Treatments are based on those used to treat addiction.

Gambling has been around for thousands of years. The earliest known six-sided pair of dice, for example, dates back to about 3,000 B.C. Today rolling the dice is only one of many gambling activities available to people.

Currently all states except for Hawaii and Utah have legalized some type of gambling, including lottery games, slot parlors, and casinos. National surveys in 1975 and 1998 found that 61% to 63% of Americans gambled at least once a year. Most people are able to enjoy this activity without harming their health or livelihood.

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Options include psychotherapy, acupuncture, massage, and electroconvulsive therapy.

Although pregnancy is a joyful time for many women, others struggle with depression and other mood disorders. The limited data available suggest that 7.5% of women who become pregnant develop major depression, and another 7% have minor depression, before giving birth.

Consensus is growing that depression during pregnancy should be treated, for the sake of both the mother and the developing fetus. Among other risks, untreated depression during pregnancy increases the likelihood that a woman will have postpartum depression and give birth to a lethargic, irritable baby whose weight is lower than ...

Psychotherapy may help ease persistent gastrointestinal distress.

Functional gastrointestinal disorders affect 35% to 70% of people at some point in life, women more often than men. These disorders have no apparent physical cause — such as infection or cancer — yet result in pain, bloating, and other discomfort.

Multiple factors — biological, psychological, and social — contribute to the development of a functional gastrointestinal disorder. Numerous studies have suggested that stress may be particularly important, however. The relationship between environmental or psychological stress and gastrointestinal distress is complex and bidirectional: stress can trigger and worsen gastrointestinal pain and other symptoms, ...

An online study determined that attempting to improve cognitive ability through "brain training" programs was not effective.

The process of addiction alters the brain's neural connections and creates environmental cues that can trigger cravings.

Q. I was half listening to the television the other night and heard something about kids dying from the choking game. What is that? How can I tell if my child might be playing this game?

A. As you've surmised, the choking game is a misnomer for an activity that can be deadly. The phrase refers to the practice of self-strangulation or strangulation of one person by another in order to produce a feeling of euphoria. Although "choking game" is probably the most common nickname for this practice, it goes by many others — the blackout game, scarf game, pass-out ...