The road to sobriety is hard. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the many excuses and lies addicts tell themselves and others. Alcohol and drug addiction changes the way the brain works, affecting thinking processes and making it easier for substance abusers to believe statements that a healthy mind would recognize as untrue.
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Heroin is one of the most addictive substances on the planet. In fact, according to some experts, it is not just in the top ten, but number one. Heroin causes tolerance and withdrawal more quickly than any other drug. This cycle leads to addiction in a matter of just a week or two of regular use. Because the withdrawal symptoms are so severe, ceasing to use heroin is a nearly insurmountable task.
The importance, however, of quitting cannot be overstated. Heroin takes a devastating toll on a person’s body, mind, and life. Very quickly, it alters the chemistry of the brain and makes permanent changes to it. Without help, coming clean from heroin is next to impossible, but with the right care and the support of loved ones, it can be done. The harm caused cannot be fully reversed, but the odds of returning to health and a normal lifestyle are good.
Drug abuse and addiction are serious problems throughout the United States. Fortunately, while addiction rates increase, so do the available facilities for treatment. For anyone facing the disease of addiction, professional treatment is the best and in some cases, the only option. While quitting cold turkey without any assistance is certainly possible, it will be the most difficult thing you will ever attempt to do and you will most likely fail. With help, however, you have a shot at starting your life over as a sober and healthy person. For addicts in Dallas, treatment centers are available.
Recent research into the nature of drug addiction is pointing to the connection between specific brain regions, and utilizing technology in methods not previously performed. Called optogenetics, the research explores the way the brain reacts to rewards and uses manipulations of key brain regions and could provide knowledge experts haven’t seen before.
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Russia has a new, deadly drug called krokodil (aka crocodile) and it is killing young people in droves. Introduced in Siberia about a decade ago, it has made a splash in more populous areas in the past few years. Approximately fifty percent of all addiction and drug-related deaths in Russia can be directly attributed to crocodile.
Dr. David Stidham was a young, handsome graduate of Harvard Medical School when he moved his family to Tucson, Arizona, to become a partner in an eye surgery clinic for children. His patients and their parents adored him, and he was so successful that he planned to open a solo practice. On October 4, 2004, Dr. Stidham’s body was found in his office parking lot. He had been stabbed 16 times in what police believed was a random act of violence.
Each year, the nonprofit organization Entertainment Industries Council (EIC), in collaboration with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), hosts a prestigious award ceremony for the entertainment industry unlike any other. EIC’s Prism Awards acknowledge works of cinema and other performing arts media for realistically depicting experiences of substance abuse, addiction, and mental disorders. Nominees for the awards are meticulously screened by a panel of 80 judges consisting of entertainment industry professionals and medicine, mental health, and addiction specialists who not only critique the nominations based on entertainment quality, but also on their ability to accurately represent substance abuse and mental health issues.
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Over the past five years the number of drug users in Afghanistan has increased from 920,000 to over 1.5 million, the spokesman of the Ministry of Counter-Narcotics (MCN), Zalmai Afzali, told IRIN.
Pop superstar Beyoncé and her mother, Tina Knowles, came to Brooklyn last week to announce the funding and opening of the Beyoncé Cosmetology Center, which provides a seven-month cosmetology course for recovering addicts.
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Drug addicts will lie and tell you anything they think you want to hear, or that they feel they have to say at the moment. This isn’t a fantasy. It’s a fact. Even the most docile, mild-mannered, unassuming person can’t control what comes out of their mouth once they’re in the grip of addiction. Just because you’ve known the person all your life, are married to him or her, doesn’t matter. In the fierce hold of their habit, the addict has lost touch with reality and all that goes with it. As a concerned loved one, friend, or coworker, there’s something you need to know. Caution: you’re entering the drug addict’s spin zone.
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