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Recovery from Alcoholism Possible

Alcoholism is a horrible disease but it doesn’t have to be the end of life as you know it. Full recovery is not only possible but probable when a person recognizes their alcohol dependence and seeks help and even people who don’t seek professional treatment have a fairly good chance for recovery if they recognize their problem.

A 2002 study shows that more than one-third of people who exhibited signs of alcoholism more than a year prior had already achieved a “full recovery.” A full recovery means that the person no longer exhibits or experiences any symptoms of alcohol dependence or alcohol abuse. Out of people in the study, only one-quarter had received treatment for their problems with alcohol.

Fully recovered people typically abstain from drinking alcohol entirely or only drink small amounts during social occasions – at amounts lower than those thought lead to higher rates of relapse. Currently, the amount of alcoholic consumption that is thought to increase the chances of relapse is more than 14 drinks a week (or more than four drinks on an individual day). For women, that amount is more than seven drinks a week or more than three drinks on any individual day.

Out of the two-thirds of alcoholics that hadn’t yet realized full recovery, there was still news that should make anyone struggling with alcohol dependency feel positive about their chance of recovery. For instance, Almost 12 percent of the original people currently have no symptoms of alcohol abuse or dependency but do drink as much or more than the amount of alcohol traditionally thought to increase the chance of relapse.

More than one-quarter of the people who were part of the study were in partial remission. While they may still exhibit or experience symptoms of alcohol dependence or abuse, they are in treatment and moving toward a normal relationship with alcohol. The remaining quarter of people are still dependent on alcohol – but this shows that the recovery rate for alcoholism is achievable for the majority of dependents.

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Negative Effects of Cannabis Use

While smoking weed is becoming increasingly accepted amongst youth around the world and many organizations fight for the legalization of it, there has been continued research that emphasizes the negative effects that frequent cannabis use can have.

A 2005 study shows that people who smoke marijuana habitually have a 10 times higher risk of getting into a traffic accident than people who do not smoke cannabis at all. This increased risk was seen even amongst users who hadn’t smoked immediately prior to the incident showing that marijuana use has a long-lasting negative affect to reaction time and brain functionality, at least during a high-stress situation. Unlike alcohol which impairs the part of the brain that regulates risk-taking (meaning that drunk drivers often engage in more risky driving situations that can lead to accidents), cannabuis users probably drive more carefully when they’re under the influence. However, this care can give a false sense of security since users are not taking into account the long-term affects that marijuana has on the ability to drive carefully and with a high sense of alertness. The slowness seen in reaction times can last for up to a year after the last usage, according to the study.

Cannabis can also lead to psychotic symptoms in users that are already susceptible to such issues, another study shows. People who smoke marijuana on a regular basis are more likely to suffer from schizophrenia than members of the general population, although researchers don’t know if this has to do with an effect of the plant or if individuals who suffer from psychotic symptoms are more likely to turn to marijuana for self-medication purposes.

Unlike what many of the marijuana legalization advocates say, there are many demonstrated negative effects that come from sustained smoking. While it may be thought of as a harmless recreational drug, these significant side effects should be considered, as well as the addictive quality of marijuana.

 

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Social Services as Part of a Comprehensive Addiction Treatment

Social services provide direct benefit to addiction patients who are looking to change their situations for the better to help break the cycle of drug use and relapse. Unlike mental health and medical services, social services help to identify the underlying problems that create a culture of drug use amongst addicts and work to change those situations to positive ones that actively promote rehabilitation. This is mostly done through job assistance and housing assistance. Social services can also help addicts who haven’t realized how their drug use indirectly affects other parts of their lives, including their families, their social lives and their careers. Seeing a way out of what can be seen as an inescapable situation is a giant step in the right direction when it comes to recovery.

However, social services also provide more indirect benefits to patients who experience social services as part of a comprehensive addiction treatment program. For instance, patients who benefit from social services stay in addiction treatment longer. Studies over the past few decades have confirmed the fact that patients who stay in treatment longer have better rates of recovery and lower rates of relapse. However, social services is such an important part of the recovery process that studies have shown that a 6 percent increase to the availability of social services to addicts in treatment programs is equivalent to the patients staying in other traditional rehab programs for up to 12 weeks.

“Given the stagnant state of comprehensive service delivery in recent years,” said Dr. Dean Gerstein, who led a 2004 study on the subject, “federal and state grants and policies should emphasize delivery of comprehensive services, especially housing and employment services, among high-needs populations.”

His study showed that access and use of social services during treatment directly related to patients having improved drug use outcomes following their rehab.

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What is Addiction?

While the immediate symptom of an addition – not being able to control the way you behave with certain triggers items like drugs, alcohol or sex, knowing what part of the brain creates or is part of maintaining an addition is an important first step in understanding how to properly treat addictions. An addition is more than just a compulsive behavior that addicts engage in for a thrill, although that thrill has been part of the conventional wisdom of how addictions work for the past several decades.

Previously, the accepted scientific reasoning for the way that someone becomes addicted is that drugs and other addictive elements take over the brain’s reward system and makes the user feel like they are experiencing some sort of physical or emotional payoff. Drug-taking or engaging in other types of addictive behaviors becomes an overwhelmingly rewarding feeling that rises in importance above all other aspects of life.

However, Dr. Dan Lubman and a group of scientists studying addictive behavior have identified another aspect of the brain that is affected when a subject becomes an addict: drugs and other addictive elements may actually interfere with the frontal brain circuitry that maintains the ability to retain inhibition and control. Brain science shows that the brain not only has an impaired way of understanding when to do certain activities (relating to the reward system) but also when not to do things – that is, the lack of inhibition and lack of control that comes as a result of taking drugs.

The new theory helps rehab clinics to understand another part of the puzzle that can be used to break the chain of addiction. The loss of control and frequency of relapses could never quite be explained solely by the idea that engaging in addictive behavior felt like a reward to the addict, but now that those who work in treatment centers understand that the inhibition circuits are impaired, new strategies can be developed.

 

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Bolstering Social Services Decreases Drug Abuse

People who are suffering from addictions need specialized care due to the chemical reactions in their brains that inhibit the ability to control their own behavior and the need to reward themselves with the addictive element they use to feel good. Providing comprehensive services to address these specific physical problems can help break the cycle of relapsing.

While many drug treatment programs around the world have taken a more direct approach in terms of mental health and medical services, social services like job training and housing mean the most in changing the life of addicts. When well placed, well staffed and well funded, social services can address the addictive behaviors directly as well as the many life problems that can contribute to drug use. They can also help to identify the family, social and financial issues that are brought up indirectly through drug use and help the user to change these circumstances for the better. Oftentimes, mental health and medical assistance works well but if an addict is placed back into the bad environment that contributed to the rise of drug use in the first place, relapses are especially common. That’s why social service programs is one of the largest factors in determining if an addict will recover or continue to use drugs or other addictive substances.

Historically, patients who have the most amount of life problems benefit the most from involvement in social service programs. This is because the physical removal of life situations that contribute to drug use – including physical surroundings, social-economic situations and friends – mean that there are less opportunities to turn to the reward or escape triggers that drugs and other addictive substances provide.

Of course, social services is not a perfect treatment, just like any other type of medical or behavioral treatment and other addiction therapy. The desire of the patient to change is key to recovery and social services is just one tool that can be used to show patients what life without drugs can be like.

 

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