Posts Tagged ‘Drug Rehab’

Alcohol and drug abuse will permeate every organ and cell of the body, the physical effects of chronic drug and alcohol abuse are complex and wide-reaching. Big doses of drugs, alcohol, or both invade the body’s fluids and interfere with every cells metabolism. Alcohol damages the liver, the gastrointestinal tract, the central nervous system and the heart. Depending on which drug is abuses, the brain and the central nervous system are greatly effected.

In recovery from drugs and alcohol abuse, before the body can begin to heal, the use of alcohol and drugs needs to be completely stopped. In order to heal the damage done by years of drug or alcohol abuse, an after-care program is a necessity and should not only involve ways to keep sober, but to keep the body functioning at its optimum levels. The recovering addict must focus on nutrition and eating right at all times. There have been recent studies showing that the correct intake of calories, nutrients and vitamins, not only helps with making the body recover and heal, but also helps with staving off craving for the abused substance; with the right diet, cravings will go away.

Drinking water, keeping the body hydrated, helps maintain a body’s temperature, helps with proper waste elimination and keeps the body emotionally balanced. The healing nature of water is a well-known fact in the medical field. During the drug and alcohol abuse, the body was kept barely hydrated, which creates a hostile environment in the body, making it virtually impossible for the body’s own healing and restorative functions to do their jobs. Once the body is properly hydrated, it can again resume with what it does best, keeping all the organs running smoothly. If damage is already done, for instance, damage to the liver, besides taking medications to stop further damage, water helps the healthy cells of the liver to continue to function properly.

An exercise routine is highly recommended in order to regain a healthy body. Start with simple exercises, like walking around the neighborhood, use stairways instead of elevators, or ride a bike to the store. Once the body’s muscles have come back on-line, it is necessary to begin a regular workout routine, 3-times a week at the minimum. A physically fit body will heal and recover faster than a sedentary body.

With the body beginning to heal, don’t push it into extremes, such as running in a marathon; the body will need time to heal, probably as much time as the abuse of drugs and alcohol lasted. But, it will heal, so be patient.

There are two methods for getting an addict to go to drug rehab.  The first method is to force them to go against their will.  This method is not highly preferred or effective.  Until the addict is able to see their problem for them self, they won’t see the changes that need to be made.  It could also create more anger and possibly make the situation worse.
The second option is for the addict to choose to go to rehab of their own free will.  This method is much more effective because the addict realizes that there is a problem and that there are changes that need to be made.  However, that does not mean that the family is not involved.  They are often that first step in encouraging an addict to seek help.
A drug intervention is usually one of the first things a family can do is to research drug rehabs.  Find a facility that will fit the age and personality of your loved one.  If they enjoy being outdoors, find one that emphasis outdoor activities.  If they enjoy the arts, there are many that offer art or acting classes.  With thousands of facilities nationwide, there is no end to the possibilities.  If they see the facility as a positive experience, they will be more willing to go and learn.
Once you have decided on a facility, bring the family and friends together for an intervention.  It is very important to plan the intervention in advance, so that it will go as smoothly as possible.  Throughout the intervention express in a loving and supportive manner that they have a problem, that you care about them and want them to get help, and that there is hope.
Once they agree to go, it is important to act fast.  Call the rehab facility you have chosen and get them in as soon as possible.  The longer you wait the more likely they will be to change their mind about going.
The important thing to remember is, even if they don’t agree to go the first time, don’t give up.  While it is imperative that the family be a loving, strong support system, getting better is ultimately a decision that the addict will have to make, but you can be there to help them when they are ready to take that next step.

Though once seem as just another activity associated with the college experience, alcohol abuse on college campuses are linked with more frequently now with violence and other sadistic and illegal acts, including rape.  As a result, many colleges have taken another stance on alcohol.  They have made it completely illegal to possess on school territory.  While a step in the right direction towards making campuses safer, some students claim violation to their rights.  Such a claim has in its own way increased violence in the form of riots.   Residential drug treatment centers and other facilities specializing in treating substance abuse addictions are among those recognizing the growing problem

A drink now and again is not what campuses want to outlaw.  Rather they want to decrease  binge drinking.  Addiction treatment facilities have seen a rise in binge drinking among college age student and even younger.  Often those who binge drink become extremely violent and unstable to the point that school police officers have extreme difficulty in calming down those under the influence of a binge.   Campuses contend that binge drinking is not a right that can be defended, which is what they want to make illegal through making all alcohol illegal.

Campuses are aware  of how big a problem the abuse is becoming.  In a single semester, five campuses endured alcohol related violence.  Though alcohol related events tend to start out small, these intensified to full-blown riots for each of the separate campuses.
Alcohol abuse intervention is a good way for those who are friends and family of college students abusing alcohol to help them.  It can often aid in getting them to recognize some of the factors involved in their decision to drink excessively, including the fearlessness most in their formative years feel.

While a riot on a college campus is not a new thing, those brought on by alcohol are and becoming increasingly worse.  Many specializing in the area of psychology and social behavior studies feel these riots often have roots in the sense of rebellion against authority that occurred and originated in the early nineties.   Most of these riots happen because students want to rebel against authority, not because of say, a political cause.  The physicality of these riots is also alarming, since violence is used as an almost exclusive means of expression that students use.   Intervention and treatments are becoming increasingly necessary to help students and the campuses.

More and more the medical community is discovering that the reason some drug treatment facilities do not work for minorities originates in the lacking understanding of the specific culture minorities bring with them to the facility.  Some of the modules used in rehabilitation centers are foreign and more than improper suggestions of how to deal with addiction.  The various twelve-step programs that all at their core urge addicts to say they are powerless to their addiction and must submit to a greater being are actually more harmful than helpful, especially to those in the African American Community.  Counseling with people who are strangers to them is also unhelpful.  Because these steps do not fit their culture, many African Americans often feel tentative and uncertain about approaching addiction treatment.

Solutions to this timidity come in the form of pretreatment interventions and other methods that aim to help in easing addicts into a treatment for drug addiction. Not only does it help addicts to enter the facility, but they also stay longer.  Of course, there still needs to be more research done on what methods work well and which don’t, and which work together the best as this research is still in its infancy stages.

In a study done in North Carolina using the idea of a pretreatment as the foundation for drug rehabilitation entry and maintenance.  Finding substance abusers took more of street approach, using peers to do a chain campaign and also allowing regular self-referrals.  People eligible for the program had be at least eighteen years old and the applicants had to say they considered the African American identity their identity.  They could not have participated in another rehab program for ninety days prior, and had to have abuse crack cocaine for at least thirteen days in the past three months.  With such criteria, the researchers were able to provide themselves with a good background for their study, which proved hopeful and showed that the way minorities are given drug and alcohol abuse intervention must change.

Since the prehistoric period, hallucinogens have been used in cultures everywhere throughout the world, from the mild effects of the pure but strong tobacco passed around in the Plains American Indians ceremonies to the psychedelic outcome cults in Ancient Greece produced from building temples near the fumes of volcanoes.  But in these instances, the rights were purely for a religious or spiritual reason and to produce visions and images to help the cultures they were made in.

Throughout most of history, the availability of the plants with hallucinogenic properties has been tempered by whatever soil and climate conditions were available.  The reason for their popularity is due to the way in which it affects the brain’s chemistry, interrupting how the serotonin system functions.  However, with the industrialization of many businesses, the drug business has also increased ever since.  Along with an increase in drugs, there has been an increase in the number of centers for the treatment of drug addiction.

During the sixties, LSD became the hallucinogen of choice because of the fact that it could be produced anywhere due to its synthetic nature.  In spite of the history of the hallucinogenic for ritual purposes often considered respectable by their respective countries, LSD continues to remain illegal in the USA, unlike marijuana, which has been used in medical cases, in particular cancer.

Drug and alcohol abuse intervention provide many facts about the qualities of the drug.   In its most popular form, LSD takes the shape of what is named blotter acid: tiny paper sheets drenched with LSD that come in whitish colors or just plain clear.  Those sheets show in those colors are LSD in its most pure and undiluted self.  Lower quality colors include black and tan.

Drug rehab that specializes in LSD treatment often requires the patient to take part of a program that lasts for six months with 24 hour care.  Because LSD users often have a history of heavy drug abuse, this long of a treatment plan usually works best for them.

Drug rehabs can be as varied as the flavors of ice cream as Baskin Robbins.  Drug rehab changes with the type of substance a person is addicted to, or what their medical insurance can afford. There are inpatient, outpatient and residential types of rehab. Some offer only detox, and others specialize in dual diagnosis treatment.  This post will attempt to clarify the different types of facilities a person can go to get help.

A detox center is usually an inpatient program. This is a process by which the detoxification process begins and along the way it is aided by prescription drugs. This is done to reduce the effects of going through detox. This is normally a process for those addicted to drug such as heroin.  This is a stepping stone in the rehabilitation process.

A residential rehabilitation center is a long term rehab program where a person lives their daily life in treatment.  These are usually less like hospital settings and more open and free for the residents.  Residents attend counseling and live on the premises. With residential treatment, the patient has to take a break from their life to go there. They usually do not attend this type of treatment in their home town; they go to another state, for example, California or Florida.

An outpatient facility is where patients go just for specific times. Perhaps they will go in for meetings with a counselor. Outpatient therapies are things like Alcoholics Anonymous. They have meetings and a person can attend any number of meetings they want to, but they are not obligated.

A dual diagnosis treatment center is one that focuses on not just the addiction but the mental side of addiction. It is for people with co-occurring disorders. For example, someone who is an alcoholic and has bi-polar disorder.

According to data from TNS Media Intelligence for the 2008 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, the beer category, which includes the Anheuser-Busch and Miller brands, bought a combined $42.8 million – or about 7 percent – of $643 million in total revenue collected by CBS for the tournament.

With an increase of 24 percent in total revenue since 2007, the tournament generates advertising rates second only to the Super Bowl. The profitable tournament has attracted some 300 advertisers in the past ten years promoting a wide-range of products, and aired an astonishing 140 ads during the final game of the 2008 tournament (ten were for beer). Ads for cars, movies, cell phones, electronics, financial services, food, razors, network television programs, and the U.S. military have all been major advertisers on NCAA games.

The NCAA claims its alcohol advertising policy is the most “conservative and restrictive of any televised sport.” In reality, the league allows 60 seconds of beer ads per hour (which could be as many as four distinct ads), or 120 seconds total per game. That makes the concentration of beer-ad spending on NCAA games more than two-and-a-half times what it is during other television programming, according to Center For Science in the Public Interest . Current NCAA policy prohibits advertising for tobacco products, gambling and other alcoholic beverages, but makes an exception for beer.

In 2005, the SAMHSA National Survey on Drug and Health reported that young adults ages 18-22 enrolled full-time in college were more likely than their peers not enrolled full time to use alcohol, to binge drink, and to drink heavily. This is a sobering statistic when thinking about the young adults enrolling later in long term alcohol rehab or seeking some form of drug rehab programs or drug rehab.

The United Nations recently released its report of world-wide drug abuse with both positive and negative findings. Overall, it appears that the global epidemic of drug abuse is starting to stabilize. This could be a fluke but it is something to be hopeful of when there are 25 million people in the world using drugs and in need of a drug rehab program.

And though cocaine, heroin, cannabis and amphetamine use seems to be stabilizing, opium production is up because of the new growth in Afghanistan, cocaine use in Europe is up and trafficking in Africa is up. The bright side of this report, at least from an American prospective, is that cocaine use by teenagers is at 2.3% versus Spain where it is at 7.2%.

It is apparent that all of the drug and alcohol prevention is starting to pay off and getting users into drug rehab is the key to helping those that are addicted. Though the world-wide drug abuse rates are stabilizing, preventative efforts must be continued and addicts must get into drug rehab treatment programs.