Tricky Deceptions About Drug And Alcohol Relapse

Alcohol and drug addiction can be classified as a chronic relapsing disorder since a higher percentage of the patients fall off the wagon or return to old habits.

Although most people who relapse implicate the cravings they feel for the drug as the reason for the relapse there are other factors involved which play a significant role in the relapse process. One of the roles in the relapse process which has recently been studied is the gender of the addicted person.

Studies show that women who enter and complete a treatment program will relapse less frequently than men, partly because women are more likely to engage in group counseling. Women in general tend to share their feelings more openly and be more helpful to other group members.

A recent study of more than 1,700 addicted men and women found that alcoholics and drug addicts who entered treatment centers and continued to attend Alcoholics, Narcotics, or Cocaine Anonymous meetings after discharging from treatment were less likely to relapse in the first year.

Relapse doesn't occur overnight in most instances but instead begins as a slow, gradual process which will eventually lead the patient back to their drug of choice. If you think you're headed for a relapse there are a few things that you can look for which will be good indicators of a possible relapse.

You may be headed for a relapse if:

You begin to change the daily schedule and routine which you established while you were in treatment. You stop going to AA or NA meetings every day or begin to make excuses to miss meetings. You begin avoiding sober friends.

Another indicator is if you stop taking phone calls from friends and family and refuse to socialize with people who want to help you in your effort to stay sober. You begin to spend more time alone at home thinking about the past or about friends who are still using.

A sign might also be that you get angry when people ask you to go to AA or NA meetings. Have you stopped participating in your recovery program because you feel it isn't as important anymore to stay focused on sobriety? You think you have better things to do than to attend meetings.

Are you too confident and tell yourself that you have a few months of sobriety under your belt and you feel that you have the addiction problem under control. Do you say to yourself that you can drink just one beer and stop when you want to since now you know more about the addiction process.

Relapse prevention literature is perhaps the most important drug recovery material which you can read. Know the warning signs of relapse so that you can take the necessary steps to avoid relapsing and continue to make healthy decisions. Take action by attending meetings and talk to group members on a daily basis.

Studies show that people who attend AA or NA meetings on a regular schedule tend to stay sober for longer periods of time. However, there are also ways to remain clean that don't involve these methods as Amy Lee Coy discusses in our interview.

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Kick Any Habit With Useful Drug Detox Strategies

Eliminating an actual drug habit is simply not going to be easy, but once you have determined that this is an activity you are choosing to do, the rest really will fall into place. One of the most essential things you need to do is come to understand that a twelve step strategy is not the only method available these days; you do have other options to help you end a destructive habit. There is so much more research currently from modern science which is indicating to us that successful drug detox programs should be used to clean people up once and for all if they are willing. Whenever you want methods to be able to find healing which will last, it's very important to seek out the alternatives that can help you rebuild your life so to make it much easier to manage. The studies are accessible and you can now see that people no longer have to live in apathy or frustration because there are many serious and helpful approaches to get the type results which can create a person genuinely satisfied with a normal lifestyle.

In fact, a dependency of any kind is an individual horror story of its own unique set of reasons of why and how it started in the first place, so that is why treatment must be specifically tailored towards the individual. Everyone has a body and a mind that is a bit distinctive from everyone else's; therefore we need to make an effort to discover the program which is the best option to our own actual nature. A little bit of investigating will show you that there are long-term drug rehabs out there which are able to definitely give you the finest possible ability of achieving what you have always wished for - getting one's life back on track. Real life begins by taking a considerable plan of action to get yourself back and suitably enjoying who you really are and what your life is all about.

For those of us that are hoping we can easily assist a friend or member of the family because they are under pressure despite the fact that we have no drug knowledge ourselves, this is a brand new era. Occasionally, it takes that one special person to persuade somebody else and they're finally capable of being free of what has been torturing them. As you start to learn more about the sorts of results that these applications can assist with you currently, it becomes even more obvious that they're revolutionary. You can see that when individuals offer factors their finest shot, despite having stubborn drug addictions, they are able to free themselves. There's just no reason to stick to having an addiction and seeing it hurt you when there are options.

Drug and alcohol abuse is on a steep increase across the nation, and Scott Slakofe is one of many individuals working to educate individuals as to the various successful inpatient drug rehab options available.

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Teens Beware - Substance Abuse Ruins Your Physical Appearance

Teens are highly conscious about their physical appearance. But they often fail to understand that drug addiction worsens their appearance and makes them look unattractive and old. Drug abusing teens often ignore their regular grooming habits. They are unaware of the fact that these unhealthy habits negatively affect the internal health as well as external physical appearance too.

This article shows how substance abuse deteriorates the natural charm of drug addicted youngsters.

General signs: Illicit drug abuse is associated with few general changes in the appearance of the individual. Some general changes include, puffy face, drowsy looks, needle marks on hands and legs etc. These things are quite commonly seen in most of the drug abusers, by which we can identify their drug abusing habit easily.

Personal grooming: Personal grooming habits of drug abusers deteriorate day by day. They ignore to maintain even the regular cleanliness. Teens who are normally self-conscious about their attire and appearance will no longer care about their personal hygiene and physical appearance once they start using drugs. Messy hair, torn and untidy clothes, not brushing teeth and not having bath are some of their lifestyle patterns.

Oral effects: Oral disorders are often found in drug and tobacco addicts. Of the various drugs, 'Methamphetamine' causes major oral problems. Use of drugs may result in discolored, brittle, chipped, rot and stained teeth. Toxic chemicals present in various drugs block the blood supply to the oral cavity and reduces saliva production. Oral disorders also include some gum diseases which result in reddened and bleeding gums.

Skin disorders: Drug addicts experience severe skin related problems. One of the major disorders is skin sores or lesions. They appear on the skin at various visible places like arms, legs, including face, and take a prolonged time to heal. In severe addictions, the sores may not heal at all. These sores are highly susceptible to infections.

The toxic substances in drugs result in the death of blood vessels present in the skin. Lack of blood flow to the skin tissues makes it difficult for the body to repair the injury. As a result, the skin loses elasticity, and hence the abusers look more aged compared to their original age.

Some dangerous drugs like 'Meth' also cause powerful hallucinations which will make the abuser feel and believe that some bugs are crawling either on or under his skin. This is referred to as 'crank bug', which causes compulsive pricking and scratching behaviors.

Changes in weight: People who are addicted to drugs either lose or gain weight suddenly. Drug abuse accelerates the body's usage of energy and suppresses the appetite which makes the abuser lose weight and look malnourished. They experience a drastic change in their weight over a period of time. Sleep disorders and lifestyle changes also can contribute to weight loss. Due to the weight loss, the person becomes weak and also is vulnerable to many diseases due to lack of disease resistance.

Now that you are aware of the fact that substance abuse worsens physical appearance, make sure that you stay away from these harmful substances.

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Alcohol Rehabilitation: Education As the Primary Weapon

Three theories purport to explain alcoholism: Genetic, defining it as a chromosomal predisposition; Sociological, defining it as a product of social influences; and Psychological, defining it as a personality predisposition. Effective alcohol rehabilitation takes each into consideration.

The theories, whether genetic, sociological or psychological, all boil down to one simple fact: alcoholism is a chronic, progressive disease that, if left untreated, will kill the sufferer one way or another. It may be from Cirrhosis of the liver, from heart disease, or it may be in a car crash on a dark rainy night. Whatever outcome lies in wait, it is in the interest of the alcoholic to find the power to arrest the disease before it's too late. A formidable task since, once the disease has emerged, lack of power has become the alcoholic's dilemma. This is where alcohol rehabilitation steps in.

Treatment is not a magic wand. There are no incantations, potions or secret handshakes. It is an educational process designed to help the sufferer find his or her way back to happiness by way of a roadmap emphasizing not only the negative effects of alcohol, but the positive effects of abstinence in a supportive environment. This is not an easy task in light of the fact that denial is the primary symptom of the disease. What would a person want to learn about a disease he or she is convinced they do not have? And why would they give up a substance they are convinced they have no problem with? Treatment provides a knowledge that constitutes power.

"I just didn't believe it," says Donnalee B. "What would a little old grandmother like me have in common with those guys under the bridge? But my daughter, the mother of my grandchildren, came to family night at the treatment center. She talked about everything I couldn't remember having said or done. But I had to believe her because she was crying." Donnalee, now three years without a drink, sighs while wiping a tear of her own away. "Now she trusts me with the little ones again. So I go back to Pennsylvania and visit not only my grandchildren, but that treatment center, too, whenever I can. I'm so grateful."

Residential treatment can be a slow process. And it matters little whether one, like Donnalee, is discussing Philadelphia rehab centers, rehab Pittsburgh, or rehab in Kentucky, her other daughter's new home, the process is the same. Donnalee again: "I didn't appreciate how important education was. At first, I though treatment was just an expensive roadmap to Alcoholics Anonymous. But once I understood, long term sobriety became possible for me because I know exactly what my problem is."

Twelve Palms Recovery Center, experts in private, compassionate alcohol rehabilitation , focus their efforts on the individual. They also emphasize the importance of the 12-step model by not only encouraging AA attendance, but hosting AA meetings, as well. For additional information call 866-331-6779 any time, 24 hours a day. Mark R. Merrill is a veteran of twenty-three years in alcohol recovery. He has worked as a volunteer in Multnomah County and Washington County, Oregon "In Jail Intervention Programs," as well as written extensively on the issue of alcohol and drug recovery.

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Psychologists seek authority to prescribe psychotropic medications

Many who do receive care get it through their primary-care physician rather than a mental health professional like a psychiatrist or psychologist. That’s partly by choice: People prefer to talk to someone they know and trust about medical problems, and for many, there’s still a stigma in seeing a “shrink.”

But part of the reason people turn to their primary-care doctors or go without care is that it can be tough to get an appointment with a mental health expert. Psychiatrists, in particular, are in short supply, especially in rural areas.

A recent survey conducted for the Tennessee Psychological Association, for example, found that the average wait to see a psychiatrist for a non-emergency appointment was 54 days for patients with private health insurance and 90 days for those covered by TennCare, the state’s Medicaid program, says Lance Laurence, director of professional affairs for the TPA. “It’s a huge access issue,” says Katherine Nordal, executive director for professional practice at the American Psychological Association, a trade group for psychologists.

Psychologists say they have a solution to help address the access problems: Give them more authority to prescribe psychotropic medications. They can already prescribe in New Mexico and Louisiana, as well as in all branches of the military and the Indian Health Service. A half-dozen other states are considering measures that would give more psychologists prescribing authority.

Some of those states have considered and rejected such legislation before, but Nordal says her group is “cautiously optimistic” that it may succeed in a few states this year.

Psychiatrists are medical doctors with a specialty in psychiatry; psychologists have doctoral degrees, and their training includes coursework in diagnosing and managing mental illness. Any medical doctor, from dermatologist to surgeon, can prescribe psychotropic drugs; but before psychologists can prescribe drugs — in the jurisdictions that allow it — they must complete work equivalent to an additional master’s degree in clinical psychopharmacology, says Nordal. With the exception of psychiatrists, she says, no medical professional is as well versed in medication for mental disorders as prescribing psychologists.

In addition, psychologists provide other types of treatment, such as talk therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy, in contrast to psychiatrists, who often only prescribe drugs; a national survey found that only 10.8 percent of psychiatrists offer talk therapy to all their patients. “We have a bigger toolkit than many others do that prescribe,” Nordal says.

Health insurance generally covers prescription drugs to treat mental illness, but coverage for therapy sessions with a mental health provider is less routine. This has resulted in an over-reliance on drug therapy in recent years, all agree. Experts say this imbalance should change under the Mental Health Parity Act, which took effect last year; it requires mental health benefits, if offered, to be at least as generous as benefits for medical and surgical care. Even if the type of treatment shifts somewhat, however, many patients will still need drug therapy.

Physician groups such as the American Medical Association and some patient advocacy groups, however, are cool to the idea of letting psychologists prescribe drugs. “These are serious drugs with serious side effects,” says Mike Fitzpatrick, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, a consumer advocacy organization. “We feel strongly that [prescribing] should be handled by someone with medical training.”

The problem is likely to become more acute with an estimated 32 million people expected to gain health insurance under the health-care overhaul law. The Association of American Medical Colleges projects a shortage of 45,000 primary-care physicians alone by 2020.

Experts agree that solutions lie in better integration between primary care and mental health care. This makes sense in part because for more than a third of patients with mental health problems, the only practitioner they see is a primary-care provider. In addition, people with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and asthma are significantly more likely to have mental health problems than those without chronic illness. People with serious mental illness, in fact, die 25 years sooner, on average, than the rest of the population.

The health-care overhaul, with its emphasis on medical homes and accountable care organizations that take responsibility for managing a patient’s health rather than just providing medical services, offers promising models for integration, experts agree.

In clinical psychologist Benjamin Miller’s primary care “dream world,” mental health providers work alongside primary-care physicians, in the same office. Miller is an assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Colorado’s school of medicine in Denver. Part of his job is to integrate mental health into the family medicine department’s clinical, education and research functions.

“There’s a range of mental health needs that will be seen in primary care,” he says. “You can’t tease it out from the other conditions that an individual is facing.”