If you are regularly using marijuana, it has already made changes to your brain. You can try to live in denial or justify your use, but there isnāt any way to erase the reality of the changes. The more chronic your marijuana use is, the more severe and comprehensive the changes will be. In some….
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Many people consider what they should bring to their rehab center before treatment, but some forget that there are prohibited items as well that will not be allowed in the facility. It is important to know what not to bring to your rehab facility before you begin treatment. If you are looking for safe, reliable….
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It is perfectly natural to enter a rehab center filled with guilt and shame and resentments. When you are living as an addict, your drug use becomes the most important thing in your life and it will undermine every important relationship you have. People on both sides of the divide are bound to find themselves….
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People affected by dual diagnosis conditions struggle with the combined effects of addiction and one or more psychological disorders. When considered separately, both addiction and mental illness can greatly compromise a personās ability to function in daily life. When combined, people living with dual diagnosis stand to experience the worst of what these two conditions….
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It can be a rather delicate area when it comes to whether or not a person should consider dating during rehab. While there are several schools of thought on the subject, it is important to remember that your time in rehab, first and foremost, should be spent focused on your recovery. If you are looking….
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It is no surprise that the number of prescription drug abusers has been growing steadily and so have the rates of overdose death. It is an increasingly dangerous situation that affects people in all ages, socioeconomic groups, and races. However, despite the attention the opiate epidemic is getting in general, one group of people is….
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When you are about to enter a rehab center, you have a lot on your mind. You have employment issues. Your relationships are compromised. You may have legal problems. You are juggling a number of concerns and it is all you can do just to get into the rehab center and start the process. One….
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Certainly, addiction crosses all barriers: gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, age group, etc. And, all of these people also face the risk of a dual diagnosis, a situation in which a person receives more than one diagnosis for concurrent conditions, like addiction and depression for example. But, a recent study indicates non-heterosexual women who have….
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There are a lot of terms that are used to reference the situation of having both a substance use disorder and a mental illness. Sometimes it is called dual diagnosis. Other times, it may be comorbid or co-occurring disorders. Dual diagnosis can happen in any combination and number, but there are patterns among specific groups…..
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Hydrocodone, a prescription opioid drug, offers fast and effective relief for conditions involving moderate to severe pain symptoms. Unfortunately, these pain-relieving properties come with certain āpleasantā side effects that can promote abuse and eventual addiction. Anyone struggling with hydrocodone addiction well knows how this drug can overpower any intentions one may have to stop using….
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Borderline Personality Disorder, or BPD, is one of several personality disorders, including paranoid personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder. BPD is a complex and serious mental illness. Those who are diagnosed with it are unable to manage their emotions appropriately and this seriously impacts relationships. They find it difficult to regulate their emotions and thoughts;….
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Dual diagnosis conditions bring out the worst in addiction and mental illness, leaving those affected helpless to take back control of their lives. Conditions like depression, anxiety and schizophrenia actually make a person more susceptible to drug abuse practices. On the flip side, someone engaging in chronic drug abuse faces a high risk of developing….
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For a lot of people, 12 step programs, like Alcoholics Anonymous, are mistakenly assumed to be part of all drug and alcohol treatment. For people who reject the fundamentals of the 12 step model, such as belief in a higher power, this confusion may lead to people avoiding rehab because they believe they will either….
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Support is a major component of all successful recoveries from substance use disorders. Most people look to their families as a source of this support. But, what do you do if your family is part of the problem and canāt support your recovery? Or, what do you do if your family canāt support you because….
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The transgender community faces specific hurdles to sobriety and specific triggers for substance abuse that arenāt widespread among all communities. Given the high percentage of transgender people with a substance use disorder, treatment programs need to be attuned to these needs and meeting them with regularity. But, that isnāt the case. For a variety of….
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