A poison is defined as any substance that can enter your body and is harmful to it. Toxins can be swallowed, inhaled, absorbed, or injected. Poisoning always results in some level of illness and, depending on the toxin, can lead to death. Anyone who has experienced alcohol intoxication may be familiar with the day-after symptoms…
There is no addiction recovery without the very first step: withdrawal. When you stop drinking or using drugs, your body has to adjust. This process of withdrawal is challenging because addiction also means dependence. Your body and brain have become physically dependent on drugs and/or alcohol and must now relearn how to function clean. Knowing…
Heroin abuse and addiction still affect hundreds of thousands of Americans annually. Opium, derived from the opium poppy flower, had been used as a recreational drug for thousands of years, but it was not until 1874 that heroin was synthesized from opium. It was used medically for pain management until its extreme addictiveness was understood…
Addiction does not discriminate. Who you are, where you come from, your gender, religion, education level, and your financial or professional status cannot influence whether or not you will become addicted to alcohol. The first step in any alcohol rehab process is ridding your body of all traces of alcohol. This means you must go…
Spring break. Almost by definition, this post-winter time off is an opportunity to let loose and celebrate. Many usually think of college kids convening on Florida beach towns or Colorado ski resorts to celebrate being outside, unscheduled, and free. Another common image conjured by the words spring break is one of alcohol consumption and drug…
Did you know that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), unchecked alcohol consumption contributes to almost 90,000 deaths in the U.S. each year? More than 4,000 of those alcohol-related deaths are young, underage people. In fact, alcohol is the most commonly misused addictive substance among teens and young adults in America.…
How do professionals decide if a patient should consider getting admitted into an alcohol addiction treatment program? An alcohol screening test helps determine if someone is struggling with an alcohol use disorder. An emergency room can use a short alcohol screening test that makes a determination based on the first question. A mental health professional…
Overcoming addiction requires eliminating not only the physical dependence on the addictive substance but also addressing behavioral and psychological issues that have developed along with the substance use disorder. Simply quitting cold turkey at home isn’t enough to do the latter. Changing the way you behave, feel, and think is much easier with professional help…
National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week in 2022 is from March 21 to March 27. This time is set aside to recognize the critical nature of drug and alcohol use disorders and disseminate facts about addiction in every community and neighborhood, rural or urban, in every state in the US. The more people who understand…
Alcohol addiction isn’t something that appears suddenly. Signs of alcohol addiction often sneak up on a person. There are subtle signs that worsen over time, and these are the signs that others can sometimes notice before you do. Other signs indicate that there may be a problem, but your loved ones may not see it.…