Sobriety

When pregnant women with a substance use disorder – or history of opioid dependence or addiction – are preparing for labor they need to have good communications with their doctors about their exposure to opioids during labor and delivery, and afterwards.

A Couple's Tough Trek Back From Opioid Addiction

A Couple's Tough Trek Back From Opioid Addiction

It is possible to recover from even the most serious of addictions. Just ask Katelyn and Jeffrey Hoglund.

As Treatable As Diabetes? Lawmakers Push New Ways To Stem Opioid Addiction

As Treatable As Diabetes? Lawmakers Push New Ways To Stem Opioid Addiction

When people are using medicines to treat their opioid use disorder – just like diabetics use insulin – and their insurance requires pre-authorization before they can get their monthly supply of their medicine, this puts them at great risk for relapse.

HealthyWomen Helping to Combat Opioid Epidemic – Better Treatment and Better Policies

HealthyWomen Helping to Combat Opioid Epidemic – Better Treatment and Better Policies

HealthyWomen is helping to combat the opioid epidemic by working with the Legal Action Center, women state legislators, and others to spread understanding of the disease of opioid use disorder (OUD), and best practices for treating OUD.