Archive for the ‘Addictions’ Category
Stopping Drug Abuse and Addiction
A lot of different factors cause drug abuse to rise and fall but if young people get the message that drugs are dangerous, they are less likely to use them. That is why an effort needs to be made to get young people to see the dangers of drug abuse and addiction. Parents, teachers, and doctors all need to work together to help prevent drug abuse and addiction by teaching young people the possible consequences.
Effects of Drug Abuse and Addiction
Drugs contain chemicals that affect the brain’s ability to communicate with the rest of the body and to process data that comes into the brain. Drugs do this in a two different ways: by mimicking the chemicals the brain creates naturally and by causing excess production of the reward chemicals in the brain.
Marijuana and heroin are drugs that are made up of chemicals that are a lot like the neurotransmitters in the brain that send messages to the body. When you use these drugs, the chemicals they contain trick the nerve cells and receptors in the brain into releasing excess brain chemicals, which results in a unusual message being sent or the chemicals can prevent any messages from being sent at all. Cocaine and methamphetamine also affect the amount of neurotransmitter that is released and that causes the neurons to fire without stopping.
Drugs of all kinds have some effect on the brain’s so-called reward system, which means they increase the amount of dopamine that is released. Dopamine is normally released naturally and makes you feel good. Too much dopamine production causes unusual thoughts and behavior as people feel euphoric. People then come to rely on the drugs to get those feelings of euphoria, which is what causes drug abuse and addiction.
The brain cannot produce the normal amount of dopamine when you are using drugs so without the drugs, you don’t feel those good feelings like you normally would. People who abuse drugs keep taking more and more to try to feel good. This explains drug abuse and addiction.
When people suffer from drug abuse and addiction for a long time, their entire brain is affected. Neurotransmitters like glutamate, which is part of the reward system and helps you learn, can be altered and weakened when there is drug abuse. The brain then cannot function and the person can be cognitively impaired.
Drug abuse and addiction cause conditioned learning, which means an addict will crave the drugs when he is in a situation that is associated with drug use. When you look at the brain of someone who has abused drugs, you will see that his brain doesn’t function well in areas that help him make good judgments, good decisions, learn things, and remember things. He also has trouble controlling his behavior. All these result in even worse drug abuse and addiction over time if nothing is done to stop it.
New ?Elixir? Claims Success in Treating Cocaine Addiction
NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkaw said, “The results of this study represent a promising step toward an effective medical treatment for cocaine addiction.”
Many experienced drug rehab professionals are not so enthused about the prospect of a new wonder drug that will treat cocaine addiction with any success. “It is just history repeating itself in regard to drug addiction,” said Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor for the Narconon Arrowhead residential drug rehabilitation program, Rebecca Pool, C.A.D.C.. “In the 1800’s heroin was invented and promoted to treat morphine and opium addiction. Morphine addicts became heroin addicts. Methadone, developed by the Nazi’s during World War II, was promoted as a cure to treat heroin addiction in the early 1970’s. Subsequently heroin addicts became methadone addicts. Then came suboxone to treat methadone addiction leading to methadone users getting hooked on suboxone and so the story goes. Developing new drugs to treat drug addiction has not worked, history tells us that.”
It is well known that a large portion of the addiction treatment industry has settled on substitute medications as a means to prevent addicts from falling back into their unhealthy lifestyle. According to Narconon’s Pool, “The problem with this approach is that it does not help the individual discover and deal with the initial problems that lead them in the direction of drug addiction in the first place. Here at Narconon we have found that the solution to solving addiction is to help the person rehabilitate themselves as opposed to ‘treating’the symptoms of drug addiction for an indefinite and ongoing period of time.”
The Narconon Arrowhead rehabilitation program uses a thorough detoxification program followed by counseling and life skills training to bring about recovery from addiction. One drug is not replaced by another so when a person completes the program they are completely drug-free. The length of the program varies from person to person but on average takes three to five months. Seventy percent of Narconon program graduates go on to live drug-free lives.
If someone you know is struggling with an addiction to drugs or alcohol and you want to help them achieve lasting recovery, call Narconon Arrowhead today.
Addiction: A Different Approach
Addiction: A Different Approach
Research indicates that 90 – 95% of individuals who enter a drug or alcohol treatment program will relapse. With such low success rates, something is obviously wrong with our healthcare systems. Something has to be missing! I believe two reasons exist for this phenomenon: 1) A Misunderstanding of the true nature of addiction, and the “one size fits all” approach, ignoring individualism. Secondly, I believe treatment models over-emphasize reducing the individual’s problems, and not enough on growing the individual’s spirit. I do understand the need to eliminate the problem at hand, but that’s only a small part of the situation, what about growth?
The “one size fits all” predicament says that addiction is disease. To call addiction a disease would imply that addiction is genetically inherited and that our genes determine addiction. This is completely false! There are plenty of people who become addicts and have no family history of addiction. Addiction is a learned behavior, it is that simple. Although it is true that children of alcoholics are more inclined to become alcoholics, this too is a learned behavior. Research has actually found that many children of alcoholics actually end up avoiding drinking all together due to the negative behaviors witnessed by their parents (Peele & Brodsky, 1991)
So, if addiction is a learned behavior then the question that remains is “how to unlearn” the addictive behavior. Before learning how to “unlearn” addictive behaviors, it must be recognized that addiction or any undesired behavior pattern is an attachment. Attachments have been long used by Eastern religion to describe the unhealthy desires that enslaves our minds, actions, and eventually our souls. Buddhism says that to live, means to suffer and suffering comes from attachments. In other words, we live our whole lives seeking a state of peace and happiness through objects of our desires; food, relationships, money, etc, yet nothing ever seems to be enough. The more we get, the more we want, and on and on the cycle goes. It is the same theory Christianity tells us in the story of Adam and Eve in the Bible. It was Eve’s desire for the forbidden fruit that opened the door for temptation and sin.
Once an addiction takes control of mind, it becomes a cat and mouse race to bring back that same feeling that drugs once did, but instead it just becomes one painful illusion. At this point, only two things can happen: let go of that attachment, or keep chasing the illusion (Lozoff, 2007) . The first step in breaking free from this illusion is to develop self-awareness and mindfulness. In life, most people tend to take the path of least resistence. People who practice mindfulness choose the path of intention. They live their lives based on what feels right, rather than what feels easiest (Lozoff, 2007). People who develop self-awareness and mindfulness have a deep sense of understanding, they flow through life with a certain momentum that always seems to be right on.
The reality is that desire is a natural a part of human nature; everyone desires to achieve a state of well being and a sense of comfort and joy. For the addict, this state of wellbeing is found in substance use. This is the same feeling that athletes call “the zone” or the way musicians and dancers get lost in their performance. It is the same state of mind that religious people find in deep prayer or spiritual people find in meditation. The difference between the addict and the athlete, artist, etc. is freedom. Addictions are attachments that lack freedom; they are compulsions that can take over one’s life.
When we begin to let go of attachments, more room for spiritual growth opens up. This leads me to the second problem in many treatment programs. Living with mindfulness requires living in the present moment. Lozoff (2007) describes this as “ if we’re not trying to hold on to the past, and jockeying into a positive future, then we finally belong in the world as it exists in the present moment, the eternal now” (p. 18). Too many treatment programs focus on what went wrong in the past and what will go wrong in the future if one begins using again, rather than focusing on what is going on in the “now”. Addicts, for the most part, are so far into their addiction, that the reasons and causes don’t even matter anymore because it has become a cycle of one thing after the other. I realize that the consequences of relapsing are important as well, but again, most addicts already know the consequences of their addictions. Treatment programs have to concentrate more on building the individual back up to feeling human again.
Recovery is about change, and change happens in small, positive steps. We have learned from the false promises of the weight loss industry that quick fix diets do not work! Lasting weight loss comes from lifestyle changes, which happens gradually. As with weight-loss, recovery is a process. It doesn’t usually happen overnight, the road to recovery is a journey, which requires determination, patience, and most importantly, the will. Change is influenced by core values and determining how addiction inhibit these values. Change also happens when our strengths overbear our weaknesses. These strengths, such as relationships, work involvement, and activities and interests, are the basis of overcoming addiction (Peele & Brodsky, 1991). Finally, in order for change to happen, realism must be acknowledged. Going back to weight-loss trends, unrealistic goals (this diet will make me lose 10 lbs in a week) set people up for failure. The same holds true in the essence of addiction. For example, a major controversy that has begun to rise is the idea of modification, and if it is more successful than abstinence? Although modification has been highly looked down upon by treatment centers, the truth is, abstinence, like diets can set people up for failure. According to Peele & Brodsky (1991), believing that abstinence is the only way is more likely to cause a person to binge. The realistic effort in changing addictive behaviors is to use modest, achievable goals (Peele & Brodsky, 1991). Focusing on individual strengths and accomplishing realistic goals will overpower the addiction. Addicts do not have to admit to being powerless over their addictions, which does not promote self-efficacy.
Once we have established self-awareness and lifestyle changes have begun to surface, we become more balanced. Balance according the to the eight-limb path of yoga is when we are in harmony with our mind, body and spirit. When the mind, body, and spirit are balanced, magical things begin to happen. Addiction will no longer be the focus of attention; core values will become more important. Eastern religions, such as, Buddhism and Hinduism have been increasingly making their way into the Western culture, because they place high value in enhancing spiritual growth and balance. Our Western culture has missed out on the value of balance.
Yoga is the study of balance. Many people in our society think of yoga as being a kind of exercise program, but in actuality there are eight aspects, known as the eight-limb path. In yoga, this is the path to freedom; it is the core essence of living a meaningful and fulfilled life.
The first two paths are intended to bring us into the right relationship with our spiritual selves. The Yamas, are five moral restraints. Similar to the Ten Commandments found in Christianity or the eight-fold path in Buddhism, these five moral restraints are the “rules” to live by. The Niyamas consist of five observances. These observances are “the fundamental practices that sustain a life based on love” (Gates & Kenison, 2002, p. 83). The Niyamas are spiritual practices that promote well-being.
The third and fourth limbs of this spiritual path are asana and pranayama. . The asanas are the physical aspect of yoga. It is this aspect that most people believe will increase flexibility, and give us a body like Madonna. From a spiritual perspective, it is the physical activity that plays the key role in making the mind -body connection. Similar to what Apostle Paul tells us in the Holy Bible “your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, who you have received through God; you are not your own” 1 Corinthians 6:19. So, is true in Yoga. Through the postures we move through layers of stored memory, we discover the grief and pain that have buried deep into our own bodies (Gates & Kenison, 2002). Pranayama is the link that connects the physical body with the contemplative mind. Pranayama in yoga is the breath, known as the life force. In yoga, many different techniques are used to manipulate breath control. Some techniques calm the mind, others stimulate the mind. Pranayama creates a pulse of energy that induces our well being. It is the same energy that Asian philosophies call Chi, Christianity calls Holy Spirit, athletes call “runner’s high, science calls higher intelligence, and the addict calls high, stoned, or drunk.
The next two limbs are pratyahara and dharana. These two paths are the foundation of self-awareness. Pratyahara means “turning inward”. It is through pratyahara that self-discovery develops. In Taoism, a great amount of emphasis is placed on “inner strength”; it is this inner strength that comes from pratyahara. Dharana, the second principle to awareness is about concentration. Gates& Kenison (2002) say dharana is “not something you do, it is something that happens, and it is the result of surrendering to love” (p. 355). Dharana is about stillness, it is about being fully present, which translates into being fully alive.
Dhyana and Samadhi are the final limbs of the eight limb path. The final two limbs are about surrendering. Dhyana means meditation and through meditation comes mindfulness. As stated earlier, everyone yearns for this state of mind; athletes, artists, and performers know about this state of mind through their devotion and dedication. It is this realm of energy that truly spiritual people will feel in their practice. Dhyana leads to the final phase of the yogic spiritual path known as Samadhi, which means surrender to God. It is what Buddhism calls Enlightment. It is what the late John Newton wrote about in the popular Christian hymn Amazing Grace: “I was once lost, but now I am found, was blind, but now I see”. Samadhi is nothing that is forced upon; it is what happens naturally when one finds their own spiritual path. It is here when we can finally move through the dance of life with rhythm and flow. This is what grace is.
In closing, I think the most essential aspect to the road to recovery is beginning the journey. I believe spirituality is not only true in addiction, but in life itself. Many of the problems that exist in mental health are what Lozoff (2007) calls “spiritually clumsy…wisdom and joy come only when learning how to see a wider, more wondrous would; the power comes only from the Spirit within” (p. 3). I admire groups such as AA/NA for incorporating spirituality into recovery, however, I still think AA puts too much emphasis on the addiction itself. I do not think that an addict has to live with the label “I am an addict” for the rest of their life. I also believe that most alcoholics can learn to manage their alcohol problem without abstinence. If the true goal is abstinence, than it will happen with spiritual growth; it can’t be coerced, or manipulated, it is a natural process. Just how addiction becomes engraved through repeated patterns, so can it be set free through repeated patterns of mindfulness. Once new ways of well-being is established, old habits will be replaced by a joyful way of life.
Is Sex Addiction Real?
Is Sex Addiction Real?
Unlike for alcohol or drug addiction, there is no formal diagnosis for Sex Addiction in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic Statistic Manual (DSM IV). According to Chester Schmidt, chair of the DSM-IV Sexual Disorder Work Group, there is “no scientific data to support a concept of sexual behavior that can be considered addictive. (1)” Schmidt believed that what is called sex addiction is more likely a symptom of other psychological problems like depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or bipolar disorder.
According to Benoit Denizet-Lewis (2), “Believers in a sex-addiction diagnosis point out that for many years, doctors and psychiatrists similarly dismissed alcoholism, refusing to accept that it was a serious problem in itself, not merely a symptom of something else.” Many of practitioners in the sexual addiction field are hopeful that the DSM V, which is due out in 2012, will include expanded diagnostic choices for process addictions, including sex, gambling, spending, eating, and/or religion addictions. According to Elizabeth Hartney, “a working group of professionals has recently suggested diagnostic criteria which may be considered for the next edition of the manual, due to be published in 2012.”
According to John M. Grohol, Psy.D. (3) “What is both amazing and a little disturbing, however, is to see entire professional societies, such as the Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health, spring up around a disorder that isn’t even officially recognized as such. And despite no clinical agreed-upon criteria for sex addiction, the Society estimates that 3 to 5% of Americans have it.” According to the Mayo clinic, sex addiction is estimated to affect 3 to 6 percent of adults in the United States.
Because sex is a part of normal human functioning, it is difficult and at times a scientific challenge to compare sexual addictions to chemical addictions. Both “normal” or pathological (addictive) sexual patters are open to diverse and often controversial definitions. Clearly, factors such as personality, psychopathology, gender differences, sexual preferences, cultural differences, socio-economic status, and other “filters” have made a clear consensus for a definition of sexual addiction that much more challenging. Making matters even more complicated is the fact that topic of sexual deviance and/or sexual pathology remains as one of the most taboo topic in our society. Individuals with a sexual addiction are often the subject of ridicule and harsh judgment, whereas others suffering from drug/alcohol or other more accepted process addictions, ie gambling, spending, elicit more social acceptance.
Another ironic twist is that the co-founder Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill Wilson, was considered a sex addict. According to biographers and Alcohol Anonymous historians, Bill Wilson not only was an alcoholic, but was also a sex addict. Wilson was flirtatious, had multiple affairs, and according to biographer, Susan Cheever (4), “had an inability to regulate his behavior with women” and was “often accused of groping and unwelcome fondling,” However, he was married to the same woman for 53 years.
Until sex addiction is formally included in the DSM V, we currently derive a “diagnosis” through assessments protocols specifically designed for this addiction. Such protocols are provided by specially trained qualified mental health practitioners. Clinicians, such as myself, utilize uniquely designed instruments that are designed to collect relevant information necessary for a diagnostic conclusion. Information collected during the assessment includes: sexual history, drug/alcohol history, psychosocial assessment, mental health history, and other relevant information. Additionally, an assessment involves interviews with the client, affected partners, i.e. spouse or partner, and if possible, mental health providers who have or who are providing services to person being evaluated.
According to data collected by Patrick Carnes, many sex addicts also have other addictions. For example, in Carnes’ research, of the individuals who were diagnosed with a sex addiction, 42% were chemically dependent, 38% had an eating disorder, 28% were compulsive workers (workaholics), 26% were compulsive spenders, and 5% were compulsive gamblers. Ruling out cross addictions is an important component of the assessment. Because of the high prevalence of cross addictions, the sex addiction evaluator must have a background in the general field of addictions.
When a cross addiction is present, it is important to identify which addiction requires attention first. This is crucial when it is determined that the sex addict is also addicted to a drug/alcohol. In these cases, detoxification (detoxing) of the drug may require medical services in order to ensure that the client physical health is not compromised. The experience of physical withdrawals can potentially create medical risks.
As many practitioners and sex addicts know, that despite a formal recognition of this disorder, it is indeed very real. Lets the intellectuals battle out what is and what is not a diagnosis. In the meantime, lets provide the much needed services to those who are suffering from this disorder.
Addiction Treatment Can Save Your Life
Addiction Treatment Can Save Your Life
Warning: Drug Use Is Hazardous to Your Health. You probably already knew that, but drug addiction doesn’t care. All that addiction cares about is getting high. All addiction cares about is you doing what you need to do to take the drugs that it wants you to take. Drug addiction is marijuana, addiction is crystal meth, addiction is cocaine, addiction is heroin, addiction is Percocet, Oxycontin, addiction is drugs, and if you don’t battle a drug addiction, that addiction may eventually kill you. Think that sounds harsh? How many heroin addicts do you know in their 80’s? How about their 60’s? Drugs, some may take longer to kill than others, but eventually after continuous abuse, they will kill. Although drug addiction speaks loud, your over riding sense of self preservation probably speaks louder. If it is time to end drug addiction and leave it in the past, and to live life drug free, addiction treatment is what you need to get you there.
Addiction treatment is for any person who is addicted to drugs or alcohol. It doesn’t matter the severity of the addiction or even the duration of the addiction, the right addiction treatment will have you finding sobriety. There are different types of addiction treatments that you have access to. The addiction treatments that are offered at one addiction treatment center may not be the right addiction treatment for you. Choosing the one that is best for you will only help to ensure success in recovery. You have access to a free resource like Treatment-Centers.net which is a valuable tool for locating the addiction treatment center for the best treatment possible.
Maybe you are looking for an addiction treatment center for someone else in your life. Maybe it’s your father, wife, or your daughter; maybe it is even for your boss, if you are trying to get someone you care for addiction treatment, you will find that Treatment-Centers.net can assist you in finding the care that they need to help them find recovery. You also will find resources that are valuable to you throughout the addiction treatment process as well.
If you have never dealt with addiction you may not understand or be able to empathize with the addict, not knowing what they are going through physically or psychologically makes it difficult to grasp why the addict does what he or she does. Addiction will turn an otherwise loving person into an angry, desperate person that causes chaos and confusion in your life. Drug addiction lets loose a stranger in your life, as well as the person whose life gets lost to addiction that they have a hard time controlling. Addiction by its very nature hates to be controlled. But it can be, and sobriety can be life-long. With the varying addiction treatments available, the right addiction treatment is available to your loved one. Do not hesitate to ask for help. Call 1-877-335-HOPE and get the help that can save a life.