September 18, 2017

Vitamins are extremely important for safe alcohol withdrawal. Thiamine is just one of the vitamins in which many alcoholics are deficient. Even former drinkers should get their thiamine levels tested.


September 18, 2017

Despite its popularity as a “club drug” and the belief that it is a safe drug, Ecstasy or MDMA is addictive, and individuals who use this drug can experience severe withdrawal symptoms that are akin to the symptoms of withdrawal from heroin or methamphetamines. Ecstasy is a psychoactive central nervous system stimulant. When a user stops taking ecstasy can result in severe flu-like symptoms, including aches and pains, gastric distress, drowsiness, lethargy, and soreness.

September 12, 2017

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous character, Sherlock Holmes, was an unabashed cocaine addict. Historians have long speculated about Doyle’s own experiences with cocaine, but the evidence on that point remains inconclusive. Doyle may not have been an addict himself, but history is replete with famous authors whose drug use ranged from dabbling in addictive substances, to full-blown addiction.

September 11, 2017

At its essence, multiple personality disorder, or “MPD”, is a coping mechanism. An individual who is embarrassed or uncomfortable with some element of his being might dissociate that element into a box or pocket that remains separate from the rest of his life. Sex addicts, for example, frequently distinguish their predilections from their regular day-to-day existences in order to rationalize their regular lives without feeling shame or guilt over their pursuits of taboo activities.

September 8, 2017

When Kids are Exposed to Drugs at Home

Parents who used drugs or alcohol before they started their own families may be tempted to continue that drug use around their children. They might justify their drug use on the premise of earning or deserving a break after a hard day, or on the theory that their children will be exposed to drug use among friends and they will be better off if they learn how to use drugs “responsibly”.

September 8, 2017

What to Do When the Urge to Drink Returns

For many recovering alcoholics, stopping all consumption of alcohol is the easy part. After an initial detox period that often includes uncomfortable even unbearable physical symptoms, an alcoholic will get sober and begin the process of rebuilding their life in recovery. Getting sober is not the same as staying sober, however, and all recovering alcoholics will experience strong cravings and urges to drink not just once or twice, but several times during their journey toward long-term recovery.

September 8, 2017

The Benefits of Vitamin D

Vitamin D is unique in that it is one of the few substances that your body can manufacture of its own accord simply with adequate exposure to sunlight. This vitamin is not a single substance, but is instead a group of related substances (including vitamins D1, D2 and D3) that are both vitamins and hormones. Vitamin D is essential for healthy bones and to maintain natural resistance to certain diseases.

September 5, 2017

“Hangover” is a collective term for the group of physical symptoms that someone might experience the day after a bout of heavy alcohol consumption. It includes all of the symptoms that have been lampooned in popular culture and reinforced throughout the history of drinking, including headaches, nausea, lethargy, aches and pains, and “cottonmouth”, or dry mouth. The condemnations and judgments of society typically react to a hangover as if it is just punishment for an evening of alcoholic debauchery, but the reality of a hangover is much more complex than just a payback.

September 4, 2017

Naltrexone is an opioid antagonist that blocks the effects of heroin and other opiate drugs in the brain. Although it is classified as an opioid antagonist, naltrexone can also be effective for treatment of alcoholism. An addict or alcoholic who is being treated with naltrexone will experience none of the euphoria that they seek from his drug. Those euphoric feelings reinforce heroin or alcohol addiction with each dose. The theory behind naltrexone and other opioid antagonists is that without that reinforcement, there is a better chance of breaking the addiction.

September 1, 2017

The American author, Mark Twain, is famously reported to have quipped that “it’s easy to quit smoking - I’ve done it hundreds of times.” Smokers who have developed a nicotine addiction will appreciate the irony in this quote, particularly if they have tried to stop smoking on one or more occasions. The physical and psychological connection to nicotine can create cravings that overwhelm even the most dedicated individual and that can doom their attempts to stop smoking.