Maintaining abstinence is the key to success for dealing with drug addiction and alcoholism. Being sober is what allows you to have and enjoy all of the good things in life. This simply isn’t possible when your main motivation for doing anything is substance abuse.
Alcohol detox programs can help an alcoholic make a very difficult first step toward committing fully to a lifestyle without a dependence on alcohol. It has been proven by numerous studies that the more solid an addict’s support network of family, friends, medical workers, etc. the more likely he or she will be to recover fully.
Addiction recovery is a multi-faceted process that is slightly different for each person who deals with drug and alcohol abuse. Many people want to know what the solution is to fixing the problem.
Often times perception is what truly matters. The way a person sees things can be much more important to a person than the facts. Alcoholism is one of these issues of perception.
Getting help for drug addiction or alcoholism should be a time in your life when you can focus all of your attention on this problem. That is one of the reasons why residential alcohol rehab programs can be so beneficial.
One more reason why alcoholism and alcohol abuse are bad for one’s health has been discovered. Research has shown that consuming large amounts of alcohol over an extended period of time might actually shrink the person’s brain. The amount that an individual drinks and the frequency with which they do so is directly related to the size of their brain, according to this study. The effect of alcohol abuse on brain size was even more pronounced in women and people who are in their seventies. This information was publicized at a meeting of the American Academy of Neurology and written by a researcher at Wellesly College, Carol Ann Paul.
The results of this study on alcohol abuse showed that participants who drank more than fourteen servings of alcohol per week had brains that were 1.6 percent smaller than people who did not drink, on average. The size of an individual’s brain is an indication of how well it is aging.
Participants were 1839 individuals between the ages of 34 and 88. They were divided into the categories of heavy drinkers, moderate drinkers, light drinkers, former drinkers, and non-drinkers. The volume of their brains was an average of .25 percent smaller between every category of drinkers. For example, individuals who were former alcohol drinkers had .25 percent less brain mass than people who didn’t consume alcohol at all. Those who’d had a problem with alcohol abuse for a longer period of time showed more significant differences. Researchers used MRI scans to determine the participants’ brain volumes.
People who have an alcoholism or alcohol abuse problem should seek help from an addiction treatment facility. The risks of these conditions to one’s health are immense. New discoveries are being made all the time about the effects of alcohol abuse on the human body. For most people, getting involved in an addiction treatment program is the only way to overcome alcoholism.
Blood alcohol content is a number that measures the amount of alcohol in a person’s bloodstream. Since 2002, the legal limit for driving a vehicle everywhere in the United States has been 0.08 percent. For many people, two drinks will put them over this limit. The amount of alcohol it takes to reach 0.08 percent largely depends on a person’s weight. Of course, individuals under the age of 21 can not legally drive after consuming any amount of alcohol. Consequences for drinking more than the legal limit and driving include being arrested, losing a driver’s license, having to pay steep fines, and sometimes jail time for repeat offenses.
For some reason many people think that rehab is an easy process to go through. The only thing worse than an alcohol addict thinking that alcohol rehabilitation programs are easy, is the fact that certain alcohol rehab treatment facilities promote that their programs will be easy for alcohol abusers to go through and that afterwards they can guarantee the addict that he or she will leave and continue to stay sober. (more…)
A rising number of methadone overdoses are being reported, which has many people concerned. Deaths caused by methadone overdose jumped by 390 percent from 1999 to 2004, and the number is reportedly still increasing. However, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration says that methadone clinics are not responsible for this growing problem. (more…)
Drug abuse and drug addiction clouds the addict’s mind. It often makes them believe that they have everything under control. It even leads them to believe that their addiction is not clear to those around them. It is though. Friends and family can always see the signs. The person they know and love slowly disappears under a veil of addiction. They are then left with a shell of their loved one who suddenly cares only for themselves and their addiction. You should always talk to a professional, but here are some basic tips for an intervention. (more…)