We've all seen it, typically on television or on stage: a hypnotist selects a number of members of the audience, and with seemingly little greater than a steely stare or a number of selection words, they’re suddenly “enchanted.” Depending on what the hypnotist suggests, the participants laugh, dance and perform uninhibitedly.

Or perhaps you've experienced hypnosis another way – by visiting a hypnotherapist for a series of sessions to make it easier to quit smoking, shed weight, relieve pain, or cope with depression. This isn’t any longer unusual; Thousands of Americans have done the identical. And many were helped.

Hypnosis has been shown to be effective in treatment Irritable bowel syndrome Weight loss, Sleep disorders And Fear. Hypnotherapy is advisable for mild to moderate depression in adults . Hypnosis can be used to treat Phobias, PTSD and to Control pain during operations and dental procedures in adults and kids.

Yet despite the evidence, its widespread use, and its growing popularity, hypnosis continues to be viewed with skepticism by some scientists and curiosity by much of the general public. As Researcher studying altered states From a cognitive and neuroscientific perspective, I'm pleased to assist pull back the curtain and show you ways hypnosis works.

Simply put, hypnosis is a procedure that helps people imagine different experiences that feel very real. When this happens, the person may be said to be in a state .

Little is thought about what characterizes a hypnotic state by way of brain activity, nevertheless indicate a decrease in activity within the parts of the brain accountable for this and increased connections between the parts accountable for attention and motion.

These results are consistent with the concept hypnotized individuals are in a state that inhibits internal thoughts and other distractions, reminiscent of physical sensations or sounds, that would interfere with hypnosis.

A therapist's first suggestions typically include: ““, which helps the subject increase his or her responsiveness to other suggestions. An introduction could look like this: “I am now counting from 5 to 1. With each count you will have the feeling that you are even more relaxed and that you are diving deeper and deeper into hypnosis.”

When responding to suggestions, the topic's experience feels involuntary. That is, it happens to them and just isn’t attributable to them. This is generally known as the . When suggested to maneuver their arm, the topic may feel that their arm is rising by itself, quite than of its own accord.

With perceptual suggestions, the experience can feel quite real and different from the voluntary imagination. If I ask you to assume that you just hear a dog barking outside, it's an effort, and the experience doesn't feel like there's actually a dog barking on the market. But through hypnotic suggestion, responding subjects feel as in the event that they are hearing a dog barking without being conscious of the hassle being made to make it occur.

You can't force anyone to be hypnotized. The willingness to participate, a positive attitude, motivation and expectations are extremely vital. This also applies to the flexibility to disregard the incontrovertible fact that the situation is imaginative. It's like if you turn out to be fully absorbed with the story and characters in a movie – so absorbed you forget you're in a theater.

An excellent relationship with the therapist can be crucial. If you refuse to cooperate or determine that hypnosis doesn't work, it won't. An excellent analogy could be meditation: you may hearken to a meditation recording, but when you are unwilling to follow the instructions or when you are unmotivated or distracted, it would don’t have any effect.

There are few characteristics that predict whether someone might be easily hypnotized, but people are usually not alike of their characteristics . Some people experience a wide selection of suggestions vividly; others not nearly as much. There is evidence of this more amenable to hypnotic suggestions than men, and that peak hypnotizability occurs during this era .

From a neuroscientific perspective, it seems that hypnotic suggestions do in a roundabout way affect our executive functions, but quite to our self-monitoring functions. This implies that hypnosis does in a roundabout way determine our behavior. Rather, it changes the best way the brain monitors what it’s doing. So when the hypnotist suggests that you just raise your arm, you might be still the one making that call – regardless that your experience may appear to be the arm is moving by itself.

Exposure therapy, self-hypnosis

The goal of hypnotherapy is to vary negative emotions, perceptions and actions. Suppose you might be afraid of public speaking. Through suggestions, the therapist can get you to have the experience of speaking in front of an audience. Again, it feels real – your stress levels will rise, but eventually you’ll get used to it and learn to administer the stress, at the same time as the therapist suggests increasingly difficult scenarios.

Hypnosis will also be used as preparation or alternative Exposure therapyThis is a technique of treating phobias or fears related to certain situations by step by step exposing the patient to increasingly difficult situations. If you might be afraid of birds, the therapist may suggest that you just imagine holding a feather. Then imagine that you just are approaching a bird in a cage. Then imagine going to the park and feeding pigeons. This is simpler and feels more real than mere visualization.

The hypnotherapist may teach self-hypnosis techniques. Subjects can learn to induce a state of rest that’s related to a gesture, reminiscent of closing the left hand.

Hypnotic suggestions like these reduce anxiety by promoting brain activation parasympathetic nervous systemwhich stimulates and deactivates body functions reminiscent of digestion and sexual arousal during rest periods

For some diseases, reminiscent of E.g.: . But it could take longer . And just as hypnosis isn't for everybody, it isn't for all the things either.

In addition, not all hypnotherapy products available in the marketplace are scientifically proven. It's safer to go to a hypnotherapist who’s licensed in your state. You should ask in the event that they are affiliated with or certified by knowledgeable association of hypnotherapists. You can then confirm your membership on the association's website. For instance, the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis means that you can seek for members by name.

Although Medicare doesn’t cover hypnotherapy, some private insurance policy partially cover the associated fee of certain medical conditions so long as the treatment is provided by a licensed clinical psychologist. A session typically costs between $100 and $250.

By Lia DeGroot, CQ Roll Call

A brand new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that treating and screening for non-substance-related mental disorders can assist reduce the variety of overdoses.

The studyreleased Thursday found that of the 63,424 individuals who died of drug overdoses in 2022 in 43 states and Washington, DC, 22 percent had one other mental disorder. Analyzing data from the CDC's State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System, researchers found that probably the most common disorders were depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder.

The authors identified that the prevalence of mental disorders might be underestimated.

Amanda Dinwiddie, a health scientist within the CDC's Division of Overdose Prevention and lead writer of the study, said in an interview Thursday that she hopes public health professionals will use the knowledge gathered by the study to higher discover and treat mental health disorders.

“They can build on efforts to identify and treat patients with substance use disorders and other mental health disorders by integrating screening and treatment, for example by incorporating evidence-based mental health screenings into nonfatal overdose encounters, such as in emergency departments,” she said.

She said public health professionals could also increase harm reduction efforts, equivalent to distributing naloxone to reverse opioid overdoses. The FDA approved the primary over-the-counter naloxone products in 2023. They are actually available in all 50 states.

Dinwiddie said 1 / 4 of individuals with non-substance-related mental disorders who died had a minimum of one opportunity for intervention, equivalent to during existing treatment for his or her substance abuse or during an emergency room visit.

“We considered any emergency room or urgent care visits within a month of the death,” she said. “It might be overdose-related or unrelated, discharge from an institutional setting like a jail or prison, current treatment for a substance use disorder or a previous nonfatal overdose. Those are just touchpoints where intervention could have occurred.”

About 80 percent of overdose deaths were related to opioids, especially illegally produced fentanyl, the information showed.

The study was released as a part of Overdose Awareness Week, and Saturday is International Overdose Awareness Day. White House drug policy chief Rahul Gupta called on Congress this week to reauthorize the Office of National Drug Control Policy during an interview with CQ Roll Call.

---

©2024 CQ-Roll Call, Inc., All rights reserved. Visit cqrollcall.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The electroencephalography (EEG) was invented 100 years ago. In the years since this device for monitoring brain electricity was invented, it has had an incredible impact on the way in which scientists study the human brain.

Since its first use, EEG has shaped researchers' understanding of cognitive processes, from perception to memory. It can also be essential for the diagnosis and treatment of diverse brain disorders, including epilepsy.

I’m a cognitive neuroscientist which uses EEGs to check how people remember events from their past. The one centesimal anniversary of the EEG is a possibility to reflect on the importance of this discovery in neuroscience and medicine.

Discovery of the EEG

On July 6, 1924, the psychiatrist Hans Berger conducted the first EEG recording on a humana 17-year-old boy undergoing neurosurgery. At the time, Berger and other researchers were conducting electrical recordings on the brains of animals.

What distinguished Berger was his obsession with physical basis of what he called psychic energyor mental effort, in humans. In a series of experiments spanning his early profession, Berger measured brain volume and temperature to check changes in mental processes similar to mental work, attention, and desire.

He then turned to recording electrical activity. Although he recorded the primary EEG traces within the human brain in 1924, Publication of results until 1929. These five intervening years were an agonizing period of self-doubt concerning the source of the EEG signal within the brain and of refining the experimental setup. Berger recorded lots of of EEGs on various subjects, including his own children, and experienced each experimental successes and setbacks.

Finally, he was convinced of his results and published a series of articles within the journal Archive for Psychiatry and hoped for a Nobel Prize. Unfortunately, the research community doubted his results and years passed before anyone else began using EEG in their very own research.

Berger was finally nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1940. But Nobel Prizes were not awarded this 12 months in every category as a result of World War II and the German occupation of Norway.

Neuronal oscillations

When many neurons are energetic at the identical time, generate an electrical signal strong enough to spread immediately through the conductive tissue of the brain, skull and scalp. EEG electrodes attached to the top can record these electrical signals.

Since the invention of the EEG, researchers have shown that neuronal activity oscillates at certain frequencies. In his first EEG recordings in 1924, Berger found that the predominant oscillatory activity was that which oscillated eight to 12 times per second, or 8 to 12 hertz, called Alpha vibrationsSince the invention of alpha rhythms, there have been many attempts to grasp how and why neurons oscillate.

It is believed that neuronal oscillations are essential for effective communication between specialized brain regions. For example, theta oscillations with a frequency of 4 to eight hertz are essential for communication between brain regions involved within the encoding and retrieval of memories in animals and humans.

The researchers then investigated whether or not they could alter neural oscillations and thereby influence the way in which neurons communicate with one another. Studies have shown that many behavioral and noninvasive methods can alter neural oscillations and result in changes in cognitive performance. Engaging in certain mental activities can trigger neural oscillations on the frequencies utilized by those mental activities. For example, my team's research found that Mindfulness meditation can increase theta frequency vibrations and improve memory recall.

Noninvasive methods of brain stimulation can goal frequencies of interest. For example, my team's ongoing research has shown that brain stimulation on the theta frequency result in improved memory recall.

EEG has also led to essential discoveries about how the brain processes information in many other cognitive domainsincluding how people perceive the world around them, how they focus their attention, how they convey through language and the way they process emotions.

Diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases

EEG is now widely used for diagnosis Sleep disorders and epilepsy and as a guide for the treatment of brain disorders.

Scientists are using EEGs to check whether memory could be improved through noninvasive brain stimulation. Although research continues to be in its infancy, there are already some promising results. For example, one study found that noninvasive brain stimulation at gamma frequency – 25 hertz – improved memory. Memory and neurotransmitter transmission in Alzheimer's disease.

A brand new variety of non-invasive brain stimulation, called temporal interference uses two high frequencies to generate neural activity equal to the difference between the stimulation frequencies. The high frequencies can higher penetrate the brain and reach the goal area. Researchers recently tested this method on humans by utilizing 2,000 hertz and a pair of,005 hertz to send 5 hertz theta frequencies to a vital brain region for memory, the hippocampus. This resulted in improvements in remember the name that’s related to a face.

Although these results are promising, further research is required to grasp the precise role of neural oscillations in cognition and to find out whether altering them can result in lasting improvements in cognition.

The way forward for the EEG

The one centesimal anniversary of the EEG provides a possibility to reflect on what it has taught us about how the brain works and what this technology can do in the long run.

In a survey For the journal Nature Human Behaviour, over 500 researchers who use EEG of their work were asked to make predictions concerning the way forward for the technology. What will likely be possible with EEG in the following 100 years?

Some researchers, including myself, predict that we are going to use EEGs to diagnose and goal brain diseases. Others consider that a affordable, portable EEG is widely used to enhance cognitive functions at home or is seamlessly integrated into virtual reality Applications. The possibilities are enormous.

From the driving force's seat of his parked truck, Lewis remembered what it felt prefer to take opioids.

He says he was prescribed Vicodin after having his wisdom teeth removed at age 15, triggering an addiction he struggled with for nearly twenty years. (Lewis' last name has been omitted resulting from concerns about his medical privacy.)

“I just remember it taking all my worries away,” the Pennsylvania native said during a Zoom interview in September. “It almost made me feel like I didn’t have to be afraid.”

Eventually he began experimenting with stronger opiates, namely Percocet and Oxycontin, and switched to heroin a couple of years later. He said it was “the worst decision” he had ever made.

“I lost everything,” said Lewis, who’s in his early thirties.

He has been recovering since 2021 and credits a virtual telemedicine company, Ophelia, with helping him get back heading in the right direction: “It literally changed my life,” he said.

Ophelia partnered with Highmark Wholecare last March to supply telemedicine addiction services to its patients, including Medicaid and Medicare members based in Pennsylvania; In April, it was named the primary Virtual Center of Excellence for Opioid Use Disorder in Pennsylvania. Centers of Excellence are designated treatment centers officially recognized by the state Department of Human Services.

Ophelia now joins other local centers of excellence offering telehealth services for opioid use disorder, including JADE Wellness Center on the South Side and Gateway Rehabilitation Center in Greentree.

These moves exhibit the increasing popularity of telehealth services because the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when capabilities were expanded to enable virtual prescribing of controlled substances.

Many within the larger population select telemedicine for convenience; For individuals with opioid use disorder, the flexibility to buy medications to treat the condition in a discreet and efficient manner has improved retention rates and reduced stigma related to addiction.

However, there’s a risk of this policy being terminated. Since the U.S. public health emergency resulting from the pandemic ended last May, exemptions allowing controlled substance prescribing in lieu of telemedicine were now not guaranteed. This program has now been prolonged twice by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The current extension runs until December thirty first.

“There is a lot of support at the federal level” for telemedicine, said Wilson Compton, deputy director of the National Institutes on Drug Abuse. “It is unclear whether this can continue.”

Lakshmi Reddy, Chief Medical Officer of Highmark Wholecare, said the nationwide partnership with Ophelia is an incredible option to provide treatment options for patients with substance use disorders and reduce stigma.

“This will be life-saving,” Reddy said. “A significant portion of our members suffer from a substance use disorder and require treatment.”

The advantages of telemedicine include potential barriers to in-person appointments, akin to: B. the necessity to secure transportation and childcare, in addition to scheduling around a job.

Patients often connect during lunch breaks, noted Allison Berneking, Lewis' physician and Ophelia's regional clinical director. Lewis, who lives in Lackawanna County, often answered calls while walking through the countryside, she said.

Many patients, like Lewis, began using the virtual platform just because they’d no other options, Berneking said. Lewis discovered Ophelia in 2021 through a Facebook ad he almost scrolled past. He said he tried every part — rehab, Suboxone clinics, Alcoholics Anonymous — but all the time returned to using.

“At that point I just wanted to stop everything. I needed a different kind of change.”

And when he became a patient, he didn't have a automobile to drive to a clinic.

“If someone takes three buses to get to a doctor's appointment, missing just one bus could mean you miss the appointment and that could lead to a relapse,” Reddy said. “We want our members with substance use disorders to feel like they have options.”

NIDA's Compton noted that transportation will be cumbersome even inside city limits — and with a condition like opioid use disorder, the need for treatment can vary widely based on mood, environment or access to substances.

Jody Glance, medical director of addiction services at UPMC Western Behavioral Health, also runs telehealth services for individuals with substance use disorders and has seen the advantages of this approach.

“Some people we treat struggle with debilitating chronic pain and find it difficult to come to the clinic,” she said. “This is the group that I think will be helped the most (by telemedicine).”

Telemedicine allows the system to capture patients and start treatment sooner, somewhat than having to place them on a month-long waiting list or refer them to a specialist, which creates additional hurdles. Berneking takes care of patients while they fold laundry, take care of their children or use the WiFi in the general public library.

Such an intimate look right into a patient's life can strengthen the doctor-patient relationship. Berneking noted that sometimes general contractor patients would excitedly show her the structure they were constructing or that she would meet children on the screen.

“People open up and become more vulnerable when they feel safe,” she said.

Glance echoed that sentiment. Sometimes she inquires about artwork hanging on the partitions behind her patient, akin to someone with a passion for photography.

“We were able to talk to patients about things that might not otherwise have been brought up if the visit had not taken place at home,” she said. “You learn more about their personal lives, beyond what they might bring to the doctor’s office.”

Both Glance and Berneking said they’ve found no-show rates have decreased, retention rates have increased and patients are more engaged through telemedicine visits, which is supported by research. This could mean the difference between someone who relapses and doesn't seek treatment and someone who’s prescribed Suboxone – like Lewis – and gets sober.

“Being able to take my calls or meetings over Zoom has been great,” Lewis said. “This is huge for people – the ability to be in the comfort of their own home or not have to cancel work to go to a doctor’s appointment. That kind of held me back. I didn’t want to have to take a break from work.”

However, telemedicine also has disadvantages, especially as an emerging technology that only became widespread resulting from the pandemic. (Compton called it a “natural experiment.”)

Firstly, patients will need to have access to the web and a tool on which they’ll perform the appointment.

Berneking said this hasn't been a giant problem in her practice – even homeless people often have smartphones and might use the web at friends' houses, the library or the café. Highmark Wholecare is taking steps to enhance broadband access in rural areas and address this issue by working to secure federal funding, Reddy said.

The biggest barrier to successfully prescribing medication for opioid use disorder through telemedicine has actually been stigma, some providers say.

“Not all pharmacies are willing to fill (prescriptions) via telemedicine,” Compton said.

Despite these obstacles, telemedicine providers recognize the profit to their patients—and the danger of foregoing this feature.

More than 200 organizations, including UPMC Health System, signed a letter to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram in April asking institutions to update their proposed rules and encourage pharmacies to proceed this prescribing method beyond Dec. 31.

“Telehealth services enable timely access to care for more patients at a time when there is a shortage of health care providers across the country and great need, particularly in rural and underserved communities,” said Noreen Fredrick, vice chairman of outpatient services Healthcare Community Behavioral Health Services for UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital, in a press release about why it signed the letter. “Abolishing the current flexible rules would create barriers for many patients and have a significant impact on care delivery and treatment services.”

Telemedicine has normalized addiction treatment amongst other health services, Glance said, helping to combat stigma.

“We all moved into the virtual care space at the same time,” she said. “We could treat a patient for asthma and then treat them for opioid use disorder.”

Still, there are occasions when an in-person visit is warranted and seeing a health care provider only through a screen can prevent necessary comprehensive exams. Blood tests, physical exams or vital signs like blood pressure can inform doctors a couple of patient's condition – a missed opportunity with a virtual visit.

For Lewis, there was a transition from weekly visits to Berneking to monthly. He bought the truck through which he gave the interview in September and now works in construction.

“I really think working with Ophelia gave me those opportunities,” he said. “For other people it's something small, but for me personally it's a big milestone. I often think about it, if I just kept scrolling over this post, I probably wouldn't have a car. I probably wouldn't have a job. Things would be different.”

___

(c)2024 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Visit the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette at www.post-gazette.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

With the brand new Amy Winehouse biography “Back to Black“Running in US cinemas from May 17, 2024, the late singer's relationship with alcohol and drugs is once again under scrutiny. In July 2011 Winehouse was found dead in her north London flat before “death by misfortune” on the age of 27. That is the official British term Used for accidental death attributable to voluntary risk.

Her blood alcohol concentration was 0.416%, greater than five times the legal limit for intoxication within the United States – resulting in her reason behind death later being adjusted to incorporate “alcohol intoxication” following a second coroner's inquest.

Almost 13 years later, drinking alcohol and Binge drinking stay a major public health crisis, not only in Great Britain but in addition within the USA

About one in five adults within the U.S. report binge drinking a minimum of once per week a mean of seven drinks per binge episode. This is excess of the quantity of alcohol generally believed to cause legal intoxication defined as a blood alcohol concentration above 0.08% – a mean of 4 drinks in two hours for girls, five drinks in two hours for men.

For women, the variety of “heavy drinking” days increased by 41% in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic in comparison with pre-pandemic levelsand adult women of their 30s and 40s are increasing rapidly Frequency of binge drinkingThere aren’t any signs of those trends slowing down. Despite efforts to know the general biology of substance use disorders, scientists and physicians' understanding of the connection between women's health and binge drinking lags behind.

I’m a neurobiologist who focuses on understanding chemicals and brain regions underlie alcohol addiction. I study how neuropeptides – unique signaling molecules within the prefrontal cortexone among Key regions of the brain E.g., decision-making, risk-taking, and reward—are altered by repeated exposure to binge drinking in animal models.

My lab focuses on understanding how things like alcohol work change these brain systems from a diagnosable addiction in order that we are able to higher inform prevention and treatment efforts.

The biology of addiction

While problematic drinking has likely existed so long as alcohol has existed, the American Society of Addiction Medicine recognized substance addiction as a brain disorder – the identical yr as Winehouse's death. The diagnosis of alcohol dependence is now used rather than outdated terms comparable to calling an individual an alcoholic or an individual affected by alcoholism.

Researchers and clinicians have made great progress in understanding how and why drugs – including alcohol, a drug – change the brain. People often use a drug like alcohol since it produces rewarding and positive feelings, comparable to having a drink with friends or celebrating a milestone with a loved one. But what begins as manageable alcohol consumption can quickly turn into cycles of excessive drinking and subsequent drug withdrawal.

While all types of alcohol consumption are related to health risks, so is binge drinking seems particularly dangerous This is due to how repeatedly switching between a high state and a withdrawal state affects the brain. For example, drinking alcohol could cause some people to “Fear“The feeling of tension that may include a hangover.

Repeated episodes of drinking and drunkenness, coupled with withdrawal, can result in a spiral that results in relapse and renewed drinking. In other words, drinking alcohol is not any longer only a reward, but only serves to stop a guilty conscience.

It is smart. With repeated alcohol consumption over time, the areas of the brain stressed by alcohol may shift from those traditionally related to drug use and reward or pleasure to brain regions typically stressed during alcohol consumption Stress and anxiety.

All of those stages of drinking, from alcohol consumption to withdrawal to the cycles of craving, continually change the brain and its communication channels. Alcohol can have effects several dozen neurotransmitters and receptorsmaking it obscure its mechanism of motion within the brain.

The work in my lab focuses on understanding how alcohol consumption changes the best way neurons within the prefrontal cortex communicate with one another. Neurons are the brain's essential communication organs, sending each electrical and chemical signals throughout the brain and to the remainder of your body.

What we've present in animal models of binge drinking is that certain subtypes of neurons lose the flexibility to adequately communicate with one another. In some cases, binge drinking can permanently alter the brain. Even after a protracted period of abstinence Conversations between neurons don’t normalize.

These changes within the brain may even occur before there are noticeable changes in behavior. This could mean that the neurobiological basis of addiction manifests itself long before an individual or their family members suspect an alcohol problem.

Researchers like us don't yet fully understand why some persons are more vulnerable to this transformation, however it's likely related to genetic and biological aspects, in addition to the patterns and circumstances by which alcohol is consumed.

Women are forgotten

As researchers increasingly understand the biological aspects underlying addiction, there may be one population that has been largely neglected: women.

Women are more likely than men to experience a few of the most catastrophic health consequences. comparable to liver problems, heart problems and cancer. Middle-aged women at the moment are there highest risk for binge drinking in comparison with other populations.

When women eat even moderate amounts of alcohol, their risk of varied forms of cancer increases, amongst others Digestive, breast and pancreatic cancer, amongst other health problems – and even death. So the Worsening incidence of alcohol use disorders in women prompt the necessity for a greater deal with women in research and the seek for treatment options.

However, women have long been underrepresented in biomedical research.

It was not until 1993 that clinical research funded by the National Institutes of Health was required to incorporate women as research participants. In fact, the NIH didn't even require it Gender as a biological variable to contemplate of federally funded researchers by 2016. Excluding women from biomedical research leaves physicians and researchers with an incomplete understanding of health and disease, including alcohol addiction.

There can be increasing evidence of addictive substances can interact with cyclic sex hormones like for instance estrogen and progesterone. For example, studies have shown that when estrogen levels are high, comparable to before ovulation, Alcohol might feel more rewarding, which may lead to higher levels of binge drinking. Currently, researchers have no idea the total extent of the interaction between these natural biological rhythms or other unique biological aspects involved in women's health and propensity for alcohol addiction.

looking ahead

Researchers and lawmakers recognize the urgent need for increased research on women's health. Major federal investments into it Women's Health Research are a very important step towards developing higher prevention and treatment options for girls.

While women like Amy Winehouse could have been forced to struggle with substance use disorders and alcohol each privately and publicly, the increasing focus of research on addiction to alcohol and other substances as a brain disorder will open up recent treatment options for those suffering its consequences.

For more details about alcohol use disorders, causes, prevention and treatment, see National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

TikTok doesn't need to promote negative body comparisons and is cracking down on posts about eating disorders, dangerous weight reduction habits and potentially harmful weight management products.

The hugely popular social media app updated its community guidelines last week, introducing a series of recent rules that it hopes will make the platform safer for its roughly 1 billion users worldwide.

The initiative comes as TikTok, owned by Beijing tech company ByteDance, faces increased scrutiny of its operations and content amid the fight possible ban within the USA

Weight loss videos are a big category on TikTok, with influencers detailing and demonstrating how they lost weight. Such videos have turn out to be popular in recent times with the appearance of injectable prescription medications corresponding to: B. increased OzempicWegovy and Mounjaro, which many individuals use to shed weight quickly.

Critics say the soaring demand for the drugs has exposed the cracks within the body positivity movement and shown that there continues to be enormous pressure to look thin in any respect costs. They say TikTok and Instagram, anti-aging filters, selfie culture and relentless self-promotion by celebrities and influencers have contributed to the issue.

TikTok already had policies on body image and eating disorders, however the updated guidelines explicitly divide such content into 4 categories: allowed; not allowed; limited to users 18 years and older; and ineligible for the “For You Feed,” TikTok’s personalized suggestion algorithm. They come into force on May seventeenth.

The recent guidelines are intended to “increase understanding and provide greater transparency about our rules and how we enforce them,” Adam Presser, TikTok's head of operations and the corporate's trust and safety department, said in a press release.

In the past, TikTok creators said they generally saw posts restricted or removed without understanding why they were flagged.

TikTok now clearly states that it bans videos “that show, describe, promote, offer, or request coaching for eating disorders or dangerous weight loss behaviors.”

The company defines these behaviors as extremely low-calorie diets, binge eating and intentional vomiting, misuse of medicines or supplements for weight reduction, and exercise during serious injury or illness.

TikTok has specifically banned content that shows or promotes unhealthy body measurements and “body checking” trends, corresponding to comparing the scale of body parts to home items. The facilitation of trade or marketing of products for weight reduction or muscle constructing can also be on the decline.

Content restricted to users 18 and older – and in addition ineligible for the For You feed – includes showing or promoting “potentially harmful weight management behaviors,” corresponding to: B. restrictive low-calorie diets; using medications or supplements to shed weight or construct muscle; and exercises designed for rapid and significant weight reduction, corresponding to “cardio routines that promise to help you lose a waistline in a week,” the corporate said.

TikTok also said it might restrict before-and-after transformation photos that promote weight reduction and muscle-building products, in addition to videos that promote body types as “ideal or perfect” in the event that they are related to potentially harmful weight management behaviors.

“We want TikTok to be a place that promotes self-esteem,” the corporate said.

Creatives who’ve documented their weight reduction journey with the brand new class of classy drugs said they were disenchanted by the approach. TikTok, they said, has turn out to be a crucial resource and close-knit community for individuals who have struggled for years to shed weight and get healthy.

“I think countless lives have been saved by being able to communicate through these medications,” said Kelsey Martinez, 32, who posted in September 2022 about using Mounjaro, a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes. to shed weight weighed 232 kilos when she began weekly injections; last fall it had dropped to 153.

“It's about providing access for obese people, and that's something we don't always have,” said Martinez, who lives in Los Angeles and has 296,000 TikTok followers. “So I think it will be very damaging. You are simply shutting down and isolating a group of people who are already so used to being shamed and cornered.”

A TikTok spokesperson said content about medically needed health interventions under the guidance of a health care provider or healthcare skilled is allowed, including discussions of glucagon-like peptide-1 drugs, which include the diabetes drug Ozempic. The spokesperson added that content about using GLP-1 drugs for weight reduction could still be discovered through other means, corresponding to through search tools or by following an account, even when it shouldn’t be eligible for the For You feed.

show or describe eating contests; Fitness programs, sports, and nutrition that usually are not primarily focused on extreme weight reduction, marathon training, or bodybuilding competitions; and spiritual weight-reduction plan and fasting remain permitted.

Michelle York, a full-time content creator from Moorpark, said she understands the app is currently in a “really difficult position” as a consequence of a divestment or ban law within the United States, where it has 170 million users was pending.

“TikTok is under a lot of scrutiny and they need to do everything they can to make sure it’s a safe place,” York, 40, said. But “I think they are overcompensating by issuing these new policies.”

Although she believes her content is helpful and removed from promoting “supplements to lose weight quickly,” and although her follower base of 203,000 people begs her to proceed offering weight reduction content, she already has a few of her old ones Mounjaro videos are shot privately and can focus much more on lifestyle and wonder content in the long run.

“It's really disheartening to be told I can't share this anymore, and now my platform that I've worked so hard to build is at risk,” York said. “The problem is that this is my job now – I rely on it for my income and I can't post things that jeopardize that.”

TikTok's latest Community Guidelines also include recent and updated definitions of the corporate's policies on hate speech and health misinformation.

In announcing the updated rules, TikTok said it might implement a “warning strike” the primary time a creator violates the platform's community guidelines.

“The strike will not count toward an account’s strike list, but any future violations will,” Presser said. “We notify creators of what rule they violated and how to appeal if they believe an error was made. Zero-tolerance policies (e.g., incitement to violence) are out of the question for these memories. Accounts will be suspended immediately.”

___

©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.