Addiction Treatment Blog by Addiction Experts » Life
Keith Richards’ Memoir
Keith Richards, the Rolling Stones guitarist and songwriter, recently came out with his new memoir, Life, one of the most interesting revelations about recovery that involves the role of music, his work and passion, in the rocker’s decision to give up heroin and cocaine. For much of his life, he used these drugs to fuel his work– many of the Stones’ greatest songs were written during the peak of Richards’s drug use. He still drinks copiously and smokes marijuana and cigarettes. Drugs had caused a number of problems in his life– he’d suffered the death of a child and the drug-related deaths of several friends and band makes, but when heroin threatened his ability to make music, he was finally willing to quit. Media accounts of drug problems rarely mention the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Addiction, Celebrity, Drugs, Latest News, Life, Recovery, Spirituality, Treatment
The Drug Addict’s Double Life
Many people who use drugs do not consciously become addicts. This is true the majority of the time. But, whether we consider ourselves to be addicts or not, we all knowingly abuse drugs. This is always true. That being said, when most addicts first start to poke around in the world of drugs, we’re generally aware of what we’re up to and what we’re up against when we choose to pursue that sort of lifestyle … Read entire article »
New Findings about Alcohol Abuse During Pregnancy
There has been some questioning on whether or not the prenatal exposure to alcohol effects the mother’s unborn baby. Two recently completed studies — one from the UK and another from Australia — recently revealed surprising information. Data and research continues to point to large amount of alcohol consumption contributing to severe developmental issues as well as other mental health issues. A small amount of alcohol intake (defined as 10g of alcohol per week or … Read entire article »
Filed under: Addiction, Latest News, Life, Love and Relationships
Vivitrol Treats Addiction?
Vivitrol has already been approved as a possible treatment for alcohol addiction. It was recently passed on October 14th, 2010, by the Food & Drug Administration as a drug to treat addiction for opiates such as heroin, morphine, Oxycontin and Vicodin. It is said to be the first non-narcotic, non-addictive drug used to treat opiate dependence. Eligible patients can receive the treatment after undergoing detoxification. Vivitrol is given by way of injection, once a month and works as an opiate antagonist, which actually blocks the opioid receptors, leaving the patient unable to feel the effects of any opiates. The drug is said to leave patients with a significantly lower tolerance than normal to opiates if they were to miss their monthly dose. The one serious downside is that this could … Read entire article »
Filed under: Addiction, Conditions and Disorders, Drugs, Latest News, Life, Recovery, Treatment
California Marijuana Laws and Prop 19
Federal law says they will continue to make arrests of individuals and organizations using cannabis even if Prop 19 is passed. Both Eric Holder, the attorney general of California and the Justice department claim that the Federal Government will enforce its laws even against California’s will, no matter which way people vote. The Justice Department remains very opposed to people possessing, distributing and cultivating cannabis, as well as California’s prop 19. It is said by the department that the federal Controlled substances Act will be strictly enforced regardless of what prop 19 overturns. In 1996, California was independent in making themselves the only state that people could use cannabis under medical supervision and for medicinal purposes only. Since 1996, thirteen other states as well as the District of Columbia also cosigned … Read entire article »
Filed under: Drugs, Latest News, Life
Virtual Drug Environment Helps Understand Meth Addiction
There’s a host of environmental cues that can trigger cravings in addicts. Videos of people using drugs and images of drug paraphernalia are two of the biggest triggers for many addicts. Understanding the nature of cravings is a very important phenomenon of the recovery process because it helps dictate proper treatment methods for an individual case. In a recent study conducted at UCLA, researchers used Second Life to find out if cues in … Read entire article »
Filed under: Addiction, Conditions and Disorders, Drugs, Latest News, Life, Treatment
Equal Rights – Mental Health Treatment Vs Medical Treatment
Limit 20 therapy sessions per person per year. This is the speech I received when I requested individualized counseling sessions last winter while in the grip of a crippling depression. My insurance company was not alone in its refusal to cover more than a predetermined number of visits over a specified period of time. I considered people far worse off than I was with a sense of empathetic disbelief. Bipolar disorder? Paranoid schizophrenia? Delusional disorder? … Read entire article »
Filed under: Addiction, Conditions and Disorders, Drugs, Latest News, Life, Love and Relationships, Recovery, Treatment
Relapse Prevention
One main reason for 12 step relapse prevention techniques proving to be helpful is because they embody a wide-ranged plan that incorporates all aspects of a person from spiritual to physical to emotional. They work especially well when the addict takes massive action toward studying, practicing and understanding elements of a 12 step program. The 12 steps may seem daunting at first glance, but in all reality they are one sentence each, and most sponsors encourage their sponsee’s to go through the 12 steps at their own pace. No time is too long or too short, within reason. No one expects a person to work the 12 steps completely in solitude. This is why addicts and alcoholics go to as many meetings as we can, to surround themselves with friends … Read entire article »
Filed under: Addiction, Conditions and Disorders, Drugs, Life, Recovery, Spirituality, Treatment
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Original AA Manuscript to Be Released to the Public
October 11th, 2010 | 1 Comment
For nearly 70 years the original manuscript of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) by co-founder Bill Wilson has been hidden away. However, next week the original manuscript is set to become public for the first time, complete with edits by Wilson-picked commentators. Since AA was originally founded in 1939, there has been much debate over whether or not AA is a religious-based group. The release of the original manuscript will release some interesting edits that … Read entire article »
Filed under: Addiction, Conditions and Disorders, Drugs, Latest News, Life, Recovery, Spirituality, Treatment