The effects of alcohol use intensify as the use and abuse progesses. The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and the American Society of Addiction Medicine recently presented a revised definition of alcoholism: "Alcoholism is a primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. It is characterized by impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking, most notably denial...
Experts illustrate the progression of the disease by outlining four basic stages of alcohol use as follows:
I. STAGE ONE - Although there may be no outward behavioral changes caused by the casual use of alcohol, such use can not be considered "safe" for young people. Young people are particularly susceptible to the effects of alcohol. Alcohol is considered to be a gateway drug since use and abuse of alcohol often leads young people to use other mind-altering drugs.
II. STAGE TWO - This stage involves more frequent use of alcohol as the person actively seeks the euphoric effects of a mind-altering drug. At this point, the user usually establishes a reliable source, and may add mid-week use of alcohol to previous habits of weekend use at parties.
III. STAGE THREE -In this stage, there is intense preoccupation with the desire to experience euphoric effects. Daily drinking, depression, and thoughts of suicide are common. Family troubles increase. Problems with the law may also become evident.
IV. STAGE FOUR -Those who have reached this stage need increasing levels just to feel OK. Physical signs such as damage to the heart, liver, and brain, malnutrition,and lower resistance to pneumonia, and blackouts are common. Family life is a disaster.
For more information about the effects of alcohol and other drugs, please contact us today.
Showing posts with label alcoholism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alcoholism. Show all posts
Friday, January 23, 2009
Monday, March 17, 2008
Alcoholism Self-Help
Alcoholism self help
Addiction basically means to get immune of some thing, some thing with out which a person does not get satisfied and he needs that element of addiction at every time of his life. Addiction can fall in to many categories, it could be for drugs, which may include medicines, cocaine, or it could be for television, sleep, travel, eating, or drinking.
When use of anything exceeds more then your needs and when a person would want to reduce the need of that addicted thing, this becomes very difficult. That is why it is known as addiction.
In case of alcoholism, it has a lot of disadvantages, which are physical and psychological.
Alcoholism makes a person alcohol dependant and for which there might be reasons like physical, mental, emotional and spiritual and at the same time all these reasons become the consequences for the addict. There are several rehabs for these kind of people so that they can get rid of these drinking problems, but the problems lies in the fact that the body of that particular person gets so much addicted to the percentage of alcohol that he can not stop his habits of drinking.
As the self help is the only concept which makes a person successful in every regards of life, weather is its money related, happiness involved or any other thing. In the similar manner self help can serve as the cure for this problem.
Any person who is an alcohol addict or alcoholic, he himself will be held responsible for being in that position, because this is a free world, where a person can do what ever he wants to, so if a person had reach to a point where he can not stop his habits which are harmful for him, there must be a definite start to all those habits, which for sure is initiated by man himself, on the basis of self help.
People start using alcohol, they enjoy it , they try it every day, and then there comes a day in there life when they realize that there is no way out without this, tough there are rehabs present to make people get rid of their addiction. But when a body gets addicted to certain percentage of alcohol, it becomes very difficult, even for rehab programs to bring that person back on track, unless the person himself have the courage to do so. So in this matter the concept of self help would be the only thing which could help that person out, as it has helped the man ever since.
Addiction basically means to get immune of some thing, some thing with out which a person does not get satisfied and he needs that element of addiction at every time of his life. Addiction can fall in to many categories, it could be for drugs, which may include medicines, cocaine, or it could be for television, sleep, travel, eating, or drinking.
When use of anything exceeds more then your needs and when a person would want to reduce the need of that addicted thing, this becomes very difficult. That is why it is known as addiction.
In case of alcoholism, it has a lot of disadvantages, which are physical and psychological.
Alcoholism makes a person alcohol dependant and for which there might be reasons like physical, mental, emotional and spiritual and at the same time all these reasons become the consequences for the addict. There are several rehabs for these kind of people so that they can get rid of these drinking problems, but the problems lies in the fact that the body of that particular person gets so much addicted to the percentage of alcohol that he can not stop his habits of drinking.
As the self help is the only concept which makes a person successful in every regards of life, weather is its money related, happiness involved or any other thing. In the similar manner self help can serve as the cure for this problem.
Any person who is an alcohol addict or alcoholic, he himself will be held responsible for being in that position, because this is a free world, where a person can do what ever he wants to, so if a person had reach to a point where he can not stop his habits which are harmful for him, there must be a definite start to all those habits, which for sure is initiated by man himself, on the basis of self help.
People start using alcohol, they enjoy it , they try it every day, and then there comes a day in there life when they realize that there is no way out without this, tough there are rehabs present to make people get rid of their addiction. But when a body gets addicted to certain percentage of alcohol, it becomes very difficult, even for rehab programs to bring that person back on track, unless the person himself have the courage to do so. So in this matter the concept of self help would be the only thing which could help that person out, as it has helped the man ever since.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Anxiety and Alcoholism
ScienceDaily (Mar. 5, 2008) — Doctors may one day be able to control alcohol addiction by manipulating the molecular events in the brain that underlie anxiety associated with alcohol withdrawal, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine and the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center report in the March 5 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.
"The association of anxiety with increased alcohol use is a key factor in the initiation and maintenance of alcohol addition," says Dr. Subhash Pandey, UIC professor of psychiatry and director of neuroscience alcoholism research, the lead author of the study.
Previous research has shown that people with inherently high levels of anxiety are at an increased risk of becoming alcoholics. In addition, withdrawal of alcohol in chronic users is often accompanied by extreme anxiety.
"Alcoholics may feel a need to continue to drink alcohol in an attempt to self-medicate to reduce their anxiety and other unpleasant withdrawal symptoms," said Pandey.
Pandey and his colleagues have discovered the molecular basis for the link between anxiety and alcohol addiction, which may help in identifying new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of alcohol addiction.
The researchers found that a protein within neurons in the amygdala -- the area of the brain associated with emotion and anxiety -- controls the development of alcohol withdrawal symptoms and drinking behaviors in laboratory animals by changing the shape of the neurons. This change in shape affects the communication between neurons, leading to changes in behavior.
Neurons communicate by sending signals through branches called dendritic spines. The researchers found that short-term alcohol exposure increased the number of dendritic spines in certain regions of the amygdala, producing anti-anxiety effects. Alcohol-dependent animals eventually developed a tolerance to the anxiety-lowering effects of alcohol.
The researchers traced the anti-anxiety effect to the production of a particular protein, Arc, in response to a nerve growth factor called BDNF that is stimulated by alcohol exposure. BDNF is vital in the functioning and maintenance of neurons.
When alcohol was withheld from animals that had been chronically exposed, they developed high anxiety. Levels of BDNF and Arc -- and the number of dendritic spines -- were decreased in the amygdala. But the researchers were able to eliminate the anxiety in the alcohol-dependent animals by restoring BDNF and Arc to normal levels.
Pandey suggested that an initial easing of anxiety may encourage people to begin to use alcohol, while for chronic users, a lack of alcohol provokes high anxiety, creating a need to continue drinking to feel normal.
The researchers blocked Arc production in normal rats by injecting a complementary sequence to Arc gene DNA into the central amygdala. They found that when levels of Arc in the central amygdala were lowered, the spines decreased and anxiety and alcohol consumption increased. When levels of Arc were returned to normal three days post-injection, anxiety and alcohol consumption also returned to normal. In a previous study, researchers found that lowering BDNF in amygdala promoted anxiety and alcohol drinking.
"This is the first direct evidence of the molecular processes occurring in the neurons that is responsible for the co-morbidity of anxiety and alcoholism, which we believe plays a major role in the addictive nature of alcohol," said Pandey.
"This offers the possibility of new therapeutic target -- BDNF-Arc signaling and associated dendritic spines in the amygdala -- or new drug development."
"These observations by Dr. Pandey's research group provide an insight into the link between alcohol and anxiety and could be used to identify new targets for developing medications that alleviate withdrawal-induced anxiety and potentially modify a motivation for drinking," said Antonio Noronha, director of neuroscience and behavior research at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
The work was supported by grants from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Huaibo Zhang, Rajesh Ugale, Anand Prakash, Tiejun Xu and Kaushik Misra of the UIC College of Medicine and the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center also contributed to the study.
Adapted from materials provided by University of Illinois at Chicago, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
"The association of anxiety with increased alcohol use is a key factor in the initiation and maintenance of alcohol addition," says Dr. Subhash Pandey, UIC professor of psychiatry and director of neuroscience alcoholism research, the lead author of the study.
Previous research has shown that people with inherently high levels of anxiety are at an increased risk of becoming alcoholics. In addition, withdrawal of alcohol in chronic users is often accompanied by extreme anxiety.
"Alcoholics may feel a need to continue to drink alcohol in an attempt to self-medicate to reduce their anxiety and other unpleasant withdrawal symptoms," said Pandey.
Pandey and his colleagues have discovered the molecular basis for the link between anxiety and alcohol addiction, which may help in identifying new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of alcohol addiction.
The researchers found that a protein within neurons in the amygdala -- the area of the brain associated with emotion and anxiety -- controls the development of alcohol withdrawal symptoms and drinking behaviors in laboratory animals by changing the shape of the neurons. This change in shape affects the communication between neurons, leading to changes in behavior.
Neurons communicate by sending signals through branches called dendritic spines. The researchers found that short-term alcohol exposure increased the number of dendritic spines in certain regions of the amygdala, producing anti-anxiety effects. Alcohol-dependent animals eventually developed a tolerance to the anxiety-lowering effects of alcohol.
The researchers traced the anti-anxiety effect to the production of a particular protein, Arc, in response to a nerve growth factor called BDNF that is stimulated by alcohol exposure. BDNF is vital in the functioning and maintenance of neurons.
When alcohol was withheld from animals that had been chronically exposed, they developed high anxiety. Levels of BDNF and Arc -- and the number of dendritic spines -- were decreased in the amygdala. But the researchers were able to eliminate the anxiety in the alcohol-dependent animals by restoring BDNF and Arc to normal levels.
Pandey suggested that an initial easing of anxiety may encourage people to begin to use alcohol, while for chronic users, a lack of alcohol provokes high anxiety, creating a need to continue drinking to feel normal.
The researchers blocked Arc production in normal rats by injecting a complementary sequence to Arc gene DNA into the central amygdala. They found that when levels of Arc in the central amygdala were lowered, the spines decreased and anxiety and alcohol consumption increased. When levels of Arc were returned to normal three days post-injection, anxiety and alcohol consumption also returned to normal. In a previous study, researchers found that lowering BDNF in amygdala promoted anxiety and alcohol drinking.
"This is the first direct evidence of the molecular processes occurring in the neurons that is responsible for the co-morbidity of anxiety and alcoholism, which we believe plays a major role in the addictive nature of alcohol," said Pandey.
"This offers the possibility of new therapeutic target -- BDNF-Arc signaling and associated dendritic spines in the amygdala -- or new drug development."
"These observations by Dr. Pandey's research group provide an insight into the link between alcohol and anxiety and could be used to identify new targets for developing medications that alleviate withdrawal-induced anxiety and potentially modify a motivation for drinking," said Antonio Noronha, director of neuroscience and behavior research at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
The work was supported by grants from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Huaibo Zhang, Rajesh Ugale, Anand Prakash, Tiejun Xu and Kaushik Misra of the UIC College of Medicine and the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center also contributed to the study.
Adapted from materials provided by University of Illinois at Chicago, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Alcoholism and Hypoglycemia
Scientists at the leading Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have now disclosed the mystery how alcohol may cause exaggerated insulin secretion resulting in severe hypoglycemia (too low blood sugar). This mechanism, which is described in the latest number of Endocrinology, explains how alcohol ingestion may harm the human brain by decreasing the blood glucose concentration to inappropriately low levels.
Hypoglycemia induced by alcohol ingestion is a well known clinical problem in diabetic patients. However, the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon have largely remained elusive. Since insulin secretion can be rapidly tuned by changes in pancreatic microcirculation, scientists at the Stockholm South Hospital Diabetes Research Center, Karolinska Institutet, evaluated the influence of alcohol administration on pancreatic islet blood flow and dynamic changes in insulin secretion and blood sugar levels.
"We have now found that alcohol exerts substantial influences on pancreatic microcirculation by evoking a massive redistribution of pancreatic blood flow from the exocrine into the endocrine (insulin-producing) part via mechanisms mediated by the messenger molecule nitric oxide and the vagus nerve, augmenting late phase insulin secretion, and thereby evoking hypoglycemia" says lead investigator Åke Sjöholm.
According to Professor Sjöholm the discovery is very important. This novel mechanism may in part underlie the well known hypoglycemic properties of alcohol in diabetic patients or in alcoholics with hepatic failure.
Investigators note that their study might also be relevant to "the derailed metabolic situation in diabetic subjects." Alcohol intake might provoke sustained hypoglycemia in type 2 diabetes patients being treated with hypoglycemic sulfonylureas, such as glibenclamide, because many of these drugs have a long biological half-life. Furthermore, many alcoholics are malnourished and/or have liver cirrhosis and might therefore be unable to mount a gluconeogenetic response to hypoglycemia, Professor Sjöholm says.
Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/93141.php
Hypoglycemia induced by alcohol ingestion is a well known clinical problem in diabetic patients. However, the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon have largely remained elusive. Since insulin secretion can be rapidly tuned by changes in pancreatic microcirculation, scientists at the Stockholm South Hospital Diabetes Research Center, Karolinska Institutet, evaluated the influence of alcohol administration on pancreatic islet blood flow and dynamic changes in insulin secretion and blood sugar levels.
"We have now found that alcohol exerts substantial influences on pancreatic microcirculation by evoking a massive redistribution of pancreatic blood flow from the exocrine into the endocrine (insulin-producing) part via mechanisms mediated by the messenger molecule nitric oxide and the vagus nerve, augmenting late phase insulin secretion, and thereby evoking hypoglycemia" says lead investigator Åke Sjöholm.
According to Professor Sjöholm the discovery is very important. This novel mechanism may in part underlie the well known hypoglycemic properties of alcohol in diabetic patients or in alcoholics with hepatic failure.
Investigators note that their study might also be relevant to "the derailed metabolic situation in diabetic subjects." Alcohol intake might provoke sustained hypoglycemia in type 2 diabetes patients being treated with hypoglycemic sulfonylureas, such as glibenclamide, because many of these drugs have a long biological half-life. Furthermore, many alcoholics are malnourished and/or have liver cirrhosis and might therefore be unable to mount a gluconeogenetic response to hypoglycemia, Professor Sjöholm says.
Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/93141.php
Friday, December 28, 2007
Gene That Influences Alcohol Consumption Identified
ScienceDaily (Dec. 6, 2007) — A variant of a gene involved in communication among brain cells has a direct influence on alcohol consumption in mice, according to a new study. Scientists do not know yet whether a similar gene variant, with a similar effect on alcohol consumption, exists in humans.
Known as Grm7, the gene encodes a receptor subtype that inhibits the release of glutamate and other neurotransmitter molecules that brain cells use to communicate with one another. Researchers identified a gene variant, or polymorphism, that reduces the abundance of Grm7 messenger RNA (mRNA) in brain tissue. mRNA is the molecular intermediate between a gene and its protein product. Mice that possess this gene variant drink more alcohol than do mice with higher brain levels of Grm7 mRNA. A report of the study appears as an online Article in Press in Genomics.
"This is a noteworthy contribution, particularly since identifying genes that predispose to alcohol-related behaviors is such an arduous task," says NIAAA Director Ting-Kai Li, M.D.
Scientists have long known that genes account for a significant proportion of the risk for alcoholism. However, the fact that there are multiple such genes that interact with each other and with multiple environmental factors to influence drinking behavior has hampered studies aimed at isolating individual genes.
"Controlling for this background noise -- the various gene-gene and gene-environment interactions -- presents considerable methodological challenges," notes first author Csaba Vadasz, Ph.D., professor of psychiatric research in the department of psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine, and Director of the NeuroBehavioral Genetic Research Program at the Nathan Kline Institute in Orangeburg, N.Y.
To overcome these difficulties, Dr. Vadasz and colleagues applied a variety of genetic and analytic techniques to animals having nearly identical genetic background, but differing in their preference for alcohol, to identify a chromosomal region, and ultimately the Grm7 gene, associated with alcohol preference.
"Our findings support emerging evidence of the critical role that the brain's glutamate pathways play in addiction," says Dr. Vadasz. "While dopamine has traditionally been cast as a central actor in the neurochemistry of substance use and abuse, recent studies indicate that glutamate systems play an important role in reinforcement and addiction."
If further studies show that a similar gene variant is relevant to alcohol problems in humans, the finding by Dr. Vadasz and colleagues may lead to new opportunities for developing drugs to treat alcohol dependence. Dr. Vadasz speculates that such drugs might be designed to control the level of the Grm7 gene product or modulate the activity of the gene product itself.
This study was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the U.S. Army.
Adapted from materials provided by NIH/National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Known as Grm7, the gene encodes a receptor subtype that inhibits the release of glutamate and other neurotransmitter molecules that brain cells use to communicate with one another. Researchers identified a gene variant, or polymorphism, that reduces the abundance of Grm7 messenger RNA (mRNA) in brain tissue. mRNA is the molecular intermediate between a gene and its protein product. Mice that possess this gene variant drink more alcohol than do mice with higher brain levels of Grm7 mRNA. A report of the study appears as an online Article in Press in Genomics.
"This is a noteworthy contribution, particularly since identifying genes that predispose to alcohol-related behaviors is such an arduous task," says NIAAA Director Ting-Kai Li, M.D.
Scientists have long known that genes account for a significant proportion of the risk for alcoholism. However, the fact that there are multiple such genes that interact with each other and with multiple environmental factors to influence drinking behavior has hampered studies aimed at isolating individual genes.
"Controlling for this background noise -- the various gene-gene and gene-environment interactions -- presents considerable methodological challenges," notes first author Csaba Vadasz, Ph.D., professor of psychiatric research in the department of psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine, and Director of the NeuroBehavioral Genetic Research Program at the Nathan Kline Institute in Orangeburg, N.Y.
To overcome these difficulties, Dr. Vadasz and colleagues applied a variety of genetic and analytic techniques to animals having nearly identical genetic background, but differing in their preference for alcohol, to identify a chromosomal region, and ultimately the Grm7 gene, associated with alcohol preference.
"Our findings support emerging evidence of the critical role that the brain's glutamate pathways play in addiction," says Dr. Vadasz. "While dopamine has traditionally been cast as a central actor in the neurochemistry of substance use and abuse, recent studies indicate that glutamate systems play an important role in reinforcement and addiction."
If further studies show that a similar gene variant is relevant to alcohol problems in humans, the finding by Dr. Vadasz and colleagues may lead to new opportunities for developing drugs to treat alcohol dependence. Dr. Vadasz speculates that such drugs might be designed to control the level of the Grm7 gene product or modulate the activity of the gene product itself.
This study was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the U.S. Army.
Adapted from materials provided by NIH/National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
The Road Is Long
"The road is long, with many a winding turn........."
Never have truer words been spoken - especially when it comes to substance addiction recovery.
When we first decide to crawl out of the darkness and take our tentative steps in the light of sobriety, it's an amazing experience. We begin to feel stronger and our reasoning abilities become a lot clearer.
......then the emotional crash, the "honeymoon" period is over.
Perhaps you have experienced this and know what I mean. The "high" of making the decision to clean up and detoxing has gone. You are now back in the community and facing it on it's terms, learning to cope.
You may be alone, isolated in your pain that "normal" people can never understand. You grieve for your lost "friend", even though that friend was actually your worst enemy. You become irritable, uninterested, depressed -perhaps even suicidal. This can lead to a "bust", a bust you may never recover from -remember, that if we are addicted we cannot control our substance intake. The "just one more time" may seal your fate. And as we all know, there are worse things in life than death -the insanity of addiction. You may not be lucky enough to die the next time.
Many of us have experienced this phase, the "emotional roller coaster". For me, it was as though all the colours of the world were washed away. There was no point to anything, my mind constantly went back to the dark days. I was guilt ridden, self-pitying and unmotivated. I was very hard to be around. While others who knew me congratulated me on my efforts, I saw only failure as I didn't feel "right". I felt the same way I did at the age of 13 when my hell really began.
There is a reason for this - in a lot of ways, I was still 13. When I began abusing substances, a great deal of my emotional growth stopped, the substance was my coping mechanism. At the age of 24, it began again. There was a steep learning curve ahead.
But don't worry, this phase does not last forever. For me it was one year. For you it may be a few weeks. It depends greatly on your network of support and more so, yourself.
-If you are experiencing this, it is imperative that you build a network of people around you that understand what you are feeling. These people are the recovered addicts. They will know when to hug you and tell you that everything will be OK, and they also know when to kick your butt and tell you to "get over it"....tough love, but necessary.
-If the environment you are in threatens your sobriety, leave it. I am serious...whatever it takes, get the hell out of there! You may be saying to yourself "I can't leave, I can't afford to" or "People are relying on me to be around". It doesn't matter - remember where you have just come from. If you finish up back there again, you may never re-emerge.
-You may have friends who are still practising addicts/alcoholics. Stay away from them if they do not respect what you are doing to improve yourself. It is in the nature of people who have the disease of addiction and are still practising to influence you in subtle ways. In a great deal of cases, it is not on purpose, but more a subconscious thing.
-Start putting routine into your day. I'm not suggesting too much, too soon but keeping busy is a great way of keeping your mind off things. As you become more productive, your self-esteem increases.
-Re-establish a sleeping pattern. Your body has been through hell and back. It needs rest, and your brain needs to sort things out on many levels. Be prepared for nightmares involving the past and use of the substance. Even though you may have no apparent cravings, your subconscious yearns for another hit and expresses this in your dreams. The nightmares are alarming at first. There were many times that I woke up in a pool of sweat. Even seven years down the track I still have them, but I accept them for what they are.
-Eat regular meals. I am a fine example of a toxic waste dump when it comes to things of a dietary nature, but I learnt early in my recovery that cravings could be lessened through eating something. The advice given to cigarette smokers about eating healthily when quitting is sound and good, but it is my experience that when withdrawing from other substances it is wiser to satisfy your food cravings with what it wants, including fatty and sugary foods. Alcoholics will probably find that they will develop a sweet tooth because their bodies are used to high amounts of sugar. So, if you wake up at 3 in the morning and eat a quart of double chocolate chip ice cream smothered in fudge, don't feel guilty! It's better that than what you were using before!
-If you find yourself feeling angry a great deal, this is also normal. It is important to examine the anger and not just lash out using whatever situation you are in as a scapegoat. Whatever is going on, it will pass. Breathe deeply and think.
Some of the points above may seem fairly drastic and harsh, but this is a life and death situation. And unlike some other terminal illnesses, addiction destroys everything in it's path as it destroys you - your family, your friends and anyone you come into prolonged contact with.
The advice above is not mine; it was given to me and I now pass it on to you. The easy way to remember the points is the HALT statement
The 4 Don'ts:
H-ungry
A-ngry
L-onely
T-ired
Good luck to you in your recovery, there are people out there who care about you, even if you don't know them....
"You alone can do it, but you cannot do it alone"
Michael Bloch
michael@worldwideaddiction.com
http://www.worldwideaddiction.com
Never have truer words been spoken - especially when it comes to substance addiction recovery.
When we first decide to crawl out of the darkness and take our tentative steps in the light of sobriety, it's an amazing experience. We begin to feel stronger and our reasoning abilities become a lot clearer.
......then the emotional crash, the "honeymoon" period is over.
Perhaps you have experienced this and know what I mean. The "high" of making the decision to clean up and detoxing has gone. You are now back in the community and facing it on it's terms, learning to cope.
You may be alone, isolated in your pain that "normal" people can never understand. You grieve for your lost "friend", even though that friend was actually your worst enemy. You become irritable, uninterested, depressed -perhaps even suicidal. This can lead to a "bust", a bust you may never recover from -remember, that if we are addicted we cannot control our substance intake. The "just one more time" may seal your fate. And as we all know, there are worse things in life than death -the insanity of addiction. You may not be lucky enough to die the next time.
Many of us have experienced this phase, the "emotional roller coaster". For me, it was as though all the colours of the world were washed away. There was no point to anything, my mind constantly went back to the dark days. I was guilt ridden, self-pitying and unmotivated. I was very hard to be around. While others who knew me congratulated me on my efforts, I saw only failure as I didn't feel "right". I felt the same way I did at the age of 13 when my hell really began.
There is a reason for this - in a lot of ways, I was still 13. When I began abusing substances, a great deal of my emotional growth stopped, the substance was my coping mechanism. At the age of 24, it began again. There was a steep learning curve ahead.
But don't worry, this phase does not last forever. For me it was one year. For you it may be a few weeks. It depends greatly on your network of support and more so, yourself.
-If you are experiencing this, it is imperative that you build a network of people around you that understand what you are feeling. These people are the recovered addicts. They will know when to hug you and tell you that everything will be OK, and they also know when to kick your butt and tell you to "get over it"....tough love, but necessary.
-If the environment you are in threatens your sobriety, leave it. I am serious...whatever it takes, get the hell out of there! You may be saying to yourself "I can't leave, I can't afford to" or "People are relying on me to be around". It doesn't matter - remember where you have just come from. If you finish up back there again, you may never re-emerge.
-You may have friends who are still practising addicts/alcoholics. Stay away from them if they do not respect what you are doing to improve yourself. It is in the nature of people who have the disease of addiction and are still practising to influence you in subtle ways. In a great deal of cases, it is not on purpose, but more a subconscious thing.
-Start putting routine into your day. I'm not suggesting too much, too soon but keeping busy is a great way of keeping your mind off things. As you become more productive, your self-esteem increases.
-Re-establish a sleeping pattern. Your body has been through hell and back. It needs rest, and your brain needs to sort things out on many levels. Be prepared for nightmares involving the past and use of the substance. Even though you may have no apparent cravings, your subconscious yearns for another hit and expresses this in your dreams. The nightmares are alarming at first. There were many times that I woke up in a pool of sweat. Even seven years down the track I still have them, but I accept them for what they are.
-Eat regular meals. I am a fine example of a toxic waste dump when it comes to things of a dietary nature, but I learnt early in my recovery that cravings could be lessened through eating something. The advice given to cigarette smokers about eating healthily when quitting is sound and good, but it is my experience that when withdrawing from other substances it is wiser to satisfy your food cravings with what it wants, including fatty and sugary foods. Alcoholics will probably find that they will develop a sweet tooth because their bodies are used to high amounts of sugar. So, if you wake up at 3 in the morning and eat a quart of double chocolate chip ice cream smothered in fudge, don't feel guilty! It's better that than what you were using before!
-If you find yourself feeling angry a great deal, this is also normal. It is important to examine the anger and not just lash out using whatever situation you are in as a scapegoat. Whatever is going on, it will pass. Breathe deeply and think.
Some of the points above may seem fairly drastic and harsh, but this is a life and death situation. And unlike some other terminal illnesses, addiction destroys everything in it's path as it destroys you - your family, your friends and anyone you come into prolonged contact with.
The advice above is not mine; it was given to me and I now pass it on to you. The easy way to remember the points is the HALT statement
The 4 Don'ts:
H-ungry
A-ngry
L-onely
T-ired
Good luck to you in your recovery, there are people out there who care about you, even if you don't know them....
"You alone can do it, but you cannot do it alone"
Michael Bloch
michael@worldwideaddiction.com
http://www.worldwideaddiction.com
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