Beating a dependency on alcohol takes more than willpower. Too many people consider themselves to be failures if they fail to stop after their first or even 20th attempt. They beat themselves up while asking the question, “How hard is it to quit drinking, and why can’t I do it?” The basic answer comes down to chemistry, or…
I felt like an abject failure. After 30 days in rehab, I relapsed in just six days. I lost my job, and my parents told me I couldn’t see my children until I got my life together. What was wrong with me? I had every opportunity to change, and it didn’t work. I couldn’t even…
A bad habit is a hard thing to break. Habits are deep, complex relationships and associations in the brain. If habits were simple relationships they would be easier to become aware of, stop, and change. In many ways, drug and alcohol addiction is a habit. A part learning process, part compulsion, part memory, the routines…
The World Health Organization defines substance abuse as “the harmful or hazardous use of psychoactive substances, including alcohol and illicit drugs.” According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, substance abuse can be defined as “long-term, pathological use of alcohol or drugs, characterized by daily intoxication, inability to reduce consumption, and impairment in social or occupational functioning; broadly,…
Many people in the United States have been directly affected by the ongoing opioid crisis. Many of these drugs come from prescriptions given to treat a variety of physical and mental issues. Prescription drug addiction claim the lives of countless people every year. But what is prescription drug addiction? There is prescription drug addiction and…
“Does my loved one need detox?” For those ready to get addiction treatment, recovery happens in stages. The first stage of treatment for many people is detox. Detox allows patients to cleanse their bodies of toxic substances. Addiction treatment is most effective when your system is clean and you can focus on getting better. Knowing…
As parents, none of us ever imagines that we might one day be the parent of an addict. Yet, millions of mothers every year are faced with the undeniable fact that their child suffers from a substance use disorder. Unfortunately, over 24 million people in the United States are addicted to an illicit substance at…
With the prevalence of marijuana use displayed in pop culture and on social media, it’s easy to believe that using it carries no side effects. It’s true that marijuana typically doesn’t carry the same risks as harder drugs like heroin or crack cocaine. However, that doesn’t mean the answer is “no” when asking, “Is weed…
It’s hard to remember a time where there wasn’t a problem with opioids. While issues with drug use have persisted throughout the years, things began escalating in the early 1990s. That’s the part of the opiate overdose timeline where there was a rise in deaths related to natural and synthetic opioid abuse. The next wave hit in…
Substance abuse takes over a person’s life and damages their mind, body and relationships they once considered important. Many people spend everything they have supporting their habit. When the money runs out, they turn to other means, often illegal, of getting their substance of choice. Those actions put them and sometimes those they care about in…