It’s a popular controversy and one that deeply affects those struggling with drug and alcohol addiction and their families: is drug and alcohol addiction really a medical disease as proclaimed by drug treatment centers, 12 step programs and addicts around the world or is it really a personal flaw, a weakness and an inability to avoid temptation?

The Argument That Addiction is a Personal Flaw

This is the original argument of those on the outside of drug addiction. “You can stop drinking if you want to!” “You promised me you wouldn’t get loaded anymore. Why can’t you keep your word?”

Friends, family members and co-workers who are emotionally or financially invested in whether or not their loved one stops using drugs and alcohol often blame the alcoholic or addict for their continued addictive behavior. They believe that a little bit of willpower and personal, inner strength is all it takes to not only stop drinking and using drugs but to remain drug-free as well. They liken it to quitting smoking and point out that smoking is addicting as well and yet there are no long-term inpatient treatment centers for those addicted to cigarettes.

Still others don’t believe in the existence of drug and alcohol addiction at all. They don’t believe that some will find it impossible to stop after just one drink. They believe that, like over eating, overindulging in alcohol and other recreational drugs is a matter of moderation and not something that needs to be cut out entirely. Again, they believe that with a little bit of self control, there’s no reason why anyone should succumb to addiction.

The Argument that Addiction is a Medical Disease

The medical community and researchers around the world have done studies, both epidemiological and physiological that have concluded that drugs and alcohol actually change the chemical makeup of the brain. By triggering the pleasure pathway and certain chemicals in the brain regularly and repeatedly, your body begins to alter and adjust to account for the new substance, expecting you to continue providing the drug. When you try and quit, your mind and body rebels more so than if you were to eat a bag of Oreo cookies every day and then suddenly try and stop. The results of these chemical changes in your brain can mean intense psychological cravings and physical withdrawal symptoms, both of which can be next to impossible to overcome alone.

The other characteristic of drug addiction that makes it more than a matter of willpower is the fact that it is chronic. You may successfully detox off of your drug of choice, go through treatment and remain clean and sober for years only to relapse and end up on the bottom again. It can happen if you aren’t vigilant with treatment, or if you begin to follow the theory of moderation described above.

Treatment for Drug and Alcohol Addiction

If you or someone you love is dealing with an addiction to drugs and/ or alcohol, then treatment is a necessity. It is not recommended that you try to stop using any drug of addiction on your own if you experience withdrawal symptoms without it. Contact Michael’s House today for more information.

Well, the experts got together-expert psychiatrists-and they decided that the prime suspect in the case of ‘what causes us drug and/ or alcohol addiction’ is genes and genetic predisposition. At the annual meeting of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, they discussed why it is that one person can take an addictive drug  or have a few drinks and walk away unscathed and unchanged, while others do the same thing and end up addicts and alcoholics who need drug and alcohol rehab to get better.

According to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, it turns out that the answer lies deep in the brain and is determined by our genes.

Dopamine and Drug Addiction

Wim van den Brink is a professor at the Academic Medical Centre at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands and an expert in the field of addiction. According to Medical News Today, he says: “Addicts have fewer dopamine or pleasure receptors in the brain and consequently seek out more and more stimulation.”

Says Professor van den Brink: “Addicts find it difficult to receive pleasure. They are not likely to enjoy most of the ordinary things most of us enjoy, experiences such as a day at the beach or a night at a club. They are looking for more and more stimulus.”

What is an Addictive Personality?

Of course, the term means that you’re more likely to become addicted to a pleasurable activity or substance than the average Joe. But according to Professor van den Brink, “The emotional memory of the ‘wonderful experience and the drive to repeat it leads to craving and relapse.” It also means that you’re less likely to fully appreciate the fact that the short-term pleasure provided by prescription painkillers and other opiates means long-term physical, emotional and spiritual damage, at least not enough to be able to use willpower alone to maintain a drug-free life.

Are Genetics The Only Cause of Drug Addiction?

No. Genes and brain chemistry alone do not turn a person into a drug addict. Environmental influences also play a part. No matter what your inclination may be, you can’t become an addict if you don’t first use drugs or alcohol, and you can’t use drugs and alcohol unless they’re around you. Environment then, the influence of those around you, sheer opportunity and availability of different drugs will also play a part in whether or not you experiment with different drugs as well as determine whether or not you have the option to use regularly.

With continued use, addiction causes a decrease in dopamine receptors, which means an increase in addiction. “In this way, addicts become even more interested in drugs and drug-using friends,” says Professor van den Brink.

Drug Addiction Treatment

For those who have a genetic predisposition, it is more important that you avoid experimentation. However, once drug addiction develops, earlier treatment is far more effective than later treatment. It may even be helpful for you to include your family in your drug addiction treatment program to help you avoid relapse when you return home.

If you would like to learn more about our drug addiction treatment and family therapy programs, contact Michael’s House today.

Overindulgence and excess are the key words during the holiday season. Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve, Americans are given permission to blow off their diets and their budgets and indulge to their heart’s content. Moderation is not encouraged at holiday dinners with endless bottles of wine, stocked bars at company parties, and the endless bowls of eggnog at friends’ homes. The question is, does all this overindulgence lead to addiction? Do stocked bars and Christmas cheer in the form of hot toddies and eggnog lead to alcoholism?

Alcoholism and Addiction: Environment and Access

It’s true that one of the factors that contributes to the development of alcoholism and addiction is availability. Nobody was addicted to club drugs before somebody developed them and started passing them out, right? You can’t become addicted to something that simply isn’t on the shelves or available to try. So, yes, the access to drugs and alcohol during the holidays can sometimes push people who were already alcohol abusers into a full blown addiction, and many alcoholics have stories about taking their first drinks at family holiday parties. Still others talk about discovering alcohol as a social lubricant at events such as these and applying that principle throughout the rest of the year.

Access Alone Does Not An Addiction Make

While the sheer quantity and availability of alcohol during the holidays can make it difficult for alcoholics to avoid the temptation to drink and it can be the “straw that broke the camel’s back” for those who were on their way there already, no holiday party or holiday season should bear the full brunt or responsibility for the development of a lifelong addiction. Many people overindulge on everything, including alcohol, during the holidays but manage to keep it together for the rest of the year without issue. Still others enjoy the same amount of alcohol as they usually would despite the abundance of alcoholic beverages.

The fact remains that other factors must be present to create addiction. For some, a genetic predisposition toward alcoholism can turn their first holiday party season into the beginning of a lifetime of addiction. For others, co-occurring psychological disorders push them to continue drinking long after New Year’s Eve has passed. Those who abuse alcohol and drugs regularly or have binged regularly in the past, a holiday season replete with indulgence may be the turning point into a life of addiction.

Teen Alcoholism: Family Tradition or Harmful Push Toward a Life of Addiction?

Most parents never conceive that one eggnog or a beer during the football game could be what starts their child on a life of addiction. Unfortunately, studies show that the earlier a child is introduced to alcohol and/ or other drugs, the more likely he or she will be to begin abusing them during their teens, which can evolve into teen or adult drug addiction. There is no such thing as a harmless amount of alcohol for a child, family traditions notwithstanding.

Is it worth the risk?

It may not be your sister or your best friend, but maybe the cocaine addict, heroin addict, alcoholic or meth addict in your life is still close to you. You have watched them slowly, or quickly, hit that downward slide from drug abuser or recreational user to drug abuser to addict. You have commented, if jokingly, on how much they drink or get loaded. You may have gotten in fights with them about some of their questionable or dangerous actions under the influence. It’s clear to everyone who knows your friend that drugs and alcohol are a focus and a problem. Is it your responsibility to do anything about it?

Help a Friend with Addiction: Abandonment isn’t Necessary

If you haven’t done so, try talking to your friend seriously about the problem he or she has with drugs and alcohol. Point out a few concrete examples where his choice to get loaded or drunk hurt him or someone else. Let him know that you care about him and want him to get better, that you aren’t judging him for his behavior. Explain that you know that drug addiction is a disease and that it’s important to get help to stop.

Remember, it is dangerous for those with co-occurring medical disorders, obesity or a high dosage prescription painkiller addiction to detox without medical supervision. Do not recommend that your friend quit using cold turkey. It is essential that they go to a certified drug detox and addiction treatment facility to ensure their safety.

Help a Friend with Addiction: Talk to Someone Close to Them

If you feel that you may not be close enough emotionally to someone dealing with drug and alcohol addiction to be the one who begins the intervention process, then consider talking to someone who is. Their best friend, partner, spouse, or family member may have the same concerns that you do and want to do something about it. Choose someone who isn’t actively addicted to drugs and alcohol as well and approach the subject delicately. If the person you choose is in denial over the state of their loved one’s addiction, then you may be rewarded for your efforts with a hostile response. Don’t take it personally. Consider talking to someone else who is close to your friend or moving forward alone.

Help a Friend with Addiction: Stage an Intervention

If talking to your friend and those who are closer to him about his addiction does not work, consider staging an intervention. Gather together those who also want to help the addict in your life to heal. Have everyone speak briefly about events that prove your friend has a problem with drug and alcohol addiction. At the end of the process, invite your friend to immediately enter drug rehab. The person running the intervention should be responsible for finding a place in treatment for your friend to go to right away.

If you don’t feel comfortable running the intervention, you can engage the services of a professional interventionist. Call Michael’s House today for more information or to reserve a spot in our inpatient drug rehab for your friend.

The other day we posted about how relationships can hurt drug and alcohol addiction recovery. You get too involved in the relationship and stop focusing on what you need to do to get better and end up relapsing. Or you break up and you end up relapsing. Not good.

But someone pointed out to me that it’s not just the drug and alcohol addiction treatment and recovery that suffers; the relationship suffers, too. This is true. If you’ve ever been an addict in a relationship whether or not that person was an addict too or been with someone who was an addict, whether or not you were, then you know. Drug and alcohol addiction kills relationships, but drug and alcohol addiction recovery is bad for relationships as well.

New Relationships and Drug Addiction Treatment

Maybe you met each other at a meeting. Or maybe this is someone you knew when you were actively using, and you ran into each other and realized that you’re both doing well at the same time. Either way, there’s an attraction, a spark. You decided to follow through. Maybe not overtly-no one formally asked the other one out-but you ended up hanging out, getting coffee, et cetera. And soon it’s clear that there’s a romance happening.

The amount of clean time that either person has may or may not be a factor, since people who have been clean for five or 15 years are just as prone to relapse behind a relationship just like anyone else. If you’re new to recovery, handling the heavy emotions that come with relationships without drugs and alcohol as a buffer is a new concept. The emotional stress associated may be too much to handle and if you’re new to recovery, there are likely a dozen more productive and positive ways to spend your time that will build up your recovery and not risk tearing it down.

Old Relationships and Drug Addiction Treatment

Maybe you two used to use together, and now want to get clean together. Maybe your partner never used more than recreationally and you’re getting clean on your own. Either way, your choice to go through drug and alcohol addiction treatment has to be one that you make for yourself because, invariably, no matter how much you love your partner, the two of you will have issues during your drug addiction treatment due to the high stress and emotions that characterize recovery. Plus, more than likely, your partner won’t be shy about letting you know-repeatedly-everything you did to hurt him or her while you were using. It can be discouraging and even depressing to stay in the relationship, but during drug and alcohol treatment, it may also feel like the safest port available to you.

Your Lover is Not Your Doctor

Or your sponsor. Or your shrink. Or your priest. Or your parent. It’s hard to find the line of appropriate emotional sharing, especially when both drug treatment and a new relationship present you with such raw unfamiliar emotions. Do you just not tell your partner when you feel like drinking or getting high? What if you go to the same 12 step meetings? Know the same people? Will your partner’s response trigger resentment in you? Or something worse, like feelings of inadequacy?

What do you think? Do new relationships have a shot during drug and alcohol addiction treatment and recovery? Can old relationships survive the transition?

It’s not often that I turn to the golfing community for strength or wisdom. Sports, in general, do little to pique my interest and golf least of all. But here’s a golf story that inspires:

A Golfing Story That Pertains to Drug and Alcohol Addiction Treatment

It seems Tiger Woods got some bad news about two weeks before he was supposed to swing his clubs in the U.S. Open: he had a double stress fracture of the tibia and a torn ligament besides. Not good news. You have to hoof around and play more than 90 holes just to be a contender. But Tiger, he didn’t give up. He said, “I’m playing in the U.S. Open, and I’m going to win.”

Alrighty then, Tiger. I mean, it’s not like it’s easy to win the U.S. Open, even if you aren’t dealing with a double stress fractured tibia and a torn ligament. But Tiger persevered and-that’s right-he won, despite his bad knee and the fact that it only got worse as the days passed.

The Moral of the Story is not the Winning

That’s right. Yes, Tiger had a bad knee and he won the U.S. Open despite that fact. But the interesting part of the story is that he didn’t whine about it. He didn’t do interview after interview harping on his injuries. Instead, he just set a goal, announced the goal, and made it happen.

And How Does This Apply to Drug and Alcohol Addiction Treatment?

Getting clean is hard but staying clean is even harder. It’s an infinite goal that can become overwhelming. Life, in general, can be overwhelming and when you’re dealing with drug and alcohol cravings, it’s easy to use it as a shield to deflect criticism or as a scapegoat for why things aren’t going better.

I met a girl once who never brought up the fact that she was a recovering addict. She didn’t collect chips at meetings or have ’sober birthdays.’ When it somehow came up in conversation, I was genuinely surprised that she was struggling with the issue of alcohol and drug addiction. And I was impressed that she didn’t feel the need to use it as a crutch, an excuse for bad days or bad moods or a way to get a pat on the back when she needed to hear something good about herself.

Not that it’s a bad thing to celebrate sober birthdays. It’s a huge part of recovery for many people: to get chips and know how many days clean they have. Many need that reminder that things were once much worse and that a great accomplishment has been made for staying clean and sober for X number of days. However, it’s still impressive when someone doesn’t need the validation, to see someone who perseveres despite injury or hardship and doesn’t wave it like a banner.

What do you think?

There are as many triggers to relapse after drug rehab as there are people currently enrolled in drug and alcohol addiction treatment. It can be as simple as the mention of a certain drug or the description of using it or what it’s like under the influence. For others, visual triggers like seeing someone use in a movie is enough where others must see it in person to feel like they want to get high or get drunk. Being offered something to drink can trigger the desire to use, even if alcoholism isn’t the main problem.

Emotional triggers are a huge issue as well, even if you spent a great deal of time in drug rehab addressing the issues that first made you seek escape in drugs and alcohol. Reminders of negative incidents in the past or uncomfortable emotions are difficult for everyone and for those who struggle with addiction issues, the first reaction may be to get drunk or high.

The sheer number of relapse triggers is why so many relapse even after successfully completing a drug and alcohol addiction treatment program. So how do you avoid relapse when you’re faced with a trigger?

Avoiding Relapse After Drug Rehab: Get. Out.

The best first way to avoid relapse after drug rehab: take yourself out of the situation. If you feel vulnerable or unsafe in any way no matter what the situation, get out. It’s easy enough if it’s a movie you’re watching: just turn the channel or leave the theater. But what about when it’s a more difficult situation, like roommates who use or have guests who get loaded in front of you? What if your trigger is emotional, just feeling stressed out, getting bad news or having problems with a relationship?

Though not easy to deal with, the answer is the same: If you live with people who are using around you or who often have people over who use despite your sensitivity to the situation, find a new place to live. If you work with people who are using around you, find a new job as soon as you can. If you are in a relationship that stresses you out to the point that you want to relapse, get out of the relationship. Though you can’t control what happens, you can protect yourself and control your reaction to the situation.

In the Meantime…

Getting out may not be as simple as walking away. It may take time for you to find a new job, a new home, new places to hang out, new friends. What do you do in the meantime? Though you may not be able to squash the trigger permanently-and really, that will never happen-you can always remove yourself from the situation for the moment. If you can’t leave the building for whatever reason, go to another room or step outside, put on headphones to drown out the conversation, go online. Reach out to a sponsor or go to a meeting for support. If you can leave the physical presence of the people or situation that is causing you stress, just take a walk or head out to a coffee shop, window shopping, anything to put some space between you and anything that could interfere with your recovery.

What are your triggers? What tempts you to relapse? How do you avoid temptation?

It’s a big debate among those in recovery: is medical use of prescribed medication a relapse if that medication is physically addictive?

Because so many end up in drug rehab due to developing an addiction to their medical prescription for drugs like OxyContin, Vicodin, codeine, Xanax and more, it’s a concern in the recovery community that using these drugs at all, even for medical purposes, is a relapse.

The Scenario: Prescription Drugs in Recovery

Say you get into a car accident or undergo surgery. As you recover from the physical injury, your doctor prescribes you oxycodone, Percocet, or hydrocodone to help mitigate your pain as you recovery. Or maybe, after your car accident, you develop anxiety about driving in cars or being on the road, a problem which your doctor responds to by prescribing you Xanax or another anti-anxiety benzodiazepine. Is the simple act of taking these drugs exactly as prescribed a relapse if you have been or are currently undergoing drug and alcohol rehab?

Prescription Painkillers as Relapse: The Argument For

Many in recovery, often those in 12-step meetings who believe in 100 percent abstinence at all costs, will tell you that, yes, even in the examples described above, use of these drugs is a relapse. They will say that because you do not have a tolerance for them, you will likely experience some sort of euphoria or “high” when you take them and for that reason alone, it’s not okay. They will point out that alcohol is legally available as well and that, by following the same logic, you might determine that one or two drinks with dinner or at a holiday celebration shouldn’t be termed a relapse, either, even if alcohol wasn’t your drug of choice. To people who believe that any use of prescription drugs when it isn’t medically necessary to keep you alive is a relapse and it isn’t just that it could lead to you actively using again but that it is a relapse in itself and that you are no longer clean and sober.

Prescription Painkillers as Relapse: The Argument Against

Others don’t believe that the medical use of a prescription drug of any kind, despite its addictive potential, is a relapse unless you abuse it. According to this view, if you take your medication exactly as prescribed and do not increase your dosage or your dosing schedule in any way and then stop taking the drug completely when you are no longer in pain or feeling anxious, then it is not a relapse. If you aren’t enhancing the drug’s effect by mixing it with alcohol or other drugs, doctor shopping for someone who will give you more than you need, or embellishing on the pain associated with an injury in order to receive more powerful medications, then you don’t have to worry about returning to drug and alcohol rehab as a result.

What Do You Think?

Have you ever been prescribed painkillers while you were enrolled in inpatient or outpatient drug rehab? Have you had a sponsor drop you because you were taking potentially addictive medication? Do you feel like taking prescription drugs is a relapse if you are in recovery? If you don’t believe that it’s okay to take prescription painkillers during drug addiction recovery, how do you recommend those with

Leave a comment and tell us what you think.

September is Recovery Month every year and this year is no different. That means that the focus this month is on the benefits of drug and alcohol addiction treatment as well as the needs of those who are in recovery whether they are enrolled in an inpatient drug rehab, an outpatient alcohol treatment center, a prescription drug detox or a club drug rehab.

What is Recovery Month?

The benefits of drug and alcohol rehab extend well beyond the individual and into his or her family as well as the larger community. Everyone benefits when someone gets the medical treatment they need for drug addiction and Recovery Month shines the light on those advantages of continuing drug and alcohol addiction treatment research and ensuring that those facilities are continually available to those who need them.

Across the country, communities rally in support of drug and alcohol rehab during Recovery Month. According to the Recovery Month website, “the growing support from elected officials, policymakers, education leaders, judges, health providers, the faith community, and many other sectors, result in a public awareness effort of impressive magnitude.” This public awareness helps generate an annual resurgence in raising funds, continued public education and renewed attention to local laws that address drug addiction treatment.

Recovery Month: Everyone Can Get Involved

Local communities of every size participate in Recovery Month. With marches, rallies, tables at street fairs and festivals, and a heavy drive to educate and inform the public on the need for continued drug rehab resources and the local laws that govern substance abuse treatment, there is a way for anyone who wants to to get involved. Recovering addicts can find a forum to share their story. Family members who have lost their loved ones to drug addiction can talk about what might have saved the drug addict in their family and how you can protect your loved ones. Victims and family members of victims of DUI can share their story, as well. Help advertise for Recovery Month events or even just attend and learn something new. Because it is for everyone in the community, events that highlight Recovery Month are accessible to everyone in the community, as well.

Recovery Month: Focusing on the Future

A big part of Recovery Month, aside from keeping the public aware of what’s available in terms of drug addiction treatment and reminding everyone what resources are available, is to push for new change in drug addiction treatment. Whether it’s new laws or new research, if you have a message about drug abuse treatment that you’d like to bring to the public’s attention, then Recovery Month is the time to get it out there. Go online to the Recovery Month website to find associated events in your area or to download a kit for 2009. Friend them on Facebook to help get the message out to your friends and family. Even the smallest action can have an impact.

Remember the ’80s and the “War on Drugs”? The big focus back then was the teenager and the choices that young people were making about getting high. It seemed that if we could save just one young adult, then we were winning the war on drugs.

Unfortunately, there is a large segment of the population well over the age of 18 that is highly prone to alcohol and drug addiction: senior citizens.

Why Seniors Turn to Drugs and Alcohol

There are a number of reasons why someone over the age of 65 might begin to use drugs and alcohol on a consistent basis even if they’ve never struggled with addiction in their lives. These may include any combination of the following:

• Loss of a spouse and/ or good friends
• Financial problems
• Access to addictive prescription drugs
• Low self esteem
• Loneliness
• Retirement boredom

All of these issues can affect any of us at any age, but for those who are older and feel that they are suddenly losing control of their lives, these issues can be particularly depressing if not devastating. Age limits options and it’s difficult to start again when a relationship ends, to rebuild finances, to fight off the loneliness and boredom that can come with retirement.

Age also brings health problems and with health problems comes pain and with pain comes… prescription painkillers. Highly addictive and a problem across every age group, prescription painkillers often look like a good way to drown out difficult emotions. Continued access means that prescription painkiller addiction is often the result for seniors.

Seniors and Drug and Alcohol Addiction Treatment

It is rare for seniors to get the medical help they need for drug and alcohol addiction treatment. For many, there simply isn’t anyone paying attention enough to recognize the symptoms and point them out. In general, older people simply don’t talk about the underlying issues that lead them to abuse drugs and alcohol. Certainly if they feel uncomfortable talking about those issues, they are hardly forthcoming when it comes to admitting that they have a problem with drug and alcohol addiction. Just like the problems are difficult to deal with later in life after a lifetime of taking everything in stride, it can be embarrassing to admit that drugs or alcohol have become a problem when they never have been before.

How do you think we can address the issue of senior drug addiction and abuse effectively and make treatment accessible to seniors who need it?