Category: Articles

Methamphetamine - The Return of Meth

The Return of Meth

Articles, Australia, Education, International, Malaysia, Understanding Addiction, United Kingdom

A recent article in the New York Times reported that methamphetamine is making a serious come-back. They reported that as meth became widely available in its first turn as a dangerous and destructive recreational drug. Measures to stop the manufacture of methamphetamine stepped up to stop its availability. From the start, one of the most dangerous features of meth was its ease of manufacture. With a few simple items and some over the counter cold medicine, people were able to make the drug in home labs. This of course led to another series of problems. The state of Oregon began requiring people to obtain a prescription to purchase the main cold medications needed to manufacture meth, and this more or less shut meth down as a readily available drug.

However, where there is demand, a supply will eventually materialize and so it has. Drug cartels form south of the U.S. border have begun filling the demand for meth and the drug is making a rapid return. Overdoses from methamphetamine increased 11% over the last year. This is a dramatic rise. Users are no longer just smoking and snorting the drug. They are shooting up meth along with heroin. It seems the heroin epidemic has helped amplify the dangers of meth use and abuse.

The problem of the rise of meth is not isolated to the United States. Australia and New Zealand have seen a substantial increase in the amount of the drug and the widespread use of meth. Authorities in New Zealand recently seized a half ton of methamphetamine coming from Hawaii. Authorities stated that this was more than all of the meth taken in during the entire year of 2015. Customs officials seized approximately 700 million dollars worth of meth in Sydney smuggled in bras and art supplies.

The demand for meth, it would seem, never went away even as the rate of use decreased with the availability of the drug. Meth is a highly addictive drug. There is no safe way to use meth and people who use it, in any form, rapidly become addicted. The general physical destruction of the body which meth users experience is profound.

With this kind of increase of availability of meth in the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand, we are bound to see a rapid increase in the number of people who are addicted to the drug. While some people may benefit from outpatient rehab and recovery programs. The severity of meth addiction is such that most users will likely require more long term care. Meth addiction is so severe, its physical and mental toll so pronounced, that inpatient rehab is generally required to interrupt and recover. Inpatient rehab for meth addiction generally consists of a range of medical treatment to alleviate the symptoms of withdrawal. Followed by a full emotional, psychological, and physical treatment program.

DARA Drug and Alcohol Rehab in Thailand is fully equipped to handle meth addiction. This is not a 12 step program. Rather, DARA utilizes the most recent scientifically verified methods for treating all addiction including methamphetamine addiction.

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Prescription Drugs and Addiction

Prescription Drugs and Addiction

Articles, Australia, Celebrity Rehab, International, Malaysia, Treatment, Understanding Addiction, United Kingdom, United States

Prescription Drugs and Addiction – By now, most of us have learned about the rampant addiction problem associated with heroin and methamphetamine. The problem in general, the overdoses, and the heartbreaking stories of young people whose lives have been destroyed by these drugs are all over the evening news in most parts of the world. We tend to hear less about the dangers of prescription drugs.

It is common practice for people to be prescribed powerful pain medications for everything from sports injuries to post-operative pain. The people who take these drugs are following doctor’s orders and following prescription guidelines. The problem lies in the fact that many of these drugs are highly addictive. Once an individual tries to stop using the drugs, they begin to experience withdrawal symptoms without knowing that this is what is happening to them. The take more of the medication, and the addiction cycle is in full bloom.

For some, this perfectly innocent and accidental addiction becomes a path to heroin. Prescription opioids are difficult to obtain without a prescription and they are expensive. The logical leap to a cheap and readily available street drug in the form of heroin is a small step to feed a growing addiction.

Recent studies in Australia revealed that there were more than 1800 overdose deaths from prescription drugs in 2016. This is more than the number of heroin overdoses at the height of Australia’s heroin problem in 1999. A recent report stated that more people are dying from prescription drugs in Australia than from illegal drugs.

Experts are particularly worried about the elderly since they often find themselves isolated. They are therefore more prone to fall into addiction and to suffer with addiction without any recourse. They are unaware of what is happening to them, and there is often no one around to intervene in the problem.

Another complication in this is that for some people, the addiction can go on for years without them being fully aware of it. People report taking prescribed oxycodone for as long as eight years and even admit that they cannot function without it. Yet they remain unaware of the fact that this inability to function without the drug is in fact an addiction. This is intrinsic problem with prescription medications.

We all have that element of trust and faith in the judgment of a doctor. We simply trust that we are being treated correctly and safely. If prescribed a drug, especially if we are living with chronic pain in which relief may be all we can think about, we simply take the drug. We expect that if we take the drug as prescribed, we will be fine. The problem is that so many of these drugs are dangerously addictive.

Oxycodone, for example, operates on the central nervous system in exactly the same way as heroin and morphine. It attaches to neurotransmitters and helps to block pain, and basically all feeling, in order to perform the prescribed task. As we use the drug, our bodies begin to require the drug in the same way as heroin. 

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Relapse Prevention

Mindfulness and Relapse Prevention

Alternative Treatment, Articles, Australia, Education, International, LGBTQ, Malaysia, Treatment, Understanding Addiction, United Kingdom, United States

Moving beyond initial treatment is both a blessing and time of anxiety. As we move on from the first steps toward living free of addiction. We can feel the weight of addiction off of us. Most people are tremendously relieved to think of a life that will not involve the endless machinations required to obtain drugs, to have enough money, and to just survive. On the other hand, this new life is frightening. How will we deal with the triggers and temptations which lie before us?

All treatment programs will offer training on relapse prevention. There are as many programs for preventing a relapse as there are treatment programs. One of the emerging ideas in relapse prevention which is gaining serious traction in mindfulness.

Mindfulness involves a program of meditation and general awareness which seeks to free people form the negative judgments and reactions which are programed into us. All of us have a lifetime of personal and social expectations as to how we are supposed to respond to things in life. Even as we experience our own internal thoughts and feelings, we assign judgments to those thoughts and feelings. Mindfulness seeks to re-direct those judgments.

In the early days of sobriety we are likely to encounter situations which offer triggers. These are situations which make us want to use, and as addicted people, we generally use without any reflection at all. As we apply mindfulness to these moments, we are asked to take time to go ahead and experience the mix of feelings and thoughts. Rather than attempting to control those thoughts, mindfulness asks that we simply allow them to flow through our minds.

It seems that by relaxing our judgments in these situations. We are able to experience negative feelings and thoughts which are the substance of triggers in such a way that the power of these triggers is taken away. If we can work with techniques of meditation and quiet thought, the triggers do not overwhelm us.

What practitioners of mindfulness offer is a program of relaxation and meditation. This requires some training and practice. But over time, we can internalize these practices such that they become our immediate response to stressful or negative situations.

The idea here is that we cannot change our behavior until we change our minds. Changing our minds requires a program of exercise just like working our muscles. The types of reactions we have to stressful and negative situations are learned behaviors. We were not born to treat anxiety with alcohol, for example. Given this, we can learn new ways of thinking about situations in life and this will inevitably lead to new behaviors. Behaviors which do not involve drugs and alcohol.

As we move beyond treatment and rehab we can take the methods and practices of mindfulness with us. These practices do not require counselors or support groups, although there are groups who support and practice mindfulness. We need only learn the meditation techniques and develop the habit of applying these the moment we encounter triggers and difficult situations.

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dealing with cravings

Dealing with Cravings

Articles, Australia, Education, International, LGBTQ, Malaysia, Treatment, Understanding Addiction, United Kingdom, United States

Dealing with Cravings – The nagging problem of cravings is familiar to anyone who has ever dealt with addiction. This is the central rub for addiction. People can tell themselves again and again that they do not want to use. They know if they use that there will be consequences, maybe even death. However, there is something that flares in the minds of addicted people which drives them to use in spite of their own wills to not use. However much they want to be sober, the craving for alcohol, for heroin, for any substance will not relent.

Treatment and counseling will address this problem first off. Inpatient treatment in some ways is specifically designed to lift a person out of their environment and create a space where those cravings can be met with something other than the substance. Some treatment options remind people that the cravings do fade over time. The severity and immediacy of the craving will eventually go away. However, many people report that the cravings return, sometimes many years later. Addicted people need a real method for dealing with cravings.

One method involves using a specific understanding of exactly what constitutes a craving. One researcher and counselor suggests that we can handle cravings by understanding them. The craving is in reality a thing of the past. Its present weight and immediacy is an illusion.

Whatever drives the craving comes from something we did or experienced long ago. We started using because of a trauma or some form of abuse, for example. Without diminishing those moments, we can also remind ourselves that those things are not happening now and the behaviors we developed to handle those terrible times and feelings are equally in the past.

Either with a counselor, in a group, or with a therapists patients in treatment are encouraged to experience the moment of craving then taught to allow that feeling to slide along a continuum of time. Reaching back to all the times one experience the craving, all the way back to the kinds of feelings and experiences which led to substance abuse. By doing this patients can begin to see that the craving is part of something else. The craving is no longer an undeniable drive to use. It becomes a part of long series of moments and feelings none of which are actually bearing down on them at that time. The moment of craving can be re-directed.

It would seem that this insurmountable craving is not quite an inevitable feature of sober life. Many people fear recovery because they cannot imagine a life that is not characterized by a constant “need” to use. Facing the cravings without using becomes the very thing which prevents proper recovery. By addressing the fact of cravings in a way that takes the mystery, inevitability, and pain out of cravings, patients can see recovery for what it is: relief from suffering rather than a different form of suffering. What is more, this method of recognizing and dealing with cravings can be taken well beyond the time of initial treatment. It is a skill that can be learned and carried throughout a sober life. 

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Staying Motivated in Recovery

Staying Motivated

Articles, Australia, Education, International, LGBTQ, Malaysia, Treatment, Understanding Addiction, United Kingdom, United States

Staying Motivated in Recovery – Staying motivated, whether we want to or not, is an important part of recovery. Staying motivated through the recovery process can be a challenge, but there are a few ways that can help you stay motivated to reach your goals. In fact, there are five basic goals that can help you stay motivated. Each will be explored below.

The first goal is to keep it simple. While looking at the big picture is great, in recovery, especially early recovery, keeping things simple is best. You are working toward a better life, but break this down into smaller manageable steps. If your goal is to become a productive citizen and need to get a job, but do not have a license to drive to a job, then start working toward that license. This may mean paying fines, studying for a test, or clearing up other issues related to the lack of a license. Start with the obvious then deal with other issues to the bigger goal.

Next, affirm yourself. This may seem silly, but you need to take the time to look back at what you have already accomplished and what goals you have met, no matter how big or small. You have taken positive steps simply by entering recovery. Do not take these for granted and celebrate them. For those who have been in recovery for any length of time, celebrate the milestones in a healthy manner. Celebrate your first week, your first month, and your first year. You have a right to be proud of what you have accomplished.

As part of affirming yourself, pre-plan celebrations. Set goals to meet and rewards for meeting these goals. The rewards should be comparable to the goals you have met. A date night with a movie for an entire week of staying on track or a party with other sober people at the one year mark may be good ideas. If you do not meet the goals then you do not get the reward, but that is not reason to give up it is a reason to keep trying until you succeed.

Next, create a support network. This support network will both offer you support and be able to celebrate your accomplishments with when they are met. This group can also offer encouragement when you are struggling or want to give up. Choose your support network wisely as they are people you will need to be totally honest with over time. They will know your secrets, your struggles, and your victories. These people will become a type of lifeline for you at times and will likely become close friends as well.

Finally, maintain structure. This may be the hardest part as it requires self-discipline. Keep a daily routine that includes recovery activities and self-care activities. You cannot meet your goals if you are not taking care of yourself. This includes eating healthy, taking time to relax, and practicing good mental hygiene. You are worth the effort after all.

Now that you know how to build motivation and stay motivated you can accomplish anything you wish. What will you choose?

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