Each week THE CLEANER follows Benjamin Bratt as William Banks, a recovering addict who helps others get clean by any means necessary as he struggles to maintain his own rocky personal life. William works with an eclectic team. Swenton is a wily smart aleck who is great undercover and always jealous of Akani, the beautiful, manipulative, and mysterious woman who always seems to get the best assignments and might just have a romantic past with William. Darnell is the newest member of William's crew. Darnell is deeply indebted to William for helping his younger brother get clean, but he must balance his deep religious convictions with the kind of work required as part of William's team.
Together with this eclectic group, William works week-in and week-out to bring addicts of all kinds to the point where they are ready and willing to get help and begin the difficult process of getting clean. With every success and every failure, William wrestles with his own demons through an unusual relationship with God. He's a man caught between an unwavering commitment to his work, deep love for his family, and the ghosts of his own addictions. Bad for his personal life, perhaps, but these are the tensions that make William the one you want helping a troubled loved one, the one you trust to do whatever is necessary, the man you want by your side in your darkest hour. In the face of tragedy and addiction, William Banks will risk everything to be The Cleaner.
For more information about this new inspiring television series visit
http://www.aetv.com/the-cleaner/about/index.jsp
Friday, September 5, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Learning to Be Happy
Happy as You Want to Be
Almost everyone have heard the hit single 'Don't Worry, Be Happy' by Bobby McFerrin. The song has a very catchy way of conveying its message of being happy to everyone. Bobby Mcferiin's simple message surely made a lot of people by telling them not to worry. When it comes to addiction issues, you to can find a happy way of living.
Living a happy, resilient and optimistic life is wonderful, and is also good for your health. Being happy actually protects you from the stresses of life. Stress is linked to top causes of death such as heart disease, cancer and stroke.
One of the better things ever said is - 'The only thing in life that will always remain the same is change', nothing changes if nothing changes and in our life we have the power to make the necessary changes if we want to. Even if we find ourselves in an unbearable situation we can always find solace in the knowledge that it too would change.
Social networks or relationships are essential to happiness. People are different, accept people for who or what they are, avoid clashes, constant arguments, and let go of all kinds of resentments. If arguments seem unavoidable still try and make an effort to understand the situation and you might just get along with well with
Happiness is actually found in everyone, increasing it is a way to make a life more wonderful and also more healthy.
To be happy is relatively easy, just decide to be a happy person. Abraham Lincoln observed that most people for most of the time can choose how happy or stressed, how relaxed or troubled, how bright or dull their outlook to be. The choice is simple really, choose to be happy.
There are several ways by which you can do this.
Being grateful is a great attitude. We have so much to be thankful for. Thank the taxi driver for bringing you home safely, thank the cook for a wonderful dinner and thank the guy who cleans your windows. Also thank the mailman for bringing you your mails, thank the policeman for making your place safe and thank God for being alive.
News is stressful. Get less of it. Some people just can't start their day without their daily dose of news. Try and think about it, 99% of the news we hear or read is bad news. Starting the day with bad news does not seem to be a sensible thing to do.
A religious connection is also recommended. Being part of a religious group with its singing, sacraments, chanting, prayers and meditations foster inner peace.
Manage your time. Time is invaluable and too important to waste. Time management can be viewed as a list of rules that involves scheduling, setting goals, planning, creating lists of things to do and prioritizing. These are the core basics of time management that should be understood to develop an efficient personal time management skill. These basic skills can be fine tuned further to include the finer points of each skill that can give you that extra reserve to make the results you desire.
Laugh and laugh heartily everyday. Heard a good joke? Tell your friends or family about it. As they also say -'Laughter is the best medicine'.
Express your feelings, affections, friendship and passion to people around you. They will most likely reciprocate your actions. Try not to keep pent up anger of frustrations, this is bad for your health. Instead find ways of expressing them in a way that will not cause more injury or hurt to anyone.
Working hard brings tremendous personal satisfaction. It gives a feeling of being competent in finishing our tasks. Accomplishments are necessary for all of us, they give us a sense of value. Work on things that you feel worthy of your time.
Learning is a joyful exercise. Try and learn something new everyday. Learning also makes us expand and broaden our horizons. And could also give us more opportunities in the future.
Run, jog, walk and do other things that your body was made for. Feel alive.
Avoid exposure to negative elements like loud noises, toxins and hazardous places.
These are the few simple things you can do everyday to be happy.
And always remember the quote from Abraham Lincoln, he says that, "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."
Almost everyone have heard the hit single 'Don't Worry, Be Happy' by Bobby McFerrin. The song has a very catchy way of conveying its message of being happy to everyone. Bobby Mcferiin's simple message surely made a lot of people by telling them not to worry. When it comes to addiction issues, you to can find a happy way of living.
Living a happy, resilient and optimistic life is wonderful, and is also good for your health. Being happy actually protects you from the stresses of life. Stress is linked to top causes of death such as heart disease, cancer and stroke.
One of the better things ever said is - 'The only thing in life that will always remain the same is change', nothing changes if nothing changes and in our life we have the power to make the necessary changes if we want to. Even if we find ourselves in an unbearable situation we can always find solace in the knowledge that it too would change.
Social networks or relationships are essential to happiness. People are different, accept people for who or what they are, avoid clashes, constant arguments, and let go of all kinds of resentments. If arguments seem unavoidable still try and make an effort to understand the situation and you might just get along with well with
Happiness is actually found in everyone, increasing it is a way to make a life more wonderful and also more healthy.
To be happy is relatively easy, just decide to be a happy person. Abraham Lincoln observed that most people for most of the time can choose how happy or stressed, how relaxed or troubled, how bright or dull their outlook to be. The choice is simple really, choose to be happy.
There are several ways by which you can do this.
Being grateful is a great attitude. We have so much to be thankful for. Thank the taxi driver for bringing you home safely, thank the cook for a wonderful dinner and thank the guy who cleans your windows. Also thank the mailman for bringing you your mails, thank the policeman for making your place safe and thank God for being alive.
News is stressful. Get less of it. Some people just can't start their day without their daily dose of news. Try and think about it, 99% of the news we hear or read is bad news. Starting the day with bad news does not seem to be a sensible thing to do.
A religious connection is also recommended. Being part of a religious group with its singing, sacraments, chanting, prayers and meditations foster inner peace.
Manage your time. Time is invaluable and too important to waste. Time management can be viewed as a list of rules that involves scheduling, setting goals, planning, creating lists of things to do and prioritizing. These are the core basics of time management that should be understood to develop an efficient personal time management skill. These basic skills can be fine tuned further to include the finer points of each skill that can give you that extra reserve to make the results you desire.
Laugh and laugh heartily everyday. Heard a good joke? Tell your friends or family about it. As they also say -'Laughter is the best medicine'.
Express your feelings, affections, friendship and passion to people around you. They will most likely reciprocate your actions. Try not to keep pent up anger of frustrations, this is bad for your health. Instead find ways of expressing them in a way that will not cause more injury or hurt to anyone.
Working hard brings tremendous personal satisfaction. It gives a feeling of being competent in finishing our tasks. Accomplishments are necessary for all of us, they give us a sense of value. Work on things that you feel worthy of your time.
Learning is a joyful exercise. Try and learn something new everyday. Learning also makes us expand and broaden our horizons. And could also give us more opportunities in the future.
Run, jog, walk and do other things that your body was made for. Feel alive.
Avoid exposure to negative elements like loud noises, toxins and hazardous places.
These are the few simple things you can do everyday to be happy.
And always remember the quote from Abraham Lincoln, he says that, "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."
Monday, August 4, 2008
Drug Addiction Affects Everyone
It was a sentencing regime forged by fear and tinged with racism.
But local drug expert Herb Delaney said the decision earlier this year to bring crack cocaine sentencing guidelines in line with long-standing guidelines governing sentencing for powder cocaine offenses makes sense and is about two decades overdue.
Delaney, director of Kankakee's Duane Dean Prevention and Treatment Center, said public hysteria whipped up in the middle 1980s over the arrival of crack cocaine on America's streets prevented calmer voices from stepping up to say "let's see how much truth there is to this.
"I remember when watching some of the documentaries on crack cocaine, the allegation that an individual became addicted after the first use of crack cocaine -- while it does happen, it sometimes doesn't. It depends on the psychological makeup of the person," said Delaney. "I think some very influential politicians pushed it pretty hard."
But civil liberties groups and some judges claimed, correctly, that the vast majority of those catching the stiffer crack cocaine trafficking sentences were black, rousing the worry that crack cocaine penalties were self-evidently racist.
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's recent decision to bring crack trafficking sentences in line with powder cocaine trafficking sentences removes that taint, but Delaney said the problem of addiction remains a community-wide concern -- one that knows no color barrier.
"Some personal observations of mine: In driving through areas in Kankakee, I see pushers. They have their turf, so to speak. They're minorities, mostly. But what I also see is that the greatest number of their clients are young, white, middle-class people.
"But when you talk to the community at large about addiction, there seems to be an attitude that drug use and addiction is only a problem in certain parts of the city," said Delaney.
To come close to solving a community's drug woes, said Delaney, it's necessary to "work across those lines, between the sellers and the users of drugs, and not just those who sell drugs."
Without an even-handed approach, Delaney warned, politicians may continue to confect laws that are "skewed" in ways that impact most heavily on minority communities.
Street names
Cocaine goes by the street names of coke, snow, flake, blow and many others.
Statistics & trends
In 2006, six million Americans ages 12 and older had abused cocaine in any form and 1.5 million had abused crack at least once in the year prior to being surveyed.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded 2007 Monitoring the Future Study showed that 2 percent of eighth-grade students, 3.4 percent of 10th-graders, and 5.2 percent of 12th-graders had abused cocaine in any form, and 1.3 percent of eighth-graders, 1.3 percent of 10th-graders and 1.9 percent of 12th-graders had abused crack at least once in the year prior to being surveyed.
Sources: National Survey on Drug Use and Health; www.samhsa.gov/. Monitoring the Future www.monitoringthefuture.org/, cocainedrugaddiction.com/
But local drug expert Herb Delaney said the decision earlier this year to bring crack cocaine sentencing guidelines in line with long-standing guidelines governing sentencing for powder cocaine offenses makes sense and is about two decades overdue.
Delaney, director of Kankakee's Duane Dean Prevention and Treatment Center, said public hysteria whipped up in the middle 1980s over the arrival of crack cocaine on America's streets prevented calmer voices from stepping up to say "let's see how much truth there is to this.
"I remember when watching some of the documentaries on crack cocaine, the allegation that an individual became addicted after the first use of crack cocaine -- while it does happen, it sometimes doesn't. It depends on the psychological makeup of the person," said Delaney. "I think some very influential politicians pushed it pretty hard."
But civil liberties groups and some judges claimed, correctly, that the vast majority of those catching the stiffer crack cocaine trafficking sentences were black, rousing the worry that crack cocaine penalties were self-evidently racist.
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's recent decision to bring crack trafficking sentences in line with powder cocaine trafficking sentences removes that taint, but Delaney said the problem of addiction remains a community-wide concern -- one that knows no color barrier.
"Some personal observations of mine: In driving through areas in Kankakee, I see pushers. They have their turf, so to speak. They're minorities, mostly. But what I also see is that the greatest number of their clients are young, white, middle-class people.
"But when you talk to the community at large about addiction, there seems to be an attitude that drug use and addiction is only a problem in certain parts of the city," said Delaney.
To come close to solving a community's drug woes, said Delaney, it's necessary to "work across those lines, between the sellers and the users of drugs, and not just those who sell drugs."
Without an even-handed approach, Delaney warned, politicians may continue to confect laws that are "skewed" in ways that impact most heavily on minority communities.
Street names
Cocaine goes by the street names of coke, snow, flake, blow and many others.
Statistics & trends
In 2006, six million Americans ages 12 and older had abused cocaine in any form and 1.5 million had abused crack at least once in the year prior to being surveyed.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded 2007 Monitoring the Future Study showed that 2 percent of eighth-grade students, 3.4 percent of 10th-graders, and 5.2 percent of 12th-graders had abused cocaine in any form, and 1.3 percent of eighth-graders, 1.3 percent of 10th-graders and 1.9 percent of 12th-graders had abused crack at least once in the year prior to being surveyed.
Sources: National Survey on Drug Use and Health; www.samhsa.gov/. Monitoring the Future www.monitoringthefuture.org/, cocainedrugaddiction.com/
Monday, July 21, 2008
Getting Sober-What to Expect on the Road to Recovery
Getting Sober: What To Expect, is a book with personal experience attached written from first hand experience of a recovering alcoholic. I know all to well that fear of sobriety when thinking about getting sober. Just the idea in itself wants to make you keep drinking! It doesn't have to be as bad and generally isn't based on what you are thinking, there’s 2 years of research in this book explaining what the majority of alcoholics go through when recovering in the early days of alcoholism.
In this book you will have all those questions about what to expect when getting sober answered and more! It is my hope that knowing what to expect when getting sober will make that decison all the easier. Getting Sober: What to Expect was written with your best interests in mind. I hope this book makes that decision easier for you once you know what to expect.
Good luck and I wish you the very best on your road to recovery!
Please visit www.sobertime.net to get your copy of Getting Sober: What to Expect.
In this book you will have all those questions about what to expect when getting sober answered and more! It is my hope that knowing what to expect when getting sober will make that decison all the easier. Getting Sober: What to Expect was written with your best interests in mind. I hope this book makes that decision easier for you once you know what to expect.
Good luck and I wish you the very best on your road to recovery!
Please visit www.sobertime.net to get your copy of Getting Sober: What to Expect.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
The Best In Alcoholism Treatment
According to professionals, alcoholism pertains to any condition that result in the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages without considering the negative personal and social consequences. Hence, an alcohol addict is someone that indulges in alcoholic beverages despite the accompanying negative consequences.
Many forms of alcoholism addiction treatment exist out there. But the best alcoholism addiction treatment can be found within the walls of a treatment centre. Hey, wait before run away. You've got to hear me out on this. I know you have gone through something like this elsewhere but I want to say something you may not have gone through anywhere else. Why did I say the treatment centre is the best form of treatment?
Read more...
Many forms of alcoholism addiction treatment exist out there. But the best alcoholism addiction treatment can be found within the walls of a treatment centre. Hey, wait before run away. You've got to hear me out on this. I know you have gone through something like this elsewhere but I want to say something you may not have gone through anywhere else. Why did I say the treatment centre is the best form of treatment?
Read more...
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Descending into ADDICTION as a Spiritual Disease
Descending into ADDICTION as a Spiritual Disease
Below is a description of how a person descends into alcoholism.
1. Drug/Alcohol sedates value system, which gets indifferent, confused
2. Grandiosity, perfectionism, pride
3. Intolerance of others, suspicion, disgust, argues
4. Religion getting sick, rigid, arrogant, unrealistic, disenchantment with childish idea of God
5. Loses interest in life, "Blues"
6. Guilt feelings, not "at ease" with God
7. Stops daily prayer, attends church out of habit or pretense
8. "Nobodiness" -- feels estranged, alienated, lonely
9. Immaturity, some irresponsibility
10. Life has no meaning
11. Anxiety, indefinable fears
12. Resentments: Angry with God, hostile to mention of religion, projects fear into concept of God as a tyrant
13. Moral deterioration: Dishonest, selfish
14. Loss of faith: Consciously rejects God, unconsciously longs for Him, a "sick love" relation
15. Remorse: Depression, suicidal thoughts, impaired thinking
16. Vague spiritual desires
17. Gropes for spiritual meaning
HITS BOTTOM (USES DRUGS/ALCOHOL TO COPE WITH PROBLEMS OF USING
Ascending Aspects of Alcoholism Recovery
ADMISSION THAT HELP IS NEEDED (ALLOWS TREATMENT TO MOVE FORWARD
This is a list of how a person can ASCEND into alcoholism recovery.
1. In spiritual fog
2. Honest desire for help
3. Vague notion of Higher Power
4. New faith: "Came to believe"
5. Hope dawns: Can be restored to sanity
6. Thirst for God examined (hard struggle for some)
7. Second BOTTOM: Existential crisis
8. Acceptance (surrender, turnabout)
9. Conversion: "Let go and let God"
10. Trust: "Thy will be done"
11. Appreciates possibility of new way of life
12. Patience: "One day at a time"
13. Forgiveness: Not "Why did I?" but "forgive me"
14. Reconciliation: personal relationship "at ease" with God just
15. Humbly asks God to remove shortcomings
16. False ego deflated
17. Return of self-esteem (God not a rescuer)
18. Honesty: Makes amends
19. Promptly admits when wrong
20. Courage. Optimism, new freedom
21. Rebirth of ideals
22. Appreciation of spiritual values
23. Gratitude
24. Increased tolerance of others
25. Serenity, peace of soul, joy
26. Prayer and meditation
27. Growth in proper concept of God
28. Deeper relation to God as a loving God
29. Unselfish: Goes to others because God loves them
30. "Weller than Well" -- higher than believed possible
Alcoholism Recovery Successful!
Ned Wicker is the Addictions Recovery Chaplain at Waukesha Memorial Hospital Lawrence Center He author's a website for alcoholism support:
This article was taken in part from the original source at:
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ned_Wicker
Below is a description of how a person descends into alcoholism.
1. Drug/Alcohol sedates value system, which gets indifferent, confused
2. Grandiosity, perfectionism, pride
3. Intolerance of others, suspicion, disgust, argues
4. Religion getting sick, rigid, arrogant, unrealistic, disenchantment with childish idea of God
5. Loses interest in life, "Blues"
6. Guilt feelings, not "at ease" with God
7. Stops daily prayer, attends church out of habit or pretense
8. "Nobodiness" -- feels estranged, alienated, lonely
9. Immaturity, some irresponsibility
10. Life has no meaning
11. Anxiety, indefinable fears
12. Resentments: Angry with God, hostile to mention of religion, projects fear into concept of God as a tyrant
13. Moral deterioration: Dishonest, selfish
14. Loss of faith: Consciously rejects God, unconsciously longs for Him, a "sick love" relation
15. Remorse: Depression, suicidal thoughts, impaired thinking
16. Vague spiritual desires
17. Gropes for spiritual meaning
HITS BOTTOM (USES DRUGS/ALCOHOL TO COPE WITH PROBLEMS OF USING
Ascending Aspects of Alcoholism Recovery
ADMISSION THAT HELP IS NEEDED (ALLOWS TREATMENT TO MOVE FORWARD
This is a list of how a person can ASCEND into alcoholism recovery.
1. In spiritual fog
2. Honest desire for help
3. Vague notion of Higher Power
4. New faith: "Came to believe"
5. Hope dawns: Can be restored to sanity
6. Thirst for God examined (hard struggle for some)
7. Second BOTTOM: Existential crisis
8. Acceptance (surrender, turnabout)
9. Conversion: "Let go and let God"
10. Trust: "Thy will be done"
11. Appreciates possibility of new way of life
12. Patience: "One day at a time"
13. Forgiveness: Not "Why did I?" but "forgive me"
14. Reconciliation: personal relationship "at ease" with God just
15. Humbly asks God to remove shortcomings
16. False ego deflated
17. Return of self-esteem (God not a rescuer)
18. Honesty: Makes amends
19. Promptly admits when wrong
20. Courage. Optimism, new freedom
21. Rebirth of ideals
22. Appreciation of spiritual values
23. Gratitude
24. Increased tolerance of others
25. Serenity, peace of soul, joy
26. Prayer and meditation
27. Growth in proper concept of God
28. Deeper relation to God as a loving God
29. Unselfish: Goes to others because God loves them
30. "Weller than Well" -- higher than believed possible
Alcoholism Recovery Successful!
Ned Wicker is the Addictions Recovery Chaplain at Waukesha Memorial Hospital Lawrence Center He author's a website for alcoholism support:
This article was taken in part from the original source at:
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ned_Wicker
Friday, June 27, 2008
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Traumatic events that may trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, or military combat.
Signs & Symptoms
People with PTSD have persistent frightening thoughts and memories of their ordeal and feel emotionally numb, especially with people they were once close to. They may experience sleep problems, feel detached or numb, or be easily startled. More about
Treatment
Effective treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder are available, and research is yielding new, improved therapies that can help most people with PTSD and other anxiety disorders lead productive, fulfilling lives. More about Treatment »
Getting Help: Locate Services
Locate mental health services in your area, affordable healthcare, NIMH clinical trials, and listings of professionals and organizations. More about Locating Services »http://www.nimh.nih.gov
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Traumatic events that may trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, or military combat.
Signs & Symptoms
People with PTSD have persistent frightening thoughts and memories of their ordeal and feel emotionally numb, especially with people they were once close to. They may experience sleep problems, feel detached or numb, or be easily startled. More about
Treatment
Effective treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder are available, and research is yielding new, improved therapies that can help most people with PTSD and other anxiety disorders lead productive, fulfilling lives. More about Treatment »
Getting Help: Locate Services
Locate mental health services in your area, affordable healthcare, NIMH clinical trials, and listings of professionals and organizations. More about Locating Services »http://www.nimh.nih.gov
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
What Is Addiction? Know About Its Causes and Rehabilitation
What is addiction?
Addiction is commonly referred as the attachment or dedication or devotion. But nowadays this is used for attachment for any illegal activities like drug addiction or alcohol addiction. It is a complex behaviour. There are many factors such as genetic, biological and social that influence in addiction.
What are the causes of addiction?
Addiction is caused due to many reasons. For instance, when a person uses a drug like heroin for the first time, he/she will experience a feeling like he/she has never experienced before. This usually drives the person to use it again and again. So, eventually the person will get addicted to the drug. The person will develop a physical and psychological dependence. The human nervous system plays a vital role in
addiction. This will produce the physical dependence. Now the brain produces withdrawal symptoms which are usually strong. This leads to heavy addiction and frequently leads to depression.
Addiction can happen in different forms and activities like gambling, drug, computers, pornography, exercise and religion. The real reason for a person to get addicted is that he/she has a moral weakness, but this definition is no longer accepted by professionals.
What are the problems associated with addiction?
Addiction can be blamed for a number of problems such as health, financial and many more. Moreover it causes discomfort not only to the addict but also to the people and society around him. The financial and health problems will be far more than affordable. The health problems might go beyond repair. Addiction might lead the person to become unstable psychologically and sometimes physically. It becomes so difficult even for holding a job. Addictions are usually very expensive and it may lead the addicts to do illegal things for the money. Addictions can cause lots of problem in terms of financial and psychological to his/her families and the people around that person.
What are the ways to recover from addiction?
The best choice is to consult a good doctor to seek advice. Nowadays there are many counseling centres and treatments available to treat addiction. The usual treatment is by the use of thyroid hormones. Opiates are also used in treating the withdrawal symptoms which creates acute pain. The addict person can attend counseling and rehabilitation programs. These programs are nowadays arranged by the government itself. It has a good scope and widely accepted among people. Moreover, the real addiction lies within the person’s psychology apart from the physical dependence.
Above all the method such as counseling and treatment, the most important thing is the deepest and strongest desire of the addict to quit addiction. It can be achieved only by hard work and purest determination.
Addiction is commonly referred as the attachment or dedication or devotion. But nowadays this is used for attachment for any illegal activities like drug addiction or alcohol addiction. It is a complex behaviour. There are many factors such as genetic, biological and social that influence in addiction.
What are the causes of addiction?
Addiction is caused due to many reasons. For instance, when a person uses a drug like heroin for the first time, he/she will experience a feeling like he/she has never experienced before. This usually drives the person to use it again and again. So, eventually the person will get addicted to the drug. The person will develop a physical and psychological dependence. The human nervous system plays a vital role in
addiction. This will produce the physical dependence. Now the brain produces withdrawal symptoms which are usually strong. This leads to heavy addiction and frequently leads to depression.
Addiction can happen in different forms and activities like gambling, drug, computers, pornography, exercise and religion. The real reason for a person to get addicted is that he/she has a moral weakness, but this definition is no longer accepted by professionals.
What are the problems associated with addiction?
Addiction can be blamed for a number of problems such as health, financial and many more. Moreover it causes discomfort not only to the addict but also to the people and society around him. The financial and health problems will be far more than affordable. The health problems might go beyond repair. Addiction might lead the person to become unstable psychologically and sometimes physically. It becomes so difficult even for holding a job. Addictions are usually very expensive and it may lead the addicts to do illegal things for the money. Addictions can cause lots of problem in terms of financial and psychological to his/her families and the people around that person.
What are the ways to recover from addiction?
The best choice is to consult a good doctor to seek advice. Nowadays there are many counseling centres and treatments available to treat addiction. The usual treatment is by the use of thyroid hormones. Opiates are also used in treating the withdrawal symptoms which creates acute pain. The addict person can attend counseling and rehabilitation programs. These programs are nowadays arranged by the government itself. It has a good scope and widely accepted among people. Moreover, the real addiction lies within the person’s psychology apart from the physical dependence.
Above all the method such as counseling and treatment, the most important thing is the deepest and strongest desire of the addict to quit addiction. It can be achieved only by hard work and purest determination.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Wellness: The Missing Dimension in Recovery
As you may be aware, you are not the only one who has ever hidden empty wine bottles from your spouse, missed out on a good job due to failing a drug screening or fallen into a pattern of constantly covering up for the irresponsible behavior of an alcoholic spouse or partner. An estimated 5 to 10 percent of Americans are addicted to alcohol and/or other drugs, and patterns of multiple substance abuse are now the norm. Untreated chemical dependency is a major contributing factor to child and spousal abuse, family breakups, unemployment and traffic fatalities-the leading cause of death for people under age twenty-five.
Unfortunately, alcoholics and addicts whose diseases go untreated also eventually suffer major health consequences-including severe damage to their livers, hearts and other vital organs-and often die decades before their time. What you may not be aware of is the fact that millions of people in recovery-perhaps the majority-also shortchange themselves of years of joyful living as a direct result of nicotine addiction, compulsive overeating, junk food addiction and/or other self-destructive behaviors they carry with them into recovery. If you are currently suffering from these or other toxic behavior patterns, you may have acquired these habits as a substitute for your primary addiction to drugs and alcohol. Fortunately, you can free yourself from this vicious cycle-and this book will show you how.
Like most people recovering from addictive disorders, you will need to focus your energy and be disciplined about repairing the damage that years of excessive drinking and drugging have done to your body. As part of a holistic approach to recovery, you must also work on releasing the “baggage” associated with self-defeating mind-sets and behaviors. Instead, you will need to replace that baggage with a life-affirming belief system and a health-conducive lifestyle that fully support your goals in recovery. The good news is that embracing a wellness-oriented lifestyle and working your recovery program go hand in hand.
In his classic bestseller Positive Addiction, psychiatrist William Glasser expounds on the benefits associated with replacing negative addictions, or ingrained self-destructive behaviors, with “positive addictions.” Examples of positive addictions include regular physical exercise, yoga or meditation, developing an artistic talent, or pursuing a fulfilling hobby. In contrast to negative addictions, such as alcohol or drug addiction, which tend to foster unhealthy dependencies and decreased self-esteem, positive addictions contribute to improved quality of life, heightened self-esteem and increased feelings of independence. One of Glasser's key points is that positive addictions are very effective tools for freeing ourselves from the grips of our negative addictions.
In this book, you will learn about the numerous positive addictions associated with a wellness-oriented lifestyle and how to embrace them as integral components of a truly holistic approach to recovery. Equally important, you will learn to appreciate how a healthy lifestyle can help you successfully navigate the various stages of recovery and safeguard against relapse.
The Importance of Wellness to Your Recovery
If you completed a chemical dependency treatment program, you most likely learned about the benefits of physical exercise and sound nutrition in repairing the damage done to your body by excessive use of alcohol and drugs. You probably also received an introduction to the importance of basic stress management skills in maintaining day-to-day sobriety and guarding against relapse.
Primary treatment, or the initial phase of treatment, generally focuses some attention on basic wellness concepts. Unfortunately, these concepts often receive less than adequate attention during the critically important, yet oft-neglected continuing care phase of treatment. This sad state of affairs is a reflection of what I call the neglected stepchild syndrome. In today's health-care environment, with its overriding emphasis on cost containment, mental health services have become the neglected stepchild of medical care. Chemical dependency treatment has become the neglected stepchild of mental health, and continuing care, which should form the cornerstone of ongoing recovery maintenance, tends to be severely shortchanged.
Another reason wellness lifestyles often receive less than adequate emphasis in treatment stems from the failure of many treatment professionals to take good care of themselves. Far too many treatment professionals suffer from a variety of lifestyle imbalances, including nicotine and caffeine addiction, obesity, lack of exercise and compulsive workaholism. As such, they are in a poor position to serve as role models in motivating their clients to adopt wellness-oriented lifestyles.
Yet another obstacle to living well stems from the conflicting demands and time pressures that all of us experience in today's fast-paced society. In recovery, we often feel overwhelmed by the overlapping demands of earning a living, engaging in family life, going to meetings, studying the steps and doing the million and one other things that creep into our overly crowded lives. In the context of such a pressure-cooker environment, our well-intentioned plans to launch an exercise program, bring our diet into balance, give up smoking or take up meditation all too often fail to materialize.
As you can see, many influences conspire to work against our devoting appropriate attention to living healthy during recovery. The net result is that millions of people in recovery neglect this critically important area. Predictably, they end up paying the price in terms of unwittingly setting themselves up for relapse, as well as for heart disease, emphysema, various forms of cancer and a host of other devastating illnesses that can often be prevented.
The good news is that you have a choice. In many respects, by virtue of demonstrating the courage and commitment that has taken you this far in working your recovery program, you have a leg up on most Americans in terms of embracing a healthy lifestyle. Just as you have learned to work your core recovery program step by step, you can likewise learn to embrace a wellness-oriented lifestyle and effectively integrate it into your recovery program-simply by taking “one step at a time.”
Wellness Defined
Wellness can be defined as the dynamic process of taking charge of your health and programming yourself to attain optimal health and well-being. As this book demonstrates, you are in the driver's seat. You set your own goals and priorities, design and implement your wellness program, and determine how far you want to go toward claiming your birthright to optimal health, longevity and self-fulfillment.
You are about to embark on an exciting journey that will truly transform your life. In a nutshell, this book will show you how to:
• Supercharge your recovery by integrating a wellness-oriented lifestyle into your 12-step program.
• Inventory your strengths and weaknesses regarding health and wellness, with particular reference to lifestyle influences.
• Identify the wellness goals that are most important to you-including your optimum life expectancy and the immediate wellness benefits you would like to enjoy-and implement an action plan for achieving these goals.
• Launch your personal quest for uncovering and expressing your unique sense of purpose in life-zeroing in on those core values and goals that are truly important to you-and channeling your focused energy into transforming your dreams into reality.
• Gain increased self-esteem, energy, alertness and confidence as you pursue your pathway to greater health.
• Learn how taking care of yourself will enable you to give much more to your friends, family and other people in recovery!
About the Author
John Newport, Ph.D., is a wellness counselor and freelance writer based in Santa Ana, California.
Unfortunately, alcoholics and addicts whose diseases go untreated also eventually suffer major health consequences-including severe damage to their livers, hearts and other vital organs-and often die decades before their time. What you may not be aware of is the fact that millions of people in recovery-perhaps the majority-also shortchange themselves of years of joyful living as a direct result of nicotine addiction, compulsive overeating, junk food addiction and/or other self-destructive behaviors they carry with them into recovery. If you are currently suffering from these or other toxic behavior patterns, you may have acquired these habits as a substitute for your primary addiction to drugs and alcohol. Fortunately, you can free yourself from this vicious cycle-and this book will show you how.
Like most people recovering from addictive disorders, you will need to focus your energy and be disciplined about repairing the damage that years of excessive drinking and drugging have done to your body. As part of a holistic approach to recovery, you must also work on releasing the “baggage” associated with self-defeating mind-sets and behaviors. Instead, you will need to replace that baggage with a life-affirming belief system and a health-conducive lifestyle that fully support your goals in recovery. The good news is that embracing a wellness-oriented lifestyle and working your recovery program go hand in hand.
In his classic bestseller Positive Addiction, psychiatrist William Glasser expounds on the benefits associated with replacing negative addictions, or ingrained self-destructive behaviors, with “positive addictions.” Examples of positive addictions include regular physical exercise, yoga or meditation, developing an artistic talent, or pursuing a fulfilling hobby. In contrast to negative addictions, such as alcohol or drug addiction, which tend to foster unhealthy dependencies and decreased self-esteem, positive addictions contribute to improved quality of life, heightened self-esteem and increased feelings of independence. One of Glasser's key points is that positive addictions are very effective tools for freeing ourselves from the grips of our negative addictions.
In this book, you will learn about the numerous positive addictions associated with a wellness-oriented lifestyle and how to embrace them as integral components of a truly holistic approach to recovery. Equally important, you will learn to appreciate how a healthy lifestyle can help you successfully navigate the various stages of recovery and safeguard against relapse.
The Importance of Wellness to Your Recovery
If you completed a chemical dependency treatment program, you most likely learned about the benefits of physical exercise and sound nutrition in repairing the damage done to your body by excessive use of alcohol and drugs. You probably also received an introduction to the importance of basic stress management skills in maintaining day-to-day sobriety and guarding against relapse.
Primary treatment, or the initial phase of treatment, generally focuses some attention on basic wellness concepts. Unfortunately, these concepts often receive less than adequate attention during the critically important, yet oft-neglected continuing care phase of treatment. This sad state of affairs is a reflection of what I call the neglected stepchild syndrome. In today's health-care environment, with its overriding emphasis on cost containment, mental health services have become the neglected stepchild of medical care. Chemical dependency treatment has become the neglected stepchild of mental health, and continuing care, which should form the cornerstone of ongoing recovery maintenance, tends to be severely shortchanged.
Another reason wellness lifestyles often receive less than adequate emphasis in treatment stems from the failure of many treatment professionals to take good care of themselves. Far too many treatment professionals suffer from a variety of lifestyle imbalances, including nicotine and caffeine addiction, obesity, lack of exercise and compulsive workaholism. As such, they are in a poor position to serve as role models in motivating their clients to adopt wellness-oriented lifestyles.
Yet another obstacle to living well stems from the conflicting demands and time pressures that all of us experience in today's fast-paced society. In recovery, we often feel overwhelmed by the overlapping demands of earning a living, engaging in family life, going to meetings, studying the steps and doing the million and one other things that creep into our overly crowded lives. In the context of such a pressure-cooker environment, our well-intentioned plans to launch an exercise program, bring our diet into balance, give up smoking or take up meditation all too often fail to materialize.
As you can see, many influences conspire to work against our devoting appropriate attention to living healthy during recovery. The net result is that millions of people in recovery neglect this critically important area. Predictably, they end up paying the price in terms of unwittingly setting themselves up for relapse, as well as for heart disease, emphysema, various forms of cancer and a host of other devastating illnesses that can often be prevented.
The good news is that you have a choice. In many respects, by virtue of demonstrating the courage and commitment that has taken you this far in working your recovery program, you have a leg up on most Americans in terms of embracing a healthy lifestyle. Just as you have learned to work your core recovery program step by step, you can likewise learn to embrace a wellness-oriented lifestyle and effectively integrate it into your recovery program-simply by taking “one step at a time.”
Wellness Defined
Wellness can be defined as the dynamic process of taking charge of your health and programming yourself to attain optimal health and well-being. As this book demonstrates, you are in the driver's seat. You set your own goals and priorities, design and implement your wellness program, and determine how far you want to go toward claiming your birthright to optimal health, longevity and self-fulfillment.
You are about to embark on an exciting journey that will truly transform your life. In a nutshell, this book will show you how to:
• Supercharge your recovery by integrating a wellness-oriented lifestyle into your 12-step program.
• Inventory your strengths and weaknesses regarding health and wellness, with particular reference to lifestyle influences.
• Identify the wellness goals that are most important to you-including your optimum life expectancy and the immediate wellness benefits you would like to enjoy-and implement an action plan for achieving these goals.
• Launch your personal quest for uncovering and expressing your unique sense of purpose in life-zeroing in on those core values and goals that are truly important to you-and channeling your focused energy into transforming your dreams into reality.
• Gain increased self-esteem, energy, alertness and confidence as you pursue your pathway to greater health.
• Learn how taking care of yourself will enable you to give much more to your friends, family and other people in recovery!
About the Author
John Newport, Ph.D., is a wellness counselor and freelance writer based in Santa Ana, California.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Suboxone for Opiate Dependency
When you hear the word drug abuse or opiate dependency, pot sessions in dimly lit rooms and drug dealers illicitly selling their merchandise from half closed doors would immediately come to mind. You would never think that these drug addicts can and are getting their daily fix from the neighborhood pharmacy.
Percodan, Oxycontin, Lortab and Vicodin are opium based pain killers. These medications are usually prescribed to patients after undergoing a surgery. These pain killers are also given to patients suffering from arthritis and any other ordinary aches and pains. But after the surgical wound have healed… after the pains is gone, the patients find themselves with a new problem. They have become dependent to the
drug that is supposed to heal them. Any attempt to break away from the dependency would cause cravings for the drug and severe discomfort. These accidental addicts would find it very hard to break free from the dependency.
This opiate dependency may be treated with detoxification. However, severe withdrawal symptoms associated with this treatment have caused many patients to give up. The success rate of detoxification is very discouraging. 85% to 90% of drug addicts who have tried detoxification as a means of breaking free from addiction have relapsed.
If you have been a pain pill addict for years, most probably you have tried drug dependency treatments. You may have detoxified several times to no avail. Suboxone is another treatment for your drug dependency. Why is suboxone dubbed as miracle pill by medical doctors and by drug addicts? Chiefly because of the agonist effect-meaning this drug sets off a response by combining to specific cell receptors that result in a ceiling effect. A higher dose will still have the same 4 mg opiate effect. Suboxone will also eliminate the drug cravings.
When a craving for the drug hits a drug addict, he or she will do anything and everything to get a fix not withstanding the effect it will have on his/her personality. Suboxone is well tolerated by those that are drug dependent. After a few days of treatment the patient will feel normal. This is the reason for the high success rate of this treatment. Without the drug cravings and the withdrawal symptoms, the drug dependent will have no reason to long for the addicting pain pills.
If your dad, your mom, a family member or a friend is an opiate dependent and you know that all the other drug dependency treatment have failed to eliminate the remission, don’t you think it is high time to find a doctor with a Suboxone treatment program? This may be the ultimate treatment that will finally enable you to say “He/She is back”!
Percodan, Oxycontin, Lortab and Vicodin are opium based pain killers. These medications are usually prescribed to patients after undergoing a surgery. These pain killers are also given to patients suffering from arthritis and any other ordinary aches and pains. But after the surgical wound have healed… after the pains is gone, the patients find themselves with a new problem. They have become dependent to the
drug that is supposed to heal them. Any attempt to break away from the dependency would cause cravings for the drug and severe discomfort. These accidental addicts would find it very hard to break free from the dependency.
This opiate dependency may be treated with detoxification. However, severe withdrawal symptoms associated with this treatment have caused many patients to give up. The success rate of detoxification is very discouraging. 85% to 90% of drug addicts who have tried detoxification as a means of breaking free from addiction have relapsed.
If you have been a pain pill addict for years, most probably you have tried drug dependency treatments. You may have detoxified several times to no avail. Suboxone is another treatment for your drug dependency. Why is suboxone dubbed as miracle pill by medical doctors and by drug addicts? Chiefly because of the agonist effect-meaning this drug sets off a response by combining to specific cell receptors that result in a ceiling effect. A higher dose will still have the same 4 mg opiate effect. Suboxone will also eliminate the drug cravings.
When a craving for the drug hits a drug addict, he or she will do anything and everything to get a fix not withstanding the effect it will have on his/her personality. Suboxone is well tolerated by those that are drug dependent. After a few days of treatment the patient will feel normal. This is the reason for the high success rate of this treatment. Without the drug cravings and the withdrawal symptoms, the drug dependent will have no reason to long for the addicting pain pills.
If your dad, your mom, a family member or a friend is an opiate dependent and you know that all the other drug dependency treatment have failed to eliminate the remission, don’t you think it is high time to find a doctor with a Suboxone treatment program? This may be the ultimate treatment that will finally enable you to say “He/She is back”!
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