Hallucinogens distort one’s perception of reality by changing the way the brain’s prefrontal cortex processes information. This critical area of the brain control conscious thought, perception and cognition. Even short term abuse of hallucinogens may result in temporary psychosis. The long term effects of hallucinogens include a host of unpleasant possibilities. These include persistent psychosis…
How Group Therapy Helps In Recovery During recovery, patients go through several types of therapy. Some of it is done in individual counseling sessions where a single client meets with a therapist or counselor. During these sessions, the counselor can start to get a better understanding of how the client’s background and tendencies have been…
Confessing anything to a loved one is never easy. It takes a sense of dedication, honesty and coming to grips with the fact that you’re not perfect. Knowing how to tell someone you’re an addict requires some careful consideration. Substance abuse problems bring with them a whole host of problems not the least of which…
What Recovering Addicts Want You To Know Recovering addicts are often looked upon with consternation, largely due to misconceptions or generalization. If you ever had the opportunity to sit and talk with someone in this position, here is what recovering addicts want you to know: They never chose to become an addict. Although they chose…
Dating Someone In Recovery Dating isn’t easy at any stage of life. Dating during recovery brings with it a set of challenges on both sides of the relationship. Imagine this scenario: you’ve been dating for awhile when one day, you find someone who seems to have all the qualities you seek in a partner –…
Some of the most common co-occurring disorders found in chemically dependent people include mood and anxiety disorders. An even higher percentage of people with severe mental illness also have co-occurring disorders that are substance abuse related. Called severe because of the severity and length of episodes of illness, these mental health disorders include schizophrenia and…
It’s been said that most people are predisposed to certain traits or activities. Some people might have bouts with depression, some might have anger issues or some people might be temperamental. Others may have difficulty with anxiety. Still others might have a predisposition to addiction in one form or another. Addiction risk factors include far…
To support an addict in recovery means that friends, loved ones and family members must come together and develop a plan. Most important to the success is the attitude and support of an addict’s spouse or significant other. The recovery can be a long process and it takes a toll on those who are patiently…
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…
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…