Substance dependence

Getting Back on Your Feet

If you have had what a lot of people would call a “life destroying” addiction, it may be a wonder that you are even here to be reading this article. But before you go doing some yoga to pat yourself on the back, keep in mind that just because you are winning the war against the physical aspect of your addiction, does not mean that you can simply sit back on your laurels and pretend that this is enough. You have got to be a contributing member of society, if you want to keep living in it. And the best way to do that is through getting educated, and getting yourself a profession. While you might not like it, there are definitely advantages to be had.

Getting your education is a labor of love. While you might not love many of the labors that you will be expected to do, you will probably end up loving where those labors will help you to end up. After all, there is more to a profession than just the Orwellian need to contribute. There is also the potential for a very tasty paycheck down the line. After all, you did not quit using just so you could go work at Mickey D’s, did you?

The hard part is, you are also going to have to join support groups, find new friends, and be truly honest with people. After all, if you continue to do the same old things, you are inevitably going to fall back into the same old life style as you had before. Join an “anonymous” group related to your vice of choice. Make some friends who do not use. And most importantly, rebuild on the relationships you have with your family. You never know — they might just take you back.

Filed Under: Causes Of Addiction Tagged With: addiction, Health, McDonald's, Mental Health, Nar-Anon, Orwellian, Substance dependence, Support group

The Holidays: Temptations for Relapse

The holidays pose a particular challenge for recovering addicts. No matter what substance they abused, the addict’s mantra of “one day at a time” is sorely tested around all the festivities, stresses and celebrations of the holidays. Rather than lock oneself away, learning how to deal with these occasions is an important part of the recovery process and how they can deal with the temptation to relapse.

Holiday parties are a time of particular joy and much alcohol. Drug addicts are encouraged to abstain from alcohol just as alcoholics are, but being around so much liberally flowing alcohol can be too much of a temptation for some. There is, however, power in words. Tell people who offer you drinks, “No thanks, I’m a recovering alcoholic.” They will respect your decision and applaud your strength. If sorely tempted, have somebody on standby that you can call for support.

The stresses of the holidays, financial, emotional or otherwise, are often too much for substance abusers to handle and relapses are a real concern. Recovering addicts need to change their lifestyle as much as anything else. Know the group of people attending parties; if these people are known drug users, just don’t go to the party if you don’t feel strong enough to turn them down.

No matter the addiction, recovering addicts rely on their support system more during the holidays than perhaps any other time of year. Explain to those closest to you exactly what you need from them and how they can help you. If you need extra help, consider talking to a trained therapist. Additionally, treatment centers like those at LaPalomaTreatment.com are there to help if you need support and many have a 24 hour hotline you can call if in need.

Don’t seclude yourself from the celebrations, just know in advance what you’ll have to deal with and go prepared, and call your support if needed.

Filed Under: Interventions Tagged With: addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Centers and Counseling Services, Health, Relapse, Substance abuse, Substance dependence

Drug And Alcohol Treatment Centers: There to Help You Too

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Those with a loved one who is dealing with alcohol or drug abuse may find themselves unable to communicate with that loved one. The person may be unwilling or unable to listen to what you have to say. While you are sober and you understand the situation better, that does not mean you can control the actions of your loved one. In many cases, this is a situation in which there are few ways to resolve the underlying problem until the person suffering from the addiction makes the decision to change.

As someone dealing with alcohol or drug addiction, you can get help for yourself, too. Drug and alcohol treatment centers will work closely with you to determine what can be done to help you learn to cope with the problem. You should never blame yourself for another person’s actions, no matter what the addict says. Self blame is limiting and disheartening for all involved. Further, you also need to learn to take care of yourself. It is easy to get so caught up in your loved one’s alcohol or drug addiction that you neglect your own health or needs. You need support just as much as your loved one, especially when this person is a close friend or an immediate family member.

Once you understand the limitations you face, remember that you can still speak up for your loved one. Offer help and understanding, as well as support to your loved one. Encourage the use of drug and alcohol treatment programs including residential centers. Research and develop options for that person. You do not need to wait for your loved one to hit rock bottom to get that person help. However, you can only present that help, not force it, and when that person does not accept your help, realize it is not your fault.

Filed Under: Addiction Rehab Tagged With: addiction, Alcohol, Substance abuse, Substance dependence

What is the Reason Behind Substance Abuse?

ContentFull understanding of the reason why someone abused drugs and then becomes addicted is not understood. Some think that it is a social behavior problem but nobody knows for sure. The drug abuser is referred to as weak and unable to change their behavior. The whole concept of drug abuse may go much deeper than a moral or social issue. Why do people end up taking drugs? There are alot of underlying causes that need to be analyzed.

It has been rumored among abusers that drugs can boost the self esteem. Depending on what drug is taken will determine what feeling is induced. It may induce an ecstatic state followed by other emotions. The reaction to this will also be determined by the type of drug that has been taken. A popular stimulant like cocaine will boost a person’s self confidence and raise their energy levels. A type of opiate like heroin will enhance a person’s senses to response and bring contentment to them.

People often come to abuse drugs because of everyday problems in their lives that they are having trouble dealing with. They hope to take away the problems by taking drugs. Stress is one of the main reasons that people begin to start taking drugs. This is also one of the main reasons that someone who is a recovering alcoholic or addict goes back to drinking again.

A teenager is often the one that is perceived to be vulnerable to taking drugs. Even though this age group is at a great risk to be users the same is true for all age groups. People in all age groups are at risk to have the tendency to abuse even athletes and intellectuals. These people are often faced with stresses that they have trouble coping with so they turn to drugs for help. They will use this as a test for mental or physical performance improvement.

Filed Under: Causes Of Addiction Tagged With: Abuse, addiction, Drug, Health, Substance abuse, Substance dependence, United States, Withdrawal

What is Alcohol Detoxification?

ContentAlcohol is sometimes consumed socially or during a meal. People consume it because it gives them feelings that are pleasant to the body. It is a depressant to the central nervous system. It will act as what is known as a biochemical inhibitor of activity in there and induce sedation while decreasing the anxiety.

A chronic pattern of abuse of alcohol is known as alcohol dependence or alcoholism. The effects can be psychological, behavioral, physical, or cognitive. Alcohol dependence results from a long period of consuming alcohol. A person that becomes alcohol dependent will have a craving for alcohol that is strong all of the time. The body will become so accustomed to all of the alcohol that it used to that after 3 or 4 hours without any it will start showing symptoms of withdrawal. This is what makes a person have such a hard time becoming clean. The withdrawal symptoms are hard on the addict.

The symptoms of withdrawal are somewhat different from that of alcohol. The excitory processes are increased in the central nervous system while the inhibitory processes have slowed. The withdrawal symptoms that appear after a few hours have a peak time around 24 hours later .

Withdrawal symptoms come in the form of anxiety, headaches, cravings and trembling. Around five percent of withdrawal symptoms occur as tremors and is probably one of the more severe withdrawal symptoms. Alcohol dependency can cause people to have health problems such as liver damage, coronary heart disease, and high blood pressure.

The first step to coming clean is detoxification. In alcohol treatment a medication is taken to help the body get rid of the withdrawal symptoms. There are 4 goals to alcohol detoxification. First, safety for the alcohol dependent person’s withdrawal. The patient is to be given treatment where their dignity is protected. The recovery of effective and cognitive faculities.The final goal is to provide treatment throughout the person’s new life.

Filed Under: Interventions Tagged With: addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Anxiety, Substance abuse, Substance dependence, Symptom, Withdrawal

Getting Help for a Loved One with an Addiction – MichaelsHouse.com

Finding out that a loved one has a drug addiction can be a very difficult thing to deal with. It is hard to know that someone close to you has been dealing with something like this. You may even find that it is a problem that they have had for some time, and they have been hiding it. Once you find out that a loved one has a drug addiction, you may find that the road is nowhere near done. They may still be denying that they have a problem, and it may come down to you trying to convince them that they need help. This can be a long, difficult journey for everyone involved.

Making the discovery of a drug addiction is only the first step. Trying to get a loved one to admit that they have a problem can be very hard. It is something that may take time and patience. Having an intervention is one way that works in many cases. Unfortunately, it may also make the person upset. They may not feel that they have a problem to deal with. You will need to keep in mind that, until they do admit that they have a problem, a treatment facility like MichaelsHouse.com cannot help them. They may try, but until your loved one is willing to admit that they have a problem, they will be very difficult to help.

You may even find that your loved one wants to stand up to their addiction, but they are having a hard time doing so. In this case, you will want to make sure that they understand that you are there for them, no matter what. One of the hardest things that an addict has to deal with is the possibility that everyone they know and love will abandon them. Let them know this is not the case.

Filed Under: Caring For Addicted Loved Ones Tagged With: addiction, Alcoholism, Centers and Counseling Services, Family, Health, Substance abuse, Substance dependence, United States

Getting Help with Alcohol or Drug Addiction

ContentFor anyone that is addicted to alcohol or drugs the proper type of treatment is needed.Alot of addicts have trouble with the process that a detoxification program requires. When looking for a program it might be a good idea to look for one that has a specialist in the area of alcohol addiction even if the addiction is a harder drug. The reason for this being that if the specialist can not help a person overcome alcohol addiction it is not likely that the specialist can help with anything harder to break. The person with the addiction does however need to want to break free from the addiction.

People will not always be serious about wanting to be rid of the addiction. There are two different types of facilities that are used for addiction treatment. One is residential treatment and the other outpatient. Depending on the severity of the addiction will determine the best method of treatment. It is good to find someone that the addict can connect with on the same level of emotions is important. Commitment to staying sober is a key factor because the entire process is not easy. The way to success is taking one step at a time.

It is important for the addict to have a good support system behind them. A person is free to leave a treatment facility anytime that he or she wants. Usually the ones that fail treatment is the ones that think they can do it by theirself. That is why that it is important to constantly stay in contact with a counselor.

Eventually, if a person does not get any type of treatment for their addiction they will have a breaking point. Most of these people will not want to hear about how the are “labeled” as an addict for life. The person will just need to come to terms with their own behavior and be at peace with themselves.

Filed Under: Addiction Care Programs Tagged With: addiction, Alcoholism, Centers and Counseling Services, Detoxification, Health, Substance abuse, Substance dependence, United States

Effects of Alcohol Withdrawal

ContentAlcohol is a serious problem, both mentally and physically for the alcoholic. The alcoholic becomes dependent on the substance and their body will demand more of it. The withdrawal symptoms from it can last up to a few weeks or only few days. These can be symptoms can be mild or they can be serious enough to lead to death. That is why it is important to have help available that is trained for alcoholism.

This is an excessive problem and it is often repeated. When this substance is abused it can create imaginated effects. There may be a change in the alcoholics mood or personality. It can also bring a change in their appearance or friends. While this is going on outside of the body the inside is changing also. The most common being damage to the liver. Their eyes may look red and skin take on a dry appearance.

These symptoms may be mild or become a threat to the life of the addict. The severity will be based on how long the addiction has been going on and how much the addict consumes. Once the withdrawal symptoms begin they will start to get serious within 2 days and can last up to a few weeks.

Some of the mild symptoms would include,sweats,shakes,nausea,headaches,and anxiety. Within a few hours is when the more serious symptoms start. This will usually include hallucinations. These are visual in nature and most likely involve smells or sounds. This is the time when convulsions or seizures may occur.

In the case of more chronic symptoms, delirium tremens will happen. These will begin within a few days after stopping drinking. When these happen medical personnel have no way that they can stop them. If this is not controlled than it could become fatal for the addict.

Filed Under: Interventions Tagged With: addiction, Alcoholism, Delirium tremens, Health, Substance dependence, Symptom, United States, Withdrawal

Addiction Counselling

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Addiction counseling is almost always necessary to overcome any addiction. Not only is an addiction difficult to overcome physically, but an addict needs to address the mental and psychological issues that may have contributed to the addiction. The recovery process is long and finding a safe environment in which to discuss your issues is paramount.

Many addicts end up with their addictions due to lack of self worth and the inability to practice self love. Addiction counseling will teach addicts how to love themselves because if you don’t love yourself how can you possibly feel you are worth healing?

Some addicts are so enmeshed in a destructive cycle that they forget how to communicate and even how to acknowledge their feelings. An addiction counselor will help you learn to communicate and to address any feelings that you may be unable to articulate. Learning to read feelings is not as simple as telling time on a Philip Stein watch, yet this kind of dialogue is imperative to a successful recovery.

Learning how to live each day without using your addiction as a crutch is a difficult process. However, this must be accomplished in order to totally overcome your addiction. Waking up each morning and feeling full of life and joy rather than unhealthy and depressed is important to an addict’s mental health. A good addiction counselor will equip the addict with the tools needed to learn to enjoy each day to its fullest instead of impatiently waiting for their next score.

An addiction counselor can even address issues on how to physically take care of yourself. Addicts adopt behaviors that are self destructive to their health and so learning something as simple as how to eat properly is a struggle. An addict cannot fully recover without ensuring that he or she is consuming sufficient nutrition in order to have the physical strength to overcome daily struggles.

Filed Under: Holistic Addiction Care Tagged With: Addictions, Health, List of counseling topics, Mental Health, Philip Stein, Sexual addiction, Substance abuse, Substance dependence

Holiday are a Great Time to see if Anyone Needs to Visit Addiction Recovery Programs

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The Holidays can be one of the most joyous times of year as friends and family gather for parties, family functions, and work related get-togethers.

For those suffering with depression or drug addiction problems, it’s also the time when drug use can be extremely prevalent as individuals use drugs to avoid their feelings of pain, loneliness, and perhaps difficult financial situations.
While the holidays are known for bringing families together, they are also a great time to assess whether any family members need help through addiction recovery programs.

The holidays tend to bring families together to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year. When the family is all together, it’s a great time to talk about things going on in each other’s lives. Within that context, it’s also a time to notice or hear if anyone in the family is struggling with addiction. With family members in close proximity, old issues or problems tend to rear their ugly heads, and drug-addiction will surface as these difficult memories are revisited.

With the entire family gathered together to celebrate the Holidays, it’s also the perfect time for an intervention to ask and perhaps deal with a family member’s addiction. These interventions can be difficult as the ‘user’ will feel threatened by accusations and the knowledge that someone is trying to take away their crutch.

While the Holidays are known for joyous occasions, they can also be overwhelming for many that are struggling with finances, relationships and life situations. If you suspect a family member has a problem with drug addiction, the Holidays are a great time to assess the depth of the problem, while everyone is home. For more information on signs of drug addiction or steps to intervene, consult your local search engine. It may be difficult, but your family member deserves your concern.

Filed Under: Addiction Care Programs Tagged With: addiction, Alcoholism, Centers and Counseling Services, Family (biology), Health, Substance abuse, Substance dependence, United States