Living a sober life during rehab is easier because you have all the support and tools needed to get through each day. Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not suggesting recovery is easy, but I wonder: Once you leave rehab, what’s it like? Imagine a world in which you can focus your energy on positive things—like enjoying [...]
Rhode Island has the dubious honor of being named the state with the highest rate of mental illness, illicit drug use, and suicide attempts in America. Is the picture complete? Are there factors that skew the results and mislead? Let’s take a look at what’s behind the claim. We’ll begin with silence. Yes, addiction is [...]
The presence of both mental illness and substance abuse is common, affecting more than 14 million Americans a year. Sadly, only less than 20% of them are receiving treatment that properly addresses their dual issues. Typically, treatment is aimed at one disorder or the other, but not both. The problem, of course, is that each [...]
Drug addiction is tough. You use, and use, and use, and can’t stop, even when you want to. So if you’ve had enough, if you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired, the first thing you need to do is to cleanse your system of the toxins before you can even think clearly enough [...]
The most common and simple way to stop abusing alcohol or heroin or cocaine is to stop taking it. However, detoxing is rarely that simple. Short-term physical and mental health risks are high. For opiate and alcohol dependencies, detox is not only the most painful thing that many addicts will experience but it can be [...]
Genetic and Environmental Conditions It is certainly true that people choose to throw their lives away abusing drugs all the time. But the truth about hardcore drug addiction is that free will rarely influences these choices. Two different people could buy two doses of the same drug, take them at the same time, and one [...]
Over 80 years after banning the sale of heroin in the United States, the popularity of its abuse hasn’t slowed down one bit. In fact, a study in 2006 showed that 14% of admissions to public rehab centers were for heroin addiction. What is it about heroin addiction that is so dangerous? Heroin breaks down [...]
