Merck, the German pharmaceutical company, developed ecstasy in 1912 in the process of trying to find a substance that would stop bleeding. It was not studied on its own until 1927, and then again in 1959, but no human trials were conducted. It was re-synthesized in 1967 by US pharmacologist Alexander Shulgin. For a period, with its serious side-effects unknown, it was used in psychotherapy particularly for people who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). As it became better understood, this work ceased, and it was made illegal in 1985.

MDMA (ecstasy) is an illegal drug that acts as both a stimulant and hallucinogen, producing an energizing effect, as well as distortions in time and perception and enhanced enjoyment from tactile experiences. Typically, MDMA (an acronym for its chemical name 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is taken orally, usually in a tablet or capsule, and its effects last approximately 3 to 6 hours.

MDMA can affect the brain by altering the activity of chemical messengers, or neurotransmitters, which enable nerve cells in many regions of the brain to communicate with one another. Research in animals has shown that MDMA in moderate to high doses can be toxic to nerve cells that contain serotonin and can cause long-lasting damage to them.

Overdose from ecstasy can occur. It is usually presents with a very high body temperature and blood pressure, hallucinations and an increased heartbeat. This is especially dangerous for those who have preexisting heart or lung disease and for individuals with psychiatric disorders. Although the exact cause and number of deaths from ecstasy are difficult to determine, hospital admission records indicate that ecstasy is known to cause deaths by inducing:

• bleeding in the brain
• kidney failure
• overheating of the body, dehydration
• excessive increase in blood pressure

MDMA is an addictive drug and can cause both physical and psychological dependence. Besides the side effects, the drug has severe social, behavioral and health consequences. As to who and when someone becomes addicted remains unknown. Even though long term use of MDMA is known to cause addiction, it is very likely that even short term use may cause partial dependence.

Ecstasy recovery or full treatment for the consequences of ecstasy intoxication and addiction, should include a full and complete Ecstasy Detox. As Ecstasy gets trapped deep in the body tissues, a long sauna detox sweat out program would be needed to remove the build up of these chemical residues from the body. The body has an amazing ability to repair itself and rebuild itself once there is no more threat to its survival. If you cannot stop, you need to learn what it is that makes you crave intoxication, learn how you can overcome cravings to use, and learn how to enjoy yourself without a need to get high. A period of in or outpatient treatment may provide you with the therapy and re-education you need for a better life free from ecstasy and other drug abuse.

Identifying that there is a real problem is the first step. Signs of problem gambling are commonly characterized by a progressive addiction characterized by increasing preoccupation with gambling, a need to bet more money more frequently, restlessness or irritability when attempting to stop, “chasing” losses, and loss of control manifested by continuation of the gambling behavior in spite of mounting, serious, negative consequences. No matter how large or small scale the damage is, the main focus is that damage is being done. Problem gambling doesn’t have to take place in casinos and racetracks; it can literally take place anywhere. The compulsion to gamble or bet can transcend all over, today people are even betting on the outcomes of political elections or the winner of reality shows.

As with any other form of compulsive behavior and/or addictions, there is help available for problem gambling. Gamblers come in all forms; a person that suffers from problem gambling can very well be the person next to you. Look for the warning signs, as they may vary is severity but generally they include the use of gambling as a way to escape problems or relieve depression, inability to stop playing regardless of winning or losing, and despite constant vows to abstain, use of alcohol, sleep, or drugs to escape, restlessness or irritability when attempting to cut down or stop gambling, and many other signs alluding to gambling addiction.

Compulsive sexual behavior symptoms vary in type and severity. Some signs that you may be struggling with compulsive sexual behavior include:

• Your sexual impulses are intense and feel as if they’re beyond your control.
• Even though you feel driven to engage in certain sexual behavior, you may or may not find the activity a source of pleasure or satisfaction.
• You use compulsive sexual behavior as an escape from other problems, such as loneliness, depression, anxiety or stress.
• You continue to engage in risky sexual behavior despite serious consequences, such as the potential for getting or giving someone else a sexually transmitted disease, the loss of important relationships, trouble at work or legal problems.
• You have trouble establishing and maintaining emotional closeness, even if you’re married or in a committed relationship.

There’s a broad range of sexual activities that can be warning signs of compulsive sexual behavior. Examples include:

• Having multiple sexual partners or extramarital affairs
• Having sex with anonymous partners or prostitutes
• Avoiding emotional involvement in sexual relationships
• Using commercial sexually explicit phone and Internet services
• Engaging in excessive masturbation
• Frequently using pornographic materials
• Engaging in masochistic or sadistic sex
• Exhibitionism
• Having a fixation on an unattainable sex partner

No matter what it’s called or the exact nature of the behavior, untreated compulsive sexual behavior can damage your self-esteem, relationships, career and other people. But with treatment and self-help, you can manage compulsive sexual behavior and keep your urges in check.

For more information:

MayoClinic

SexAA

Inhalants are used in various ways; these products are sniffed, snorted, bagged (fumes inhaled from a plastic bag), or “huffed” (inhalant-soaked rag, sock, or roll of toilet paper in the mouth) to achieve a high. Inhalants are also sniffed directly from the container. Street names commonly used are whippets, poppers, and snappers. Although one may think the effects may not be as serious as other drugs, they indeed are. Most inhalants produce a rapid high that resembles alcohol intoxication. If sufficient amounts are inhaled, nearly all solvents and gases produce a loss of sensation, and even unconsciousness. Irreversible effects can be hearing loss, limb spasms, central nervous system or brain damage, or bone marrow damage. Sniffing high concentrations of inhalants may result in death from heart failure or suffocation (inhalants displace oxygen in the lungs). The user can also suffer from Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome. This means the user can die the 1st, 10th or 100th time he or she uses an inhalant. The scariest part about this addiction is its accessibility. All these products are easily found at local stores and commonly kept within households.

Treatment facilities for inhalant users are rare and difficult to find. Users suffer a high rate of relapse, and require thirty to forty days or more of detoxification. Users suffer withdrawal symptoms that can include hallucinations, nausea, excessive sweating, hand tremors, muscle cramps, headaches, chills and delirium tremens. Follow-up treatment is very important.

In real estate, they say the most important factor is, “location, location, location,” and the same can be said for drug abuse. Year after year, national polls are conducted to see where the concentration of drug abuse and drug related problems exist. And year after year, some of America’s biggest cities continue to arise on this list.

It may not be surprising that well-known sprawling urban centers such as New Orleans, Baltimore, and San Francisco appear on the Forbes list of cities dealing with the worst drug problems in the nation. But some smaller communities are also facing epic battles with drugs, including tiny Española, N.M. For one reason or another, drug abuse in certain areas has continued to be extremely problematic.

For example, in New Orleans, an increase in drug problems arose after Hurricane Katrina reconstruction. As the drug-dealing returns, its effects are proving deadly for New Orleans, where the police say that fights over turf for distributing the drugs are the main reason for a spike in killings that threatens the city’s recovery. Even though its population is less than half of what it was before the storm, New Orleans recorded 22 homicides in July, the same number that it averaged each month in the three years before the hurricane. The San Francisco metropolitan area has a higher percentage of people who are regular drug users than any other major metropolitan area in the USA, a study from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found. The two main reasons behind the dramatic growth of prescription drug trafficking in the Baltimore region and across the country are this: access and money. According to federal law enforcement officials and prosecutors, millions of dollars flow across the internet – from unscrupulous pharmacists into the hands of street dealers every day.

Although mega cities are easily prone to such problems, of the recent, smaller cities are now being subjected to drug problems and crime. Espanola, New Mexico. Española is a small city in rural Rio Arriba County, north of Santa Fe. Its population of roughly 10,000 includes a large Hispanic community, relies largely on Los Alamos National Lab for employment and struggles with a high poverty rate. This is the U.S. city that consistently ranks among the top in the nation in drug overdoses, according to federal statistics. It is tough to find another American city that records 42.5 drug-related deaths per 100,000, compared with a national average of 7.3.

Society as a whole may not be able to ever completely eliminate this problem, but help is available, and with that we can contribute to decreasing the overwhelming drug infestations in some of our countries most prominent cities.

Problem:

While every semester college students across the U.S. fall into the habit of sleeping and partying a lot more and studying a lot less, it seems that the illegal use of Adderall exponentially increases.  Of the recent, this is become a true epidemic across many universities, colleges, and even high schools. Students are obtaining this psycho-stimulant medication pretty much everywhere and anywhere besides the doctors office. Although this may seem minuscule in comparison to other commonly abused prescription drugs, Adderall is becoming a serious problem among our academic youth. Adderall, or amphetamine-dextroamphetamine, was first marketed in the 1960s as the diet pill of choice. It is currently classified as a stimulant medication and appetite suppressant and is mostly used to treat both ADD and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Cause:

Adderall stimulates the central nervous system by increasing the amount of certain chemicals, such as dopamine and norepinephrine, in the brain. These chemicals, or neurotransmitters, help the brain send signals between nerve cells. Adderall helps restore the balance of these neurotransmitters to the parts of the brain that control the ability to focus and pay attention.

Effect:

Adderall abuse is becoming more and more of a problem. Recent national survey information found that full-time college students were twice as likely to abuse Adderall than other young people in the same age bracket. In addition, almost 90 percent of full-time college students who had abused Adderall in the past year were also considered to be binge drinkers, with half of them being classified as heavy drinkers, and they were also more likely to use other illicit drugs as well. They were 3 times more likely to use marijuana, used 8 times more cocaine, they were 8 times more likely to abuse tranquilizers and 5 times more likely to abuse pain relievers as well.

Addiction to Adderall is increasingly getting worse. The immediate benefits may seem appealing; loss of appetite (for the weight conscious), heightened brain stimulation and energy levels (for those never ending to-do lists), etc..but the consequences of dependency and withdrawal far outweigh the pro’s of this so-called “miracle drug”.

Solution:

Recovery from an Adderral addiction is as complex as any other abused prescription drug, but help is available.

INITIATION

Drug experimentation typically begins during adolescence, in social settings during middle or high school. Teens rarely try drugs alone.  Alcohol is usually the first drug tried and is often provided in homes by parents, family, or friends as a social gesture.

ESCALATION

This is a time when clients recall using drugs occasionally. This is a time of increasing preoccupation with substances, more frequent use, and when intoxication is thought of as “normal and fun”. There is usually no concern at this stage about one’s health or future.

MAINTENANCE

When full-blown addiction has occurred, all other life activities become secondary to obtaining and using drugs. Using becomes a daily devotion, an obsession.  At this stage using is no longer “fun”; it is a necessity just to feel normal.

DISCONTINUATION AND RELAPSE

Some people stop using drugs and alcohol to avoid overdoses, death, illness, loss of family, loss of jobs. Others stop temporarily because of incarceration or court-orders. Some people break free from their addictions on their own. Many addicts, however, require drug rehab treatment from qualified, caring treatment professionals in order to help them quit.

RECOVERY

Recovery occurs when addicted clients acknowledge that the drugs and alcohol are causing their ever increasing problems. Despite the negative consequences, they grieve the loss of their drug of choice and the lifestyle. Little by little, one step at a time, they replace their so-called “best friend” with a healthier life-style including the 12-step program, new friends, addiction treatment and sober activities.

According to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, prescription drugs are second to marijuana as the drug of choice for today’s teens. These teens have reported that if they were to get caught, there would be less shame attached to the use of prescription drugs than to street drugs. They feel prescription drugs are a safer alternative to drugs typically sold by a drug dealer.

There is nothing safer about prescription drugs. They are just as addictive as street drugs. Prescription opiates like hydrocodone are synthetic heroin, and the brain does not differentiate between legal or illegal drugs. The high is the same, and the eventual drug dependence, both physical and emotional, is the same.

The Obama administration, recognizing the importance of raising awareness and prevention on these matters, has proposed a 6.5 percent increase for prevention and treatment in the fiscal 2011 budget.

R. Gil Kerlikowske, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said in announcing the budget increase: “With drug use accounting for tens of billions of dollars per year in health care costs, and drug overdoses ranking second only to motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of accidental death, the nation needs to discard the idea that enforcement alone can eliminate our drug problem.”

It’s about time this Country has decided to prioritize a public health policy response to drug dependence and abuse.

That both victim and alleged perpetrator are Marylanders — raised in the seemingly protective shelter of affluence, private schools and lacrosse fields — has made the episode all the more chilling. By all counts, Ms. Love was an extraordinary young woman, and her loss is a devastation to her family and those who knew her, from Charlottesville to Cockeysville.

Alcohol use offers no excuse for Mr. Huguely’s behavior — he has admitted to breaking down Ms. Love’s door and shaking her so that her head repeatedly struck the wall — but the connection between criminal assault and substance abuse, particularly drinking, is too well established to ignore. The nation’s schools have an alcohol problem, and it’s time college presidents and school administrators started taking greater responsibility for it.

The statistics are daunting. Studies suggest college students between the ages of 18 and 24 suffer nearly 700,000 assaults and 600,000 injuries each year that are alcohol-related. An estimated 1,700 students are killed from drinking-fueled injuries, including car crashes.

Harvard School of Public Health surveys show two out of every five college students are binge drinkers. And small wonder, as researchers note they have relatively easy access to low-priced alcohol in typical college communities.

Schools have not exactly ignored the problem. But their response has often been tepid. Two years ago, college presidents from more than 100 of the country’s best known schools called on lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 21, in the misguided notion that it might actually reduce binge drinking. The list included the heads of the University of Maryland College Park and Towson University, and the former head of the Johns Hopkins University.

What college administrators should be doing (and many have) is coming down much harder on students who are caught drinking to excess, particularly those involved in assaults or property damage. One of the things that fuels such behavior is the knowledge that there are no significant consequences for illegal or irresponsible drinking, on or off campus.

But even that is not enough. More must be done in the communities surrounding the schools to make sure bars and liquor stores aren’t serving under-age buyers. Neighbors must sound the alarm when off-campus parties get out of hand. Colleges should be patrolling neighborhoods to ensure their students haven’t become unruly. They also need to better educate students on the dangers of binge drinking and offer alternative activities that don’t involve alcohol consumption.

Schools don’t operate in a vacuum. High school alcohol abusers become college alcohol abusers. Society has long embraced the notion that drinking to excess in college is a rite of passage to adulthood. And the alcohol industry, particularly the major beer companies, make a fortune marketing their products to the young.

(Source: The Baltimore Sun, May 09, 2010)

Another myth is that the only successful entry point to treatment is a request for care by the addicted person him/herself.  However, the frequent contact and close connectedness between addicted individuals and their families provide a potent avenue for engagement through the actions of concerned others such as family, friends, clergy, neighbors, employers, teachers, family doctors, and other members of the 12-step social support network.

In many Florida treatment centers and addiction agencies, when a concerned other calls for advice about the addicted individuals problem behavior, or seeks help with getting the individual into treatment, typical responses include: “Please have the substance abuser him/herself call,” or the agency will often recommend that the caller attend Al-Anon even though Al-Anon is designed to help family members deal with – and if necessary detach from – the disease of addiction, rather than for the purpose of engaging their loved one in treatment. Al-Anon may provide help and support for the concerned individual, but will not address the addicted individual’s need for timely alcohol/drug treatment services.

Yet another myth is that individuals must “hit bottom” in order to recover successfully. The treatment team at  Unity Recovery Center believe that waiting for an individual to “hit bottom” with an addiction is not the best idea.  Addiction is much like most other medical problems; the earlier the problem can be diagnosed and treated, the better the chance for recovery. Think of how the survival rate of some cancers have increased over recent years. Some of this success can be attributed to the enormous media campaign that has so successfully promulgated the importance of early detection and treatment. Addiction is very similar; the earlier the addiction is treated, the more the individual has to gain because he/she has not yet lost everything. Looking at addiction treament in this way helps to understand that there really is no “bottom” and certainly no need to wait for and addicted individual to get worse before anything is done to help.

Often, family memebers fall into behavior patterns of dealing one-on-one with the addicted individual, believing the myth that this is the most effective way of helping the person change. One of the destructive features of addiction is how masterful the addict can be splitting the family and getting individual family members to talk only on a one-on-one basis. The addicted person makes promises, uses guilt, and skillfully plays one family member against another in this process.

Research shows that dealing one-on-one with the addicted person is seldom helpful or successful at getting the individual to stop using. In fact, this dynamic is the one most family members give as the reason they feel so angry, frustrated, and ready to give up.

Thanks to the highly skilled and professional treatment team at Unity Recovery Center and oftentimes with the support of professional interventionists, addicted individuals can receive the help they need before it’s too late.

Resource: Invitational Intervention  – A Step by Step Guide for Clinicians Helping Families Engage Resistant Substance Abusers in Treatment/ www.linkinghumansystems.com.

Therapies such as counseling, addiction treatment programs and self-help group meetings can help you overcome an addiction and stay sober.

• Treatment programs. Drug treatment programs generally include educational and therapy sessions focused on getting sober and preventing relapse. This may be accomplished in individual, group or family sessions. These programs are available in various settings from outpatient to residential and inpatient programs.
• Counseling. Individual or family counseling with a psychologist, psychiatrist or addiction counselor may help you resist the temptation to resume using addicting drugs. Behavior therapies can help you develop ways to cope with your drug cravings, suggest strategies to avoid drugs and prevent relapse, and offer suggestions on how to deal with a relapse if it occurs. Counseling with family members can help them to better understand the disease of addiction, improve communication skills and to be more supportive.
• Self-help groups. Many, though not all, of these groups tend to use the 12-step model first developed by Alcoholics Anonymous. Self-help groups, such as Narcotics Anonymous, exist for people addicted to drugs, such as cocaine, sedatives and narcotics. The message is that addiction is a chronic disorder with a danger of relapse and that ongoing maintenance treatment – which may include medications, counseling and attending self-help group meetings – is necessary to prevent a relapse.

Detoxification

The goal of drug detoxification (withdrawl therapy) is for you to stop taking the addicting drug as quickly, safely and comfortably as possible. Detoxification may involve gradually reducing the dose of the drug or temporarily substituting other substances, such as methadone, that have less severe side effects. For some people, it may be safe to undergo withdrawal therapy on an outpatient basis; others may require admission to a hospital or a residential treatment center.

Withdrawal from different categories of drugs produces different side effects and requires different approaches.

• Depressants (includes barbiturates, benzodiazepines and others). Minor side effects of withdrawal may include restlessness, anxiety, sleep problems and sweating. More-serious signs and symptoms also could include hallucinations, whole-body tremors, seizures, and increased blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature. The most serious stage of withdrawal may include delirium, which is potentially life-threatening. Detoxification may involve gradually scaling back the amount of the drug, adding another medication to help stabilize the nerve cells during detoxification, or both.
• Stimulants (includes amphetamines, methamphetamine, cocaine, Ritalin and others). Side effects of withdrawal typically include depression, fatigue, anxiety and intense cravings. In some cases, signs and symptoms may include suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts, paranoia and impaired contact with reality (acute psychosis). Treatment during withdrawal is usually limited to emotional support from your family, friends and doctor. Your doctor may recommend medications to treat paranoid psychosis or depression.
• Opioids (heroin, morphine, codeine, OxyContin and others). Withdrawal side effects of opioids can range from relatively minor to severe. On the minor end, they may include runny nose, sweating, yawning, feeling anxiety and craving the drug. Severe reactions can include sleeplessness, depression, dilated pupils, rapid pulse, rapid breathing, high blood pressure, abdominal cramps, tremors, bone and muscle pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. Doctors may substitute an artificial opiate, such as methadone, or buprenorphine (Subutex, others) to reduce the craving for heroin during recovery.

For further information regarding drug addiction treatment please visit Unity Recovery Center.

Lamm on Oxycodone Addiction:

1. Gather the people important to the addict – from family to fellow users.
2. Rehearse a ‘change message’. Such as, “We love you, we’ve seen you struggle with this for a long time, but you’re not alone”.
3. No blame or guilt trips.
4. Offer first-person accounts of how oxycodone has changed the addict’s life.
5. Have a rehab bed ready.“We did this to my 24-year-old nephew, who was oxy-addicted,” said Lamm. It worked, although he relapsed twice. Now, he’s been sober for a year.”

Lamm debunks what he says are the myths that an addict has to reach bottom before being helped or that they need to want to be helped. He also takes issue with the method of confrontational intervention, often shown on TV shows such as Intervention.  Compassion and loving concern, he said, are often more successful at getting addicts into treatment than dire consequences such as divorce, repudiation of job loss.

Source: www.palmbeachpost.com/news/bradd-lamm-believes-we-have-the-power-to-632762.html

For many people struggling with addiction, the biggest and toughest step toward recovery is the very first one: deciding to make a change. It’s normal to feel conflicted about giving up your drug of choice, even when you realize it’s causing problems in your life. Change is never easy—and committing to sobriety involves changing many things, including:

• the way you deal with stress 
• who you allow in your life
• what you do in your free time
• how you think about yourself

You may wonder if you’re really ready for all that change or if you have what it takes to quit. It’s okay if you’re torn. Recovering from addiction is a long process, one that requires time, commitment, motivation, and support. As you contemplate your situation, the following tips can help you make the decision.

Thinking about change

• Keep track of your drug use, including when and how much you use. This will give you a better sense of the role the addiction is playing in your life.
• List the pros and cons of quitting, as well as the costs and benefits of continuing your drug abuse.
• Consider the things that are important to you, such as your partner, your kids, your career, or your health. How does your drug use affect those things?
• Talk it over with someone you trust. Ask the person how he or she feels about your drug use.
• Ask yourself if there’s anything preventing you from changing? What are some things that could help you make the change?

A reservation is something we set aside for future use.

In our case, a reservation is the expectation that, if such-and-such happens, we will surely relapse.

What event do we expect will be too painful to bear?

Maybe we think that if a spouse or lover leaves us, we will have to get high.
If we lose our job, surely, we think, we will use.
Or maybe it’s the death of a loved one that we expect to be unbearable.
In any case, the reservations we harbour gives us permission to use when they come true – as they often do.

We can prepare ourselves for success instead of relapse by examining our expectations and altering them where we can.

Most of us carry within us a catalogue of anticipated misery closely related to our fears. We can learn how to survive pain by watching other members live through similar pain.

We can apply their lessons to our own expectations. Instead of telling ourselves we will have to get high if this happens, we can quietly reassure ourselves that we, too, can stay clean through whatever life brings us today.

Just for today: I will check for any reservations that may endanger my recovery and share them with another addict.

http://recoveryissexy.com

Addiction is a neurologically based disease. For many years recovery specialists have compared alcoholism or addictions to a physical disease: like diabetes. In reality addictions are more closely related to a neurological disorder like Tourette’s Syndrome* than they are to diabetes.
If the problems you suffer stem from severe alcoholism or addiction, you must accept that these problems are not primarily mental or free will issues. Addictions are not about will power.

The problems facing addicts, alcoholics, and their families are miserable, disgusting, and infuriating. They are often hopelessly discouraging. But to imagine that an addict “could change if he wanted to” is a serious misunderstanding of the long term dynamic of addictive disorder. The fact is precisely that an addict cannot change in the long run even if he wants to! That is the definition of addiction: “the loss of control over the use of a substance.” It is important to understand that this loss of control is manifested not in terms of days or weeks, but in longer term behaviors: terms of months and years.

The reason addicts have lost control is because they have suffered permanent physical neurological changes based in their brains and nervous systems. The disorder manifests in long term obsessive-compulsive behaviors outside the realm of the addicts own control.

It is true enough that the use of chemicals begins with chosen behavior. But if alcoholism or addiction develops, the problem has moved outside the realm of free choice. It has developed into a long term mental and physical neurological disorder.

All the emotional ‘feelings’ involved in drug or alcohol seeking are based in neurology. Addiction is based in physical dependency created by altered neurotransmitter balances, and driven by millions upon millions of new living, functioning active neurological pathways which have been established to sustain the condition in the addicts brain. The new neurological pathways are permanently established, and they will not just disappear.

The primary neurological disorder is only complicated by physical dependence on the substances. The physical dependence on the substances is secondary! Physical drug withdrawal does not change the underlying neurological addictive disorder. After drug withdrawal, long term overpowering cravings are predictable. These cravings are, in reality, spontaneous nerve impulses. Even in the longer term, overwhelming cravings are outside the addicts control.

info@medical-online.com

Mandi Sjogren Duggan LPC, LMHC, NCC comes to Unity Recovery Center, Inc. with a diverse background in addiction and clinical management. She began her substance abuse career in 1999 at Catholic Social Services in Pennsylvania, and has been employed by Family Recovery in Georgia, and other Florida Rehab Centers such as The Watershed, and The Renaissance Institute. Most recently, Mandi has experience in assisting drug rehab facilities become licensed by DCF and accredited by The Joint Commission (JCAHO). Mandi is a licensed Professional Counselor in Georgia, a licensed Mental Health Counselor in Florida, holds a National Certified Counselor credential, and is a Florida Qualified Supervisor.

Regardless of conditions…Anyone can get well!!! Big words and a Big Promise from the Big Book of Alcholics Anonymous. But does this work for the dually addicted? YES YES YES! The substance may be different but the program of recovery is the same. Treatment centers offer a safe place to remain abstinent while in the process.

Withdrawal from alcohol can cause anxiety, irregular heartbeat, tremor, seizures, and hallucinations. In its severest form, withdrawal combined with malnutrition can lead to a life-threatening condition called delirium tremens (DTs). Alcohol is the most common cause of liver failure in the US. The drug can cause heart enlargement and cancer of the esophagus, pancreas, and stomach.

In addition to its direct health effects, officials associate alcohol abuse with nearly half of all fatal motor vehicle accidents. In 1992, the total economic cost of alcohol abuse was estimated at $150 billion.

It is a pity that they look like losers with no strength or willpower to many people because most of us don’t understand the disease of addiction, the powerful mental and phsysical triggers and the psychological phenomenon of craving. This latest arrest and court order to rehab may give Redmond an opportunity here. Maybe son can lead father to an infinitely better sober life.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — The son of actor Ryan O’Neal has been sentenced to pursue a strict drug rehabilitation program after a series of arrests for drug possession, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office said.

Redmond O’Neal, 24, was ordered back to court on May 28 for a progress report, a spokeswoman for the office said Thursday.

“If he successfully completes the program, which is at least a year but could be longer, his criminal convictions in two separate cases for drug possession will be dismissed. If he fails, he could face up to four years in state prison,” said Jane Robison, the district attorney’s press secretary.

He was on probation at the time of the raid following a guilty plea in June 2008 for possession of heroine and methamphetamines, and driving under the influence.

Ryan O’Neal, who received an Oscar nomination for Love Story in 1971 and also starred in Stanley Kubrick’s “Barry Lyndon,” was sentenced in January to 18 months in a drug rehabilitation program.

Our sunny florida location offers morning meditation on the beach every day, holistic approaches include nutritional training and yoga as well traditional individual counseling sessions. Recovery is a challenging process. Might as well find a place that is sunny, warm and beautiful.