The Big Surge in Prescription Drug Use - And Abuse

By Rodney Allen Cole

America has become a "pill-popping" nation. Over the last decade, the percentage of Americans who took at least one prescription drug in the past month increased by 10%. Multiple prescription drug usage increased by 20%, and the use of five or more drugs increased by 70%. Spending for prescription drugs also more than doubled from the years 1999 to 2008.

Other findings from a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) showed that prescription drug use increased with age. Women were more likely than men to use prescription drugs. The survey also indicated that the non-Hispanic white population had the highest prescription drug use and the Mexican-American population had the lowest.

The most commonly used drugs were asthma medicines for children, central nervous system stimulants for adolescents, antidepressants for middle-aged adults and cholesterol lowering and high blood pressure drugs for older Americans. Almost 40% of older Americans used five or more prescription drugs in the past month. This increase in prescription drug use has become a safety risk for older Americans that may also contribute to adverse drug events and increased healthcare costs.

The surge in prescription drug abuse

An unfortunate by-product of this increased prescription drug usage is the even more alarming increase of prescription drug abuse. A 2010 White House study found a 400% jump in substance abuse treatment admissions for prescription pain relievers between 1998 and 2008. Experts say that a lack of monitoring programs and Americans' unwillingness to handle even small pains partly explains this increase.

One of the biggest increases over the 10-year study was the increase in opiate admissions, mostly due to the increase of prescription opiods, which include painkillers such as Vicodin and Oxycontin. Perhaps most concerning is that a 2004 survey by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) found that 9.3% of 12th-graders report that they have used Vicodin without a prescription -- and 5% say that they have taken Oxycontin without a prescription! Overall, the number of emergency room admissions for misuse of prescription painkillers rose from 40,000 in 1994 to over 300,000 in 2008.

Why are certain drugs so addicting?

The most commonly abused drugs tend to be those that flood our brain with dopamine. The pleasurable, euphoric feeling that results can be 2 to 10 times the amount received from natural rewards (such as sex or eating) and, in some cases, much faster acting and/or longer lasting.

What factors influence a person's chances of becoming addicted to prescription medications?

While the general public may view drug abusers as people lacking in willpower or possessing behavioral flaws, multiple factors determine a person's likelihood of becoming addicted to certain medications. It is normally a combination of:

• Biology: Genetics play a large role in a person's vulnerability. Other biological influencers include ethnicity, gender and other mental disorders.


• Environment: Peer pressure comes to mind first but other environmental influencers include socioeconomic status, stress, history of physical or sexual abuse, family support and parental influence.


• Age (stage of one's development): The younger a person is when drug use begins, the greater their likelihood of developing addictions and abuse tendencies. As a person's brain develops, decision-making, judgment and self-control tend to improve and risk-taking behaviors tend to decrease.

What can be done to lessen a person's chances of becoming addicted to prescription (as well as that of over-the-counter medications and illegal drugs)?

When families, schools, communities and media work together to educated people on the dangers of drug ABUSE, the occurrences of drug taking and drug ADDICTION are reduced. That's according to the NIDA.

For additional information on drug abuse, visit http://drugabuse.gov/infofacts/understand.html.

Rodney Allen Cole is writer and contributor to Healthy Web Sites. To learn more about healthy-aging, you may enjoy reading calorie restricted diet and longevity and effects of exercise on mental aging.

To learn more about preventing medication mix ups and accidents, especially as they pertain to senior citizens, visit BoiseHealth.com. For tips on how to dispose of expired or unused medications, visit RaleighHealth.com.

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Substance Use and the Adolescent Brain

By Vickie Hull      

If teenagers will not listen to caution concerning their bodies and substance usage, will they pay heed to what it could do to their brain?

Maybe, if they stop and realize that the brain is their power source for the rest of their lives. In computer-speak, the brain is both RAM and ROM and everything in between. Most teens have experienced the frustration of a computer glitch that wipes out their ITunes library or won't boot up their Facebook page. A lifelong brain glitch caused by repeated drug use will be far more aggravating.

Consider that the adolescent brain is still a work in progress. The prefrontal cortex, where all higher level thinking occurs, is the last to develop, usually around age 25. That explains why high school and college students still do things that baffle their parents. They seek a thrill, but lack the brain power to think out the cause and effect of such thrills. Simply put, young people lack judgment because their brains are not finished forming all the connections they need to have it.

The field of neuroscience, with its use of brain scans, reveals that substances literally rewire the developing brain to need more and more stimulation. This leads to young people taking more and more risks. The vital pruning process of neural pathways gets disrupted by drugs, creating a need for high drama and excitement and a low ability for rational thought. Enough disruptions, then, will affect the brain over the long haul of life, creating a perpetual, immature, adolescent brain in an adult's body.

Other facts to consider:
o Adolescents can become addicted to nicotine in as few as 10 cigarettes.
o Those who start drinking at age 15, are 5 times more likely to become dependent than if they started drinking in adulthood.
o Modern marijuana is as much as 16 times more potent than it was in the 1960s and 70s.
o Marijuana thickens the wall of the brain so that it is less "plastic" (able to mend).
o All substances affect the brain flow inside the brain.

The bottom line: the use and abuse of substances harms the developing adolescent brain. In some cases, that harm is lifelong. While it is always tragic to lose an arm or a leg or to live inside a paralyzed body, living a lifetime with a damaged brain is even far more devastating. Especially when that damage begins before the brain's full potential is even realized.

(Based on 2009 information from Prevention and Recovery Services, parstopeka.com)

Vickie Hull, M.S., LCMFT
Licensed Clinical Marriage & Family Therapist
1201 Wakarusa Dr., Suite E2, Lawrence, KS 66049
785-856-1395
vhullmft@yahoo.com

by Vickie Hull, M.S., LCMFT

Vickie Hull, M.S., LCMFT, is a marriage and family therapist in Lawrence, Kansas. She conducts individual psychotherapy with people of all ages (including children and teens), couples counseling (premarital, marital, cohabitating), family therapy, medical family therapy (involving medical situations), and grief therapy. Vickie can be reached at 785-856-1395 or through http://www.psychologytoday.com (type Vickie Hull in the "Find a Therapist" box). You can read more about her work at http://www.google.com/profiles/hulltherapy

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Why Choose a Rehabilitation Center to Overcome Addiction

By Shalini Madhav       

Rehabilitation centers help people to overcome their addiction issues, even they help the people who are in need during their mental illness. Mostly a drug addict needs special attention which the individual gets from the rehabs. People unknowingly become addicted to alcohol and drugs and it becomes too late for them when they actually realize that's when rehabs come into action. Addictions are crucial brain problems which change the behavior of the addict. The drug and alcohol addictions create many troubles, including financial losses and issues with family. The rehabs help the addicts to develop self-confidence which they have lost during the process and help them to adjust to the normal world after the process. There are many steps involved in the procedure including detoxification, therapy sessions and the counseling.

Steps involved

The rehabilitation centers follow certain common techniques for the addicted individuals. Choosing the right rehabilitation center for yourself is the first step you need to take. The rehabs carry out detoxification to remove the drugs or alcohol from your system. There are cases when they need to go for medication for the relief from certain symptoms during the process. The detoxification process depends on various factors such as the amount of the drug intake and use of other addictive substances. During the treatment, the person experiences certain side effects because the body responds to the absence of the usual drug or alcohol intake. The side effects may include fatigue, sweating, nausea, insomnia and many more.

Therapy Sessions

The rehabilitation centers carry out certain therapy sessions to boost the self-confidence of the individuals seeking help from the rehab. The rehabilitation centers arrange for a session with friends and family. There are individual therapy sessions scheduled to analyze their self and work on the issues after that. The rehabs have their patients constantly involved in certain activities such as hobbies and interests of the individual. The patients are taught to deal with the situations which can occur after the treatment to prevent the relapsing conditions. The patients move forward in their thinking abilities and start accepting the sober lifestyle.

Recovery

The recovery from the addiction is the hard process which can take a lot of time. For some people, the time for recovery can be their whole life as they cannot resist their temptations. There are many plans offered by the rehabilitation centers for the people to return to the normal living environment. In this stage, the family support is just as the individual needs to feel the love and care of the people around. There are group therapy sessions also which help them to maintain their sober living. The individuals share their experiences with other people and interact with them. The rehab can provide with the best facilities and therapists who will help you to lead a normal healthy life. Rehab stabilizes the patient problems, but it is we who can make their lives easier. Isn't it?

You can feel free to contact us in case you have any queries about rehab. The Rehab North Carolina is one of the best and has helped many addicted individuals to recover and live a sober life with their friends and family.

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The Current War On Drugs

By Sherry Lynn Daniel

It's too late to waste time blaming the victim. Rest assured. Not one single addict ever thought it was going to happen to her. It just did. One drink led to two then three then thousands. Those chemical hooks are waiting in the darkness and when the right offending substance is ingested, they start to close.

By the time noticeable signs of addiction appear, those hooks are fully embedded in the user. Only other chemicals or treatment will release them. It is a fairy tale to 'Just Say No' during active abuse.

The 2012 drug economy was over 100 billion dollars. Clearly chemicals are trumping all the 'Just Say No,' campaigns that have been shown to U.S. citizens. Addiction and overdose rates are skyrocketing.

Recently, a movement called, 'Not Even Once,' kicked off, which is a plan to curb initial heroin use. Some street drugs create instant addiction or kill the naive user.

Maybe the medical community has seen enough death by overdose, organ failure or any of the myriad ways that chemical abuse ends life. It will shift its collective focus to the disease concept of addiction. A list of 12-Step meetings should not be the only option for treatment.

Alcoholics Anonymous is a wonderful success story for 5-10% of the members. For them, it works like a charm and adds meaning to lives. For the other 90-95%, with no other treatment options, the results are typically jails, institutions and death.

Portugal is the only country to show strong success with addiction treatment. The country decriminalized and automatically offered the user treatment if the person was caught with an amount considered 'for personal use.' Drug dealers and traffickers are still dealt with as criminals.

In just over a decade, this new program cut usage, illness and drug overdoses by half! All of those new 'clean' people are again living and working in society. It took a helping hand, not a legal slap, to enable the addict to stand up. Being locked in a cage and changed mentally and emotionally forever encourages substance abuse.

If we empty the prisons of non-violent drug offenders, HALF of the population would be moved out of facilities and into treatment. Those numbers are staggering-all those citizens and potential locked in cages.

A neurosurgeon can get tripped up by addiction as easily as an indigent person. Chemical hooks don't care. They arrived at birth with one in ten of us and they are fierce. Passed down through the generations, this disorder was poorly served by keeping it a secret.

Pull up a breast cancer website. It is all pink and pretty with hopeful messages on t-shirts during fun runs. Then, check out some of the drug rehab sites: handcuffs, an empty whiskey bottle and a skull and crossbones. A very different tone. No one was running for their cure. Some of those rehabilitation facilities are just filling beds through fear not hope.

In 2007, a discovery was made by doctors in a study on stroke patients. They found out that an injury to the insula (a section of the brain) would instantly and permanently break a smoking habit.They are now referring to that area as the "Hidden Island of Addiction." The word 'Insula' translates to island.

If the brain holds the addiction, how can chemical or alcohol dependency be a moral issue? "They brought it on themselves." "Why don't they just stop?" "Let them reach rock bottom." These phrases have been repeated ad nauseam.

One in four of Americans is currently suffering from some form of 'chemical use disorder,' 'alcohol abuse disorder,' or opioid, heroin or methamphetamine misuse. That speaks volumes of the peace in our society. We are a medicated people.

My advice: Focus on the condition of the person prior to use. Address and heal that state of being and the need for self-medication will diminish. We can't afford to fight this war unsuccessfully.

danielsherry56@gmail.com

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Stockholm Syndrome and Addictions

By Kirsten Rogoff      

To understand what a trauma bond is and how it applies to addiction, we will start with a brief lesson on the Stockholm syndrome.

Stockholm syndrome is a condition that causes hostages to develop a psychological alliance with their captors as a survival strategy during captivity.

These feelings, resulting from a bond formed between captor and captives during intimate time spent together, are generally considered irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims. Generally speaking, Stockholm syndrome consists of "strong emotional ties that develop between two persons where one person intermittently harasses, beats, threatens, abuses, or intimidates the other."

Formally named in 1973 when four hostages were taken during a bank robbery in Stockholm, Sweden, Stockholm syndrome is also commonly known as 'capture bonding'. The syndrome's title was developed when the victims of the Stockholm bank robbery defended their captors after being released and would not agree to testify in court against them. Stockholm syndrome's significance arises because it is based in a paradox, as captives' sentiments for their captors are the opposite of the fear and disdain an onlooker may expect to see as a result of trauma.

There are four key components that generally lead to the development of Stockholm syndrome:

1. A hostage's development of positive feelings towards their captor
2. No previous hostage-captor relationship
3. A refusal by hostages to cooperate with police forces and other government authorities
4. A hostage's belief in the humanity of their captor for the reason that when a victim holds the same values as the aggressor, they cease to be perceived as a threat.

So the important part to understand here is that even though the bond between captor and hostage seems illogical, there is a very logical reason behind it: survival and the need to bond.

The unfortunate experiments done on monkeys by Harlow illustrate the need to bond to survive. Baby monkeys were taken from their mothers at birth and given wood or metal "surrogate monkeys" covered with cloth to cling to. After a while, the baby monkeys saw these mannequins as "their mothers" and preferred them to live individuals. Then later when these babies grew up and had their own young, they had no idea how to parent and even threw their offspring against their cage and sometimes killed them. Yet, the little ones kept coming back to their mothers, preferring possible death to inevitable death and starvation if they were to stay away.

The way Stockholm syndrome is treated is through psychological counseling and the understanding that it was necessary to form an unhealthy bond in order to survive the trauma of captivity. It is a gradual shift in thinking, similar to healing from brainwashing. This does not absolve the victim from accountability but helps them break their unhealthy bond and cultivate new ones.

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Know All the Details About Addiction Medicines Before Consuming Them

By Shalini Madhav      

If you are reading this article to gather information how suboxone can help you in erasing your drug addiction habits, then your actions must be felicitated, to cross the most important hurdle of admitting that you have a problem. Drug addiction is the worst thing a person can take to destroy the gift of life that is given to them. It ruins not only the lives of the addicted, but also close to them. But by getting rid of this habit one could still save their life. It requires a lot of strong will and consumption of pills that help you is resisting. The drug that is usually used in the process is suboxone to treat narcotic addiction. But it is only to be taken after it has been prescribed by a doctor.

What is suboxone - It is a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone. While buprenorphine is a narcotic opioid medication, naloxone suppresses all the effects of buprenorphine. It is the part of the process which also includes therapy, behavior treatment and getting sober. Suboxone is used to stabilize the brain, it stops the effect of drugs and the continuous cravings to get high.

Side effects - Though you should be informed about its side effect. It is a very powerful drug. The most important thing is to take it only after a prescription from a doctor who specializes in opioid addiction. It is not to be consumed on the suggestion of a physician or someone else. Taking an overdose can also lead to addiction or death. Pregnant women should take it only after consulting the doctor first as it may pose threat to the child. If you are allergic to buprenorphine or naloxone then you should not take it.

Dosage - It should be taken in the exact amount as prescribed. Do not increase the dose or you could get addicted. Also, do not share it with someone. It is to be consumed with dry hands, and not chewed or swallowed. It will be dissolved by itself when placed under the tongue. Also, do not change the medication in between. Follow all the instructions written on the prescription carefully. After all, it is the matter of your life.

Its substitute - Earlier Methadone was used as a component to get rid of the addiction. It was the most common drug. But getting hands on it has become difficult due to rise in a number of addicts. This drug needs special permission from various institutions to be prescribed by a doctor. There has been a rise in the numbers of people who have made taking drugs a daily habit, and so Methadone runs out of stock easily at any place it becomes available. However, mentioning it as a substitute does not mean you can opt for with the approval from your doctor. If you are given suboxone then stick to it only.

It is better and advisable to do some research of your own before you start taking it. It is not safe to use it without a prescription.

Finding the suitable suboxone clinic for you could be a tough job due to legal restrictions. If you too are struggling from drug addiction problem then contact us for the best suboxone doctors near me.

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You Are The Average Of Who You Meet & Keep In Life

By Dash Trembley

This morning, while I was working out in the gym, I overheard a very interesting conversation that reminded me of the very wise old saying that, "you're the average of the 5 people you hang out with." So there's this man in my local gym who's always taking up one machine for long blocks of time, and I often see him on my workout days. He saw his "Gym buddy" coming over from the other end of the room and started a "conversation" with him. He complained about how much he drank the day before, and how he still feels like throwing up and that's why he's not doing his squats today. He went on incessantly.

Then "Gym buddy" joined in on complaining even more about his own current work and life on top of the man's drinking escapades yesterday. The man cut "Gym buddy" off in the middle of the conversation, realising he's not talking about him anymore and he wasn't ready to listen or provide his two cents so he invited him to go outside to take a "smoke break" instead. "Gym buddy" said to him, "I'm actually trying to quit smoking. I started yesterday." Then the man looked at him with a long disbelieving pause that was half-filled with genuine shock but I can tell he really wanted him to join him for a smoke. So "Gym buddy" made another feeble attempt to convince him once more, but this time in a much weaker tone, and he said again, "I'm serious. I'm really trying to quit." The man asked him "Why?" like it was a bad decision and foolish thing to do.

So this man started to tell him his own story about how he tried to quit for 4 (short) weeks suffering from all the most horrible withdrawal symptoms and then went back to smoking again. Even though there was no real moral or value to his story, he continued to justify and lay out all his reasons for quitting in great enthusiasm. Then "Gym buddy" turned to asked him, "Then what happened?" He simply said to him, "Nothing. I just went back to square one." "Gym buddy" paused for a split second and then said, "Fuck it, let's go." And they both started discussing about the brand of cigarettes they smoke and suggested to share and split it.

In just less than 2 minutes of sharing his experience of how he tried to quit and fail (in just 4 weeks) he has influenced and convinced someone else to give up their goal and intention in just less than 24 hours. The scary thing is, that was just an acquaintance he probably meet once a month at the gym. There was a period of time I actually preferred my customized workouts from home just so I didn't let in any chance to even come in contact with any energy that was negative. I became a "vibrational-snob".

I remember when I started my outdoor runs, (and by that, I mean my short sprints) strangers would just give me all sorts of funny looks like I lost my marbles. A few even came up to me and told me to slow down. "Don't run so fast." Perhaps it did come with good intentions, but sometimes, people who're offering you the most "opinions and advices" are the ones who're nowhere close to being happy, healthy, or abundant, to even be offering their two cents. They're usually the ones who're out of shape, emotionally, and mentally bankrupt. Can you imagine if that person was a friend or even a family member, which usually is the case, who's constantly talking you out of change? The good kind of change? Is someone in your life holding you back from becoming the best version of yourself?

Author Of Best Selling Book Series @dashtrembley Spreading Love & Light @111inspirationalquotes Get Free First Copy http://www.dashtrembley.com

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