Alcoholism

Alternative Medicine Approach to Drug Addiction: Acupuncture Therapy

Acupuncture has long been a respected form of alternative medicine. While acupuncture has been accepted in America as a form of treatment for a number of illnesses and disease, it has just recently started to gain attention for its success rate for treating those with alcohol or drug addictions.

Acupuncture has been used by the Chinese as a way to treat those that have alcohol and drug addictions. The practice of acupuncture operates on the belief that the body has a life energy known as qi. In health people the qi is perfectly balanced amongst all the parts of the body. However, in those with drug or alcohol addictions the qi is off balance and that causes the craving for alcohol or drugs.

While acupuncture will not cure the addiction completely it will allow the addict to complete withdraw from the drug or alcohol addiction and even reduce ones craving for the substance of choice. This allows the addict to work on the issues that caused the addiction to form in the first place.

Acupuncture therapy for drug or alcohol addiction is usually a course of treatment that lasts several times a week for a number of months. The treatments include placing needles on the tips of the ears so that the qi is balanced throughout the whole body.

In a recent study of those that engaged in acupuncture therapy while they were treating their substance abuse showed that over 50% of the addicts did not suffer from a relapse. This study has caused many alcohol and drug treatment facilities to consider adding acupuncture to their treatment programs.

Filed Under: Addiction And Recovery | Tagged: Tagged With: Alcoholism, Substance abuse, Substance dependence

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

The Essence of Drug Addiction

Drug addiction can involve an uncontrolled dependence on either illegal street drugs or on medication. When an individual reaches the level of addiction, he or she will continue to use it even after it is no longer needed. The use also occurs even if the individual knows that it will hurt the body. The process often starts out small, but can grow later on into a huge problem. Not everyone that takes a medication will become addicted to it, but the potential is there. As the use increases, cravings to keep taking the drug can cause the person to be unable to quit. If you want to stop using the drug, you may not be able to on your own.

Besides causing numerous health problems to the individual, the addiction can cause immense damage in other areas. This can include problems with relationships, loss of a job and sometimes lead to criminal issues. This can be especially devastating to a family with small children who may be exposed to the drug use and issues related to it. You can tell if you addicted when you feel that you must have the drug with increasing frequency, do anything to get a hold of it and putting it as your major priority.

When you feel you have no control over your ability to stop using it, that is the time to get help. The sooner that you admit there is a problem and seek support to quit, you are on the first step to being addiction free. Getting into a program such as Narcotics Anonymous, seeing a counselor or going to rehab can give you the support you need to quit. Professionals trained in this area can help you find the source of your problem and provide the medical help that you need to overcome cravings and slowly bring yourself off of it.

Filed Under: Drug Abuse | Tagged: Tagged With: Addiction, Addictions, Alcoholism, Centers and Counseling Services, Narcotics Anonymous, United States

Going to Alcoholism Treatment Centers: Pain for a Purpose

For many of the most hardcore alcoholics, going to get treatment is one of the greatest stressors of their lives. And since stress tends to be a trigger for wanting to just drink away the discomfort, it can be a significant risk factor for a relapse. Who really wants to go to some “institution” and be forced into giving up a significant (and very comforting) part of their lifestyle? Fortunately for both the alcoholic and for the people who love them, there are some ways to make things a little bit easier for those who are unfortunate enough to have to go through this trying time.

For one thing, alcoholism treatment centers are no longer set up to be like the institutions of old. There are no straitjackets, and people are allowed to wear their regular clothes for the duration of their stay. The objective is to get the person you love sobered up and to help them understand that they are going to be capable of living a clean, sober life. One of the biggest reasons why alcohol treatment centers are effective is because they offer a full disruption to the person’s alcohol-laced existence. There is no booze there at all, so there is no temptation.

Another positive trait of the alcohol treatment centers is that they allow the person to get over all of the physical withdrawals that may come about as a result of being without their fix. If they are drunk, it allows them to sober up properly. Then it allows them to ride out their hangover in a relatively comfortable, safe place. After that, it helps them realize that if they do not get alcohol on a regular basis, they will not die as a result of this deprivation. In many cases, it actually works — relieving pain for both the alcoholic and those close to them.

Filed Under: Addiction And Recovery | Tagged: Tagged With: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Substance abuse

California Alcohol Rehab: How to Really Help Your Loved One

One of the most painful things to watch a loved one struggle with is alcohol addiction, or any type of debilitating addiction for that matter. Addictions have a way of completely taking over the addicts they attach themselves to. While the addict is making the decision to take another drink, he is being driven by the addiction itself. This is why it’s so important that loved ones involved in the addict’s life know how to really help the addict and not contribute to the problem.

Many loved ones of addicts understand how debilitating an addiction can be, but they make the mistake of letting the addiction become an excuse for their loved one. For example, many close friends or relatives of an alcoholic knows that the alcoholic is really a great guy at heart, but that the alcohol causes him to lose control which is why he can’t hold down a job. So, to help the friend or relative out when he’s between jobs, they will give him money to “get buy.” However, this isn’t really helping their loved one because most likely, he’s taking that money straight to the liquor store. The only way to help an alcoholic, or any addict, is to get them in a rehab center.

California alcohol rehab centers and other rehabs around the country have proven to be beneficial in helping addicts beat their addictions and regain control over their lives. This is what an addict really needs help doing – beating the addiction and reclaiming their life. This is only something that can be done when in rehab because rehab centers are run by professionals who know how to help addicts fight, and beat, their addictions. So, if you have a loved one who is an alcoholic, get him or her into a rehab center. This really is the only way you can truly help your loved one.

Filed Under: Addiction Counseling | Tagged: Tagged With: Alcoholism, California, Drug rehabilitation, Substance dependence

How to Stage an Intervention

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Unfortunately many drug users are completely unwilling to admit that they have a serious problem. As such, many drug users are absolutely unwilling to seek the help that they need on their own. Friends, family members and other loved ones may find that it is necessary for them to persuade the drug user to get the care and the help that they need. If you know someone, a family member, a friend or a co-worker, that has a drug problem but that will not get help, then you may find the need to plan out an intervention, which will require taking steps to help the drug user realize that they need to get help.

An intervention is a process that is carefully planned out so that loved ones of the drug user can join together to get him help. This may include family members, friends, clergy members, teachers, neighbors and other loved ones. The purpose of the intervention is to confront that drug user with the consequences of their addiction. The primary goal of this type of process is to ask the drug user to accept getting help from a drug addiction treatment plan.

When an intervention is successful, it helps the drug user seek and find the help that they need to overcome the addiction once and for all. Unfortunately, in order for an intervention to be successful, it must involve a large amount of careful planning, teamwork and research because everything has to be coordinated perfectly in order to be persuasive in a positive and effective manner. If you believe that you need to set an intervention up, then do your research and learn how to get it done right and the most effectively the first time. When an intervention is organized carefully, it can be really successful, but one that is planned improperly can actually cause more harm than good.

Filed Under: Alcohol Drug Intervention | Tagged: Tagged With: Addiction, Alcoholism, Centers and Counseling Services, Health, Intervention (TV series), Substance abuse, Substance dependence, United States

Understanding The Steps to Recovery

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If you are struggling with a drug addiction or an alcohol addiction, then the first thing that you are going to want to be aware of is the fact that you are not alone in this. People all over the world are dealing with the same addiction problems, and for this reason, websites like TheCyn.com exist to help you get the help and the care that you need. The first step in the recovery process is for you to admit that you have a problem so that you can begin actually getting the help that you need.

Do not be surprised if it takes a while for you to make this admission. People struggle with admitting that they have a problem every single day, and that is the reason why so many people are struggling with addiction in this world. It may take some time and some struggling to get the help that you need, but you must admit to yourself and the people around you that you have a problem with drugs or alcohol so that you can submit yourself to the recovery process once and for all.

Once you have committed yourself to getting help, you can reach out to a rehabilitation program in your needs. There are many to choose from including inpatient programs, outpatient programs, residential programs, short term programs, long term programs, detoxification programs and rehabilitation programs. Each is going to provide you with a completely unique experience, so make sure that you are weighing all your options before choosing the right rehabilitation or detoxification program for your needs. Once you find the right help, you simply have to make a promise to yourself that you are going to stick to the program until you get away from your addiction once and for all.

Nothing feels as good as sobriety, so make that call today.

Filed Under: Addiction And Recovery | Tagged: Tagged With: Alcoholism, Substance abuse, Substance dependence

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

Alcoholic Anonymous

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By the mid 19th century an age old problem had a name. A Swedish physician introduced the world to the concept of alcoholism. His finding had created a name and awareness that regular alcohol consumption could be habit forming and destructive to social interaction. As with any invention it now fell onto others to improve upon the initial concept and find practical applications.

Alcoholism had a name, but other widespread acceptance lingered. Alcoholism was also referred to as barrel fever, dipsomania and inebriety. Dipsomania literally meant drink crazy. At this time alcohol abuse, was less considered an individual with a disease than someone who could not control themselves when it came to alcohol. Dipsomania was characterized as periods of binge drinking followed by periods of abstaining.

The term alcoholism and its definition first gained popularity in professional circles. It was cited in more and more studies until a universal acceptance was gained by the early 20th century. Richard Peabody and Charles Towns were among the first to bring the terms to the general public by using the terms in popular articles. Towns ran a “drying out” hospital that was an early rehabilitation center.

As the public became exposed to the concept of alcoholism, it took awhile for the term an its recognition to become accepted the label of problem drinker continued in the 1930s as the belief maintained that there was not a physical addiction to alcohol, but individuals who could not handle themselves.

Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in the 1930s, and the success of the organization made alcoholic the preferred term. The organization made the term so common that some professionals were annoyed that alcoholic was being overused and was no longer meaningful enough to be used in professional papers. These pleas might have been heard by researchers, but for the general public the term had been established and so would the methods of Alcoholic Anonymous.

Alcoholics Anonymous has stood the test of time and has been successful for many addicts. The concept of support groups to help suffers would also spread to other cases of addiction.

Filed Under: Addiction And Recovery | Tagged: Tagged With: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholic beverage, Alcoholics Anonymous, Alcoholism, Health, Substance abuse, Support group