Addiction and Recovery Articles

It is widely understood in the treatment field that addiction is a chronic brain disease, but it takes time for the associated stereotypes and stigma to fade. A common misconception is that all addicts are tragically flawed individuals who can’t hold down a job or support their families.

It goes without saying that choosing to enter treatment or a Twelve Step program presents a unique set of challenges. One that many people do not anticipate is the experience of entering a culture in which people communicate. For men especially, this can be an unfamiliar and uncomfortable experience. But this is also the beginning of the most rewarding journey they will ever take: a man’s journey through the Twelve Steps.

A frequently asked questio I hear is "What is the difference between neurofeedback and biofeedback?" The term biofeedback is a general term used to describe feedback training for the body. However, most people refer to peripheral biofeedback or EMG biofeedback as simply biofeedback. EMG biofeedback is the process of ...

I have seen first-hand how prescription drugs can improve the lives of people with mental illness. I have also seen how their use can backfire. In fact, sometimes drugs do the opposite of the intended effect. Even when prescribed correctly anti-depressants may intensify the symptoms of depression and increase suicide risk.

Cortisol and DHEA - The thing that makes you smokennPart of my research is going to be into the short term mental issues of smoking. For instance when we talk to kids about smoking we always tell them about the long term effects that may or may not take place forty or fifty years after starting smoking. As with any young person that is a lifetime away and the here and now is all they are concerned with. But what if there were evidence that after only a short period of smoking

Like any disease, there are signs or symptoms of alcoholism. Some of them is very easy to recognize whilst others are less obvious. Most of us can go out maybe once a week or just on special occasions and have a few drinks and it is no big deal. Anyone can be an alcoholic including teenagers. Alcoholism affects over 17 million Americans everyday. There is a difference between drinking or abusing alcohol and alcoholism. It is not how much a person drinks but how they let the d

*This article is excerpted from "Overcoming Prescription Drug Addiction". For more information, go to www.prescriptiondrugaddiction.comnnAccording to the Drug Abuse Warning Network, prescription drugs are among the most abused substances in the United States; these drugs are abused more than heroin and cocaine combined. Only marijuana use is more common than prescription drug abuse. nnAt the top of the list of prescription drugs being abused are benzodiazepines and painkiller

How much of my time have I spent worrying about what other people think of me? Too much is the short answer. Before recovery in Al-Anon, I had no boundaries, no sense of self, and how I felt about myself and my life was largely determined by whether or not you approved. With no internal ...

Hypno massage is a new type of massage that combines massage with hypnosis.r

*This article is excerpted from "Overcoming Prescription Drug Addiction". For more information, go to www.prescriptiondrugaddiction.com nnSedatives are drugs that depress the central nervous system and are frequently used to treat anxiety, panic disorder, or insomnia; some are also used for seizure disorders. As these drugs interact with chemicals in the brain, they cause a reduction in brain activity, and bring about the sedative effect. nnBenzodiazepines, among the most com

Dr. Jasquith says that tyranny is sometimes expression of the mate al instinct. If that's a mother's love, I want no part of it. -- Bette Davis as Charlotte Vale in "Now Voyager" The experience of having lived (or living) in trauma is probably the number one reason that brings people to psychotherapy. It is the shame we feel at who we are, how we feel and what has happened to us and why it has happened that truly brings us to seek help. We may not immediately identify our problem as the result of trauma or neglect, that label may come later with more analysis and objectivity.

Many people are deciding, for various reasons, that they should give up drinking alcohol. Tea is becoming increasingly popular as a substitute due to the natural health benefits that it provides. Like the fact that all wines come from grapes, all teas come from the Camellia Sinensis plant or a genus of this plant. There are however six different types in total- white, yellow, green, oolong, black and pu-er. These are all made from the same bush but depending on where it in th

I look back on my own life through breakups, low-self esteem and depression and can clearly say that I used alcohol as a crutch. I understand now that I learned this concept of sadness equaling alcohol from movie, tv and our culture in general. I now have accepted that stress, trauma, and depression will always be there and it's okay to have bad days as these are natural parts of life. I had trained my brain to think drinking alcohol would make me feel happy again.

Home Our Team About Usrn Services Staff Sites Addiction Services Articles Networking Trainings Location Contact The Emergence of Female Sex Addiction: Understanding Gender Differencesr Ross Rosenberg, M.Ed., LCPC, CADC Clinical Care Consultantsr Arlington Heights, IL 60004 www.ClinicalCareConsultants.comr

There is no doubt that the world is a hard place to live in today. With the job market down, real estate prices in the gutter, global warming, the war in the Middle East, and oh yeah…an economic recession looming over our heads, it’s no wonder that the majority of us are merely passing through life overworked, overstressed, and struggling just to make it through the day. Phew! When put like that it’s a miracle that we’re not all walking around like zom

Many believe that people just use drugs to get high. It turns out that there are several reasons why people start to use drugs. The first reason obviously is to experience intense pleasure: people want to feel that rush so they start to experiment with drugs to experience it. But there are other reasons as well. Many people start to use drugs because they want to feel better; they want to get rid of negative feelings – what we call negative affect – things like depression, anxiety, agitation, and anger. They use drugs to ameliorate those feelings.

Smuggling drugs in body cavities is the stuff of movies and urban legends. Countless movies, television shows, films and books have been created about this subject, and in many cases the subject matter is either glorified or made to appear comical. But while some audiences may find humor in the comical situations inserting and extracting a kilo of cocaine from a rectum, stomach cavity or vagina may entail, the fact of the matter is that the people who place these drugs in the

Cough syzurup nnFor some people, getting high is an endless experimental pursuit and in the past few years, the powerful narcotic effect of a certain kind of cough syrup was discovered. Starting in Houston and spreading from there, cough syrup containing Codeine and Promethazine was taken up as the drug of choice in certain hip hop circles - with a special slow paced style of hip hop developing along side it echoing the alleged euphoric effect it has of slowing the world down

Oh, how the ego rebels against the thought of humility. "If I'm humble, I'll be a nothing. I'll vanish! I must be distinguished, different, better than! Only by standing out will I have an identity," it screams. We in recovery have felt the stinging reprisals from our fellows when we listened to ...

There are many ways people with addictions avoid accountability. Here is the first of several articles discussing these tactics. These tactics are what addicts and alcoholics use to to take the focus off them and continue doing what their addiction wants them to do. These tactics are used by our addiction to keep us trapped and a slave to substances and behaviors that are ruining our lives. We must learn about them and how to stop using them. If you recognize something in yourself in these tactics then you can learn how to stop using them to avoid accountability.

In the last article we discussed the need to detach from the alcoholic. In this article we will discuss how to detach, what it means and how to achieve it successfully.

Often when people come to one of my alcohol awareness classes, they know that they need to stop drinking alcohol. But they don’t know exactly how they should stop. Here are some tips that you might find useful: 1. Don’t hang around people who are drinkers or who might tempt you to drink. 2. Don't go to places where you might be tempted to drink. Don't go to the tave s where you used to drink and don't hang out with people who might pressure you to drink.

Fred had a very stressful day at work. Now he's home feeling tired, tense and edgy. He wants to relax. He tries watching TV; he gets bored. He goes out for a walk; he feels lonely. He listens to music; he can't concentrate. Nothing seems to be able to relieve his stress except his old standby he's been relying on just about forever: sex. It might be masturbation with or without pornography. It might be sex with his partner or a stranger. He does it. He feels relaxed. But he

Many parents do not know until it is too late…common household products are being used by teenagers as inhalants to get a short intense euphoric high. These inhalants are as inconspicuous and inexpensive as furniture polish or nail polish remover. Parents rarely question their child if they ...

There are many people who suffer from addictions, and in some cases their loved ones actually enable the addiction because they want to help. Sure, you want to help the one you love to overcome addiction, but you definitely to not want to enable the addiction any further. Take a minute to think ...

n n A twelve-step program is a set of guiding principles for recovery from addictive, compulsive, or other behavioral problems, originally developed by the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) for recovery from alcoholism. The Twelve Steps were initially published in the first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous ("The Big Book") in 1939; since then more than 25 million copies have been printed in many languages. This method has been adapted as the foundation of other twelve-st

Oh how quick I am to judge and find fault in others. Before the program I was quite self righteous - I could see and tell you what you and others were doing wrong, but I was largely blind to my own faults. It was so easy to point my finger, but in the program I learned that when I do, there are ...

Yeah, when he hits bottom he'll be ready. A user has to hit bottom before he will change. Sooner or later she will hit bottom. Then she'll be ready to get some help. Raise the Bottom. This whole idea of "hitting bottom" is out of date. Some people will wait years-even decades-for their friend to reach this mythical point in their alcohol and drug use. But why wait for them to "hit bottom"? Why not help them by raising their bottom? There are ways to encourage someone to reach for help much earlier.

Many if not most of the individuals who are addicted to drugs and alcohol are not happy with their lives and experience emotional disorders such as depression. Furthermore, many of those who suffer from drug and alcohol dependency say that they are not doing what they really want to do with their life. Learning and applying effective goal setting strategies from the field of Neuro Linguistic Programming can help to reduce drug and alcohol dependency and improve recovery rates

Why is change so difficult? Maybe we believe it has already cost us a lot to get this far so why risk everything. We are also creatures of habit. We form our habits, then our habits form us. Change also makes us feel insecure. We feel that maybe we don't have what it takes to succeed. But change is here to stay! We could argue that when we stop changing, we stop growing. In 1982 James Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente developed a useful model describing how people change. The mo

People use drugs for various reasons. Essentially, though, drugs give us a desired effect producing a feeling of euphoria that makes us feel better - at least temporarily. This is where the thought process gets a little skewed. People begin to crave the feeling of euphoria that they get when they use drugs and that's when it becomes a problem. It can be a vicious cycle. You feel you can't live without the feelings that drugs give you and that you just won't be able to cope wi

Giving hope to someone who needs it, whether their situation be a desperate one or simply a need for inspiration is perhaps the most important gift one can give, as well as in many ways being the most difficult thing to help instigate. It is often easier to give a false sense of hope than a real sense of hope, and this is often done as a reaction to a difficult situation that people find it difficult to cope with.

Seduction And Romantic Love We are seduced into relationships for many reasons, for support and approval, to overcome our feelings of loneliness, fear and insecurity, to explore our passion and sexuality, to feel power and control, to be needed, to have fun, to love and be loved, to have ...

The sexually addicted person doesn't use sex just to escape reality. He also uses sex as a shallow, fantasy based substitute for genuine intimacy. It is what I call, "the flight from intimacy." The flight from intimacy is more difficult to deal with – and must be addressed first – because it causes the emotional attachment to sex addiction. Most people who stop on their own, or through conventional, licensed therapy, or the 12-setp program return to sex addiction. One reaso

Getting up early, going to bed late, playing coach, cook, housemaid, financial expert, chauffer, grocery shopper, appointment keeper, bath giver, homework helper, and nurse is just what moms are expected to do. These are mom’s roles and these don’t have any relation to what she does at work, her role as a wife, daughter, sister, and friend. Time for her is seems to always fall short. She has a lot of duties and there just are not enough hours in the day.

“Everybody must get stoned” – Bob Dylan, Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35 Bob Dylan is one of the most popular Western musicians of the 1960s, and has been a songwriter and performer for more tha 50 years. He has more than thirty studio albums and 50 singles to his name, among them Blowin' in the Wind and The Times They Are a-Changin'. Even though his popularity in modern times is not at the same level as it was earlier, he has recently published an album and given a live performan

A.A.-Step 10: Teachings of Dr. Bob's Wife Anne Smith Dick B., © 2010 Anonymous. All rights reserved We have recently covered Steps One through Nine of the Alcoholics Anonymous suggested steps for recovery. We did so by pointing out the applicable remarks on those topics by Anne Ripley Smith, wife of A.A. cofounder Dr. Bob, "Mother of A.A." as Bill Wilson called her, and one of the founders of Akron Number One--the first Alcoholics Anonymous group. The primary source for th

Despite recent progress in the medical understanding of addictive disease, the amateur self-help group known as Alcoholics Anonymous, and its affiliate, Narcotics Anonymous, are still regarded by many as the most effective mode of treatment for the ex-addict who is serious about keeping his or ...

Crack is a designer drug. It was designed to be extremely addictive and it is. While it's certainly possible to recover from a crack habit, know that it'll be a major challenge and that you'll need all the help and support you can get. It won't happen overnight. Recovery from crack is a lifelong process. But those who have done it all agree that it's worth the effort. You'll probably need inpatient treatment of some kind in order to detox from crack and to withstand the withd

I am going to share 4 defense mechanisms that are frequently used by people in addiction to justify or substantiate their drug or alcohol use. I’m sure you have heard of some of these—you might have even heard of all of them. I hope to share some insights you may not have considered before.

What is a dry drunk, and the 'dry drunk syndrome', as it is sometimes called? It can best be described as someone who fits one of two conditions. The first is someone who has given up drinking and drugging and not made any internal or emotional changes, they stay the same but the substance use ...

Addiction is a disease that affects spouses and children as dramatically as addicts themselves. When people get sober, they often set out to right the wrongs they’ve done to their children. And though children of addicts are at greater risk for emotional problems and addiction than other children, there are steps parents in recovery can take to minimize these risks. Through education and a conscious effort to develop the tools for positive parenting, we can become the parents we want to be rather than the parents we had.

Being convicted of driving under the influence can completely derail your life. Not only could you have to empty your bank account to cover court fees, fines, legal representation and other costs, but in many states, that DUI may be a black mark on your driving record forever. It may be more difficult to get affordable insurance, good housing and even a job. Really, a DUI may feel like the transition from a good life into a miserable one. But it doesn’t have to. There’s no

Sometimes emotions make the life difficult even make it unbearable for some people. On the other hand, the life without emotions is tasteless, because, emotions give us experience of pleasure.

Quote “ Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city." - George Burns ? Holiday stress, is difficult enough, but if you have dysfunctional family members, the daily ‘holiday reminders’ can really be upsetting. We’re bombarded with images and songs that tell us that the holidays, should be peaceful and happy – everyone gathered around the dinner table – filled with love and good cheer. If you come from a family like that you’re lucky, but most of us do not.

Do you want to stop smoking marijuana forever? Are you tired of having no energy or initiative simply because you smoke weed? You may have desired to quit, as well as tried before, nevertheless , you usually seem to end up obtaining high once more it doesn't matter what your intentions were. Relapses really are a frequent occurrence with individuals who try to stop smoking marijuana, but there are methods that you can prevent this from occurring if you're using the correct pr

Voting the Lord’s Prayer Out of A.A. Dick B. © 2011 Anonymous. All rights reserved More and more efforts are being expended by a few members of the A.A. fellowship to move Almighty God out of the A.A. and other 12-Step and "anonymous" meetings. A Common technique is to call for a "group conscience" vote on elimination of the Lord's Prayer. Doing so, they almost invariably ignore the modern tradition that a "group conscience" was intended first to seek the guidance of "a lovi

When I first decided to write an article about relapse prevention, I felt anxious about what to include or exclude. I initially thought about all the material I have on relapse prevention, and how I could integrate it into one article. The truth is, I consider everything I do in treatment as ...