Signs of Addiction

December 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

ContentWhether the addiction is drugs, gambling, alcohol or even shopping, people with addictive tendencies will exhibit common characteristics. Recognizing these characteristics in yourself of others can help you to determine if a habit has become an addiction.
A common indicator of an addiction is a craving or a strong compulsion. It is common for people to crave a favorite food or a hot drink in the cold weather, but when the craving is so strong that it disrupts normal activity, it may be a sign of addiction. A person may find himself obsessing over the next time he will be able to engage in the desired behavior. This craving may compel someone to rearrange their schedule, change their environment or sacrifice something in order to relieve the craving.
A loss of control is a clear indicator of an addiction. Any addictive substance or behavior provides some sort of desirable effect which is reinforcing to the user. Whether it be because of the physical or the psychological effects, the craving becomes too strong to resist. For an addiction such as drinking or smoking, a person’s body becomes reliant on the substance. For other addictions, such as gambling or shopping, a person’s brain reacts to the activity by releasing chemicals that give much the same feeling as one might feel from using drugs.
Another sign of a possible addiction is escalation of the behavior as well as the negative consequences. Escalation occurs because it take more and more of the substance being abused to achieve the desired effect. As the behavior increases, a person will likely give more of his time, resources or attention to the addiction. This may result in stress on relationships, poor performance at work or financial strain. These may cause a person to lie in order to hide their addiction or to deny a problem all together.

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Preventing Alcohol Abuse

December 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

If you know someone that may have a tendency to become easily addicted to things. There are certain steps you can take to prevent alcohol or drug abuse before your loved one even has a chance to become addicted to it. Taking the proper steps may help save a life.

If you know someone that may have started drinking heavily, now is the time to help him or her before the problem becomes worse. First, you must recognize the signs of alcohol abuse. You might want to look at Rehab-International.org for more information. Take note as to whether or not his/her relationships are suffering.  If your loved one is cutting off people they used to be close with, it may be because they don’t want anyone finding out about his/her problem.

Has your loved one recently had an alcohol-related offense such as a DUI? Has your loved one been getting in trouble at his/her job by being late all the time or not showing up? These are all warning signs that someone you know may be suffering from alcohol abuse.

Try identifying this person’s triggers. Is there a certain topic or person that makes them drink? Sometimes an event can make a person turn to alcohol in the hopes that he/she will be able to forget everything. Find out what triggers this person’s drinking and see if you can work with him/her to avoid it.

If you know that your loved one has a drinking problem, make sure you stay away from potential areas where he/she can drink. Avoid sports bars, dance clubs or any other occasion where it may be easy to take one drink.

If you know what to look for in the first place, you can prevent alcohol abuse from getting worse.

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Helping a Loved one Deal With Alcohol Addiction

December 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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Alcoholism is a growing problem in the United States. More and more people are turning to alcohol as a way to cope with the every day stresses in life. With a struggling economy, alcoholism is on the rise. Chances are you, or someone you know, is currently dealing with the damaging effects of alcohol. But there is hope. There are steps you can take to help a loved one deal with this dangerous addiction.

1. Get help. If you do nothing else, you must get some help for your loved one. Get them to an AA meeting or to a rehab center. Alcohol addiction can destroy lives. The bottle takes precedence over family, work, and even play. You must get some professional help. A great place to start for healing information is MichaelsHouse.com.

2. Love unconditionally. At some point in the recovery process, you’re probably going to get very angry with the one who is overcoming alcohol. But don’t give up. You must continue to love and support the friend or family member fighting this drug. It is an addiction and slip ups will happen. The most important thing to remember is to love and stay on the path to recovery.

3. Don’t enable. It also might be tempting to enable the one who is struggling. You may be tempted to pay their bills, call in an excuse to work, or watch their children. This kind of behavior tends to enable the one who needs to recover, instead of help. Draw a defined line of boundaries and don’t cross it.

Alcoholism is a scary disease that will destroy lives. But there is help available and most importantly, there is hope. Support the one you love and stay by their side through the entire recovery process. You can be a very valuable instrument in restoring a life.

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Holiday’s a Great Time to Assess need for Alcohol Drug Treatment Centers

December 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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Nothing brings out the holiday spirit like, well spirits – as in alcohol. Christmas parties are filled with drinks that just keep on coming. The holidays are also a time when DUI arrests are at their highest and people with depression drink and use drugs more often.

In addition to all of these work-related parties, families tend to come from all parts of the country to spend a few days together. For those suffering with depression or drug and alcohol abuse, the need for family members to get a loved one to attend alcohol drug treatment centers may become known.

Having a drug or alcohol addiction is no laughing matter. For some, overcoming these problems will be the hardest thing they have every done. During this Holiday season, spend some time asking questions of your loved ones and find out what’s really going on in their lives.

If you have a family member that is having trouble with school or work, ask them what’s going on. One of the first signs of drug abuse is that a person’s work life suffers and jobs may be difficult to maintain.

Are your loved ones experiencing any legal problems? Dui’s, any theft charges, or arrests in the last year may be a sign that your loved one is struggling.

If you suspect someone you love is abusing drugs or alcohol, there may be some symptoms to look for. Bloodshot eyes or pupils that are larger or smaller than normal may be a good place to start. Changes in sleep patterns or a deterioration of physical appearance may also be signs of abuse.

The holidays are supposed to be a time of joy and happiness. They can also be a time to gather the troops and see if anyone in the family is struggling with dependency issues.

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The Affects of Alcohol

September 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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Alcohol affects everyone differently, depending on their weight, gender, metabolism, mood and how much alcohol they drink. Though most people don’t realize it, alcohol is a drug. Like any drug, alcohol affects your nervous system and your judgment. The more you drink, the more effect the alcohol has on you — until your body filters and removes the alcohol.

Alcohol affects you almost as soon as you drink it — ethanol is broken down quickly in your system, sending alcohol into your blood stream almost immediately. It’s absorbed while in your mouth, your stomach and your intestines. As long as it’s in your body, alcohol is being used as fuel. While in the stomach it’s absorbed slowly, but once it reaches your lower digestive systems the ethanol is absorbed very quickly. Once the alcohol is in your blood stream, it passes through nearly every organ in your body, affecting your brain the most. The highest concentration of alcohol is typically found in your brain, which is why your judgment and inhibitions are first to be affected.

Your liver can process and filter out almost all the alcohol in your blood quickly – but if you drink a large amount of alcohol in a short period of time, your liver can fall behind in processing it. As the alcohol “backs-up” you become more affected and your bodily systems become more impaired. Even after you stop drinking, the alcohol build up will take hours to process. The average person’s liver can only process one alcoholic drink per hour.

During this period of slowed down filtering is when many people over drink. Drinking too many drinks too fast and then believing that you won’t get any more intoxicated when you stop is when you are in danger of overdosing. Most overdoses happen because a person does not know their limit or think they can just sleep off their stupor. If someone passes out, it’s time to seek treatment. No matter what embarrassment or trouble they might get into from drinking, their life is in danger and they need immediate treatment.

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Tips for Recovering From Alcoholism

September 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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If you have decided to seek help for you alcohol addiction, you have made the right choice. Recovering can be long and hard, and to be successful, you need to be determined and confident. Here are a few tips for easing the process a little.

Avoid situations where you’ll feel pressured to drink — like parties, gatherings or hanging at clubs with friends. If you have friends who like to go out and drink during the week, find time to hang out with them during another activity like watching sports or playing video games. If you feel like you need to drink something to fit in, order a virgin drink. It’s just as good and you won’t feel left out. You shouldn’t fear alcohol, but if you are worried one drink will cause you to start drinking again, avoid it all together. Be confident in your choice to become sober and stick to it.

If you have a high stress life style, try drinking relaxing teas like chamomile and kava. Put a few drops of peppermint oil in your bath or try practicing deep breathing. Alcohol is not the only escape from stress and you always have safer options.

Find help wherever you can. Recovering from alcoholism is difficult for anyone and having support is very important, especially if it’s from people who understand your struggles. Alcoholics Anonymous and other support groups can make all the difference. You should attend at least one meeting a week because the group’s attention and encouragement can keep you motivated. Do not rely on other people to take responsibility for you. You should be responsible for your actions and admit it when you struggle. Ask your family to get involved and keep them updated on your progress. Take charge and stand on your own feet again.

When you’re recovering, it may be very hard to avoid the temptation of alcohol. Just be confident – once you have made the choice to change your life and stick with it, everything will get easier to deal with over time.

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How Do Teens Access Alcohol?

December 16, 2001 By Leave a Comment

ContentIf you are concerned about your under-age child drinking, the most important thing to to know is where they may be getting alcohol from. Teenagers and young adults who have access to alcohol before they are of legal drinking age must be acquiring it from someone who is over twenty-one.
Start by ruling out yourself as the source. Though it may seem obvious, many parents neglect to secure the alcohol supply within their own home. Even if you lock your liquor cabinet, but your teen may have found the key. As much as you would like to trust your teen within your own home, be sure you are not giving them any temptations. A group of teenage friends will often collect small amounts of alcohol from each of their own homes and then gather them together with enough to be dangerous.
Once you are confident that your own home is not your child’s source of alcohol, consider who your child may know who might have access to alcohol. Do they have friends from work who are of legal age? Often, teenagers will ask older friends or siblings to purchase alcohol for them and agree to pay an extra fee for the favor. Though this is illegal, it is often difficult or impossible for stores to know where the alcohol goes once it leaves their store.
Does your teen spend time with college students? Even college students who are not twenty-one may have a fake ID or have friends who purchase alcohol for them. Since alcohol is such a big parts of the culture at many colleges, a teen spending time on a college campus is likely to have access to alcohol there.
If your child is engaging in binge drinking as a teenager, they are more likely to have unhealthy drinking habits as they get older so address the problem as soon as it surfaces.

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