Substance Abuse Library

  • Levels of Treatment for Substance Abuse
    There are four main levels of treatment for substance abuse: Level I — outpatient treatment Level II — intensive outpatient treatment Level III — medically monitored intensive inpatient treatment Level IV — medically managed intensive ...
  • Treatment for Marijuana Abuse
    The question is what can be done to help people become and remain abstinent. For those who cannot remain abstinent, an initial goal is measurable improvement. The first step for clinicians is to help the ...
  • Frequently Asked Questions About Ecstasy
    What Is Ecstasy? Ecstasy (also known as XTC, X, Adam and MDMA) is a dangerous, illegal drug that has effects similar to those of amphetamines and hallucinogens. How Is the Drug Used? MDMA is generally sold in ...
  • Treatment for Cocaine Abuse
    An enormous increase has occurred in the number of people seeking treatment for cocaine addiction during the 1980s and 1990s. Treatment providers report that cocaine is the most commonly cited drug of abuse among their ...
  • If Someone You Know Has a Problem with Cocaine
    There are few things in life that are more difficult to cope with than a loved one who is dealing with a serious substance abuse issue. You love the person and want to reach out ...
  • Frequently Asked Questions about Marijuana Use
    Can I die from a marijuana overdose? No. A lethal overdose of marijuana is virtually impossible; however, deaths from accidents and multiple drug use are not uncommon. I smoked pot in the 1960s. I went to ...
  • Facts about Marijuana Use
    After a decade of decline, marijuana use has steadily increased among American youth. The University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future study, which assesses drug and alcohol use among American youth, reported substantial increases among eighth, ...
  • Symptoms of Substance Dependence
    Here are some of the signs and symptoms that are typically associated with substance abuse. A maladaptive pattern of substance use, leading to clinically significant impairment or distress, as manifested by three or more of ...
  • Symptoms of Substance Abuse
    Abuse of a substance is generally characterized by an unhealthy pattern of substance use leading to significant impairment or distress, as manifested by one or more of the following occurring within a one-year period: recurrent ...
  • Mood Disorders and Alcohol/Drug Use
    The term mood describes a pervasive and sustained emotional state that may affect all aspects of an individual's life and perceptions. Mood disorders are pathologically elevated or depressed disturbances of mood, and include full or ...
  • Mental Health And Addiction Treatment Theories and Approaches
    For people with dual disorders (also known as "dual diagnosis"), the attempt to obtain professional help can be bewildering and confusing. They may have problems arising within themselves as a result of their psychiatric and ...
  • Recovering from Addiction and Recovering Your Memory
    A chronic marijuana user has cut down his dosage dramatically, but now his supervisor complains that his job performance as a bricklayer was far better before he started treatment. A recovering alcoholic learned to play the ...
  • Inhalants: A Dangerous Experiment
    You may have heard your friends talking in a new way about gasoline, felt tipped pens, deodorants and nail polish remover as drugs. The word is out: Inhaling, sniffing or, as it's called on the ...
  • Detoxing from Drugs and Alcohol
    When a young person has a dual diagnosis of chemical dependency and a bipolar disorder, most doctors choose to treat both conditions at once. This can be difficult unless the patient is in a hospital ...
  • Substance Abuse and Bipolar Disorder
    According to the most recent literature on substance abuse and bipolar disorder, these two problems occur together so frequently that all young people with a bipolar diagnosis should also be assessed for drug and alcohol ...
  • Dual Diagnosis and Bipolar Disorder
    When mental health professionals use the term, "dual diagnosis," they are almost always referring to a person who has a mental illness and a substance abuse problem. Drug and alcohol abuse are far more common ...
  • Facts about Suicide
    Men are four times more likely than women to die by suicide, but women try to commit suicide twice as often as men (they're just unsuccessful). Such attempts often are viewed as a "cry for ...
  • Schizophrenia and Violence
    News and entertainment media tend to link mental illness and criminal violence; however, studies indicate that except for those persons with a record of criminal violence before becoming ill, and those with substance abuse or ...
  • Schizophrenia and Substance Abuse
    Substance abuse is a common concern of the family and friends of people with schizophrenia. Since some people who abuse drugs may show symptoms similar to those of schizophrenia, people with schizophrenia may be mistaken ...
  • Holiday Drinking: Keep It Safe
    Every holiday season, people have to deal with the increased pressures and stress that the holidays place upon most of us. Whether we're traveling to be with family or doing our last-minute gift buying, most ...
  • Finding the Right Alcohol Treatment
    It is possible to make changes before you become dependent on alcohol. Many people change their relationship with alcohol before it is too late. A variety of health and treatment professionals can help people who want ...
  • The Dangers of Drinking on Campus
    Drinking and college go together like "love and marriage"—right? Wrong! Just as the love-marriage connection has increased in complexity over the years, so too has the drinking-college connection. Certainly, we have come a long way from ...
  • Relapse Prevention
    Once you have made a change, how do you maintain it? What is the difference between a lapse and a relapse? How can you recognize when a relapse is likely? A lifestyle change is not easy ...
  • Sobering Up: Recovery from Addiction
    What does it mean to be addicted? How do you get "clean" and sober? Is it possible to reduce cravings? Addiction and Habituation You are physically dependent upon alcohol or drugs when: you need the substance to reduce ...
  • Lifting the Right Stones: Surviving Addiction in a Loved One
    Researchers estimate that substance abuse in the United States costs business and industry over $100 billion each year and that governments will soon be spending over $100 million every day to incarcerate individuals arrested for ...

 

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