Detoxification is the process of allowing the body to remove any and all traces of drugs and alcohol. Many people are familiar with feelings of withdrawal, especially if they are coming off of harder drugs like heroin that cause extreme physical dependence. However, medical staff are able to address and treat symptoms of withdrawal as…
Dissociative drugs are a class of drugs that cause feelings of detachment from reality and distort a person’s perceptions of the world. Common dissociative drugs include PCP (phencyclidine), ketamine, and DXM (dextromethorphan).While many of these drugs cause different effects on users, the health consequences of each can vary from uncomfortable to severe, and in some…
The disease of addiction arises from a complex interplay between genetics and environmental factors. A person’s environment may be a factor in influencing whether or not they experiment with drugs at a young age, and environmental factors can influence one’s ease or difficulty with recovering from addiction. Addiction is characterized by a lack of control…
Before enter into treatment, we rarely have any conception about what recovery means aside from no longer drinking alcohol or taking drugs. Achieving and maintaining abstinence is of utmost importance. However, there is so much more to recovery than not drinking or using. We begin, often for the first time, to grow and develop physically…
Many people believe that expressing our anger is a healthy way to let it out. Yelling, slamming doors, cursing, or venting to a friend were once thought to be natural and healthy ways to deal with our anger. Likewise, it was thought to be unhealthy to keep our anger inside of us. However, recent research…
Addiction is an extremely complex disease that affects the mind, body, and spirit. Due to its complexity, many people have difficulty understanding exactly how it affects a person. Misinformed people will often claim that it is not a disease, or that it is the result of a lack of willpower, a moral failure, or a…
It can be surprising what we can accomplish when we simply change the way we think about things. For example, we may enter into a challenging situation full of fear of failure and find that we perform poorly. However, if we enter into the same situation full of confidence, we find that we do much…
Drugs like Spice and K2 are synthetic versions of marijuana known as “synthetic cannabinoids.” There have been a variety of recent reports of synthetic cannabinoids causing overdoses and major adverse health problems. Usually, the substance is composed of dried, shredded plants materials that are sprayed with the synthetic chemicals or they can be sold as…
Many people who use heroin began their addiction with prescription opioids. Often, an individual begins taking a prescription painkiller as prescribed, begins abusing their prescription, and eventually turns to illicit opioids because they are cheaper or they are no longer able to get their prescription. Addiction is a slippery slope and the progressions from prescription…
As marijuana laws are becoming more relaxed, there are proponents who believe that marijuana is a cure-all,while others believe marijuana is just as damaging as any other illicit substance. The truth, however, is somewhere in the middle. Marijuana does have major health benefits for those who need it, but when taken recreationally, frequently, and in…