Addiction
How to Control Teen Parties and Prevent Drinking of Alcohol
New York’s State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) recently advised parents about the dangers of underage drinking at residential parties. To be blunt, minors who attend parties where alcohol is available are at risk for becoming intoxicated, regardless of whether the actual imbibing of alcohol has been sanctioned by party hosts.
Minors who drink alcohol at celebrations are then at risk for alcohol-related overdoses, injuries, motor vehicle accidents, and death.
Effective Strategies Important in Narcotics Detox
Withdrawal from any drug is certainly difficult, both physically and psychologically, but withdrawal from narcotic drugs may bring especially severe symptoms. In most cases, the patient will not be in danger of long-term health consequences or death during withdrawal, but many who have experienced it say they would have done anything to ease the symptoms.
Mental and Emotional Effects of Alcoholism
We’ve all seen the stumbling drunk character mumbling incoherently in movies and on TV, but it’s another thing entirely when the alcoholic is someone you know and care about. It may even be you. The classic depiction of drunkards has more than just a little basis in fact. Alcoholism changes the brain to such an extent that thinking processes are clouded, emotions are all out of whack, and what seems right and normal to non-drinking individuals is totally alien to the alcoholic.
But it’s not just the alcoholic who’s affected. Everyone around the drinker suffers to some extent as a result of that person’s addiction to alcohol. Here are some of the specific mental and emotional effects that are the direct result of alcoholism.
Loss of Memory
The cumulative effects of chronic alcoholism result in brain cells that are destroyed, synapses broken, circuits that no longer fire or do so in wrong sequences. A person who drinks heavily over a long period of time may suffer brain deficits that persist long after he or she achieves sobriety. Heavy drinking may have extensive and far-reaching results, ranging from simple memory slips to permanently debilitating conditions that require long-term custodial care.
After heavy drinking – too much in too short a time – a person can experience blackouts, or periods where they can’t remember what they did, said, or thought while they were drinking. Studies of male and female alcoholics also showed significant brain shrinkage, which caused the memory loss as well as learning problems. Other more recent studies have shown that women’s brains may be even more vulnerable to alcohol-induced damage than men’s.
Other studies have shown that alcoholics have deficits in the frontal lobe deficits, which are responsible for many functions associated with memory and learning, and also the cerebellum, which controls coordination and movement.
Difficulty with Learning
Along with memory loss, other cognitive impairment common in alcoholics is difficulty learning. Serious and persistent changes to the brain may be the direct result of alcoholic intake or may indirectly result from poor overall health or severe liver disease. Thiamine deficiency, a nutrient essential to all tissues, including the brain, is common in alcoholics (up to 80 percent have thiamine deficiency). It is caused by poor nutrition.
Many alcoholics with thiamine deficiency develop serious brain disorders, consisting of two separate syndromes. Wernicke syndrome is a short-lived and severe encephalopathy. Its symptoms include mental confusion, eye nerve paralysis, and difficulty with muscle coordination. Up to 90 percent of those with Wernicke syndrome also develop Korsakoff’s psychosis, a chronic and debilitating condition characterized by persistent memory and learning problems.
The College Life and Alcoholism
For many young people, college is their first foray into freedom. Many go away to school and find they are unable to handle the independence and responsibility that comes with being out from under their parents’ supervision. In most cases, students have their fun during college, but by the time they graduate they have matured in the practices.
Parents Play Critical Role in Monitoring Prescription Drugs
Some teens know where they can easily find cocaine or marijuana. They may have a friend who knows someone, or they may know other teens who can supply them at school. However, they may feel like contacting a drug dealer for a supply of drugs to get high is a big risk. They may get caught, and they may be afraid of developing an addiction.
10 Common Lies People Use to Minimize an Addiction
Addiction takes a powerful hold not only on the addicted person, but on their loved ones and family members. Both the addicted person and their significant others often fight the label of addiction because of the old and highly inaccurate belief that addiction is simply a matter of weak will or moral failing.
Children of Older Alcoholic Mothers Are More Susceptible to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorders
Even though alcohol consumption during pregnancy has the potential to cause lifelong disabilities and developmental problems in children, 10% of women in the U.S. still drink while pregnant. For scientists, it has been difficult to predict which characteristics in mothers are more likely to lead to the presence or severity of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) in their children if they choose to drink during their pregnancies, other than their pattern of alcohol consumption. Now, a new study by researchers at Detroit’s Wayne State University and their affiliates has revealed one specific characteristic—maternal age—compounds the propensity of FASD in children born to alcoholic mothers. Older women who engage in alcohol use during pregnancy have a greater risk of FASD births than their younger counterparts.
Ongoing National Study Shows Dangerous Trends in Teen Attitudes Toward Drugs
In the fight against drug abuse among young adults, information about students’ attitudes and experiences is vital. Since 1975, Monitoring the Future – an ongoing research study – has surveyed 50,000 young adults each year to find out their opinions on topics ranging from gender to ecology and new trends in drug or alcohol use. The 2009 survey findings show interesting results in the realm of substance abuse, such as an increase in marijuana use, a decline in use of hallucinogenic drugs and potentially worrisome trends in teen attitudes toward some drugs.
Funded under competitive grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Monitoring the Future is based at the University of Michigan inside the Institute for Social Research. Surveys are sent to 8th, 10th and 12th graders across the U.S. Questions measuring experiences with drugs and alcohol focus on students’ age of first use, their attitudes toward use, how available they perceive the drugs to be and connections between peer groups and drug use.
The goal is to learn which factors, such as social changes and an individual’s transitions during development, may contribute to certain behaviors over time. Follow-up surveys are also sent to 12th graders upon leaving high school in an attempt to track young adult behaviors further.
Parents Enhance Education about Drugs and Alcohol
When a teen is confronted with a situation in which he is being offered alcohol, drugs or cigarettes, they sometimes experience a “deer in the headlights” reaction. While having been warned that these substances are a part of the high school social environment, many don’t know what to do when faced with pressure to try an illegal substance.
Maltreatment during Childhood Increases Risk of Mental Problems, Substance Abuse in Adulthood
Dealing with memories of childhood abuse or neglect is generally considered the root of many individuals’ mental conditions or mood problems during adulthood. Yet a new study shows that not just memories of childhood maltreatment, but the maltreatment itself can influence the likelihood of behavioral disorders in later life.
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The Addiction Primer: Everything You Need to Know to Get Help for a Loved One
A very inexpensive yet indispensable guide for anyone struggling with a loved one's addiction. Chapters on intervention, what to expect from rehab, and information on how addiction impacts the family.
