General Rehab & Addiction

What to Do When Facing a DUI Charge

DUIs come with some serious legal and personal consequences. The penalty in many states for a DUI charge varies from suspension of a driver’s license to jail time ranging from a few months to years.

If you are facing a potential DUI charge it can be a scary and stressful time. Luckily, there is DUI help right around the corner. Here’s a look at a few things you should do when facing a DUI charge.

Seek the Help of a DUI Attorney

There are attorneys out there that specialize in DUI cases. If you are facing a DUI charge, you will want to look into hiring one of these attorneys. They might not be able to get the DUI charge erased, but they can help represent you in the court of law and get you the best results.

If this is your first DUI, you may want to consider seeking the advice of a DUI attorney, as they can help guide you through the court process and give you the best legal advice for your current situation.

Get Help for an Addiction

For many people, this won’t be first time facing DUI charges. If this is the second or third time you’ve found yourself facing a DUI, you may want to consider getting help for your addiction. Not only will getting the help you need help you in the eyes of the court system, it will also help you in your personal life.

By getting the DUI help you need, you can turn a stressful and frustrating situation into one that is more manageable.

Filed Under: General Rehab & Addiction | Tagged: Tagged With: Driving under the influence, Law, Lawyer

Four Myths About Drug Addictions

There are many misconceptions about drug addictions that people develop over time. These misconceptions and myths often make it hard for many drug addicts to recover because those that believe the misconceptions often believe that the addiction is easy to overcome or there are other problems surrounding it.

Here is a look at the top four myths that surround drug addiction and what the real facts are surrounding this myth.

Addictions can be overcome with willpower alone. Many people believe that addictions can be overcome by sheer willpower. That if the addict wants to overcome the addiction they can will it away. That is not the case. Many substance and drug addictions have altered the way that the brain perceives things. The brain also has compulsions and cravings to use the substance or drug

Addictions are a disease that has no cure. While addictions are a type of disease of the brain it does not mean that if someone suffers from an addiction there is no cure for the disease. The brain disease that comes from addiction can be changed by receiving intensive therapy, exercising, eating right and various treatments that are developed to reverse the function of the brain.

Addicts will only recover when they hit rock bottom. This is not true at all. Recovery can happen to any addict at any point in time. In fact, many addiction experts believe that the earlier treatment is sought the easier it is to treat the addiction.

Addicts will only benefit from treatment if they go voluntarily. An addict will benefit from treatment if they want to benefit from it. That means that they could go voluntarily or be forced into treatment by friends, family or the legal system. It is believed that once the addict starts to sober up if they really want to change they will take the steps to change regardless of how they got into the treatment facility.

Filed Under: General Rehab & Addiction | Tagged: Tagged With: Addiction, Brain, Substance abuse

Who is Susceptible to Drug Addictions

Drug addictions are just like any other type of disease or illness. There are people that are more susceptible to drug addictions than others. While drug addictions can develop in any person regardless of age, race or background there are certain specific characteristics that can determine if a person is more likely to suffer from a drug addiction then another person.

Here is a look at some of the various characteristics and background information that can determine if a person is susceptible to a drug addiction or not.

Family History. Many people who suffer from drug addictions have a family history of drug addictions. It is believed that there could be a genetic link to drug addictions but that has not been proven by any scientific study.

Early Use of Addictive Drugs. Those that have been exposed to drugs at an early age have a higher rate of susceptibility to drug addictions than those that are not exposed at an earlier age. This is because the body develops a craving and a need for the drug that was introduced at a young age.

Traumatic Experiences. Many people who suffer from traumatic experiences in their childhood often develop drug addictions. Traumatic experiences usually include violence, abuse or sexual abuse. It is believed that these people will often turn to drugs as a way to cope with the traumatic experience that they had in their life. The drugs will quickly turn into an addiction.

Mental Disorders. Many mental disorders cause an imbalance of chemicals in the brain. It is believed that when there is an imbalance in the brain it causes the person to not think clearly which causes them to turn to drugs as a way to cope with the mental disorders.

Filed Under: General Rehab & Addiction | Tagged: Tagged With: Addictions, Substance abuse

The Signs of Alcohol Addiction

Alcohol addiction can be a devastating problem to an individual and his or her entire life. It involves the person not being able to control drinking, using it as an escape from depression or problems in life. If you have this problem, you may feel the need to drink and continue do so regardless of the consequences, whether they are related to relationships, your finances or even your personal health. When it comes to the point of addiction, the alcohol becomes the primary priority in life to the detriment of everything else. Some people may have a drinking problem, but do not exhibit the major symptoms of alcoholism.

There are several signs that indicate the presence of alcoholism, starting with a intense craving to drink and having no control over how much you drink. As the addiction gets worse, you may find that you have to drink more and more in order to get the same effect from the alcohol. This is because the body builds up a higher tolerance level over time. You also may try to keep the drinking a secret, becoming irritable whenyou need to drink and habitually drink at certain times. An alcoholic will also sometimes stash liqueur in strange locations such as at work or in a vehicle.

Relationships will also start to suffer as drinking takes over the your focus, which can affect your job as well. Family and friends need to be aware of these signs so they can encourage you to seek help as soon as possible. There are various types of help available including rehab, counseling and various support groups that can aid you in overcoming the addiction. You will need support as you may have guilt about the drinking and start having feelings that the drinking needs to be reduced.

Filed Under: General Rehab & Addiction | Tagged: Tagged With: Addictions, Alcoholism, Centers and Counseling Services, Health, Substance dependence

What Presents to Really get Your Partner

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Getting the perfect gift sometimes seems like such a challenging thing to do. It’s hard to decide between the sweater and the tie for your man, or a new skirt or shoes for your best gal.

Here are a few suggestions that might help, because getting the wrong gift is kinda like spending a week in an alcohol treatment center – it’s necessary but not fun.

• Ask yourself what do they really love? If the answer isn’t clear immediately, then ask your partner. It might take a moment, but you’ll discover the right thing.

• Guy shopping: If it’s a guy you’re shopping for, stay away from clothes unless they absolutely love fashion. If you’ve got a guy that loves sports, try getting the NFL ticket or some kind of sports package that he can watch on television. Guys love their sports and you thinking of one of their favorite things is sure to be a big hit.

• Gal shopping: Shopping for clothes or for jewelry can be hard, right fellas? Here’s a thought, go shopping with your wife or girlfriend months before the big day. Find what they like, take notes, and pay attention. If you’re absolutely stumped for gift ideas, give the gift of relaxation. When is the last time you treated your lady to a massage or a day at the spa? At the very least a spa-day or massage shows that you are thinking about your partner’s needs.

• Examine your relationship and find something that is missing. We all get so caught up in our everyday lives, it’s hard to find time to nurture the one that you love. A romantic overnight getaway to a ski lodge or just getting out of town together for one night is a great way to rekindle romance and put the rigors of everyday life behind you, at least for one night.

Filed Under: General Rehab & Addiction | Tagged: Tagged With: Advice, Christmas, Doctor of Philosophy, Gift, Relationships, Romance, Steve Pavlina, United States

Make Moving With Children Easy

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Moving to a new home is no easy feat. First, there’s all that packing. Making sure all your precious items are packed away safely enough to withstand the jolting truck ride to the new place can take away a few hours of desperately needed sleep. Then, it all starts again, only backwards, as you unpack your treasures and set them up in your new place.

Add children running underfoot to all the moving excitement, if you want to call it that, and it really can become the greatest adventure of all. With some simple suggestions, you can make moving with children easy, for everyone involved.

The kid’s rooms should be packed up last. Keeping their room as is for the majority of the move will help them adjust to the concept of moving in a more gradual way and also gives the kids a familiar place to feel comfortable, and stay busy, while the rest of the house is in an up-roar. For similar reasons, the kid’s rooms should be unpacked and set up first. Let older children unpack and set up their new room on their own. It will make them feel better about the move if they have a say in where their personal stuff goes.

Other suggestions include having a grandparent or friend stay at the new home to unpack and set-up the kid’s rooms while the rest of the adults finish moving boxes to the new location, purchase a new set of crayons and coloring books or a new small toy and surprise the kids when they start getting antsy. Bubble wrap is also a great distraction for kids of all ages. Older kids can help unpack and put away unbreakable items, like placing books in the bookshelf. And, there is nothing like hiring movers to reduce stress. Moving quotes can be obtained online and over the telephone.

Filed Under: General Rehab & Addiction | Tagged: Tagged With: Child, Moving company, Travel

Substance Abuse and Mental Health

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When it comes to substance abuse there is no concrete answer as to why someone chooses to abuse that drink or drug of choice. Scientists, psychologists and researches could spend years upon years looking into why people do what they do and why certain people become addicted but it’s a sure bet that they will never find the answer that they are looking for.

With so many different people and reasons as to why they become addicted it can be hard for people to admit that they have a problem. A popular school of thought is that those that abuse the substances of drugs or alcohol only need to stop. That once that drug or drink is taken away and the person detoxes everything will go back to normal.

However, that is not the case at all. Even if you take the substance of choice away from an addict there are still many other things that must be addressed first.

Most addicts need to find the underlying cause of why they are drinking or abusing drugs. Many times it is an attitude of not feeling adaquit not feeling good enough, abandonment issues or a number of other things. For this reason a person must also focus on the mental health aspect of a substance abuse issue while also focusing on the physical and emotional side of things. If these issues are not addressed and a person just quits the drug or alcohol with no help at all then the addict runs the risk of relapsing or turning to the drugs again.

The connection between addiction and mental health is so strong that almost every rehab centers requires that the substance abusers must attend mandatory individual and group counseling so that they can work on these issues. Until those internal issues are resolved there is no way that a person can maintain total sobriety.

Filed Under: General Rehab & Addiction | Tagged: Tagged With: Addictions, Centers and Counseling Services, Health, Mental health, Organizations, Substance abuse, Substance dependence, United States

Discovering a Problem

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One of the first steps in most recovery programs is the crucial step of the addict admitting that he or she has a substance abuse problem. While this step might be a personal triumph for the individual it took a long time for there to be a collective societal acknowledgement that constant obsessive alcohol abuse was a disease.

Human life was a short and harsh existence in the natural world of earlier recorded history. It took generations of human achievement to build civilizations capable of sustaining life into an old enough age for there to be a pattern of addiction that could be recognized and studied. Discovering that addiction existed and then discussing it became a tipping point in creating rehabilitation models and programs.

Their was a revolution akin to a great awaking where the grouping of all drinkers into the same category was discovered to no longer be sufficient to describe everyone who partook in alcohol consumption. The drinkers became separated from abnormal drinkers.

Part of the problem of discovering and making a distinction was how widespread alcohol consumption and abuse was. Even though some of the puritanical religious sects banned drinking, alcohol was a major part of American culture dating back to the colonies. Each class had its preferred beverages, but abuse did not know a class, gender or race. Even though alcohol addiction predated the American Revolution there was not a lot written or examined regarding combating alcohol consumption in the United States until later.

Per capita alcohol consumption rose after the nation declared its independence from Great Britain. And as prosperity rose and alcohol became more available so did efforts to control drunkenness. Perhaps the earliest example of American coming to grips with its drinking was an 1784 work by Benjamin Rush. Rush’s “An Inquiry into the Effects of Ardent Spirits” described habitual alcohol consumption as a disease. The language was now in place to examine a problem, but like all new concepts it would take sometime and the influence of others to make a good idea into a popular one.

Filed Under: General Rehab & Addiction | Tagged: Tagged With: Addiction, Alcoholism, Benjamin Rush, Centers and Counseling Services, Great Britain, Health, Substance abuse, United States

Creating “Alcoholism”

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It might have taken awhile for the United States to examine if persistent alcohol consumption was a problem, but once a market was established to examine the effects of alcohol abuse it grew rapidly. Benjamin Rush is credited with writing one of the first pieces of popular literature on the effects of regular drinking. And after his thesis gained some recognition so did the concept of over indulging in alcohol as a disease.

By the 1840s there were even societies to assist alcoholics. A group called the Washingtonians is recognized as the first popularly known group of recovering alcoholics. While it was an important step in combating addiction in America it is also an example of an honor that the first President of the United States could probably do without. There was a support group for alcoholics, but using science to study addiction would be a future development. Instead the Washingtonians condemned “drunkenness”. They referred to themselves as confirmed drinkers, drunkards, sots, tipplers and inebriates.

Alcohol itself was an Arabic word that meant the spirit or essence of something. And for the “drunkards” of that era Alcohol was akin to a haunting. There was no knowledge of predispositions towards addiction or family history of drinking. At this time alcohol referred more to any intoxicating drink rather than the actual ingredient that caused drunkenness.

By 1849, science was beginning to notice distinctions in the consumption of alcohol. Swedish physician Magnus Huss introduced the world to the term alcoholism, which was described as a chronic use of alcohol with the intent to become intoxicated that was characterized by a serve disruption in social functioning. It took decades before the term was widely used in the United States.

Alcohol had been a part of human culture for thousands of years by 1849. And abusing alcohol probably dated that far back, but it was not until that year that the concept of alcoholism was invented. The disease was recognized, but now came the difficult task of finding a proper way to treat it.

Filed Under: General Rehab & Addiction | Tagged: Tagged With: Addiction, Alcoholic beverage, Alcoholism, Benjamin Rush, Health, Substance abuse, Support group, United States

Alcoholism or Alcohol Abuse?

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Alcoholics Anonymous is perhaps the most famous and popular way for those with drinking problems to combat their addiction. The organization has become so successful the term “go to meetings” and the abbreviation “AA” have also entered the lexicon as terms to describe treatment to addiction. While widespread and available treatment is normal in modern times it was not always the case.

Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in the mid-1930s. At that time is was still taboo to call drinking a disease or for people from important families to admit that they had a drinking problem. The rise of the modern alcoholism movement began in the 1940s. A centralized leadership was finally established to enact standards for treating alcoholism and to increase the general public’s awareness and understanding of the disease.

The National Committee for Education on Alcoholism provided the leadership to modernize alcohol treatment. One of the first issues that movement leaders E.M. Jellinek faced was creating an understanding of exactly what constituted alcohol abuse. It was a difficult subject to tackle because the effects of consumption depended on the individual. But by the 1960s the movement was having an identity crisis because the term alcoholic had as many as 200 different definitions. In 1957 the World Health Organization had already suggested that alcoholism had lost its clinical specificity. It urged that diagnosis of alcohol problems include terms such as alcohol addiction or alcohol habituation.

The World Health Organization findings were debated during a five-year study that was carried out by the Cooperative Commission on the Study of Alcoholism. They added the phrase problem drinker to the plethora of ways to describe alcohol abuse.

Fretting over the phrasing was part of the movement to gain a wider acceptance for the treatment of alcohol addiction. The labeling of the disease was also complicated by new discovers that wiped out previous thoughts on how and why individuals become addicted. As health professionals attempted to define alcoholism in modern terms it became clear that substance abuse and addiction involved defining a subset of personality disorders and neuroses.

Filed Under: General Rehab & Addiction | Tagged: Tagged With: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Centers and Counseling Services, E.M. Jellinek, Health, Substance abuse, World Health Organization