Ending Addiction For Good

Addiction has often been called a cycle... "The cycle of addiction" is the phrased often used when speaking of intervention, the treatment of addiction, or sober living. While it is true that addiction can lead to a cycle of addiction>sobriety>addiction, the truth is that calling it cycle does not offer much hope for those wanting to end addiction.

Simply using inspiring words like "end" can strip away the negative ties and offer a more hopeful and definitive message to those who need to hear it the most. Whether you need long term drug treatment or simply outpatient drug treatment, the message of hope could be the strongest factor in a successful triumph over addiction.

In drug addiction counseling, the message is: "It ends here, it ends today."

If you are ready to end addiction today, visit Drug Addiction Treatment for more information and available programs. Visit the official Drug Addiction Treatment website at:

http://www.drugaddictiontreatment.com

Emotional Stages of Addiction

Addiction to alcohol, sex, food, or an illegal substance doesn't happen overnight. Little by little, a person may get involved with the bad habit until one realizes that he or she is mentally obsessed or emotionally compelled. But as addiction develops through time with frequent use or mismanaged behavior, lifetime recovery from addiction proves to be an emotional roller coaster ride. Even after detoxification or therapy, there's a good chance that the patient will suffer from a relapse without continued support from family and friends, strong will, and determination. The patient goes through confusing emotional states as he or she progresses with full-term recovery. Here are some of the emotional stages one has to go through:

Denial

At first, one would deny the fact that he or she might be suffering from addiction and would make excuses to cover for his or her acts. One would hide it from his or her family and make it seem like everything's perfectly normal.

Anger

When confronted or asked about the symptoms of his or her addiction, one tends to be defensive and would argue to justify his or her actions. An addict may even block out some family and friends and try to resolve the problem on his or her own. Often, an addict would blame others for his or her wrongdoings, turn away, and leave, instead of addressing the problem at hand. There's a feeling of resentment, which can be followed shortly by depression.

Bargaining

Seeing how his or her condition is affecting one's career, relationships, and personal life, an addict may promise not to do it again, but falls to the bad habit anyway. It is not easy to abstain from addiction all at once. This will take great will and determination, and without support from family and friends, recovery will be nearly impossible.

Depression

Unable to finally put a stop to the bad habit that's been causing a strain on one's family and personal life, an addict may feel that he or she has no choice or control over things. He or she then falls into depression. Any depressed individual would have trouble making the best decisions and would often isolate him or herself. But with the help of concerned family or friends, he or she may eventually be pulled out of anxiety, fear, and guilt.

Acceptance

Acceptance is often the first step to recovery. By admitting that one has a problem, he or she will be able to seek professional help and commit to the addiction program. Relapse often tests the recovery stage, but by believing in one's self, knowing the risks, and addressing the root of the problem, this can be overcome so full-term recovery can take its place in the person's life. An effective recovery program seeks to reinforce abstinence, personal growth, and necessary lifestyle changes.

Article above provided by recovery connections

QUESTION: What are the health risks of chewing tobacco as compared to smoking?

ANSWER: Some people who have been persuaded to give up smoking have ended up placing the tobacco directly inside their mouth instead—in the mistaken belief that smokeless tobacco (a.k.a. spit tobacco, chew, chaw, dip, plug, etc.) is less toxic and dangerous. In 2004, about 3% of American adults used spit tobacco. This percentage is likely to increase as more public establishments enforce smoking bans across the country.

Users can get their tobacco fix by “dipping” snuff (a fine tobacco, either moist or dry is held between the bottom lip or cheek and gum) or chewing (a wad of leaves, either shredded, twisted or in brick form, is placed between the cheek and gum). If you hold an average-sized plug in your mouth for 30 minutes, you’ll end up with as much nicotine as if you had smoked four cigarettes.

Smokeless tobacco includes more than 28 cancer-causing substances, including the tobacco-specific carcinogen nitrosamines. Some products also contain more than 3,000 chemicals. But that’s not all: Because tobacco often has an unpleasant taste, smokeless brands tend to be loaded with sugar, and that leads to tooth decay. The gritty material in the tobacco leaves wears down the surfaces of the teeth, stains the enamel and scratches the soft tissues in the mouth, allowing the nicotine and other chemicals to enter the blood stream directly. As an added bonus, your gums will likely recede, and you’ll develop oral lesions, a black hairy tongue and bad breath. Some smokeless tobacco products also contain salt that can raise blood pressure in vulnerable persons and may cause kidney disease.

I haven’t even mentioned cancer yet: Long-term snuff users have a 50% higher incidence of cancer of the mouth and pharynx, as well as more malignancies of the larynx and esophagus.

And here’s something you may not have considered: Tobacco chewers must spit—and thereby spread their germs to the rest of us. (About one in three Major League baseball players chew, and if you’ve ever watched a ballgame, you know it’s not pretty.)

The bottom line? If you chew, you have not kicked the nicotine habit. The smoking-cessation products approved by the FDA, such as gum and patches, are the safest available sources of nicotine for those trying to quit. There’s also tobacco-free snuff made from mint, clover, tea or alfalfa.

(Answered by: www.parade.com)

Addiction: defined

Historically, addiction has been defined with regard solely to psychoactive substances (for example alcohol, tobacco and other drugs) which cross the blood-brain barrier once ingested, temporarily altering the chemical milieu of the brain.
Many people, both psychology professionals and laymen, now feel that there should be accommodation made to include psychological dependency on such things as gambling, food, sex, pornography, computers, video games, internet, work, exercise, idolising, watching TV or certain types of non-pornographic videos, spiritual obsession, pain, cutting and shopping so these behaviors count as 'addictions' as well and cause guilt, shame, fear, hopelessness, failure, rejection, anxiety, or humiliation symptoms associated with, among other medical conditions, depression and epilepsy.

(**Wikipedia)

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Blew it.

Well, thanks to my boss I am back to a pack and a half as of today... can't say I wasn't trying. Maybe I need to take up yoga or something to help with the stress. I have also heard that having carrot sticks or stick pretzels around help or even knitting because it keeps your hands busy.

I am going to have to try something to kick this habit.

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What is nicotine addiction?

Nicotine is the tobacco plant's natural protection from being eaten by insects. It is a super toxin that, drop for drop, is more lethal than strychnine or diamondback rattlesnake venom, and three times deadlier than arsenic. Yet, amazingly, by chance, this natural insecticide's chemical signature is so similar to the neurotransmitter acetylcholine that once inside the brain it fits a host of chemical locks permitting it direct and indirect control over the flow of more than 200 neuro-chemicals.
Within ten seconds of that first-ever inhaled puff, possibly through dizzy, coughing and six shades of green, nicotine arrived at the brain's reward pathways where it generated an unearned flood of dopamine, resulting in an immediate yet possibly unrecognized "aaah" reward sensation. Sensing it would cause most first-time inhalers to soon return to steal more. Nicotine also activated the body's fight or flight pathways releasing adrenaline, and select serotonin pathways impacting mood and impulsivity.

(**Find more at whyquit.com)

You can overcome addiction!

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