Positive psychology in addiction treatment

July 24, 2014

Positive psychology in addiction treatment – Drug Addiction

Positive psychology in addiction treatment. It is much healthier to treat addiction when there is common understanding of the problem at hand.

Everyone would want to be given hope that their life situation is not permanent and there is light at the end of the tunnel. When professionals are administering treatment they often give their patients words of hope and keep it that way even when they are convinced that chances of living the hospital bed is diminishing every passing second after all the patients only visited the facility to get better and being hopeful is very necessary in treatment of any kind of health condition. However there are instances when this has not been the practice in some quarters like in addiction related problems we know for sure that there is high possibilities of relapsing during and after recovery a process that may occur repeatedly and can be very discouraging. When one relapses consistently such a person needs to be encouraged to soldier on and be given hope that this is normal and will be defeated with time. To do this it will be important that we cultivate the positive psychology in both the addict and the health care provider.

Positive psychology in addiction treatment – Definition

Therefore let us understand what positive Psychology is all about. First this is a new initiative in the arena of psychological research and intervention defined as the scientific study of the strong points and virtues that enable individuals and communities to flourish. The initiative is founded on the understanding that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to promote what is best within them and to improve their experiences of love, work, and play.

In effective addiction treatment, positive psychological approaches play an important role in achieving long-term addiction recovery goals. Usually addicts are told that:

They have a disease which they will have to manage for the rest of their lives.
To expect relapse and that from a statistical perspective, most will die from their illness.

This is extremely demoralizing prognosis to provide to someone who has presented a problem to you for help. This is not the way to go and a positive psychologist would rearrange the conversation and the situation by instilling hopeful suggestions that addiction is a behavioral disorder and even the most rooted behaviors can be changed with proper treatment and change of life style among other applicable factors. While not denying the negative statistics surrounding addiction recovery, reframing of the opportunity to recover into something achievable is empowering and motivating giving hope to many who may be suffering from substance abuse.

Positive psychology in addiction treatment – Self-discovery

Positive psychology is a continuous process and is boundary less so long as the patients still need help. Therefore after giving these quality encouragement to the addict patient by suggesting that recovery is possible not just for a select few, the positive psychologist will then begins to work with the addict to re-evaluate life and initiate a process of self-discovery where the addicted patient get to know the kind of activities and relationships of great importance to and for them.

Like I said before with this positive psychology there are no limits. For instance example, consider a physically challenged person on a wheelchair all his or her life being pushed to your office for advice in life telling you that what they want to do is to be serving seals, what would you tell them? Many may condemn then because they cannot walk and so may not be productive in an assignment. This is the wrong way of handling people by doing this you will for sure achieve great injury and demoralization to this people, instead you may instill hope in them by suggesting and encouraging them to look into what it would take for them to save seals. You may inspire them that since they are not able to walk and be physically active what about if they be involved through the internet in those types of activities and raise funds to support the work! Being visionary is the kind of process being applied to the people suffering from addiction to help them a world and life beyond substances they abuse and to give them achievable goals to work towards with the sole objective helping them keep to their recovery.

Meaningful recovery is achieved when the pain of the past is worked through and goals for the future are set and worked toward. Part of the problem of addiction generally may include: An inability to envision a different future, future in which happiness, good work, and strong relationships are the fabric of daily life. With the application of positive psychology, the therapists are able to inspire and help addicts plan for and believe that they can attain the kind of future of which they previously could not even dream. This is the spirit that is transformative and realistic. If you have been with me on this link you may have read from our previous articles putting emphasis to every one of the duty of care owed to one another, this is an endless commitment that you and I should embrace for the good of our well-being. In attempting to achieve this doctor Akoury a known addiction professional of several decades founded AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center where total care and treatment is administered to all in need while focusing on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE this is ware to be for all kinds of addiction related problems.

Positive psychology in addiction treatment – Drug Addiction

Tobacco Addiction: Helping Your Patient from “I do” to “I don’t”

July 23, 2014

What’s New In Tobacco Addiction

Tobacco addiction Tobacco is not only a highly addictive substance but also one of killer drug substances. It is though one of the most widely abused substance in the world to date. Tobacco is one of drugs of the kind that makes the users keep saying “if I wanted today I can quit smoking this thing” but the truth is that quitting smoking tobacco naturally is not that easy. Nicotine which is a compound found in the tobacco is the chemical responsible for this addiction. This chemical causes a rush of adrenaline when absorbed into the bloodstreams or when inhaled through cigarette’s smoke. This chemical also initiates an increase in dopamine, nicknamed as “brain’s happy” chemical. This chemical consequently stimulates the brain areas which are normally associated with pleasure and reward. Just like with any other drug, the prolonged usage of tobacco can cause a physical and psychological addiction. This is not only applicable for smoky tobacco but also the case with the smokeless tobacco such as snuff and chewing ones.

What Are The Symptoms Of Addiction From Tobacco?

Unlike the addicts from the other forms of drugs, addiction from tobacco is very easy to spot. This is because tobacco is legal in many countries in the world. This factor makes it readily available and hence easy to acquire and can be consumed even in public. The smell of the tobacco makes it impossible for the addicts/ user to hide. It is very distinct from the other smells and it follows the smokers everywhere they go.

Some users of tobacco do not do it regularly, but for the addicts it has to be regular. How then do we notice an addicted person?

The person cannot stop smoking or chewing despite many attempts to stop. The person will continue to take the drug even though it has a negative effect to his body.
After every meal, the person must smoke or chew or after long time of not taking it. The addicted person will always want to take the drug and therefore after taking time without taking the drug e.g. while eating, after the activity the person will be seen smoking.
If the person attempts to quit taking tobacco, there will be withdrawal symptoms such as shaking hands, sweating, rise in heart beat or even irritation.
The person seems not to be at ease when he/ she has not smoked, and for the person to feel comfortable especially when the person is stressed must take tobacco.
The person will always attempt to dodge activities which are to take place which tobacco use in not allowed.
Another way of noticing a tobacco addict is that, the person will continue to take tobacco even when it causes him/her health problems.
The person will depict intense craving for tobacco and can afford to lose anything to get tobacco. If such a person doesn’t have money to purchase the tobacco substance can end up in pretty crimes seeking money to buy tobacco.

Can Tobacco Addiction Be Treated?

Addiction from tobacco can sometimes prove difficult to manage, despite a wide range of treatment methods available for the treatment of tobacco addiction. The main problem here becomes the relapse, which is mainly caused by craving the ritual of smoking. The process of recovery from this kind of addiction is never smooth, and unless the addict is devoted, relapse will be most likely.

Let’s look at some of the methods through which tobacco addiction can be treated:-

The patch

This method of treatment of tobacco addiction is also known as a nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). It uses the principle of gradual transition from drugs, by ensuring that the addict doesn’t withdraw from the drugs abruptly but slowly. It therefore gives the addict a small level of nicotine to wean the body gradually.

Tobacco Addiction

The nicotine Gum

This is another form of NRT, which helps the addicts which have a habit of chewing and thus a need for oral fixation. The gum which is given to the recovering addict supplies a low level nicotine to ensure gradual transition of the addict from tobacco.

Inhalers and spray

This is another form of NRT also and involves supplying low level nicotine through spraying the nicotine sprays into the nose of the addict which is then inhaled to the lungs.

Medication

The other way of treating tobacco addiction is by the medical way. These are medications which are given by doctors once the addict visits health centers. Certain antidepressants or high blood pressure drugs are known to help in the treatment of addiction.

Therapeutic treatments

This involves use of psychological and behavioral treatment techniques. This involves activities which try to change the addict’s way in which they think about addiction and working to alter the feelings or behaviors the brain associates with tobacco use.

Despite having all these options in the treatment of tobacco addiction, it is important to note that some options will work well for some people and not to the others. It is therefore important to discuss the treatment method you choose with your doctor and keep in touch with the doctor to be able to track your progress and determine the progress.

Tobacco Addiction: Helping Your Patient from “I do” to “I don’t”

Rectal Ozone and Cancer

July 23, 2014

Coffee Enemas, Rectal Ozone and Detoxification in Cancer Treatment.

Rectal ozone Cancer treatment is a subject that has involved lots of research and still up to now medical researchers and other doctors are still doing lots of research to come up with new ways to better treat cancer. Basing on the findings of the past researches, we find that our environment plays a major role in cancer cell formation as it exposes as to toxins that may change the DNA makeup of our healthy body cells putting us at a risk of developing cancer.

Detoxification is a necessity in cancer treatment

Detoxification is a very important process in cancer treatment especially through the natural ways. The basis of treating cancer by detoxification is that the cancerous cells formation are as a result of the many toxins in our bodies that we get from the environment in the air we breathe as well as in the foods we eat. We may also get cancer from malignant body cells that may turn cancerous resulting into tumors in our bodies. All malignant cells and free radicals should be flushed out of our bodies to ensure we are free from cancer. Treating cancer without detoxification may not help as the toxins present will lead to re-infection.

Carcinogens that we expose ourselves to in our work environment for a long time will cause cancer by altering the DNA makeup. These toxins play a major role in cancer formation as well as the growth of tumor cells.

Factory chemicals such are benzene and vinyl chloride are very dangerous and are known to cause certain types of cancer. This therefore calls for periodic detoxification to get rid of these toxins from the body.

Detoxification helps in cleansing the organs by getting rid of toxins that may be cancerous, it also improves cell permeability that is good for cell survival. Cell permeability in turn makes cancer cell vulnerable by increasing its exposure to poison during chemotherapy. The benefits of detoxification in cancer treatment can’t be underestimated as through detoxification, malignant cells and free radicals that may be cancerous are flushed out of the body. Detoxification improves oxygen circulation within the cells however cancerous cells do not do well in presence of oxygen. They thrive in anaerobic conditions hence their growth is altered. Natural detoxification process is the best as they are less expensive, very effective and has no serious side effects. One of the natural detoxification methods is by use of coffee enemas.

Coffee enemas and its role in cancer treatment

Coffee enemas are very effective for detoxifying the body; getting rid of the cancer causing malignant cells and free radicals. Coffee enemas were first featured in cancer treatment by Dr. Gerson in his popular Gerson’s therapy. It was used in detoxification in the therapy.

Caffeine which is a major component of coffee has been proved to stimulate the liver and the gall bladder to effectively release bile. Coffee plays a role in dilating the bile duct helping to improve the detoxification function. The proof of this fact is evident in a research done by Dr. Lee Wattenberg in 1981 which revealed that some substances found in coffee such as kahweol and cafestol palmitate aids in detoxification through the help of enzyme glutathione S-tranferase. This enzyme helps in neutralizing free radicals in the body hence promotes detoxification of cancer causing toxins.

The liver which is the largest internal organ plays very many roles. It lays a fortress that diseases find hard to pass as all nutrients that enter your body must pass through the liver for filtration where they are either excreted or absorbed. Our exposure to dangerous chemicals makes our livers overworked and this may affect its functions. It is therefore necessary for the liver to be detoxified. Coffee enemas help improve the liver’s ability to filter toxins from the serum. Coffee enemas offer an effective detoxification method in cancer treatment.

Rectal Ozone is much safer

In the past doctors have effectively been using the ozone therapy to treat cancer patients. The method was effective. However the doctors are making changes in the way the ozone therapy is administered to patients. In the past Autohemotherapy was used as a method of administering ozone therapy into patients. It involved removing pints of a patient’s blood, exposing the blood to ozone and re-injecting the blood intravenously back into the patient’s body. This treatment however effective was more invasive and doctors developed a new way of administering the ozone therapy; the Rectal Insufflation. This method is less invasive and is easy to administer. Unlike Autohemotherapy it does not require any removal of the patient’s blood. It is therefore safer, less painful but just as effective as Autohemotherapy.

The ozone therapy is a popular cancer treatment alternative as it is friendly to the patient; it has no side effects as common with other treatment methods. It uses the high oxidant property of the ozone to kill the cancer cells which cannot not resist the oxidant ability of the ozone. In the healthy cells the blood tames the oxidant ability of the ozone hence they can dwell in it. Rectal ozone has some advantages over Autohemotherapy. These may include; it is easy to administer, it is less invasive hence does not cause pain, it is the best in curing chronic hepatitis in patients.

How is rectal ozone done?

The procedure involves inserting a small catheter into the rectum about 4 inches. 3 to 6 ounces of ozone is administered into the patient for about 10 minutes. The patients lay on her side. The doctors refrains the patient from bowel movement or passing gas for about 30 minutes after the procedure is done. For this reason it is always recommended that this process be done after the patient has had bowel movements for convenience.

Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) has profound knowledge on cancer and can offer you a good advice on how to stay cancer free. Frequently check this website for most current updates on cancer treatment. Generally, natural approach to cancer treatment is worth a try.

Coffee Enemas, Rectal Ozone and Detoxification in Cancer Treatment.

Rectal Ozone Aids Cancer Treatment
Ozone and Autohemotherapy For Cancer Treatment
Coffee Enemas and Cancer Treatment
The Stoma Enema…for stomates who want to detox
What is an enema and why do enemas?
How Do You Like Your Coffee?

Best Addiction Treatment

July 23, 2014

Best Addiction Treatment – Food Addiction

Best addiction treatment. Food addiction is real and the earliest we acknowledge this the better for recovery

It is common knowledge that on a daily basis we have to eat to get the energy we need for the day’s activities. The fact that we eat periodically may not look like being addicted to food but before I get to solutions of food addiction, I want to help you understand how food becomes addictive. How do you begin your day? Probably when you wake up you purpose to do your work and eat responsibly and healthy food and you start with one healthy breakfast at home and on your way you navigate through mouthwatering bakery goodies which are tempting and you finally make it to work ready for the day’s assignment only to be received by your stressful boss laying on your table a new project deadline that is practically impossible. Minutes later yourself holding meat pie in your hand consuming down sugary anesthetics and desiring for more. By the time you leave our moment of eating and the truth of what you’ve done begins to sink in, the subsequent feelings of shame and guilt fuel your stress levels more and you’re already plotting your next food fix then you wonder. Why do I keep yielding to these cravings? Where’s my self-control and willpower? My friend this is just your brain being addicted to food.

The feeling of denial will follow and encourage yourself that you are not and that you only love sweet food once in a while but the bottom line is that food addiction is factual and realistic. It affects so many people and this is what the food processors ride on when producing their products for the market. Production of addictive food is a marketing tool for these organizations and that is why their ingredients is a perfect combination of salty, sweet, and savory to ensure you keep reaching for more. The moment you find yourself losing your willpower and desiring for more and more then you are not just in love with these food stuff but you are now addicted to them and that is what we want to address. To start us off let’s look at some of the ways of beating food addiction:

Best Addiction Treatment – Take the test

Taking the test would mean that you make a self-evaluation of your relationship with food with an aim of ascertaining whether you’re eating habit is a healthy one. Experts are in agreement that the many overweight or obese have some level of food addiction even though anyone of any age bracket or size can have this issue of food addiction.

Best Addiction Treatment – Know your staples from your treats

Our brains are rigged to seek out the delicious reward of natural carbs like berries from a bush or veggies from the ground. We savor healthy fats from avocados, olive oil, and fish and lean meats. Our brains drive us to forage around to find these foods so that we have quick energy (from carbs) and long-lasting fuel (from fat). These natural whole foods have sustained us since the dawn of time. Our brains were acclimated to the taste of these rewards. Every now and again, we’d savor a treat that contained more natural sugar (grapes) or fat (dairy or meat). This mix of staples and treats became our natural balance of healthy nutrients. Flash-forward, and now we have manufacturers creating hyper-palatable foods full of sugar, fat, and salt. And because they are ubiquitous, cheap, and easily accessible, fewer people cook. Grab and go is now the way to go.

Best Addiction Treatment – Rein in your reward center

When hyper-palatable race with natural foods your brain’s reward center, which secretes the pleasure chemical dopamine, gets hijacked. Insulin levels increases and drive you to desire for more and more. Suddenly, that bowl of fresh berries can’t compete with the über rewards of a Pop-Tart or a chocolate-coated breakfast bar. Occasional treat like birthday dessert, also leads to a dopamine rush, but then your brain settles down to more normal levels of dopamine. But when you can get your hands on hyper-palatable foods daily seven days a week and you start the day with that sugary, fatty, salty pastry and Grande sugary coffee drink, you end up with an endless appetite for more.

Best Addiction Treatment – Recognize the False Fix

After constant exposure and consumption of these hyper-palatables and let us call them False Fixes in The Hunger Fix, your brain essentially changes. The brain cannot stand this level of hyper-stimulation. It then reduces the number of dopamine receptors so that you no longer experience it as overstimulation and that is what is good about it however the bad news is that by doing this, your typical serving of food is no longer as rewarding. You find yourself not feeling as pleased and satisfied. The end result of this is that you end up with second and third and fourth portions, packing on weight along the way.

Besides this your reward center is being hijacked that is the brain’s CEO which is the prefrontal cortex (tap your forehead and that’s where the PFC is located), is becoming spoiled and impaired. The PFC can no longer help you rein in impulses or stay focused and vigilant which is why when one is in fully in addictive mode, moderation is a moot point.

Best Addiction Treatment – Know your enemy (False fix food)

Make a list all of your False Fix foods that you know will lead you to feel out of control and overeat. As you prepare to detox, look around you and take stock of all persons, places, and things that trigger your food addiction. This isn’t just about substituting False Fix foods for Healthy Fixes it’s also about scrutinizing your entire lifestyle so that you can make fresh healthier choices to support your recovery. It is important to note that you will not be able to change everything in one go and so you will gradually start with small but powerful steps to ensure sustainability of long-term success.

While doing all these you must appreciate that food addiction is real and the faster you make this acknowledgement the better because it is only when you do so is when you will have the ability to reverse the damage and reclaim your healthy, natural relationship with food. Remember I did not promise you that the journey will be easy and therefore careful selection of professionals to help you overcome will be necessary. For instance at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under Doctor Akoury’s care ware addiction treatment is focus on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE will be very ideal for all your addiction related problems.

Best Addiction Treatment – Food Addiction

Alcohol the trigger of Violence

July 23, 2014

Alcohol the trigger of Violence – Drug Addiction

Alcohol the trigger of violence. The effects of alcohol in families an society is worrying. Solutions must be found soon

Alcohol is currently leading among substances being abused the world over and because of this it is one of the substance that triggers violence the most. The frequency with which violence triggered by alcohol consumption are being aired on the different media platform is just a confirmation of the seriousness of the matter. While it is true that this substance is widely abused it must be made clear that not everyone using alcohol in whatever units becomes aggressive or provoked to violence, and in fact it is only a few people who will be violent after drinking. The most painful thing is that these violent acts and behaviors normally have far reaching effect or consequences to the family members and friends and by extension the general membership of the public.

Who’s at risk?

The character of being violent when drunk is not an excuse in anyway, in most cases the people who become violent when drunk are those with questionable personalities meaning that these people are also capable of being violent even when sober. Studies of alcohol and aggressive behavior have established that individuals who are more short-tempered are poor managers of their anger in other wards they are those people who cannot control emotions and they display lower levels of compassion towards others when sober these people are more likely to be aggressive when they have alcohol in their system. Gender also a factor and has an influence where men are more likely to be aggressive than women when drunk.

Out of control

There is reasonable proof that elusive variations in the brain functions in some individuals act abnormally than others when under influence of just a little drink and we can measure the effects of alcohol in one’s brain is by examining how individuals use their brain’s executive system. This is the section of the brain tasked with issues like decision making, problem solving and reasoning. It serves like the command centre of the brain which instructs people to slow down and evaluate the possible consequences even as they steer themselves towards seeing the best long-term results. When the brain executive system fails to regulate our behaviors, we often become vulnerable to our instincts which for many resolve to violent instead of being remorseful and taking deep breath when we feel irritated and insulted. It is important noting that some people have poor executive control than others, and if these are male, then they are more likely to be aggressive after drinking alcohol.

Young adults

We could be guided to reach conclusion that luck of executive control could be the reason why adolescents and young adults are so quick into violent behavior when drunk. It has been made known to us that our brains continue to develop well into our 20s and that one of the last parts of the brain to develop is the prefrontal lobe, the section tasked with reigning in impulses through executive control.

People who have a dependence on alcohol have a “double whammy” when it comes to executive control and whenever they consume alcohol their executive functioning is impaired due to the alcohol in their system. But their consistent use of alcohol also leads to poorer executive function even when they aren’t drinking, an effect that may prolong up to a year even after they stop drinking.

Attentive and alarmed

When someone accidentally bumps into you in a crowded bar or at a sporting event, most of us are able to quickly shrug it off as a gentle interruption to our day. But add alcohol to the equation and an innocuous bump can suddenly be interpreted as a serious threat, or even a deliberate act of aggression. Alcohol can affect information processing and your ability to determine how much threat is actually present in the environment.

Alcohol can alter our perception of the world and explains that any increased sensitivity to apparent threats isn’t just about what’s going on in the brain. Alcohol’s effects on the heart can also play a role. You can get palpitations, or what is known as tachyarrhythmias, as a consequence of alcohol and a racing heart can often be misinterpreted as a threat.

Expectations matter

Much as we would want to see a violent free society the indulgence of alcohol betrays this fact and therefore can begin seeing the possibilities of future violence in our children behaviors especially when they are being brought up in violent prone neighborhood. When the children observe violence from their drunken parents or watch programs associated with alcoholic violence then this is likely to propagate in their minds and the evidence may be revealed when children resort violence among themselves when solving their own disputes.

Let’s look further for example a society where the number of bars and drinking joints are more than schools, churches, and retail shops put together there is likelihood that there will be frequent alcohol related violence to the point of condoning the acts. As sad as it may be this is true because this is what the society is used to and in fact in such places you will not be surprised to see people spectating when a fight breaks out this is so because what they expect in their daily lives is drinking and violence after all that is what their neighborhood is all about.

However the power of expectation can also play a part in influencing how people behave when they consume different alcoholic drinks, quite different from the physical impact of differing alcohol concentrations. People have different expectations for what happens when they drink wine, liquor or beer. None the less it is not very clear whether certain drinks like these ones mention help to increase aggression even though drinks rich in caffeine can lead people to take more risks than they would otherwise do.

Reducing violent behavior

This can be very challenging in many ways however professionally one of the greatest challenges for psychologists when attending to people who are more likely to be aggressive when they drink is teaching them about temper control. Nonetheless it is important noting that introducing anger management programs should be the starting point for those who end up seeking help when alcohol gets them into trouble with the law enforcement agencies and their families. This can be done by creating safety plans which enables them to study the internal sensations of anger, how to identify them and the solutions necessary to turn down the volume and be moderate when things are a bit hot.

Because alcohol is that addictive the kind of professional to be engaged must be one with great experience in addiction and has the capacity to contain the problem. Doctor Dalal Akoury is one such professional who has had great experience of more than two decades in matters addiction. She is also the founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center where together with her team of experts they focus on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE this is an effective way of ensuring reduction of alcohol related violence in the most natural way.

Alcohol the trigger of Violence – Drug Addiction

Category Archives: addiction