Addiction

How to Tell if You Might Have a Drug Problem Part 1

February 1, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Many people who have a substance abuse problem know they have a problem. The problem is that after time these people will generally start to consider their habits and behaviors normal and will slowly start to slip into denial. Denial is a perfectly normal part of substance abuse problems as it is a way for the substance abuser to rationalize their behavior and give reason to why they are doing it. If you think you may have a substance abuse problem here is some questions you can ask yourself to help you decide if you’re drinking or drug use might be a problem.

Do you often feel as if you are unable to stop the drugs and alcohol at any time? Many drug users believe that they can stop at any time but internally they know that they cannot stop their drug or alcohol use.

Are you overcome with feelings of guilt about your drug or alcohol use? Many drugs and alcohol users have extreme feelings of guilt about their use for drugs and alcohol. This is because they know that the use is wrong but still rationalize that it is okay.

Are drugs and alcohol being used as a relaxant or way to make you feel better? Drug and alcohol use can usually turn into a problem when it is being used as a way to relax the body or to cover up serious problems.

Are people complaining about your use of drugs or alcohol? Those that have a drug and alcohol problem often have others such as their boss, friends, or family members that complain about the use and bring up that it is causing problems.

Filed Under: Addiction, Drug Addiction Tagged With: Addictions, Alcoholism, Substance abuse

Channeling Your Passion In A New Way

December 9, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

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Obtaining recovery from addiction is often not an easy or quick process, but it is one that will open up a whole new world for you – a new life that is open to all kinds of possibilities you never dreamed imaginable. Life is a great adventure that is meant to be lived, not just endured! Once you are free from the bonds of addiction, there is no reason to turn around and go back into that dark hole ever again.

There are many resources available in our culture for help people wanting help with addiction recovery from drugs and alcohol (as well as others addictions too) such as rehabilitation clinics, detox centers, addiction counseling, holistic approaches (like meditation and yoga), 12 step programs, and residential treatment. The key is to find out what works best for you and it probably will be a combination of various things that will help you kick your addiction for good.

Now is the time to choose to live your life consciously instead of being just a spectator on the side lines! Anyone who has lived with addiction knows what it is like to feel that uncontrollable drive or pull towards something you know is self-destructive as well as what it is like to become a victim of their own body. It is not a good feeling to feel powerless over something that is in an essence controlling you.

Being able to accept new ideas can be a great start for someone in addiction recovery. During recovery, you have to learn how to think about things in a different way than you did before and figure out how to cope with life and stress in a different way than you did before so that you don’t turn back to the abused substance and head back down the road of addiction. Addiction recovery allows you to reclaim the power you gave up to your addiction.

Filed Under: Addiction, Alcoholism Tagged With: Addiction, Drug addiction, Twelve-step program

Health Risks Associated With Substance Abuse

December 6, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

There are various health risks that are associated with the substance abuse. The person who is involved in this addiction to various drugs and other unhealthy products may suffer from certain side effects. These effects can even be life threatening at times. Various systems of the body are affected by the use of these spurious substances.

One of the most common substance abuse is the use of tobacco. Tobacco is used either while smoking cigarettes or when the person is chewing tobacco. The nicotine that is present in the tobacco can cause the person who is using it to suffer from various health problems including lung cancer. Other than cancer, the respiratory system of the person can also be affected because of the fact that the nicotine causes damage to the lungs.

The use of excessive alcohol can lead to various problems in the liver. Though other systems in the body may also be affected because of excessive consumption of alcohol, one of the systems that is severely affected is the liver. There are many people who have been substance abusers and have suffered from liver problems like liver cirrhosis, where there is uncontrolled bleeding in the liver. Death of certain parts of the liver, cancer of the liver and other diseases of the liver are very common in people who are alcoholics.

Drug addiction is the other common problem that can lead to various health risks. Many people who are chronic drug addicts may even die because of a fatal overdose of the drug. All the drugs can lead to various systems of the body being affected. Since many of the drug abusers share the same needle to inject themselves, they are at a high risk of being affected by AIDS. This is one of the common problems seen in substance abusers.

Filed Under: Addiction, Drug Addiction Tagged With: AIDS, Health, Substance abuse

What is AA?

November 25, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

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If you, or someone you know, has an alcohol addiction, you may want to consider joining AA. AA stands for Alcoholics Anonymous and is a group of men and women that get together for the sole purpose of getting and staying sober.

With its over 2 million members, AA works to get people to stop drinking by focusing on one day at a time. Alcoholics Anonymous has a 12 steps to recovery program and is also successful due to their group setting. Many people believe that by talking and sharing your experiences with a group, it helps to heal you faster because you realize that there are other people out there going through the same thing as you.

AA was started in 1935 by a stockbroker and a doctor, both of whom were alcoholics at the time. They founded AA in order to help themselves stay sober together, and ended up reaching out to help others that also suffered from alcoholism.

Anyone attending a meeting in AA can expect it to usually start out with a talk from the leader or other speakers for the day. Afterwords, you are then able to listen to others share their stories and invited to speak about your own. Everything about AA is voluntary. They will not try to get information from you and will not try to force you in to anything.

You are free to leave a meeting anytime you want and you are also free to bring a family member to any of the informative meetings that they hold.

This program has been successful for many people and may be the answer many more are looking for. By helping yourself or someone you love, you are taking the big leap in getting the treatment needed.

Try out a meeting if you aren’t sure. Make sure it’s something you can handle before you take the plunge to make yourself healthy again.

Filed Under: Addiction, Alcoholism

Interventions

November 24, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

If you know someone that has a drug or alcohol addiction or problem, then you may have tried to help them before. However, it is hard to help someone that doesn’t want to help themselves in the first place. That is why it may be a good idea to schedule an intervention with family and friends.

An intervention is where family, friends and even co-workers get together to help an addicted person get the help they need. It usually involves gathering together and banding as one in order to talk the person into entering a drug or alcohol rehab facility.

People at an intervention must remember to speak calmly to the addicted person. They need to slowly and without anger tell their feelings and let the person know why they think they should get help. If any kind of anger or yelling arises, that may make the person less likely to get treatment for their drug or alcohol addiction.

The important thing to reiterate to the person is that you are there for them and will be anytime they need someone. Make sure you offer your help; you are at an intervention. If the person seems willing to accept treatment and help from others, then they are already halfway there. If the person does not want to get treatment, it is important not to let your tempers flare or yelling start up.

You must also see it from the other person’s side. They are being confronted by a bunch of their closest friends and family. This may make them angry and likely to last out at you. Remember that they are feeling cornered and probably feel like everyone turned on them. You must make sure to continuously reassure them that that is not the case and you may come out of the intervention successful.

Filed Under: Addiction

Battling Nicotine Addiction with an Electronic Cigarette

November 17, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

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Smokers can really struggle when they’re trying to quit. It’s not an easy battle, and many people quit multiple times before they actually manage to stay away from cigarettes for good. Others give up and decide that they’re just going to smoke, regardless of the consequences. They may lack the willpower to quit, or they simply aren’t willing to go through the struggles to stay free of cigarettes. If you’re one of the people who really wants to quit but you aren’t sure what you can do – or you’ve tried a lot of things and always failed – there is another option.

One of the newest offerings is the electronic cigarette. It offers vaporized nicotine for the smoker to inhale, and releases only water vapor. While not as good as quitting entirely, it isn’t as damaging to the lungs as all of the chemicals that are normally inhaled when a person smokes. In addition, it can be used in places where people are not allowed to smoke standard cigarettes, because there is no actual smoke released. There’s no fire, only a battery-powered device to vaporize the nicotine that comes in a replaceable cartridge. As it grows in popularity, it has provided smokers with another option when they want to quit.

By using the electronic option for cigarettes, smokers become less dependent on the chemicals and their body begins to heal. The nicotine that’s being inhaled is still not something that should be done long-term, and quitting is still the best choice. For some people, though, this is a long road and whether they will arrive at their destination is uncertain. If they cannot or will not quit – or if they simply need another option to help them reach their goal of being smoke-free – the electronic cigarette can provide them with a healthier choice.

Filed Under: Addiction, Health Tagged With: Battery (electricity), Cigarette, Electronic cigarette, Inhalation, Nicotine, Quit, Tobacco smoking, Water vapor

Helping an Addict

November 11, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

If you or someone you know is addicted to alcohol or drugs, you may not know the signs to look for. Addicts can often hide their addiction very well and are easily able to fool everyone. If you know someone that might be suffering from an addiction to drugs or alcohol, make sure you look very carefully at their behavior and how it has changed.

If you notice when you are out with this person that they often drink too much and have a hard time stopping, they may have a problem. If they can’t ever stop at just one, they may have a problem. Some alcoholics even resort to methods such as preventing hangovers, and they seem to every trick there is so that they don’t suffer the after-effects of a hangover.

If you want to help someone you think is an alcoholic, try staging an intervention. Assemble a few of their closet friends and family. All of you can meet in a specified place and invite the addict to show. Once this person shows up, one by one you can confront him and let him know that you think he has a problem and that he should seek help for it.

Also, friends and family are invited to each say some words as well. Whatever helps the addict realize they have a problem is always good to say. Talk the person into going to rehab for help. If they are willing, immediately take them to a rehab center. You may want to talk to the center beforehand and ask about the process for bringing a person in for help.

You want to take the person immediately because it is too easy to change your mind if you think about it for a few days. This person might decide that they didn’t need help after all and refuse to go to the rehab center.

Filed Under: Addiction

What is a Functioning Alcoholic?

November 6, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

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An alcoholic doesn’t always have to be a person that blacks out or even a wino begging for money on the street. A functioning alcoholic is a person that is medically considered an alcoholic yet is still able to function with their daily life.

These types of alcoholics tend to do everything normal just like people who aren’t addicted to alcohol. One of the reasons an alcoholic admits that he has a problem is mainly because of the embarrassing effects alcoholism has on him. However, a functioning alcoholic has a very difficult time admitting addiction because they don’t have bad things going on in their lives due to alcoholism. There aren’t that many events happening or things being effected in their lives because of their drinking problem.

While a functioning alcoholic may think they don’t have a problem because they’ve never blacked out, or even been in trouble with the law, they still do have a problem. A big one. There’s may be worse than others because they are in complete denial and it is often harder to get help for them.

These types of alcoholics have built up a tolerance for alcohol, which is why it becomes harder for then to get drunk. They then need to drink more and more alcohol in order to feel any kinds of effects from it.

A functioning alcoholic may know that they have a problem, but it will be hard for them to stop because their withdrawal symptoms can be severe. They may even experience symptoms a few hours after their last drink, which makes them want to drink more to curb the symptoms.

If you know someone that has an alcohol addiction, get help for them. Stage an intervention, or even talk to them privately and help them to realize that they have a problem that could potentially kill them.

Filed Under: Addiction, Alcoholism

Signs of a Hangover

November 4, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

If you are the type of person that likes to party a lot and have a good time, you may have a substance abuse problem. While you may not realize how much you are drinking at the time, you will definitely feel the effects of it the next day in the form of a hangover.

A hangover is full of physical as well as mental symptoms that can occur after you have had a heavy night of drinking. Hangovers symptoms vary, mainly depending on how much you had to drink the night before.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism lists many hangover symptoms such as headache, sore muscles, extreme thirst, nausea, vomiting, unable to sleep, being sensitive to light and sound, depression, fatigue and even anxiety. Each person is different and experiences their own symptoms or combination of symptoms.

A hangover usually happens anywhere from four hours after the drinking stops, to the next day after a night of sleep occurs. Hangovers start when the blood alcohol content starts to lower. The worst of the symptoms happen when the blood alcohol content returns to zero.

The symptoms of a hangover will subside anywhere from eight to 24 hours after they started.

If you know someone that always complains about hangovers, then they may have a drinking problem. The best way to avoid a hangover is to never get one in the first place.

Many people tend to experience a horrible hangover which is enough to make them control themselves when drinking. Others however, don’t mind the symptoms so much and would rather party and abuse alcohol. Those people should seek help for their substance abuse problem and get to the bottom of the real issue.

There are meetings given by Alcoholics Anonymous where anyone can attend and get help for any problems they may have.

Filed Under: Addiction Tagged With: Hangover

Getting Help for your Addiction

October 29, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

If you realize that you are addicted to alcohol, then you have taken the first step in the right direction. Many alcoholics have a difficult time admitting they have a problem, and will often go to great lengths to hide it from others.

If you know you have a problem, you need to get help for it before it becomes worse. You may have already discovered that the relationships with your family and friends has been affected negatively. For right now, focus on getting yourself better before you try to fix your relationships. There’s nothing worse than an addict that says they’re sorry, only to do it all over again.

Try getting into a rehab. At a rehab facility, you will get the professional help that you need. There you will go through a withdrawal period, where the harmful toxins from alcohol will need to leave your body. This may be difficult for you, but once you get through that you have gotten through one of the hardest parts of recovery.

You may stay at the rehab center for a few days before they let you leave. This is so they can keep an eye on you and make sure you don’t fall back into your old ways. After rehab, you are left to find other ways to stop yourself from drinking again.

Join a support group such as Alcoholics Anonymous. There you will receive group support from others that are going through the same problems you are. You can listen to people’s stories or you can tell your own. Whatever you do, you will have a big support network in AA.

Make sure you regularly go to these meetings. Pair up with a buddy that you can call in times of stress. Just make sure you don’t take that first drink again, or else you might not be able to stop.

Filed Under: Addiction, Recovering