Blog Entries tagged 'treatment'

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 [...]

Alcoholism is a major social, economic and public health problem.

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

Alcoholism does not just affect the alcoholic it affects everyone the individual is connected to. Alcoholism is a major social, economic and public health problem. A high percentage of suicides involve the use of alcohol in combination with other substances. Alcohol is involved in more than half of all accidental deaths and almost half of all traffic deaths. Other deaths are related to the long-team medical complications associated with alcoholism, all of there are very e [...]

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 [...]

When alcohol acts as a tool to aviod pain.

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

Almost anything can become an addiction, especially when it acts as a tool for the avoidance of our internal pain. Most addictions begin with the feel good factor, with things that make us feel better, and draw us up and out of our normal painful existence. We may begin doing something for pleasure or need. Soon we discover accidentally that the behavior has a pay off, it keeps our real pain away from our consciousness. Then we begin to do the behavior less for the desire and m [...]

Statistics involving alcohol.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Here are a few more statistics about alcohol and alcohol consumption: More than 100,000 deaths in the United States are caused by excessive alcohol consumption each year. Alcohol kills 6 ½ times more youth than all other illicit drugs combined. Youth who drink alcohol are 50 times more likely to use other drugs than those who never drink alcohol. Traffic accidents are the greatest single cause of death for persons aged 6-33. About 45% of these fatalities are [...]

Alcohol affects individuals differently.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

More money is spent every year promoting the use of alcohol than any other product. Through the use of elaborate and creative marketing, the most basic fact about alcohol is overlooked "alcohol is a drug". It is the most commonly used and widely abused psychoactive drug in the world. Alcohol interacts with the body's systems in predictable ways to lead to physiological addiction. Alcohol affects individuals differently. Your age, weight, gender, time o [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Breaking the addiction is difficult.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Alcohol addiction can pose a serious threat to a person's life. To break the addiction is difficult for a number of reasons: the psychological desire for the effects brought on by the drugs; the brain's adaptations to the chemical changes brought on by the drug; and a slew of habits and environmental triggers that support the addiction. Just like any serious health concern, an addiction to alcohol will require long-term professional help to break the cycle. The [...]

Alcohol the most commonly used drug.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Alcohol is the most commonly used drug in the United States. Alcohol is a drug and rehabs are full of people who are addicted to alcohol. Drinking alcohol strips the body of vitamins and nutrition leaving you feeling rundown and tired. For a person to be able to function at full capacity they need vitamins which come from good nutrition. When a person drinks for a prolonged period of time and tries to stop they can experience shaking and sweating, night sweats, anxiety, h [...]

More on binge drinking.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

The most common pattern of binge drinking is consuming 8 or more drinks for males, and 4 or more drinks for females, in about 2 hours. It is often associated with drinking with the intention of becoming intoxicated. Another form of binge drinking is the self-destructive & unrestrained bout of drinking lasting for a couple of days, at this time the intoxicated drinker does not work, ingornes responsibilities, wastes money and can even engage in harmful behaviors like unprote [...]

The startling facts.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

It is estimated that 40% of the population will have an addiction problem some time in their life. More than 7% of the population 18 years and older have problems with drinking and can be considered alcoholics. These alcoholics will significantly impact an average of 4-5 other lives they come into contact with. It doesn't have to be like this, there is hope for the alcoholic to overcome their addiction with treatment, you don't have to suffer from alcoh [...]

Alcohol addiction and our youth.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

In the past 10 days nearly 11 million youths, ages 12 to 20 have consumed alcohol. As age increases so does alcohol consumption from 2 persent at age 12 to 27 persent at age 16 and 57 persent at age 20. With this alcohol consumption increase so does the possibility of becoming an alcoholic increase. Be proactive in protecting your loved one from becoming an alcoholic. No child should have to suffer from alcohol addiction, and there is hope with drug rehab and the t [...]

Drinking tears you up.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Alcoholism is caused by prolonged, heavy use of alcohol which leads to addiction. When someone with prolonged, heavy use tries to quit drinking they are faced with withdrawal symptoms such as tremors, severe anxiety, hallucinations and convulsions. The alcoholic usually also has poor nutrition because no thought is give to eating food just drinking more alcohol. The poor nutrition along with consuming large quantities of alcohol can lead to permanent damage to t [...]

Don't become a statistic.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 01:00:00 +0100

More and more people in the United States are drinking and having related problems to their drinking. Statistics show that within the United States about 15 percent of the people have a problem with alcohol. About 3 to 5 percent of females and 5 to 10 percent of males could be called alcoholics. Binge drinking is the most severe behavior when it comes to drinking which leads to mental or physical problems. Some people can control their drinking and others will loos [...]

Trying to escape emotional pain with alcohol.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 01:00:00 +0100

People will often drink alcohol to block out emotional pain. They turn to it when relationships go bad or friends let them down. It is often used to offset the boredom of daily routines. But with continuous use a dependency will set in and before someone knows it they are addicted. When trying to quit depression, anxiety, and stress set in and an individual will drink to relieve these symptoms. There is help to get out of the viscous cycle of addiction for [...]