Psychology

From back pain to addiction – one man’s struggle with opioids, as told to his sister

14 minutes

Why we crave

The neuroscientific picture of addiction overlooks the psychological and social factors that make cravings so hard to resist

Zoey Lavallee

When crushes become crushing – how to know if you’re in a ‘limerent episode’

4 minutes

The addiction trap

Our inability to treat substance use disorders stems from a narrow-minded view that brains and genes are their real cause

Judith Grisel

Is ‘tech addiction’ really akin to drug addiction? Here’s what the research says

3 minutes

Solving the heroin overdose mystery: how small doses can kill

Shepard Siegel

Can writing an 11,000-page autobiographical thesis cure addiction?

16 minutes

The addiction habit

Addiction changes the brain but it’s not a disease that can be cured with medicine. In fact, it’s learned – like a habit

Marc Lewis

Ageing out of drugs

Most addicts just stop using in time, without needing costly treatment. Why do some people walk away while others can’t?

Stacey McKenna

How the ‘war on drugs’ entrenches patterns of drug addiction

Joel Finkelstein

Should desire be curable?

Passion stabs, unrequited love hurts and taboo desires can torment the spirit. Is it time to fix our love lives for good?

Angela Chen

How cooking for yourself can free you from the grip of salt, sugar and fat

2 minutes

Why self-harm?

Cutting brings relief because emotion and pain criss-cross in the brain. Can we untangle the circuits and stop self-harm?

Carrie Arnold

The 12-step dogma

The new science of addiction makes 12-step programmes seem like folk medicine. Is the concept of a higher power obsolete?

Rebecca Ruiz

Escape from the matrix

The fear of missing out haunts our social networks and our real lives alike. But there is a way to break free

Jacob Burak

Missing marijuana

When I stopped smoking weed, my appetite shrivelled and my head throbbed – but it was the dreams that really shook me

Malcolm Harris

Night life

Back on the islands of my childhood, I’m clinging to sobriety, searching for a rare bird that’s also on the brink

Amy Liptrot

The outsider

While one person dabbles in drugs with few ill-effects, another will become a chronic addict. What’s the difference?

Hanna Pickard