Opportunities to participate in legal gambling have exploded over the past twenty-five years. The explosion of those opportunities has created a parallel growth of people who succumb to gambling addiction, which is characterized by an uncontrollable psychological urge to gamble. When gambling addicts are kept away from gambling venues, they might experience symptoms that are analogous to withdrawal from addictive substances,…
Methamphetamine Often times referred to as Crystal Meth, Ice, Speed, and other street names, is a powerful man-made stimulant that has adverse effects on a user’s physical and psychological well-being. People who have a dependence to methamphetamine typically find it difficult to achieve sobriety without the use of treatment and support groups. This is due to the psychological strain and physical…
There may be as many opinions and descriptions of inpatient alcoholism rehab programs as there are recovering alcoholics who have participated in those programs. Different treatment centers will be structured differently and will offer greater or fewer amenities. There are common elements to all alcohol rehab programs in that they all strive to achieve the same goals, namely, helping an alcoholic…
OxyContin is a painkiller that blends oxycodone, which is an opiate derivative, with another non-opiate analgesic. Like all opiate-derived substances, OxyContin generates a strong euphoric sensation shortly after it is ingested. But how long do the effects of OxyContin last? Read on to find out. How Long Do the Effects of OxyContin Last? The duration of OxyContin’s effects will vary significantly…
Individuals who suffer from depression or other psychological disorders often attempt to treat or escape from those problems with drugs and alcohol. Self-medication provides a temporary respite from potentially crushing mental problems that can interfere with simple daily tasks. When those individuals seek treatment for their drug or alcohol abuse, they can overcome their dependence and addiction to these substances, but…
Ambien is an effective prescription pharmaceutical product that can help people get to sleep. In large doses, it can depress respiratory functioning and lead to a near-comatose state. The greater risk of Ambien use is its tendency to generate dependency when it is used over an extended period of time. Individuals who fall into the dependency trap of needing Ambien to…
The other day I sat down with Last Resort staff member Irving Najman to discuss Sex Addiction. Irving Najman is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist as well as a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist.Sex Addiction is a problem that is becoming increasingly more common both as a dual addiction with substance abuse, as well as a primary diagnosis. During the course…
Like many pharmaceutical products, Ambien is an effective treatment for sleep disorders when it is used properly and pursuant to a prescribing physician’s recommendations. Ambien, shares a few less favorable traits with other prescription drugs, the most significant of which is a risk of addiction or dependence. A physician may prescribe Ambien for a short period of time (typically less than…
As a general rule, you should not mix alcohol and antidepressants. This general rule holds true for sertraline hydrochloride, which is the generic chemical name for Zoloft. Zoloft is a serotonin reuptake inhibitor that elevates serotonin levels to alleviate symptoms of depression. Zoloft and alcohol both affect the manner in which your brain processes and uses certain chemicals. When you expose…
Addicts and alcoholics who seek to recover their credibility after going through alcoholism or drug rehab will find that even the cliches are stacked against them. Consider, for example, the common warning not to throw good money after bad, or “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” A recovering addict’s friends and family will be understandably…
Even when they do not directly incorporate Christian principles, 12-step addiction recovery programs and other rehab therapies will frequently include thematic elements that have a basis in Christianity. Individuals can go through a drug or alcohol detox and learn coping techniques to keep them away from addictive substances, but research has shown that the most successful recovering addicts are those who…
Obsessive gambling is a behavioral disorder that spans a spectrum from occasional episodes of excessive gambling through full gambling addiction. Individuals who suffer from this disorder will exhibit the same dopamine reward response that is experienced by individuals with substance addiction. This includes withdrawal symptoms that may not be as severe as withdrawal from addictive drugs, but that are nonetheless disruptive…
Drug addiction and alcoholism stand at an odd intersection of a disease that overwhelms a person’s metabolism and brain chemistry, and a psychological disorder that requires an afflicted individual to muster all of his resources to defeat that disorder. Unlike bacterial infections that can be treated with antibiotics or viral infections that can be attacked with immunotherapy, substance abuse problems require…
The Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”, which is more popularly referred to as “Obamacare”) is slowly but surely approaching its goal of assuring that everyone in the United States has access to and is covered by a comprehensive health care plan. The ACA treats substance abuse disorders as one of ten essential elements of healthcare, and all ACA-approved plans include some…
Honesty is often a casualty of drug and alcohol addiction. An addict will persist in denying that he has a problem. He will lie to friends and family about his conduct and whereabouts. He will ignore or deflect obvious symptoms of his problem, for example, by blaming job problems on sources other than his alcohol and drug use or by accusing…
Your decision or your agreement to receive rehab treatment for a drug or alcohol problem is the best first step that you can take toward rectifying your drug or alcohol addiction. That decision, however, involves additional steps that can have a direct effect on the success or failure of your treatment. One of those steps is whether you will participate in…
Although his research methods have been criticized, Alfred Kinsey’s reports on human sexuality opened the door for honest discourse on the sexual practices of men and women. More than fifty years have passed since publication of the Kinsey Reports, in which time science, medicine, and psychotherapy have made great strides in understanding human sexuality. The greatest of those strides may be…
Many active and recovering alcoholics live by the edict that “revenge is a dish best served cold.” They develop anger or resentment toward a person or situation and deal with that anger by exacting revenge against them, yet that revenge often rebounds to leave the alcoholic with a cold and empty feeling. Alcohol then becomes the remedy to sooth that feeling….
No two drug rehab facilities are alike. They all offer comprehensive addiction recovery programs, but the similarities end there. Some facilities resemble high-end resort spas. Others are more utilitarian, taking a hand-on participatory approach in which patients do routine housekeeping chores. Their methodologies can vary as much as the natures of the facilities themselves. When you finally decide to seek help…
The individual steps of a typical 12-step addiction recovery program are imbued with an overriding sense of spirituality. 12-step nostrums such as “reaching out to a higher power” and “asking a higher power to aid in addiction recovery” all reflect the power and ability of a spiritual approach to addiction recovery. Recovering alcoholics and addicts, however, might run into difficulties in…
Most people are familiar with the concept of “comfort foods”. We reach for chicken soup when we are sick, or we crave chocolate or other sugary and fatty foods in times of stress. Some recent research suggests that comfort foods can actually decrease a person’s ability to handle stress. Even more problematically, seeking and eating comfort foods can be a precursor…