Alcohol Abuse Advice

Posts Tagged ‘What’

What Are The Latest Discoveries On Alcoholism Studies?

The latest string of facts to emerge regarding alcoholism is staggering. A National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism study of over 43,000 American adults found that more Americans develop alcoholism each year than any other mental disorder.

Over a one year period, nearly 2% became alcoholics in need of alcohol treatment and an additional 1% showed signs of regular binge drinking. The damage is believed to exceed over 0 million annually and contributes to nearly half of all car accidents, claiming 100,000 lives.

“Alcohol can change gene expression in the brain. This is believed to be responsible for many of the hallmarks of addiction, such as tolerance, physical dependence and cravings, as well as the consequences of chronic alcoholism, such as neurotoxicity (brain damage),” said Dr. R. Adron Harris, director of UT Austin’s Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research.

What One Should Know About Drug Addiction

Alcoholism & Drug Addiction are common realities in today’s society. Some estimates have shown that over twenty percent of the United States population battles with a substance abuse problem. Not only health caregivers and social workers encounter this population on a regular basis. Indeed, even company managers and professionals most likely encounter some (if not many) of this percentage more often then not. Professionals in their positions of authority may be the only ones with the opportunity to help. It is their opportunity to spot drug dependency and (hopefully) offer the availability for effective individualized and holistic treatment. A little perception and educated kindness may mean the world of difference – maybe even save a life.

Who Does Drug Addiction Affect?

Question by Jackie O MG: At what point is a friendship not worth the emotional distress and drama it’s causing?
My fiance’s good friend has been dating this girl for the past couple years. I have no doubt in my mind that she’s borderline insane. From day one she has been nothing but drama. I don’t even know where to start- lies, delusions, hissy fits over chicken wings, violence (towards her bf), fights… it’s out of control. It’s gotten to the point where her issues have caused some major disagreements and divisions between the other couples and friends in the group, including me and my fiance and me and my two best girl friends.

What is Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disorder that has been recognized throughout recorded history. It affects about 1 percent of Americans.

People with schizophrenia may hear voices other people don’t hear or they may believe that others are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or plotting to harm them. These experiences are terrifying and can cause fearfulness, withdrawal, or extreme agitation.

Causes of Schizophrenia

Researchers suspect a biological (either genetically or environmentally) basis for schizophrenia, possibly an imbalance in brain chemicals that regulate thought and emotion. A sibling or a parent with schizophrenia increases the likelihood that a person will have the disease.

It’s not known what causes schizophrenia. However, researchers believe that an interaction of genetics and environment may cause schizophrenia. Problems with certain naturally occurring brain chemicals, including the neurotransmitters dopamine and glutamate, also may contribute to schizophrenia.

What to Do if You’re Living with an Alcoholic

In the previous article we talked about things but you should not do.  In this article we’ll talk about things that you could do to make it more certain that your partner will do something about their drinking.  As suggested in the previous article as the partner of the drinker you should not fall into the trap of co-dependency, that is living the life reacting to the behavior of the drinker.  It is difficult to not fall into that pattern, however that only reinforces the drinker’s behavior and increases the anger and resentment felt by the partner.

Dissociative Identity Disorder: What About Multiple Personalities?

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) or Split Personality, is a challenge to even the most experienced clinician. Patients often experience confusion, fear, suspicion, anger, helplessness, and a myriad of other feelings. Proper diagnosis is often difficult, but the greatest difficulties come in the treatment phase.  The movies “Three Faces of Eve” (1957) and “Sybil” (1973) introduced the general population to the phenomenon of dissociation. The shocking exposé led some viewers to question their own sanity when periods of time were missing from their memories. Thus, there was a surge of the MPD diagnosis in the 80s and early 90s, when it was diagnosed too frequently.