Learn what chiropractors can and cannot do from Dr. Karen Erickson in these Howcast videos.
Addiction & Substance Abuse
Whatever you’re addicted to — drugs, booze, porn, gambling, love, food, shopping — this Howcast video series will shed light on your problem.
Aging & Health
Learn how to stay strong and fit as you get older in this Howcast video series.
Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse
If you or someone you love has a drinking problem, you won’t want to miss this Howcast video series on alcoholism and alcohol abuse.
All About Breasts
Whether you’re dealing with big breasts, a flat chest, or man boobs, we’ve got the answers to all your burning breast questions in these videos.
Allergies
Sneezing and wheezing your way through the seasons got you down? Get your allergy or allergies under control with this Howcast video series.
Anger Management
Learn how to control your temper with the help of anger management expert Dr. J. Ryan Fuller in these Howcast videos.
Best Diet Plan for You
Learn how to follow the most popular diets from dietician Lisa Moskovitz in these Howcast videos.
Breast Cancer Awareness
Oncologist Marisa Weiss, MD, founder of Breastcancer.org and a breast cancer survivor herself, answers all your questions in these Howcast videos.
Cancer & Disease Prevention
Reduce your risk of cancer and other diseases with the preventive measures in this Howcast video series about staying healthy.
Chakras, Energy, & Psychic Powers
Get in touch with your spiritual side with this Howcast video series on chakras, energy, and psychic powers.
Cough, Flu & Cold Remedies
Stop the sniffles, sneezing and wheezing fast with these home remedies.
Diet Tips
Need to lose weight? Drop pounds quickly and easily with the diet tips in this Howcast video series about cutting fat and calories.
Digestion & Stomach Problems
Find out what’s causing your stomach or intestinal distress, how to treat it, and how to prevent it from happening again, with these videos.
Disaster Survival & Worst-Case Scenarios
Learn how to live through anything life throws at you with these survival videos.
Dreams & Dream Interpretation
Learn how to interpret your dreams with this Howcast video series.
Epilepsy & Seizure Disorders
Get a comprehensive understanding of epilepsy and seizure disorders from Steve Wolf, MD, and Patty McGoldrick, NP, in these Howcast videos.
Eye Care
Protect your eyesight with the tips and advice in this Howcast video series.
First Aid
Learn how to administer first aid safely with the instructions in these emergency care tutorials from Howcast.
First Aid: When Nature Attacks
The great outdoors can cause not-so-great injuries and illnesses. Know how to treat them with the advice in this Howcast video series about first aid.
Foot Care
Learn how to take care of your feet with the advice in this Howcast video series.
Health Hacks
Getting healthy doesn’t have to be a chore or a bore, as you’ll see in these Howcast videos.
Health Quick Tips
Learn how to take care of minor medical mishaps and eat more healthfully with the tips and tricks in these Howcast videos.
Healthy Eating
Get more nutrients into your diet with the crash course in nutrition provided by these videos.
How to Be a Better You
Learn how to become a better you — stronger, smarter, braver, happier — with the help of life coach Stephanie Florman in these Howcast videos.
How to Be Healthy
Look and feel better with the advice on how to live a healthier lifestyle in these videos.
How to Be Successful
Achieve your goals and reach your full potential with the advice in this Howcast video series on how to be successful.
How to Deal with a Concussion
A head injury is nothing to fool around with. Learn how to recognize, treat, and prevent concussions with the information in these Howcast videos.
How to Deal with Ear Problems
Is that ear pain a plain old earache, an ear infection, or something else? Find out from Ronald A. Hoffman, M.D. in this Howcast video series.
How to Deal with Insomnia
Learn how to deal with insomnia with advice from sleep specialist Priyanka Yadav, D.O. in these Howcast videos.
How to Detox
Learn how to detox your body using fasts, juicing, and cleanses with these Howcast videos featuring nutritionist Natalia Rose.
How to Develop Psychic Abilities
Learn how to develop psychic abilities like clairvoyance with the help of renowned psychic Paula Roberts in these Howcast videos.
How to Do Hot Stone Massage Therapy
Learn about hot stone massage therapy versus other massage techniques from celebrity massage therapist Meagan Holub in these Howcast massage videos.
How to Do Physical Therapy Exercises for the Knees
Learn how to do physical therapy for your knees with the exercises demonstrated by physical therapist Eric Sampson in these Howcast videos.
How to Do Reflexology
Don’t call it a massage! Reflexology is pressure applied to the hands and feet in order to improve health. Howcast shows you how it’s done.
How to Eat Healthy Food
Learn which foods are the most nutritious and how to eat a healthier diet with these Howcast videos featuring holistic nutrition expert Alex Jamieson.
How to Eat More Superfoods
Learn which foods have enough nutrients to be considered superfoods and pick up other healthy eating tips with these Howcast videos.
How to Exercise during Pregnancy
Get fit before, during, and after your pregnancy with the exercises demonstrated by fitness expert Cait Morth in these Howcast workout videos.
How to Find a Good Doctor
Learn how to find a good physician with this Howcast video series.
How to Follow a Raw Food Diet
Learn how to follow a raw food diet, including how to make tasty dishes out of raw food, from chef Ron Russell in these Howcast food videos.
How to Get Fit Fast
Need to shape up? Get fit fast with the workout tips in this Howcast video series.
How to Get Rid of a Headache
Head hurt? Figure out what kind of a headache it is and cure it fast with the advice in these videos.
How to Get Rid of Acne
Learn how to get rid of acne with the help of dermatologist Cybele Fishman, MD in these Howcast videos.
How to Get Your Vitamins and Minerals
Don’t pop that pill until you see how you can get your vitamins and minerals the natural way, in the food you eat, with this Howcast video series.
How to Give a Deep Tissue Massage
Learn how to give a deep tissue massage with the massage techniques demonstrated by masseuse Meagan Holub in these Howcast videos.
How to Give a Head & Neck Massage
Learn how to give head and neck massages from professional massage therapist Judie Rhed Yim in these Howcast videos.
How to Give a Massage
Learn basic massage techniques from massage therapist Renee French with the demonstrations in these Howcast videos.
How to Give a Shiatsu Massage
Learn how to do the massage techniques used in shiatsu with these Howcast videos, which show you how to massage scalp, feet, shoulders, and more.
How to Give an Ayurvedic Body Massage
Learn how to give an Ayurvedic body massage, aka Abhyanga, with the demonstrations from Lara Narayani Golland in these Howcast videos.
How to Give First Aid
Let a registered nurse teach you how to treat a variety of common medical emergencies in these first aid videos from Howcast.
How to Handle a Medical Problem
Learn how to deal with medical situations appropriately with these Howcast videos, which cover everything from appendicitis symptoms to asthma attacks.
How to Improve Your Memory
Learn proven techniques that will help you remember anything and everything in this Howcast video series featuring memory expert Barry Reitman.
How to Lose Weight with Diet Plans
Learn how to follow all the latest diets — and some oldies but goodies — from dieting expert Carolyn Dean, M.D. in these Howcast videos.
How to Meditate
Learn how to meditate from Nava NYC yoga teacher Dawn Angerame in these Howcast videos.
How to Pick a Birth Control Method
Learn the pros and cons of every type of birth control in this Howcast video series.
How to Prevent Skin Cancer
Learn how to recognize and prevent skin cancer from dermatologist Ahmet Altiner in these Howcast videos.
How to Prevent Stomach Problems & Digestive Disorders
Constipation? Heartburn? Diarrhea? Lisa Ganjhu, MD, tells you how to identify, treat, and prevent digestive problems in these Howcast videos.
How to Quit Smoking
Find out what will help you quit smoking for good with these Howcast videos featuring addictions counselor Adam Steiner.
How to Read Body Language
Want to know if someone likes you or if they’re lying? Learn how to read body language with the translations in these Howcast videos.
How to Read Palms
Learn how to read palms from psychotherapist and palmistry expert Ellen Goldberg, M.A., in these Howcast videos.
How to Read Tarot Cards
Learn how to read tarot cards from tarot expert Ellen Goldberg, M.A. in these Howcast videos.
How to Recognize & Treat Eating Disorders
Learn about eating disorders — anorexia, bulimia, sleep eating, compulsive eating and more — from Allegra Broft, M.D. in these Howcast videos.
How to Relieve Back Pain
Aching back? Whether it’s lower back pain or another area that hurts, get back pain relief with the tips in this Howcast video series.
How to Relieve Stress
Feeling a little tense? Learn how to relax with the stress relief tips in these Howcast videos.
How to Sleep Better
Sleep specialist Janet Kennedy, Ph.D. tells you how to beat insomnia — and how to get your kids to sleep better, too — in these Howcast videos.
How to Stop Smoking
Put out that cigarette once and for all with the tips in these Howcast videos.
How to Survive Puberty
Get all your personal questions about puberty answered in this Howcast video series about adolescent body changes.
How to Take Care of Your Feet
Learn how to buy shoes that fit, get a safe pedicure, prevent toe problems, and much more from podiatrist John Fritz in these Howcast videos.
How to Treat Back Pain
Learn how to prevent and treat back pain from physical therapist Eric Sampson in these Howcast videos.
How to Understand Addiction
Learn about all forms of addiction — alcoholism, drug dependency, sexual addiction — from Dr. Paul Hokemeyer in this Howcast video series.
How to Understand Alcoholism
Learn everything you need to know about alcoholism from addiction treatment specialist Paul J. Rinaldi, Ph.D. in these Howcast videos.
How to Understand Autism
Learn about autism from pediatrician and child development expert Asma J. Sadiq, M.D. in these Howcast videos.
How to Understand Child Psychology
Learn how to handle behavior problems and better understand disorders like autism with this Howcast video series featuring Dr. Kimberly Williams.
How to Understand Erectile Dysfunction
Learn about erectile dysfunction — what causes it, how to prevent it, and ways to treat it — in these Howcast videos.
How to Understand Heart Disease
Learn about heart disease — what causes it, how to prevent it, and ways to treat it — from Dr. Dennis Finkielstein in these Howcast videos.
How to Understand Infertility
Learn everything there is to know about infertility and how to get pregnant with these Howcast videos.
How to Understand Obesity
Learn about obesity — what causes it, how it affects your health, and how to overcome it — in these Howcast videos.
How to Understand Schizophrenia
Learn about schizophrenia, an often-misunderstood brain disorder, with the help of psychiatrist Jeanie Tse, MD in these Howcast videos.
How to Understand Sex
Learn the motivations behind all kinds of sex practices and desires from certified sex therapist Dr. Megan Fleming in these Howcast videos.
How to Understand Testicular Cancer
Learn about testicular cancer — what it is, how to recognize it, and the pros and cons of various treatment options — in this Howcast video series.
How to Understand Your Astrological Chart
Learn how to read your astrological chart with this Howcast video series featuring famed astrologer Jenny Lynch.
How to Understand Zodiac Signs
Learn how your zodiac sign can influence your love life and your career from astrology expert Lawrence Grecco in these Howcast videos.
Hypnosis & Mind Control
Hypnosis can be used to control your appetite, help you stop smoking and more. Learn about it from hypnotherapist Debbie Catz in these Howcast videos.
Know Your Medications
Get the rundown on prescription drugs, proper dosages, and other important information about medication.
Learn about Acupressure
Get the lowdown on acupressure, and how it differs from acupuncture, in this Howcast video series on the popular alternative therapy.
Learn about Astrology
Do read your daily horoscope? Understand your zodiac sign better with the astrology insights in this Howcast video series.
Learn about Massage Therapy
Learn how to rub people the right way with the massage tips and technniques in these videos.
Learn about Meditation
Find your inner calm with these meditation techniques.
Learn about STDs
Learn how to recognize, treat, and prevent sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) from health expert Jane Bogart, M.A. in these Howcast videos.
Memory Techniques
Keep your mind sharp with the memory-boosting tips and tricks in these Howcast videos.
Men’s Health
Get the facts about the top health issues for men.
Mental Health
Learn about a wide range of mental illnesses and how to deal with them.
Mood and Personality Disorders
Learn about mood, personality, anxiety, psychiatric, and psychotic disorders from expert Ankur Saraiya, MD.
Nutritional Supplements
Learn the pros and cons of taking various nutritional supplements from registered dietician Glen Tobias in these Howcast videos.
Pain Relief
Living in a world of pain? Check out the remedies in these videos.
Personal Security & Self-Defense
Learn ways to protect yourself from an assailant with these self-defense videos.
Plastic Surgery Guide
Get all your plastic surgery questions answered by cosmetic surgeon Robert J. Morin, M.D. in these Howcast videos.
Pregnancy 101
Learn all about pregnancy — especially the stuff no one tells you — from childbirth educator Elizabeth Mangum-Sarach in these Howcast videos.
Quick Diet Tips
Watching your weight? Learn how to cut calories easily when you’re eating out or ordering in with these diet tips.
Self-Help & Improvement
Learn 50 ways to improve yourself with the tips in these Howcast videos.
Sleep Tips
You are getting very sleepy — or will soon if the follow the advice in these Howcast videos about overcoming sleeping issues.
Stress Management & Relaxation
Need to relax? Let stress management expert Samantha Ibarguen walk you through a variety of effective relaxation techniques in these Howcast videos.
Vitamins & Supplements
Learn about the pros and cons of taking different kinds of vitamins in these Howcast videos.
Weather Survival Guide
Learn how to deal with different types of weather systems in this Howcast video series.
Weight Loss Tips
The secrets to losing weight are in these videos.
Women’s Health
Get the facts on the top health issues for women.
The Latest Health & Wellness Tutorials
About Memory Expert Barry Reitman
Transcript My name’s Barry Reitman. I’m the author of Secrets, Tips, and Tricks of a Powerful Memory, which is a book and a 4-CD set. They work well together. You can listen in the car during those wasted hours that you spend commuting to work, or going to school, or wherever it is. And when …
How to Remember Foreign Words & Phrases
Transcript My name is Barry Reitman. I’m the author of Secrets Tips and Tricks of a Powerful Memory. And I’d like to discuss very briefly how to remember foreign words and phrases, and in this case of the example I’m about to give you, foods. There is an Indian restaurant that I really like near …
How to Remember Planets by Size
Transcript My name is Barry Reitman. I’m the author of “Secrets, Tips and Tricks of a Powerful Memory,” I’m going to discuss how to remember the planets by size. Let me tell you a Little story. My friend Freddie, kind of a hip guy. You know everything is, “Hey, my man. How you doin’, my …
What Is Rote Memory?
Transcript My name is Barry Reitman. I’m the author of “Secrets, Tips, and Tricks of a Powerful Memory.” I’d like to discuss the question, “What is rote memory?” R-O-T-E. Rote memory is, unfortunately, all that most of us are taught when we’re young. It’s the constant repetition of something to learn what it is. It …
How to Remember Where You Parked Your Car
Transcript My name is Barry Reitman. I’m the author of “Secrets, Tips and Tricks of a Powerful Memory,” and I’m answering the question now how to remember where you parked. And given the size of shopping malls and other situations, it’s a common question. Here’s the answer: Most large parking lots have signs. Look up …
How to Understand “It’s On the Tip of My Tongue” Syndrome
Transcript My name is Barry Reitman. I’m the author of “Secrets, Tips and Tricks of a Powerful Memory,” and I’d like to discuss the question of what happens when something is on the tip of your tongue. It happens to all of us. I’m going to divide this answer into two parts: One is for …
Why Can’t I Remember What I Study?
Transcript My name’s Barry Reitman. I’m the author of Secrets, Tips, and Tricks of a Powerful Memory. And I’d like to discuss the question, “Why can’t I remember what I study?” I will suggest to you that you can’t remember what you study because no one’s ever taught you the right way to remember things. …
Short-Term Memory vs. Long-Term Memory
Transcript My name’s Barry Wrightman, author of “Secrets, Tips and Tricks of a Powerful Memory,” and I’d like to discuss briefly the difference between short term memory and long term memory. And they can be further be divided. Long term memory, the psychologist will tell you can be divided into explicit and implicit. If you …
How Alcohol Affects Memory
Transcript My name’s Barry Reitman. I’m the author of “Secret Tips and Tricks of a Powerful Memory,” and the question is raised about the association between drinking alcohol and your memory. Let me give you the answer. Don’t do it. If you have something you need to remember, from my personal experience, I know that …
How to Keep Your Memory Sharp
Transcript My name is Barry Wrightman. I’m the author of “Secrets, Tips and Tricks of a Powerful Memory,” and I’d like to discuss the question of how do you keep your memory sharp? There are a lot of different answers to that all kinds of converging ideas, but let me suggest first general health and …
How to Know if Your Forgetfulness Is Normal
Transcript My name is Barry Reitman. I’m the author of “Secrets, Tips and Tricks For a Powerful Memory,” and I’d like to discuss the question of what’s normal forgetfulness, or do I have a serious problem in my forgetfulness? Let me start out with a disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. I am not …
How to Remember a Change in Your Morning Schedule
Transcript My name’s Barry Reitman. I’m the author of Secrets, Tips, and Tricks of a Powerful Memory. I’d like to talk to you about something that affects us a lot sometimes, and that’s a schedule change in the morning. I first came upon this problem listening to a conversation at my local poker game. On …
How to Remember to Take Something with You in the Morning
Transcript My name’s Barry Reitman. I’m the author of “Secrets, Tips, and Tricks of a Powerful Memory” and I’d like to discuss a common problem — remembering to take something with you in the morning on the way to work or on the way to school. I think we’ve all had that where we get …
How to Memorize the Presidents
Transcript My name’s Barry Reitman. I’m the author of “Secrets, Tips and Tricks of a Powerful Memory” and I’d like to discuss how to remember the presidents of the United States in order. I’ll give you the first bunch, and you’ll see how I do it, and you can do it the same way. There’s …
How to Memorize a Speech
Transcript My name is Barry Reitman. I’m the author of “Secrets, Tips and Tricks of a Powerful Memory” and I’d like to talk about how to remember a speech that you’re going to give. I’ll start with a general premise that most speeches, unless it’s something very really unusual are best off delivered in what …
Connection between Sleep & Memory
Transcript My name’s Barry Reitman. I’m the author of Secrets, Tips and Tricks of a Powerful Memory and I’m going to speak a little bit about the connection between your memory and sleep. There’s a big connection. In addition to the general 1, where you need a healthy amount of sleep, just to maintain good …
How to Use the Alphabet List Technique
Transcript My name is Barry Reitman. I’m the author of “Secrets, Tips and Tricks of a Powerful Memory” and I’m going to discuss how to use the alphabet for remembering a list of things that you want to remember. Essentially we’re just going to use A-B-C-D-E and so on, instead of the numbers one, two, …
How to Use the Mnemonic Technique
Transcript My name is Barry Reitman. I’m the author of “Secrets, Tips, and Tricks of a Powerful Memory” and I’d like to address the question, “What is the mnemonic system?” And in truth, the mnemonic system is any artificial system to help your natural memory. Natural memory is that which you retain without trying. You’re …
How to Use the Link or Story Method
Transcript My name is Barry Reitman. I’m the author of “Secrets, Tips and Tricks of a Powerful Memory”. I’m going to talk a little bit about the link method of remembering, also the story method of remembering, and then at the end I’m going to tell you something interesting. The link method or the story …
How to Use the Peg System
Transcript I’m Barry Reitman, author of Secrets, Tips and Tricks of a Powerful Memory and I’d like to discuss how to use the Peg system also called the Hook System, some folks call it the File-folder System, it’s all the same thing. It’s a way of taking all that data in your brain and assigning …
How to Use the Loci Technique
Transcript I’m Barry Reitman, author of Secrets, Tips and Tricks of a Powerful Memory. And I’m going to speak a little bit about the loci system, how it evolved and what it means to you. Loci, plural of locus, simply means location or locations. 2,500 years ago a great poet named Simonides was at a …
How to Remember a Word or Name You’re Blanking On
Transcript I’m Barry Reitman, author of “Secrets, Tips and Tricks of a Powerful Memory,” and I’d like to discus the question of how do you remember a word or a name that you’re blanking on? It happens to all of us, doesn’t it? There’s two different answers. One is when you’ve used one of the …
How to Remember the Months with 31 Days
Transcript Hi, I’m Barry Wrightman, author of “Secrets, Tips and Tricks of a Powerful Memory, and I’m here to discuss a question that you may have; how to remember which months have 30 days or which months have whatever number of days? The simple answer is still the best; most of us learned it when …
How to Remember Why You Walked Into a Room
Transcript My name’s Barry Reitman, and I’m the author of Secrets, Tips, and Tricks of a Powerful Memory. I’d like to ask you the age old question, “What did I come in this room for?” Boy, we all do it, and as we get along in age, we do it some more. I’m going to …
How to Remember Where You Put Something
Transcript I’m Barry Wrightman, author of Secrets Tips and Tricks of a Powerful Memory. And I’m going to talk a little bit about how to remember where you put something, or what I usually refer to as, “where did you put the car keys?” Because everybody has that problem. Here’s my suggestion. You come into …
Top 3 Tips for Improving Your Memory
Transcript My name is Barry Reitman, author of “Secrets, Tips and Tricks of a Powerful Memory,” and I’d like to discuss a few good ideas, tips and tricks for your memory. Most important is what I call a two-word system; focus and picture. If you don’t know something, you can’t remember it. That’s not a …
How to Use the Body Part System
Transcript I’m Barry Reitman, author of Secrets, Tips, and Tricks of a Powerful Memory. And I’d like to tell about a very easy system for remembering things from one to ten by the numbers. and you’ll be able to use this anytime, anyplace. And the hints, the clues, the things that you will look for …
How to Use the Memory Palace Technique
Transcript Hi, I’m Barry Reitman, and I’d like to talk about the Memory Palace. Memory Palace is a system that goes back about 25 hundred years. It was invented by a Greek poet, Simonides, and by the way, this is a true story. It was recorded by Cicero. Here’s what happened and here’s why it’s …
How to Use the Major Memory System
Transcript Hi, I’m Barry Reitman, author of “Secrets, Tips, and Tricks of a Powerful Memory” and I’m going to speak a little bit about the major number system. The major number system has been around for about 400 years. It was tweaked for a couple hundred years and, really, it’s been the same for the …
How to Remember Planets
Transcript I’m Barry Wrightman Author of, “Secrets, Tips and Tricks of a Powerful Memory”. I’m going to talk to you about how to remember the planets, in there order from the sun. I always talk about focusing and picturing things and using various tricks to help our memory. First thing I’m going to suggest is …
How to Remember Birthdays
Transcript Hi, I’m Barry Reitman, author of “Secrets, Tips, and Tricks of a Powerful Memory” and I’d like to discuss how to remember people’s birthdays or other important dates. I’m going to suggest that you start a small system of your own. I’m going to give you one that I use to remember each month. …
How to Remember Passwords
Transcript This is my password for my website, powerfulmemorysecrets.com. It looks pretty complex, but in reality, it’s not. Here’s how it evolved. I’m going to start with my childhood dog, Sparky. I’m going to make him all lowercase for the moment. Now I’m going to turn it backwards, Y-K-R-A-P-S. That’s very untechnical but imagine if …
How to Remember Numbers
Transcript Hi, my name is Barry Reitman, and I’m going to talk to you about how to remember numbers. There are a number of ways to remember numbers from very simple to fairly complex. I think they’re all worthwhile. The simple ones you started to learn when you were three or four years old. One, …
How to Remember Lines
Transcript Hi, I’m Barry Reitman, author of “Secrets, Tips and Tricks of a Powerful Memory” and let’s discuss for a little bit how you, as an actor or actress, will remember your lines. Let’s discuss perhaps the most stressful situation, for an audition. And if you’re like most actors auditioning, two days before, or even …
How to Remember Names & Faces
Transcript Hi. My name’s Barry Reitman, and I’m here to talk about how to remember names and faces. I’d like to mention quickly why it’s difficult to remember names. But we do remember faces. If you meet someone today, and you see him a week from now, if you see him two weeks from now, …
How to Remember Everything You Read
Transcript Hi, I’m Barry Reitman, author of Secrets, Tips, and Tricks of a Powerful Memory, and I’d like to discuss how to remember everything you read. Of course, there’s different types of reading. You may be reading something very technical, or something for homework that’s kind of difficult, or you may be reading for pleasure …
How to Memorize the Periodic Table
Transcript Hi, I’m Barry Reitman, author of Secrets, Tips, and Tricks of a Powerful Memory. I’d like to talk about the periodic table of elements. If you have an interest in it, great. And you already know how to visualize that chart. You also know that each element has its own number. So it might …
About Expert Paul J. Rinaldi, Ph.D.
Transcript Hello, my name’s Dr. Paul Rinaldi. I’m a clinical psychologist and an addiction specialist. I am the Director of the Addiction Institute of New York, which is the division of substance abuse treatment at Saint Lukes and Roosevelt hospitals which are members of the Mount Sinai Health Network in New York City. I’ve been …
Why Alcohol Makes Some People Emotional
Transcript People are often curious and ask the question as to why alcohol seems to make some people really emotional. Well, alcohol doesn’t really cause the emotions. What alcohol does is alcohol lowers people’s inhibitions and often allows people to express things that they may not otherwise express. So, for instance, someone may be feeling …
What Is Alcoholism?
Transcript The question that has been posed is what is alcoholism. The good news for people is that alcoholism is a term that doesn’t exist anymore and that seems very curious to people. We used to diagnose alcohol in two categories: alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence. Now, with the publication of DSM5, which is the …
What’s Considered a Standard Drink?
Transcript People are often curious about what constitutes a standard drink. People who have trouble with alcohol will often talk about how many drinks they had per night or per week. But you have to ask people what they consider a regular drink for them. What’s considered a standard drink is different, depending on the …
What’s Considered a Safe Level of Drinking?
Transcript I’m sometimes asked by people what would be considered a safe level of drinking. That can be very different, depending on the individual. Generally, a safe level for any individual is a level at which one’s not inebriated. Because when people are inebriated they often do things that they wouldn’t normally do that could …
What Causes a Hangover?
Transcript People are very curious about what causes hangovers and if hangovers really are real, if they exist. The answer is that yes, hangovers do exist. What causes hangovers is very simple – it’s excessive alcohol ingestion along with dehydration. The way to avoid a hangover generally is to not drink too much and also …
How to Stage an Intervention
Transcript Often, people are concerned about a loved one and they may have been trying to get that loved on into some kind of treatment for their alcohol problems and the person refuses to do so. So then what they want to do is stage what’s called an intervention. An intervention should be staged. Often, …
3 Myths about Alcoholism
Transcript People often are curious about if there are myths about alcoholism and there are. One myth is that alcoholics are drunks forever. Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. And that may be true, but that doesn’t mean that people are drunk forever. People stop. People are very successful with different ways of treating their …
Avoiding Drinking Triggers When You’re Trying to Stay Sober
Transcript A question that I frequently get from people who are working on their alcohol use is around triggers and the avoidance of the triggers. What’s important to do first is to identify what does trigger you to want to drink. People are triggered for different reasons. In the 12 step traditions in AA for …
Signs Your Teen Is Abusing Alcohol
Transcript I’m often asked by parents, what are the signs that their child is using or particularly abusing alcohol. In this area, we have to really be careful because there are some normal developmental issues with kids and kids often do experiment with different things and that doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s a problem, although …
Sinclair Method to Treat Alcoholism
Transcript People frequently ask about the Sinclair Method. The Sinclair Method is a treatment for alcohol use that involves pharmacological intervention. What it involves is something called pharmacological extinction where an opiate agonist, such as Naltrexone, is given to patients who are abusing alcohol. And patients are told really to continue their normal drinking. And …
Signs of a High-Functioning Alcoholic
Transcript A question that’s frequently posed is whether people can be high functioning alcoholics and that’s a tricky question because there’s no clear criteria that we use to say someone’s high functioning versus low functioning. Often, people have stereotypes of what an alcoholic is and I think when people think of a high functioning alcoholic, …
Signs of Binge Drinking
Transcript There’s been a lot of focus in the media on what’s called binge drinking. A lot of binge drinkers are younger people, at least that’s what gets put in the media. We hear a lot of about binge drinkers in college and there is a great deal. We know from research, there’s a great …
How to Quit Drinking Cold Turkey
Transcript I sometimes get asked from people whether they should and how to stop drinking cold turkey. In other words, just one day I’m drinking the next day I don’t drink. My answer to that is well, I have two answers. I start with a question. How much are you drinking? So if you’re drinking …
Risk Factors for Alcoholism
Transcript I’m often asked by people, what are the risk factors for alcohol problems and there’s many risk factors that could come about for people. One major risk factor is looking at one’s family and looking at whether there’s been alcohol or other substance abuse problems in the family. There often is a generational or …
Medical Problems Caused by Alcoholism
Transcript I’m often asked if there are medical consequences to alcohol use. The answer is that if alcohol is used in a normal, meaning non-abusive way, no, there’s rarely any medical consequences to alcohol use. However, when people use alcohol problematically, meaning that they use alcohol for an extended period of time throughout their life …
Are There Any Support Groups for Alcoholics Besides AA?
Transcript People are often wondering whether if there’s other things they can do for treatment besides AA. In fact, there are many. AA is one treatment option, however it’s not the only one. There are many ways to get treatment and get effective treatment for problematic alcohol use. AA is one of them, then there’s …
Alcoholism & the Elderly
Transcript People often wonder about elderly people and alcohol use. In fact, there are elderly people who use alcohol problematically. And often people assume that those are people who always drank problematically. And certainly it’s sometimes the case where people just continue their patterns, but what often happens is that there’s some elderly people who’ve …
Alcoholism & Depression
Transcript I’m frequently asked by people whether alcoholism and depression are related. Alcoholism and alcohol problems can often cause people to feel depressed. Alcohol is a depressant. When people start drinking, at first when they start drinking alcohol elevates one’s mood. And then your mood decreases with more alcohol. So it is actually a depressant, …
Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms
Transcript When people are drinking heavily, they’re often concerned that if they stop drinking, will they have withdrawal symptoms from alcohol. It’s not necessarily predictable if they’ll have symptoms and if so, what those symptoms will be and what the severity will be. However, alcohol withdrawal can be very serious and potentially life threatening. Alcohol …
Alcohol-Related Deaths
Transcript People sometimes wonder how people die from alcohol. What may be surprising to some people is that the main cause of death from alcohol is through accidental death, often auto accidents or pedestrian accidents when drunk. There’s also medical reasons that people die from alcohol. Those medical reasons can include dying from cirrhosis of …
What Is Alcohol Dementia?
Transcript I’ve been asked about the phrase, alcohol dementia, and what is alcohol dementia. Alcohol dementia refers to a brain disorder that can occur through long exposure to alcohol. Alcohol dementia, you generally see in people who have been abusing alcohol at high levels for a very long time. People don’t get alcohol dementia early …
Alcohol Abuse vs. Alcoholism
Transcript Folks are often curious about what the difference is between alcohol abuse and alcoholism. We used to use those terms, diagnostically, as professionals. We use a diagnostic manual for diagnoses of psychological disorders and substance abuse disorders. And in the old diagnostic manual, which was called “DSM-IV-R”, there was a category of alcohol abuse …
Acupuncture to Treat Alcoholism
Transcript I’m often asked by people who are in treatment for alcohol problems if they should have acupuncture to help with their alcohol treatment. Well, acupuncture has been widely used in the field of substance abuse disorders. And in that, acupuncture has been used for many years, however in research there’s not a good research …
Medical Criteria for Alcoholism
Transcript In the addiction field we’re often asked what the medical criteria is for alcohol problems. Most people want to know if there’s medical criteria for alcoholism. We don’t use the term alcoholism any longer, we use the term alcohol use disorder. In terms of medical criteria, there’s psychological and medical consequences of alcohol problems. …
Best Way to Stop Drinking
Transcript People sometimes ask, “What’s the best way to stop drinking?” There’s no clear answer to that question. There’s different ways to stop drinking and different ways work for different people. So, among those different ways, is to go to Alcoholics Anonymous. You start going to Alcoholics Anonymous, you’re putting yourself in a situation where …






































































































































































