Sober Resources

What does addiction mean?
When a person has lost control over the drug or drinks he or she uses, then it is called as addiction. Besides alcohol or some illegal drugs, people get addicted to cigarettes, medications and even glue. Addiction can often be psychological, physical or both. The need to have the specific substance or drug is the most significant sign of an addiction.

Addiction to Alcohol – Alcoholism
The persistent use of alcoholic beverages despite health problems and negative effects is generally known as alcoholism. Medically, alcoholism can be described as a disease that results in continued use of alcohol despite negative consequences. It is basically the inability to understand the negative consequences of alcohol consumption. Alcoholism, as per the American Medical Association is the primary chronic disease that is characterized by loss of control over drinking, use of alcohol despite negative effects and even distortions in thinking.

What are the primary and secondary effects of alcoholism?
It induces the sufferer to drink at times and in damaging amounts. This is perhaps the primary effect of alcoholism. The impaired ability to have control over drinking is the secondary damage due to alcoholism.

Even after the health problems start, it is common for an alcohol addict to drink well. The health problems that are related to excessive alcohol consumption are pancreatitis, increased chance of cancer, liver cirrhosis, polyneuropathy, heart diseases epilepsy, alcoholic dementia, sexual dysfunction, nutritional deficiencies and also death from all kind of sources.

How does alcoholism affect socially?
The consumption of alcohol during duty hours can lead to loss of employment and thus creating financial problems. The intake of alcohol at inappropriate times can cause legal consequences, which includes criminal charges for tortuous behavior, public disorder, and drunk driving. The behavior due to reduced judgment of a drunken person can lead to the imposition of civil penalties on that person. The impact caused by an alcoholic’s behavior can be significant. The mental impairment of a drunken person due to increased consumption of alcohol can affect the surrounding family and friends. This could lead to domestic violence, divorce and marital conflict. As a result, the emotional development of the alcoholic’s children can be drastically affected.

What are the issues related to alcohol withdrawal?
When an alcohol addict stops drinking, he may find very difficult without alcohol. The person may feel very uneasy. This is known as withdrawal. The withdrawal from alcohol differs very much from that of other types of drugs due to the fact that it could be fatal directly. If mismanaged, a healthy alcoholic could die due to the direct withdrawal effects. The production of a neuroinhibitor known as GABA could be very much reduced due to heavy consumption of alcohol. When the consumption of alcohol is stopped abruptly, it leads to a condition where both GABA and alcohol to be in inadequate quantities in the system as a result causes the firing of the synapses in uncontrolled manner. This manifests as convulsions, hallucinations, seizures, shakes and even heart failure. These are together referred as delirium tremens. A medically directed detox can be used to control all these withdrawal problems.

What impact does alcoholism have on society?
The general perception of the health problems related to long-term alcoholism is that it is detrimental to the society. The most important factor for causing vehicle accidents, head injuries, assaults and violence is the use of alcohol. It causes pain induces suffering and causes money problems to alcoholic affected and others around the person. Fetal alcohol syndrome is an incurable condition caused by consumption of alcohol by a pregnant woman. Due to its wide impact on the society parliaments and governments have formulated alcohol policies to control the problems of alcoholism.

How to treat Alcoholism?
Since there are many perspectives for alcoholism, treating an alcohol addict is quite varied. Persons approaching alcoholism as a disease or medical condition suggest differing treatments than those who approach it as one of social option. The main focus of treatment is on aiding people to stop their alcohol consumption. It is then followed up with life training and social supporting so as to help them withstand a return to use of alcohol. Alcoholism treatment should prevent a relapse since alcoholism encourages a person to continue consumption of alcoholism. Detoxification is an example of this kind of treatment. It is then followed by combination of providing support through introducing to the self-help groups. The treatment to alcoholism is based on zero tolerance approach and harm reduction approach.

How effective is the treatments?
As far as the effectiveness of the treatment is concerned, it varies widely. When the effectiveness of alcoholism treatment is taken into account, the rate of success should be based on those who enter the program, but not on those who complete the program. Qualification of success is the completion of the program. So the success rate among the persons who complete the program is nearly 100%. It is vital to consider not just the success rate, but also the relapsing rate. A year after the completion of the rehabilitation program the results show that roughly a third of the alcohol addicts are sober, 40% of alcoholics have improved substantially but still consume occasionally, and a quarter of the persons have totally relapsed.

Rehabilitation Program – A Good Treatment
The integral part of the rehabilitation program is the detoxification, which is abrupt stopping of alcohol consumption coupled with replacing drugs having same effects in order to prevent alcohol withdrawal. The detoxification is followed by group therapy and psychotherapy. Detoxification treats physical effects and psychotherapy deals with psychological issues related addiction to alcohol. The next step is rationing and moderation programs. Then, providing the medication, which is the vital part of the rehabilitation program. It is considered as part of the treatment for alcoholism. The medication includes medications for withdrawal and detoxification known as Delirium treatments, and medications for long – term usage.

There are millions of people whose lives are filled with chaos caused by the excessive drinking of someone close to them. Every day can be marked with distress, bitterness, sadness and fear as they keep watch of themselves versus the consequences of drinking.

There are sober forums, sober resources, face-to-face help on substance abuse and alcoholism offered online such as The Sober Village. The online support and services and live help are for codependents where they can opt for counseling, therapy, and treatment and rehab options.

Al-Anon: A worldwide fellowship of family groups who are relatives and friends of alcoholics with common experiences, strength and hope to solve the problem of alcoholism and addiction. They believe that there’s no better prescription than learning to face the problem until it loses the power to prevail in one’s life.

Alateen: Part of the Al-Anon fellowship for young people to share and discuss difficulties caused by their parents’ drinking habits. They learn ways to cope, support, encourage and help each other. They are taught to emotionally disjoin themselves from the problem while continuing to love the person, that they are not the cause, but they can only control themselves.

Nar-Anon: A worldwide non-professional fellowship of relatives and friends whose lives have been affected by a person’s addiction. It is a mutual support recovery program to share experiences and resolve their common problem.

The diagnostic processes are adapted from AA, giving them a sense of well-being and opportunity to change and overcome the parlous situation.

1) The Twelve Steps: It is all about admission of the wrongs, searching one self’s moral inventory, restoration, making amends and believing in one authority, God; prayer, meditation and spiritual awakening and to live as He wills it.

2) The Twelve Traditions: It talks about one self’s common welfare with the purpose of helping families of addicts, not to divulge in any endorsement for money, to be self-supporting, to be responsible to those they serve, remain non-professional and anonymous with God or a Higher Power at the center of their endeavor.

3) The Twelve Concepts of Service: Talks about responsible service, good leadership, the key to harmony, the right to be heard, spiritual foundations and delegation of authority.

Fact 1: The possibility of going back to their destructive behavioral patterns haunts all recovering drug addicts.
Fact 2: Chronic Drug Relapse is one of the most common post-drug rehabilitation issues facing addicts, yet is the most misunderstood.

Drug addiction is a path towards disaster and can only come to an end with a commitment and a desire to better one’s life and stave off drug use. But even when a hundred percent is dedicated towards total recovery, setbacks-called relapses are bound to happen.

A drug relapse is relatively common during addiction treatment therapy, usually during instances when the addict feels isolated, angry, sad, or guilty, or whenever thoughts about going high again entertain him, thereby a craving for going back to old behavior patterns heightens.

Although this phenomenon is not the outcome we would wish for the recovering addict, it is considered as something that comes along with drug addiction recovery. It is believed to be the most difficult challenge for drug addicts.

The most extreme form of drug relapse is Chronic Drug Relapse, a phenomenon that can have potentially disastrous effects on the addicts recovery process. Chronic Drug Relapse is characterized by a powerful irrepressible craving, need, and desire for drug intake which can last for months or even years after the addict stops taking them.

Steps that can help the recovering addict from launching into relapse do exist. One of these is to stay away from former companions who may influence the addict to go back to his old drug using life.

Another is to keep the mind productive and refrain from discussing the positive effects of drug use. This will rouse interest and may trigger drug use cravings. The best way would be for the addict to speak out once he senses a craving for drug use to a support group. The recovering addict needs to surround himself with people who can provide him with helpful insights and who understands his situation, a group that knows his goals and is supportive once he starts to steer away from them.

Drug addiction counseling will also contribute significantly. This is the perfect avenue for former drug users to point out what made them start to use drugs, whether it was influenced by family or friends, a job loss or the death of someone important. From thereon the addict can start to develop more healthy coping strategies that will help them overcome these problems with the goal of pursing a more meaningful and fulfilled life as core.

While addiction counseling, drug treatment and rehabilitation all lead to the road to recovery, it is the addicts sole decision whether to walk away from, or towards the light.

Today, alcohol is being used as a badge of sorrow. The main determinant of how mournful you are is how many glasses of vodka you can down, or how many bottles of beer you can empty. But does this rather popular, and not to mention, costly process of coping with grief really helpful? Or does it just double, or triple the trouble?

A study conducted by Japanese researchers from the University of Tokyo was published in the US academic journal, Neuropsychopharmacology. The study debunked the old-age myth that alcohol can drown sorrow through intensive scientific research. Ethanol, which is the intoxicating substance found in alcohol was proven to do little to speed up the process of forgetting, instead, it only locks the bad memories in place.

The researchers gave mild shocks to laboratory rats that caused them to freeze in terror and curl up. A group of rats were then injected with ethanol or saline. The researchers found that rats that have been injected with alcohol freeze up far longer than their alcohol-free counterparts. If we apply this to humans, the bad memories that people tend to drown out through alcohol-drinking actually remain longer.

Aside from doing nothing to erase your bad memories, alcohol can also give you more trouble. Drinking too much when your system can’t take it causes you to be intoxicated. It can significantly and dramatically slow your response time, and impede your vision, hearing and feeling. When drunk, you are unable to control most of your bodily actions, and you get up in the morning with celebrated stories of how you acted so stupid and silly the night before.

Alcohol takes over your central nervous system and when it does, seemingly easy tasks, such as driving will become an arduous chore that can be life-threatening to you and to the people around you. When you drink and drive, you can also get into trouble with the cops. Drinking will never get you far from any form of solution to any of your problems. Alcohol will only add insult to injury. It never helps, and it can be really costly too.

When you feel down or overwhelmed with problems, never seek alcohol to solve them. Instead, face your issues and be brave enough to take the necessary steps that could get you out of your misery. Do not turn to drinking sprees, they can’t solve anything. Face your troubles by yourself or seek out support. You are far stronger, wiser and braver than alcohol can ever be.

It’s not just meth or heroin or even marijuana that’s becoming a grave threat to society. Even pain killers have joined the list.

The increasing abuse and addiction of pain killers which are supposed to provide relief from chronic pain is common today. According to studies made in 2002 by the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, more than two million people in America take pain killers illegally every year.

Painkiller dependency begins following the occurrence of common injuries or certain pain relief requiring health conditions and surgery. These may include having slipped and fallen, having strained a muscle, headaches or migraines, or diseases like arthritis. Having been in a car accident or recovery from surgery also requires one to take in pain killers to ease off discomfort from muscle pains and aches.

Whether it is acute, chronic or traumatic pain, medications are necessary in order to manage the pain. But the problem with this is that what starts out to be a tool for providing relief from discomfort or soreness will prove to be fatal once painkiller dependence persists.

From weeks or months after recovery from a surgical procedure or an injury is achieved, some patients continue to rely on the drug to relieve them from pain instead of learning to get by without it. Patients will then take higher doses than what was originally prescribed, because the initial dose is now believed to be inadequate for pain management. Thus, a higher dosage is deemed appropriate in order to achieve desired pain relief level.

The result? Pain does not cease, it increases as well as the need to frequently take in more amounts of painkillers. Painkiller addiction or abuse starts to progress, which will prove to be fatal for the user. Lethal effects include a damaged liver and the plausibility of going into shock once painkiller abuse is abruptly stopped.

Pain killer addiction is not a surprising phenomenon, since pain killers are classified under the label opiates. Opiates are drugs that while chemically designed to cause receptors in the brain to block pain, also produce feelings of euphoria.
Once the addiction sets in, the user is trapped. What seems so harmless at first becomes potentially lethal.

There are advanced treatments being produced for Opiate Dependency. A new drug called Buprenorphine has been released into the market. It is a controlled substance that provides pain relief but is less addictive, allowing total withdrawal from all types of prescription drug use without having to replace the old addiction with another.

Following this drug therapy, pain killer users should be provided with special care so these cases do not escalate any further.

Alcohol Abuse
What does the term abuse mean?
The term ‘Abuse’ differs slightly from ‘addiction’. The usage of an illegal substance or usage of a legal substance in a wrong way is called substance abuse. One can abuse a drug substance for example alcohol but that does not signify that the person has an addiction to it.

Alcohol Abuse
The term ‘Binge drinking’ is very much important before discussing alcohol abuse. Binge drinking is the common problem among young people. It basically means simply drinking to get drunk. When a person’s consumption of alcohol starts to cause problem and eventually the habit of alcoholism continues, then Binge drinking turns into alcohol alone. When one continues the consumption of alcohol despite social, legal, interpersonal problems then it is alcohol abuse. The consequences of alcohol abuse can lead to mismanaging time at work, educational institutions, and even neglecting household responsibilities and children. It also affects socially.

When does alcohol abuse become alcohol dependence?
Alcohol abuse turns to alcohol dependence when the alcoholics start to have a craving for alcohol, have withdrawal symptoms when they stop consuming alcohol and lose control over their consumption. Alcohol dependence is a progressive disorder that induces strong need to consume alcohol in spite of the negative consequences.

Is alcoholism an inherited disease?
Scientific study on alcoholism shows that genetics play a vital part in problems related to alcohol development. The research also indicates that for a person to become an alcohol dependent the environment of the person and peer influences play a major role. Most of the scientific studies indicate the important role of heredity in alcohol development. Having said that, a family with history of alcoholics does not doom a member of that family into turning an alcohol addict. A person if properly managed can very well overcome the genetic tendency.

Symptoms Related to Alcoholism
There are vast varieties of symptoms associated to alcoholism. Alcoholism is generally perceived as a progressive disorder or disease, which means the effects and symptoms of alcoholism become increased over a period of time. Person, who consumes alcohol, may show initial signs of problem and then over a period of time, symptoms would progress and will be able to witness symptoms of alcohol abuse. If the consumption persists then they show symptoms related to alcoholism.

Symptoms Related To Alcohol Abuse
The primary symptom of alcohol abuse happens when the person repeatedly consumes, even after the person’s consumption level reaches a stage that causes continuous problems. Thus alcohol abuse can be confirmed, when the person continues the intake of alcohol, even after the drinking leads the person to miss school, work, drunken drive, social responsibilities and lands the person in trouble with the law. When blood Alcohol content (BAC) test is conducted a heavy drinker shows the following results. The results include increased carbodydrate deficient transferring, elevated GGT2, moderate increase of ALT and AST and a ratio of 2:1 (AST: ALT), and enlarged MCB known as macrocytosis.

Treatment
The prime focus of the most treatments for alcohol problems is to help the affected person discontinue the alcohol consumption. This is coupled with supporting the person socially so aft to aid them withstand a return to consumption of alcoholic beverages. As a part of the treatment, it is important for the person to get detoxified. Detoxification is an abrupt stop of intake of alcohol coupled with the replacement of drugs that have same effects to stop alcohol withdrawal.

How is the alcoholic treated mentally?
The detoxification treats the physical effects caused due to long term usage of alcohol. But the treatment should have an approach towards the psychological issues related to that particular person. For this purpose psychotherapy or group therapy, which deals with the mental state of person, can be employed. Mutual help group helps the affected person to maintain sobriety. Apart from that treatment, rationing and moderation programs play a vital part to manage the person from relapse to alcoholism.

Varying Medications for Alcoholism
The medications can be considered as part of treatment for alcohol addicts. The medication for alcoholism varies widely. There is medications for detoxification and withdrawal and Medication for long-term usage. Benzodiazepines drugs are the most suitable drugs to reduce the effects of withdrawal symptoms. Baclofen acts as a GABA B receptor agonist, which helps to increase detoxification. The drugs for long-term medication include Antabure, Naltrexone, Acamprosate, Topiramate. It has been known that sodium oxybate which is the sodium salt of GHB – gamma – hydrobutyric acid can be an efficient medication for both alcohol withdrawal and for long term usage.

What Is Gambling?

Any betting or wagering for self or others whether for money or not and where the outcome is uncertain or depends on chance or probability constitutes gambling. Gambling comes in many forms. Most of them are for money.

Compulsive Gambling and Addiction

There is something called as compulsive gambling. It starts at the age of 20’s for most men and at the late 30’s for women as an entertaining, stress relieving and fun activity which eventually progresses to become a habitual gambling. However most people progressively become addict gamblers usually after a big win. After this the desire to win back all the money intensifies more rapidly. It is a disorder which causes inconvenience to both the gambler and his/her family. There is no cure for habitual gambling. Despite disruptions in family and professional life, the gambling goes on.

Compulsive gambling has three phases which include ecstasy when winning, severe tension and depression when loosing and extreme anxiety in between these two phases. Being a gambling addict not only causes trouble to the individual but also to the people around the individual. As the time passes, lying becomes a characteristic feature of the gambler and the family persons learns not to trust the individual. Then the relationship between the family and children becomes hatred and they eventually break up. The psychological agony and social turbulence can result in marital breakdown, financial ruin and irreparable personal life profile. Gambling is always associated with physical symptoms like anxiety, headaches, and depression leading to smoking and alcohol consumption.

As it progresses, the individual losses the job and the savings might be lost which may induce the individual to venture in criminal activities like stealing money from colleagues to obtain more funds for gambling. They also borrow large amount of money which is usually never be paid. They tend to ignore rents and other family expenses also.
Heavy gambling is done because of the easy access and availability of casinos. Individuals from the middle class family are more prone to gambling because of the unemployment.

What is drug addiction?

Drug addiction is probably known as the imbalance state of a person resulting in improper functioning of both his physique and mind. Drug addiction is not similar in drug dependence and its tolerance.

Do you know the drugs which are used for addiction?

Here some of the fundamental addict causing drugs is mentioned.

Stimulant Which Includes

Amphetamine and Methamphetamine
caffeine
cocaine
nicotine etc.,

Sedatives and Hypnotics Which Includes

Alcohol
Barbiturates
Benzodiazepines
alprazolam
clonazepam, temazepam
Methaqualone and the related quinazolinone

Opiate and Opioid Analgesics Which Consists of

Morphine and Codeine
Semi-synthetic opiates such as Heroin
(Diacetylmorphine), Oxycodone, and Hydromorphone

Marijuana

What Is Marijuana?

Marijuana is a type of drug. It is a mixture of various parts (leaves, stems, seeds and flowers) of a plant called the hemp plant. The scientific name of hemp plant is Cannabis sativa. Marijuana has about 400 different types of chemical in it and some of them can cause cancer, but the main and active ingredient is called as tetrahydrocannabinol which is better known as THC. Ganja, chronic, pot, grass, boom and reefer are some of the common names but there are about 200 different names which refer to marijuana.

How and for what marijuana is used?

Marijuana is used in different ways. Some of users mix it with food, some brew it as tea but most of them smoke. Marijuana has tetrahydrocannabinol or THC which affects the brain and triggers it to release dopamine which gives high pleasure to the user for a short time.

Do you know the meaning of drug injection?

In olden days people prefer to take tobacco, alcohol, heroine etc., as a drug to nourish them. But nowadays it is casual to nourish them by using certain drug injections which is an instant process and also more effective. Though there are lots of alternatives it seems to be the time saving approach.

Alcoholism

What do you mean by the term alcoholism?

Alcoholism is the term reveals the meaning of simultaneous consumption of certain alcohol beverages. People are saying many reasons for the intake of this slow poison, despite of the health problems and negative social sequences made by it. Some people say that the sudden stop of certain alcoholic beverages will lead to a great problem in health. They argue that it will induce them to make a suicide attempt so it is always advisable to stop it.

What are the modern diagnoses taken against drug addiction?

Nowadays there are many modern diagnoses taken against the drug addiction through using modern technologies. It is possible to diagnose a person by knowing the intake of that particular drug. The recovery of the person depends on him. He should refuse to accept the intake of those drugs by himself.

In European countries they are struggling to bring down the people who were affected by drug addiction, but it is quite difficult there. On other hand in USA they have achieved.

What are the effects of marijuana and other drugs?

When the drug enters the brain, the THC present in it locates the neurons with specific receptors called cannabinoid receptors and binds to them. Then it influences the normal communication between the brain cells and causes lack of coordination. It is usually caused by smoking. High usage of the drug can cause anxiety and often panic attacks.
High concentrations of cannabinoid receptors are found in cerebellum, cerebral cortex and hippocampus. Centers of these parts of the brain are responsible for memory and certain types of learning. So when the THC binds to these parts it causes studying and memory problems like recalling the recent events becoming difficult. Cerebellum is associated with coordination. And another part of the brain called basal ganglia is also affected by THC. The basal ganglia control the movement of our body and hence our reflection becomes slow. So it is unwise to drive vehicles when marijuana is used or it may lead to accident.

Smoking Marijuana increases the chance of heart attacks. It may also lead to lung cancer even quickly than normal cigarette smoking because the Marijuana smoker tends to inhale more deeply and hold his breath longer than a cigarette smoker does.

What are the alternative therapies given for drug addiction?

Some of the medical experts say that acupuncture is one of the good alternative therapies for such addiction. Though there is some information about some alternative therapy, you can inquire to know which one is suitable to you.

What do you know about self medication?

Self medication termed as the treatment which is made for us and made by us without any medical supervision. If a buyer diagnoses himself using specific drug then it is fair to mention it as self medication.

It is not advisable to undertake self medication because you may use the drug on wrong ratio which leads to any other problems. So we should make sure about the nature and use of that drug.

Though many articles say about these drug addictions and its rehabilitation, it is not advisable to take certain drugs which leads to fatal results. It is better to conclude this essay by saying “prevention is better than cure”.

What is the cure?

Once addicted, it will be very difficult to come out. The user must have pure determination to get rid of these drugs.

Does Marijuana have medical values?

Marijuana has medical values. THC, the main and active ingredient can produce effects which can be potentially used for treating variety of medical conditions. It is also used in pills for stimulating appetite in AIDS patients. Scientific research is still going on about the medical values and the effects of the other chemicals present in marijuana.

What is heroin?
Heroin is a powerful drug which is processed from a chemical called morphine. Morphine is extracted from poppy plants. It is a powdery substance which appears to be white or brown. Heroin gives high pleasuring sense to its users. Of the entire drugs heroin is highly addictive because it develops a tolerance causing intense euphoria and strong physical dependence.

How is it used?
Heroin can be taken in different ways; the effect on the body depends on the methods of administration. It can be administered orally which gets metabolized to morphine in the body. It can be smoked, which will have immediate heightening sense of pleasure. It can be injected which results in rush and euphoria in 7 to 8 seconds.

Why does a person get addict?
When a person succeeds in something he/she experiences intense feelings of pleasure due to the limbic system because it is flooded with dopamine. So he/she is naturally driven to seek these feelings again. So likewise when a person uses a drug he/she experiences intense feelings of pleasure and the limbic system creates an appetite which drives us to seek those things again and again. Once a person stops using these drugs, it makes him feel lifeless and depressed and the only way is to use the drug again and again which makes him addicted. Drug addiction is a sort of disease. It makes the natural pleasuring sense of our brain to decrease. It is called as down regulation.

What are the Problems of Using Alcohol?
The teenagers may find it difficult to follow their studies.
They may commit crimes than those who don’t.
Those who have drunken may be sexually active and have unsafe, unprotected sex. This may result in unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS.
Use of alcohol may be cause for car crash, homicide or suicide.
It may affect the health also such as making to get high blood pressure. It is damaging your organs such as the liver, heart and brain.

How to avoid your bad habit?
In an unavoidable circumstance, you can leave that place at once. Otherwise you can drink some other beverages which do not contain any alcohol. You must have full self-confidence in that situation.

If you think you have drinking problem, get help soon. You must get treatment from a good doctor. These treatment centers help a person to gradually overcome the physical and psychological dependence of alcohol.

Binge Drinking
The habit of drinking over several days is known as binge drinking. This may lead to alcoholic poisoning. The symptoms of alcohol poisoning include
Extreme confusion
Inability to be awakened
Vomiting
Trouble in breathing
Low body temperature
Pale skin

People who have impaired judgment may have unprotected sex leading to Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) or unplanned pregnancy. Their physical and mental health may get upset.

Abuse and Addiction
Using the legal drugs or illegal medicines in a wrong way is known as abuse. Addiction means a person has no control over whether he or she uses a drug or drinks. Addiction can be physical, psychological or both. Overcoming addiction is not easy. Get help right away so that you can find recovery.

What is the treatment?
There is no cure for addiction, but it is a recoverable disease. The person must undergo drug addiction therapy and it takes time and moreover strong desire to get rid of it.

What are the effects?
Heroin enters the body rapidly and affects the regions of the brain like cerebellum and basal ganglia which are responsible for physical dependence, memory, actions and reaction time. It also affects the way one thinks. To get the same effect, the abuser must have or intake higher dose. Usage of heroin is always associated with crime, violence, fetal effects, AIDS, tuberculosis and also long term effects like disastrous personal life both physically and mentally. Of all the other drug abuse deaths, heroin tops the list.

What are the withdrawal symptoms?
Withdrawal symptoms can occur from a few hours to 72 hours after the dose and which can include drug craving, restlessness, bone and muscle pain, nausea, insomnia, vomiting and involuntary twitching or kicking movements.

What are the addiction treatments?
Medical drugs like methadone and buprenorphine administration have proven to be successful in treating heroin addiction. There are different opiates which can be used for heroin addiction. Methadone, a synthetic opiate is administered for blocking the effects for about 24 hours but it has more risk when being used in private office. Buprenorphine is also an opiate which is the most recent medication for the treatment of heroin. It also offers less risk and can be dispensed in the privacy of a doctor’s clinic.

There are other medications such as naloxone and naltrexone, which also block the effects of heroin and other opiates. There are also behavioral treatments available for heroin addictions which are designed to help and modify the patient’s thinking and behaviors to increase the skills in coping up with various life stresses. Moreover addiction can be overcome only by hard work and pure determination of the patient himself/herself.

The rise of online large scale intervention for alcoholics is gaining ground. Given that alcoholism is beginning to be a major cause of disability, and the fact that alcoholics do not get adequate treatment, it is high time to take help to a higher level.

Online intervention is changing the face of coping with and treatment of alcoholism. Since the internet is more accessible and more people are becoming netizens by each day, it is a change that is gladly welcomed by many. The internet has also great potential to deliver self-help intervention in a global basis, to people who do not seek or receive enough help for alcoholism, or simply to those who find it hard to do so. For some people, internet help is merely a supplement to their regular face-to-face meetings with other people, but for most, online help and intervention is the only meeting they could attend to.

In an age where time is of the essence, some people would rather let themselves whither away with alcohol than take the time to seek out professional help. Most Americans keep more than one job, and at the end of the day, they are too tired to go out and find someone who can help them and instead take comfort in nursing a bottle of whiskey. With the internet revolution, people can just sit on their computers and interact with similar individuals with similar needs – right in the comforts of their own home.

Online help has also been very helpful for a particular group of alcoholics with special needs. People with hearing disabilities or those who can’t get around without a wheelchair greatly benefit from online interaction to seek help. Others who want to remain anonymous can do so with little or no threats to his privacy.

There are many different ways for people to find online help. They can conveniently take part in online meetings, email discussion groups, real-time chat meetings, forum and bulletin board discussions and even voice-chat are now readily available in the web. All they have to do is find the right group that they are most comfortable with and they can start getting help from there.

Online intervention for alcoholics is convenient, fast and reliable. The steady rise of the Internet and its fast development has brought support for alcoholics and consequently, recovery to many people worldwide.
Copyright 2008. C.King, M.Ed.