Category Archives: addiction

drug abuse

Contain addiction triggers and cravings

Contain addiction triggers

Contain addiction triggers and cravings will only be possible when you willingly give it up and let it go

Contain addiction triggers and cravings: Recovering with dignity

While getting sober from drugs is an important first step, it’s only the beginning of the recovery process. Once sober, the brain needs time to recover and rebuild connections that have changed while addicted. During this time, drug cravings can be intense. Doctor Dalal Akoury MD a veteran addiction expert and founder of AWAREmed health and wellness resource center advices that you can support your continued sobriety by making a conscious effort to avoid people, places, and situations that trigger the urge to use. This is only way among many you can use to contain addiction triggers and cravings. Besides, that, you can also opt for the following:

Make a break from old drug friends. Don’t make the mistake of hanging out with old friends who are still doing drugs. Surround yourself with people who support your sobriety, not those who tempt you to slip back into old, destructive habits.

Avoid bars and clubs, even if you don’t have a problem with alcohol. Drinking lowers inhibitions and impairs judgment, which can easily lead to relapse. Drugs are often readily available and the temptation to use can be overpowering. Also avoid any other environments and situations that you associate with drug use.

Be up front about your history of drug use when seeking medical treatment. If you need a medical or dental procedure done, be up front about your history and find a provider who will work with you in either prescribing alternatives or the absolute minimum medication necessary. You should never feel ashamed or humiliated about previous drug use or be denied medication for pain; if that happens, find another provider.

Use caution with prescription drugs. Stay away from prescription drugs with the potential for abuse or use only when necessary and with extreme caution. Drugs with a high abuse potential include painkillers, sleeping pills, and anti-anxiety medication.

Contain addiction triggers and cravings: Coping with drug cravings

Sometimes craving cannot be avoided, and it is necessary to find coping ways like:

Get involved in some distracting activity. Reading, a hobby, going to a movie, exercising (jogging, biking) are good examples of distracting activities. Once you get interested in something else, you’ll find the urges go away. Another effective response to a drug craving is eating (be careful of what you eat, as eating junk will only add stress and inches to your waistline).

Talk it through. Talk to friends or family members about craving when it occurs. Talking about cravings and urges can be very helpful in pinpointing the source of the craving. Also, talking about craving often helps to discharge and relieve the feeling and will help restore honesty in your relationship. Craving is nothing to feel bad about.

Urge surf. Many people try to cope with their urges by gritting their teeth and toughing it out. But some are just too strong to ignore. When this happens, it can be useful to stay with the urge until it passes. This technique is called urge surfing. Imagine yourself as a surfer who will ride the wave of your drug craving, staying on top of it until it crests, breaks, and turns into less powerful, foamy surf.

Challenge and change your thoughts. When experiencing a craving, many people have a tendency to remember only the positive effects of the drug and forget the negative consequences. You may find it helpful to remind yourself that you really won’t feel better if you use and that you stand to lose a lot. Sometimes it is helpful to have these benefits and consequences documented. This way you will be kept on the positive track of recovery and always remember to keep consulting with the experts at AWAREmed health center from time to time.

Contain addiction triggers and cravings: Recovering with dignity

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addiction

Keeping addiction behind you objectively

Keeping addiction behind

Keeping addiction behind you objectively with constant practicing of healthy living

Keeping addiction behind you objectively: Build a meaningful drug free life

You can support your drug treatment and protect yourself from relapse by having activities and interests that provide meaning to your life. It’s important to be involved in things that you enjoy and make you feel needed. When your life is filled with rewarding activities and a sense of purpose, your addiction will lose its appeal.

Pick up a new hobby. Do things that challenge your creativity and spark your imagination, something you’ve always wanted to try.

Adopt a pet. Yes, pets are a responsibility, but caring for an animal makes you feel loved and needed. Pets can also get you out of the house for exercise.

Get involved in your community. Replace your addiction with drug-free groups and activities. Volunteer, become active in your church or faith community, or join a local club or neighborhood group.

Set meaningful goals. Having goals to work toward and something to look forward to can be powerful antidotes to drug addiction. It doesn’t matter what the goals are whether they involve your career, your personal life, or your health, just ensure that they are important to you.

Look after your health. Regular exercise, adequate sleep, and healthy eating habits help you keep your energy levels up and your stress levels down. When you feel good, drugs are much less of a temptation. The more you can do to stay healthy, the easier it will be to stay sober.

Keeping addiction behind you objectively: Don’t let relapse keep you down

Relapse is a common part of the recovery process from drug addiction. While relapse is understandably frustrating and discouraging, it can also be an opportunity to learn from your mistakes and correct your treatment course.

What causes relapse?

Various “triggers” can put people at risk of relapsing into old patterns of substance use. Causes of relapse can differ for each person. Some common ones include:

  • negative emotional states (such as anger, sadness, trauma or stress)
  • physical discomfort (such as withdrawal symptoms or physical pain)
  • positive emotional states (wanting to feel even better)
  • testing personal control (“I can have just one drink”)
  • strong temptations or urges (cravings to use)
  • conflict with others (such as an argument with a spouse or partner)
  • social pressures to use (situations where it seems as though everyone else is drinking or using other drugs)
  • good times with others (such as having fun with friends or family)

The important thing to remember is that relapse doesn’t mean treatment failure. Rather than giving up, get back on the wagon as quickly as you can. Call your sponsor, talk to your therapist, go to a meeting, or schedule an appointment with your doctor. When you’re sober again and out of danger, look at what triggered the relapse, what went wrong, and what you could have done differently. You can choose to get back on the path to recovery and use the experience to strengthen your commitment.

Keeping addiction behind you objectively: Build a meaningful drug free life

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brain

Bipolar disorders and brain instability

Bipolar disorders

Bipolar disorders and brain instability and drug abuse can bring serious brain instability.

Bipolar disorders and brain instability: Cycles of depression

If you have never known what bipolar disorders are, then it will benefits you to appreciate that normally it is identified by incidences of excitability (mania) interchanging with the cycles of depression. The mood swings between mania and depression are normally very sudden. Doctor Dalal Akoury, MD founder and President of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center says that bipolar disorder results from instability in the sections of the brain charged with moods regulation. During manic periods, persons struggling with bipolar disorder may be excessively impulsive and energetic, with a flamboyant sense of self. The depressed stage brings overpowering feelings of anxiety, low self-respect and suicidal thoughts.

Because of the seriousness of bipolar disorder, many of the victims will often require time in inpatient depression treatment centers. The essence of this is to help them to be free from life stressors, get appropriate medication management and learn healthier coping skills. Ideally if you will schedule for an appointment with doctor Akoury, this is what we will offer to you during treatment professionally and with a lot of dignity.

Bipolar disorders and brain instability: Types of bipolar disorder

There are two principal types of bipolar disorder. Individuals with bipolar disorder have had at least one fully manic episode with episodes of major depression. (At one time, bipolar disorder was called manic depression).

Individuals with bipolar disorder II rarely suffer full-fledged mania. Instead they suffer periods of hypomania (increased levels of energy and impulsiveness that are not as extreme as the symptoms of mania). These hypomanic episodes alternate with episodes of major depression. A mild form of bipolar disorder called cyclothymia involves periods of hypomania and mild depression, with less severe mood swings. It is further important to note that bipolar disorder affects men and women equally and usually appears between the ages of 15 and 25.

Bipolar disorders and brain instability: Bipolar disorder symptoms and signs

The manic phase of bipolar disorder may last from days to months and include the following symptoms:

  • Binge eating, drinking and drug use
  • Easily irritated
  • Elevated mood
  • Hyperactivity
  • Increased energy
  • Inflated self-esteem
  • Lack of self-control
  • Little need for sleep
  • Over-involvement in activities
  • Poor temper control
  • Racing thoughts
  • Reckless behavior
  • Sexual promiscuity
  • Spending sprees
  • Tendency to be easily distracted

These symptoms of mania are seen with bipolar disorder I. In people with bipolar disorder II, hypomanic episodes involve similar symptoms that are less intense. The depressed phase of both types of bipolar disorder involves very serious symptoms of major depression include:

  • Struggling concentrating, memory lapse and poor decision making.
  • Eating disturbances
  • Fatigue
  • Feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness and guilt
  • Loss of appetite and weight loss
  • Loss of self-esteem
  • Overeating and weight gain
  • Persistent sadness
  • Persistent imaginations of death
  • Sleep disturbances like excessive sleepiness or inability to sleep
  • Withdrawal from activities that were once enjoyed and from friends

Finally bipolar disorder increases the risk of suicide to the directly affected victims. While in either phase, a person may abuse alcohol or other substances, which can worsen the symptoms. Sometimes there is an overlap between the two phases. Manic and depressive symptoms may occur simultaneously or in quick succession in what is called a mixed state. But in all these instances, you will need help. This is what doctor Akoury and her team of experts will do effectively to restore your health professionally.

Bipolar disorders and brain instability: Cycles of depression

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Cancer and weight

Leaky gut syndrome causes and inflammation

Leaky gut syndrome

Leaky gut syndrome causes and inflammation, and in fact it is not just about Leaky Gut definition, finding lasting solution requires real professional to help you through. Contact AWAREMED today.

Leaky gut syndrome causes and inflammation: Weight management impossibilities

So what causes increased intestinal permeability? There’s still much to be learned, but diet, chronic stress, certain medications and bacterial imbalance seem to play important roles. Eating a diet high in refined sugar can lead to overgrowth of yeast species, which has been associated with leaky gut syndrome. Preservatives and chemicals in processed foods can damage the lining, and so can consumption of gluten a protein found in wheat, rice and barley. Having understood that, doctor Dalal Akoury MD President and founder of AWAREmed health and wellness resource center is reiterating that, chronic stress can lead to a weakened immune system, affecting your ability to fight off invading bacteria and viruses and worsening the symptoms of leaky gut.

Medications like aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDs) that can damage the lining of your gut, as well as antibiotics that kill off your essential good bacteria are also associated with increased intestinal permeability. In fact, an imbalance between beneficial and harmful species in your gut called symbiosis is one of the leading theories about what causes increased intestinal permeability. Excessive alcohol consumption, infection with parasites, radiation and chemotherapy can damage the lining of the intestine and are also risk factors. In addition to bloating and digestive distress, a lot of the patients I see with leaky gut have a combination of other symptoms like food allergies, chronic sinus infections, achy joints, fatigue, brain fog or unexplained rashes. This can bring feelings of hopelessness and despair, because the symptoms seem so unrelated. With all these infections cropping, it becomes clear that the body becomes sick and as a result weight loss becomes practically impossible.

Leaky gut syndrome causes and inflammation: Finding lasting solutions

There’s no miracle cure for treating leaky gut, but there are things you can do that can help in healing inflammation and restore the integrity of your gut lining. An anti-inflammatory diet that eliminates refined sugars, dairy, gluten, alcohol and artificial sweeteners some of the biggest offenders when it comes to inflammation can be very helpful. Consuming lots of anti-inflammatory essential fatty acids in fish and nuts, and filling up on green leafy vegetables, high-fiber and fermented foods that help to promote the growth of good bacteria is also crucial. A robust probiotic that contains large amounts of good bacteria can help heal a damaged intestinal lining by restoring balance in the gut flora. Supplements like glutamine have been shown in some studies to help with intestinal injury after chemotherapy and radiation and may be beneficial in leaky gut.

Most people will notice improvement within 6 weeks, although it may take several months and even years to heal a damaged intestinal lining in extreme cases of leaky gut. Many of the treatment guidelines are drawn more from anecdotal observation than from rigorous scientific studies. But they’re sensible recommendations that can lead to improvements in your overall health, whether or not you have increased intestinal permeability. Leaky gut is one of those diagnoses that bridges the gap between conventional and alternative medicine, between what we can see and touch and what we can feel in our bodies. I refuse to believe that the hundreds of patients I see in my office with unusual and seemingly unrelated complaints are crazy, or just stressed out. If am addressing your situation now, you can schedule an appointment with us for more professional undertaking on your individual condition.

Leaky gut syndrome causes and inflammation: Weight management impossibilities

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HORMONES AND WEIGHT GAIN

Leaky gut disorder and inflammation

Leaky gut disorder

Leaky gut disorder and inflammation can ruin ones health if not addressed promptly

Leaky gut disorder and inflammation: How will they make weight loss impossible?

Leaky gut can be a difficult diagnosis to establish for a number of reasons: It’s associated with a wide range of seemingly unconnected symptoms; it has a lot of different causes; there’s no specific test to confirm it; and evidence tying it to other conditions can be murky. As a result, there’s a fair amount of skepticism in the mainstream medical community about the legitimacy of leaky gut as a diagnosis. But as the evidence that this is indeed a real and recognizable condition grows, opinions are slowly changing. Nonetheless, according to the experts at AWAREmed health and wellness resource center under the leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury MD that’s a good thing, because leaky gut disorder is likely to emerge as one of the most significant medical concepts of our time.

Leaky gut disorder and inflammation: How leaky gut affects you

The digestive lining serves is an important barrier function. It’s like a sieve with very tiny holes allowing only small substances to go through, while keeping out larger undesirable particles. With leaky gut, also known as increased intestinal permeability, the net becomes damaged, resulting in bigger holes that allow more things to pass through that ordinarily couldn’t. doctor Akoury reiterates that when the barrier function becomes compromised, bacteria, viruses, undigested food particles and toxic waste products can leak from the inside of your intestines through the damaged digestive lining into your bloodstream, where they’re transported throughout your body and can trigger your immune system to react. The end result is inflammation in various parts of your body, leading to a wide variety of symptoms like bloating, cramps, fatigue, food sensitivities, flushing, achy joints, headache and rashes.

Remember that with leaky gut, not only is the digestive lining more porous and less selective about what can get in, but normal absorption can also be affected. Nutritional deficiencies may develop as a result of damage to the villi – the finger-like projections in the small intestine that are responsible for absorbing nutrients. Multiple food sensitivities are another hallmark of leaky gut, because partially digested particles of protein and fat may leak through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream and cause an allergic response. Increased intestinal permeability may potentially cause or worsen a number of other conditions, including Celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD, which includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), arthritis, psoriasis, eczema and asthma.

Finally, even as we get to the end of this discussion, you good health is our priority as experts from AWAREmed health center. To that effect, we will be discussing the causes shortly in our next article and this is going to be very informative. You definitely don’t want to miss this, stay tuned and be well informed about leaky gut disorder and inflammation and their effect on weight management. But in the meantime, if you have any concern about leaky gut disorder or syndrome and inflammation, you can schedule an appointment with doctor Akoury now for more professional insight.

Leaky gut disorder and inflammation: How will they make weight loss impossible?

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