Blog Entries tagged 'alcoholic'

Too Few Parents Talking to Teens About Drugs

aotate1@gmail.com — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0100

A recent survey by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy found that the majority of parents have difficulty engaging in meaningful conversations about drug use with their teens."'This poll reinforces a disconcerting trend we're seeing with parents today. Too many parents are avoiding tough conversations - or tough stances - because they're afraid of jeopardizing their relationship with their teens,' said John P. Walters, Director of National Drug Control Pol [...]

One Isn't Enough for Teen Drinkers

aotate1@gmail.com — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0100

The Baltimore Sun reported on a new study in Pediatrics that shows teenagers who drink often do so solely to get drunk. Of the 15,000 teens surveyed, 64% admitted to regular binging.
"Those rates are 'unacceptably high,' said Susan Foster, director of policy at the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. 'We're seeing an increase in rates of drinking to get drunk, and we're seeing that most who drink in college began drinking in hig [...]

OxyContin Addiction: Teens More Susceptible Than Adults

aotate1@gmail.com — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0100

Studies performed on animals indicate that adolescents are more likely than adults to become addicted to oxycodone (OxyContin), a powerful prescription painkiller related to opioids like heroin and morphine.

Researchers at Rockefeller University in New York allowed adolescent and adult mice to take as much oxycodone as they wanted. The younger mice were more sensitive to the drug and took less. If the drug was introduced to them again as adults, they were more sensitive and reactive t [...]

Officials Attempt to Outlaw an Herbal High

aotate1@gmail.com — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0100

Salvia is an herb that can produce short, intense, hallucinogenic trips when it's smoked. For years, the substance went relatively unnoticed by law enforcement personnel - but it has recently garnered the attention of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, as well as several local governments that are trying to ban it. "A dozen states have outlawed or begun regulating salvia since 2005, including Delaware, whose law was pushed by a mother who believes salvia contributed to her son's suic [...]

Teens Give Advice

aotate1@gmail.com — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0100

Talk about teen substance abuse typically centers on extreme behavior - getting drunk at parties, habitual drug use, and so on. But even occasional use can create a dangerous habit. "Most teenagers will tell you gulping down an occasional glass of beer along with a cigarette at a bar is fun, not substance abuse. That's where they are wrong. One glass of beer may not be addictive, but can lead to a chain of behavior that can leave you a physical and mental wreck. It can become a habit.&q [...]

New Tool May Help You Spot Drug Abuse

aotate1@gmail.com — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0100

The state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) of New York has created tool it hopes will help parents spot drug abuse problems in the home. "The state Office... created the tool to help New Yorkers track prescription and over-the-counter medicines in their home. It's intended to be filled out weekly." The PDF tool is downloadable off the OASAS website and is a grid-like worksheet that can be used to track: a medication's dose amount, when the prescription [...]

Young People Who Drink Malt Liquor More Likely to Use Marijuana Too

aotate1@gmail.com — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 01:00:00 +0100

Professor Lorraine Collins of the University of Buffalo/New York has determined that young adults who are heavy drinkers of malt liquor are at greater risk to use marijuana and develop substance abuse problems.

She and her colleagues surveyed 639 adults under 25 years who regularly drank 40 or more ounces of malt liquor every week. The participants were heavy drinkers who averaged 30 alcoholic drinks a week, about half of which was malt liquor. Most had started drinking between 13 and [...]

Higher Allowance May Add to Risk of Drinking

aotate1@gmail.com — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 01:00:00 +0100

A study of 10,000 15- and 16-year-olds found that teens that get larger allowances are more likely to drink. The conclusion drawn by the British researchers who conducted the study is that the higher allowances enable teens to buy their own alcohol."About one-third of teens in the survey said they bought their own alcohol, and they were six times more likely than their peers to drink in public places, three times more likely to drink frequently and twice as likely to binge on a regular basi [...]

Texas Judge Launches Program for At-Risk Youth

aotate1@gmail.com — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 01:00:00 +0100

Judge and lawyer Belinda Loveland has created a program called ROCK - Reaching Our Community's Kids. The goal is to give every student in the community the necessary resources to complete their education, provide mentors, and advocate clean living."'I chose to step outside the traditional dictates of a judge and an attorney in order to become more involved with the social issues facing our community,' Judge Loveland said."The program has been running for two years. Many par [...]

This is my story

christy_southerland@yahoo.com — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 01:00:00 +0100

I first started as a teenager with my boyfriend; I guess I should've known at the time that there was something wrong because not only did I drink with him on weekends, but I wanted a bottle of my own. After I graduated from high school and went to work, there was always happy hour at the bars; then I got to where I wanted to go home at lunch and have a drink. Going to dinner, I always wanted more than the person I was with; then after I got married and had started snorting cocaine, we drank [...]

My story of drug and alcohol addiction.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

I started smoking marijuana and drinking many years ago when I was a teenager. I thought that I needed to do this to be cool and fit in with the other kids at school. I never was a straight "A" student but I did OK. I was never involved in any of the school activities that were offered that so many of the other kids were involved with. I tended to go the wrong direction and hang out with the crowd that would rather party than involve themselves in academic thing [...]

Why can't you just use a little willpower?

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

"Why can't you just use a little willpower to stop drinking?" This question is often asked by individuals that have no understanding of alcohol and how it affects someone. Alcoholism has little to do with what kind of alcohol one drinks, or how long one has been drinking, or even how much alcohol has been consumed. It does have a great deal to do with a person's uncontrollable need for alcohol. The alcoholic is often in the grip of a powerful craving for [...]

Drinking affects more than just the alcoholic.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

There are many people involved in the life of the alcoholic. So often the alcoholic has the selfish attitude of "my drinking only affects me", but nothing could be further from the truth. Family, friends, employer, coworkers, neighbors and the community are all affected by alcoholism not just the alcoholic. They end up spending time covering up for them, punishing them, taking responsibility for them, trying to "fix" them. The alcohol really needs to t [...]

Be willing to reach out for help.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

The slide into alcohol abuse and alcoholism can take many forms and be gradual and subtle. Many use it to escape their daily problems, frustrations and feelings of inferiority. Some alcohol abusers have physical and emotional problems when they start drinking. It sometimes takes years for drinkers to develop into a more noticeable phase of alcoholism. Some people the alcohol pattern develops within weeks of their first use. Some alcoholics drink daily, others in epi [...]

Risk factors that we do have control over but often don't realize it.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Here are some of some of the risk factors for alcohol abuse that people can change but often times do not recognize. Take your environment, if you live where people drink a lot and heavy drinking is accepted as part of life, or where alcohol is easy to get you are more likely to drink. Use of other substances, if you abuse other substances, such as tobacco, illegal drugs or prescription drugs you are more likely to abuse alcohol. Friends, the people that you hang around with ma [...]

The consequences of heavy drinking.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Drinking more than 15 drinks a week for men or 12 drinks or more for women increases the risk of alcohol dependence. Steady drinking over time can make you physically dependent on alcohol. Just drinking by itself is only one of alcoholism's risk factors. Genetics, sex, age family history and emotional disorders are other risk factors.

People don't drink to become alcoholic. Many people drink alcohol throughout their lives without a problem, but others abuse alc [...]

Don't cover for the alcoholic.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

If you're covering for a person with an alcohol problem you need to stop. Helping someone with an alcohol problem is hard, don't make excuses for them. Talk to the person in private, when they are not under the influence of alcohol or drugs. If you can get their agreement to get help be willing to help them find a drug rehab that will address their alcohol addiction. Don't wait do it right then.

What is alcohol abuse?

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Alcohol is made up of a chemical called ethanol which my come from grains or fruits, such as grapes. It is found in beer, wine and hard liquor. What is alcohol abuse? It is defined as drinking too much alcohol regularly, or during single occasions, better known as binge drinking. Problems occur as you repeatedly drink too much alcohol too often. With alcohol abuse the body goes thru changes that cause you to not think, act or talk properly. These change [...]

Don't be fooled by alcohol advertising.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

There is always the advertising of alcohol during sporting events. When people see these commericals they believe that drinking is OK. The setting is always a beautiful spring day, or a group of friends having a few in a bar or someone enjoying a drink with a sexy man or women. Well that is not the reality of what alcohol can do to someones life. Alcohol contributes to violence and many injuries, including traffic crashes, drownings, burns, an [...]