About Addiction

Methamphetamine is widely regarded as the most powerful central nervous system (CNS) stimulant known to man. Not only is it extremely hazardous to the human body, it is also tremendously hazardous to produce. To make matters even more toxic it is notoriously difficult for one to stop using. While many people do go it alone and succesfully stop using methamphetamine, even more people try alone and fail, leaving them exactly where they were when they started, if not worse. Every substance...

Historically many of the terms used to describe what we most commonly refer to as addiction have been used interchangeably. The American Psychiatric Association has flirted with all of these terms at various times. Concern was raised that the terms addiction and dependence carried a negative connotation and contributed to stigma, and in its most recent revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) it now calls the...

Before I get into this subject, I need to first clarify something. Some people draw a distinction between spirituality and religion, others see them as the same thing, and others still do not believe in either concept. Throughout this article when I refer to spirituality I am talking about what works for you, what you believe. It is not the purpose of this article to disabuse anyone of their own particular beliefs, only to discuss if it may be applied to recovery from addiction. This...

Smoking Cessation Products: There are a vast array of smoking cessation products available, however, availability differs from country to country. These products include: Transdermal patches (16 and 24-hour in varying strengths.) Chewing Gum (varying strengths) Lozenges that are dissolved through the mouth lining in much the same way as nicotine in the chewing gum Microtabs that are placed under the tongue Inhalers (e-cigarettes) Zyban (bupropion)... prescription-only...

Quitlines Quitlines are a phone support service which can help in the process of quitting nicotine addiction: Country Organization Website Telephone Australia Australian National Preventative Health Agency quitnow 131 848 137 848 Austria Rauchertelefon rauchertelefon.at 0810810 013 Monday to Friday 10am - 6pm Belgium Tabakstop / Tabacstop tabakstop.be 0800 111 00 Bulgaria National quitline for tobacco control 0700 10 323 Canada Cyprus Anti Cancer Society anticancersociety.org.cy 22 448...

I would like to share with you with the results of a very viral survey that I found in the internet. It is no scientific study but still, I think it is worth discussing. The question of this survey was simple: Is addiction a mental disorder or a disease? The results are as follows and I find them pretty fascinating. 16.2% said addiction is a disease 35.1 % said addiction is a medical disorder but not a disease 37.8 % stated that it is neither a disease nor a medical disorder but it is a...

a) Benzodiazepines. These are very often used to assist with the anxiety and sleeplessness of withdrawal. I have not seen conclusive evidence to sway me either way as to their efficacy. They will not help you sleep in serious withdrawal, at least not in "sensible" or even moderately stupid doses. They do seem to help somewhat with anxiety but the effect of benzodiazepines is still very "wrong"; they don't really help that much. On the down side, they will interfere with re-establishment of...

My own view is no; ideally not. Stimulant use is utterly contraindicated, as although it might temporarily relieve the stress and boredom, the comedown and/or anxiety will seek a natural resolution in opiate use. Alcohol is for the most part a no-no, as it lowers inhibitions and consequently resolve. A hangover is also not a good thing to add to a withdrawal. I think marijuana is something that does help certain people. If you have any tendency to paranoia, avoid it. I would personally...

Because 5 days is enough, by my reckoning, to adjust to a 5mg drop in dose. Ideally a slow taper should contain good days (i.e. the 5th day after a drop) but no "stagnation days"; hence I haven't said drop 5mg and stay on that for two weeks or a month, before making the next drop. In such a case all the days after the first 5 or 6 are essentially "stagnation days", where no progress is being made. We all know the saying "the devil makes work for idle hands". If we're sitting around doing...

Although lofexidine is approved for home detox, clonidine is not. The main reason is that clonidine is a hypotensive (it lowers blood pressure). It is a very good idea to invest in a blood-pressure monitor and to miss a dose of clonidine if your blood pressure falls below 90/60 [These are APA guidelines]. Be very careful getting up from a bath, and ideally have someone with you at all times, or regularly checking on you if that is not possible. Also monitor your blood pressure as you come...