Family Guilty in Substance Abuse

You have a loved one who is suffering from substance abuse. It may be a child, a spouse or another family member. You know what they are going through because you see it. You know they cannot stop and you just want to stop for them. What can you do? How can you help?

Guilty Happens Often

For many families in these situations, guilty is one of the worst parts of the process. It is what causes problems within the family, too. Being guilty, though, is not the answer. Being supportive and offering solutions is. If you feel guilty, consider the following.

  • In many scenarios, families of those who suffer from substance abuse need to seek help from a therapist. The therapist will help the family, as a whole, to heal.
  • Family guilty requires acceptance. A family member must accept what he or she has done to contribute to the problem, such as giving money to the person suffering from drugs. However, this means making a change, too. You do not want to be the enabler.
  • Finding solutions is necessary. Within families where substance abuse is a daily problem, it is often necessary. This may mean moving, committing to change or therapy.

For those suffering from substance abuse, the real fact is, it can happen to anyone. If your family is supportive and has the means to do so, getting help is the route to take. This provides an opportunity for all in the family to get past the guilt and to get closer to the happiness.

 

Filed Under: Family Support Tagged With: , ,

How Meth can Destroy a Life

Crystal methamphetamine

Image via Wikipedia

In school, most children are taught of the dangers of tobacco, alcohol, and other common drugs. For many people, these lessons are enough to keep them away from drugs for a lifetime; however, one widely used drug that is not receiving the attention it needs, is Methamphetamine, also known as (Crystal) Meth or Ice.

Meth is often used as a cheap form of cocaine, since many of its effects are the same, such as increased concentration and alertness. Meth is usually made in a make-shift laboratory, usually just referred to as “Meth Labs,” and is popular with very low-income drug users. While the exact location is disputed, the majority of experts agree the “Meth capital of the World” is somewhere in America, though some say it is actually Japan.

What many people are not taught are the harmful effects of Methamphetamine use. Meth is one of the most debilitating drugs available, both physically and mentally. There are an incredible number of effects of meth use, but some of the more common ones are anorexia, headaches, hypertension, hypo-tension, aggressiveness, schizophrenic hallucinations, depression, and psychosis. Meth is also one of the hardest drugs to quit and has some of the worst and most severe long-term effects of any drug, sometimes with hallucinations lasting six months after quitting and increased chance for heart problems.

Meth addiction is a very serious problem. If you or anyone you know uses methamphetamine, it is very important that you seek help immediately. Meth is known to destroy people and whole families, but only if you let it.

Filed Under: Drug Abuse Tagged With: , ,

The Dangerous Effects of Substance Abuse Among Medical Professionals

So take this frying pan — it’s sizzling with butter, right? Let’s call that your brain.

Add an egg to that pan — watch it crack and pop, the yolk turning hard and bulbous. Lovely…. And yummy. Guess what — that’s your brain on drugs. Questions? I thought not.

You remember that classic promo about drugs? It’s a no-brainer that such substances are a dance with death. And even more so if you’re a medical professional. Why?

This is the one field of work that requires your absolute best in reflex, confidence, and trust. Think about it — you’re entrusted with the lives and deaths of people everywhere. You could be the bridge between a patient making it through whatever health detriment and suffering serious consequences. Moreover, when you’re surrounded by tons of prescriptions, it’s really easy to succumb to the constant addiction of substance abuse, making it much less possible to get past it and come out on top. Something any California medical malpractice law firm would jump on and lick their lips.

Think of that frying pan and egg mixed with a little arsenic and iocane, and you have an even bigger recipe for disaster, making breakfast a date with the devil. You happen to be handling the welfare of medical practice, be sure you’re doing yourself a favor to stay away from everything contrary to that. Like drugs. It can not only destroy your life — but the lives of the patients you’re trying to help. Any questions?

 

Filed Under: Drug Abuse Tagged With: , ,

Gateway drugs are more than just marijuana

Resized image of Ritalin-SR-20mg-full.png; squ...

Image via Wikipedia

Marijuana is considered to be ‘the’ gateway drug that typically starts people down a path of using drugs. A recent explosion of people using prescription drugs means marijuana is not alone in its contribution to beginning drug problems.

There are millions of people that smoke marijuana and never move on to something harder. Recent trends show many young people are starting to use prescription drugs like OxyContin and Percocet as their beginning choice of drug that starts them down a path of addiction.

One of the real dangers of prescription drugs is most people are able to function on them. It’s not hard to tell if your child, or someone you love, has been drinking because of their lack of focus, concentration and because alcohol gives off an odor. Prescription drugs are dangerous, because most loved ones can’t tell if their kids or spouse are impaired when the drugs are used on a moderate level.

Whether you believe that some people are predisposed to be drug addicts or triggers like marijuana or OxyContin, start people on a downward spiral, it’s safe to say they may contribute. Young people that ‘hang-out’ with other people that smoke marijuana are likely to start missing commitments and forgetting responsibilities. A prescription drug addict that needs to feed an addiction will likely come into contact with people of ill repute to garner their next fix.

Perhaps its guilt by association! If you spend your time with people that are doing drugs, someone is likely to have harder drugs around. Spend enough time in that environment, and a loved one will be exposed to hard drugs.

Filed Under: Drug Abuse

The Struggle That Comes After Getting Clean

Becoming sober is only the first step on a lifelong journey. Ask someone who’s been clean of drugs for so many years and they will tell you that they have been recovering instead. The problem is that just because an individual has become sober, it does not mean that the temptation has gone away. Being an addictive personality is no cake walk.

Many individuals turn to drugs and alcohol as a form of self medication. They have suffered emotionally at some point in their life to a grievous extent, with no ready support from other sources. Their pain is an engulfing thing. A potential addict won’t go to a doctor because they’re not taught to, or there is a stigma attached to admitting that they need help. Instead, alcohol or drugs serve to kill the pain.

Some addicts turn to drugs such as heroin or intoxicants like alcohol because they are depressants. Others gravitate towards crystal meth and cocaine for the euphoria. In either case, the facts remain the same: Drugs kill the pain. No having to feel anymore, just ride off on the cloud of bliss. The problem here with illegal drugs is that there is no structured support in their use, just go hide somewhere and get stoned. There is no one to talk to, no one to confide in, just the drugs taking over.

Once the addict starts the journey to get clean, they must begin to face the issues that drove them to the drug use in the first place. That look inside is hell indeed. Breaking the chains to addiction means that all of the issues that they were hiding from comes back into the full light. This is why it is so important to get counseling. Talking to a therapist gives the addict tools to move on with their life and not fall back into destructive patterns.

The temptation will always be there for the addict, even after getting sober. It never really goes away, just lies in the background, waiting. This is why the ex-addict will say that they are still in recovery.

Filed Under: Withdrawal Symptoms Tagged With: , ,

Why Drug Users do What They Do

Addicts don’t start out thinking that they are going to become full blown abusers. It is usually a simple matter of partying a few too many times and the brain chemistry gets hooked. Some people don’t have an addictive personality, but have a wide chasm of emotional pain that is not being addressed and finds that drugs can take away that pain. Both scenarios demonstrate that drugs have a powerful effect on the human brain, much to our own chagrin.

Not all addictions start out the same way. Someone who partakes in drugs infrequently is not going to experience much in the way of any changes, if any at all. There simply is not enough use to change the brain chemistry. Addiction is insidious. It tends to happen with the user not being aware that anything is going on. Usually a craving for a substance is as easily dismissed as a craving for a favorite fast food. By the time the user realizes they are hooked, it is too late to turn back the clock. The brain chemistry and metabolism has changed to a point that it is convinced the body that it cannot live unless a hit is obtained. This is part and parcel of why it is so hard to kick a habit.

Another way addictions form is from a desire to escape ones own existence. Certainly addicts come from all walks of life. Just look at Charlie Sheen. But those who have had a poor home life in their younger years tend to gravitate towards drugs to relieve the pain of daily life. There are those who never had a solid upbringing, received nothing but abuse from the figures of authority, and feel as if the world has let them down. Drug use takes them away from their internal pain. Someone who has felt the need to self-medicate themselves live sad lives indeed.

Condemning someone for drug use and abuse is not seeing the whole picture. There are those who use as a cry for help, and they should not be ignored.

Filed Under: General Rehab & Addiction Tagged With: , ,

What is the Definition of a Drug User?

Many people assume that those who use drugs are just that, users. What they fail to understand is that it can be so much more than being a user. Our brains have tricky ways to turn on us, creating a dependency instead of just abuse. The underlying problem of the poor perception happens because there are no physical manifestations of a dependency, so it is much easier to write someone off. This is the biggest mistake many people can make when it comes to writing someone off as a lost cause to drugs.

There are two distinct definitions that differentiate between use and dependence. It is not possible for someone to be both a user and dependent at the same time, as they are both completely different diagnosis’s. Understanding how each works can help with dealing with the user. It also helps with deciding what steps to take to convince them that they need to get clean for their own sake and others. Knowing how deep the problem runs is key.

A user is defined by someone who takes reckless actions with a complete and total disregard for the safety of others. They do not care that they have a problem and have no desire to get clean. A user is absolutely aware of their problem, but continues to persist in poor behaviors such as fighting, abusing loved ones, and getting into trouble with the law. And that is the crux of the problem. They know they are addicted, know the toll that drug use is taking on them and others, and they just don’t care. Someone like this needs a full blown intervention. They need to be sat down, have the impact that they have created demonstrated to them with full emotions, with the goal being one of changing the user’s mind about their problem and getting help.

This is the dark side of addiction. Users are self absorbed and don’t feel a need to get sober. It is night and day to someone who is a dependent and wants to get clean, but can’t.

Filed Under: Helping Addicts Tagged With: , ,

Defining Someone Who is Dependent on Drugs

There are two definitions of drug addicts: users and dependents. They are two completely separate diagnoses and will not overlap with one another. The irony is that a dependent type will be much more mellow and less likely to strike out at others than a user. The user is a more violent personality and has no desire to fix themselves, whereas the dependent wants to be quit of their habits.

When someone is a dependent, they are much more conscious of their addiction. By the time they realize that they have become an addict, it is usually too late. The individual does not like the whole idea of it, but does not have the tools to overcome. Because they want to be free, they tend to go to more extremes than the user in terms of use. Self-detox will happen frequently with extended periods of time spent returning to their previous level of addiction. For the dependent, drugs are a viscious cycle that is hard to break.

Over the course of a year, a dependent will usually see their tolerance to their drug of choice increase. This means that they need more of the substance to get a fix. To that extent, they will go out and make more of an effort to get satisfied for some time. All the while they are fully conscious of what their brain is after and don’t know how to stop it. In fact, they will shun social gatherings or turn down the opportunity to have some fun with their friends in order to get a fix.

This type of addiction is easier to treat as the user has an ongoing desire to be free of the substance abuse. When they are offered a hand out of the misery, they take it gladly and put more effort into the process. Many times a dependent drug user lack the tools to get away from their problems, not knowing how to find them. Rehabilitation centers offer the keys to the locks to help someone become drug free.

Filed Under: Addiction Symptoms Tagged With: , ,

Casual Drug Use Can Lead to Addiction

So many people say “Nah, not me.  I’ll never get addicted to drugs, I just use them from time to time.” And a majority would be wrong. Becoming addicted takes time and creeps up on the user quietly. All it takes is one extra line of cocaine, or trying heroin one too many times and the unconscious part of the brain takes over, demanding more and more.

There are some individuals who never get hooked on drugs and can use them casually throughout their lives. These people have non-addictive personalities which means their brains don’t take ahold of the drug like an addict does. Many are fooled by the non-addictive, thinking that if someone else can get away with taking drugs and not getting addicted, they can too. And that’s a bad assumption to make.

Addiction of any kind changes the brain chemistry, even something as mild as a cigarette. There is some type of reward for partaking in the substance, which in turn starts to hardwire itself into the brain. The more that is consumed, the more the brain changes, and not for the better. Two parts of the brain, the hippocampus and striatum have been found to be the areas that respond to drugs. The striatum is especially implicated as it is responsible for forming habits. It results in that one day, the user wakes up to realize that they are addicted and have to figure out how to stop it.

The unfortunate issue at stake here is the fact that the brain has been irrevocably changed. Neural pathways have adapted to the consumption of the drug and the eurphoria that comes with it. There is no switch that can be turned off anymore. It is stuck in the on position for the rest of the addict’s life, in turn creating an every day battle with the desire to get a buzz.

Filed Under: Drug Abuse Tagged With: , ,

The Ease of Becoming Addicted to Alcohol

Alcohol addiction is the same as drug addiction, but because it is legal, it is much easier to obtain and remain in a state of intoxication. The status of drugs such as heroin and cocaine make it harder to get a hold of, thus jacking up the price. It is much simpler to walk into a liquor store to pick up a bottle of the flavor of the day to get bombed.

Alcohol itself is a central nervous system depressant, or a downer in other words. Many of the negative feelings that one experiences with day to day living can be easily wiped away with a couple of drinks. What is not to like? Well, plenty. The sensation of being able to kill a pain in one fell swoop is addicting in of itself. Just like drugs, alcohol will change the brain’s neural pathways and convince a person that they can’t live without it. Satisfaction is a matter of swinging by the store and picking up a bottle, thus coming full circle on the addiction. The longer this goes on, the worse life becomes for the addict. And they simply don’t care.

There really is no easy answer to the problem. Prohibition doesn’t work, as was proven in the 1920′s. It has to be accepted that it is a legal drug, one that there seems to be no will to educate people about. Instead of making an attempt to say “It’s OK to drink every once in a while but be safe about it,” programs go to the “demon rum” excuse instead. No one wants to be seen condoning a bad habit. So those who are addicted to alcohol will tolerated much more than someone who’s hooked on hard drugs, a sad thing indeed.

Filed Under: General Rehab & Addiction Tagged With: , ,
« Older Posts