Addiction recovery

Addiction Recovery Institute, Accessed 17 July 2002. 

Illegal use of barbiturates can lead to many serious consequences, and these drugs should never be considered safe, unless prescribed and monitored closely by a physician. Tolerance can easily develop, and a small increase in dose can lead to intoxication or overdose. The withdrawal effects of barbiturate abuse, like other drugs, are very unpleasant and can cause abusers to continue abusing for fear of feeling worse than ever before if they were to stop. With the help of treatment centers and doctors, however, abusers can overcome the symptoms of withdrawal and stay on the road to addiction recovery. 

Abstinence on its own is not enough for the addict. Addiction is a function of the lower brain and cannot be controlled by force of will. Craving will wear down the addict s resolve and in an attempt to resist can create a rigidity known in the field as white-knuckle sobriety, in which the abstinent addict is clinging so hard that it is like the driver with such a grip on the wheel that his or her knuckles are bloodless. That is no way to drive a car or to maintain recovery from addiction. Recovery for the addict is a lifelong undertaking and requires help. ... 

Simpson DD, Marsh KL Relapse and recovery among opioid addicts 12 years after treatment. NIDA Res Monogr 72 86—103, 1986 Simpson DD, Joe GW, Bracy SA Six-year follow-up of opioid addicts after admission to treatment. Arch Gen Psychiatry 39 1318-1323, 1982... 

Determine which nonpharmacologic therapies should be used, either alone or in combination with pharmacologic treatments, to foster a recovery from addiction. 

To facilitate recovery from addiction it is necessary to utilize a comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment that includes the motivation for change. Pharmacologic treatments are always adjunctive to psychosocial therapy. 

The overall goals in recovery from addiction are the same for all substances and they consist of ... 

To facilitate recovery from addiction it is necessary to utilize a comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment that includes the motivation for change. Pharmacologic treatments are always adjunctive to psychosocial therapy. It is important to remember that mere treatment of withdrawal is not sufficient treatment of DSM-IV-TR dependence (addiction), and that medications are always adjunctive to psychosocial therapy. Comorbid psychiatric... 

Taub, E., Steiner, S., Weingarten, E., and Walton, K., Effectiveness of broad spectrum approaches to relapse prevention in severe alcohlism A long term, randomized, controlled trial of Transcendental Meditation, EMG biofeedback and electronic eurotherapy. Special Issue Self-recovery Treating addictions using transcendental meditation and Maharishi Ayur-Veda. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 11 (1-2), 187-220, 1994. 

Kozlowski, L. T., Henningfield, J. E., Keenan, R. M., Lei, H., et al., Patterns of alcohol, cigarette, and caffeine and other drug use in two drug abusing populations. Special Issue Towards a broader view of recovery Integrating nicotine addiction and chemical dependency treatments. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 1993 Mar-Apr Vol 10(2), 171-179, 1993. 

As a researcher and therapist, I also do not like the use of colloquial terms such as addict or junkie. These terms, although potentially helpful for some who find recovery in self-help programs, are not useful for everyone with a drug problem, and can be demeaning to some. In fact, some of my clients have been put off by such labels in treatment, and found them stigmatizing, and therefore potentially harmful. Besides, such terms are highly pejorative and uncomplimentary descriptions of behavior and are not diagnostically accurate terms (i.e., are not defined in the DSM-IV). I choose not to use these terms with my own clients for these reasons. 

Contains information about methamphetamine addiction, treatment options, and personal stories of recovery. Sponsored by the Narconon Arrowhead treatment program. 

Beasley JD. Foodfor recovery the complete nutritional companion for recovering from alcoholism, drug addiction, and eating disorders. New York Crown Trade Paperbacks, 1994. 

The conceptual basis of the methods adopted by AlcohoUcs Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous and related organizations. It is considered that recovery from addiction is achieved by addressing 12 specified steps in turn See solvent misuse... 

Flynn PM, Joe GW, Broome KM, Simpson DD Brown BS (2003). Recovery from opioid addiction in DATOS. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 25, 177-86... 

Although some claim that drug and alcohol addictions have high spontaneous recovery rates and short durations (for example, Hey man 1998), the preponderance of evidence is that drug and alcohol addictions are chronic, relapsing, progressive, and often fatal (Vaillant 1998) that absti-... 

Prevention of Relapse in Addiction " British journal of Addiction 83 1147-57. -. 1998. "Natural History of Addiction and Pathways to Recovery." In... 

Addicts whose recovery is shaky are certainly well advised to avoid predictable occasions for their cravings but this avoidance does not fortify them against their addictions any more than the avoidance of phobic objects helps someone overcome a phobia. 

Addiction focuses on the emergence nature and persistence of addictive behaviors, as well as the efforts of addicts to overcome their condition. Do addicts act of their own free will, or are they driven by forces beyond their control Do structured treatment programs offer more hope for recovery What causes relapses to occur Recent scholarship has focused attention on the voluntary aspects of addiction, particularly the role played by choice. Addiction draws upon this new research and the investigations of economists, psychiatrists, philosophers, neuropharmachologists, historians, and sociologists to offer important new insights into the sad puzzle of addictive behavior. 

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