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	<title>Addiction Treatment Blog by Addiction Experts &#187; Addiction Blog</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog</link>
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		<title>The Portrayal of Substance Abuse in the Media</title>
		<link>http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/substance-abuse-2/the-portrayal-of-substance-abuse-in-the-media-2/</link>
		<comments>http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/substance-abuse-2/the-portrayal-of-substance-abuse-in-the-media-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 23:48:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T4A Admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Substance Abuse]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[12-step programs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Addiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alcohol Abuse]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alcoholics Anonymous]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[depiction of addiction in the media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drug addiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[in recovery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[media portrayal of addiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Requiem for a Dream]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[substance abuse]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[treatment for addiction]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/?p=4844</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160;
As with the media, substance abuse is often presented in TV and film as a very different monster than how it exists in the real world.  Both of these methods of entertainment have warped the common man’s view of drug addiction and alcoholism. We are often portrayed as the scum of society; the gum stuck on the bottom of the successful man’s shoe. While more recent television shows have shown a slightly different perception of substance abuse, the stigma still remains. Many of us in recovery are looked down upon with disdain for our past actions, and not given a chance to prove ourselves as better people. I find that the news, television, and movies are partly to blame for this.
The first films to actually depict drugs/drug use were in the 1930’s.  These anti-drug propaganda films such as Reefer Madness made vast generalizations about the dangers of recreational drug use ...]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>Is Marijuana Addictive?</title>
		<link>http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/addiction/is-marijuana-addictive/</link>
		<comments>http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/addiction/is-marijuana-addictive/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 23:53:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T4A Admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Addiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[addicts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[amotivational syndrome]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[anxiety]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[depression]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marijuana addiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marijuana raises risk of fatal car crash]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[post traumatic stress disorder]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Psychology Today]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[smoking marijuana]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[smoking pot]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Symptoms of depression]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[weed]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/?p=4837</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160;
True or false: weed is not addictive.  Among addicts and the general population, there is a widely accepted myth that marijuana cannot be addictive and even that it is not a &#8220;real drug.&#8221;  Just because marijuana addiction rarely directly causes deaths, it does not mean that it is not a drug or non-addictive.  Dr. Lynn O&#8217;Connor, a specialist in addiction, recently wrote &#8220;Marijuana Addiction Today,&#8221; an article published on Psychology Today&#8217;s website.  She describes marijuana addiction as &#8220;subtle, deceptive and often hidden, even to the user, while its effects pervade every corner of the user&#8217;s life&#8221; (O&#8217;Connor, 2012).  O&#8217;Connor outlines the science behind the subtly of marijuana addiction, the negative symptoms of chronic use, and the withdrawal experience.  Disturbingly, she basically outlined a few years of my life.
The symptoms of long term use include an urge to smoke weed after several hours or a day without using in conjunction with ...]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>PRAYER, MEDITATION, THE BODY, AND THE BRAIN</title>
		<link>http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/spirituality/prayer-meditation-the-body-and-the-brain/</link>
		<comments>http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/spirituality/prayer-meditation-the-body-and-the-brain/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 23:29:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T4A Admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spirituality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Addiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[benefits of spiritual practices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[faith]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[God]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[higher power]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[isolation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NPR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[positive effects of meditation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Prayer and Meditation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recovery process]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sobriety]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[substance abuse]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/?p=4832</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160;
It has long been known that daily prayer and meditation come with short-term physiological benefits, but only recently have scientists begun to understand the long-term benefits of connecting more deeply with oneself or a higher power.  Increasingly, researchers have been looking into the possibility that ritual prayer and meditation can extend life spans, increase happiness and productivity, and even affect those being prayed for.  Polls have indicated that 9 in 10 Americans pray at least once a day, and 83% believe in the existence of a God who answers prayers.
Prayer and medication have become staples of the recovery process.  Addicts in recovery are routinely asked to embrace the concept of a higher power, conceived as something that is bigger than themselves and a transcendent force that is universal and accessible to all.  After years of turning their lives over to substances, the recovering addict shifts his/her focus to a more ...]]></description>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>THE ANGUISH OF DETOX</title>
		<link>http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/recovery/the-anguish-of-detox/</link>
		<comments>http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/recovery/the-anguish-of-detox/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 21:26:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T4A Admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[drug addiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Drug Overdose]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Drugs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[higher power]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[physical symptoms of addiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rehab]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spiritually]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Treatment]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/?p=4825</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Drug use always seems harmless until the physical symptoms of addiction begin to take hold. That is how my abuse of opiates went at least. When someone would tell me that I needed to slow down or take a break, I would just say “I am not addicted, I have no withdrawals! Everything is fine”. That could not have been farther from the truth. Even before the cold sweats, the insomnia, the severe joint pain, I was already rooted in drug addiction. When the physical withdrawals finally kicked in, I did not care in the slightest. All that did was give me an excuse to continue to get loaded.
&#160;
Eventually, I tried to detox on my own. Even though my mind wanted me to continue, my body wanted out. Those were some of the most painful experiences in my life. I stopped going to school entirely, and would just sit in ...]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Where does my cocaine come from?</title>
		<link>http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/latest-news/where-does-my-cocaine-come-from/</link>
		<comments>http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/latest-news/where-does-my-cocaine-come-from/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 19:06:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T4A Admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Latest News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cocaine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drug cartel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heroin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mexican drug war]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Monterrey Mexico]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[President Calderon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sinaloa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[where do your drugs come from]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Zetas]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/?p=4816</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160;
On Sunday, May 13, 2012, 49 decapitated and further mutilated bodies were dumped along the highway near Monterrey, Mexico.  The bodies also lacked hands and feet, and were primarily male.  Above where the bodies, well torsos, laid in blood, there is a white arch welcoming people to the town of Cadereyta Jimenez (next to Monterrey).  Over the white arch, “100% Zeta” was spray painted (The Assosciated Press, 2012).  The Zetas are a violent Mexican gang known for drug-related violence.  Officials think this graffiti symbolically denotes ownership of the murders.
Mexican Special Forces defectors founded the Zetas (The Assosciated Press, 2012). Originally, the Zetas worked as assassins for another drug cartel, but broke off that relationship in 2010 (Zabludovsky, 2012). The Zetas are known for having no well defined territory or smuggling routes, but being extremely well armed.  As such, they are battling other gangs that have well established smuggling routes and territory, especially the ...]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Using Dreams: At First Afraid and Now a Blessing</title>
		<link>http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/addiction/using-dreams-at-first-afraid-and-now-a-blessing/</link>
		<comments>http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/addiction/using-dreams-at-first-afraid-and-now-a-blessing/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 00:27:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T4A Admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Addiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Recovery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dreams]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drug and alcohol addiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[getting sober]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[in one’s addiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[in recovery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sober and clean]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unmanageable]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Using dreams]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/?p=4811</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160;
The word “dream” defined in the Medical Dictionary, American Heritage is “a series of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations occurring involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep.”  The key word in this definition is involuntary and when we sleep we can’t control what we dream about.  Dreaming is scary and discomforting for those individuals new to recovery, like I was, because occasionally they were filled with the thoughts or even the action of using, but as time goes on, these dreams can be thought as positive and now today, for me, a blessing.
When I first started getting sober my using dreams were very prevalent, occurring two or three times a week.  These thoughts and actions of using in my dreams were uncontrollable as it states above in the American Heritage dictionary and at the treatment center I resided at I was frightened by them and was unsure how ...]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Chris Herren: Tale of a Junkie</title>
		<link>http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/addiction/chris-herren-tale-of-a-junkie/</link>
		<comments>http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/addiction/chris-herren-tale-of-a-junkie/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 14 May 2012 22:38:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T4A Admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Addiction]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Basketball Junkie]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[celebrity addiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chris Herren]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drug addicts]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Heroin Addiction]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[substance abuse]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/?p=4807</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160;
The news has been rampant with celebrity drug addicts these days. From Demi Moore to Whitney Houston, America has become used to this type of news. What society rarely hears about are the people that have almost made it to stardom, and lost it all to drugs. So many poor souls have almost reached their dreams; only for them to be crushed by their own self-sabotage. It’s a brutal world we live in, and this is something that is commonplace. These people have a far better message to send than the celebrities of old. Some have even taken their downfall and turned it into a source of inspiration for others with substance abuse problems. Chris Herren is one such person.
Chris is from the small town of Fall Rivers, Massachusetts. This is where he began pursuing his dream of becoming a professional basketball player. During his high school career, he racked ...]]></description>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Rihanna “Exhausted”?</title>
		<link>http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/celebrity/rihanna-exhausted/</link>
		<comments>http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/celebrity/rihanna-exhausted/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 11 May 2012 22:31:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T4A Admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Celebrity]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[420]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[celebrity addiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hospitalized for exhaustion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marijuana]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rehab]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rihanna]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[smoking weed]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[treatment facilities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/?p=4801</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Rumors are flying that singer Rihanna was recently hospitalized for “the flu,” however is that really the case?  Reports say that she was partying hard, using drugs and drinking more than she typically does.  She received an IV at a hospital in New York City for “exhaustion” and “dehydration” (New York Post, 2012).  While the fact that she was heavily partying the night before sparks suspicions, her drug use is not a secret.
The pop singer posted photos of her sitting on a man’s shoulders and apparently breaking apart some sort of drug on his bald head, with what appears to be the shell of a cigar (makes me think of Swisher Sweet blunts) (Thomasos, 2012).  While there is speculation as to what drug it was, marijuana seems to be a popular choice and appears to be the most likely…at least to me.   Leah Beckman, who I assume is a giant stoner, ...]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>Sober Companionship</title>
		<link>http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/recovery/sober-companionship/</link>
		<comments>http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/recovery/sober-companionship/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 11 May 2012 21:23:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T4A Admin</dc:creator>
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		<category><![CDATA[relapse]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[sober companion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[staying clean and sober]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/?p=4796</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160;
Everyone in recovery knows the person who suffers from chronic relapse. The one who got drunk at the airport bar on the way back home from rehab. You know… the person who strategically hid little bundles of drugs around their house for when they get back from treatment. That guy who has stood up as a newcomer in their first 30 days of sobriety at AA meetings for as long as you can remember. It is my experience that rehab can only teach a person so much. It is easy not to use when you are locked up in an inpatient facility. The struggle prevails when it is time to enter the real world. I was overconfident in my ability/capacity to stay sober, and what do ya know, I relapsed not even a month out of rehab. There is hope for this person. That hope takes the form of a ...]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Running: Providing a Sober High</title>
		<link>http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/life/running-providing-a-sober-high/</link>
		<comments>http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/life/running-providing-a-sober-high/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 11 May 2012 20:30:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T4A Admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Recovery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[addiction to running]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[aerobic exercise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[anxiety]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[benefits of exercise in recovery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cannabinoids]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cope with the stresses of life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[endocannabinoids]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marijuana]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recovering addicts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Runner’s high]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sober High]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.treatment4addiction.com/blog/?p=4791</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160;
Long distance runners generally report a phenomenon known as the runner’s high that produces a sensation of bliss and peacefulness sometimes in conjunction with an increase of energy or emotionality.  Recent studies show that through intense aerobic exercise the body produces chemicals in the same class as those that make marijuana effective, cannabinoids (Scicurious, 2012). These cannabinoids made in the body (endocannabinoids) pass through the blood brain barrier and produce the sensations of well-being.  In addition, the endocannabinoids provide decreased pain and anxiety.  The cannabinoids feel good and reinforce the runner’s desire to run.  Many endurance athletes say that they are “addicted” to exercise (Joyce, 2012).
First, there is an evolutionary perspective that the reduced pain may allow individuals to continue running in an emergency situation regardless of what injuries they have.  Furthermore, the idea that our bodies are designed for long-term running indicates that we also used it to outrun our prey.  ...]]></description>
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