From Ernest Hemingway to Amy Winehouse, it seems as though there is a strong link between creative, talented people and the disease of addiction. . It seems that every week we hear about another musician or artist struggling with the disease, and it would not be entirely incorrect to assume that creative people are more…
DetailsKrokodil regularly tops the list of the world’s deadliest drugs. The major danger of krokodil is not necessarily the opioid compound present in the substance, rather it is the process of making the drug that can cause severe health problems.The use of krokodil has been associated with severe flesh-eating bacterial infections, and there have been…
DetailsRecovery from addiction is about more than just abstinence from drugs and alcohol. It is a process of achieving and maintaining sobriety, as well as growing and developing both personally and spiritually. Selfishness and self-centeredness can be major stumbling blocks on our journey of recovery. We should do our best to shift our behavior from…
DetailsIntravenous (IV) drug use carries a great amount of risk of overdose and severe health consequences. One major health problem linked with IV drug use is bacterial infection. Bacteria can enter into the body via a dirty needle and cause severe infections that require immediate medical attention. In some cases, bacteria can spread through the…
DetailsDetoxification is the process of allowing the body to remove any and all traces of drugs and alcohol. Many people are familiar with feelings of withdrawal, especially if they are coming off of harder drugs like heroin that cause extreme physical dependence. However, medical staff are able to address and treat symptoms of withdrawal as…
DetailsDXM, or dextromethorphan, is a common ingredients in many over-the-counter cough medicines. It is often abused in high doses because it has dissociative, sedative, and stimulant properties. Due to its availability, one in ten teenagers reported abusing DXM in 2008. When taken as directed, DXM-containing medications are effective cough suppressants, but when abused, they can…
DetailsThe disease of addiction arises from a complex interplay between genetics and environmental factors. A person’s environment may be a factor in influencing whether or not they experiment with drugs at a young age, and environmental factors can influence one’s ease or difficulty with recovering from addiction. Addiction is characterized by a lack of control…
DetailsDissociative drugs are a class of drugs that cause feelings of detachment from reality and distort a person’s perceptions of the world. Common dissociative drugs include PCP (phencyclidine), ketamine, and DXM (dextromethorphan).While many of these drugs cause different effects on users, the health consequences of each can vary from uncomfortable to severe, and in some…
DetailsMany people believe that expressing our anger is a healthy way to let it out. Yelling, slamming doors, cursing, or venting to a friend were once thought to be natural and healthy ways to deal with our anger. Likewise, it was thought to be unhealthy to keep our anger inside of us. However, recent research…
DetailsBefore enter into treatment, we rarely have any conception about what recovery means aside from no longer drinking alcohol or taking drugs. Achieving and maintaining abstinence is of utmost importance. However, there is so much more to recovery than not drinking or using. We begin, often for the first time, to grow and develop physically…
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