Inhalant abuse doesn’t just provide a quick high. Abusing inhalants can have serious adverse effects. Inhalants are substances people inhale through their nose to achieve a mind-altering state. They come in the form of aerosols, gases, nitrates and solvents. Some inhalants have legitimate uses in medical and dental procedures. Others are found in cleaning or …
When Alan was small, his alcoholic father verbally and physically abused him. He never knew when the belt would come down. He lived in fear of those nights when his dad would come home upset about work. That’s always when he got hurt the most. To cope with the unbearable physical and emotional pain, he …
There’s no “cure” for drug addiction because it’s a chronic disease and recovery is a lifelong process. But recent research suggests CRISPR gene editing (i.e. clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) could help scientists hone in on the genes behind substance use disorders. The hope is that these insights might spawn future research that could …
An estimated 23 million Americans and nearly 30 million people worldwide are addicted to a substance—from alcohol to prescription medications to illicit drugs. Addiction is the unintended outcome of misusing or overusing an addictive substance. While there is much debate over the role that free will or choice plays in addiction, it can certainly be …
The Dangerous Dozen: The 12 Most Addictive Substances Around the Globe Read More »
A drug assessment is usually one of the first steps in treatment when entering a drug or alcohol rehab. These evaluations help clinicians develop an appropriate detox and treatment plan based on the types of substances abused and severity of addiction. Specific drug assessment tools vary by treatment program and provider. According to substance abuse …
Suboxone, which combines the medications buprenorphine and naloxone, is a drug used in medication assisted treatment (MAT) for drug addiction to opiates (like heroin) or opioids (like prescription painkillers). Like suboxone, methadone helps diminish withdrawal symptoms and drug cravings and is used in MAT programs to treat opioid and opiate addiction. Suboxone is somewhat different …
Americans have made headlines for having the highest number of drug overdose deaths in U.S. history in a single year. In 2016, it is estimated that more than 60,000 people in the U.S. died from drugs — a 19% increase over the country’s 2015 drug-related deaths. In fact, drug overdoses are now the leading cause …
Depending on the decade in which you were born, thinking about the rehab experience in treatment centers through the lens of film and television could either be frightening or appealing, depending on how it is represented … or misrepresented. A treatment center experience might bring to mind terrifying thoughts of torment dispensed by “Nurse Ratchet” …
Most Misleading Depictions of Treatment Centers in Film & Television Read More »
Most of us are aware of the havoc that addiction to drugs and alcohol can wreak on a person’s life — from loss of career or reputation to financial ruin, broken relationships and a dysfunctional family life. But what about the toll drugs and alcohol can take on a person’s looks? Often, alcohol and drug …
How a particular drug affects the body often depends on the type of drug being used. For instance, stimulants tend to affect the brain in a way that increases alertness, energy levels, heart rate and blood pressure. On the other hand, depressants generally inhibit brain activity causing drowsiness, lethargy, decreased heart rate, blood pressure, and …