Breakingthecycles.com – Changing the Conversations

Why Do Drug and Alcohol Rehab Programs Recommend 12 Step Programs?

The answer is relatively simple. The original alcoholics anonymous 12 step program has been around longer, worked for more people, and has been proven in many studies be more effective than any other program of recovery when used in conjunction with clinical therapy. It’s tough to argue with success. That being said, it would almost be almost irresponsible not to recommend them. To finish reading this article posted on Addiction Treatment Challenges, click here…

Nutrition in Addiction Recovery; How Eating Right Helps You Heal

Healing in recovery requires paying attention to many different things, and nutrition is right up there at the top of the list. In fact, eating right can help speed recovery by giving your body the essential ingredients it needs to maintain or restore energy, elevate mood, and keep vital organs functioning at optimal levels.

But what constitutes eating right in recovery? To read the remainder of Drug Addiction Treatment’s August 5, 2010, blog, click here…

Poll: More Americans Drinking Alcohol

Gallup’s annual drinking poll indicates that 67% of U.S. adults drink alcohol, an increase over last year and the highest rate of alcohol consumption since 1985. The poll also showed that beer remains the most popular drink in the U.S., followed by wine and then liquor. What is fueling the increase in drinking? To read the rest of Buddy T.’s August 5, 2010, post on About.com: Alcoholism, click here…

Can I buy you a drink? Genetics may determine sensitivyt to other people’s drinking behavior
Your friend walks into a bar to meet you for happy hour. He sidles up to the bar and orders a drink — does that make you more likely to get a drink yourself? According to new findings reported in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, genetics may determine the extent to which you are influenced by social drinking cues — signals such as advertisements, drinks placed on a bar, and seeing other people around you drinking.  Click here to read the remainder of this post on Science Daily, July 23, 2010.

Should You Tell Your Kid if YOU Did Drugs as a Teen?
Remember those anti-drug public service ads from the ’80s? One of the most memorable showed a father finding his teen son’s stash and angrily confronting him about it, only to face the boy’s furious, devastating rejoinder, “I learned it by watching you, Dad!” Click here to finish this article by Kate Tuttle, posted on the blog, MomLogic.

Washington [State] Imposts New Rules on Prescribing Powerful Painkillers
The state of Washington plans to impose tough new rules on doctors who want to prescribe opiate painkillers to patients, including mandatory third-party evaluation of patients who request higher doses of the drug but don’t show signs of improvement, the New York Times reported July 28. Read the rest of this News Summery on Join Together.org.

Tragedy at University of Virginia Drenched in Alcohol Abuse

Our nation’s media has been flooded with reports of the brutal killing of University of Virginia senior Yeardley Love by her classmate George Huguely, both college lacrosse players who had been “in a relationship” until she broke it off several weeks ago.

The tragedy adds this beautiful 22 year old to the almost 2,000 college students who will die this year as a result of violence, accidents and poisoning related to excessive drinking.

Here’s why I’m convinced that the death of campus beauty Yeardley Love is another consequence of alcohol abuse on our nation’s campuses:  To read the remainder of this article by Joseph A. Califano Jr., Chairman of The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, posted on CASA’s The Chairman’s Corner blog, May 10, 2010, click here…

Toxic Friends: When Friendship Is No Longer Healthy

We’ve all heard the studies about the important role that friendships play in our emotional and physical well being. Most of us would agree that having a few good friends to whom we can turn in times of joy and sorrow or even for simple distraction is a real plus in life and, at times, necessary for our survival.

So how could friendship ever be a bad thing?   For Ann Smith’s seven reasons why friendship can be a bad thing, as written in her June 16, 2010 blog post appearing on the psychologytoday.com blog, click here.

It’s Never Too Late

Remember the old song from the decades ago, “Life Begins at Eighty?” It appears that it’s true in more than one way. A recent UCLA study supported the opinions of many behavioral science experts that alcohol addiction can begin in people fifty years of age and older. To be specific, alcohol addiction can begin in people who never before had a difficulty. What is this happening?  To read the complete article by Allan Schwartz, LCSW, Ph.D., appearing on the mentalhelp.net website on July 12, 2010, click here.

by Lisa Frederiksen

The following provides a brief overview of the effects on the brain of alcohol, marijuana and cocaine. The image of the ‘3-Brain’ Brain Complex helps one see where these brain impacts

Image Courtesy: Jessica Scott

are occurring and which neural network activities are being effected.

Cocaine. When someone snorts, injects, or smokes cocaine, it travels to the brain very quickly. It reaches all areas of the brain but has its greatest effects in the front part of the cerebral cortex and on part of the limbic system.

A very complicated process takes place in the brain after it is exposed to cocaine. In a normal brain, the neurotransmitter dopamine is released by neurons to carry messages in the limbic system. After the message has been carried to the next neuron, dopamine is reabsorbed from the synapse back into the neuron that released it. Cocaine blocks the reabsorption of dopamine, leaving too much dopamine in the synapse. The excess dopamine is what causes the pleasurable feelings associated with taking cocaine and the increased motor activity seen with higher doses.

After a person abuses cocaine for a while, the brain tries to compensate for the excess dopamine, and the normal processes that take place are disrupted. The brain will no longer function normally without cocaine.

Marijuana. The active ingredient in marijuana that produces changes in brain messages is called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The brain has receptors for a specific chemical, anandamide, which is naturally produced by the brain. THC is able to attach to and activate these same receptors. When a person uses marijuana, the chemicals in the drug travel through the bloodstream and attach to the THC receptors, activating them and interfering with normal neurotransmission.

The areas of the brain with the most THC receptors are the cerebellum, the cerebral cortex, and the limbic system. This is why marijuana affects thinking, problem solving, sensory perception, movement, balance, and memory.

Alcohol. The parts of the brain affected by alcohol are the cerebral cortex, limbic system, and brain stem [Cerebellum]. Alcohol interferes with messages carried by many neurotransmitters in the brain. Because these neurotransmitters are found throughout the brain, alcohol affects many functions, including thinking, coordination, and emotions.

Source: NIDA, “How Drugs Affect the Brain,” National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), last updated 9/19/08, <http://www.drugabuse.gov/JSP/MOD6/page3.html>

Lindsay Lohan Ordered to Jail, Rehab
If you think driving while intoxicated is acceptable. If you think being ordered to attend DUI school is a joke. If you think society has not had enough of dangerous drunk drivers, remember this face. It’s the face of Hollywood actress Lindsay Lohan finding out that she is going to jail for 90 days and then to residential treatment for another 90 days. Judge Marsha N. Revel, at a probation violation hearing in Los Angeles, decided she had heard enough of the lies and excuses from Miss Lohan. To read the remainder of this post by Buddy T. appearing on his Alcoholism Blog at About.com, click here…

Recovering Addict Shares Insights Into Prescription Painkiller Abuse
When I was younger, I used to harbor a lot of anger toward my parents regarding my drug abuse. I accused them of missing all the signs that I was in emotional pain and using any substance I could to mask that pain. But deep down, I knew that anger was baseless. I was a high-functioning addict, and telling lies was as easy to me as breathing.

After years of messing around with pretty much every drug, I discovered prescription painkillers while writing an article about how easy they were to buy online. As part of my research I bought some myself, just to prove the point. I decided to sample the goods, and my response was immediate. Nothing felt better, and I could do anything on them that I’d do when I was sober — drive, go to work, even babysit younger family members. I was constantly high, but I always felt 100% in control. And no one knew. To read the remainder of this post by Joshua Lyon, appearing on The Partnership for a Drug Free America’s website, Decoder.drugfree.org, click here…

Eating Disorders, Addictions  Tough to Treat in Teens
When it comes to treating eating disorders and addictions, the path to recovery may be even harder — and less straightforward — for children and teens than it is for adults, experts say.

“Disorders that start when you’re young, in adolescence, no matter what the disorder, are always harder to treat and harder to recover from,” said Dr. David Schlager, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine.

This applies both to a wide range of problems, he said, from eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia, to addictions and mental illness.  To read the remainder of this article by Amanda Gardner on Healthfinder.gov, click here…

Improve Your Brain Fitness
In this fast paced world, how many of you find yourself continuously multitasking whether at home or at work? Trying to solve life’s simple and complex problems, taking important decisions, coping with the current cut throat competition? Almost everyone out there.

For all this and the entire regimen of activities that we engage ourselves in our everyday lives, we need to thank our ultimate resource – our brain.

…Ten ways to keep your brain youthful
There are some simple ways in which we can keep the central processing unit of our body (our brain) happy and young.

To read the complete article by sriparna, appearing on HubPages, click here…

More Older Adults Being Treated for Addiction
“The portion of Americans 50 years of age or older being treated for abuse of illicit substances substantially increased from 1992 to 2008, according to a study sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Adminstration (SAMHSA).” Read more of article by Beth Gilbert appearing on HealthDay…

Addicts Need to Deal With Stress to Ensure Recovery
“Recovering addicts who failed to take steps to deal with the stress in their lives were more susceptible to craving  — a major predictor of relapse — according to researchers at Penn State University.” Read more of the Research Summary appearing on Join Together’s website…

Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Addiction
“Cognitive behavior therapy is mostly used to treat depression, anxiety disorders, phobias, and other mental disorders, but it has also been shown to be valuable in treating alcoholism and drug addiction, especially as part of an overall program of recovery.” Read more of this post by Buddy T appearing on About.com:Alcoholism…

Is Anonymity the Final Shame Frontier in Addiction?
I’m a drug addict and a sex addict, and as far as I’m concerned, staying anonymous let’s me remain buried in shame, and a double life, that keeps me always one step ahead of those close to me. Did I say too much? Did I give away my secrets? None of those  questions matter when everyone knows everything there is to know about you. For a disease couched in anxiety, obsessions, and compulsive behavior, there’s very little that can be more triggering. Read more…

Addiction Recovery: The 3 Most Powerful Words
The three most powerful words in addiction recovery are “whatever it takes”. Read more…

College Official: Don’t Ask Use to Solve Student Drinking
Binge and underage drinking are societal problems that college officials can’t be expected to solve, according to a speaker at the annual meeting of the American College Health Association (ACHA).

USA Today reported June 4 that Edward P. Ehlinger, head of the Boynton Health Service at the University of Minnesota, said that current efforts to combat dangerous drinking among college students aren’t working. “I don’t think the problem of alcohol is an underage problem. It is not a college or university problem,” he said. “I think alcohol is a community problem — it is a societal problem.” Read more…

Chief Medical Officer Publishes Guidance on Children Drinking Alcohol
Research shows that four out of 10 Welsh 15-year-olds drink alcohol on a weekly basis and that two out of 10 15-year-olds report having been drunk for the first time at the age of 13 or younger. Read more….

Students Tackle Underage Drinking in Hanover
…Statistics show that colleges lose 25 percent of their freshman class to dropouts using alcohol and drugs. Read more…

Risk-Taking Rises When youth Reach Legal Drinking Age, Study Finds
College students are more likely to drink and drive after they reach the legal drinking age of 21, according to researchers from the University of Maryland School of Public Health. Read more…

Community Conversation: Parents Need to Lead by Example
…It was rather clear students in the upper grades — 11th and 12th — were frequent consumers, given they are more independent and their parent have less control and less knowledge of where they are and what they are doing. The reasons students gave included “work hard and party hard,” “peer pressure,” “image,” “calming nerves or enhancing performance,” and a feeling “they can drink the night before and still perform the next day” (whereas it is not the case with drug use).

Younger students appear to base their assumptions of what older students are doing on things they see and hear, such as the behavior at a recent RAVE at Trackside, the hearsay “knowledge” of the “drug hallway” and “pot bathroom” at the high school, and pictures on Facebook of parties that identify groups of students using alcohol. Eighth graders also believe chewing tobacco is prevalent among high school athletes. Read more…