Congratulations. Your loved one is finally seeking help for their addiction to drugs or alcohol. This has no doubt been a long road, so you can breathe a sigh of relief. Seeking help for an addiction is an important first step on the road to recovery. While millions of Americans struggle with substance abuse problems,…
Alcoholism affects the entire family. No matter how old you are, it is very difficult to deal with an alcoholic parent. It rarely gets easier, even as an adult. First, know you’re not alone. Alcohol is the most commonly abused substance in the U.S. by far and plagues more than 17 million Americans each year.…
The difference betweenstimulants and depressants is equivalent to the difference between night and day. Stimulants are known as “uppers” and depressants are known as “downers” due to their effects. When someone wants to know what are the potential consequences of mixing stimulants and depressants, the answer is serious permanent physical or brain damage up to…
Marijuana has never been more accessible than it is today. Restrictive laws are constantly revisited under the suspicion that cannabis has medicinal powers, and legal distributors are turning profits of incredible magnitude. And yet, drug testing is still considered a vital step in the hiring process for many companies. Employers want sober workers, and they…
The terms opiate, opioid, and narcotics frequently are used in the same group of terminology when in fact they are vastly different. In recent years, prescription medication has increased in use and abuse, so it is important to know and understand the difference in terminology. What the drugs have in common is in their use,…
The variety and complexity of drug addiction culture slang terminology can be difficult to catalog because it is constantly being expanded and changed by both the drug culture itself and the pop culture that informs it. Sometimes, these slang words for drugs can have seemingly no relation to the drugs themselves, defying a logical explanation…
Substance use occurs on a continuum, more like addiction, and not everyone who uses a substance categorically abuses it, just like substance abuse does not automatically correlate with psychological dependence. What are the differences between substance use, abuse, and dependence? The lines aren’t always clearly defined, but what is clear is that abuse and dependence…
Most people seeking drug and alcohol treatment are familiar with the short-term effects of alcohol on the brain, from the so-called “positive” effects, such as relaxed inhibitions and a feeling of well being, to the more obviously negative ones, such as slurred speech, impaired movements, and a highly emotional state. Alcohol is such an ingrained…
Overcoming cravings can be the most challenging aspect of overcoming addiction to opiates, but it is possible to do so, and many resources can help the cravings subside. Opiates chemically block the brain from perceiving pain, which reduces the amount of endorphins it needs to release to combat pain naturally. Over time, the brain can…
The effects of doing drugs and drinking alcohol during pregnancy have long been known to have significant effects on a developing fetus. The results of substance abuse during pregnancy range from low birth weight to fetal death, and the realm of repercussions in between is vast. One outcome that occurs due to drug use during…
