The nurse is the glue that holds most medical operations together. So you may be surprised to hear that an estimated 10 to 15 percent are abusing substances while on the job. And nurses aren’t the only ones. Drug and/or alcohol abuse can affect many healthcare workers over the course of their career. In this…
The number of Americans addicted to either drugs or alcohol has reached roughly 130 million, according to a WorldNetDaily article. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in an average year 30 million Americans will drive while intoxicated and 10 million will drive while under the influence of illicit drugs. Even with…
It’s been said that if you practice a behavior for 30 days you can develop a new habit, good or bad. In that case, a habit is an intentionally learned behavior. Is that what happens in drug addiction? Do users intentionally use repeatedly and for long enough to form a bad habit? An animal study…
As every parent knows, children tend to pick up more of what they observe than what they are told, and parents don’t get to choose which habits children will imitate. A new study reveals that parents who abuse substances are more likely to have children who do the same. The study from Sam Houston State…
Opioid addiction, known formally in the U.S. as opioid use disorder, is known for its ability to produce seriously negative outcomes for affected individuals. Addiction specialists can help significantly reduce the impact of these outcomes by providing appropriate treatment options. However, the potential for problems does not end when treatment begins. In a study published…
Addiction rehab centers across the U.S. are seeing more of an older demographic than your typical troubled teen or young adult: baby boomers. According to a new government study, addiction rates among baby boomers are on the rise. Substance addiction among men and women in their 50s and 60s comes with its own set of…
The 1970s saw the rise in the use of PCP (Phencyclidine), or “angel dust,’’ as well as its eventual decline. While the drug provided the desirable high, the paranoia, frightening hallucinations and violent side effects kept it from becoming a mainstream high. Years later, cocaine and crack took over as the drugs of choice among…
If you have struggled with drug or alcohol addiction, going through treatment and rehabilitation can be the beginning of a whole new life. But, not necessarily. In reality the relapse rate following rehab is disturbingly high for recovering addicts and alcoholics, proving that treatment is by no means a panacea or a miracle cure for…
One Alum’s Story of Learning to Live a Healthy Life Suzanne started using substances at the age of 12. That’s not the saddest chapter of her story. By the time she had reached her 20’s, she was drinking alcohol and abusing cocaine and had been in and out of several drug treatment facilities. Again, it…
Back in 1998, the satirical newspaper The Onion featured the following front-page headline: “Drugs Win Drug War” This introduction and the story that followed were obviously intended as a spoof, but humor is frequently used as a subtle way to reveal the truth and that was undoubtedly the intent in this case. Fifteen years later,…
