Addiction can take over your entire life. After a certain point, it does not seem like it is possible to get better. We don’t think that there can be any life after recovery. Drugs and alcohol were everything to us. It’s impossible to have fun in recovery. Substances were the way that we relaxed, the…
Drug overdoses have been seemingly taking more and more lives every year. Many of the overdoses are partly due to a more intense drug than the user initially took called fentanyl. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is highly dangerous. Translucent, odorless, and tasteless, it is impossible for opioid users to know when they are…
More than 22 million people in America are struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. Less than ten percent of those people will seek addiction treatment programs they need to recover. 70% of them, however, will continue to maintain employment as their addiction issues worsen. Functioning addiction and alcoholism is sustainable for a matter of time-…
Heroin has claimed the lives of millions of people since it became a mainstream street drug in the United States. Heroin alone has not been the only killer. The sharing and reusing of needles has long been a way for diseases to spread among users, costing millions more of their lives. So many people hear…
The National Survey on Drug Abuse and Health shows that over 23.5 million Americans suffer from a substance use disorder. Addiction naturally has the largest impact on the addict. It’s important to consider the widespread effects of addiction on the people surrounding the addict. Substance abuse has a significant impact on families, both as individuals…
Teenage drug use and abuse is a problem that affects anywhere from 4-34% of the high school-aged teen population. Teen drug use has dropped by nearly 45% since 2010. However, teens are still prone to drinking, smoking marijuana, using prescription pills for recreational purposes, and even using illicit drugs such as heroin, and methamphetamine. With…
Heroin is one of the most popular street drugs in the United States, used every day by thousands of Americans. Despite being illegal, more than 690,000 people use it every year. Sadly, the average rate of abuse is going up, with data showing increases of over 50% between 2002 and 2012. Unfortunately, heroin hurts users,…
I felt like an abject failure. After 30 days in rehab, I relapsed in just six days. I lost my job, and my parents told me I couldn’t see my children until I got my life together. What was wrong with me? I had every opportunity to change, and it didn’t work. I couldn’t even…
When struggling with addiction, I thought the hardest thing I would ever do was to take those first steps to recovery. I had an anxiety attack on my way to rehab. I just kept telling myself that it had to get better from there, that having hit my lowest point in my life, I had…
The World Health Organization defines substance abuse as “the harmful or hazardous use of psychoactive substances, including alcohol and illicit drugs.” According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, substance abuse can be defined as “long-term, pathological use of alcohol or drugs, characterized by daily intoxication, inability to reduce consumption, and impairment in social or occupational functioning; broadly,…