Tag Archives: Substance dependence

POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD)

July 15, 2014

Understanding the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) To Help Fight Addiction

PTSDThis is normally a condition that is actively acquired or develops after a terrifying ordeal that involved a physical harm. It is a mental problem mostly caused by terrifying event experiencing or witnessing it. The consequence of post-traumatic stress disorder is to have flashbacks, nightmares and sere anxiety. People who go through a traumatic event may take quite long time before they readjust to their normal life.

The leading source PSTD is traumatic event such as rape, torture, car accident, plane crash, bombing just to mention a few. However, there are some drugs which once they addict someone; the experience looks similar to the PSTD effects and therefore can be considered to cause PSTD. An example of such drug is bhang. Its addiction or long-term effects cause post-traumatic stress disorder, whereby the person’s mind sees things that are actually not there. For example the person could look at a given object which is not worthy drawing a human eye, keep looking at it for quite a long time, the suddenly lough loudly or run.

What are the symptoms of PTSD?

  • One of the common symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder is re-experiencing or flashbacks. Over and over the person will have the images of the event returning in the mind. It is an experience that none of the victims of PSTD will want to remember, due to its associated threat to life but it becomes unavoidable. This adds stress to the victim and may look distressed or depressed. In a bhang addict, the experience looks similar, but the situation is normally out of control of the victim and the meaning of life to the victim becomes void.
  • It is common that a victim of Post-traumatic stress disorder will avoid its symptoms. The person will avoid anything that is a reminder of the experience. In this symptom still, the person may begin to feel strongly guilty, faced with depression or losing interest in activities one used to like in the past. The person may have trouble remembering the hazardous event. Since the person starts to avoid symptoms of the event, it may cause a person to change his or her personal routine. For instance, if a person who was a pilot got a bad plane crash but escaped death narrowly, may decide to quite his former job even after fully recovering or event avoid flights in future not even as a pilot but as a passenger.
  • The victim may be faced with hyper arousal symptoms. The person’s live may change completely and begin to be living a tense life, having difficulty sleeping or even having angry outburst. Why does the person become tense and even miss sleep? This is because the hyper arousal symptoms are normally constant, instead of being activated by things that remind one of the traumatic events. While it is normal for human being to have these symptoms after a traumatic event, not all people return to their normal lives immediately. Some people take couple of weeks for the effect to go away. This is known as acute stress disorder. Likewise, not all people who lose these effects within weeks. Who some people it may take a good number of months before it disappears. This is known as post-traumatic stress disorder. Thus, the length which it takes before the effects disappear dictates the type of disorder it poses.

PTSD

Diagnosis of PTSD

As earlier stated, a person will only be considered a victim of Port-traumatic stress disorder after it persists for months. Thus, a conclusion cannot be made on whether a person is a victim of PTSD when he/she has just experienced the traumatic event. In other words, we must wait and watch over the victim and see whether the effects will persist for quite long, that’s when we will be able to conclude that the person is a Post-traumatic stress disorder victim.

The diagnosis of PTSD can be done by a professional or a doctor who has experience in helping people with mental illness. The professional will as questions to the victim to identify symptoms of PTSD. Are you wondering where you will get a professional to help you out in PTSD? You don’t have to worry anymore! AWAREmed has experienced professionals who will examine your problem and device the most appropriate treatment for you. Call us or visit us today.

How is PTSD treated?

One of the treatments of PTSD which has proven to be effective in the treatment of PTSD is psychotherapy. This therapy may work on its own, in form of “talk therapy” or be combined with medication treatment. Different forms of psychotherapy will work differently for different people. It is important that each patient is treated independently and be subjected to treatment that best suits him or her. In case the patient is having an ongoing trauma, both problems should be address for better results. Some of these ongoing problems can include depression, substance abuse just to mention a few. This therapy lasts for 6 to 12 weeks but it can vary depending with the patient’s status of PTSD.

Understanding the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) To Help Fight Addiction

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INTERNET ADDICTION AND ITS TREATMENT

July 14, 2014

Tackling Internet Addiction

Internet addiction is an impulse control disorder that does not usually require use of intoxicating drugs. It’s also very similar to drug addiction and even gambling. These addicts of the net may at times build up emotional affection to friends they meet online. Some of these friends that they have never met physically before in their lives. Some will even create activities online to keep them going back to the net. These platforms like social networking websites, chat rooms are just some of the aspects that these internet addicts use.

Blogging has also been known to keep internet lovers for many, many hours on screen while searching for internet topics and even end up trying to imagine themselves in the topic of discussion. What is blogging? It’s a web blog where a person can post their comments or ideas while keeping ordinary journal of events.

Just like other addictions, internet addicts usually have the desire of connecting to the real people or at least who they think are real through the net. They find it as an alternative to connecting to people who they would have not achieved by and large. This addiction is growing so much and very fast rate among the youth. The fact that gadgets like mobile phones are easily attainable has also widely contributed. There is also very little restrictions as to who and what age one should handle a phone. The world has gone very digital that a day without internet can be a very long day for these addicts.

internet addiction

Effects of internet addiction

Just like any other addictions, internet addiction will most of the time end in academic, , personal, financial, occupational and even family problems that are more often characterized by other addictions. Most real life affairs like marriage, friendship and even social life are always affected because of too much use of the internet because these addicts spend too much of their time in seclusion. They don’t spend enough time with the real people around them. They become so anti social that people will start finding them awkward because of the time they spend on the internet.

Have you even seen the people who surf the net and when they see someone approaching they hide whatever it is they were doing in the net? Well these are just some of the characteristics of internet addiction. They always don’t like people knowing that they spend too much of their time on the net. These kind of actions will also lead to the detriment of a quality relationship that was once very stable.

Some will even go as far as creating multiple online identities or profiles where they will pretend to be someone other people and even engage people in conversation using all those identities. They even go as far believing that all those identities are real. People who are susceptible to this kind of addictions are mostly people with very low self esteem of themselves. The ones who feel unwanted and inadequate in the society or among their peers

Addiction is addiction and people facing internet addiction are bound to face severe withdrawal symptoms that will include mood swings, fear, anxiety, loneliness, sadness, anger and even depression. Others will even be bored and have stomach upsets. Too much dependency on the net will also make someone develop medical problems that will most of the time include backaches, dry eyes and carpal tunnel syndrome. Some are even known to have eating irregularities, difficulty in sleeping and even poor personal hygiene.

Signs and symptoms of internet addiction

When one stays on the net for more hours than he had expected and is still not satisfied. When your thoughts are constantly on what you had encountered or watched on the net earlier even when you are not online and is anxious about the next episode or series or program. When you find yourself gradually remaining alone without friends, job or even an important relationship that there once was then know that you are headed to the problem of getting addicted to the net. Some even go as far as lying to close friends, bosses, family members and even therapists that they don’t have such problems in an attempt to hide the extent of the addiction.

Help and treatment of internet addiction

Agreeing and accepting that one has a problem with internet is the first step to getting help. There are usually trained addiction therapist who will more often execute assessment to find out the level of addiction and give an appropriate care. Counseling and abstinence can help resolve internet addiction. One needs to get help as soon as possible as this addiction has led to serious problems such as infant deaths or malnutrition due to neglect by their parents or caretakers who spend more time on net instead of tending to them due to internet addiction.

Tackling Internet Addiction

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Understanding Drug Addiction

July 14, 2014

Drug addiction treatment

Drug addiction is normally a very complex illness which is sometimes accompanied by intense craving which may be uncontrollable to the addict even when there is a direct danger posed by the substance.

Drug Addiction

The key principles to effective drug treatment

There are principles which have been proven to work effectively in ensuring that the patient regains normal life. These principles are:-

  • The first principle is to realize that addiction is by itself a complex which alters the normal functioning of brain but it is curable.
  • Secondly, it is important to understand there is never single treatment which is appropriate to everyone, and hence treatment of each individual should be examined and given independent treatment.
  • Counseling is very important, especially when treating individual or group from drug addiction.
  • Each individual’s treatment should be regularly assessed to know the patient’s progress and correct adjustments to the treatment made. This ensures suitability of medication to every patient.
  • Scientifically it has been proven that many drug addicts also have other mental disorders. Thus, the appropriate treatment should seek to address not only the addiction but also the mental problems.
  • Another important principal in drug treatment is that, the treatment doesn’t have to be voluntary to be effective. The patient doesn’t have to be left to make decisions on whether, when and how he/she should be treated. Since in many occasions drug addiction comes with mental disorders, it is vital not to leave decision making in the hands of the patient.
  • The patient’s drug taking during treatment should be monitored, since lapses do occur especially when the patient cannot withstand the craving of the drugs during withdrawal.
  • Another principle is that, treatment should be readily available and in the reach of the patient when need be. The patient will be faced with challenges such as craving and necessity of medication adjustments. Therefore, it is very important that medication can be accessed when need be.
  • Also another important principle is that, any effective drug treatment should address multiple individual’s needs and not just addiction. The medication should not only revolve around treatment of addiction itself, without looking to address the needs of the individual.
  • Treatment period- remaining in treatment for adequately appropriate time is vital. The patient should be maintained under medication until it is ascertained that he/she has fully recovered. Stoppage of medication before the patient fully recovers may result to resistance to future medication after relapse and obviously the craving symptoms may follow the patient leading the patient back to the consumption of the addicting substance.
  • Importantly also, the treatment should assess the patient’s presence of other diseases like arthritis, tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C and other infectious diseases. This will help in putting the patient under good conditions which will prevent the risk of contracting or even spreading an infectious disease.

Drug Addiction

Proven effective treatment approaches

For effective treatment, combination of both medication and therapy has worked well before. The process of treatment regularly begins with detoxification which aims at reducing or eliminating the effect of drug substance in the body. It is then followed by treatment and lapse prevention. The treatment process should be well monitored to ease the withdrawal symptoms and prevent lapse.

In any drug recovery program, medication is very important. It will help in different aspects of treatment process.

Medication importance on withdrawal – withdrawal under normal circumstances is accompanied by variety of symptoms which seek to return the patient to the consumption of addictive substance. These symptoms especially craving in some circumstances it may seem to be out of patient’s capacity to resist, especially when it is a drug related addiction. Medication in this case becomes important as it will try to suppress the withdrawal symptoms during detoxification. It is important to note that however, medically assisted detoxification in itself it is not a treatment but just the first step in the treatment process. The patient must complete the treatment process otherwise he/she will be similar to those never treated.

Medication vitality in Treatment – treatment is an important aspect in drug addiction recovery. It can be used to re-establish normal brain functioning and to prevent relapse and to minimize cravings. This agent of drug recovery requires intensive examination of the patient, to establish the type of addictive drug substance the patent is addicted of, and hence streamline appropriate treatment procedure. It has been found out that, many of the drug addicts consume more than one drug and hence their addiction may sometimes not be as a result of just one drug. Treatment of this kind of addiction must seek to address each of these addictions based on the underlying cause. Treatment of these individual drugs addiction will look at the class of the substance, whether it is an Opioid, tobacco or alcohol etc. this will form a good foundation for treatment to be built on. For more details, call or visit AWAREmed and get a professional advice.

Drug addiction treatment

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Helping your friends who use drugs

July 12, 2014

Helping your friends who use drugs-Being your friend keeper

Addiction

We can all be drug free if we choose to help one another fight their addictions

Have you ever asked yourself what the kind of society we will have if drugs are not a bused and no one is addicted to drugs? Try visualizing that in your mind and imagine seeing yourself being the reason behind that atmosphere where drugs and addiction is never heard of, this is the society we are advocating for and you can be very instrumental in making it happen. We have been posting very informative articles on this link relating to addiction among other life changing topic and just recently we posted one detailing the consequences of drugs abuse and drug addiction which I will encourage you to look at even as you continue learning more about your role in helping those of your friends who may be struggling with drug addiction.

The problem of addiction in our societies today must not be left for the medical doctors and health professionals only to tackle. This problem must be fought from all directions, since it can affect anyone without discriminating on who to affect so everybody should be involved and you are part of that group of everybody. The question you are likely to ask is “how or what can I do to help?” in this article we will be discussing some of the things you can and should do to contribute in the fight against drug addiction and the following are just some of the things you can do:

Treatment
You owe your fiend the duty of care in all dimensions and especially that friend using drugs. People using drugs often find it difficult to consent seeking treatment, if your friend is one you can take the advantage of being their friend to prevail upon them to accept treatment because this will help them stop abusing the substances they abuse. There are many ways of administering treatment which may include talk therapy, medicine or even both. Receiving treatment will help them resist the urges or desire to use drugs again and also helps them be in control of their lives. The objective of treatment is to have the addict recover from their addiction and start living life without drugs. Your condition does not matter treatment is there for everyone whether you are a new drug user, heavy user or an addict you can be treated and get better. Take that bold step and be a hero by convincing you friend to seek help (treatment) and that will be a positive contribution on your part.

Understand the dangers
It is important to note that you can only help someone if you know and understand the dangers of the problem at hand. We have in our previous article discussed some of the consequences of addiction you can make reference to. On your part you must have clear understanding of how destructive drugs can be to you physically, psychologically, emotionally and economically. Having the clear knowledge will help you avoid drugs and be sober even as you look forward to helping those in drugs already.

Helping yourself and someone you love

Remember drugs addiction can affect anyone and you are not excluded and so let us start with you before you can go helping somebody. If you have ever tried using drugs before and felt bad about it, it is important that you share this with someone trusted immediately preferably your parents. This must not wait any longer because it may graduate to other serious problems your parents or any trusted adult will know what to do and they will ensure that you helped before things go from bad to worse.

However if it is your friend or any of your family members who has or is beginning to start using drugs or is associating with bad company, you must not keep quiet because you can help in the following ways:

  • Talk to an adult -bring this to the attention of somebody senior it could be your teachers, school counselors or social workers these people will have ideas that can help you talk to your friend about their drug use. Seek for useful information and ideas to help them if you do not want to name anyone. They are specially trained to deal with teens and drug use.
  • Take a risk -sometimes it may be necessary that you take some manageable risk because talking to your friend about his drug use may not be an easy thing to do, as this can make him angry. Nonetheless try and spending some quiet time with him (not in quiet, hide outs that will put you in trouble), and let remind him of the dangers and potential problems he is getting into. Ensure that you speak to him only when he is sober but if he is angry, you may have to stay away from his company. But continue to care for him and share ideas with him.
  • Remind them that help is available -Sometimes people want confidential help, because they do not want anyone to know about their situation. This is OK. Try and research and find them a counseling service around. You can always ask adults (teachers or parents) about places for teen counseling, and give your friend the information to seek the confidential help.
  • Be careful yourself -You can also be tempted into drugs one day. Knowing the facts like what you are doing now is a great way to stay away and say NO! Be careful and keep distance with bad company. Do not even entertain them. If your good friends have fallen to drugs, be careful they do not drag you into it and to be safe drop them from your list of friends fourth with.

Finally having been a good a ambassador of fighting drug addiction by helping others through vital information it is important that your friends get to know that when addiction hits hard treatment from addiction professionals will be very helpful and Dr. Dalal Akoury who founded AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center is an expert in addiction and together with her team of experts will help you get well in real time while focusing on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE.

Helping your friends who use drugs-Being your friend keeper

 

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Explaining Process Addiction

July 12, 2014

Does Process addiction Exist?

What is process addiction? This refers to a compulsive behavior that involves an action which on its own is not physically addictive but the person becomes dependent upon it. These behaviors may include: – love, sex, gambling, shopping, internet etc. This is a behavioral addiction and it doesn’t include alcohol or drug addiction.

Process addiction is mostly overlooked but it can be destructive to the victim. When a person is a victim of a process addiction, he/she feels severe coercion to engage in the activity repeatedly, sometimes even at the expense of their own physical, mental, relational or financial wellbeing.

Process Addiction

Which are some examples of these process addiction activities?

The list of activities which result into process addiction is very long since it is normally based on the activities that the individual regularly undertakes. When the activities are done repeatedly for a long period of time, there develops what can be called a habit in doing the activity. The person then becomes addicted with the activity over time and it becomes almost impossible to do without the activity. Some of the common ones are: – love, sexual activity, eating, shopping, gambling, watching pornography, mention them.

From this list though there are two behaviors which have proven to be outstanding. These are sexual addiction and pathological gambling.

·         Sex addiction

Sex addiction comes with recurring obsession to engage in sexual activity. A victim of this kind of addiction may end up sleeping with multiple partners over a short period of time and sometimes even forego personal duties in favor of sexual indulgence.

What are the symptoms of sex addiction?

Some of the indicator of a person addicted with sex may include excessive engagement in sexual acuities such as, pornography, masturbation and also behaviors like fetishism, exhibitionism and prurience.

  • Pathological gambling

Gambling is an activity that many of us engage into in variety of ways. This refers to any activity that someone engages with an expectation of monetary or material gain. The activity normally has probabilities and the person gambling accepts chances of losing or winning. An example of such events is a gamble on the results of a given football match e.g. World cup finals. The persons gambling predicts the result and places a valued item or some amount of money which is supposed to gain profit in the event of a win and in the opposite, it is lost altogether.

Even though these events we sometimes to for fun or looking for gain, when done for a long period they may turn out addictive. The person may increase the habit to a point of financial distress and often sacrificing belongings and time trying to get more money and consequently gamble it.

Which are the symptoms of behavioral addiction?

Process AddictionAddiction is usually difficult to spot. This is because different people engage into different activities during their free time in the form of hobbies. This makes it difficult to tell who is an addict of a given activity. However, people who are addicted to an activity will want to do it repeatedly, despite the damaging consequences which may come with the event.

The following are some of indicators of a behavioral addicted person:-

  • The person exhibits repetitive habits which persist or are continued despite their significant negative consequences.
  • The person experiences a feeling of loneliness, depression, anxiety and even sometimes highly stressed.
  • Another indicator of a behavioral addict is taking of increasingly big risks. For instance, the person may bet on the result of an event at 5dollars, the results goes contrary and the person bet again and again without a win but not seeming to give up even when the current bet is the only amount the person has as balance at that given time. This kind of addiction makes the person think of gambling without the losses that it comes with while the person unsuccessfully betting.
  • The addicts of behavioral addiction face difficulty in controlling impulses in general. These people follow their urge without having to reason out.
  • The victims of behavioral addiction have difficulty in sustaining relationships. This is particularly the case with the sex addicts. These people cannot control their sexual urges and thus they end up in uncontrolled sexual activities and normally with many different people. This makes it difficult for them to have a long term relationship due to un-trustworthiness (though they cannot control it) or in the event that the partner cannot withstand the frequent sex requirements of such persons.
  • Finally, the behavioral addicts will always want to hide or lie about their impulsive habits.

Treatment of behavioral addiction

In most cases, due to the nature of behavioral addiction the appropriate treatment is psychotherapy. Some times this therapy may need to be accompanied by some medication. It is common that the occurrence of behavioral addiction may be accompanied by likes of mood loss, anxiety or sometimes impulse control disorders. In such cases, treating all these conditions concurrently can relieve the symptoms of both.

Now we have seen the various symptoms of behavioral addiction. Are you in the category of victims of the same or do you of a person suffering from behavioral addiction like gambling and sex addiction? Meet professionals who will solve your problem at AWAREmed.

Does Process addiction Exist?

 

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