Drug Addiction - The Hard Truths
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Those who struggle with drug addiction don't set out to destroy themselves and everyone and everything in their path--rather, these disastrous consequences are the effect of the vicious cycle of addiction. For many, drugs seem to be a means of averting emotional and/or physical pain by providing the user with a temporary and illusionary escape from or way to cope with life's realities. In fact, more problems--often life-shattering ones--are created by using drugs.
Addiction is more than an uncontrollable desire for substances; it is an underlying behavior pattern with deeply emotional roots. Successful treatment requires digging down and revealing the long-ingrained pattern at the root level. What's often revealed is behavior born of anger, helplessness, and shame, compounded by intense desires for immediate escape from these unsettling feelings.
Have you begun to worry about how much you-or someone close to you-is drinking or drugging? Excessive drinking or drugging can harm your health and your well being. But how much drinking or drugging is too much? And how can you tell when it's become a problem that needs to be addressed?
"Raves" or all-night dance parties continue to attract teens and young adults who may think Ecstasy, GHB, Rohypnol, and other club drugs are harmless. While researchers continue to study club drugs with a sense of urgency, treatment and prevention strategies are being developed. The bottom line is simple: even experimenting with club drugs is an unpredictable and dangerous thing to do.
The developmental stages of drug involvement and addiction are not necessarily identical for men and women. The path to drug abuse can be more rapid and complex for women and typically includes a pattern of breakdowns in individual, familial, and environmental protective factors and an increase in childhood fears, anxieties, phobias, and failed relationships.
Results of a recent nationwide survey reveal that, while millions of Americans habitually smoke pot, drink alcohol, use cocaine and swallow prescription drugs, too many who meet the criteria for needing treatment do not recognize that they have a problem. The figure of those "in denial" is estimated at more than 4.6 million--a significantly higher number of individuals who could benefit from professional help than had previously been thought.
Methamphetamine--known by such slang names as speed, meth, chalk, ice, crystal, crank, glass, and uppers--is a highly addictive and ultimately dangerous stimulant. Whatever the excuse to use meth, or whatever the perceived short-term attraction to the drug may be, meth use is predictably physically, emotionally and mentally destructive.
A Cognitive-Behavioral approach to treating cocaine addiction attempts to help patients recognize, avoid, and cope. That is, to recognize the situations in which they are most likely to use cocaine, to avoid those situations when appropriate, and to cope more effectively with a range of problems and problematic behaviors associated with substance abuse.
Marijuana has adverse effects on the brain, heart, and lungs--and mounting evidence also suggests a correlation between marijuana use and depression. The question experts on all sides want answered is, which came first? Marijuana use or depression? Do depressed teens smoke pot to relieve their symptoms, or does smoking pot actually cause depression?
Selecting a drug rehab for yourself or someone you care about may be one of the most important decisions you will make in your lifetime. Most of us don't know what to look for in a quality program. Not all drug rehab centers are the same--they differ greatly in program options, staff qualifications, credentials, cost, and effectiveness.
Diversion and abuse of the prescription pain reliever OxyContin has become a major problem. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reports that, in the United States, oxycodone products, including OxyContin, are frequently abused pharmaceuticals.
A recent survey of teens conducted by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse found that one in four questioned said they had a friend or class mate whom they knew had used Ecstasy, and 17% said they knew more than one user. Often referred to as this decade's version of LSD, Ecstasy is, according to some of its users "the hottest drug going now." It's also one of the deadliest.
A new survey estimates that as many as three-fourths of American adults think they know enough about how drinking affects their blood alcohol levels, while in fact, most don't even know the legal limits in their own state. The Century Council, a group backed by major distillers, is campaigning to better educate the public about those limits and how much you have to drink to exceed them.
Researchers say that drugs may create "extreme" memories by overstimulating the brain's dopamine system. When drugs cause an overabundance of dopamine it may cause the brain to "overlearn," creating a memory of drugs as "good."
The word "cocaine" refers to the drug in both a powder (cocaine) and crystal (crack) form. It is made from the coca plant and causes a short-lived high that is immediately followed by opposite, intense feelings of depression, edginess, and a craving for more of the drug. Using cocaine has dangerous emotional and physical effects that can prove to destructive to all aspects of a person's life--and can even be fatal
According to a new survey released July 18, 2006 by the National Association of Counties (NACo), county law enforcement officials across 44 states reported that methamphetamine remains the number one drug problem in their county.
Call 1-877-212-2070 today to speak with a Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor.