If you were asked: ‘What are the most important things we know about addiction?’ what would you say? This paper brings together a body of knowledge across multiple domains and arranged as a list of 10 things known about addiction, as a response to such a question. The 10 things are: (1) addiction is fundamentally […]
Coping With Urges by Dr. Westermeyer
Habits and urges go hand in hand. In fact, many people in the throes of an addictive behavior problem, whether it is overeating, drug use or alcohol abuse, claim that they derive no pleasure from their habit-that it is nothing but the relentless craving that fuels ongoing addictive behavior. What is usually most difficult for […]
Addiction Prevention Begins in the Crib
Gabor Mate doesn’t believe in hope. After years working with drug addicts on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, the Hungarian doctor doesn’t have time or patience for it. “Hope is all about the future; hope is all about getting away from the present,” said Mate from Vancouver early Thursday morning. “It’s not a question of maintaining hope; it’s a question […]
Tobacco Myths & Facts
Every society has its own drugs. But what constitutes a drug? A drug is any substance that modifies bodily functions. A psychoactive drug is any substance that affects the central nervous system and alters consciousness and/or perceptions. Tobacco is a drug. Drug taking is “almost a universal phenomena and in the statistical sense of the […]
Addiction: What Gets us Hooked?
Some people have their lives destroyed by drugs or alcohol, while others can indulge and walk away. Now doctors are beginning to understand the reasons why. “My destructive side has grown a mile wide,” she sang on her first album in 2003. The cause of Amy Winehouse’s death has not yet been confirmed, but her […]
Kind Love Beats Tough Love
Dr. Gabor Mate is renowned in Canada for his work in treating people with the worst addictions, most notably at Vancouver’s controversial Insite facility, which provides users with clean needles, medical support and a safe space to inject drugs.Canada’s Conservative government has tried to shut Insite down, butthe country’s Supreme Court ruled late last year that doing […]
Faulty Thinking?
Our thoughts are constantly helping us to interpret the world around us, describing what’s happening, and trying to make sense of it by helping us interpret events, sights, sounds, smells, feelings. Without even realizing it, we are interpreting and giving our own meanings to everything happening around us. We might decide that something is pleasant […]
Addiction and Recovery
Addiction is the continued use of alcohol and other drugs even when that use is causing harm. It is a physical and psychological craving or compulsion to use a mood-altering substance. The disease concept of addiction (as described by AA) means that addiction is a primary disease—it’s not the result of some other problem, like […]
Family Issues in Recovery- What do I Need to Know?
Familes are often the primary support for people who have substance use and/or mental health problems. Families are likely to experience significant physical, emotional, social and spiritual stress. Although there are a growing number of interventions designed to help and support family members, many helpers “perceive this as secondary to the job of working with […]
Length of Addiction
When families are dealing with a loved one who is locked into addiction they naturally want to know how long the insanity is going to last before the person decides to get help. The truth is, some alcoholics and addicts never do seek help, but for those who do, years can go by before they […]
Thougts, Urges or Desires
Most people experience strong desires, urges or thoughts about drinking alcohol when they start to cut down or quit. It helps to recognize that these urges, desires and thoughts are natural. We all have different ways to cope with desires, urges or thoughts about drinking. The following are some of the most common ways used by […]
Signs and Symptoms of Addiction
Some people are able to use recreational or prescription drugs without ever experiencing negative consequences or addiction. For many others, substance use can cause problems at work, home, school, and in relationships, leaving you feeling isolated, helpless, or ashamed. If you’re worried about your own or a friend or family member’s drug use, it’s important […]
Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment
Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment More than three decades of scientific research show that treatment can help drug-addicted individuals stop drug use, avoid relapse and successfully recover their lives. Based on this research, 13 fundamental principles that characterize effective drug abuse treatment have been developed. These principles are detailed in National Institute on Drug Abuse; […]
Levels of Care and Treatment Options
TREATMENT SETTINGS & OPTIONS Brief Intervention Screening & Assessment DetoxificationOutpatient Treatment Day/Evening Treatment Residential Treatment 12 step facilitation Minnesota model therapeutic community Continuing Care Sober Living i.e. Oxford houses Self-help Groups TREATMENT STAGESDevelopmental Models of Recovery (Recovery is a complex process that emerges in stages over time. Each developmental stage of recovery […]
Addiction
Short Definition: Addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry. Dysfunction in these circuits leads to characteristic biological, psychological, social and spiritual manifestations. This is reflected in an individual pathologically pursuing reward and/or relief by substance use and other behaviors.Addiction is characterized by inability to consistently abstain, impairment in […]
Your Interactions With a Drinker
Suggestions for Your Interactions With a Drinker: Be patient, change is a process Ask questions, and try to avoid statements Highlight inconsistencies in the statements made; share them as your observations, not an attack on a person “Roll with resistance”, expect the person will resist change and protect the ‘status quo’ [ad#Adsense 160×600 Skyscraper Orange] […]
Vaccines to Treat Addictions ?
Researchers from The Scripps Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College, and Cornell University have produced a long-lasting anti-cocaine immunity in mice by giving them a unique vaccine that combines bits of the common cold virus with a particle that mimics cocaine. In their study, published January 4, 2011, in the advanced online edition of Molecular […]
Association for Children of Alcoholics
1. Alcoholism affects the entire family. Living with a non-recovering alcoholic in the family can contribute to stress for all members of the family. Each member may be affected differently. Not all alcoholic families experience or react to this stress in the same way. Children raised in alcoholic families have different life experiences than children […]