Say No To Pot » drug addiction

Drug Addiction Reality

admin — Fri, 29 May 2009 06:23:34 +0000

According the Office of Supplied Studies, in a study done in 2001 (cited at bottom), an alarming percentage of US citizens are drug abusers. The reality isn’t that they all die from drug addiction. Another study done on DrugWarFact.org explains that only 17,000 people die from drug abuse yearly. This same study pointed out that about 3 million people in the US have serious drug problems.

So we have all the studies, but what do they mean? Drug abuse doesn’t kill? The reality is that drugs may destroy your life easier than end it. What you do is see the reality behind addiction. I see it as something that destroyed my life. I watched it destroy others. This piece is more a road map than a path to healthy living. It just points out what you need to know.

Understanding:
Drugs don’t kill everyone, but they do destroy many lives. The proof is simple, or seems simple-the US government has been at war with drug abuse for decades. Someone, somewhere cares about how youth lives are being destroyed.

Seeing the Reality:
The reality may be you won’t die. However, couldn’t it be said that even the basic addictions can kill you, if not immediately, but eventually? When a heroin addict uses a needle, and then passes it on, what pictures of AIDs do you see? It’s not lecture; it just means more than dieing. Your life changes as you watch the destruction.

Watching the Destruction:
It might destroy your life. You may not die: you may become homeless or insane, you may get a vicious disease, or you may lose all relationships. What matters is playing this tape all the way to the end. You will need to take action on your own soon.

Taking Action:
Taking action is about putting down the drugs. It’s a philosophy many of us can use: choosing to make the right choice. Youth addiction may be paramount, because more and more drug addicted teens are growing up in a world where you can buy a bag of weed for the price of two movies.

Making a Choice:
It’s still up to you. It’s a choice. What matters isn’t lecture, philosophy, or opinion. The drug addiction reality may seem far away. It won’t happen to you. It doesn’t kill that many people every year. Drugs only rob people of their careers, their health, and their family. The drug addiction reality is that too often people forget, only to be reminded when something bad happens.

Sources:
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Association,
Drug War Facts, http://www.drugwarfacts.org/causes.htm#illicit

Can You Beat Drug Abuse and Addiction by Yourself?

admin — Fri, 29 May 2009 06:11:51 +0000

Drug addiction can begin anywhere. A father uses drugs and his son or daughter sees him. A friend invites you to join them in smoking a joint. A boyfriend or girlfriend doesn’t just buy you alcohol, but also “helps” you with your pill addiction. The problem isn’t that we all understand drugs are dangerous, but that so many try to defeat drug addiction on their own.
The leading health site Mayo Clinic offered five risk factors for people who become dependent on drugs: personality, social environment, anxiety and depression, genetics, and types of drugs.
That’s only part of the story. With millions who use illegal drugs on a daily basis, there has to be more problem factors. Let’s begin by exploring personality problems.
Personality:
The rates of people who suffer from depression using drugs is considered high in both government and private studies. Simply put, this is a classic example of why people use drugs. It’s also proof to some degree that defeating drugs on your own may be too hard. If you suffer from a worse condition like schizophrenia, which already has high suicide rates, defeating drugs on your own could be impossible.
Social:
Many use drugs to fit in with a certain group. And it isn’t always the young peer groups. In many ways society is becoming more accepting of active drug users. This all depends on the person and comes down to theory. But if this is the only problem, if you only use drugs to fit in and have no mental or physical problems, it may be possible to defeat drugs. The danger is in starting you become physically addicted, especially with the harsher drugs.
Type of Drug:
Some drugs will be tougher to “kick” than others. This isn’t theory at all. Cocaine, for example, has far more addicting aspects than marijuana. On the other hand, some “legal” drugs like cigarettes or pain pills can be just as addicting to certain people. Heroin addicts, cocaine users … the type of the drug doesn’t always fit in with the personality. However, when it starts changing how you live on a daily basis, when you have to get one or you think you’ll die, the only answer is coping, medication, and the help of professional doctors. Some drugs are simply too hard to kick on your own.
So what does it all mean? This isn’t meant as a scheme of studying why we’re addicted to drugs or how to defeat them. The drug epidemic has been a problem for decades. People are still dying. But many addicts are also successfully quitting drug use, sometimes on their own. The safest bet is to seek professional help in the beginning. Or, not trying highly addictive drugs in the first place.

After Drug Addiction: A Survival Guide

admin — Fri, 29 May 2009 05:55:26 +0000

In a nutshell, post drug addiction is as hard to experience as actively using drugs. You fear the pill, fear the joint, and fear the line of cocaine. You may see it in your dreams: marijuana or another drug is so close you can taste it. Other than that, there will be a struggle. To survive drug addiction you need to do more than “white-knuckle” it, a term used when you just try to beat it on willpower. This is also a problem of the mind. Drug addicts tend to be the depressed; they use to get rid of the pain. My experience is that a doctor who specializes in substance abuse can remove this pain over time. You may find that you need to take medication (for a short or long time) to help with mood problems.

Gain Perspective:
Are you willing to quit? Can you see the big picture about your drug addiction? These are some important questions, but let’s go to the nuts and bolts. You will be healthier, live longer, and save money. You won’t destroy your life. You will regain confidence, perhaps, from friends and family. Life will have a new meaning for you. It will be a struggle, sure, but see all these things, look to them whenever you have a doubt, and the answer will be clear. Staying clean works.

And it Does Work:
The next step is to look at this in the short term. This article won’t bring in a lot of 12 Step material here, but there is a saying, “One day at a time.” You could also say, “One step and the next gets me where I am going.” You will be surviving a day at a time. Staying clean usually will work out for you. There will be changes in your life … big changes. There is more than perspective—there is happiness.

You will be Happy Without Drugs:
Can you really be happy without drugs? Sure, but it is a process that takes time, there is no quick fix. But, overtime your life will dramatically improve and you will be much happier. Drug addiction stays with you. The marijuana made you happy at first, but at some point it became an addiction and that is where the fun began to wear off or completely ended. Drug addiction is in your hand and if you make the right moves you will be happy again.

Happiness without drugs tends will be a struggle at first. In fact, a lot of people are very happy for the first 30 to 90 days of sobriety. This will wear off and there will be some ups and downs, but in the end you will be very happy that you stopped using drugs. It is also common for some people to experience a brief relapse in the beginning of recovery. However; a head full of AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) tends to make drinking or using again not very fun. By this time you have realized that a sober life style is a much happier life style.

Out of the Storm:
You can be happy by putting some work into it. Just like money comes when you work for it, recovery works when you put time and effort into it. You can go to 12 step meetings, for example, so you can share your thoughts. There are thousands of doctors who specialize in substance abuse, use them to help you. Friends and family will listen to you. Drug addiction will never be a fun process to go through, but once you are out of the storm, once you reach the end, it will be so much better, and you will see the world in a different way.

Teens Using Drugs And the Effect on Families

admin — Thu, 28 May 2009 00:46:37 +0000

In a recent study on high school seniors, a high number (40 percent) of the teens had tried marijuana, a large number within the last month, and a smaller percentage even admitted to using marijuana on a daily basis. The “news” isn’t all bad, because teen substance abuse rates for some drugs have gone down in the past ten years, some as far down as 20 percent. The reality still is middle schools and high schools are the front lines of defeating the teen substance abuse problem we face.

Remember that you as a parent should talk to your teen about drugs. It sounds so simple, but many parents loathe lecturing their teens on the basics of life. Or they think that it’s a complete waste of time. Substance abuse is far too serious of an issue to simply push under the rug and forget. It does depend on the teen, how old they are, if they’ve used already, and even if you used once. Talking to teens is something that truly takes a masters course to do, but the odds are better when you are completely honest with them, explain what can happen to drug addicts, and give them healthy alternatives to having fun without drugs.

Often people within your family who experience someone going through drug addiction will react in many negative ways. A recent study by HelpGuides.com, using research, noted that family members often experience feelings of abandonment, anxiety, fear, anger, concern, embarrassment, or even guilt. These feelings are quite natural, and you may feel so angry that you want to completely cut off the teen. Abandoning them as they’ve abandoned you isn’t the answer. While it may seem odd for a parent to disown a teen for abusing drugs, we all do odd things when we feel betrayed and angered. You can’t entirely cut ties; you need to be firm but not throw them out of the house or into jail.

Parents Needing Help

admin — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:17:23 +0000

The parents need to beat this drug, of course! This isn’t meant to say quitting will be easy, or is the only necessary step. But quitting drugs is the first step and this step should be taken under the care of an addictionologist. A lot of regular doctors do not have the background skills to successfully treat alcoholics and addicts. Quitting is not easy, but with professional help it can make the process much easier. If you don’t try to quit for yourself, then at least try for your children. Remember that they are the ones suffering just as much as you are from this disease. In the long run you will have to ultimately want to stop for yourself, but any reason in the beginning is good enough. The old saying “Fake it until you make it” is really true in a lot of cases. Another thing to remember is not to “Think to much”. An addicts mind is a dangerous place in the beginning because of the strong obsession to use again and denial. Denial and substitution will be problematic for the parent trying to beat any drug. For instance, instead of smoking marijuana on a daily basis, a father or mother will resort to drinking more alcohol. They will deny having any problem, and then substitute one bad drug for another. This can be even more dangerous, as coming off any drug without some form of support outside the family is crucial.

The road back to reality does begin with the parent realizing the problem often isn’t a moral deficiency. Drug addiction can often be called a mental and physical disease, where you make one small mistake and it becomes a life damaging event. There is always hope for the children, and what children or teens grow up in perfect households? The fact is that in modern society drug abuse within any family is bound to occur. The answer is to ask for help.

Remember, the emotional damage to sons and daughters within the family cannot always be repaired, which makes both parents working together more important. There are meetings to help people with substance abuse problems, along with those who love the drug addict. Alcoholics Anonymous, a 12 step program of beating alcohol and drug abuse has meetings everywhere. Most people are shocked when they realize how many meetings are within their community. Meetings are held in local Churches and there are also some great club houses.

Friends and family should encourage an addicted person to attend these meetings. The support that is given freely by the members of AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) is amazing. The program absolutely works and nothing else compares to it.