Addiction

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    Yahoo News: Addiction

  • 2,000 hit by Papua cholera outbreak: WHO (AFP)

    7 Feb 2010 | 7:59 pm
    AFP - Papua New Guinea's cholera outbreak has spread to 2,000 people, a World Health Organization official said Monday as he warned that poor water sanitation was making the disease hard to contain.

  • Health Tip: Getting Cardiac Rehabilitation (HealthDay)

    5 Feb 2010 | 8:49 pm
    HealthDay - (HealthDay News) -- A cardiac rehabilitation program is designed to help people recover from a heart attack, heart surgery or another medical procedure involving the cardiovascular system.

  • Clinical Trials Update: Feb. 5, 2010 (HealthDay)

    5 Feb 2010 | 8:49 pm
    HealthDay - (HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy of ClinicalConnection.com:

  • Concussion Awareness for Young Athletes Gets Big Play (HealthDay)

    5 Feb 2010 | 8:49 pm
    HealthDay - FRIDAY, Feb. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Efforts to improve treatment of concussions in youth sports are making headway on several fronts: Washington state's new laws governing head injuries in scholastic sports will get big play Sunday at Super Bowl XLIV, and Texas researchers report that an online test can help athletic trainers and doctors determine when it's safe for an athlete to return to the field after a concussion.

  • Is the US swine flu epidemic over? (AP)

    5 Feb 2010 | 2:55 pm
    AP - If the U.S. swine flu epidemic isn't over, it certainly looks as if it's on its last legs. While federal health officials are not ready to declare the threat has passed and the outbreak has run its course, they did report Friday that for the fourth week in a row, no states had widespread flu activity. U.S. cases have been declining since late October.
 
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    ScienceDaily.com

  • Nicotine replacement therapy is over-promoted since most ex-smokers quit unassisted, experts argue

    9 Feb 2010 | 2:00 am
    Health authorities should emphasize the positive message that the most successful method used by most ex-smokers is unassisted cessation, despite the promotion of cessation drugs by pharmaceutical companies and many tobacco control advocates, according to a new article.

  • Chocoholic mice fear no pain

    7 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm
    Ever get a buzz from eating chocolate? Scientists have shown that chocolate-craving mice are ready to tolerate electric shocks to get their fix.

  • Brain dopamine receptor density correlates with social status

    7 Feb 2010 | 2:00 pm
    People have typically viewed the benefits that accrue with social status primarily from the perspective of external rewards. A new study suggests that there are internal rewards as well. Researchers found that increased social status and increased social support correlated with the density of dopamine D2/D3 receptors in the striatum, a region of the brain that plays a central role in reward and motivation, where dopamine plays a critical role in both of these behavioral processes.

  • New compound could become important new antidepressant

    7 Feb 2010 | 2:00 am
    Chemists have discovered and synthesized a new compound that in laboratory and animal tests appears to be similar to, but may have advantages over one of the most important antidepressant medications in the world.

  • Novelty lures rats from cocaine-paired settings, hinting at new treatments for recovering addicts

    5 Feb 2010 | 11:00 am
    The brain's innate interest in the new and different may help trump the power of addictive drugs, according to new research. In controlled experiments, novelty drew cocaine-treated rats away from the place they got cocaine.
 
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    Addiction and Recovery News

  • Does Alcohol Involvement Increase the Severity of Intimate Partner Violence?

    3 Feb 2010 | 6:51 pm
    A pretty intuitive finding. That domestic violence is more severe when alcohol is present.

  • Study Says Drinking with Your Kids Doesn't Prevent Abuse

    3 Feb 2010 | 6:47 pm
    Join Together reports:Dutch teens who were allowed to drink alcohol at home drank more outside the home than their peers and -- along with other teens who drank -- were at increased risk of developing alcohol problems, according to researchers from Radboud University Nijmegen.The study authors tracked 428 Dutch families with two children ages 13-15. They found that teens who drank at home also drank more on their own, and vice-versa, suggesting that teen drinking begets more teen drinking regardless of setting."The idea is generally based on common sense," said researcher Haske van der Vorst.

  • Injection center coverage

    3 Feb 2010 | 6:11 pm
    Slate has a couple of dispatches on "Vancouver's experiment with helping addicts get high"A commentary accuses opponents of "contempt for science" I don't oppose harm reduction but, like this blogger, I see no reason why a recovery orientation could not be introduced in every harm reduction service.The zeal for insite and contempt for critics make me wonder what their feeling would be about programs that distribute sleeping bags to homeless people to prevent frostbite and exposure deaths? These programs exist and there's one in my community. Of course, there's one important difference. They…

  • ONDCP talks recovery

    3 Feb 2010 | 5:55 am
    New Drug Policy Approach Focuses on the Vital Role of Recovery. See page 2.

  • Good news

    2 Feb 2010 | 1:03 pm
    2010 Federal Budget Boosts Funding for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Programs
 
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    Recovery Connection

  • Detoxing From Heroin in Florida

    drp
    8 Feb 2010 | 11:50 am
    The hardest part in recovering from my heroin addiction was getting over the physical cravings. Detox helped me get over these cravings. Although not always one hundred percent comfortable it was not nearly as bad as my prior attempts without detox. Related posts:A Deadly Heroin Addiction Treated In Jacksonville Inpatient Treatment My heroin addiction nearly killed me. I would do anything... Sexually Abused, I Needed Help I was sexually abused at the age of 9 and... Florida Eating Disorder Treatment the Best Florida eating disorder treatment saved my life. Being from New... Related posts…

  • Top 10 Hangover Cures | How to Cure Nasty Hangovers

    RCX Editor
    8 Feb 2010 | 10:00 am
    If you ever had a hangover and would like to avoid the next one, read about the top 10 cures for hangovers we have collected from our research on the web. You will be surprised about the top solution for hangovers. Related posts:A Cure Versus Treatment for Alcoholism I believe treatment for alcoholism is just that, treatment. I... Detox Butterflys Dealing with my alcoholism was nerve racking mostly because I... Am I An Alcoholic? Am I an Alcoholic? This question is a common question... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

  • Sobriety Diva Says: How to NOT Deal with an Alcoholic Spouse

    Sobriety Diva
    5 Feb 2010 | 9:26 am
    Conceal the Liquor. Throw away the bottles. Hide their money. Appeal to Their Love for Family. Appeal to Their Love for Life. When dealing with a spouse that is an alcoholic, it is very common for the other spouse to come up with what they are feel are defensive tactics to stop the drinking (or drug [...] Related posts:Am I An Alcoholic? Am I an Alcoholic? This question is a common question... Exercise and Sobriety Exercise can help prevent relapse and assist in maintaining long-term... Does Santa Need Treatment for Alcoholism? Oh No Dr. Bob...Does Santa Need Treatment for Alcoholism?...

  • Superbowl Relapse Prevention Tips

    brian@recoveryconnection.org
    5 Feb 2010 | 7:48 am
    For the most part the Superbowl is just like a holiday. There are parties going on all day with lots of alcohol flowing. For those in recovery from drugs and alcohol precautions should be taken to prevent relapse. Related posts:10 Relapse Prevention Tips For The Holiday Season The holiday season can be a tough time for recovering... Managing the Holidays with a Relapse Prevention Plan! Active addiction is a destructive pattern and affects so many... Ways to Implement Relapse Prevention in Regards to Alcohol and Drugs during the Holidays Everyone in society has additional stress during this…

  • Recovery Warrior Thursdays – Tifani

    Sobriety Diva
    4 Feb 2010 | 10:33 am
    Recovery Warrior Thursdays *Real Women Telling their Real Stories in 12…. Questions (not Steps) Hello my recovery warriors (I call you all my recovery warriors because if you are reading this blog you are taking the first step), welcome to the Women’s Treatment Program (Sobriety Diva’s playground) weekly feature where REAL women can tell their stories to [...] Related posts:Recovery Warrior Thursdays – Kristin Recovery Warrior Thursdays *Real Women Telling their Real Stories... Recovery Warrior Thursdays – Jessica Melanson I remember the day and the moment I realized I...
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    Cliffside Malibu

  • Personalized Treatment Is The Best Option From A Drug Rehab Center

    christa
    2 Feb 2010 | 10:47 pm
    The best drug rehab center is the one that most effectively meets the individual needs of its individual clients. As obvious as that might sound, the unfortunate truth is that many private drug rehab centers in California try to turn drug rehabilitation into an assembly-line process. But that simply isn’t the way drug recovery happens. If you’re going to get better, you’re going to need a drug rehab program that’s designed for you and no one else. Drug addiction is a personal problem. By the same token, your drug rehab center must provide you with personal care. A drug rehabilitation…

  • The Right Alcohol Treatment Center

    christa
    27 Jan 2010 | 10:26 pm
    The alcohol treatment center that’s right for you is the one that cares about and for you as a unique individual. Some alcohol treatment centers treat every client the same way, as if alcohol recovery could be an assembly-line process. But that’s simply not the way it works. To be successful, your alcohol treatment program has to be specially tailored to your personal needs. Anything less than the most intimate care is simply unacceptable. You already know that alcoholism is a devastating disease. A private alcohol treatment center in Los Angeles can help you solve the problem—but only…

  • Drug Detox The Painless Way

    christa
    21 Jan 2010 | 7:39 pm
    Drug detox shouldn’t be painful. Despite what you may have “learned” from Hollywood movies, the truth is that detox is first and foremost about healing, and about hope. The catch, of course, is that you have to get help from people who know exactly what they’re doing. The professional experts at a private drug detox facility can ensure the success of your healing process. All that remains, now, is for you to seek assistance. The fact that you’re here, reading this, suggests that you don’t need a lecture on the perils of addiction. Successful drug treatment really will change your…

  • A Luxury Drug Abuse Treatment Center Isn’t Scary

    christa
    18 Jan 2010 | 6:34 pm
    There’s nothing easy about enrolling in a drug abuse treatment center. On the contrary, the decision to begin a drug abuse treatment program is one that can only be made after an addict has faced the truth of his or her addiction. If you have a drug abuse problem, you’ll almost certainly struggle to face facts. But no effort you make will ever be more important. Drug abuse treatment centers change lives. More importantly, they often save lives. The care you get from the professional experts at an exclusive drug abuse treatment facility will give you the strength you need to heal from the…

  • Has Drug Addiction Grabbed You And Pulled You Under?

    christa
    14 Jan 2010 | 9:09 pm
    Drug addiction is both a physical and psychological problem. In that sense, it would seem obvious that drug addiction treatment must promote both physical and psychological healing. Unfortunately, many of the most “exclusive” drug addiction treatment centers in Los Angeles fail to provide their clients with competent holistic care. As should go without saying, you simply can’t afford to trust your health to one of these institutions. Drug addictions are diseases, and like all diseases they can only be overcome with expert medical assistance. If you’re serious about getting sober,…
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    Addiction Inbox

  • Rethinking the Patch

    Dirk Hanson
    7 Feb 2010 | 9:41 am
    Quitters do better on 6-month regimen. It may sound like dream propaganda for the makers of nicotine patches. And it is. Moreover, at least one of the study authors has worked in the past as a consultant for GlaxoSmithKline, maker of Nicoderm CQ, one of the best-selling brands of transdermal nicotine patches. So there is every reason to dismiss a recent study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, which strongly suggests that the currently recommended regimen of two months isn’t long enough. It should be tripled.

  • The Low Cost of Drinking

    Dirk Hanson
    3 Feb 2010 | 11:42 am
    Does cheap liquor encourage excess? Last year, Sir Liam Donaldson, the Chief Medical Officer in England, touched off a storm of controversy with his call for a government-mandated minimum pricing schedule for the sale of alcohol. Donaldson’s pricing plan would set a minimum of 50p per unit of alcohol, or roughly 80 cents. This floor on alcohol pricing would mean that a bottle of wine could not be sold for less than $7.20, a bottle of whisky for less than $22, or a six-pack for less than about $9.50. Such a measure would effectively double the price of the cheapest alcohol sold in some…

  • The Three-Headed Dragon

    Dirk Hanson
    31 Jan 2010 | 12:18 pm
    A symbol of need.  Getting off drugs, or learning to stop drinking, is very often easier than staying off them. As Mark Twain remarked about tobacco, quitting was easy—he’d done it dozens of times. Relapse, the biological imperative, will have its way with most of those abstaining for the first time. Addiction is a psychological disorder with strongly cued behavioral components, whatever its dimensions as a biochemically-based disease. The three-headed dragon is a metaphor first popularized by alternative therapists at the Haight Ashbury Free Medical Clinic in San Francisco. The…

  • Pot Advocates Overreach Themselves

    Dirk Hanson
    27 Jan 2010 | 9:04 am
    L.A. set to close most marijuana dispensaries. Medical marijuana advocates in Los Angeles appear to have overreached themselves, angering the City Council by establishing more than a thousand medical marijuana dispensaries in commercial and residential neighborhoods around the city. According to a report by Jennifer Steinhauer in the New York Times, a board member for the neighborhood council in Studio City called the 13 dispensaries in her 3.5 square miles-neighborhood “unbelievable.” The City Council struck back hard on Tuesday, passing a city ordinance that would “shutter the…

  • Cannabis and Cancer

    Dirk Hanson
    23 Jan 2010 | 6:14 pm
      Canada considers the case. The link between cigarette smoking and respiratory disease is irrefutable. But what about pot smoking? A long history of contentious argument and clinical inference has left the picture as fuzzy as ever. Despite strenuous efforts to prove the case, the evidence remains ambiguous. The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse in Ottawa recently released an analysis of current evidence, “Clearing the Smoke on Cannabis: Respiratory Effects of Cannabis Smoking.” (PDF). In the report, prepared in 2009 by the Centre for Criminal Justice Research at the University of…
 
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    Addiction Recovery Blog

  • How to Overcome Your Video Game Addiction

    Karen Halls
    7 Feb 2010 | 7:01 am
    Many of us grew up learning to play tag or hide and seek. Others of us played or still play cards with family and friends, and still others enjoyed playing board games, but very few of us ever found ourselves becoming addicted to such pastimes. The latest advancements in the game playing world present just that possibility though — addiction. With the creation of the game console, and then computer-based video games, we were introduced to a new world of game playing interaction. These games evolved so that soon the player was able to mold game characters after himself, create empires,…

  • Dating in Drug Rehab

    Karen Halls
    4 Feb 2010 | 7:01 am
    One of the toughest thing for an addict or alcoholic to face is when their substance abuse has gotten out of control and they have to check into a drug rehab treatment facility. However, the fact of the matter is that many people view their trip to a treatment center as an opportunity to hook up with members of the opposite sex. The fact of the matter is that this can be a very bad idea and I will tell you why. Should I look for love in rehab? When a person enters rehab they are at a very low point in there life. Many people feel that the best way to make the pain of their drug and alcohol…

  • A Little About the Paramount Drug Treatment Center and Its Functions

    Karen Halls
    3 Feb 2010 | 7:01 am
    The one major problem with drug treatment is that it is hardly ever permanent. The majority of the patients go back to their old ways a little while after they leave their rehabilitation centers. It is hence necessary for these centers to ensure that the patient is absolutely cured of his addiction before he is given a discharge. The patients of drug abuse show better signs of improvement if they stay in a place, which is comfortable. The drug rehabilitation centers that use the program that is based on the works of L. Ron Hubbard, are the ones where rehab that is delivered that is meant for…

  • Drug Rehab - What You Need to Know

    Karen Halls
    2 Feb 2010 | 7:01 am
    Drug rehab is an important resource for any person wanting to recover from their drug addiction. There is nothing easy about recovering from a drug addiction, it is a very difficult and challenging step for any person to take alone. Any person suffering from a drug addiction should seek help from a drug rehabilitation program. These programs offer the best possible chance for recovery. In most cases, drug rehab centers are in-house treatment centers, where a person would sign themselves in and follow the program to recovery. These programs offer the opportunity to really assess their personal…

  • How to Find the Best Drug Addiction Treatment Program

    Karen Halls
    1 Feb 2010 | 7:01 am
    There are so many drug addiction treatment programs available, it can seem impossible to find one that is appropriate for yourself or your loved ones. On top of that, when you attempt to locate a good program by searching the internet, you will get millions of results. It can seem like there is no hope to find the best drug addiction treatment program. But there is no reason to worry. Just follow these tips and you can easily locate exactly what you are looking for. First you need to decide what kind of treatment program is needed. There are several types including residential or live-in…
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    Suboxone Talk Zone

  • Withdrawal in newborns: Lay off the guilt trip!!

    SuboxDoc
    1 Feb 2010 | 5:42 pm
    I will share some thoughts that I left at a discussion at a ‘linked in’ group about addiction.  I was responding to someone who was equating addiction and physical dependence in a baby born to an opiate-addicted mother.  My feeling is that such women are given way too much of an attitude by the nurses and others who care for them, and that was the motivation behind my response.  Read on: There are many differences between physiological dependence and addiction to substances. For example, people who take effexor are dependent– and will have significant discontinuation-emergent…

  • Buprenorphine, methadone, and testerone

    SuboxDoc
    31 Jan 2010 | 11:33 am
    A member at the buprenorphine forum wrote about his own health issues including hormonal imbalances, prompting me to do a literature search on buprenorphine and testosterone.    I found a couple interesting studies and invite people to visit the forum and read about them, and comment if you wish.  To find the comment thread, just go to the bottom of the first page and the ‘index’ will list the new topics. Oh– and please consider signing up while you are there.  Feel free to use an alias to maintain confidentiality.  Our numbers are growing, and the forum is open for…

  • Urine drug testing for buprenorphine (in Suboxone)

    SuboxDoc
    29 Jan 2010 | 5:58 pm
    I will introduce this topic by typing my response to a reader who asked whether buprenorphine, the active ingredient in Suboxone, shows up in urine drug tests.  More specifically he asked whether companies have the ability to test for buprenorphine.  I will end the post with a question… so please stick around to the end! Typical 10-panel urine dipstick test There are tests out there—multi-panel dipstick tests– that react ‘positive’ to Suboxone in the opiate panel.  Or at least there used to be;  I used to see that reaction with a brand  of tests I no longer…

  • Are you ANXIOUS? Are you SURE?

    SuboxDoc
    27 Dec 2009 | 8:17 pm
    I’ve been posting more lately, but I’m hoping to slow down by the end of the holidays to let everyone catch up.   I’ve also mentioned ‘my book’ several times in the past year, promising to myself and to others deadline that comes and go.  I wish I could take a month and work on it full-time, but I don’t see much chance of that happening… so I’ll have to just keep chipping away at it.  I can be a perfectionist and everything can be worded just a little better…  I’m the same way some mornings with my electric razor, until …

  • How dangerous is opiate dependence?

    SuboxDoc
    25 Dec 2009 | 8:56 pm
    I frequently point out the lack of outrage over the epidemic of opiate dependence and the consequence of that epidemic.  I live in ‘middle America,’ and sometimes it seems that everyone I know has some connection to opiate dependence– a relative who is an addict, a friend who died, a parent who is in prison.  My perceptions are admittedly distorted by the work that I do, but I don’t know who has the more accurate perceptions; me or the people who seem surprised to hear that most high school kids know where they could get heroin.  Addicts who I treat who come down…
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    What Winners Do

  • A Recovering Addict Helplessly Watching An Active Addict

    Erin
    8 Feb 2010 | 6:15 am
    I had written a story before regarding how hard it is when you have family members that for whatever reason act as a trigger for your addiction. I had figured out a way to hang out with my brother without putting myself in a dangerous position. After all you can change your friends but not your family. What has actually happened is that my brother, the same one that could at times be seen as a trigger, is someone that I look at and shake my head at now. He is continuing to use Oxycontin and it is soooo obvious...even though he thinks he is sneaking right under the radar. I ended up…

  • What Do You Do To Make Yourself Feel Better?

    Erin
    7 Feb 2010 | 5:52 am
    There was a time when my way of making myself feel better involved numbing myself... usually into oblivion. That was pretty much my go to answer for every situation that I encountered that made me feel... well just feel. It's been a long time since I have used drugs to change the way I was feeling, 2 years this coming Monday as a matter of fact. In this time, I have still had all the same things that life throws at you, I've just avoided using to change the way I feel. But when you are having feels of doubt, feelings of pain, anger, sadness... what do you do to make yourself feel better? Me?

  • Maybe I’m Not Really an Addict

    Erin
    6 Feb 2010 | 5:14 am
    Just try and tell me that you haven't had that thought before...anyone, no one, ok then. Good, it's not just me. Our minds are so f'd up with addictive thinking that we actually try and fool ourselves into believing the thought that possibly we weren't as bad as we made out to be. We must have over reacted because we went today without drinking and it wasn't too hard. From what I have heard and what I have read this is a very common thought in recovery. What is kind of funny is that this very thought proves that you and I are true addicts. With all that we had to go through to be where we are…

  • How Do You Make Yourself Feel Better

    Erin
    5 Feb 2010 | 4:59 am
    Since we are trying to avoid the use of mood altering substances as our first defense against negative feelings, it leaves us with the question "How do you make yourself feel better?". You know what I mean right? Those times in life when you feel lost, vulnerable, worthless, sad, hopeless...and all those other crappy feelings that I left out. How do you turn your feelings around and make yourself feel better without reaching for that instant fix? The truth is there are a lot of ways to make yourself feel better without resorting to using drugs but the thing that we need to accept is that when…

  • Addiction Recovery: Dealing With Lingering Consequences

    Erin
    4 Feb 2010 | 4:18 am
    As time marches on in my addiction recovery I can happily say that the lingering negative consequences of my addiction are becoming few and far between. Occasionally I do have to deal with a situation that was set in motion as a direct result of my drug use. So why do I bring this up? Well later this afternoon I have to report to court to deal with a monetary matter that I let get completely out of hand while in the haze of drug use. Is it weird to say that I'm looking forward to going? Now obviously when I say that I'm looking forward to appearing in court...I'm not talking about…
 
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    Wiley InterScience: Addiction

  • Brief alcohol intervention—where to from here? Challenges remain for research and practice

    Per Nilsen
    27 Jan 2010 | 2:21 am
    Brief intervention (BI) is intended as an early intervention for non-treatment-seeking, non-alcohol-dependent, hazardous and harmful drinkers. This text provides a brief summary of key BI research findings from the last three decades and discusses a number of knowledge gaps that need to be addressed. Five areas are described: patient intervention efficacy and effectiveness; barriers to BI implementation by health professionals; individual-level factors that impact on BI implementation; organization-level factors that impact on BI implementation; and society-level factors that impact on BI…

  • Mechanisms of behavior change in alcoholics anonymous: does Alcoholics Anonymous lead to better alcohol use outcomes by reducing depression symptoms?

    John F. Kelly, Robert L. Stout, Molly Magill, J. Scott Tonigan, Maria E. Pagano
    21 Jan 2010 | 7:58 pm
    Rationale Indices of negative affect, such as depression, have been implicated in stress-induced pathways to alcohol relapse. Empirically supported continuing care resources, such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), emphasize reducing negative affect to reduce relapse risk, but little research has been conducted to examine putative affective mechanisms of AA's effects.Methods Using lagged, controlled, hierarchical linear modeling and mediational analyses this study investigated whether AA participation mobilized changes in depression symptoms and whether such changes explained subsequent reductions…

  • Drug prevention programmes for young people: where have we been and where should we be going?

    Richard Midford
    20 Dec 2009 | 11:01 pm
    Aim Substance use by young people has long been a concern of western society, but opinion is mixed as to which prevention approach offers the greatest benefit, and whether indeed there is any benefit at all. This paper reviews the nature of prevention programmes, the research evidence that underpins these programmes and the prevention objectives against which effectiveness is measured. The aim of this is to create better understanding of the elements that maximize programme effectiveness, what can be achieved by prevention programmes and how programmes can be improved.Findings There is a…

  • The trouble with drink: why ideas matter*

    Griffith Edwards
    17 Dec 2009 | 10:14 pm
    This paper builds upon the work of previous authors who have explored the evolution of ideas in the alcohol arena. With revisions in the relevant sections of ICD and DSM forthcoming, such matters are of considerable contemporary importance. The focus here will be upon the history of the last 200 years. The main themes to be explored include the flux of ideas on what, over time, has counted as the trouble with drink, ideas on the cause of the problem and the impact of this thinking on public action. Medical authorities of the late Enlightenment period made the revolutionary suggestion that…

  • Prevention programs in the 21st century: what we do not discuss in public

    Harold Holder
    16 Nov 2009 | 10:09 pm
    Prevention research concerning alcohol, tobacco and other drugs faces a number of challenges as the scientific foundation is strengthened for the future. Seven issues which the prevention research field should address are discussed: lack of transparency in analyses of prevention program outcomes, lack of disclosure of copyright and potential for profit/income during publication, post-hoc outcome variable selection and reporting only outcomes which show positive and statistical significance at any follow-up point, tendency to evaluate statistical significance only rather than practical…
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    Addiction Recovery Basics

  • Teen Drug Rehabilitation:Think Prevention

    Bill Urell
    8 Feb 2010 | 4:41 am
    One of the most common reasons why teenagers take drugs is due to depression. Drug abuse among teenagers is on the increase, and whatever the igniting factor is, the consequences of teenage drug abuse is tragic. Not only street drug but prescription drugs is a multi faceted problem that concerned parents have to face on a daily basis. Teenagers have to face numerous challenges but they also need to understand that they have to face the responsibility for their actions. Teenage years are probably the most delicate as they have to start becoming independent and have to face the challenges that…

  • Drug Abuse And Alcoholism Recovery: Self Sabotage And Self-Defeating Behaviors

    Bill Urell
    1 Feb 2010 | 6:27 pm
    For people in recovery, thinking about using alcohol or drugs, or actually returning to their use is the ultimate in self-sabotage and self-defeating behavior. I mean, talk about shooting yourself in the foot, what good could possibly come out of a return to the use of drugs and alcohol? As we go through this module I cannot imagine anybody in recovery not having several ‘Aha moments’ or ‘light bulbs going off over your head’. OK, let’s get to it. A pretty good working definition of self sabotaging behavior is this: “Self sabotaging thoughts, behaviors, and feelings create…

  • Do We Drink And Drug Because We Can’t Handle Emotions?

    Bill Urell
    28 Jan 2010 | 10:21 am
    “The reason we drink or drug is because we cannot tolerate or process uncomfortable, intense or overwhelming feelings.” That is a way of thinking about drug and alcohol use that a number of people have put forward. I’m not sure I agree with it entirely. It is really hard to support blanket statements like that, but there are seeds of truth there. Life should be easy. I should get everything I want, now. I’m right you’re wrong, end of story. Any of that sound familiar? These are common threads of addictive thinking. Addicts usually have very poor impulse control and that can…

  • Book Review, Thumbs Up For: Help! My Kids Addicted To Prescription Pain Killers

    Bill Urell
    20 Jan 2010 | 8:40 pm
    Couple of days ago I was contacted by James Von Aaron who introduced himself and asked me if I would read you a book he had written Help! My Kids Addicted To Prescription Pain Killers . He asked me to take a look at it and post a review on my website. Now, I generally don’t do that many reviews for products because quite frankly, I feel both a professional, and ethical obligation to only endorse and share good, solid, addiction recovery advice. I have seen a lot of garbage marketed over were desperate for a solution. Like the fellow on TV who says he can cure drug addiction if you buy…

  • Brain On Methamphetamine: Pet Scan Image

    Bill Urell
    13 Jan 2010 | 5:15 pm
    Using Meth doesn’t really ‘take you up’. It decreases memory and reaction time when used over time.Methamphetamine abuse decreases dopamine transporter activity and compromises mental function. The brain image at the top left is a PET image from a normal control subject. The striatum is brightly lit in red and yellow, indicating the presence of many dopamine transporters, which contrasts with the brain of a methamphetamine abuser (bottom left). What does this mean functionally? The graphs on the right show the relationship between performance on a motor (upper right) and a…
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    Addiction Inbox

  • Rethinking the Patch

    Dirk Hanson
    7 Feb 2010 | 9:41 am
    Quitters do better on 6-month regimen. It may sound like dream propaganda for the makers of nicotine patches. And it is. Moreover, at least one of the study authors has worked in the past as a consultant for GlaxoSmithKline, maker of Nicoderm CQ, one of the best-selling brands of transdermal nicotine patches. So there is every reason to dismiss a recent study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, which strongly suggests that the currently recommended regimen of two months isn’t long enough. It should be tripled.

  • The Low Cost of Drinking

    Dirk Hanson
    3 Feb 2010 | 11:42 am
    Does cheap liquor encourage excess? Last year, Sir Liam Donaldson, the Chief Medical Officer in England, touched off a storm of controversy with his call for a government-mandated minimum pricing schedule for the sale of alcohol. Donaldson’s pricing plan would set a minimum of 50p per unit of alcohol, or roughly 80 cents. This floor on alcohol pricing would mean that a bottle of wine could not be sold for less than $7.20, a bottle of whisky for less than $22, or a six-pack for less than about $9.50. Such a measure would effectively double the price of the cheapest alcohol sold in some…

  • The Three-Headed Dragon

    Dirk Hanson
    31 Jan 2010 | 12:18 pm
    A symbol of need.  Getting off drugs, or learning to stop drinking, is very often easier than staying off them. As Mark Twain remarked about tobacco, quitting was easy—he’d done it dozens of times. Relapse, the biological imperative, will have its way with most of those abstaining for the first time. Addiction is a psychological disorder with strongly cued behavioral components, whatever its dimensions as a biochemically-based disease. The three-headed dragon is a metaphor first popularized by alternative therapists at the Haight Ashbury Free Medical Clinic in San Francisco. The…

  • Pot Advocates Overreach Themselves

    Dirk Hanson
    27 Jan 2010 | 9:04 am
    L.A. set to close most marijuana dispensaries. Medical marijuana advocates in Los Angeles appear to have overreached themselves, angering the City Council by establishing more than a thousand medical marijuana dispensaries in commercial and residential neighborhoods around the city. According to a report by Jennifer Steinhauer in the New York Times, a board member for the neighborhood council in Studio City called the 13 dispensaries in her 3.5 square miles-neighborhood “unbelievable.” The City Council struck back hard on Tuesday, passing a city ordinance that would “shutter the…

  • Cannabis and Cancer

    Dirk Hanson
    23 Jan 2010 | 6:14 pm
      Canada considers the case. The link between cigarette smoking and respiratory disease is irrefutable. But what about pot smoking? A long history of contentious argument and clinical inference has left the picture as fuzzy as ever. Despite strenuous efforts to prove the case, the evidence remains ambiguous. The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse in Ottawa recently released an analysis of current evidence, “Clearing the Smoke on Cannabis: Respiratory Effects of Cannabis Smoking.” (PDF). In the report, prepared in 2009 by the Centre for Criminal Justice Research at the University of…
 
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    The Last Chance Texaco

  • Nothing That Three Million Dollars Won’t Fix

    Chris
    5 Feb 2010 | 6:11 am
    I think I hate being in therapy.  I mean, they make you look at yourself!  And who wants to do that?  I thought I’d done well enough having gotten through the 4th step and, after all, I’m still sober.  I guess that isn’t entirely true.  After an hour and a half with Anita yesterday I [...]

  • A Spiritual Foundation

    Chris
    22 Jan 2010 | 1:52 pm
    I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the value of anonymity.  I’m not altogether convinced that there really is such a thing; not in the absolute sense.  It exists in greater and lesser degrees and we see famous people straddle the line all the time.  In 12 step recovery we have secret code words and [...]

  • Three

    Chris
    15 Jan 2010 | 11:49 am
    But one voice got through, caught her up by surprise It said, “Don’t hold us back we’re the story you tell,” And no sooner than spoken, a spell had been broken And the voices before her were trumpets and tympani Violins, basses and woodwinds and cellos, singing “We’re so glad that you finally made it here You thought nobody cared, but [...]

  • This Page is Intentionally Left Blank and Other Self Contradictory Stuff

    Chris
    7 Jan 2010 | 5:48 pm
    It should have become clear to me a long time ago.  Perhaps it was and I simply hadn’t the willingness to do something about it, but it is clear now that I can benefit from therapy.  I don’t think I’ll make any significant gains in becoming happy without professional help.  So in addition to starting [...]

  • Unmixed Attention

    Chris
    3 Jan 2010 | 9:44 pm
    “Absolute unmixed attention is prayer.” -Simone Weil, Gravity and Grace I realized a long time ago that I can trace the decline of my spiritual health, and a decline in the quality and quantity of my writing, to the date I got a television.  For a good year and a half, writing was a form of [...]
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    Elizabeth F. Howell, M.D., FASAM, DFAPA

  • Novelty lures rats from cocaine-paired settings, hinting at new treatments for recovering addicts

    5 Feb 2010 | 7:05 am
    ScienceDaily (2010-02-05) -- The brain's innate interest in the new and different may help trump the power of addictive drugs, according to new research. In controlled experiments, novelty drew cocaine-treated rats away from the place they got cocaine.

  • Please comment on DSM-5 criteria Feb 10, 2010 through April 20, 2010

    4 Feb 2010 | 10:15 pm
    DSM-5 Draft Criteria Available for Public Comment through April 20 The American Psychiatric Association is seeking your comments on proposed criteria for the fifth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the standard classification of mental disorders used by mental health and other health professionals for diagnostic and research purposes.

  • Relationship of Opioid Use and Dosage Levels to Fractures in Older Chronic Pain Patients

    30 Jan 2010 | 10:42 am
    SpringerLink - Journal Article Conclusions: Higher doses (≥50 mg/day) of opioids for chronic non-cancer pain were associated with a 2.00 increase in risk of fracture confirmed by medical record review. Clinicians should consider fracture risk when prescribing higher-dose opioid therapy for older adults.

  • Scripps research team finds stress hormone key to alcohol dependence

    29 Jan 2010 | 9:40 pm
    LA JOLLA, CA – January 25, 2010 – A team of scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has found that a specific stress hormone, the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), is key to the development and maintenance of alcohol dependence in animal models. Chemically blocking the stress factor also blocked the signs and symptoms of addiction, suggesting a potentially promising area for future

  • FDA Wants Drug Companies To Look For Abuse - baltimoresun.com

    29 Jan 2010 | 8:39 pm
    FDA Wants Drug Companies To Look For Abuse - baltimoresun.comThe Food and Drug Administration is calling on pharmaceutical firms to give more attention to the potential for abuse of new drugs when subjecting them to pre-market testing.
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    A Song Not Scored For Breathing

  • Lap Time

    7 Feb 2010 | 8:03 am
    This morning I unpacked my laptop and plugged it in to update the Internet security setting. I normally only use the laptop when I am travelling. I've never got the hang of sitting on the couch and using it, it just seems odd to do that. Funny how habitual we creatures can be. Who knows, I managed to go from only using a computer in the office to now happily typing away at the dining room table. Perhaps one day I'll be an old lady with a computer on her lap. At any rate I forgot that I have a different set of favourites on my laptop's sidebar and thought I'd share a few with you:The Idea Of…

  • Simple Things Challenge

    6 Feb 2010 | 8:18 am
    Chris over at Enchanted Oak is hosting a Simple Things Challenge where she asks that you post a piece about the joy of the simple things in life. Her family will donate $2 to Heartline Ministries in Haiti for every post about the joy of the simple things in life. If you don't have a blog just leave a comment over at her blog and that counts, too.A few of the simple things in life that bring me joy:Every time I lay on the couch and watch TV I tell dearest one I feel like I am living a luxurious life. I feel totally spoiled when I do that simple thing. It's a bonus if I keep my eyes open. With…

  • Here You Go

    5 Feb 2010 | 6:15 am
    Here are some links to read today cause I've got nothing.Brave Little Girl. The sweetness of this little girl made me teary.And Then We Laughed. I love the way Elizabeth mothers those daughters and the way she writes about it. Prayers and more Prayers. Michael was a great encourager to me in my early days of blogging. It was also through his other site that I found this blog and eventually found my way into recovery from sexual addiction.I like a good laugh and I like to think. It's great when one blog does both.

  • Crunching My Way To Humility

    3 Feb 2010 | 5:59 pm
    “And how do you like your crow?” he asked.”Well done, “ I replied. I heard a barely restrained self satisfied laugh on his end of the phone while I felt my face turn brick red on mine. Several months ago I’d sent him a good natured, yet firm inquiry, about a detail that he'd promised me he'd see come to fruition. One that once taken care of, would help me in the day to day operations in our office. He apologized graciously and said he’d fix it right away. A few weeks ago I was still waiting for the matter to be resolved so I called to see where things stood. Puzzled, he told me he…

  • Soaking It In

    2 Feb 2010 | 6:37 am
    "I need to go back and say hello to her."I was no more than 10 steps into the mall when I recognized her bleached blond hair and the way she was smiling at someone in the hair stylist's chair. I was making a beeline for the bathroom and after I walked past her some of the lines from "Just For Today" ran through my head. It amazes me how I will ignore that which I don't want to pay attention to, like going out of my way by extending kindness to someone I dislike and then spend enormous energy fixating on some thought that I would be better off ignoring, like that fleeting pain I had in my side…
 
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    My Journey To Recovery

  • Links for 2010-02-04 [del.icio.us]

    5 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am
    Video Tutorial : How To Monetize Facebook Fan Page & Groups ( Duration 65 min) Monetize with Facebook.

  • Gunung Tahan - The Story

    23 Oct 2009 | 9:06 pm
    Surrender"By surrendering control, we gain a far greater power."When we were using, we did everything we could to run things our way. We used every scheme imaginable to bring our world under control. When we got what we wanted, we felt powerful, invincible; when we didn't, we felt vulnerable, defeated. But that didn't stop us - it only led to more efforts to control and manipulate our lives into a manageable state.Scheming was our way of denying our powerlessness. As long as we could distract ourselves with our plans, we could put off accepting that we were out of control. Only gradually did…

  • The Pride & Joy Of My Father

    11 Mar 2009 | 7:07 pm
    Our Own Recovery"The steps are our solution. They are our survival kit. They are our defense against addiction, a deadly disease. Our steps are the principles that make our recovery possible."Basic Text, p. 19There's lots to like in Narcotics Anonymous. The meetings, for one, are great. We get to see our friends, hear some inspiring stories, share some practical experience, maybe even hook up with our sponsor. The camp outs, the conventions, the dances are all wonderful, clean fun in the company of other recovering addicts. But the heart of our recovery program is the Twelve Steps - in fact,…

  • Urgent Appeal: Palestine Relief Fund

    8 Jan 2009 | 6:47 pm
    Growing Up"Our spiritual condition is the basis for a successful recovery that offers unlimited growth."Basic Text, p. 43When our members celebrate their recovery anniversaries, they often say that they've "grown up" in NA. Well, then, we think, what does that mean? We start to wonder if we're grownups yet. We check our lives and yes, all the trappings of adulthood are there: the checkbook, the children, the job, the responsibilities. On the inside, though, we often feel like children. We're still confused by life much of the time. We don't always know how to act. We sometimes wonder whether…

  • Another Giant Step

    25 Dec 2008 | 6:59 pm
    The Group"The Twelfth Step of our personal program also says that we carry the message to the addict who still suffers... The group is the most powerful vehicle we have for carrying the message."Basic Text, p. 65When we first come to Narcotics Anonymous meetings, we meet recovering addicts. We know they are addicts because they talk about the same experiences and feelings we've had. We know they are recovering because of their serenity - they've got something we want. We feel hope when other addicts share their recovery with us in NA meetings.The atmosphere of recovery attracts us to the…
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    Breaking Free

  • Hijacking the Brain — How Pornography Works

    Luke Gilkerson
    8 Feb 2010 | 5:45 am
    I recently came across this article by Albert Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Here he talks about how pornography works in the male brain, citing the new book by William M. Struthers, Wired for Intimacy: How Pornography Hijacks the Male Brain. It is an excellent plug for the book, which marries brain chemistry to theology. - – - - We are fast becoming the pornographic society. Over the course of the last decade, explicitly sexual images have crept into advertising, marketing, and virtually every niche of American life. This ambient pornography is now almost…

  • Covenant Eyes Honored as a Leading Business

    Luke Gilkerson
    6 Feb 2010 | 6:30 am
    Last week Covenant Eyes was honored as the 2010 Outstanding Medium Business of the Year in our county. As we come upon our 10-year anniversary as a company, it is wonderful to look back and see how far we’ve come. In particular our county wanted to thank us for helping individuals all over the world battle Internet temptations which has in turn helped to save lives, marriages, and families. We were also honored for specific ways we’ve been able to enhance our own community, creating jobs, sponsoring community activities, and supporting Internet accountability in our local public…

  • A Marriage Redeemed from Pornograhy and Adultery

    Luke Gilkerson
    5 Feb 2010 | 5:50 am
    Covenant Eyes Radio – Episode 50 Today’s interview is part of a recent conversation I had with Chad and Sarah Markley. Four years into their marriage, Sarah began an affair with another man. This went on for three years until the truth finally came out. Determined to preserve their marriage, Chad and Sarah made drastic changes to their lives, and today they will share about some of those changes. Today their happy marriage is an example to many. Among some of the underlying problems that led to the adultery was their growing use of pornography in the home. Chad and Sarah will talk…

  • How Nakedness Affected the Fall (Part 4)

    Bobby Scott
    4 Feb 2010 | 5:43 am
    In Leviticus 18, Moses, the same author who gave us the Fall narrative in Genesis, graphically documents the latent destructive power possessed in post-Fall nakedness. Moses’ account of the perverting influence of nakedness reads like the darkest parts of Internet porn. It’s all there—adultery, incest, homosexuality, pedophilia, and even bestiality. Regarding these vices, God adds this warning to His people: “Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled. For the land has become defiled, therefore I…

  • Football and Internet Porn

    Luke Gilkerson
    3 Feb 2010 | 5:54 am
    With the Superbowl upon us, I thought a football post would be fitting. Recently I was speaking with our president, Ron DeHaas, about a talk he gave a couple months ago to a group of guys about the subject of lust and pornography. In preparation for the talk he wanted to use football as an illustration for the guys about defeating Internet temptations. Unusual illustration, I know. But this was what we came up with: Striving towards the goal: Becoming like Christ The field is our life. The ball is our integrity or character. The goal of our lives is to reach the end-zone, at which point we…
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    Jorney of Life Recovery

  • POLITICAL CORRECTNESS

    6 Feb 2010 | 12:39 pm
    POLITICAL CORRECTNESSWhat a great term “political correctness” is. It is something that I know a lot of people try to exhibit in their lives, and in the business world I think it fits right in there with another great way of doing things referred to as “optics”.There actually is a contest to define a meaning of political correctness and I share with you this years winning definition: "Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible…

  • GENEROSITY and RECIEVING

    4 Feb 2010 | 2:20 pm
    GENEROSITY and RECEIVINGThis is not a topic I’ve thought about for along time.In working with others today (and I remember when I was the same), I often ask them at how they are when they receive a compliment.Many handle compliments very poorly. They don’t know how to say a gracious and humble plain “Thank You”, but babble and spot about how it was nothing, feel uncomfortable inside and some even wonder what the other person wants. If these situations fit you today, we should talk. There is an issue.Many we know give generously and freely, but cannot accept gifts in return. My reading…

  • UNDERSTAND HUMILITY

    3 Feb 2010 | 2:16 pm
    UNDERSTAND HUMILITYWhen I first started out on this journey of life recovery, I kept hearing that I needed to be humble. My clouded thinking somehow confused or intertwined humble and humility with humiliation. I can tell you, I was tired of humiliation!! Are you there yet?Today Hazelden put out a very good read that I want to share. It gives a very good perspective!Humility is our acceptance of ourselves.--AnonymousIt is strange how we can go to school and learn a lot of facts, but never learn much along the way about ourselves. We can take up nursing, teaching, counseling, and giving…

  • I LOVE UNCERTAINTY

    2 Feb 2010 | 6:47 am
    I LOVE UNCERTAINTYThe quest for certainty blocks the search for meaning. Uncertainty is the very condition to impel man to unfold his powers.~ Erich Fromm ~There was a day I sought out certainty. It well could have been certainty that helped address my deep seated insecurities. Certainty in employment, certainty in relationships, certainty in investments and so on.Can you relate?As Fromm so aptly points out, in always seeking certainty, I closed my mind to possibilities, and overlooked some great possibilities because they were not a sure thing. A closed mind limited my personal power because…

  • CREATE CONCIOUSLY

    1 Feb 2010 | 1:20 pm
    Create consciouslyGood to have the computer functioning somewhat normally again. To get it back, my hard drive had to be scrubbed and in reloading, inadvertently I lost some things.Nice to get my weekly “Idea Engineer” from my coaching Guru Dr. Randin Brons. As always, he has provided something that does engineer an idea. This week’s article:"No man has a chance to enjoy permanent success until he begins to look in a mirror for the real cause of all his mistakes." -- Napoleon HillThe law of karma is the law of cause and effect. It works unavoidably when there is no consciousness -- when…
 
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    Addiction Treatment Challenges

  • Drug Abuse Center: A Few Things To Consider

    michellechallenges
    8 Feb 2010 | 4:33 am
    Which drug abuse center is right for me? This is the question foremost on people’s minds when they are looking for help with their addiction problems. Patients are, more often than not, embarrassed about their addiction and they often shrink from any sort of help. Figuring out which drug abuse center is right for [...] Related posts:Drug Abuse Rehab, Looking For Help? Are you wondreing about a drug abuse rehab for yourself... How Can Family Help An Alcoholic In A Treatment Center? How can we best help an alcoholic who is in...

  • Medical Drug Treatment And Twelve Step Drug Treatment

    michellechallenges
    4 Feb 2010 | 4:43 am
    Medical Drug Treatment has proven to be very effective in the beginning stages of treating drug addiction. The medical field has been able to master the detox aspect of Drug treatment as well as nursing a drug addict back to physical health. In certain, extreme, cases a medical detox and after care program is the only [...] Related posts:Levels of Drug And Alcohol Addiction Treatment Before entering any drug or alcohol treatment program, it’s important... Addiction Treatment: Motivating Compliance With Drug Or Alcohol Treatment Getting an addict to listen to your concerns about their...

  • Is The Woman You Are Sleeping Next To An Alcoholic?-Video

    michellechallenges
    3 Feb 2010 | 4:50 am
    This program by the National Institute of Health features narratives of seven women recovering from problems with alcohol. These stories make it clear that it’s possible to miss danger signs and that social drinking can become problem drinking, which in turn can evolve into addiction. Abuse and alcoholism are often perceived as problems that only affect [...] Related posts:The Myth Of Controlled Drinking For The Alcoholic he idea of controlled drinking has been getting a lot... Alcohol and Alcoholism, Womens Health Issues Alcohol: A Women’s Health Issue This program by the…

  • Methamphetamine:What Are The Long Term Effects Off Meth On The Brain?

    michellechallenges
    1 Feb 2010 | 4:56 am
    Scientists are using brain imaging techniques, like positron emission tomography (called PET for short), to study the brains of human Methamphetamine users. They have discovered that even three years after long-time Methamphetamine users had quit using the drug, their dopamine neurons were still damaged. Scientists don’t know yet whether this damage is permanent, but [...] Related posts:How Does Cocaine Affect the Brain? A highly addictive substance, Cocaine is usually seen as a... Cocaine – Do You Know How Seriously Cocaine Affects the Brain? Cocaine is a very powerful stimulant…

  • Early Addiction Recovery – 7 Tips To Keep It Going

    michellechallenges
    29 Jan 2010 | 4:48 am
    There is probably nothing more dismal to a recovering drug addict then the fact that they are going through a process which seems like it takes forever! If you have just gotten out of an addiction center or other drug and alcohol rehab center, chances are that you experienced one-on-one counseling, group therapy, as well [...] Related posts:7 Great Tips to Help You in Early Drug Addiction Recovery There is probably nothing more dismal to a recovering drug... 5 Tips To Overcome Sleeplessness And Insomnia In Early Addiction Recovery We have all suffered from bouts of insomnia at one...
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    About.com: Addictions

  • A Vitamin-Rich Diet While Quitting Smoking

    7 Feb 2010 | 5:26 pm
    Image (c) Manoel Silva Smoking, as everyone knows by now, takes a serious toll on health. So when you decide to quit smoking, it can be a great time to think about making changes to your diet. One of the payoffs of smoking is enhancement to your senses of taste and smell, which can make food more pleasurable than it was when you were smoking, but to avoid weight gain and substitute addictions to food or drink, a healthy diet is essential. Read more...A Vitamin-Rich Diet While Quitting Smoking originally appeared on About.com Addictions on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 01:26:58.Permalink |…

  • American College of Physicians Legitimizes Discrimination

    2 Feb 2010 | 9:39 am
    Image (c) Dominik Gwarek Many readers of the addictions guidesite will have had personal experience of discrimination within the healthcare system. People with addictions are among the most stigmatized of all patient groups, and drug users in particular, suffer from the judgements of health professionals. Read more...American College of Physicians Legitimizes Discrimination originally appeared on About.com Addictions on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 17:39:14.Permalink | Comment | Email this

  • UK Clinic First to Welcome Gaming Addicts

    28 Jan 2010 | 12:42 pm
    Image (c) Ayhan Yildiz According to an article in the UK's Guardian newspaper, Broadway Lodge in Weston-super-Mare is the first clinic in the UK to offer treatment to people with video game addiction. Read more...UK Clinic First to Welcome Gaming Addicts originally appeared on About.com Addictions on Thursday, January 28th, 2010 at 20:42:55.Permalink | Comment | Email this

  • Nicotine Cravings and Vitamin B Complex

    22 Jan 2010 | 5:27 am
    Image (c) Sanja Gjenero I was recently talking to someone who quit smoking for her New Year's Resolution. She was constantly craving cigarettes and was "beyond irritable." Read more...Nicotine Cravings and Vitamin B Complex originally appeared on About.com Addictions on Friday, January 22nd, 2010 at 13:27:52.Permalink | Comment | Email this

  • Insite Drug Injection Site Wins

    17 Jan 2010 | 4:48 pm
    Image (c) Col Adamson According to CBC news, North America's first safe injection site, known as Insite, has officially won the right to keep operating in Vancouver BC. The safe injection site has been controversial since it first opened it's doors Read more...Insite Drug Injection Site Wins originally appeared on About.com Addictions on Monday, January 18th, 2010 at 00:48:45.Permalink | Comment | Email this
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    Drug Rehab Blog

  • Understanding Drug Addiction is Crucial

    Nick Hayes
    8 Feb 2010 | 10:30 am
    In the present time, understanding drug addiction has become very important to people, as general awareness helps prevent addiction. There are several people who do not understand the reason why people get addicted, and so for all such people, understanding drug addiction is very essential. These days, numerous websites have made available ample information about the use of drugs, their effects, symptoms, treatment, and even prevention so people can become more familiar with the subject.

  • Long-term Drug and Alcohol treatment

    Nick Hayes
    5 Feb 2010 | 8:17 am
    It is important that every patient is treated as unique, and the treatment should be unique, too. In addiction treatment there is no single treatment available for all addicted persons. Hence, there is no such thing as a standard drug or alcohol rehab program. There are counsellors who take care of the patient; they understand his or her condition, and then decide what kind of treatment they should undergo. This method is being introduced in all rehabilitation centers. There is a wide range of addiction treatments around, which may be either traditional or non traditional.

  • Families of Drug Addicts

    Nick Hayes
    4 Feb 2010 | 7:37 am
    Families of drug addicts are affected just as much as the addicts themselves. Their lives are changed. They are affected financially, emotionally, and sometimes physically. Drugs are selfish bullies that want to be the center of everything in a person's life and the center of their families lives as well.

  • Alcoholism and Medication: A Dangerous Combination

    Doug McGarry
    3 Feb 2010 | 10:35 am
    Often times when an alcoholic begins to seek treatment for his alcoholism he will see his family doctor, most medical doctors will begin treatment with a few different prescriptions for depression and anxiety. This is a normal practice because the symptoms of alcoholism mirror emotional disorders. This is a very dangerous path to follow for an alcoholic; the addiction to alcohol ensures that the alcoholic will quickly become addicted to pharmacologically similar drugs, this is a process called “cross addiction” and it happens to many alcoholics.

  • 10 Reasons to Get off Drugs

    Nick Hayes
    3 Feb 2010 | 7:32 am
    There are many reasons why people should get off drugs. I am going to share with you only ten reasons but please keep in mind that the reasoning for getting off drugs can vary according to your particular situation. The ten reasons I’m going to share with you are obvious-commonsense reasons why you should get off drugs.
 
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    Sara Bellum Blog

  • Let's Talk: SBB Wants Your Feedback- First Impressions

    admin
    4 Feb 2010 | 9:14 am
    Image Courtesy of Lesley Mitchell Thanks to all the SBB readers who are leaving comments and asking questions on the Sara Bellum blog. It’s time for Question #4-let us know what you think. Question #4: So, we’re curious…how would you describe the Sara Bellum blog to a friend?  To answer the question, you can either submit a comment by writing your response in the “Leave a Reply” box below, or send us a message. As always, we will read all comments and consider all feedback. The following month, check back with the SBB to see how we’ve addressed your…

  • Word of the Day: Disease

    admin
    2 Feb 2010 | 2:39 pm
    This picture is showing us an inside view of the brain from the top down. It compares healthy brain activity (left side, with all the red areas) with diminished brain activity in a drug user (right side). What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word disease?  You might think of cancer, diabetes, or epilepsy.  But do you think of drug abuse? Probably not. But, for some people, drug abuse can lead to a disease called addiction. A disease is when something in the body doesn’t work like it’s supposed to-an organ or a whole system has something wrong with it…

  • Word of the Day: Relapse

    admin
    26 Jan 2010 | 12:20 pm
    Relapse… If you keep up with the SBB you know by now that addiction is a chronic (long-lasting) disease that takes hold in some people who abuse drugs. You may also know that some people can quit their drug use. But often a person will return to using drugs after they have quit. This is what NIDA Scientists call a relapse. Why does it happen?  Addiction changes the wiring of the brain to cause uncontrollable craving and compulsive drug use–despite the consequences. For someone with an addiction, going without the drug for periods of time can make that person feel so anxious and…

  • So... Why Do People Like Drugs?

    admin
    19 Jan 2010 | 1:42 pm
    Is there something magical about drugs and alcohol with us humans?  So what’s our fascination and why do some of us like them so much?!  Actually, before we try and answer that one, let me just say: we are not alone.  Some of the drugs we use, abuse, and become addicted to today were actually “discovered” by animals first.  For example, you know why we have coffee today?  Well, the “legend of the dancing goats” says that coffee beans were first discovered in a field in Ethiopia by a goat herder who noticed that his goats were acting weird sometimes, running…

  • Meth Mouth and Crank Bugs: Meth-a-morphosis

    admin
    11 Jan 2010 | 8:13 am
    The SBB has already told you about some of the nasty effects that methamphetamine can have on the body-remember that post about how scavengers won’t even eat the dead bodies of meth users? Not only can meth mess up your body’s chemical structure and even cause problems with your heart and lungs, it also changes your appearance and behavior. Soon, meth users might not even look or act like themselves. Bad news for teeth and skin.  Ever heard of “meth mouth?” It isn’t pretty.  Meth reduces the amount of protective saliva around the teeth.  People who use the…
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    The Sara Bellum Blog

  • Let's Talk: SBB Wants Your Feedback- First Impressions

    admin
    4 Feb 2010 | 9:14 am
    Image Courtesy of Lesley Mitchell Thanks to all the SBB readers who are leaving comments and asking questions on the Sara Bellum blog. It’s time for Question #4-let us know what you think. Question #4: So, we’re curious…how would you describe the Sara Bellum blog to a friend?  To answer the question, you can either submit a comment by writing your response in the “Leave a Reply” box below, or send us a message. As always, we will read all comments and consider all feedback. The following month, check back with the SBB to see how we’ve addressed your…

  • Word of the Day: Disease

    admin
    2 Feb 2010 | 2:39 pm
    This picture is showing us an inside view of the brain from the top down. It compares healthy brain activity (left side, with all the red areas) with diminished brain activity in a drug user (right side). What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word disease?  You might think of cancer, diabetes, or epilepsy.  But do you think of drug abuse? Probably not. But, for some people, drug abuse can lead to a disease called addiction. A disease is when something in the body doesn’t work like it’s supposed to-an organ or a whole system has something wrong with it…

  • Word of the Day: Relapse

    admin
    26 Jan 2010 | 12:20 pm
    Relapse… If you keep up with the SBB you know by now that addiction is a chronic (long-lasting) disease that takes hold in some people who abuse drugs. You may also know that some people can quit their drug use. But often a person will return to using drugs after they have quit. This is what NIDA Scientists call a relapse. Why does it happen?  Addiction changes the wiring of the brain to cause uncontrollable craving and compulsive drug use–despite the consequences. For someone with an addiction, going without the drug for periods of time can make that person feel so anxious and…

  • So... Why Do People Like Drugs?

    admin
    19 Jan 2010 | 1:42 pm
    Is there something magical about drugs and alcohol with us humans?  So what’s our fascination and why do some of us like them so much?!  Actually, before we try and answer that one, let me just say: we are not alone.  Some of the drugs we use, abuse, and become addicted to today were actually “discovered” by animals first.  For example, you know why we have coffee today?  Well, the “legend of the dancing goats” says that coffee beans were first discovered in a field in Ethiopia by a goat herder who noticed that his goats were acting weird sometimes, running…

  • Meth Mouth and Crank Bugs: Meth-a-morphosis

    admin
    11 Jan 2010 | 8:13 am
    The SBB has already told you about some of the nasty effects that methamphetamine can have on the body-remember that post about how scavengers won’t even eat the dead bodies of meth users? Not only can meth mess up your body’s chemical structure and even cause problems with your heart and lungs, it also changes your appearance and behavior. Soon, meth users might not even look or act like themselves. Bad news for teeth and skin.  Ever heard of “meth mouth?” It isn’t pretty.  Meth reduces the amount of protective saliva around the teeth.  People who use the…
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    Treatment Solutions Network Addiction Treatment Articles

  • Heroin Addiction and Rehab

    Bethany Winkel
    8 Feb 2010 | 8:19 pm
    When it comes to illicit drugs, heroin is about as bad as it gets. It is highly addictive, widespread, and ruins or even ends many lives every year. Heroin often is used by the hardest and most experienced of drug users, and many people’s mental picture of a heroin addict involves a homeless person, begging for money or stealing to support their habit, and so trashed that they can’t even talk. But heroin addiction often happens to other, seemingly unlikely people as well, and it grips them just as hard as anyone. A new trend in high school students from the suburbs is to do heroin. Even…

  • Marchman Act Florida

    Bethany Winkel
    5 Feb 2010 | 6:42 am
    Many people that watch loved ones go through substance abuse feel helpless. They may see the damage that is caused in their lives, and possibly the person is committing physical harm to themselves or to others. The big step comes when a loved one confronts the addicted person about getting help for their problem. Sometimes the talk or intervention will bring the person to their senses and they will voluntarily enter treatment for the substance abuse. But the feelings of devastation come right back when the confronted individual refuses to seek treatment. It is at these times that families can…

  • Energy Drink Addiction

    Bethany Winkel
    4 Feb 2010 | 5:46 am
    Don’t we all need a pick-me-up at times? When the day has been tough, relationships fail, work and money aren’t what they should be, or we still need to make it through another shift at work. Some people turn to drugs, alcohol, gambling, or other addictions. Others turn to energy drinks. More and more Americans are using energy drinks to get them going, and to pick them up when they need a little extra help. While energy drinks do not seem to be as addicting or harmful as drugs or alcohol, they too can be abused, and the trend these days is for people to begin relying on them, or becoming…

  • Children and Prescription Drugs

    Bethany Winkel
    2 Feb 2010 | 10:07 am
    Prescription medication can manage many serious medical and mental illnesses. But if not handled properly, it can also be the cause of just as many and more problems because of side effects, misuse and abuse, and addiction. Unfortunately, children are often the ones who suffer the long-term consequences from prescription drugs. Mental Illness and Mental Disorders Many children today are prescribed drugs for mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and autism. For many of these children with severe mental illness, the drugs are a necessity for them to get through the day, even…

  • PTSD – Do Something!

    Jim Bevell
    1 Feb 2010 | 1:18 pm
    As we all sit back and watch the various layers of the U.S. war effort unfold, it is hard enough for us to conceptually grasp the level of loss and violent despair unfolding each minute for our troops in the middle east. Even for family members of soldiers, who risk their lives daily, they may have a different perspective on the madness, but nothing can or will ever compare to the horror each individual soldier experiences. The reason I bring this up is to shed a little light on a situation we are all facing that is certain to explode like a hidden IED, tripped by an unsuspecting soldier.
 
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    Drug Addiction Stories

  • Nora’s Choice

    Julaine Newton
    7 Feb 2010 | 2:47 am
    I sat there with the other inmates and watched her walk out the door. People come and go when you are in the tank. I had been here myself this time about seven or eight weeks. I had heard all of the stories, nothing was ever anyone’s fault. I certainly played the blame game myself, having been an LVN and losing my license and control of my life to my addiction to heroin.  She was different, though. She was actually a few years older than me. She did not blame society, other people or anyone but herself for what she had done. Her name was Nora and she also held her head high, saying she…

  • The Ups and Downs of Mother Nature

    Julaine Newton
    4 Feb 2010 | 5:10 pm
    I had forgotten this feeling. One of freedom and euphoria without drugs. A feeling of remembering every part of the day and evening without blackouts associated with it. My experience with drugs is parallel to the ups and downs of Mother Nature. I had been a pretty normal teenager. Stayed out of trouble, decent grades in high school and enjoying extra curricular activities such as sports and drama club. Then I got into the college of my dreams but at the same time, my dad died. Suddenly I was facing financial problems because my mom was barely getting by with two more kids left at home. There…

  • Washed Out to Sea

    Julaine Newton
    3 Feb 2010 | 1:20 pm
    Valentine’s Day is coming soon. As I walk along the beach, I think about her. I loved her more than I had ever thought it possible to love anyone. She was my soulmate or so I thought. As much as I loved her, though, she loved heroin more. We were in our mid-twenties when we met, both working second jobs at a pizza place after our regular jobs. She was a single mom, I was a guy with a dream. I wanted to own my own home, meet a great lady and raise a family. I thought with her I had it all. I came to realize she did not have custody of her daughter. I found out she had been in trouble in…

  • Friends Like Me

    Julaine Newton
    2 Feb 2010 | 7:37 pm
    My parents like to use the excuse that I do drugs because I am a homosexual. That is not true. I have known since I was fourteen that I was “gay” when I was more attracted to boys than I was girls. I did not get into drugs until my junior year. It had nothing to do with being gay, though. Truth of the matter is, it was one of my straight friends who talked me into trying it and before I knew it, I was hooked on crack. As my grades started falling and my parents figured out I was on something, they began to believe it had to do with me being gay. They even set up an intervention for me.

  • For Henry

    Julaine Newton
    1 Feb 2010 | 6:32 am
    Sometimes people on drugs feel like they are all alone. Sometimes it is paranoia. Sometimes it is the truth, whether the drugs did it or the loneliness led to the drugs or whatever. I know because I am one of those people. No family, no close friends. I got deeper and deeper into my heroin and alcohol and could have easily ended up dead if it had not been for someone who totally depended on me. The truth is, I think he saved my life just as much as I saved his.  Do you change the channel during commercials? I do, too, most of the time. One night, however, the remote control was just out of…
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    Beat the Monster

  • GO MOM!

    Coach Bay
    25 Jan 2010 | 4:00 am
    It was my first year as a management trainee at Maersk in Denmark. It was 1989. My mom and I had decided to join a 4 days survival course, which was run by former soldiers from the Danish special forces. At the time, my mom and I got ourselves into different challenges, and we had done sky diving the previous year. The first day was a lovely sunny day and the group met in nice spot in the Western part of Denmark. We were told that for the next 4 days and we had to carry our own stuff. We now had to decide individually how much we would bring. We were given a backpack and other team items to…

  • Are you a LOSER?

    Coach Bay
    13 Jan 2010 | 3:34 am
    What’s going on people? The number of overweight or obese people in the USA is around 66% according to official statistics. The nation is suffering from the wrong diet and not enough exercise, and it is not only the USA. Seriously, the ‘fat movement’ seems to be turning into a global epidemic. Both children and adults are entertaining the junk food monster while turning into couch potatoes. Last week CNN’s Larry King interviewed featured trainers and participants from the popular American TV show the Biggest Loser. The show has been a huge success with obese…

  • Why 30 Days?

    Coach Bay
    6 Jan 2010 | 6:03 am
    Why is the POWER challenge 30 days? Why not 15 or 45 days? Does it really take 30 days to beat the monster and bust a bad habit? In 1960, Dr. Maxwell Maltz wrote the book Psycho-Cybernetics, which was one of the very first self-help books and it turned into a classic. Dr. Maltz was a plastic surgeon, and his experience showed that it took around 21 days for a patient to become used to his or her new identity. He did not apply a very scientific approach but the 21 days has since become the golden rule for habit changes. “Habit is something you can do without thinking, which is why most…

  • The R in POWER

    Coach Bay
    29 Dec 2009 | 3:52 am
    This is the fifth and last post in a series of 5 introducing the POWER framework. The last letter in POWER is R, which is Reinforce. When we start to change and beat the monster, each step is important. We are doing things that are often new to us or things we haven’t done in a long time. It can be uncomfortable, scary and it is hard work! You are not going to make it through the 30 days just running on will power and discipline. To support and sustain your change, it is paramount to reinforce the change and the new behaviors at regular intervals. The reinforcement will help you stay…

  • The E in POWER

    Coach Bay
    19 Dec 2009 | 6:54 pm
    This is the fourth post in a series of 5 introducing the POWER framework. It is time for the E, which stands for Engage and it is all about PEOPLE! Success is a team sport, and you will accomplish so much more when you are supported by someone else. Many people think they can beat the monster without support, and they fail! And for the male readers, asking for help is not a sign of weakness! The paradox is that many people do not want to ask for help as they believe it makes them look weak or they might be rejected. However, when asked, most people would be more than happy to help. Explain…
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