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Triggers and Addiction Recovery

October 22, 2014

Tips for Managing Triggers during Addiction Recovery

TriggerOvercoming addiction is one of the resolutions that addicts have every New Year but then fail to accomplish and live by. Not once I have heard of political fanatics speak of their favorite candidates and the things they will when their preferred candidates win. One of the major promises that most people make is to stop using drugs of abuse and stay free from these drugs but that just remains there or at least they try but they fail again and again. Overcoming addiction has since remained to be one of the hardest goals to achieve especially if you think of going through it all alone without seeking professional advice. In reality it is close to impossible overcoming an addiction without seeking professional help. However getting professional help does not mean that somebody else is now doing it in your place, no. you are the person that has the sole responsibility of overcoming addiction and without your commitment all the resources; time and money spent in taking you through the addiction recovery program will be a waste. But still with your commitment it is good to note that most people fail to go through the addiction recovery to its end because of the triggers that they may encounter in their environment and that is why most doctors will prefer an addict be attended to in a rehab where such triggers are not present. In some cases a person who has gone through the drug addiction recovery successfully may be overwhelmed by the triggers in his environments until he gives in and go back right into the mess. Therefore it is really important to know situations where you might encounter triggers and avoid them but if you can’t avoid them then you should learn how to cope with them.

What are Triggers?

In layman terms, when we talk of triggers in relation to addiction recovery, we refer to those factors in your environment that may lure you back to your past habit of using drugs of abuse. The triggers may include spots in your environment which brings you memories of your drug abuse habit. It may be an event especially where you will meet people who you used to share drugs with but are still using them.

This therefore means that even after completing treatment for alcohol and other addictive substances is not yet a won fight. There is still much to fight with while you are out of the rehab and it will take much more than mere commitment to abstain from alcohol and the drugs. You will encounter cravings for your drug of choice, and for any escape, an opportunity to numb out, and perhaps, sometimes, an overall desire to not feel what you are feeling. The bigger question is what will you do when you encounter these triggers that maybe in the form of events and people?

Here are some of the few tips that could save you from falling for your drugs of choice when cravings persist.

Know your triggers– just like people begin using drugs for different reasons, addicts have different triggers. Your trigger may be as a result of an unhealthy conversation that you got into with a person and has left you depressed. Another person’s trigger maybe his past photos while another person’s trigger maybe to see someone drunk.

Prepare yourself psychologically to counter your triggers– it would be a fallacy to assume that your triggers will just disappear in thin air. Instead prepare yourself to deal with your triggers. Appreciate that triggers are part and parcel of addiction recovery and equip yourself to deal with it.

Put in practice how you would overcome before it comes– try to lay strategies to deal with the triggers you have identified before you encounter them. You may role play with yourself in trying to find the most effective strategies to help you overcome.

Adopt a healthy lifestyle– eat well and have a good sleep. Without good sleep and good nutrition you r body will be deprived of rest and vital nutritional components making it hard for you to overcome the triggers. You should also avoid being lonely as loneliness may make you slip into your past habit in search of company. The major problem is in the H.A.L.T meaning hungry, angry, lonely and tired. By eating well and having good sleep you will be free from hunger and tiredness. As for lonely and anger you need help of family and friends to help you cope.

TriggersDo not test yourself– this is even well written in the bible (don’t ask about the verse) who is unto him who sees temptation ahead but continues to commit it. If you know your triggers do not try to test yourself. If you know your triggers are your past photos holding a bottle of beer, burning the photos will be worth it. If you know passing by a certain bar will trigger you then avoid that route. This way you will be able to avoid the temptation and keep yourself far from drugs of abuse.

These are some of the tips that you could employ to help deal with triggers. Like I said triggers are part of addiction recovery and it is therefore necessary that you prepare yourself psychological, practice how you would overcome your triggers of course after knowing them and adopt a healthy lifestyle that will enable you to overcome your triggers during addiction recovery. Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is dedicated in helping all addicts. Visit her at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for help.

Tips for Managing Triggers during Addiction Recovery

 

 

 

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The Psychology of Addiction

October 22, 2014

The Psychology of Addiction: Key to Addiction Treatment

AddictionAddiction is a subject that up to now is still poorly understood. And researchers have different opinion to what causes addiction. To understand what a causes addiction and much more about addiction the researchers have developed two models. The first model of addiction is known as the disease model of addiction. This model describes an addiction as a disease with biological, neurological, genetic, and environmental sources of origin. The disease model of addiction has been criticized that it encourages stigmatization. The researchers opposed to this school of thought argue that when you label somebody as an addict he will lose self-control of the substance he uses and this will leave them withdrawn and stigmatized. The other model is known as the Choice model of addiction. The addiction is like the choice model with a disorder of genes, a reward, memory, stress, and choice. All these models of addiction result in compulsive behavior.

As known to you, psychology is a science devoted to understanding human behavior. By extension psychology tries to find out why people behave in a certain manner. Psychologists are very important people in the world today as they are devoted to improving the quality of people’s lives and their life satisfaction. Psychologists consider behaviors that promote people’s well-being and life satisfaction adaptive behaviors. Behaviors that serve to limit people’s functioning and diminish life satisfaction are termed maladaptive behaviors. These maladaptive behaviors are harmful not only in the people that possess them but to their environment as well and so should be curbed. Addiction is one of the common maladaptive behaviors that psychologists have put in place psychological models to help in understanding why people become addicted to some substances.

Typically, when an addict experiences pressures that comes with his daily life duties he will go for his drugs to help navigate through the hard time. There is something that triggers his memory and demands that he take his drugs of abuse to help him cope with the pressure. The addict feels that he must just use the drugs to be safe from the pressures. Most addictive drugs are taken for this purpose. Generally the psychology of addiction can be summarized in three crucial elements.

An addict gets a feeling of helplessness before indulging in the addictive act

Before someone goes for an addictive substance he will have a feeling of powerlessness. For example a father who is not able to cater for his family basic needs feels helpless and this feeling may overwhelm him. He therefore will go for a drink to help him view the situation more lightly. The person will feel empowered and in control of his situation after taking alcohol. Emotionally he will be at peace with himself when he is drunk. There are also other non-drug addictive substances that work in this same way. The use of drugs to reverse feelings of powerlessness is referred to as psychological purpose of addiction. However reasons that will make an addict helpless are different to every one of them. The bottom line is that addicts will attempt to solve problems by taking their addictive substances.

Feelings of overwhelming helplessness, such as the feelings that precipitate addictive acts result into a feeling of rage.

When an addict is in a helpless situation he will lose control of himself and the thought that he is out of control of his own life produces rage. The rage is a reaction to the feelings of loss of control and the emotional baggage that comes with the feeling of loss of control of oneself. This rage is the powerful drive behind addiction. The anger that a person gets when he feels helpless has the capacity to overwhelm his judgment while he is in the throes of the rage. It is precisely the presence of this rage at helplessness that gives to addiction its most defining characteristics which include the great intensity with loss of usual judgment and seemingly irrational destructive behavior that are common in addicts.

Addicts express their rage when helpless through substitute behavior

addictionPsychologists opine that if all addicts expressed the cause of their rage directly then there would be no addiction. In most cases addicts will not face their problems head on but will do something to substitute for the head on interaction with their problems. An example here is this. Suppose a man comes back home and his wife begin quarreling him over a past mistake, he ought to sit down and talk about the issue but in case of an addict he may respond by going out for a drink to ease himself. In this place the right act that is to face his wife and talk to her is replaced by an addictive act which is going out for a bottle of alcohol to get drunk and make him feel much more in control of his situation. If he continues to solve his problems through drinking the behavior might become too compulsive to him such that he will never ever solve even a single problem without the help of alcohol and so he becomes dependent on alcohol.

The treatment of addiction requires massive knowledge on the psychology of addiction. Every person has a unique addictive behavior and so it is better to understand an addict and why he is dependent on a particular. The past treatments on addiction have been poor because of the simple reason; poor understanding of psychology of addiction. Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is dedicated in helping all addicts. Visit her at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for help.

The Psychology of Addiction: Key to Addiction Treatment

 

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Understanding Pancreatic Cancer

October 21, 2014

Understanding Pancreatic Cancer

Causes of pancreatic cancer

Just like all the other types of cancers, there is no a single cause of pancreatic cancer. What usually happens is that a person who is inherently predisposed to the development of this disease gets exposed to any of the many different forms of risk factors. This sets the stage for the development of the disease.

Therefore there are several factors that can predispose one to the disease. For instance, research has indicated that pancreatic cancer is common in people who smoke than in those who do not. Therefore, smoking is one of the predisposing factors to pancreatic cancer. Also, it has been shown that the disease is common in people of advanced age. So, with an increase in age, the possibility that one will develop this disease increases dramatically, if other contributing factors are present.

Lastly, the presence of particular medical conditions may contribute to the possibility of one developing pancreatic cancer. One common disease that acts as a predisposing factor to pancreatic cancer is diabetes. Patients who have diabetes usually face a higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer than those who do not.

Pancreatic Cancer

Signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer

The signs and symptoms that patients of pancreatic cancer show may be a result of different types of diseases. Besides, signs of pancreatic cancer usually appear long after the disease has developed within a patient. However, there are common signs which pancreatic cancer patients do show at times. One of them is persistent pain in the back and the stomach as well as sudden loss of weight. All these, combined with jaundice, are signs that a person may be having pancreatic cancer.

How pancreatic cancer is detected

One common problem that makes the detection of pancreatic cancer a difficult process is that the disease rarely shows symptoms during its early stage of development. What usually happens is that the disease develops silently within the body of an individual. It is only when it is really late that the signs and symptoms begin to appear.

However, doctors are able to detect the presence of the disease relatively fast. This is usually done using a general procedure which is carried out as follows. First, a general medical examination is done on a patient. The aim of this is to quickly detect any abnormal condition in the patient before further tests are carried out. Secondly, a thorough medical history of the patient is revisited. The aim of doing this is to get an insight into the medical history of a patient so as to determine whether the current situation has a historical basis. Lastly, a thorough examination is done to determine whether or not a patient has pancreatic cancer.

The diagnostics is usually carried out using one of the many different forms. For instance, use of CT scans may be used to determine whether there are cancer cells in the pancreas of a patient. It is after the presence of cancer cells in the pancreas of a patient has been detected and confirmed that a specific treatment method is recommended.

Different treatment options for pancreatic cancer

There are different methods that can be used to treat pancreatic cancer. However, before a particular option is chosen, there are several factors that are taken into consideration. The first one is the degree to which the disease has advanced. Usually, when pancreatic cancer has advanced so much, it may be difficult to use certain therapies. The second one is the overall health of the patient. To some patients, overall weakness of the body may make it inappropriate for a doctor to recommend specific causes of treatment for pancreatic cancer.

All these factors are taken into consideration when one is undergoing treatment for this type of cancer. Usually, the treatment seeks to achieve two main objectives: completely remove all the cancer cells in the pancreas and restore the patient to stable health.

It may be difficult to achieve both objectives in cases where the cancer has really progressed. However, in most case, ordinary treatment methods are used to remove the tumor and help the patient recover from the effects of the disease. For instance, special chemotherapy treatment may be used on a patient. This usually involves the use of different types of drugs over a course of time. Also, radiation treatment may be used to directly kill the cancer cells in the patient. Lastly, surgical procedures may be used to remove the tumor from the pancreas of the patient.

Integrative treatment methods for pancreatic cancer

What is important to note is that no single method has been proven to be effective in treating pancreatic cancer. This is because the disease usually develops without showing clear symptoms and by the time the symptoms begin to appear, the disease is usually at an advanced stage of development.

It is this situation that has made the use of alternative treatment methods quite popular. At AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Centre, we believe in the use of alternative treatment methods as an adjunct to the conventional treatment methods such as chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy. You will find our therapies and services in general quite convenient. Our use of alternative treatment methods for pancreatic cancer is to enhance the efficacy of the conventional therapies used and ensure that you get over the effects of the treatment and the disease quite fast.

Understanding Pancreatic Cancer

Just like all the other types of cancers, there is no a single cause of pancreatic cancer. What usually happens is that a person who is inherently predisposed to the development of this disease gets exposed to any of the many different forms of risk factors.

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Platelet Rich Plasma for Treating Back Pain

October 21, 2014

Platelet Rich Plasma for Back Pain

The uniqueness of back pain

Back pain is usually a unique condition in patients because of several reasons. To begin with, most diagnostic methods that are used usually fail to detect the extent of the damage that is causing the pain in the first place. In many cases, pain in the back may be a result of damages to the joints, tendons and other neighboring structures. However, when a patient is taken through the normal imaging procedures, the joints and neighboring structures may appear perfectly normal, thus making it difficult for the doctor to assess and determine the extent of the damage.

The second reason that makes back pain a unique condition is that in the majority of cases, the condition is usually accompanied by problems of the legs. When this happens, patients usually experience increased pain as a result of abnormal movements of the joints when walking or doing any other form of physical activity. This makes it necessary for them to get a form of treatment that handles both problems: damage to the joints in the back and pain arising from abnormal joint movements during walking.

Treatment for back pain

There are different forms of treatment that are used on patients complaining of back pain. The success rates of the treatments have been varied. For instance, steroid injections have been used extensively to treat back pain a wide range of patients. However, practice has indicated that the efficacy of this form of treatment cannot be counted upon to handle all the cases of back pain in patients. There are forms of pain back pain that steroid injections fail to handle.

Platelet Rich Plasma for back pain

Also, other forms of treatment have shown good results in treating back pain among patients. However, their use has been limited by a number of factors, key among them being the limited number of cases of back pain which they fully treat. 

Platelet Rich Plasma

Platelet rich plasma is a new form of treatment that has been successfully used to treat varied forms of medical conditions in patients. The beauty of this treatment is that it is completely natural and highly efficient. Platelets are derived from the blood of a patient. The platelets are then injected back onto the patient after being converted to a special form. It is the activity of the platelets that speeds up the healing process in a patient. This therefore makes the process a completely natural and effective form of treatment for various types of diseases and medical conditions.

Platelet Rich Plasma In Treatment Of Back Pain

When applied to treatment of back pain, Platelet Rich Plasma has proven to be an effective means of relieving patients of eth pain. This is what usually happens; the platelets that have been obtained from the blood sample of the patient are injected to the site of the pain in the back. This is usually done under the influence of a local anesthetic and is therefore free of pain.

When the platelets are introduced at the location of pain, the activated granules within the platelets begin to release growth factors. Growth factors are special proteins which initiate the process of development of new cells, thus leading to regeneration of tissues. When this process takes place at the site of the damage in the back, it leads to regeneration of new tissues around the joints in the back. This process forms the basis for quick healing that a patient experiences after this form of therapy is administered.

Benefits of using Platelet Rich Plasma for treating back pain

There are several benefits that one gets when this form of treatment is used to treat back pain. First of all, the fact that it is a fully natural process means that a patient is spared the pain of side effects that are associated with other non-natural forms of treatment. Using Platelet Rich Plasma to treat back pain is a process that does not have side effects. This makes it quite comfortable to the patient.

Platelet Rich Plasma for back pain

Second, Platelet Rich Plasma has been proven to be an effective way of treating back pain in patients. Compared to other forms of treatment, using Platelet Rich Plasma has been shown to be highly effective in a wide range of patients. Besides, the fact that the process is carried out within the shortest time possible makes it a favorite among many patients of lower back pain.

How to access Platelet Rich Plasma for treatment of back pain

There are several ways in which you can access this form of treatment. Basically, there are many practitioners of Platelet Rich Plasma therapy. This is because the therapy is used to treat different form of problems on the human body. However, when it comes to treating back pain, you can access these services at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center. Dr, Dalal Akoury has been a leading figure in the use of Platelet Rich Plasma for treating different type of medical conditions in patients. She will take you through a highly personalized treatment process during which your needs and desires shall be catered for fully. Feel free to contact her or pay us a visit in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for treatment of back pain using Platelet Rich Plasma.

Platelet Rich Plasma for Back Pain

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Ebola Virus In America: Should We Be Worried?

October 19, 2014

Ebola Virus In The U.S.A.

How It All Started

The story of the Ebola outbreak started from West Africa. Reports about its occurrence and huge number of causalities who were succumbing to it started surfacing soon after and reached the international media. Things reached their crescendo when reports of the havoc that the disease was wrecking primarily in West Africa and the speed with which it was spreading captured global attention.

Currently, Ebola outbreak is a global phenomenon, with fears that the spread of the disease is akin to that of HIV during its early days back in the 80s.

Primarily, the disease has affected three West African countries, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. However, reports that the disease is actually spreading across the world have sparked concerted international efforts to battle its possible spread and direct effects. The manner in which the disease spreads has put air travel operations across the world in the limelight as different governments seek to protect their citizens against possible exposure to the disease.

Ebola

Warning Ebola

 

How the USA is Prepared

The government of the United States is completely prepared to tackle any incidence of the disease in the country. This is according to the statements made by public health officials in response to growing fears that the government may not be doing enough to protect the country against a possible occurrence of the disease.

There are several ways in which the government is prepared for a possible outbreak of Ebola, although this is an event whose occurrence is highly unlikely. For instance, the government has the capacity to detect a single case of Ebola in the country. Since the basic principle of preventing a possible outbreak of the disease in the country is having in place the right mechanism for early detection, isolation and treatment, the government can be said to be ready because it has the right mechanisms in place. The same can be said of many governments in the western part of the world.

Secondly, the ability to fully tackle a possible Ebola outbreak lies in the availability of effective treatments for the disease. Currently, the World Health Organization has authorized the use of an experimental form of a drug to treat Ebola patients. So far, the drug has proven to be an effective therapy against the disease, helping a number of patients on whom it has been used to fully recover from the grip of the disease. Furthermore, an experimental form of a vaccine against the disease is in the process of being tried out. If it is found effective, the vaccine will be an invaluable weapon in the fight against Ebola.

Preventive Measures Already Instituted

There are several preventive measures that have already been taken by the government in response to the Ebola scare. One of them is about screening passengers who are using air travel. Generally, the spread of Ebola occurs via air transport. This is what usually happens. An individual gets exposed to the disease-causing virus by accident. After exposure, the virus takes between 2 and 3 weeks before the first symptoms of fever appear, followed by massive hemorrhage through the openings of the body. During the incubation period, it is likely that the infected individual may travel out of the country in which the disease is present to a different one. If this happens, the person is likely to spread the disease to others.

This is why governments across the world are taking extraordinary measures to ensure that such a scenario does not occur. One way in which this is done is by screening passengers who are using air transport. Currently the government of the United States has instructed a number of airports to commence massive screening procedures for travelers who are coming in from Ebola-hit countries.

The Impact Of The Ebola So Far

So far, Ebola has killed well over 4,000 people in the world. According to the authorities, reported cases of infection of the disease are at about 8,000. This implies that the mortality rate of the disease is something to make individuals and governments across the world quite worried.

Another reason to worry about is that the mortality rate is set to rise with increasing deaths of individuals who had been affected before. This, therefore, calls for a concerted and well coordinated global response mechanism as a viable way of combating spread of the disease. Yet so far, the need for funding to combat the disease has not been fully met. This means that many of the initiatives that would have been put in place at the global scale have to wait. The impact of such delays in funding is greatly felt in countries that are heavily hit by the disease in West Africa.

Ebola

Ebola Symptoms

 

Already the disease has had significant impact on the social and economic factors of the said countries. With the death toll from the disease increasing, the social fabric that holds the society in the countries is greatly affected.

The situation in Europe and the United States is completely different. Regardless of the fears by members of the public, it is highly unlikely that countries in this part of the world can suffer from the direct impacts of the disease in such a manner. Already identified cases of the disease have been effectively tackled. However, news of the disease spreading so fast to different areas like Latin America is a strong enough reason for the government to step up its contingency plans and preventive measures.

Our goal at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center is to help you remain healthy at all times. We believe that health and wellness are primary needs of individuals that should be well taken care of. And for one to be healthy and well, information; timely information for that matter; is extremely important. That is why we take a keen interest in research studies on Ebola that are being carried out.

Ebola Virus In The US

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