BACK TO SCHOOL STRESS
It’s that time of year that some parents dread while others rejoice – back to school. It’s an exciting time for kids, but it can be stressful too, especially if they’re starting at a new school. Older kids who have a lot on their plate also tend to feel a little overwhelmed – consider a […]
KETAMINE FOR DEPRESSION
Up until recently, most people, upon hearing the word ketamine, probably thought “horse tranquilizer.” Typically, on one of the many legal or police procedural television shows out there, a suspect would use it to immobilize their victim, and the heroes would talk about ketamine like it was a substance capable of bringing down the Hulk. […]
DRUGS AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING
If you’ve watched the news in the last couple of years, you probably know that President Trump has been lobbying for a border wall with Mexico since he was a candidate. The idea is that it will stop people from smuggling drugs into the United States and thereby help reduce our drug problem. Unfortunately, most […]
DEPRESSION AND DRUG ABUSE
When it comes to determining the cause of a substance abuse disorder, quite often mental conditions are the culprit. Nearly 1/3 of individuals with substance use disorders suffer from mood disorders and/or depression. Individuals that are battling addiction are twice as likely to suffer from anxiety disorders or other types of mood disorders. Individuals suffering […]
CAN YOU PREVENT RELAPSE AFTER ADDICTION TREATMENT?
After going through a treatment program to overcome a drug or alcohol addiction, there is yet another obstacle one must face. After leaving the safety of a treatment program, individuals will return to a world in which anything is available to them. Drugs and alcohol are just as easy to get as they were before […]
THE HISTORY OF OPIUM
Opium is the dried latex derived from the opium poppy. When processed, it is made into heroin and other synthetic opioids. It was originally obtained by scratching the seed pods of the poppy until the latex leaked out. When it dried, it was scraped off and dehydrated. Raw opium is sometimes sold on the black […]
ARE LABELS HELPFUL OR HARMFUL?
Addict. Alcoholic. User. Junkie. Criminal. Crackhead. Dopehead. Stoner. These are all labels that have at some point been applied to people with substance abuse problems. Some of them are meant to be derogatory, while others simply sound like fact. But are these labels harmful? Let’s consider some of the most obvious negative terms first. Junkie […]
COPING WITH FAILURE
All of us fear failure to some degree, but for people with substance abuse problems it can send them careening down the path to relapse. Failure can mean different things to different people, and sometimes what we view as failure is really just a setback. A relapse, for example, isn’t a failure. It happens more […]
WHY PEOPLE RESIST ADDICTION TREATMENT
About half of the people who recover from drug or alcohol addiction do so with some sort of formal treatment program. Of those who manage it on their own, most still seek some type of support, such as Alcoholics Anonymous or other meetings. While it is possible to successfully go it alone, there are a […]
BUPRENORPHINE POSES RISK TO CHILDREN
In the fight against the opioid epidemic, experts have suggested a bit of a kitchen-sink approach. Someone seeking treatment might go through detox, enter an inpatient rehabilitation facility, get therapy and counseling, make use of medication-assisted treatment, go to an outpatient program, and attend support groups. It’s not a one size fits all solution, but […]
