Is silence and solitude good for you?

By Daily Camera (Boulder, Colorado)

Samir Heffley found something terrifying in a beautiful barn in the North Carolina mountains.

Silence.

It was 1979, and Heffley, a newly trained clinical psychologist, picked up a book, where he read about a “silence and seclusion retreat.” Seven days of no contact with anyone else, centered on one simple meditation practice: being aware of your incoming and

Florida woman finds hope in recovery from prescription pill abuse

By McClatchy Newspapers

MANATEE, Fla. — It began with sips of alcohol and hits of marijuana at 10.

When she turned 12, she was popping pills.

And by 14, Paige O'Brock was injecting herself with prescription drugs.

She was hooked.

“We started with snorting pills and I was doing a lot of Xanax,” said O'Brock, now 20. “I would black out a lot and would have no idea what I was doing. I remember

Poverty Linked to Anxiety, Mood Disorders

By HealthDay

People with low incomes are more likely to suffer mental illness, a new study suggests.

It also found that a decrease in income is associated with increased risk of anxiety, substance abuse and mood disorders.

Researchers analyzed data from nearly 35,000 adults aged 20 and older who took part in the U.S. National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions. The