Treatment

You’ve started to realize that your friend seems inexplicably exhausted most of the time. In fact, it’s not uncommon for him or her to starting falling asleep while sitting upright, even in the middle of conversation. Then you notice that there are marks on your friend’s arms, almost bruise-like and rather small. It might have … Read more

Dual Diagnosis Treatment is one of the most specialized, complex areas of addiction rehabilitation. Treating those with both a mental illness and a drug or alcohol addiction is a complicated, delicate process that requires experts in both fields in order to be successful. Through its groundbreaking treatment centers, Foundations Recovery Network has developed a highly … Read more

Having a substance abuse problem or a mental health disorder can be frustrating. The symptoms of dealing with one or the other can cause physical, psychological, and emotional problems. Unfortunately, the presence of one can proliferate the other or the two can exist simultaneously. The case of co-occurring disorders (COD) is called comorbidity, or Dual … Read more

There are a number of different types of anxiety disorders, the most common of which include generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Depending upon the type and severity of symptoms, different medications may be more or less appropriate. Any other issues, like substance abuse, may also play a role in … Read more

As the Mayo Clinic explains, an intervention is a structured approach to helping a drug abuser face his addiction and need for treatment. The intervention can be helpful when a substance abuser is in denial about his abuse or behaves in a way that suggests he will not seek treatment on his own, despite the necessity of … Read more

What Is Drug Detoxification? Drug addiction is a multilayered psychosocial phenomenon, and for this reason, there should be little surprise to learn that the drug detoxification process can be equally complex. Detoxification, most simply, involves the elimination of drug or alcohol substances from the body. While there is no single crowning definition that encompasses every … Read more

Money and power are often linked with health and prestige. It’s assumed that professionals who have achieved some level of success just have less to worry about, when compared with the average person, and they might not develop addictions or substance abuse problems as a result. It’s assumed that their high status in their communities will protect … Read more

COCAINE MAY BE THE MOST SENSATIONALIZED OF ALL CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES, LONG THE POISON OF HOLLYWOOD CELEBRITIES AND WALL STREET KINGPINS. Despite its glamor and high-profile endorsements, cocaine is a vicious drug that can destroy everything it touches. Thankfully, help is readily available that can help addicts to leave cocaine behind for good. What Is Cocaine? … Read more

One of the most common reasons that people use drugs and alcohol is to cope with stress. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) people are likely to experience more stress than their heterosexual counterparts. Stressful circumstances might include: The decision of whether to come out, and if so, how Rejection or punishment from family members … Read more

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that there are 25.9 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines per million people living in the United States in 2007. That’s a remarkable number of very expensive machines, and not surprisingly, experts often look for new and innovative ways to use the machines they’ve purchased. Each time they use … Read more

Drug and alcohol abuse can lead to health concerns, trouble with interpersonal relationships, and a loss of production in the workplace. Addiction is a chronic brain disease that creates chemical changes in the brain and the natural reward and motivation centers. Someone suffering from a substance abuse dependency may spend most of their time seeking … Read more

Drug detox is the first step in a comprehensive addiction treatment program for dependence upon alcohol or any addictive substance. Unfortunately, though it is an unavoidable, necessary step in overcoming addiction, many people postpone entering detox due to a perceived inability to pay the bill. What does detox cost? And is it worth the financial investment? Variables … Read more

Codependence is a type of maladaptive relationship in which two people have an unhealthy reliance upon one another. These relationships can form in families, at work, between friends, or elsewhere. The codependent person takes the role of a rescuer or confidant for someone struggling with issues such as irresponsibility, immaturity, underachievement, mental health disorders, or … Read more

Residential drug rehab, or inpatient addiction treatment, can be pricey. Combining medical care, psychotherapeutic treatment and support, and room and board often adds up to a significant bill. Many families are worried about their choices: opt for the comprehensive care that improves the odds of long-term recovery and pay the hefty bill, or pay less … Read more

Individuals who have both a mental illness and an addiction to drugs or alcohol present a challenge for medical professionals. Treatment is complicated by the overlapping symptoms of the addiction and the mental illness. Complete recovery takes time and great care due to the delicate nature of the individual. Because these patients have a mental illness, … Read more

Of the myriad of reasons why people enter into the criminal justice system, illicit drug use is one of the most serious. Drug addiction and abuse don’t simply go away while a person is incarcerated; the underlying issues still remain and can make it harder for a person to readjust to daily life after being released from … Read more

Bipolar disorder is a serious mental health disorder, one that is defined by extreme mood swings. Those who live with bipolar disorder often fight madly to escape the deep depressive episodes they experience – and strive just as hard to achieve and maintain the ebullient manic episodes that also characterize the disorder. Many bipolar patients report that they feel … Read more

It’s reported that approximately 26 percent of Americans have a mental health condition that is diagnosable by the DSM-IV. Unfortunately, an estimated 45 percent of those people go untreated as a result of the high costs of mental health care, according to the Washington Post. This is a startling statistic as so many need treatment for … Read more

Each year millions of people who need treatment for an alcohol or drug abuse or dependency do not receive it. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), published in 2013, approximated that 22.7 million Americans aged 12 and older needed specialized treatment for an alcohol or illicit drug abuse issue. Only 10.9 percent, or 2.5 … Read more

Medicare, just like all health insurance policies offered on the open exchanges since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, does cover the cost of drug rehab. Distinct from treatment services covered for the treatment of alcohol abuse or alcoholism, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services acknowledge that different services may be necessary to treat patients … Read more

Both men and women can develop addictions, although a study in The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse suggests that women tend to develop addictions more rapidly than their male counterparts, and they also tend to enter treatment programs a little sooner in their addiction careers. The differences between the genders don’t stop with the acquisition of the … Read more

Cocaine Anonymous (CA) is a network of self-help groups for addiction to cocaine, crack, and other stimulants. As a 12-step program similar to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), members come together with the common goal of abstaining from substance use. Like other Anonymous groups, CA teaches that members should abstain from using all substances, not just the drug in question … Read more

The National Institute on Drug Abuse[1] defines addiction as a “chronic, relapsing brain disease.” There is no suggestion of moral weakness or failure here. Instead, this definition seems to suggest that people who have addictions struggle with a deficiency that’s outside of their control, and that must be treated in order for healing to take place. … Read more

Eating well and choosing nutrient-rich foods can a play a big role in efficient recovery. Choosing healthy foods over processed foods and junk food can aid in: Replacing nutrients lost during active addiction Continuing the detox process after addiction Improving the ability to fall asleep and stay asleep Improving mood Increasing immune system and the ability … Read more

The power of the human mind is pretty amazing, when you think about it. This one part of our bodies controls everything in our bodies, from the breaths we take to the conscious movement of our muscles. Our heart beats because of our brain. We feel emotions because of our brain. We have the ability … Read more

Taking drugs involves a great deal of ritual. If you drink alcohol, you’re required to pull down a glass, fill the glass with ice and pour or mix yourself something liquid. If you take injected drugs, you’re required to prepare the drug, prep your arm, inject your skin and then stash all of the tools … Read more

Dual Recovery Movement In recent years several new dual recovery twelve-step fellowships have been established. Currently, the fellowships continue to grow and are gaining wider national recognition. Today, meetings are held in both community and agency settings in the United States, Canada and abroad. The purpose of this series is to provide information that may help … Read more

The way you perform daily tasks, how you retain and use information, and how your brain wholly functions can collectively be called “cognition.” Cognition is essentially your day-to-day functioning as well as how you can spatially, verbally, and logically relate and problem-solve. When one is affected by mental illness, one or more of these areas … Read more

Holistic medicine focuses on treating the entire person and not just a disorder or affliction. Holistic health care providers believe that an individual is made up of different parts including physical, emotional, environmental and spiritual aspects. All pieces must be addressed and balanced to solve any issues, sickness or disorder, and to make a person … Read more

D.A.R.E. is an acronym that stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. Developed by both law enforcement and school officials in 1983, the program was provided to youths as a formal way of introducing drug use information to young people in attempts to lower the rate of substance abuse down the road. Whether or not the … Read more

Support group meetings, especially 12-Step meetings, are exceedingly popular among those in recovery. Why? They offer a number of benefits including: Peer support Ongoing engagement with recovery Flexible schedule of meetings Different types of meetings Attending the first meeting, however, can be a fearsome experience for some. New people and a new situation – many … Read more

The human body restores and resets itself through sleep, and lack of it can affect our health and impair our ability to function well. Unfortunately, using prescription sleep medication on a regular basis can create its own problems. In addition to potential side effects, including dizziness, headaches, digestive disturbances and daytime drowsiness, people may also … Read more

One of the many purposes of drug rehab is to help the addicted person to identify his triggers for relapse. People, places, events and certain situations – any of these can create stress or cause anger, grief, frustration or depression, which in turn can cause an addicted person to feel pushed to get high or drink. When your … Read more

Human interactions and experimentation with drugs and medications reach back as far as our written history extends. As long as humans have existed as a species, illness, disease and pain have been there too. Ancient humans may have attributed these maladies as spiritual or godly intervention and may have viewed any attempts to heal others … Read more

Family members talk to one another all the time, about things large and small, and some families find that they don’t need the help of outsiders in order to talk about addiction. They can do their own research, plan what they’d like to say and see an intervention through to completion without ever stepping outside … Read more

The decision to enter rehab is one of the most important decisions a substance abuser can make, and the next step is finding the right program. As PsychCentral discusses, it is most advisable to discuss treatment service options – such as inpatient/residential versus outpatient rehab – with a qualified counselor during a diagnostic assessment. When … Read more

When Philip Seymour Hoffman died of a heroin overdose in 2014, the president of Drugfree.org took the opportunity to remind everyone that while Hoffman obviously knew that taking heroin was a bad idea, “his brain was constantly telling him that taking some heroin would be a very good idea.” Many people use heroin – in … Read more

Psychosocial treatments are arguably the most important aspect of treatment for all depression diagnoses. Though medication can play a part in the initial stabilization of the patient as well as ongoing management of symptoms, it is the work done through psychosocial treatments that can have the longest lasting impact and, in some cases, may render … Read more

Mental health disorders can be just as devastating to your overall well-being as any physical condition. According to the World Health Organization, the following psychiatric disorders are among the leading causes of disability and death around the globe: Depression Alcoholism Schizophrenia Bipolar disorder In spite of the harmful consequences of mental illness — including social … Read more

Addictions are often equated with unemployment and low economic status. While it’s true that some people do lose everything to their addictions, including their jobs and their savings, it’s also true that some people continue to work and achieve the outer trappings of success, all while dealing with very serious cases of addiction that threaten both … Read more

When something stressful happens, the body is designed to react by either fighting or fleeing. The pupils dilate, the muscles tense and digestion slows. In just seconds, the entire body is poised and ready for some sort of reaction, and all of that work happens deep in the subconscious portion of the mind. A person … Read more

It’s not always easy to tell when someone you care about is struggling with chronic drug abuse or drug addiction and needs drug rehab. Maybe you don’t see them often enough to know what else is going on in their lives that could be a potential cause for the changes you’re noticing. Maybe they’ve been going through … Read more

Every addiction story is different. And because this is true, there are different types of interventions designed to help different types of families and individuals. What works best for someone like Betsy may not work for another. Keep in mind that these are basic descriptions, and the best type of intervention is one that is … Read more

Many parents recognize the need to children to have a stable environment to grow up in and know that their parents are safe and secure people to be with. However, sometimes these important aspects of a children’s life can be altered or threatened when mental illness is part of the family. When a parent suffers … Read more

Pain can come in many forms, for many reasons. For some, when they hear the word pain, they think of emotional pain. The loss of a parent, child or even a close friend can bring with it the emotional pain of the grieving process. For others, a more clinical picture comes to mind. Perhaps they … Read more

Given the size of California, it should come as no surprise that the state is home to a tremendous number of progressive drug treatment centers. Over 200,000 people per year check in to a drug or alcohol treatment center in California. Up and down the coast, in big cities and remote sea-side towns, the treatment centers … Read more

scaWhen asked why they won’t accept help for an addiction, some patients might mention stigmatization or childcare concerns, while others might claim that their addictions simply aren’t serious enough to merit formal treatment. Among all of the reasons patients might cite, however, issues of cost can be paramount. While referring professionals might not be asked to … Read more

Anger management, or the treatment of angry outbursts or issues of temper, is something that is becoming much more common today, as more and more people successfully seek out treatment to learn how to control their anger. Thanks to the existence of many different types of anger management treatment programs and options, a person has … Read more

Why Our Treatment Centers Work About Our Treatment Centers Why Our Treatment Centers Work Imagine if you suffered from a debilitating mental illness such as bipolar disorder or severe anxiety. Now think about how difficult it would be to cope with that illness if you also had an addiction to drugs or alcohol. Such is the … Read more

Completing drug or alcohol rehab is a major accomplishment, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s not more work to do. During the weeks, months and even years after completing rehab, individuals in recovery are still at risk for relapse. Having a co-occurring disorder — a mental health condition that occurs along with a substance use … Read more

A pervasive disease that is believed to affect as many as 18 million Americans, alcohol use disorders are the subject of thousands of studies every year. The primary goal of many of these studies is one thing: finding a cure for alcoholism. Unfortunately, as of yet, there is no cure for any substance abuse disorder. However, … Read more

Anorexia is a challenging and debilitating eating disorder that is fueled by an often incorrect self-perception, a negative body image, and a desire to achieve perfection. Anorexia often causes people to lose more weight than they should in order to stay healthy. Anorexia can impact long-term health and can even lead to early heart failure … Read more

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, more than half of individuals who suffer from drug addiction also have a diagnosable mental illness other than the addiction issue itself. Researchers, thus far, have been unable to determine the exact reasons behind this interesting fact, but there are several theories. In order to understand the treatments … Read more

In any intervention for a drug addict, the disposition of the addict’s family is exceedingly important. Full recovery involves not only restoring the addict’s life, but also ensuring that the people around the addict are also capable of helping with the long-term goal of total abstinence from drugs. What Is Family Support? Family support is … Read more

Thanks to some of the legislative changes regarding health insurance in the United States in the past few years, more and more people are now eligible to receive health insurance coverage for heroin detox and related services. In some cases, that coverage is as readily available as coverage for routine medical issues. In other cases, … Read more

The best way to describe outpatient treatment is “flexible recovery.” Try as you might, life has a way of interfering with healing. Even when you know it’s for the best to stay the course, sometimes the demands of family, work or school can be too much. There’s no reason why your treatment should be interrupted … Read more

Money and power are often linked with health and prestige. It’s assumed that professionals who have achieved some level of success just have less to worry about, when compared with the average person, and they might not develop addictions or substance abuse problems as a result. It’s assumed that their high status in their communities will protect … Read more

Society’s self-imposed gag order on the subject of mental health means opening up to loved ones about one’s own struggles can often have a coming-out-of-the-closet feel to it. But what about the reverse? What happens when the one struggling isn’t you—it’s someone you care about? Suggesting that someone else seek help isn’t easy, with fears … Read more

There are a number of different therapies to treat the spectrum of conditions that fall under the umbrella of anxiety disorders. A common method of treatment is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, where a trained therapist can help you identify and understand how to manage the factors that lead to an anxiety attack. One such way of doing this … Read more

Mental illnesses are often implicated in cases of Dual Diagnosis, and it’s certainly true that schizophrenia, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and eating disorders can contribute to both the acquisition and the maintenance of an addiction issue. However, some physical conditions can also impact the way a person heals in an addiction treatment program. These are just … Read more

Medication is not the focus for most patients who seek substance abuse treatment, but it can be a part of the initial stabilization process that occurs in early recovery during detox. Depending upon the drug of choice, different medications may be available and/ or appropriate for your loved one, but there are risks and considerations … Read more

When choosing a sober living home for your loved one, it is important to take a moment to make sure that they have the appropriate accreditation and licenses necessary to legally run a drug and alcohol addiction treatment establishment. It may not seem like something that should have to be on your checklist when researching facilities for … Read more

In January, people all across the United States come up with long lists of tasks they’d like to accomplish in the coming year. They might vow to lose weight, exercise more, stick to a budget, or purchase more organic food. But when February comes around, many of these same people have relapsed to the behaviors … Read more

What Is Outpatient Care? Outpatient care is a form of treatment in which the client lives at home and comes in to a clinic or treatment center for therapy and/or medication. One nationwide data set found that outpatient care made up roughly 60 percent of substance abuse treatment admissions.[1] A subset of 12 percent received intensive … Read more

Once considered heresy in rehab circles, it’s now OK to say, “AA just isn’t for me.” A wealth of scientific research, both longstanding and emerging, offers examples of why Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-Step groups may not be an effective path to sobriety for everyone. Seeking professional help from licensed providers should be first and foremost … Read more

The term “alcohol use disorders” refers to a spectrum of disorders, and it’s rare that two people’s drinking behaviors and the harms caused by their drinking will be defined in exactly the same way. “Heavy drinking” is an especially ambiguous term because it can refer to binge drinking, or it can reference a chronic drinking … Read more