Drug Addiction

Drug addiction is a powerful demon that can sneak up on you and take over your life before you know it has even happened. What started out as just a recreational lifestyle has overcome your life and affected every single aspect of it. You don’t have to be caught up in the web of drug addiction. There are so many things you can do to get yourself clean and sober, and there’s no better time than the present. Overcoming drug addiction is a long and often painful process. Leading a clean lifestyle...

The statistics are alarming. Teen drug abuse is and has been on the rise for many years. Consider the following numbers calculated in 2012: • 8th grade -- 30.3% • 10th grade -- 44.9% • 12th grade -- 52.8% Those numbers measure the percentage of teenagers who regularly use illegal drugs of some type. Just within the last month, 50 percent of teens report drinking alcohol with 37 percent saying they had been drunk on at least one occasion. Alcohol kills 5 times more teenagers than any other drug...

Meditation can be a very effective way to overcome the powerful reactions that occur in your mind during drug withdrawal. Your inner voices will be telling you all sorts of different things when you are trying to get off drugs. If you recognize these damaging inner voices and take steps to calm them, your chance to successfully recover is significantly increased. If you take a moment and practice some meditation techniques, your body will calm and those voices will go away. We could make an...

You did not become a drug addict overnight. It was a long process occurring over a period of, perhaps, several years that turned into a dependence on those drugs. You began using probably primarily because you needed an escape. It’s very important that you remove anything in your life that could cause you to begin using again. This begins with changing your life and the people around you. Your friends probably played a big role in getting you to start using in the first place. Peer pressure...

Anytime someone needs help but refuses to accept it, a family intervention is appropriate. A family intervention can be used for people engaged in any self-destructive behavior and especially appropriate for addicts. Intervention is the most loving, powerful and successful method yet for helping people accept help. A family intervention can be done with love and respect in a non-confrontational, non-judgmental manner. A family intervention is often the answer, the only answer. It can be done....

Your family probably already knows you have a drug addiction. If they don’t, admitting your dependence to them is a crucial step towards recovery. Sit them down and be as honest with them as you have been with yourself. It probably won’t be fun and it most likely won’t be pretty, but as soon as you have that off of your chest, you’ll be free to start pursuing your goal of being drug-free. Tell your family members that you want their support in your endeavor and that it’s important for you to...

It is nearly impossible to effectively journey down the path to recovery without realizing that you deserve to be drug-free. Building your self-esteem requires effort on your part, and, just like during your self-assessment, it also requires personal honesty. Building self esteem helps not only with personal acceptance, but with staying strong during your recovery as well. To begin with, you need to answer a few questions: • Do I deserve happiness in my life? • Should I expect to be accepted...

The original 12 step formula was developed by Alcoholics Anonymous as a way for people to deal with their powerlessness over alcohol. Since then, other 12 step programs have evolved for a variety of addictions including Narcotics Anonymous, Gambler’s Anonymous, and Al-Anon. All 12 step programs follow similar patterns. Members meet regularly to discuss their experiences, strength, and hope. One common view is that all members are dealing with an illness and an addiction rather than a bad habit...

Drug detox is the most important part of becoming free from addiction, and because of this drug detox should be handled with great care. Drug detox is a medical procedure. Drug detox should be handled in a medical facility under great supervision. The reason for this is because drug detox can be fatal. What happens to the body when one becomes addicted is a chemical change, and to take this chemical away from the body all at once without proper care from the drug detox can turn from a positive...

Short-term residential programs were originally developed to treat alcoholism, but expanded to include drug addiction with the rise of cocaine use in the mid-1980s. Since then, they have been applied to a variety of drug addictions. They are set up to be intense, but relatively brief programs of between 3 and 6 months. Most are based on the Minnesota Model, a method of drug addiction treatment that grew out of the success of the Alcoholics Anonymous, or 12-step model, of recovery. The elements...

Medical research shows two major causes of physical addiction. First, your cells adapt to the drug and, second, your metabolism becomes more efficient. To your cells, the drugs you’re using become a way of life. Every time you use a drug, your blood carries it to every cell in your body. Your cells adjust. They grow to expect these doses on schedule. Your cells learn to cope with various drugs by defending themselves against the drugs’ toxic effects. Cell walls harden to retain stability and...

ou can recognize signs of drug abuse in those around you by paying attention to their behavior. Read over the test above and see if you can identify any of the symptoms of a drug problem. Alienation from others, severe changes in behavior, increased defensives are all signs that a user has a problem. Drug addicts will give up previously enjoyable activities that they would participate in. Their lives will become consumed with getting drugs and using drugs. Their physical appearance will change...

When you use drugs, they can quickly become a problem. Addiction can happen before you know it. You need to really take a look at your drug use and be honest with yourself when evaluating whether or not that drug use has become a problem. Start by asking yourself one simple question: “Do you sometimes think you have a drug problem?” If the answer is yes, you probably do have an issue with addiction. Why? Most of the time, drug abusers deny they have a problem, or they hide from it by making excuses....

Stimulants increase alertness, attention, and energy, which are accompanied by increases in blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration.  Historically, stimulants were used to treat asthma and other respiratory problems, obesity, neurological disorders, and a variety of other ailments. As their potential for abuse and addiction became apparent, the use of stimulants began to wane. Now, stimulants are prescribed for treating only a few health conditions, including narcolepsy, attention-deficit...

CNS depressants slow normal brain function. In higher doses, some CNS depressants can become general anesthetics. Tranquilizers and sedatives are examples of CNS depressants. CNS depressants can be divided into two groups, based on their chemistry and pharmacology: • Barbiturates, such as mephobarbital (Mebaral) and pentobarbitalsodium (Nembutal), which are used to treat anxiety, tension, and sleep disorders. • Benzodiazepines, such as diazepam (Valium), chlordiazepoxide HCl (Librium), and alprazolam...

Opioids are commonly prescribed because of their effective analgesic, or pain relieving, properties. Studies have shown that properly managed medical use of opioid analgesic compounds is safe and rarely causes addiction. Taken exactly as prescribed, opioids can be used to manage pain effectively. Among the compounds that fall within this class—sometimes referred to as narcotics—are morphine, codeine, and related medications. Morphine is often used before or after surgery to alleviate severe...

Prescription medications such as pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and sedatives are very useful treatment tools, but sometimes people do not take them as directed and may become addicted. Pain relievers make surgery possible, and enable many individuals with chronic pain to lead productive lives. Most people who take prescription medications use them responsibly. However, the inappropriate or non-medical use of prescription medications is a serious public health concern. Non-medical...

Through the use of cigarettes, cigars, and chewing tobacco, nicotine is one of the most heavily used addictive drugs in the United States. In 2004, 29.2 percent of the U.S. population 12 and older—70.3 million people—used tobacco at least once in the month prior to being interviewed. This figure includes 3.6 million young people age 12 to 17. Young adults aged 18 to 25 reported the highest rate of current use of any tobacco products (44.6 percent) in 2004.  Findings for high school youth...