Tag Archives: Substance dependence

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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Lung Cancer Screening

October 14, 2014

What Is Lung Cancer Screening?

Generally screening is a process that is used to detect early development of a particular disease among the general population. The procedure is usually carried out using a simple and effective test. The simplicity of the test should be reflected in the fact that it has been standardized and can be used widely to produce consistent results. The effectiveness of the test is usually reflected in its ability to provide accurate results consistently over the course of time.

When applied to lung cancer, screening means the use of a simple and effective test to detect early development of lung cancer among members of the population. The need for early detection of different forms of cancers has been shown to be a determining factor on how successful the treatments that are used to treat the cancer are.

Therefore, when applied to the general population, screening can reduce the mortality rates of lung cancer by allowing early detection and implementation of specific intervention measures.

Lung Cancer Screening

Current methods of detecting cancer

Currently, the sole method that is relied upon to detect cancer is the use of x-rays. X-ray pictures of the chest of a patient are usually taken and subjected to expert analysis for detection of the presence of cancerous cells within the lung tissues of the patient. It is after this has been confirmed that use of specific types of cancer therapies is recommended.

However, this method has several potential disadvantages. To begin with, use of x-rays to detect cancer cells only succeeds in cases where the cancer is at an advanced stage. When used on patients in whom the cancer is at an early stage, the method may not be reliable. Therefore, by only showing cases of advanced cancer in patients, use of the method denies doctors the chance to detect the cancer early enough and tackle it using appropriate therapies.

The second disadvantage of the current form of cancer detection is that is cannot be used over the entire population to detect early forms of lung cancer among individuals. Its use heavily relies on patients showing signs of lung cancer. And since the signs of lung cancer are usually varied in terms of form and intensity, x-rays can only serve the function of detecting lung cancer in individual patients in whom the disease has greatly progressed.

Thirdly, use of x-rays alone as a method for detecting lung cancer may not be completely effective. This is so because a patient may be required to undergo further complicated medical tests such as examination of the tissue of the lungs to detect the presence of cancer cells. As much as this is a costly procedure, it presents a number of dangers to the health of a patient.

The Need For Lung Cancer Screening

The need for lung cancer screening program arises from several factors. First, it has been repeatedly shown that when a universal screening program is used for a particular type of chronic disease, it results into a decrease in the rate of mortalities arising from the disease. Therefore, an effective screening program for lung cancer is necessary to reduce the social and economic burden of the disease.

Second, a screening program is usually used on individuals within a population who are at a high risk of developing the disease for which the screening is done. What this means is that the screening program is used concurrently with information about specific risk factors for a particular type of disease. For lung cancer, several factors have been identified as predisposing individuals to its development. The first one is the practice of smoking. Lung cancer has been detected in patients who are heavy smokers. Also, the problem has been associated with past heavy smoking in some patients.

Second, the relationship between lung cancer and age has been established. Although this largely depends on whether or not the individual in question is a heavy smoker, there tends to be a positive correlation between age and development of lung cancer. Therefore, past and current heavy smokers face a high risk of developing lung cancer as they advance in age.

Therefore, these factors make it necessary for a simple and effective test for lung cancer to be developed. This way, lung cancer shall be easily detected among individuals who belong to high-risk groups in the population. This will be an effective step in combating the disease in general.

Lung CancerRendering

The Future Of Lung Cancer Screening

The future of lung cancer screening is defined by a number of factors. The first one is the extent to which research is carried out. With intense research being carried out on how to develop an effective program for screening people for lung cancer, there is hope that this will help solve the complex problems that arise from the issue.

Second, the future of lung cancer screening lies in discovery and development of new and simple tests for the disease. It is only when a simple and effective test has been developed that a sound screening program can be designed and implemented.

AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center is a medical institution that is devoted to helping cancer patients overcome the ravaging effects of the disease. We hold the belief that the successful treatment and overall management of cancer is a complicated process that requires multiple intervention strategies. That is why we have focused our energies on using alternative treatment therapies to complement conventional therapies that are used by our cancer patients.

Lung Cancer Screening

 

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Substance Abuse: Natural Treatment Care Model

October 13, 2014

A Continuous Care Model for Substance Abuse

Substance abuse

Substance Abuse

Drug and substance abuse is more prevalent in todays society than we think. Did you know that 1 in every 10 Americans are addicted? However, only 11% of that population actually receive the treatment they actually need. Addiction patients’ biggest dream is the day they will break the chains of their addiction to these substances. These proven therapies are a comprehensive intregravtive approach to addiction treatment for alcohol, and substance abuse.

Natural Healthy Detox NAD and Intravenous Amino Acid Therapy for Substance Abuse

Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide often abbreviated as NAD is a metabolic co-enzyme and has the important job of structuring, repairing, and remodeling every cell in the body. These specialized enzymes require constant replenishment in the body. Unfortunately, alcohol and substance abuse prompt the human brain to reorganize, particularly on a cellular level. This process, neuroadaptation, is directly responsible for addiction-related brain damage and depletion of neurotransmitters. NAD IV therapy can be used to replenish the drained enzymes and target brain restoration. The intravenous amino acid therapy focuses on biochemical detoxification of the body and brain from the effects of addiction.

Liver Detox for Substance Abuse with Amino Acids

Liver is a vital organ in the body. In most cases the liver is exposed to toxicity that may impair its functions if necessary actions are not taken to clear the mess- detoxify it. Amino acids can be used in detoxing the liver and restore its health. There are several essential amino acids however these two are very important in detoxifying the liver; valine. This is necessary for muscle metabolism and the repair of tissues. It can be useful in the treatment of liver and gallbladder disorders. Another amino acid that is equally important in detoxing the liver is methionine. This amino acid aids in the production of sulphur, which is necessary for normal metabolism and it is also essential for the synthesis of hemoglobin and glutathione that fights against free radicals.

Exercise for Substance Abuse Treatment

Exercise plays a vital role in achievement of healthy wellbeing. The body is made up of muscles that need to be strengthened in order to support the health of the body. Through exercise the body gets detoxified through sweating. Exercise also improves the metabolic functions of the body. Exercise aids the liver in detoxifying the body therefore relieving the liver from the burden of accumulated filtrate of toxins from alcohol and substance abuse. Exercise also strengthens the heart and improves the flow of blood hence increasing the rate at which the waste products are removed from the body.

Meditation for Substance Abuse Treatment 

Meditation is a vital part of healing your mind body and spirit. Meditation is promoted to have many health benefits. Meditation is a perfect way to detox the mind and restore calmness throughout the body. However, it seems it serves more than just restoring calm and detoxing the mind; it also detoxifies the liver. It is argued that when the digestive system works well there is less buildup of waste in the liver. Good digestion is received when the body, mind and spirit are in synchrony. Meditation helps the body, the mind and the spirit to have good communication and enables proper metabolic functions of the body which is vital in liver health.

Hormonal Restoration for Substance Abuse Treatment

As discussed earlier, hormones are vital in a person’s body. They are the chemical messengers that are secreted directly into the blood. Without these hormones certain vital functions of the body cannot be accomplished. There are hormones that are responsible for metabolic functions. Sometimes hormonal fluctuations may interfere with the metabolic functions of the body leading to a liver overburdened with toxins. In such a scenario hormonal restoration becomes necessary to restore the health of the liver and the entire body.

Psychoneuro-Endocrine-Immune Restoration for Substance Abuse

The neuroendocrine and immune systems communicate bidirectionally. The neuro-immune-endocrine interface is mediated by cytokines acting as auto or endocrine factors regulating pituitary development, cell proliferation, hormone secretion, and feedback control of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Restoring the psychoneuroendocrine immune system beefs up the security of the body to fight unwanted pathogens hence vital in protecting the liver after detoxification.

Adrenal Rehabilitation for Substance Abuse

Adrenal glands play a major role in the body as it is the site on which many hormones are produced. However, alcohol and substance abuse may affect the adrenal glands making it inadequate to perform its function of secreting vital hormones that will keep the body in perfect health. After detoxifying the liver, the adrenal restoration becomes a vital procedure to ensure good liver health as well as body health.

Continuing Care for Substance Abuse

Substance abuseAfter adrenal rehabilitation and liver detoxification, there is still need to continue providing care to those facing substance abuse. This will mean that he/she should maintain the good practices of health. It will also involve consolidating all the good practices that will keep he/she fit and away from issues with substance abuse.

Finally, you need more information to stay away from dependence on substance and drugs as these have crippled societies and that is why here at AWAREmed we are dedicated to finding the best solutions to addiction and substance abuse. Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) helps any patient to be addiction free. Do not hesitate to call AWAREmed for help in managing type of addiction as well as other diseases.

A Continuous Care Model for Substance Abuse

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Suicide and Drug Addiction

October 10, 2014

Suicide Rate in Drug Addiction and How to Naturally Prevent

Drug addiction has been known for its destructive effects on the addicts. Most of the side effects are known by many especially depression and other withdrawal symptoms that an addict faces whenever he tries to stop using the drugs. However there is also another serious problem that has now been linked to drug and substance addiction- suicide. Suicide among drug addicts has become a serious problem that have to be curbed as many addicts are finding it the easiest way to end their suffering and depression as they struggle to set themselves free from addiction. Most of the people who commit suicide do it under the influence drugs. The use of opiates like oxycodone and heroin are leading cause of suicides.

Cocaine Use Increased Odd of Suicide Attempt 

Suicide Student Overwhelmed Asking For Helphas been a problem that the society has been fighting with. It has very many causes, however as revealed by a study that was led by Richard Ries MD of Harborview Medical Center University of Washington Seattle, Wa, the major cause of suicide attempts are the use of drugs and substance. This study reveals that of all the major causes of suicide attempts, cocaine use leads by increasing suicide attempts 62 times more likely. This is followed by major depression which increases the odd of suicide attempts 41 times more likely. Alcohol use follows by increasing odd of suicide attempts 8 times more likely. This supports the notion that drug and substance addiction increases chances of a person committing suicide.

In this same study it was found that among other factors divorce and separation increased odd of suicide attempts 11 times more likely. A person may argue that now that divorce and separation also increases the likelihood of a person committing suicide then there is no way to link drug addiction to increased suicide cases. However if deviate from your view you will realize that drug and substance addiction has a bigger role in even divorce and separation. Most of the cases where married parties have to separate or divorce are often linked to drug abuse. A person gets drunk and becomes abusive needless to mention he may not be able to stand with his responsibilities causing the family to break. Socially, the use of drugs and getting addicted to them will even determine the people you relate with and what jobs you will even do. So drug and substance addiction will affect a marriage in many and may be the driving factor that leads to separation linked to increased suicide cases.

However it not reasonable to ignore other factors that may lead to divorce and separation such as infidelity, having abusive partners (some people get abusive even without using drugs), financial problems and other mere misunderstandings. In these cases it calls for counseling in order to rectify the problems before it results in divorce. As it turns saving a divorce may count in reducing the rate of suicide. Marriage counselors may help in restoring peace in a marriage.

What Predicts Suicide Attempts in Alcoholics?

Teen alcohol addiction (drunk teens with vodka bottle)Several studies have linked drug use to increase in suicide attempts. The addicts need to be helped through various ways to help them stay away from suicide thoughts. The doctors have found various ways through which they can predict whether a person addicted to alcohol may attempt suicide or not. These insights may help the doctors to find ways to counsel the addicts to be free from suicide thoughts. One of these pointers is the family history of attempted suicides. When a person has a family member who had committed suicide they are said to develop suicide thoughts. When these suicide thoughts become dominant in their minds they begin to view it as the best solution to end their addiction problems. By studying their family suicide attempt history they can be helped to adopt better ways of solving problems. Another pointer is adverse childhood experience. There are childhood experiences that keep haunting an individual. These thoughts may even be the cause why a person becomes alcoholic. Experiences such as rape, neglect or sodomy may leave a person feeling unworthy and such attitude may cause suicide. The doctors may find ways of helping such an addict to avoid suicide.

Today, suicide has become a major catastrophe. In America alone it is reported that suicide is among top 3 or 4 causes of death in the US from teens to 50. To reduce this rate, there are a lot that needs to be done. Fortunately several studies have shown the major causes of suicide and so an action plan can be developed to minimize the causes of suicidal deaths in both teens and adults not only in America but also in other continents.

Suicide Screen, Assessment Risk and Referral

Suicide is one of the major causes of deaths in teens. For this reasons there is need to screen the alcoholics and even teens for suicide risks. Unfortunately screening for suicide risks has not been utilized in the past majorly because many institutions lack these mental health resources. Risk assessment will be done after the screening to show probability of suicidal death occurring and after this probability is known then various measures can be taken to help the person before he becomes a victim of suicide. In most institutions there may not be abled professionals to handle a subject given the suicide risk factor may be high. In this case referrals become necessary where the person may be taken to more equipped centers with abled professionals who can help prevent such deaths.

Drugs and substance abuse contribute greatly to suicidal deaths and that is why here at AWAREmed we approach addiction integratively so that we not only deal with withdrawal symptoms but also assess other risk factors. Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) has helped many addicts to retrace their steps and overcome addiction. You can call on her for more help.

Suicide Rate in Drug Addiction and How to Naturally Prevent

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