Tag Archives: mental disorders

drug-abuse

Addiction treatment doctrines

February 14, 2017
Addiction treatment doctrines

Addiction treatment doctrines are essential whether it is done as inpatient or outpatient

Addiction treatment doctrines: The addicted brain treatment solution

When addressing the brain addiction treatment doctrines, it will necessitate the application of a tailored treatment that addresses multiple needs of the patient. Experts at AWAREmed health and wellness resource center under the leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury MD are in agreement that any effective treatment must address the multiple needs of the individual, not just their drug addictions. The other needs may include the individual’s drug abuse and any related medical, psychological, social, vocational, and legal problems.

Addiction treatment doctrines: Assessment and mental disorders

An individual’s treatment and services plan must be assessed continually and modified as necessary to ensure that it meets his or her changing needs. A patient may require varying combinations of services and treatment components during the course of treatment and recovery. In addition to counseling or psychotherapy, a patient may require medication, medical services, family therapy, parenting instruction, vocational rehabilitation, or social and legal services. For many patients, a continuing care approach provides the best results, with the treatment intensity varying according to a person’s changing needs. It is also important noting that many drug addicts also suffers mental disorders. Therefore, patients presenting one condition, experts will also assess for the other(s) possible complication. And when these problems co-occur, treatment should address both (or all), including the use of medications as appropriate.

Detoxification

Medically assisted detoxification is only the first stage of addiction treatment and by itself does little to change long-term drug abuse. Although medically assisted detoxification can safely manage the acute physical symptoms of withdrawal and, for some, can pave the way for effective long-term addiction treatment, detoxification alone is rarely sufficient to help addicted individuals achieve long-term abstinence. Thus, patients should be encouraged to continue drug treatment following detoxification. Motivational enhancement and incentive strategies, begun at initial patient intake, can improve treatment engagement.

Monitoring

Drug use during treatment must be monitored continuously, as lapses during treatment do occur. Knowing their drug use is being monitored can be a powerful incentive for patients and can help them withstand urges to use drugs. Monitoring also provides an early indication of a return to drug use, signaling a possible need to adjust an individual’s treatment plan to better meet his or her needs.

Addiction treatment doctrines: Treatment Programs

Treatment programs should assess patients for the presence of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and C, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases as well as provide targeted risk-reduction counseling to help patients modify or change behaviors that place them at risk of contracting or spreading infectious diseases. Typically, drug abuse treatment addresses some of the drug-related behaviors that put people at risk of infectious diseases. Targeted counseling specifically focused on reducing infectious disease risk can help patients further reduce or avoid substance-related and other high-risk behaviors. Counseling can also help those who are already infected to manage their illness.

Finally, these are just a few notable principals and treatment doctrines tailored at finding lasting solutions. Nonetheless, even as you take any of these avenues, it is still very important that you continually seek professional advice from the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center for professional direction that focuses on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE.

Addiction treatment doctrines: The addicted brain treatment solution

http://www.awaremednetwork.com/

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Treatment systems tailored for dual diagnosis

December 20, 2016
Treatment systems

Treatment systems tailored for dual diagnosis can be effective when timely treatment solution is sought

Treatment systems tailored for dual diagnosis: Mental health treatment solutions

People with dual disorders who want to engage in the treatment systems tailored towards addressing the real problem often have serious challenges and so quite frequently encounter several treatment systems with each having its own strengths and weaknesses. These treatment systems have different clinical approaches.

Treatment systems tailored for dual diagnosis: The mental health system

Actually, there is no single mental health system, although most States have a set of public mental health centers. Rather, mental health services are provided by a variety of mental health professionals including psychiatrists; psychologists; clinical social workers; clinical nurse specialists; other therapists and counselors including marriage, family, and child counselors (MFCCs); and paraprofessionals.

These mental health personnel work in a variety of settings, using a variety of theories about the treatment of specific psychiatric disorders. Different types of mental health professionals for example, social workers and MFCCs have differing perspectives; moreover, practitioners within a given group often use different approaches.

A major strength of the mental health system is the comprehensive array of services offered, including counseling, case management, partial hospitalization, inpatient treatment, vocational rehabilitation, and a variety of residential programs. The mental health system has a relatively large variety of treatment settings. These settings are designed to provide treatment services for patients with acute, sub-acute, and long-term symptoms.

  • Acute services are provided by personnel in emergency rooms and hospital units of several types and by crisis-line personnel, outreach teams, and mental health law commitment specialists.
  • Sub-acute services are provided by hospitals, day treatment programs, mental health center programs, and several types of individual practitioners.
  • Long-term settings include mental health centers, residential units, and practitioners’ offices.
  • Clinicians vary with regard to academic degrees, styles, expertise, and training.
  • Strength of the mental health system is the growing recognition at all system levels of the role of case management as a means to individualize and coordinate services and secures entitlements.

Medication is more often used in psychiatric treatment than in addiction treatment, especially for severe disorders. Medications used to treat psychiatric symptoms include psychoactive and non-psychoactive medications. Psychoactive medications cause an acute change in mood, thinking, or behavior, such as sedation, stimulation, or euphoria.

Psychoactive medications (such as benzodiazepines) prescribed to the average patient with psychiatric problems are generally taken in an appropriate fashion and pose little or no risk of abuse or addiction. In contrast, the use of psychoactive medications by patients with a personal or family history of alcohol and other drugs (AOD) use disorder is associated with a high risk of abuse or addiction.

Some medications used in psychiatry that have mild psychoactive effects (such as some tricyclic antidepressants with mild sedative effects) appear to be misused more by patients with an AOD disorder than by others. Thus, a potential pitfall is prescribing psychoactive medications to a patient with psychiatric problems without first determining whether the individual also has an AOD use disorder.

While most clinicians in the mental health system generally have expertise in a bio-psychosocial approach to the identification, diagnosis, and treatment of psychiatric disorders, some lack similar skills and knowledge about the specific drugs of abuse, the bio-psychosocial processes of abuse and addiction, and AOD treatment, recovery, and relapse. Similarly, AOD treatment professionals may have a thorough understanding of AOD abuse treatment but not psychiatric treatment. That is why doctor Dalal Akoury made a decision to create a medical center (AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center) whose main objective is to transform each individual’s life through increasing awareness about health and wellness and by empowering individuals to find their own inner healing power. Dr. Akoury’s practice focuses on personalized medicine through healthy lifestyle choices that deal with primary prevention and underlying causes instead of patching up symptoms. You can call her on telephone number 843 213 1480 for the completeness of your treatment.

Treatment systems tailored for dual diagnosis: Mental health treatment solutions

http://www.awaremednetwork.com/

 

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Solving addiction worries to know the action point

February 26, 2016

Solving addiction worries by asking to know action point: The most points of concern for many

Solving addiction worries

Solving addiction worries must be prioritize as failing to do so is causing family disintegration at an alarming rate.

Some of the problems we go through are only affecting us because we often don’t ask about them. Do you know that solving addiction worries is possible just by being aggressive by asking questions and getting answers to them? The holy book records that “my people don’t find because they don’t ask” are you struggling with this addiction problem and you are just quite there? We want to help you find answers to your problems. Talking to us at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center should be your starting point. This facility take pride in solving problems and your problem is only a problem because you have not shared it. Would you want to get solutions today? Doctor Dalal Akoury MD, President and founder of this facility want to help you and as you continue reading through this content, you will notice that it is about asking and getting answers. Keep reading and make a healthy decision today to live a more robust and healthy life with the experts.

Solving addiction worries by asking to know action point: Is there a difference between physical dependence and addiction?

The answer to this is absolutely yes. It is important to note that besides the chronic and harmful consequences that come with addiction, it is also characterized by the weakness or failure to stop using that particular drug; neglecting or failure to meet work, social, or family obligations; and, occasionally depending on the drug, tolerance and withdrawal. When tolerance sets in, the consequence is that the of physical dependence meaning that the body adapts to the drug, thereby demanding for more of it to achieve a certain effect (tolerance) and eliciting drug-specific physical or mental symptoms especially where there is a sudden stoppage (withdrawal) of the supply/use of the drug in question.

Physical dependence can happen with the chronic use of many drugs—including many prescription drugs, even if taken as instructed. Thus, physical dependence in and of itself does not constitute addiction, but it often accompanies addiction. This distinction can be difficult to discern, particularly with prescribed pain medications, for which the need for increasing dosages can represent tolerance or a worsening underlying problem, as opposed to the beginning of abuse or addiction.

How do other mental disorders coexisting with drug addiction affect drug addiction treatment?

In response to this concern, it is important first to note that drug addiction is not behavior but a disease of the brain commonly coming with other mental disorders. Available statistics indicate that up to 6 in every 10 people struggling with an illicit substance use disorder equally suffer from another mental illness; the same is true with users of licit drugs like tobacco and alcohol. Many of the people struggling with addiction are also suffering from mental disorders what is medically known as co-occurrence condition 9suffering from tow conditions at the same time). Successful treatment for such patients sometimes become very difficult more so if individual conditions are addressed differently. Because of the intertwined condition, both conditions must be assessed and treatment done simultaneously. Experts are in agreement that treating both illnesses simultaneously in an integrated fashion which is generally the best treatment approach for these patients.

Is the use of medications like methadone and buprenorphine simply replacing one addiction with another?

This is a good question but the answer to that is No. these (Buprenorphine and methadone) are prescription drugs only administered under medical experts authorization, they are taken under strict adherence of medical doctors and are safe and effective for treating opioid addiction when used as directed. They are administered orally or sublingually (i.e., under the tongue) in specified doses, and their effects differ from those of heroin and other abused opioids. Like for instance, heroin is administered through injection, snorting or smoked thereby causing an immediate “rush of intense euphoria. The rush is then short lived and in just a little while it wears off and ends in a “crash.” At the point individual will experience an intense craving to use the drug again to stop the crash and reinstate the euphoria. If this is not managed well the cycle of euphoria, crash, and craving may continue repeated several times in a day. This is often the most painful part or stage of addiction which must be addressed in the best and most professional manner.

Solving addiction worries by asking to know action point: Can exercise play a role in the treatment process?

Many people become less active as they approach their sunset days but this is one of the biggest mistakes we often make. And so in response to the question the answer is “Yes.” Exercise should be done regularly and it is increasingly proving to be one of the most attractive components in many treatment programs more so when combined with cognitive-behavioral therapy. Exercise may exert beneficial effects by addressing psychosocial and physiological needs that nicotine replacement alone does not, by reducing negative feelings and stress, and by helping prevent weight gain following cessation.

How does drug addiction treatment help reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C (HCV)?

Looking at the mode of administration of most of these drugs, they are mostly administered through injection. And one of the characteristic of drugs is that it causes users to lose focus. It is at this point when the damage is done. When users are drunk the will most likely share the needles they use further putting them at more risk of contracting HIN/AIDS and other STDI. Besides that drug-abusing individuals are likely to engage in risky sexual behavior further subjecting them to the risk of contracting these diseases. Finally by now you must have appreciated why solving addiction worries is very important if we have to live a more healthy life. It is our desire to see you enjoy your life for a very long time. Therefore if you or any one you know is struggling with any kind of addiction, you have an opportunity to redeem yourself by scheduling for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury for professional treatment.

http://regenerativepotential.com/integrativeaddictionconference/

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Increasing sex performance

Female Sex Addiction and Mental Disorders

January 25, 2016

Discussion: Female Sex Addiction and Mental Disorders 

First, the good news:  Sexual addiction is a legitimate mental health disorder.  This is good news because for many years therapists were taught that there was no such thing as sexual addiction because sexual addiction does not necessarily have anything to do with drugs—either legal or illegal.  In fact, it might not involve other people at all.  The sex addict may be into self-stimulation, viewing pornographic materials (either hard copy or internet), or they may be strictly using fantasy as a means of escape. There are different types of sexual addiction, and there are differing degrees of the same.  What it comes down to is that your sexuality is causing problems in your life, and you cannot stop even when you want to.  This is sexual addiction.

 Researchers have found that those who are being treated for sexual addiction are likely to have another illness besides their addiction. In fact, many patients being treated for mental illness also have some form of addictive behavior.  This can be cigarette smoking, or it can be something else. The addiction is being used in some cases to mask the symptoms of a mental illness that causes more pain than the addiction itself does.

 female sex addiction2

There are few statistics available because female sex addiction and mental disorders is a new diagnosis. This is true even though sexual addiction is not a new subject.  It is simply one that was more likely to be classified as a form of OCD than as an addiction. Sexual addiction does carry overtones of OCD, but then so do most addictions.  The thing that distinguishes sexual addiction from OCD and other mental illnesses is that it arises because of the way our brain responds to the stimulation of sex.

 

Like many other types of addictions, sexual addiction stimulates our brains to release dopamine.  Dopamine is a chemical created in our brains that has an action very much like opiates.  It can, and does, make susceptible individuals feel “high”.  And in fact, people who are susceptible to such things are high, and react much like people who are high on other types of opiates.  This can be used in an unconscious manner to mask the pain of mental illnesses such as depression, ptsd, and anxiety. Of course, it can also start as a way to mask the pain of a mental illness and then escalate to a point where it is causing more pain than the original diagnosis.

 

Another thing that makes the announcement that sex addiction is a legitimate mental health issue is that the health professionals who are most likely to come across people who may have it now posses a tool that will allow them to assess their patients and help them to treat both the mental illness and the sexual addiction.  It is necessary when a patient has both an illness and an addiction that they be treated at the same time.  Otherwise, the mental illness will cause the patient to have trouble maintaining their sobriety (however that is measured) and the addiction will undermine the treatment for the mental illness.

 

Women who present with sexual addiction can also present with a variety of mental illnesses as well.  These can include depression, PTSD, anxiety, and other illnesses.  Again, the presence of sexual addiction will complicate the process of treatment for the primary mental illness.  This is because sexual addiction in women carries its own load of guilt, shame, and depression.  In addition, because of the sexual addiction they may have put themselves in positions where even more abuse took place and they may have a series of mental illnesses which have been either caused or exacerbated by the sexual addiction. An instance here is a woman who because she suffered trauma as a child, becomes sexually addicted. To feed that addiction, she may have been in a situation where she was either raped in such a fashion that she developed PTSD as a response, or she may develop deep anxiety because she is putting herself in danger of losing everything she has if the truth about her sex life comes to light.

 

In either case, this woman started out with PTSD and possibly depression.  Now, as a result of her trying to use sex as a mechanism to deny the pain she was in she is in even more pain.  This cycle can continue until she either receives appropriate treatment or she dies as a result of the amount of pain she is now in.

 This is why I said at the beginning of this article that the announcement that female sexual addiction is a legitimate addiction is a good thing.  It helps to lessen the stigma associated with female sexual addiction and helps to increase the chances of women who need help receiving it.

Discussion: Female Sex Addiction and Mental Disorders 

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AWAREmed: Depression Affects Daily Life, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

May 16, 2012

AWAREmed: Depression Affects Daily Life, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Depression is described by most as feeling sad or blue.  Some say they are unhappy or “down in the dumps.”  Most of us feel this way at one time or another, for short periods of time.
True clinical depression is a mood disorder in which feelings of sadness, loss, anger, or frustration interfere with everyday life for weeks or longer.

AWAREmed: Causes, Incidence, and Risk Factors

Mental disorders are common in the United States and internationally. An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. Staggering recent statistics reveal that 57.7 million Americans suffer from a variety of mental disorders. In addition, mental disorders are the leading cause of disability in the U.S. and Canada. Many people suffer from more than one mental disorder at a given time. Nearly half (45 percent) of those with any mental disorder meet criteria for 2 or more disorders.
Most people cannot pinpoint the exact cause of depression.  There are those who blame it on a breakup, alcohol or drug abuse, or a death of a loved one.  Many researchers believe it is caused by chemical changes in the brain. This may be due to a problem with your genes, or triggered by certain stressful events. More likely, it’s a combination of both.
Some types of depression run in families. But depression can also occur if you have no family history of the illness. Anyone can develop depression, even kids.
The following may play a role in depression:
* Alcohol or drug abuse
* Certain medical conditions, including underactive thyroid, cancer, or long-term pain
* Certain medications such as steroids
* Sleeping problems
* Stressful life events, such as:
o Breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend
o Failing a class
o Death or illness of someone close to you
o Divorce
o Childhood abuse or neglect
o Job loss
o Social isolation (common in the elderly)

AWAREmed: Symptoms of Depression

Depression can change or distort the way you see yourself, your life, and those around you.
People who have depression usually see everything with a more negative attitude, unable to imagine that any problem or situation can be solved in a positive way.
Symptoms of depression can include:
* Agitation, restlessness, and irritability
* Dramatic change in appetite, often with weight gain or loss
* Very difficult to concentrate
* Fatigue and lack of energy
* Feelings of hopelessness and helplessness
* Feelings of worthlessness, self-hate, and guilt
* Becoming withdrawn or isolated
* Loss of interest or pleasure in activities that were once enjoyed
* Thoughts of death or suicide
* Trouble sleeping or excessive sleeping
Depression can appear as anger and discouragement, rather than feelings of sadness.
If depression is very severe, there may also be psychotic symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions.
The good news is that experts in health, lifestyle, and medicine at AWAREmed can teach you how to avoid becoming one of these statistics as you reclaim your health and vitality.

AWAREmed: Depression Affects Daily Life, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

First, we will help you to understand Mental disorders, whether your interest lies in its prevention or treatment. Much is known about mental disorders prevention, and our Four Pillars program will give you the tools to build a healthy lifestyle and prevent all types of disease.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with mental disorders, it is important to understand both the diagnosis and your treatment options – and there are many. Knowledge leads to empowerment, and our health and medicine professionals will help you advocate for yourself and find the best options for you and your life.

AWAREmed: Treatment Comes In Many Forms

A number of treatments, both alternative and complementary, are available for Mental Disorders, Some of these include:
* Therapeutic nutrition
* IV therapies
* Mind-Body-Spirit counseling
* Psycho-neuro-immunology
* Constitutional hydrotherapy
* Homeopathy
Turn your life around with the help of our experts, in a medically supervised program tailored just for you.
Anxiety and depressive disorders are major public health problems, and desirable changes in lifestyle, such as exercise and proper nutrition, can be of great potential for prevention and treatment. There is growing evidence that physically active people are at a reduced risk of developing depression and that exercise interventions are associated with significant benefits for patients with mild to moderate forms of depression as well as in reducing anxiety. These findings have led to the proposal that exercise may serve as an alternative or a supplement to traditional forms of therapy. The prevalence of depression is lower in countries where the consumption of seafood is high, and omega-3 fatty acids seem to be beneficial in the management of mood disorders. Stimulants are often used as forms of self-medication in patients with anxiety or depressive disorders. Although providing short-term relief, they may have long-term adverse effects.
To learn more about the benefits of our health programs, call 843-213-1480.

AWAREmed: Depression Affects Daily Life, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

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