Addiction Treatment
Posted under Recovery
Ditched Is No Reason to Relapse
What a raw deal you got; is that what you’re telling yourself? You went through treatment for drug or alcohol abuse only to come home and find out that your spouse or partner dumped you? Well, that is a pretty rough situation, it’s true. No one likes to be ditched. But it’s no reason to throw your recovery away and dip into the sauce. Don’t let getting the gate tempt you to relapse.
Posted under Recovery
Failure to Launch: What To Do When Your Recovery Stalls
What happens when you’re all jazzed up, coming out of treatment for substance abuse or process addictions, maybe co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorder, and you just can’t seem to get it going? It isn’t that you’re doing anything wrong. It just seems as though you’re stuck in neutral – not going backward, but not moving forward, either. In a way, it’s like a failure to launch. Not to worry. Here’s what to do when your recovery stalls.
Posted under Recovery
How to Avoid Feeling Stagnated in Recovery
“Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation…even so does inaction sap the vigor from the mind.” – Leonardo da Vinci, Italian scientist, inventor, and artist, painter of the Mona Lisa (1452-1519)
Posted under Intervention
Technology Offers Help for Painkiller Abuse
The abuse of painkillers does not always start out with the user intending to develop an addiction to the medication. Users often start out as legitimate users who seek painkillers to ease pain after surgery or other injury. As the medication is often highly addictive, dependence can quickly develop.
Posted under Addiction Treatment
Changes to Psychiatric Manual Will Change How We Look at Addiction
Dr. Charles O’Brien is professor of psychiatry who has tried for years to change how others in his profession think about and define addiction and substance abuse. As chairperson of the American Psychiatric Association’s Substance-Related Disorders Work Group, Dr. O’Brien’s way of thinking may finally win out. He is fighting for profound changes in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) due to be published in 2013. If his views prevail (and it looks as if they will), the way doctors define and diagnose drug addiction and the way society perceives this problem will change.
Posted under Addiction Treatment
Substance Abuse Treatment Admission Rates Increase Across U.S.
According to a new report by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), admissions for alcohol abuse treatment have remained the same in parts of the South and the Midwest, whereas they have dropped elsewhere in the United States. However, admission rates for illegal drugs are increasing across the United States, especially for marijuana abuse.
Posted under Addiction Treatment
Study Finds Link Between Spirituality and Increased Recovery Rates
Research has shown that 12-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) can be very helpful for people in recovery from alcohol or drug addiction. Many of these programs focus on the importance of spirituality, but some have contested the effectiveness of the spiritual aspect of these programs. A new study, however, has found that increased attendance to AA meetings is associated with an increased level of spirituality, especially among those who reported low spirituality at the beginning of the study.
Posted under Recovery
Chemically Dependent Anonymous
While hundreds of addiction recovery groups exist, one focuses on the actual nature and disease of addiction rather than a specific addictive behavior. Called Chemically Dependent Anonymous, or CDA, members do not single out addiction problems to one particular drug, but instead strive to help one another overcome addiction as a whole.
Posted under Addiction Treatment
Cessation Programs Ended Too Quickly Can Easily Fail
Believe it or not; the length of treatment in any addiction situation can determine whether or not that addiction can be overcome. The drug or alcohol addict who seeks treatment on a short-term basis may not be as successful as the addict who pursues ongoing treatments.
Posted under Addiction Treatment
Clinical Trials and Substance Abuse or Dependence: Are They Right for You?
Whatever the problem or issue, one thing you can always count on is there will always be people looking for the quick fix, the instant cure, the one-size-fits-all remedy. This applies to the bad economy, a failing marriage, miserable job prospects or outlook, kids failing in school – and substance abuse or dependence. After the rosy glimmer of hope fades from such an unlikely scenario, however, it’s time to get down to basics and attack the problem or issue head-on. There simply is no short-cut in life, and definitely not when it comes to overcoming abuse or dependence on alcohol, illicit or prescription drugs – even process addictions like compulsive gambling, work, or sex. Continue Reading
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The Addiction Primer
Everything you need to know to help a loved one struggling with addiction, from the writers and editors of Everything Addiction.
