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Archive for the ‘Addictions’ Category

There is another school of thought that the addiction is due to a mental disorder and causes physical dependency. The mental disorder must be treated first in order for any treatment plan to work properly.

One more argument is that the alcoholism and drug addiction is due to chemical imbalance. With this belief, it is thought that the addiction must be treated with some sort of medication after detox has been completed.

Scientific studies support each concept but there are no full answers and the fact remains there are millions of alcoholics and drug addicts still out there. When someone goes through the treatment process, his chances of staying clean can range between 16% and 20%. If we want recovery rates to rise, we have to come up with some sort of treatment that will make this happen.

The last thought on addiction is that the alcoholism and drug addiction problem probably has something to do with the life cycle of addiction, which means there is some trauma suffered at one time or another or a painful experience an addict can’t seem to get through without the use of some sort of chemical.

Understanding Addictions

Addictions eventually catch up with you and change your life in such a way that you will have to face the fact that you need help. Recovering from addictions usually happens once you have hit the bottom and finally realize that you need help from outside sources so that you can lead a life that is addiction free. There are many types of addictions that will have a devastating affect on your life.

Addictions, and recovery from them, require that you actively seek help from a source other than yourself. You may want to start by consulting with your family doctor or with an addictions counselor. This is a good place to start since it will be important to access both your emotional and your physical behavior as they are related to your addictions and your substance abuse. You and your doctor will need to decide what is going to work best for you in order that you stop using your drug of choice. It won’t matter what your type of addiction is since all addictions require the same amount of professional help and support.

There are several different types of addictions that you may or may not already be aware of. Addictions include:

• alcohol abuse
• opiates
• food addictions
• marijuana abuse
• relationship addictions
• sex addictions
• gambling addictions

The Common Problems Associated With The Addiction Treatment Program In Montana

There are various centers in Montana that offer a neatly planned addiction treatment program, whatever the kind of addiction may be. But there are some common problems faced by all these treatment centers in order to help their patients come out of addiction. The two biggest problems that make the success rate of the addiction program in Montana go down are denial and codependency.

But the state substance abuse authorities are carrying out various actions and programs to fight with these two things. It is much necessary to know denial and codependency factors so as to understand the problems faced by the treatment centers in Montana.

The Problem Number 1: Denial

The number of addicts is going up but the number of patients getting admitted to the treatment centers in Montana is still low. This shows that they are many addicts who are still denying that they need any treatment. This is a very common problem that the addiction programs are facing in each and every state of America. Denial is a phase where the addict refuses to take a treatment and unless and until he or she overcomes this phase it is very difficult for the treatment program to work effectively.

Do I Love an Addict (part 1)

First of all, the term addict in our society has a very negative connotation. It comes part and parcel with an image. The image is largely stereotyped from movies we have all seen. When we hear the word addict, the image we see is one of scruffy figures, sneaking through dark alleys or holed up in bathrooms with syringes. The image we see is winos in the street with paper bags and we fancy we can even smell the noxious fumes. The image we see is chairs flying, fists hitting, & Marlon Brando in the streets yelling “Stellaaaaaaa.” We see these images when we hear the word addict, and we wonder why no-one wants to admit they have the sickness of addiction. Certainly when my fiancee said many years ago that he thought he had a ‘problem’ (nice word, same image) I recoiled at the very thought.

So what does the term addict really mean. It simply means someone who is addicted to a substance. It could be alcohol, some illegal drug, or some legal drug. We also extend the term addiction to encompass gambling addictions, sexual addictions, food addictions etc.. But for our purposes now, let’s just focus on alcohol and drugs. With alcohol and drugs, being addicted means that of the 10 trillion cells in a person’s body, that person has more cells that are addicted than cells that are not addicted.

Addiction in Any Form is Abnormal

“Psychological and physiological dependence on a substance or practice” – is the medical definition of the term addiction. An addiction is an uncontrollably strong longing for something -  an abnormal kinky obsession for things.  A person with an addiction is called an addict.

Addiction is in fact a hydra-headed concept having different facets.  Medical researches and studies have divulged that every individual to some extent has an addiction.  People who have an uncanny pining or obsession for anything, are indeed addicted.  Medical studies have also revealed other forms of addiction besides alcohol, nicotine and drugs.

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According to the medical community, generally there are two forms of addiction.  First there is the physical addiction, or physical dependence and psychological addiction. The second type is called pseudo-addiction.

Physical dependence: An addiction in which the addict becomes physically dependent on intoxicating substances or drugs.  People dependent on tobacco or smoking suffer from nicotine addiction.  Dipsomaniac people suffer from alcohol addiction.

Drug addiction literally means addiction to certain drugs.  A drug addiction is an extreme state of addiction resulting from drug abuse.  Drug abuse is a common practice where hard drugs are abused – for example cocaine, amphetamines, methamphetamine, opiates (heroin, morphine and codeine) and laxatives – drugs derived from narcotics. There is a debate over the idea that freely-sold substances like alcohol and nicotine should be classified as hard drugs, as the both are linked with high mortality rates.