Sober Resources

It’s not just meth or heroin or even marijuana that’s becoming a grave threat to society. Even pain killers have joined the list.

The increasing abuse and addiction of pain killers which are supposed to provide relief from chronic pain is common today. According to studies made in 2002 by the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, more than two million people in America take pain killers illegally every year.

Painkiller dependency begins following the occurrence of common injuries or certain pain relief requiring health conditions and surgery. These may include having slipped and fallen, having strained a muscle, headaches or migraines, or diseases like arthritis. Having been in a car accident or recovery from surgery also requires one to take in pain killers to ease off discomfort from muscle pains and aches.

Whether it is acute, chronic or traumatic pain, medications are necessary in order to manage the pain. But the problem with this is that what starts out to be a tool for providing relief from discomfort or soreness will prove to be fatal once painkiller dependence persists.

From weeks or months after recovery from a surgical procedure or an injury is achieved, some patients continue to rely on the drug to relieve them from pain instead of learning to get by without it. Patients will then take higher doses than what was originally prescribed, because the initial dose is now believed to be inadequate for pain management. Thus, a higher dosage is deemed appropriate in order to achieve desired pain relief level.

The result? Pain does not cease, it increases as well as the need to frequently take in more amounts of painkillers. Painkiller addiction or abuse starts to progress, which will prove to be fatal for the user. Lethal effects include a damaged liver and the plausibility of going into shock once painkiller abuse is abruptly stopped.

Pain killer addiction is not a surprising phenomenon, since pain killers are classified under the label opiates. Opiates are drugs that while chemically designed to cause receptors in the brain to block pain, also produce feelings of euphoria.
Once the addiction sets in, the user is trapped. What seems so harmless at first becomes potentially lethal.

There are advanced treatments being produced for Opiate Dependency. A new drug called Buprenorphine has been released into the market. It is a controlled substance that provides pain relief but is less addictive, allowing total withdrawal from all types of prescription drug use without having to replace the old addiction with another.

Following this drug therapy, pain killer users should be provided with special care so these cases do not escalate any further.

Tags: painkillers

Alcohol Abuse
What does the term abuse mean?
The term ‘Abuse’ differs slightly from ‘addiction’. The usage of an illegal substance or usage of a legal substance in a wrong way is called substance abuse. One can abuse a drug substance for example alcohol but that does not signify that the person has an addiction to it.

Alcohol Abuse
The term ‘Binge drinking’ is very much important before discussing alcohol abuse. Binge drinking is the common problem among young people. It basically means simply drinking to get drunk. When a person’s consumption of alcohol starts to cause problem and eventually the habit of alcoholism continues, then Binge drinking turns into alcohol alone. When one continues the consumption of alcohol despite social, legal, interpersonal problems then it is alcohol abuse. The consequences of alcohol abuse can lead to mismanaging time at work, educational institutions, and even neglecting household responsibilities and children. It also affects socially.

When does alcohol abuse become alcohol dependence?
Alcohol abuse turns to alcohol dependence when the alcoholics start to have a craving for alcohol, have withdrawal symptoms when they stop consuming alcohol and lose control over their consumption. Alcohol dependence is a progressive disorder that induces strong need to consume alcohol in spite of the negative consequences.

Is alcoholism an inherited disease?
Scientific study on alcoholism shows that genetics play a vital part in problems related to alcohol development. The research also indicates that for a person to become an alcohol dependent the environment of the person and peer influences play a major role. Most of the scientific studies indicate the important role of heredity in alcohol development. Having said that, a family with history of alcoholics does not doom a member of that family into turning an alcohol addict. A person if properly managed can very well overcome the genetic tendency.

Symptoms Related to Alcoholism
There are vast varieties of symptoms associated to alcoholism. Alcoholism is generally perceived as a progressive disorder or disease, which means the effects and symptoms of alcoholism become increased over a period of time. Person, who consumes alcohol, may show initial signs of problem and then over a period of time, symptoms would progress and will be able to witness symptoms of alcohol abuse. If the consumption persists then they show symptoms related to alcoholism.

Symptoms Related To Alcohol Abuse
The primary symptom of alcohol abuse happens when the person repeatedly consumes, even after the person’s consumption level reaches a stage that causes continuous problems. Thus alcohol abuse can be confirmed, when the person continues the intake of alcohol, even after the drinking leads the person to miss school, work, drunken drive, social responsibilities and lands the person in trouble with the law. When blood Alcohol content (BAC) test is conducted a heavy drinker shows the following results. The results include increased carbodydrate deficient transferring, elevated GGT2, moderate increase of ALT and AST and a ratio of 2:1 (AST: ALT), and enlarged MCB known as macrocytosis.

Treatment
The prime focus of the most treatments for alcohol problems is to help the affected person discontinue the alcohol consumption. This is coupled with supporting the person socially so aft to aid them withstand a return to consumption of alcoholic beverages. As a part of the treatment, it is important for the person to get detoxified. Detoxification is an abrupt stop of intake of alcohol coupled with the replacement of drugs that have same effects to stop alcohol withdrawal.

How is the alcoholic treated mentally?
The detoxification treats the physical effects caused due to long term usage of alcohol. But the treatment should have an approach towards the psychological issues related to that particular person. For this purpose psychotherapy or group therapy, which deals with the mental state of person, can be employed. Mutual help group helps the affected person to maintain sobriety. Apart from that treatment, rationing and moderation programs play a vital part to manage the person from relapse to alcoholism.

Varying Medications for Alcoholism
The medications can be considered as part of treatment for alcohol addicts. The medication for alcoholism varies widely. There is medications for detoxification and withdrawal and Medication for long-term usage. Benzodiazepines drugs are the most suitable drugs to reduce the effects of withdrawal symptoms. Baclofen acts as a GABA B receptor agonist, which helps to increase detoxification. The drugs for long-term medication include Antabure, Naltrexone, Acamprosate, Topiramate. It has been known that sodium oxybate which is the sodium salt of GHB – gamma – hydrobutyric acid can be an efficient medication for both alcohol withdrawal and for long term usage.

What Is Gambling?

Any betting or wagering for self or others whether for money or not and where the outcome is uncertain or depends on chance or probability constitutes gambling. Gambling comes in many forms. Most of them are for money.

Compulsive Gambling and Addiction

There is something called as compulsive gambling. It starts at the age of 20’s for most men and at the late 30’s for women as an entertaining, stress relieving and fun activity which eventually progresses to become a habitual gambling. However most people progressively become addict gamblers usually after a big win. After this the desire to win back all the money intensifies more rapidly. It is a disorder which causes inconvenience to both the gambler and his/her family. There is no cure for habitual gambling. Despite disruptions in family and professional life, the gambling goes on.

Compulsive gambling has three phases which include ecstasy when winning, severe tension and depression when loosing and extreme anxiety in between these two phases. Being a gambling addict not only causes trouble to the individual but also to the people around the individual. As the time passes, lying becomes a characteristic feature of the gambler and the family persons learns not to trust the individual. Then the relationship between the family and children becomes hatred and they eventually break up. The psychological agony and social turbulence can result in marital breakdown, financial ruin and irreparable personal life profile. Gambling is always associated with physical symptoms like anxiety, headaches, and depression leading to smoking and alcohol consumption.

As it progresses, the individual losses the job and the savings might be lost which may induce the individual to venture in criminal activities like stealing money from colleagues to obtain more funds for gambling. They also borrow large amount of money which is usually never be paid. They tend to ignore rents and other family expenses also.
Heavy gambling is done because of the easy access and availability of casinos. Individuals from the middle class family are more prone to gambling because of the unemployment.

What is drug addiction?

Drug addiction is probably known as the imbalance state of a person resulting in improper functioning of both his physique and mind. Drug addiction is not similar in drug dependence and its tolerance.

Do you know the drugs which are used for addiction?

Here some of the fundamental addict causing drugs is mentioned.

Stimulant Which Includes

Amphetamine and Methamphetamine
caffeine
cocaine
nicotine etc.,

Sedatives and Hypnotics Which Includes

Alcohol
Barbiturates
Benzodiazepines
alprazolam
clonazepam, temazepam
Methaqualone and the related quinazolinone

Opiate and Opioid Analgesics Which Consists of

Morphine and Codeine
Semi-synthetic opiates such as Heroin
(Diacetylmorphine), Oxycodone, and Hydromorphone

Marijuana

What Is Marijuana?

Marijuana is a type of drug. It is a mixture of various parts (leaves, stems, seeds and flowers) of a plant called the hemp plant. The scientific name of hemp plant is Cannabis sativa. Marijuana has about 400 different types of chemical in it and some of them can cause cancer, but the main and active ingredient is called as tetrahydrocannabinol which is better known as THC. Ganja, chronic, pot, grass, boom and reefer are some of the common names but there are about 200 different names which refer to marijuana.

How and for what marijuana is used?

Marijuana is used in different ways. Some of users mix it with food, some brew it as tea but most of them smoke. Marijuana has tetrahydrocannabinol or THC which affects the brain and triggers it to release dopamine which gives high pleasure to the user for a short time.

Do you know the meaning of drug injection?

In olden days people prefer to take tobacco, alcohol, heroine etc., as a drug to nourish them. But nowadays it is casual to nourish them by using certain drug injections which is an instant process and also more effective. Though there are lots of alternatives it seems to be the time saving approach.

Alcoholism

What do you mean by the term alcoholism?

Alcoholism is the term reveals the meaning of simultaneous consumption of certain alcohol beverages. People are saying many reasons for the intake of this slow poison, despite of the health problems and negative social sequences made by it. Some people say that the sudden stop of certain alcoholic beverages will lead to a great problem in health. They argue that it will induce them to make a suicide attempt so it is always advisable to stop it.

What are the modern diagnoses taken against drug addiction?

Nowadays there are many modern diagnoses taken against the drug addiction through using modern technologies. It is possible to diagnose a person by knowing the intake of that particular drug. The recovery of the person depends on him. He should refuse to accept the intake of those drugs by himself.

In European countries they are struggling to bring down the people who were affected by drug addiction, but it is quite difficult there. On other hand in USA they have achieved.

What are the effects of marijuana and other drugs?

When the drug enters the brain, the THC present in it locates the neurons with specific receptors called cannabinoid receptors and binds to them. Then it influences the normal communication between the brain cells and causes lack of coordination. It is usually caused by smoking. High usage of the drug can cause anxiety and often panic attacks.
High concentrations of cannabinoid receptors are found in cerebellum, cerebral cortex and hippocampus. Centers of these parts of the brain are responsible for memory and certain types of learning. So when the THC binds to these parts it causes studying and memory problems like recalling the recent events becoming difficult. Cerebellum is associated with coordination. And another part of the brain called basal ganglia is also affected by THC. The basal ganglia control the movement of our body and hence our reflection becomes slow. So it is unwise to drive vehicles when marijuana is used or it may lead to accident.

Smoking Marijuana increases the chance of heart attacks. It may also lead to lung cancer even quickly than normal cigarette smoking because the Marijuana smoker tends to inhale more deeply and hold his breath longer than a cigarette smoker does.

What are the alternative therapies given for drug addiction?

Some of the medical experts say that acupuncture is one of the good alternative therapies for such addiction. Though there is some information about some alternative therapy, you can inquire to know which one is suitable to you.

What do you know about self medication?

Self medication termed as the treatment which is made for us and made by us without any medical supervision. If a buyer diagnoses himself using specific drug then it is fair to mention it as self medication.

It is not advisable to undertake self medication because you may use the drug on wrong ratio which leads to any other problems. So we should make sure about the nature and use of that drug.

Though many articles say about these drug addictions and its rehabilitation, it is not advisable to take certain drugs which leads to fatal results. It is better to conclude this essay by saying “prevention is better than cure”.

What is the cure?

Once addicted, it will be very difficult to come out. The user must have pure determination to get rid of these drugs.

Does Marijuana have medical values?

Marijuana has medical values. THC, the main and active ingredient can produce effects which can be potentially used for treating variety of medical conditions. It is also used in pills for stimulating appetite in AIDS patients. Scientific research is still going on about the medical values and the effects of the other chemicals present in marijuana.

Tags: gambling, marijuana

What is heroin?
Heroin is a powerful drug which is processed from a chemical called morphine. Morphine is extracted from poppy plants. It is a powdery substance which appears to be white or brown. Heroin gives high pleasuring sense to its users. Of the entire drugs heroin is highly addictive because it develops a tolerance causing intense euphoria and strong physical dependence.

How is it used?
Heroin can be taken in different ways; the effect on the body depends on the methods of administration. It can be administered orally which gets metabolized to morphine in the body. It can be smoked, which will have immediate heightening sense of pleasure. It can be injected which results in rush and euphoria in 7 to 8 seconds.

Why does a person get addict?
When a person succeeds in something he/she experiences intense feelings of pleasure due to the limbic system because it is flooded with dopamine. So he/she is naturally driven to seek these feelings again. So likewise when a person uses a drug he/she experiences intense feelings of pleasure and the limbic system creates an appetite which drives us to seek those things again and again. Once a person stops using these drugs, it makes him feel lifeless and depressed and the only way is to use the drug again and again which makes him addicted. Drug addiction is a sort of disease. It makes the natural pleasuring sense of our brain to decrease. It is called as down regulation.

What are the Problems of Using Alcohol?
The teenagers may find it difficult to follow their studies.
They may commit crimes than those who don’t.
Those who have drunken may be sexually active and have unsafe, unprotected sex. This may result in unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS.
Use of alcohol may be cause for car crash, homicide or suicide.
It may affect the health also such as making to get high blood pressure. It is damaging your organs such as the liver, heart and brain.

How to avoid your bad habit?
In an unavoidable circumstance, you can leave that place at once. Otherwise you can drink some other beverages which do not contain any alcohol. You must have full self-confidence in that situation.

If you think you have drinking problem, get help soon. You must get treatment from a good doctor. These treatment centers help a person to gradually overcome the physical and psychological dependence of alcohol.

Binge Drinking
The habit of drinking over several days is known as binge drinking. This may lead to alcoholic poisoning. The symptoms of alcohol poisoning include
Extreme confusion
Inability to be awakened
Vomiting
Trouble in breathing
Low body temperature
Pale skin

People who have impaired judgment may have unprotected sex leading to Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) or unplanned pregnancy. Their physical and mental health may get upset.

Abuse and Addiction
Using the legal drugs or illegal medicines in a wrong way is known as abuse. Addiction means a person has no control over whether he or she uses a drug or drinks. Addiction can be physical, psychological or both. Overcoming addiction is not easy. Get help right away so that you can find recovery.

What is the treatment?
There is no cure for addiction, but it is a recoverable disease. The person must undergo drug addiction therapy and it takes time and moreover strong desire to get rid of it.

What are the effects?
Heroin enters the body rapidly and affects the regions of the brain like cerebellum and basal ganglia which are responsible for physical dependence, memory, actions and reaction time. It also affects the way one thinks. To get the same effect, the abuser must have or intake higher dose. Usage of heroin is always associated with crime, violence, fetal effects, AIDS, tuberculosis and also long term effects like disastrous personal life both physically and mentally. Of all the other drug abuse deaths, heroin tops the list.

What are the withdrawal symptoms?
Withdrawal symptoms can occur from a few hours to 72 hours after the dose and which can include drug craving, restlessness, bone and muscle pain, nausea, insomnia, vomiting and involuntary twitching or kicking movements.

What are the addiction treatments?
Medical drugs like methadone and buprenorphine administration have proven to be successful in treating heroin addiction. There are different opiates which can be used for heroin addiction. Methadone, a synthetic opiate is administered for blocking the effects for about 24 hours but it has more risk when being used in private office. Buprenorphine is also an opiate which is the most recent medication for the treatment of heroin. It also offers less risk and can be dispensed in the privacy of a doctor’s clinic.

There are other medications such as naloxone and naltrexone, which also block the effects of heroin and other opiates. There are also behavioral treatments available for heroin addictions which are designed to help and modify the patient’s thinking and behaviors to increase the skills in coping up with various life stresses. Moreover addiction can be overcome only by hard work and pure determination of the patient himself/herself.

Tags: buprenorphine, heroin, methadone

The rise of online large scale intervention for alcoholics is gaining ground. Given that alcoholism is beginning to be a major cause of disability, and the fact that alcoholics do not get adequate treatment, it is high time to take help to a higher level.

Online intervention is changing the face of coping with and treatment of alcoholism. Since the internet is more accessible and more people are becoming netizens by each day, it is a change that is gladly welcomed by many. The internet has also great potential to deliver self-help intervention in a global basis, to people who do not seek or receive enough help for alcoholism, or simply to those who find it hard to do so. For some people, internet help is merely a supplement to their regular face-to-face meetings with other people, but for most, online help and intervention is the only meeting they could attend to.

In an age where time is of the essence, some people would rather let themselves whither away with alcohol than take the time to seek out professional help. Most Americans keep more than one job, and at the end of the day, they are too tired to go out and find someone who can help them and instead take comfort in nursing a bottle of whiskey. With the internet revolution, people can just sit on their computers and interact with similar individuals with similar needs – right in the comforts of their own home.

Online help has also been very helpful for a particular group of alcoholics with special needs. People with hearing disabilities or those who can’t get around without a wheelchair greatly benefit from online interaction to seek help. Others who want to remain anonymous can do so with little or no threats to his privacy.

There are many different ways for people to find online help. They can conveniently take part in online meetings, email discussion groups, real-time chat meetings, forum and bulletin board discussions and even voice-chat are now readily available in the web. All they have to do is find the right group that they are most comfortable with and they can start getting help from there.

Online intervention for alcoholics is convenient, fast and reliable. The steady rise of the Internet and its fast development has brought support for alcoholics and consequently, recovery to many people worldwide.
Copyright 2008. C.King, M.Ed.

The human civilization has reportedly been drinking for around 15,000 years. And in today’s society, alcohol drinking is undeniably more socially acceptable than its scorned counterparts – smoking and drug abuse. But does this make alcohol much safer?

Alcohol, as some of you might NOT know, is created when fruits, grains or vegetables are fermented. Fermentation can refer to the use of yeast to change sugar found in natural substances into alcohol. It might or might not taste closely like them, but alcohol come from organic foods such as grapes, barley, wheat, rice and others. Now, that doesn’t seem so bad after all. But wait until we get to the juicy parts.

When people consume alcohol, it is absorbed into their bloodstream. From the blood, it travels up from the spinal cord to the brain which controls virtually all bodily functions. Alcohol contains a significant amount of ethanol, a depressant, which slows down the functions of the central nervous system. It blocks some of the messages trying to get to the brain, giving the drunken person slow responses, faulty perceptions and alters his emotions, visions, movement and hearing.

Though in very small amounts, alcohol can help a person calm down, too much of it can make him relax too much. People who overuse alcohol become intoxicated. They stagger, lose their coordination, slur their speech and even have memory gaps or blackouts. Reaction and response times are dramatically slowed – making drunken people unable to drive efficiently and think that they’re moving fine when in reality they are not.

When large amounts of alcohol are consumed in a relatively short period of time, alcohol poisoning can happen. Alcohol poisoning is apparently just that – the poisoning of your system by huge amounts of alcohol you can’t tolerate. This is the state that is characterized by violent vomiting which happens to be its first symptom. Other signs also include extreme and uncontrolled sleepiness, unconsciousness, a dangerously low blood sugar, seizures, difficulty in breathing, and ultimately, even death.

Though in moderation, alcohol has noteworthy health benefits, frequent use and abuse can cause short and long term side-effects. Alcohol can do so much more to your body than shoot you to tipsy heaven. It can get you in trouble with the law, make you look really silly and stupid, and it can make you a threat to yourself and to the people around you.

Drink responsibly. If you think you can contain your alcohol, think again.
Copyright 2008. C.King, M.Ed.

A Closer Look at Teen Addictions

You may never know that your kids are involved in substance abuse, drug addiction, as well as experiencing personality disorders in terms of eating, self cutting that may be due to depression and a feeling of helplessness, etc. These disorders may normally result from substance abuse because of the mind of the user not being able to think as clearly as before. It is a reality nowadays that teens need to be handled with care especially since experimentation with drugs in the adolescent stage is common and something that will be hard to avoid.

It is said that the use of cigarettes and alcohol at a young age will increase the possibility of the teen being involved in substance abuse and alcoholism at the latter part of life increase the risk of using other drugs later. There are teens that would just have a taste to satisfy their curiosity and eventually stop while some become dependent on the drugs and the booze, causing harm not only to themselves but to the people around them.

The relationship between substance abuse and personality disorders have not really been proven or understood well but there sure are instances wherein substance abuse either leads or develops more the disorder that was observed in the user. The most common so called co-occurring disorder would be bipolar disorder which is defined as a manic-depressive ailment that is characterized by frequent changes in the person’s mood and feelings. These people, more often than not use drugs as a tool for balancing their mood swings. Once a person is addicted to drugs, smoking or alcohol and at the same time has developed a disorder, both the addiction and the disorder must be treated distinctively.

Cutting is also a form of disorder that is a coping mechanism for the cutters. Substance abuse and cutting have a correlation because they are both “survival tools,” enabling teens to be comforted in difficult times as well as from the harsh realities of life. Self-injury or cutting your own skin might be something you will never ever do because of the pain that comes with it. For teens that resort to cutting, however, the method is effective in a strange kind of way in helping them cope with the pain they feel inside that they wouldn’t really be affected with the external pain of cutting one’s self.

Substance abuse may also be connected with the teens with the latchkey syndrome, wherein most of them would feel alone and unnoticed by their parents or other family members. Because these teens are given independence at an early age, they might feel neglected and may resort to substance abuse, alcoholism, and other harmful activities without the knowledge of their loved ones.

What parents, siblings, as well as relatives should do would be to keep a close watch over the teens in their homes. Make sure that you would have an open relationship wherein these teens would be able to trust you enough to tell you anything or better yet, everything. If your teens have been acting strangely for some reason you do not know, never ever let that pass. Do your own “research,” have a meaningful talk and make them feel that you are there to care for them.

Copyright 2008 C.King, M.Ed., Sober Sources Network may be reproduced with proper acknowledgments.

Understanding Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholism can be defined as the person’s uncontrollable urge to drink alcohol. Alcoholics feel that they cannot live without drinking booze. For normal people, water is a vital drink to live; where as for alcoholics, liquor, booze, beer, (whatever name you call it) is their “h20 in life.” Alcoholism is made up of four elements:

A strong craving for a drink
Physical Dependence wherein withdrawal symptoms are demonstrated: anxiety, shakiness, nausea, and sweating once drinking has stopped for quite a period of time
The inability of the person to stop himself/herself from drinking once the said person has started
Alcohol Tolerance wherein the person feels that drinking is needed to be able to feel better or to be “happy.”

There is still hope for alcoholism to be eradicated little by little. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was developed for this purpose. It is a society that holds informal meetings among alcoholics for them to have all the help they can get in order to attain sobriety as well as help other people like themselves become sober. Here, the members share their experiences as well as give hope to one another and strengthen themselves from the temptations of drinking through their so called twelve step program.

Alcoholics Anonymous was founded by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith who were both alcoholics who found sobriety through spirituality. Alcoholics Anonymous became known through word of mouth. As soon as the count of members reached a hundred, the twelve-step program was included in a book that was published, speaking about the program and the main stages of the treatment and they are: admitting that one has become powerless, moral inventory, and recognizing that there is a higher power where people should ask help from.

An AA survey made in the year 2004 covering more than 7500 members based in the United States and Canada showed that the average sobriety rate for members is eight years and most of the members who became sober received counseling and spiritual therapies from the outside and that these outside treatments helped them stay sober.

A newly developed network for alcoholics that is similar to Alcoholics Anonymous is the Sober Sources Network which was established just last year (2007). It is a network that gives support to alcoholic people and those with harmful addictions. It was a response to the forums developed (The Sober Village and the Sober Teens Online) discussing and giving information to the said topics.

The Sober Sources Network was formed through the observation that there are only a number of websites that give complete information and resources that are extremely useful to people wanting help for their addictions.

It is good that Alcoholism can be treated even though at a slow rate through Alcoholics Anonymous. It is also amazing that the Sober Sources Network has been designed to give quick and easy online support to alcoholics and drug addicts who wouldn’t really know where to ask help from especially because of the fact that alcoholism and substance abuse is a delicate subject. Sober forums are also there not only to give support to the alcoholics but also to give vital information and support to parents, family members and friends who are affected when a loved one is under the power of alcoholism.

Copyright 2008 C.King, M.Ed., Sober Sources Network may be reproduced with proper acknowledgments.

Tags: 12 step program

A lot of soldiers returning home from wars have become alcoholics or are facing difficulty with alcohol consumption. It is true that the loneliness as well as the pressure while out in the battle field makes soldiers resort to drinking sprees, alcohol dependency and sometimes drug dependency.

Soldiers should remember though that the abuse of alcohol as well as the misuse of medications or drugs can result to harmful and risky behaviors that include but are not limited to pub fights, spousal abuse, even unexpected deaths so it is a must to engage in responsible drinking. Below are some tips that would help one drink responsibly:

Before drinking and in the course of drinking, make sure that your stomach has food because eating food with starch and high protein will slow down the rate of the effects of alcohol hitting you.

Drink slowly but surely as fast drinking will make the drinker more intoxicated. Drinking no more than one drink every hour will result to the drinker not being drunk fast

Try drinking non alcoholic drinks in between your intake of alcoholic drinks as this will result to alcoholic drinks not having a greater effect on you.

Remember this HALT! This is easy to remember and stands for “Never Drink if you have the following feelings: Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired.”

And of course, let us not forget (though it may be a cliché, it can save lives). Do not drink and drive. Always make sure that the person who will be driving the vehicle is sober, otherwise, just take a cab or any other public transportation.

Following these tips will help you (soldiers) avoid alcohol abuse as well as symptoms or ailments partnered with alcoholism such as: PTSD. PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder when coupled with alcoholism will automatically cause a lot of trouble. It is a type of anxiety disorder that usually results from trauma that comes from physical injury, a serious threat of death or the death of someone close. As early as the 6th century BC, PTSD has been observed in war veterans.
It has been observed that people with PTSD have a greater risk of developing alcoholism and most alcoholics are even diagnosed with the said disease. Around eighty percent of war veterans undergoing treatment for PTSD have been detected with alcohol abuse disorders. These people have a tendency to commit suicide once they become depressed especially if they are over the age of 65. Binge drinking is also a frequent activity in soldiers/veterans as it is used as a tool to forget traumatic memories for a short period of time.

Alcoholism also disrupts your relationship with your partner and may lead to violence as it is evident in spousal abuse committed by intoxicated soldiers. Aside from conflicts, problems in intimacy have also been observed. PTSD symptoms are stimulated more with alcoholism. The effects of PTSD treatments are also lessened by alcohol abuse.
Soldiers amongst all professionals have the great responsibility of avoiding alcoholism. It is a must to follow tips in avoiding too much drinking not only for your safety but also for the safety of your loved ones and the people who look up to you.

Copyright 2008 C.King, M.Ed., Sober Sources Network may be reproduced with proper acknowledgments.

Tags: alcoholic

A drug addiction or alcohol addiction of a family member not only affects the said member per se but also has a serious effect on the people around the user, most especially the loved ones. It is but normal to be ignorant of how to deal with your loved ones who are into alcoholism, substance abuse, drug abuse, etc. It will also be hard to understand why the member of the family resorted to those addictions. Most of the time, the loved ones would have a hard time telling the person to the face that he/she needs to be brought to the treatment center or undergo rehabilitation.

The life of a user is not the only thing that is ruined as soon as addiction has been developed—the life of the family may also be destroyed as they are either hurt physically and emotionally by the user. Drugs or alcohol may be likened to a director who calls out how the actors and actresses (the users) should act, and most of the time, the actions are negative and destructive. The behavior of the user not only results to self destruction but also negatively affects the actions, feelings and thoughts of the people around the user, most especially the family.

Life for the person’s (the one who does substance abuse or is a slave to alcoholism) family will never be normal. This is because users behave in the manner that will most of the time hurt their family. The change in the user’s behavior, e.g. from being a meek child, has become a violent child, often cause the family members to have difficulty in adapting, thus resulting to their own emotional and psychological problems. Now, even the family members are being controlled by the user’s addiction. The most common feelings that family members would experience would be guilt, sometimes blaming themselves for the user’s dependency on drugs, disappointment, fear of whatever the user might do, and a lot more.

The best resort of family members would be to first learn all there is to know about substance abuse as well as alcoholism. As soon as they have an understanding of those subjects, they will be able to start helping the users as well as themselves on the way to recovery. Family members can do their research through the Internet with a lot of online resources available such as sober forums, the Sober Sources Network, etc. They also need to learn first how it works in rehabilitation and treatment centers before making a decision of letting the user undergo rehabilitation.

Learning about counseling treatment options will also be a good idea as the user will be needing all the support that he or she could get. As soon as the user has attained sobriety, lapses could be avoided through the mutual support groups as well as self-help resources that gives support continuously for the users to live a drug free life with consistency. These groups support the addict in making lifestyle changes, such as establishing new, drug-free friends and activities, necessary to maintaining abstinence. There are also communities that will help the family members and the loved ones cope from the effects of having an addict within the family.

Copyright 2008 C.King, M.Ed., Sober Sources Network may be reproduced with proper acknowledgments.