The challenges of maintaining sobriety are hard enough without the burden of a toxic friends. Anything that reminds you of your past is a potential relapse trigger. Having toxic friends in your circle exposes you to powerful of relapse triggers. Recovery is a huge challenge and being around people who, for lack of a better…
Although subtle, there are distinct differences between opioids and opiates. An opiate is a drug that is naturally derived from a flowering opium poppy plant. Some examples of opiates include morphine, heroin and codeine. So what is an opioid drug? The term opioid is a broader description to include opiates and generally refers to any…
Tips on How to Stage an Intervention Drug interventions can be powerful tools to help someone realize that action is needed to break the cycle of addiction. To pull it off effectively requires careful planning and participation from those closest to the addict. With careful preparation and a stringent set of consequences in place, the…
When a person suffers from substance abuse and addiction, the actions of the addict place immense strain on personal relationships. Eventually, it starts to take a serious toll not only on the addict, but on family members, too. While relationship and communication problems within a family are sometimes the root of addiction, eventually, the addict…
Methadone is a drug that is commonly given to people who are receiving treatment for heroin addiction. This process is controversial, as some claim that those who are prescribing methadone are simply swapping one addiction for another. But is methadone addictive? Chemically, methadone is very similar to morphine, a drug which is itself extremely addictive…
For decades, scientists have studied the link between genetics and addiction. They were searching for a simple answer to one question: Is addiction genetic or not? This is often referred to as the “nurture vs nature” debate. The question seems simple, but the answers they found were anything but simple. Some of this ambiguity stems…
The Different Types of Therapy That Can Help With Addiction The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has explored many of the different types of therapy that can help with addiction based on data that has been collected for the past 40 years. These principles are engineered improve the odds of success in treatment by…
What Happens To Your Body When You Stop Drinking? Although there isn’t much in the way of research as to what happens to your body when you stop drinking alcohol, recent studies showed surprising results. In a study performed by Professor Moore and the Royal Free team, the team looked at the effects of a…
We Explore the Most Commonly Abused Medications and Examine Treatment Since addiction often begins with a legitimate prescription, we look at the most commonly abused medications and how to find treatment. We’ve all heard the term “gateway drugs,” but what we’re really talking about here is more of the path toward addiction. Each of these…
The Stages of Recovery from Addiction Recovery from addiction and maintaining abstinence is no easy task. During the stages of recovery, addicts will go through a range of emotions and challenges. Understanding the stages of recovery will help the families and friends recognize the progress of their loved one or recognize the signs of relapse.…