As the founder of Williamsville Wellness, I find it irresponsible to call attention to such a bad practice when it pertained to so few people. Prop bets glamorize bad gambling practices and are a step down the path that leads to compulsive and pathological gambling.

As gambling continues to grow because states want to fill revenue holes, I would like news services such as The Daily to take a stand against online gambling where access, speed and the illusion of winning make it the most addictive of all forms of gambling. I would hope that The Daily could find a better article to put in that space about the game itself instead of a poor choice that four people made.

~Bob Cabaniss

Our overall mind state has a certain tone or flavor based largely on the types of thoughts we think. When the deep limbic system is overactive, it sets the mind’s filter on “negative.” If you could look into the thoughts of people who are depressed, you would find one dispiriting thought following another. When they look at the past, there is regret. When they look at the future there is anxiety and pessimism. In the present moment, something is most often unsatisfactory. The lens through which they see themselves, others, and the world has a dim grayness to it. They are suffering from Automatic Negative Thoughts, or ANTs. ANTs are cynical, gloomy, and complaining thoughts that just seem to keep coming all by themselves.

ANTs can cause people to be depressed and fatalistic, which have a profound impact on their lives. “I know I won’t pass that test on Tuesday.” This kind of thinking makes for a self-fulfilling prophecy: if they’ve already convinced themselves they won’t pass, they won’t study very hard and they won’t pass the test. This type of thinking severely limits a person’s ability to enjoy his or her life because how one thinks on a moment-to-moment basis plays a large role in how one feels and how one conducts one’s affairs. If you are depressed all the time, you don’t expect good things to happen so you don’t try very hard to make them happen. The internal distress from melancholy thinking can make you behave in ways that alienate others, thus causing you to isolate yourself further. On the other hand, positive thoughts and a positive attitude will help you radiate a sense of well being, making it easier for others to connect with you. Positive thoughts will also help you be more effective in your life. So, as you can see, what goes on in your mind all day long can determine whether your behavior is self-defeating or self-promoting.

Here are some examples of typical ANTs (automatic negative thoughts):
“You never listen to me.”
“Just because we had a good year in business doesn’t mean anything.”
“You don’t like me.”
“This situation is not going to work out. I know something bad will happen.”
“I feel as though you don’t care about me.”
“I should have done much better. I’m a failure.”
“You’re arrogant.”
“You’re late because you don’t care.”
“It’s your fault.”

For the complete article, please go to: http://ahha.org/articles.asp?Id=100%20

Daniel G. Amen, M.D. is an award winning physician, psychiatrist, best-selling author, international speakers, and brain enhancement expert. He is the founder and medical director of the world renowned Amen Clinics, Inc. Dr. Amen educates companies, organizations, and individuals on the importance of brain health and the impact of the brain on every aspect of life. The host of 5 highly successful PBS programs and a frequent radio and TV guest, Daniel is the author of 29 books, including 4 New York Times best-sellers. To learn more, visit his website at www.amenclinics.com or contact one of his clinics at 888-564-2700.

When a person enters treatment for addiction, it is not uncommon to uncover outstanding legal issues; 65% of problem gamblers report being involved in illegal activities ranging from check forgery to embezzlement and robbery.[i] In a study of GA members, 80% reported committing civil crimes.[ii] Likewise, when a person presents with legal problems in another setting, addiction may be playing a key role. For instance, if someone is gainfully employed but is always borrowing money, that person may be using the money for gambling, alcohol, drugs or debts incurred as a result of addictive behavior.

Recognizing that a loved one, client or patient may have a gambling problem is often the beginning of the treatment process. Pathological gambling is a progressive addiction where someone:  becomes increasingly preoccupied with gambling; needs to bet more money more often; feels restless or irritable when not chasing losses; continues gambling although it is causing serious consequences. All addictions cause distress and constant disruption in an addict’s life. Compulsive gamblers are significantly more likely to have suicidal ideations and to make suicide attempts than those with other addictions. About 15% of problem gamblers report a significant suicide attempt.[iii]

A compulsive gambler experiences denial and often loses track or minimizes the amount of money he or she has lost. Here is a true story:

I thought I’d stolen about $10,000 from my father’s business. One day I decided to look at the books and see just how much damage I’d done. In actuality, I had taken over $70,000. I was in shock. My heart started racing, and then felt like it was about to fly out of my chest. Convinced I was having a heart attack, I went to the emergency room. The attending physician checked all my vital signs, smiled, and assured me that my heart was fine. I was, however, having a full blown panic attack. Because I was otherwise healthy, nobody ever asked me if there was something going on in my life that could have contributed to this.

Experts at Williamsville Wellness are well-positioned to prepare presentencing paperwork or negotiate with State Attorneys to reduce a charge from a felony to a misdemeanor. Our staff works with all court systems and with probation authorities during presentencing investigations when someone is awaiting a federal trial. Arranging for repayment to victims and coordinating payment plans with the IRS are seen as cooperative measures that benefit all parties. The state saves money when restitution is made and treatment is ordered in lieu of jail time; many judges prefer to offer rehab as opposed to punishment.

Providing this level of assistance helps the addict in a number of ways. First and foremost, studies have shown that people who successfully complete treatment are far less likely to reoffend. As a byproduct, courts look favorably on those who are aggressively addressing their problem. This is better for the addict, saves time and money, and is ultimately better for society as a whole.

Addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry. Dysfunction in these circuits leads to characteristic biological, psychological, social and spiritual manifestations. This is reflected in an individual pathologically pursuing reward and/or relief by substance use and other behaviors.

Addiction is characterized by inability to consistently abstain, impairment in behavioral control, craving, diminished recognition of significant problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships, and a dysfunctional emotional response. Like other chronic diseases, addiction often involves cycles of relapse and remission. Without treatment or engagement in recovery activities, addiction is progressive and can result in disability or premature death.

Currently clinicians use the DSM-IV-TR to diagnose substance abuse and substance dependence, pathological gambling, and related disorders. The proposed DSM-V, scheduled for release in 2013, does not differentiate between substance abuse and dependence but suggests a continuum for substance use disorders using the number of criteria to determine moderate to severe problems. Craving has been added as a diagnostic criterion for substance use disorders. Pathological gambling has been reclassified from an impulse-control disorder in the DSM-IV-TR to the category Addiction and Related Disorders in the DSM-V. The proposed DSM-V, especially the idea of a diagnostic continuum, supports well the idea of recovery as a process.

The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) just released this new definition of addiction after a four-year process involving more than 80 experts.

See the full story on MSNBC’s article on ASAM’s recent definition change.

Marcia Angell, the first woman editor-in-chief of theNew England Journal of Medicine and now at the Harvard Medical School, in an ongoing, two-part series in the New York Review of Books (part 1 of which is in the June 23 issue), argues against the firmly ensconced American view that mental illness can be (and it has been) resolved to brain functioning.

The New York Times, for its part, once again supports, with a profile of Nora Volkow, the visionary director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the slightly more come-lately view of addiction as a brain disease.

Angell has fought her way to cultural icon status by combating the medical-pharmaceutical-industrial complex, first in her position as editor of the NEJM, and subsequently from her ethics perch at Harvard (where she also sometimes treads on toes).

Angell is naturally led to an anti-brain-disease position because it has been fostered and foisted by the pharmaceutical industry with which she has been warring. Quoting her in the New York Review of Books, the modern “psychiatric revolution” appeared due to “the emergence over the past four decades of the theory that mental illness is caused primarily by chemical imbalances in the brain that can be corrected by specific drugs.” This revolution was spearheaded when the antidepressant “Prozac came to market in 1987 and was intensively promoted as a corrective for a deficiency of serotonin in the brain.”

For the complete article, please click here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stanton-peele/addiction-mental-illness-brain-disease_b_876636.html?ref=email_share

Article written by Stanton Peele. Stanton is an attorney, psychologist, and addiction expert. Beginning with the groundbreaking Love and Addiction in 1975, Dr. Peele has broken down myths about addiction. Among his accomplishments, discussed at his Website, showing that addiction is more than a physiological response to drugs, addressing life processes in treating addiction, and opening the field to harm reduction. His recent work includes 7 Tools to Beat Addiction, and his development of the Life Process Program for addictions.

Tackling tough subjects like underage drinking and drug use may soon take on a new look. A local organization plans to make the conversation interactive– all thanks to a grant from the Virginia ABC.

It’s a tough subject for parents but research shows starting that conversation can be essential to helping your kids make good choices. The regional Drug Free Alliance hopes a new website, can make that talk a little easier.

Rick McKeel, Executive Director of the regional Drug Free Alliance, knows what lands on this website, could change lives. On the site there will be testimonials you can hear.

“Their stories now are going to become sort of the basis for helping other people deal with their issues as well,” he said.

Stories like Jennifer Franklin’s – a woman in her mid 20s, who was addicted to drugs, homeless, and pregnant.

“Before I knew it, my life just spiraled out of control,” Franklin said.

She says she’s reclaimed her life, but not before making big mistakes.

“It just took me to a place that I never thought I would be. Hopeless, suicidal, I just didn’t have any purpose to live,” she explained.

But she hopes by sharing this story, she’ll help others make better choices.

“I hope that they get the understanding and that they get the courage that they’ll speak up and say hey…I heard of somebody that went through this and it wasn’t good,” said Franklin.

And that stories like hers will give parents a voice, to reach their kids.

“Study after study for the last 25 years has shown the number one prevention and activity that can be undertaken is a parent talking to their child,” McKeel said.

McKeel says parents are key in the fight against drug and alcohol abuse. And he points out– even if your child doesn’t have a problem, he or she might be going to school or activities with kids that do. He hopes this site will arm those kids with the tools they need to say no, and get help.

The website will launch in October. We’re told it will be free to anyone who wants to use it.

For the complete article, please visit: http://www.nbc12.com/story/15259269/va-abc-grant-to-help-local-organization