Tag Archives: Substance dependence

Understanding Food Addiction

July 25, 2014

Food Addiction: Is it True?

Food AddictionAddiction has been known to emerge as a result of a prolonged habit. This means that addiction doesn’t always have to result from drugs, but it can as well come as a result of behaviors such as shopping, internet, gambling and not forgetting eating. Eating to many of us is an activity that we normally do when it is time for eating or simply when we have to eat. This is sometimes not the case. Especially with fast foods which by nature are palatable and mouth wetting. If a person has access to such foods, he/she may develop a behavior of every time wanting to eat these foods. This is despite the fact that some of these foods may have negative health effects, such as body being overweight. At this point, the person taking the food is considered addicted.

How do you know you are a food addict?

There are common habits which can suggest whether or not you may be suffering from emotional eating and food addiction. You should examine yourself based on these habits and if you identify yourself with one or several of them, you should consider visiting a professional to discuss your eating habit. The following are some of such habits:-

  • The addict may develop fear of food – the person may seem to avoid some foods. These people suffer the views that such foods are harmful and thus avoid them. They will always give excuses for not being able to take the food and sometimes will try to avoid events in which the food is to be eaten.
  • Emotional eating – the people with food addiction will seem to un-necessarily eat a lot of food. This is especially the case when they are stressed, anxious or worried. This habit of overeating leads one to feeling guilty and hence the anxiety about their eating habit makes them to eat even more. This habit of overeating can easily become a viscid downward spiral.
  • Abrupt weight loss or gain – many addicts of food will suffer poor body image and a feeling that they want to lose weight. This weight loss is normally not easy when someone is eating un-healthily. For a food addict to maintain the required diet it is almost impossible and thus an intervention is required for such a person to be helped to recover. This problem can be solved by many of nutritionists and doctors. If you are suffering from food addiction, you should consider visiting a doctor or a nutritionist to get you problem solved.
  • Food addicts may engage in substance abuse – the food addicts frequently engage in abuse of dangerous substances such as laxatives. They also engage in harmful activities such as self-induced vomiting, frequent fasting and excessing exercise.
  • The food addicts may be food possessed – the addicts of food who are food obsessed are normally very easy to be observed. These people will always want to talk about food. They are ever thinking about food, the amount of food they can eat every day, the amount they previously ate and they possess anticipation to eat.

How can food addiction be overcome?

Are you a food addict? Or do you know a person who is a food addict? The knowledge of how addiction can be treated is vital. Unlike the other types of addiction, overcoming the food addiction is not easy. For example when dealing with drug addiction, you will be encouraged to stop taking the drug, but it is impossible to stop taking food. So how can a food addict overcome?

  • You need to reprogram your taste buds – if you are addicted of sugary foods, you need to start reducing the rate at which you take these sugary foods. Try to also avoid adding sugar to the foods that are not supposed to be sweet. Try to slowly reduce taking of sugary foods in the favor of fruits and vegetables. This will restore your sensitivity in the taste buds and reduce craving for the addictive food.

Food Addiction

  • Have a good planning of your meals – avoid just eating what your mind thinks about. It is important to plan your health eating and ensure you eat responsibly, by avoiding overeating. An addict will always rave for a given food, so try to avoid being drawn to taking the unplanned foods.
  • Hunger moderation – another factor that causes people to overeat is hunger. You should learn to moderate your hunger and eat the food amount that is healthy to your body.
  • Understand your weaknesses – as a matter of fact, each person has a given food that he/she cannot turn down. For example, there are some people who cannot go past a place selling ice cream without having to buy. The best way to do away with what you cannot resist is to avoid it. Avoid the places which will tempt you with these foods.
  • Get yourself healthy ways of cope – when you stop taking some foods, there will be left a void, for example the time used to walk looking for cookies. Ensure you do a healthy activity during this time, for instance hiking or going out with friends.
  • If the therapeutic treatment methods do not work to help you out of the food addiction, opt the medical treatment. Visit your doctor and be open to discuss the problem with him/her.

Food Addiction: Is it True?

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

July 23, 2014

What’s New In Tobacco Addiction

Tobacco addictionTobacco 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

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”

 

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Best Addiction Treatment

July 23, 2014

Best Addiction Treatment – Food Addiction

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

 

 

 

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PAIN AND ADDICTION: COMMON THREADS

July 22, 2014

Pain is a complex disease whose treatment needs to be keenly addressed. There are variety of medication options which treat pain and from which the patient can choose from. When the pain being experienced by the patient results to be chronic, this becomes a concern which is common with chronic pain patients

Is there any relation between pain and addiction?

pain and addictionWe can actually argue that there is a relationship between pain and addiction. Where does this relationship originate? The relationship of addiction and pain result from the choice that the chronic pain patient chooses when trying to treat this pain. While some methods are proven to cure pain without leaving behind addiction to the patient, some of the medications for pain (Especially prescription drugs like opioids) are known to cause addiction especially when abused. The addiction of such drugs results from their ability to cure pain. These drugs are administered to the patient and initially they tend to treat pain. Over time the body tends to be resistant to these drugs and hence they must be taken with higher frequency and sometimes in higher quantity. If such a drug continues to be taken, it eventually reaches a point when the patient cannot do without it, since the pain temporarily stops when the drug is taken and returns after a short while. This forces the person to be a regular taker of the drug, not necessarily willing but forced by pain experienced. This is the point at which we consider the person to be an addict of the pain killing drug.

Addiction and pain related terminologies

There are terminologies which are related to pain and addiction which results from pain medication. These terms are described below:-

  • Dependence – this refers the situation which results when the patient is exposed to a given medication for an extended period of time. If the medication for example was indented to treat pain, at this stage the person will be living by the medication, which means the pain will only stop when the person takes the medication. This patient is considered to be dependent on the medication and without which the patient will suffer pains. This condition may look like addiction but actually it isn’t.
  • Tolerance – this is yet another term related to pain and addiction. This condition develops over time, and necessitates having to use more of the medication to receive the same effect. This condition is reached when the patient’s body has gotten used to the pain killing medication and the small medication which used to kill the pain no longer has that ability over the body to treat the pain and thus the dose has to be increased to achieve the desired effect (treatment). This condition also should not be seen as addiction because actually it isn’t.
  • Withdrawal – this refers to the symptoms that occur if the medication is suddenly stopped. This is because the cell receptors throughout the body that are used to medication are without it. This is normally the case when the patient is taking significant amounts of opioids and suddenly stops taking them. These symptoms may be severe and even make the patient feel sicker than before. This sometimes may make the patient want to keep on taking them since it is better when taking them than when withdrawn. Some of these symptoms may come in the form of:- tremor, diarrhea, sweating, nausea, vomiting, gastric upset, stress, depression etc. This condition if not given a close look may seem to look like addiction to a given substance, but in the actual sense it isn’t. Withdrawal is though closely related to addiction and sometimes it may be very difficult to differentiate between them. This makes the withdrawal effects to be termed as addiction in most cases.
  • Addiction – this is a situation of psychological need to have a drug or behavior. Some of the common addiction types are the addiction from drugs, internet, eating, shopping, gambling etc. this is the biggest of all the others we have mentioned above (Tolerance, withdrawal and dependence). When a person is addicted by a pain killing drug like opioids, the patient may develop dependence and tolerance to the drug and incase he/she tries to stop taking the drug suddenly, there may be withdrawal which you must go through. This is a both psychological and emotional effect of not having the pain killing drug, which in this case is very difficult for the addict to stop.

pain and addiction

it is very advisable that, if you feel you are being addicted to the pain killing drug that you have been using in the past, be honest to your doctor and speak with your doctor about it. This will ensure that the doctor evaluates your condition in time and consequently help you out by changing the medication while it is not too late.

What causes opioid addiction?

Opioids are prescription medication which is used to treat pain. Sometimes the patient may not use the medication as directed by the physician. This is one of the leading causes of addiction since opioids aree highly addictive. When it becomes an habit for the patient to use opioids, this definitely results into addiction.

Is there any relation between pain and addiction?

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Fear And Denial In Addiction Hinders Recovery

July 22, 2014

FEAR AND DENIAL IN ADDICTION RECOVERY

What is fear?

Fear is a state of a distressing emotion which is aroused by impending pain or perception of danger. The causes of this fear may be real or imaginary. Normally, when someone has fear he or she may go into a panic mode. Fear in most cases, is viewed as negative but in some cases it can be beneficial.

Fear and addiction

When people who are addicted have fear, they may remain trapped in addiction. The problem here may be caused by the perception that such people will have, for instance one may fear to leave drugs taking due to the fear of withdrawal effects. It is also likely that some people will fear to seek assistance on how they can recover from drug addiction of fear that they will be known as addicts of the drug. The people who have fear may imagine life without drugs is miserable and hence fear leaving the drugs.

fear and denial

Which are the common fear areas in the recovery?

The following are the common fear areas for people in the recovery process:-

  • The person may have fear that life will never be the same again- This in most cases refers to the early days of the recovery period when the person will have to withdraw from the drugs. The person may fear that life won’t be easy without taking the drug. This may make the person fail to commit to the recovery process.
  • The fear of failure – the process of recovery is always challenging. It will involve difficult times and one may find him/herself in relapse. The issue is not falling but do you accept to learn from your failure and build on it and target success? Many addicts will fear to fail. This makes even to try the recovery to give up in the process. This leads to relapse. It is advisable that you should not fear to fail, since it is through failing we learn how to succeed.
  • Fear to success – this is the flipside of fear to fail. This may not be a common scenario, but some people have a feeling that they don’t deserve success. This will hinder them from making efforts in the recovery process. The process of recovery requires is normally demanding and challenging. It therefore requires a lot of determination for one to succeed. If you have fear to success, definitely you cannot show determination.
  • Fear of rejection – some people fear to disclose that they are addicted with a given drug. The fear is that they may be judged by others or abandoned. This makes them not to admit that they have drug problem or reach out the others for support. With this fear, there can be no recovery. To overcome this problem you need to push yourself to work out a recovery program even when you don’t want. Try also to attend sober gatherings since they will help you in building confidence in your recovery program.
  • The fear that you may lose identity – many people fear that if they disclose they are addicts they may lose their identity by being seen as failures or outcasts. This actually should not be the case. You should not fear what people may say, since the important thing is not who you used to be but who you will be today and tomorrow. Actually the identity that you should be thinking about is who you used to be before you started taking the drugs and therefore try to regain the status.

fear and denial

  • The fear of lasting misery – the main fear that people have here is the fear of, “suppose I go through all this hard work and remain miserable?” here the patient needs to remain positive to the recovery process and not fear the possibility of misery not going.
  • The fear of sobriety – the patient becomes worried about the change in life from misery to sobriety. The person fears how the new life will look like, since getting sober means replacing mechanism e.g. drugs and alcohol with new ones. The person asks the questions like; will the sober life be boring? Will all the hard work that I will do be worthy it?

The person should be ready to face the challenges if any, even though there will be challenges. Challenges are part of life. If you stay stuck in this fear, you will remain in addiction.

DENIAL AND ADDICTION

What is denial?

Denial refers to the refusal of a person to admit the truth or reality.

How is denial related to addiction?

Denial and addiction could be said to be brothers since they move hand in hand. If a person doesn’t believe that substance abuse is a problem, there will be no likelihood of behavior change. This will be the case even if the destructive nature of the substance is obvious to everyone. Such people will not be able to quite the substance taking, and if they do it will be to please the other people it cannot last for long. For anybody to be able to succeed in the process of recovery, he/she must try first to do away with denial and learn to accept the facts about addiction.

FEAR AND DENIAL IN ADDICTION RECOVERY

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