Drug Addiction
Drug addiction is a complex, multi-layered condition that is often misunderstood and consequently mishandled. The reasons that an addiction forms are complicated and too often there is a presumption or judgment that someone who has a drug addiction is weak-willed or irresponsible
Note that all medical records related to your rehab are protected by HIPAA and staff require HIPAA training that means they will keep all your personal details confidential.
Education and knowledge give great power. Understanding and self-awareness can enable drug addicts to break the cycle of their habit. Knowing the signs and symptoms of drug addiction helps parents and carers to identify addiction so they can do something about it.
Addiction Counselors
Trained, qualified and professional counselors who specialize in helping those with drug addiction are often part of the team in rehab centers and clinics. They work with addicts, families and friends and form a vital link from rehab back to the outside world. Talking to an addiction counselor is part of coming to terms with the past for many recovering addicts; conversations with addiction counselors are confidential, unless the client is happy to share the discussions with others. The role of addiction counselors is complex, to understand more of what they do read the article.
Addiction Statistics
The percentage of teenagers and young people who abuse recreational and prescription drugs is growing at a previously unheard of rate. Petty crime, violent offences and car crime statistics reflect the situation and make for grim reading. The good news is that the number of addicts seeking rehab is at an all time high, and there have been huge developments in addiction treatment. Published addiction statistics are always changing, read about current figures and trends.
Am I a Drug Addict?
An interactive questionnaire about drug addiction that just may make you think again. If you are worried about yourself or someone you care about try the questionnaire and find the answer to Am I a Drug Addict.
Addictive Personalities
Addictive personality disorders (APD) have profound effects on the actions of sufferers. Addiction is very common among people with APD, and their treatment for recovery requires specialized knowledge and experience. Addictive personalities can be very clever, successful people who hide their problems well, so understanding how to spot them and how to help them can only be good.
Drug Addiction Myths
Dispelling the legends that surround drugs and drug addiction has never been more important. The drug cartels and dealers have spun a huge web of romantic nonsense about the poisons they peddle. Experts in the treatment of drug addiction disagree about how and when to use particular terms to describe addiction. This confusion needs to end, and understanding how drug addiction myths are formed goes a long way to clearing it up.
Genetics and Drug Addiction
Is there a single gene responsible for drug addiction? Have scientists developed a vaccine to treat it? What are the links between our genes and a tendency to addiction and how important might this be for future treatment or even prevention? The science of genetics and drug addiction has a long way to go, but things are changing.
Help with Addiction
Addiction is a lonely world, not only because people walk away from addicts, but also because it is much easier for an addict to deny their addiction and continue using if they are isolated. If an addict has the strength of character and depth of courage to seek help it is there. But the desire to change and put the addiction away is not the only factor. Knowing where and how to get help is vital. Find out where and how you can get help with addiction in our article.
Intervention
It is difficult for families and friends to tell someone they love that the problems they have are intolerable, that they can no longer deal with what a drug addiction is doing to the addict or those close to him or her. Intervention is the tool for this – interventionists are professionals with the training and experience to find a way into the mind and heart of an addict.
Prescription Addiction
Many prescription medicines are addictive. Many people take addictive prescriptions to manage and treat illness. Just as many people use addictive medicines recreationally. Whatever the circumstance, addiction to prescription medications needs to be understood and the addict needs to get help. The trials and difficulties of prescription addiction can be as bad as hard drugs, treatment and support are often similar, and the first step to getting treatment is recognizing there is a problem.
Recovery from Addiction
Addicts can and do get clean and sober. Recovery happens every day, every week and every month of every year. There is a process, a pathway, a road to recovery. Each step is hard; it is the biggest mountain to climb for the addict and for the people who love them. Choosing the time, place and method of addiction recovery programs can be bewildering so understanding at least some of the options is crucial. If you want help in your recovery from addiction you can start with our article.
Relapse and Recovery
Recovery from addiction is never going to be easy. It is a battle to detox, get sober and stay sober. Sometimes recovering addicts will lapse. But a lapse is not the end of recovery; it is a small backwards step that can be fixed. When an addict in recovery relapses it can be helpful in the long term. Examining external pressures that surround relapse provide deeper understanding and additional tools that an addict can use to sustain recovery. Learn more about the triggers for relapse and recovery.
Signs of Addiction
When you live with someone you get to know their habits and patterns well, and if at times things seem a little offbeat there is usually nothing to worry about. However, when the person you know starts to change in ways that do not make sense to you, that are so unlike them that you are concerned then it is different. Take a look at this article and see if you are misinterpreting any of the signs of addiction.
Street Names and New Drugs
There are times when young people talk and it sounds like a foreign language. Their speech is littered with unfamiliar names and new ways to use grammar which can be very inventive. But the importance of knowing when the conversation is about a new drug or a new name for an old drug should not be belittled. Being aware of current street names and new drugs hitting the market is not everything, but it helps.
Symptoms of Addiction
An addict will deny to themselves, to their family and friends, to colleagues and acquaintances, that there is anything wrong, that they need help and that they need to do something positive to break a destructive cycle. Addiction loves denial, isolation and loneliness. Addiction feeds on the physical and psychological dependence it creates and that is reinforced every time an addict takes another dose. The symptoms of addiction are subtle, insidious and difficult to pin down. Put together a group of little changes and the whole picture is revealed – it is like a jigsaw, you cannot see the picture until most of the pieces are in place. Take the time to read about the symptoms of addiction – see if they fit the picture.
Types of Addiction
Drugs, alcohol, gambling, pornography, sex, food – the list of potential addictions that we are all tempted by could be never-ending. The point is that no matter what the addiction is, it harms the addict and those they love or love them. Many addictions are deadly, many are frightening to even think about, and some addictions seem so silly in comparison. There is no such thing as a safe or silly addiction, and there are many ways a person can be addicted. They say there are different strokes for different folks, and there are different types of addiction that cause the same sad and painful results.
What is addiction?
Can addiction be simply defined once and for all? Unfortunately no, a single dictionary or scientific definition can never be the whole answer. As each person is unique and individual so each addict and each addiction is singular. Addiction is many things with many faces, but addiction is never good. Confused? So what is addiction? Why not read the article and find out.
Women and Drug Addiction
Men and women are not the same. They have different responsibilities and roles. They are genetically and physiologically different. There are particular aspects of women and drug addiction that merit consideration and understanding of those differences.
Young People and Drugs
Young people are vulnerable to drug use and abuse that leads to addiction because they are brave, foolhardy, and rebellious – and they are young. Drug addiction has long term effects on still forming and growing bodies that they need to know about, even if they choose to ignore it. Learning more about our young people and drugs – how they use them, what they do and why they do it is part of parenting today.
