Archive for the ‘Behavior Problems’ tag
What Makes an Addict?
An addict is an addict way before he/she ever makes the first contact with a drug or alcohol. Addiction only is a symptom of a difference in brain chemical make up.
In all of my years of dealing with addictions and knowing so many good people who are addicts I find that addicts are the most intelligent, creative, and sensitive of the whole population. Without them life would not be as beautiful or colorful. Unfortunately the treatments implemented for them does not help a very large number of them. I think taking a look at the stats on addiction will show that recovery success rates are low.
I think it is terrible that so many people end up in jail because they have not been able to get a handle on their addictive behaviors. What if society decided that having cancer, heart disease, kidney disease or any other serious condition needed to be treated with prison confinement? People would be outraged and we as addicts and the loved ones of addict ought to be outraged as well....
I believe that main factor in recovery success or failure is being grossly over looked. The brain of an addict is different from the very beginning of their life. When they do make contact with a substance or behavior that raises the levels that are less in their brain this begins the cycle.
Unfortunately the drive to make contact with the addictive substance or behavior is unconscience in the addict.
Fortunately recovery can happen when a person caught up in the symptom of addictive behaviors are trained to recognize these differences and are taught how to deal with it and how to accept and be conscience of drives that happen on a sub conscience level.
After an addict goes through detox and their bodies have recovered they are over half way home.
The limbic brain of a person with addictive behavior problems has a different balance in their brain than other people. This difference does not have to be medicated. The person with the problem needs to be informed of this difference.
Raising the levels of certain neuro-transmitters with chemically reproduced neuro-transmitters serves as a temporary solution with harmful side effects that can affect devastating change on the personality of the individual especially in younger people. This is not the solution.
I know there are many dedicated health care professionals working with individuals with addictions. That is to be commended. Still they are treating the symptom rather than the cause. They are doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. Addiction is not a disease it is a symptom of a difference in the limbic brain.
Thank you for reading this.
In all of my years of dealing with addictions and knowing so many good people who are addicts I find that addicts are the most intelligent, creative, and sensitive of the whole population. Without them life would not be as beautiful or colorful. Unfortunately the treatments implemented for them does not help a very large number of them. I think taking a look at the stats on addiction will show that recovery success rates are low.
I think it is terrible that so many people end up in jail because they have not been able to get a handle on their addictive behaviors. What if society decided that having cancer, heart disease, kidney disease or any other serious condition needed to be treated with prison confinement? People would be outraged and we as addicts and the loved ones of addict ought to be outraged as well....
I believe that main factor in recovery success or failure is being grossly over looked. The brain of an addict is different from the very beginning of their life. When they do make contact with a substance or behavior that raises the levels that are less in their brain this begins the cycle.
Unfortunately the drive to make contact with the addictive substance or behavior is unconscience in the addict.
Fortunately recovery can happen when a person caught up in the symptom of addictive behaviors are trained to recognize these differences and are taught how to deal with it and how to accept and be conscience of drives that happen on a sub conscience level.
After an addict goes through detox and their bodies have recovered they are over half way home.
The limbic brain of a person with addictive behavior problems has a different balance in their brain than other people. This difference does not have to be medicated. The person with the problem needs to be informed of this difference.Raising the levels of certain neuro-transmitters with chemically reproduced neuro-transmitters serves as a temporary solution with harmful side effects that can affect devastating change on the personality of the individual especially in younger people. This is not the solution.
I know there are many dedicated health care professionals working with individuals with addictions. That is to be commended. Still they are treating the symptom rather than the cause. They are doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. Addiction is not a disease it is a symptom of a difference in the limbic brain.
Thank you for reading this.
Norco withdrawals…Part II
Greetings, kidz. Just thought I'd give an update to my fiancee's Norco detox. (Read my "Norco withdrawals..." post)
Tomorrow will be 14th clean day, and she's still going through hell, although now it's more psychological. She sleeps fitfully at best, waking up every hour or so. She becomes panicky when she gets ready for bed, and that's partly my fault (see paragraphs below). During the day, she's very lethargic, and frequently wants to take a nap. But when she finally has an opportunity to get sleep, she can't. Her mind is still rather jumbled.
About the 10th day (Sunday), both of us realized that her Norco addiction really wasn't just about the physical pain. That night, everything that she had suppressed with the pills came spewing forth. Everything that I had done to her, or she thought I had done to her, everything that others had done to her yet somehow involved me... She used very little profanity, but it was the tone in which she spoke to me. It wasn't so much the vile and angry tone that got me; it was the sarcasm. The kind of cutting disdain that one could only find on a grammar school playground. She didn't just want me out of the house, she wanted me out of town. All the way back to South Carolina, to "go back to [my] little Mommy". She had a plane ticket ready to buy from HotWire.com!
The first five years of our relationship were awful. I was a very selfish and angry man-child, and she was desperate for companionship. My upbringing (or whatever it was) provided fuel for my rather despicable, yet thankfully only occasional, behavior problems. Before her gastric bypass, she suppressed her unhappiness about me with food. When she couldn't do it with food anymore, she turned to pills. I really thought she took the pills for her physical back pain.
God, I really had no idea! And it all came back that 10th night like vomit from hell.
Thank you for enduring my diatribe, folks. I know her recovery will take quite a while. I guess I just need a little reassurance now and then that what's going on is the normal process.
And it's obvious that I need some work, too.
Tomorrow will be 14th clean day, and she's still going through hell, although now it's more psychological. She sleeps fitfully at best, waking up every hour or so. She becomes panicky when she gets ready for bed, and that's partly my fault (see paragraphs below). During the day, she's very lethargic, and frequently wants to take a nap. But when she finally has an opportunity to get sleep, she can't. Her mind is still rather jumbled.
About the 10th day (Sunday), both of us realized that her Norco addiction really wasn't just about the physical pain. That night, everything that she had suppressed with the pills came spewing forth. Everything that I had done to her, or she thought I had done to her, everything that others had done to her yet somehow involved me... She used very little profanity, but it was the tone in which she spoke to me. It wasn't so much the vile and angry tone that got me; it was the sarcasm. The kind of cutting disdain that one could only find on a grammar school playground. She didn't just want me out of the house, she wanted me out of town. All the way back to South Carolina, to "go back to [my] little Mommy". She had a plane ticket ready to buy from HotWire.com!
The first five years of our relationship were awful. I was a very selfish and angry man-child, and she was desperate for companionship. My upbringing (or whatever it was) provided fuel for my rather despicable, yet thankfully only occasional, behavior problems. Before her gastric bypass, she suppressed her unhappiness about me with food. When she couldn't do it with food anymore, she turned to pills. I really thought she took the pills for her physical back pain.
God, I really had no idea! And it all came back that 10th night like vomit from hell.
Thank you for enduring my diatribe, folks. I know her recovery will take quite a while. I guess I just need a little reassurance now and then that what's going on is the normal process.
And it's obvious that I need some work, too.
Risks of Alcohol Use for Teens:
In addition to the physical effects presented above, alcohol poses several further risks for teenage drinkers:
* Alcoholism can develop much more rapidly in teens than adults; possibly within a matter of months. Approximately 40% of children who start drinking before age 15 will become alcoholics at some point in their lives.
* Teenagers are still developing physically. The developing body is much more sensitive to the effects of drugs, and may be negatively affected by alcohol. In 1998, more 18-year-olds died in low blood alcohol related car crashes than individuals of any other age.
* Teenagers are still developing emotionally. Use of alcohol may prevent teens from learning how to handle emotions and life situations without turning to drugs. Among 12-17 year olds who drink, 31% have exhibited extreme levels of psychological distress, and 39% have exhibited serious behavior problems.
* Teenagers often drink to get drunk. Many teens do not drink "socially," but aim to get drunk. Getting drunk increases many dangers associated with alcohol consumption, such as risks of automobile accidents and unsafe sex. Notably, half the girls who have sexual intercourse by age 16 are intoxicated at the time, and half later regret their action. In addition, one survey of high school students found that 18% of females and 39% of males said it is acceptable for a boy to force a girl to have sex if the girl is stoned or drunk.
* There is no known "safe" level of alcohol for young people. The U.S. dietary guidelines state that children and adolescents should avoid alcohol completely.
* Alcoholism can develop much more rapidly in teens than adults; possibly within a matter of months. Approximately 40% of children who start drinking before age 15 will become alcoholics at some point in their lives.
* Teenagers are still developing physically. The developing body is much more sensitive to the effects of drugs, and may be negatively affected by alcohol. In 1998, more 18-year-olds died in low blood alcohol related car crashes than individuals of any other age.
* Teenagers are still developing emotionally. Use of alcohol may prevent teens from learning how to handle emotions and life situations without turning to drugs. Among 12-17 year olds who drink, 31% have exhibited extreme levels of psychological distress, and 39% have exhibited serious behavior problems.
* Teenagers often drink to get drunk. Many teens do not drink "socially," but aim to get drunk. Getting drunk increases many dangers associated with alcohol consumption, such as risks of automobile accidents and unsafe sex. Notably, half the girls who have sexual intercourse by age 16 are intoxicated at the time, and half later regret their action. In addition, one survey of high school students found that 18% of females and 39% of males said it is acceptable for a boy to force a girl to have sex if the girl is stoned or drunk.
* There is no known "safe" level of alcohol for young people. The U.S. dietary guidelines state that children and adolescents should avoid alcohol completely.
