The Canyon

Time for Alcohol Rehab

Not to be confused with a sneezy rhinoceros, allergic rhinitis is inflammation of the nasal passages. That stuffy, itching, sneezing, burning feeling in your eyes, nose, ears, throat, and sinuses that usually happens in response to pollen, mold, or animal dander. Some people just call it allergies, or hay fever.

An estimated 40 percent of the world’s population suffers with this upper respiratory infection, with rates continuing to climb in first world, westernized nations. Usual treatments range from nasal sprays, to decongestants/antihistamines, to weekly allergy shots, which can all help clear up the infection. If the stimulus is still in your environment, however, symptoms will return after treatment ends.

What the Research Says About Alcohol Abuse and Rhinitis

So what does all this have to do with drinking too much alcohol? Plenty, according to a new study published in the Clinical and Experimental Allergy journal. Danish researchers monitored 5,870 women who were symptom-free at the start of the study. After nearly a decade, 1,354 had developed respiratory infections such as rhinitis and hayfever. They also found that the risk for developing the infections increased around 3 percent for every alcoholic drink consumed during a week.

The Significance of the Relationship Between Alcohol Abuse and Rhinitis

Individuals with eczema and asthma typically have more frequent bouts with rhinitis, and those who suffer from hives can find themselves with frequent outbreaks relating to alcohol use. While alcohol has long been recognized as a trigger for hypersensitive reactions, previous studies indicated suppressed immune responses leading to serious bacterial infections. Rhinitis, on the other hand, is thought to be a response from the body’s overactive immune system, stimulating it to act on everyday intruders as if they were life threatening.

The Symptoms of Alcohol Abuse-Related Rhinitis

Symptoms of rhinitis often include runny nose (rhinorrhea), frequent sneezing, post-nasal drip, congestion, coughing, wheezing, headache, and fatigue. While it won’t kill you, it certainly makes life miserable for a while and it’s yet another way that alcohol can mess with your life, mess up your head and just make you feel terrible in general.

Is it worth it? Are you ready to stop? Are you stopping because of the negative physical health effects? Tell us about it: what made you face your battle with alcoholism and get treatment at an alcohol rehab center and how you are staying clean and sober every day.

Alcohol Addiction

Most of the time, when we talk about the effects of alcohol, we tend to focus on the emotional and biological responses of the addict. But for every person addicted to alcohol, there are countless more who have been directly harmed by the user while under the influence.

Excuses, Excuses

When someone you love starts acting strange, it’s normal to try and find a plausible reason for their behavior. “He had a bad day.” “She really took it hard after the divorce.” “Grandpa’s just been so lonely since Grandma died.” You hope it will pass, and you try to get on with the day, not realizing that you’re actually contributing to the problem. In time, the alcoholic comes to rely on these supportive statements and may become defensive or hostile when your approval is withheld.

Men Versus Women and Alcohol Abuse

Managing emotions is a different game for different genders. The depressant effects of alcohol typically elicit physical, confrontational reactions in men, and emotional, provocative responses in women. In other words: men, because of their higher testosterone levels, tend to act out while women, because of their higher estrogen levels, tend to cry out.

Both become rooted in maladaptive patterns and relationships where men are predominantly the abusers and women are the proverbial victims, and it doesn’t seem to matter who is actually struggling with the alcohol addiction.

Startling Statistics on Alcohol Addiction

Close to half of all violent crimes are committed while the attacker is intoxicated:

* 37 percent of assaults
* 57 percent of domestic violence incidents
* 60 percent of sexual crimes
* 86 percent of murders

The law doesn’t make excuses for inebriated acts, and neither should you. Places like Al Anon can help you learn strategies for a good offense, and connect to other people who have loved ones that are either active or recovering alcoholics. Many groups now have online chat rooms and meetings if there aren’t any local services in your area. Learn how to stand up for yourself and step out of the abusive cycle with the dignity you deserve.

Does This Sound Like You?

Or someone you know? Have you found that you are more violent when you drink rather than sedated, like you may have hoped? The number of problematic scenarios that become possible when you drink to excess are too many to count. Violent behavior is just one of them. Get help at an alcohol rehab before it’s too late.

Drug Addiction

No doubt you’ve seen, heard, or know someone personally who’s tried to quit smoking and ends up gaining weight. Or the pot head who eases up for a while, only to find he’s going through cigarettes faster than weed. Maybe you’ve sworn off cocaine and discovered crystal meth, traded shopping sprees for sex, gambling instead of drinking. Whatever your poison, if you rely on it to help you feel better and you just can’t stop yourself, it’s an addiction and addictions are chronic medical issues that require medical treatment.

Legal vs. Illegal Drugs

Narcotics that have been found to be easily addictive are placed on the DEA’s controlled substances list, but the legality of a substance doesn’t mean you can’t be addicted to it. Caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol are the most commonly available drugs, found in nearly every type of grocery and convenience store, and soda can still be found in most school vending machines. An estimated 8 million men, women, and teenagers have an eating disorder, 17 million Americans are compulsive shoppers, and countless millions struggle with obsessive-compulsive sexual urges.

Once an Addict, Always an Addict

New research comes out all time about certain genes being linked to certain types of addictions, but what’s important to note is the effect on the brain’s operating circuits when addiction kicks in. Chemical messengers (known as neurotransmitters) are damaged when consistent levels of drugs or alcohol interrupt the flow of information. Your body begins to rely on the chemical reaction produced by the addictive substance and is unable to recreate that response sufficiently to justify being without the drug. (For non-drug addictions, the activity itself elicits heightened pleasurable responses in much the same way as drugs or alcohol.)

Some drugs are so similar in their effects that your body may not notice there has been a change. Other times, a substitute drug might fill the void temporarily if you’re unable to find your favorite for a while, but the end result is still the same.

Take Back the Power of Choice

Addressing the underlying addictive personality and learning how to take control before cravings commit you to another binge is the only way out of the cycle. Recovery is a long, difficult journey, and you’ll need as much support as you can get. Start with a comprehensive drug addiction treatment program to give you a solid foundation in recovery and go from there. Realizing you don’t have to tackle it all at once may bring some relief – the only day you need to work on being sober is today. Say that to yourself every day and little by little it will get easier.

Sean Rosenthal may or may not be someone you have even heard of until this week of the Beijing Olympics. That is, unless, you are a fan of the competitive beach volleyball scene. As usual, NBC tells the background stories of each Olympic athlete they feature. Sean Rosenthal is not only a tremendously gifted athlete, he also endured difficult times as a child and teen because his parents had addiction problems. Sometimes kids can emerge from the most dire situations with impressive resiliency.

Tough Times With Drug Addiction At Home

Sean grew up in a home with six other children with multiple fathers. His father was alcoholic and has died according to the NBC Olympics site. His mother apparently struggled with methamphetamine addiction and struggled to keep jobs. They lived on welfare and had a hard time making ends meet. One website indicates that his mom was a former meth addict, but it is unclear how much of role she had with his upbringing. His grandmother took him in, but he still didn’t do well in school.

Sean had great athletic talent, but couldn’t keep up his grades to qualify for any sports teams. He even woke extra early doing some kind of electronic cable installation work before school to help pay bills. The details of his childhood aren’t much deeper than that from online sources. But they certainly paint a troubling picture with seemingly little hope for a good life.

Sean Rosenthal Discovers Volleyball and Rises Above Difficult Childhood

Now here is the point where nearly anything could have happened. His mom’s hooked on meth, his dad is an alcoholic (or has already died – the sources weren’t clear on this). It would have been pretty easy to just jump on the same track as mom and dad, drowning his sorrows in alcohol and drugs. He wasn’t making it in school, lots of chaos at home, and had few material splurges compared to others his age.

Instead of succombing to a drug addiction, he found an outlet that highlighted his natural gifts. He played beach volleyball and other sports as much as possible, and eventually became skilled enough to join the professional ranks as a teenager. Here’s the key – it’s not just that Sean was highly gifted as an athlete. He could have been an amazing mathmatician, or an artist, or a writer, or great with little kids.

Kids With Addiction in Family Need Encouragement

The point is somehow he had enough positive influence and mentoring to find his gifts and act on them. It’s hard to know how much support he got from his mom or dad. Most likely, he got this from his grandmother, perhaps coworkers, perhaps friends he met on the beach, or in other sports. Maybe even a coach somewhere.

Finding out how kids come out of highly addictive households to do exceptionally positive things with their lives is something that certainly needs more research. What encouraged Sean to do sports instead of drugs? I don’t know him personally, so I can only speculate. If she was a former meth addict, perhaps she spent some time in drug treatment – who knows? Regardless, it is inspiring and encouraging to know that even as a mother’s drug addiction or father’s alcoholism takes center stage in a family, some kids can come out shining.

Hope Lives For Kids Growing Up With Addiction

Will Sean ever have problems with addiction in his own life? It’s hard to say, but probably something he should keep in the back of his mind with his family history. If he remembers the lessons he’s learned from finding and using his natural gifts, chances are good he will keep on shining.

Addiction can cost a person and their family big-time. But the cost of addiction isn’t just about money. It’s about other things in a person’s life – family, self respect, financial stress, health. The financial cost of drug rehab may be a burden to bear for a period of time. But what about the lifetime burden of an addiction left untreated?

The Cost of Addiction For a Family

Family functioning is optimal when there are two well-functioning adults, both giving their time and abilities to the welfare of the family as a whole. When even one parent is addicted, the entire balance of the family gets thrown off. Instead of the parents being in charge and the children being taken care of, the addiction is the main focus. Everything revolves around how to hid from, ignore, suffer from, cover up, and compensate for the addiction. Healthy parenting and healthy marriages (or stable adult relationships) take a back seat to managing the addiction.

The Price Your Self Respect Pays For Drug Addiction

Drug addiction changes your brain, not only while you are using but also long after. Brain cells die, oxygen gets cut off, thought patterns change. You make decisions while using (or while getting your supply) that wouldn’t make any good sense while living sober. You act in rude or thoughtless ways, lose friends, maybe lose your job, lose marriages or significant relationships. Your reputation goes downhill and you may even get yourself a criminal record. It’s not surprising that many drug addicts feel like dirt and have little self respect.

The Financial Stress of Addiction

Addiction costs money one way or another. You pay by keeping food off the table because you bought drugs. Or, you stole drugs or money for drugs and you are in jail, racking up fines and lost wages. Health costs related to extensive drug use (liver damage, heart problems, blood pressure). Legal drugs like prescription medication and alcohol may be put on credit cards, being paid for years down the road. Savings may get drained to support a habit. Relatives may lend money (that is never returned) to unknowingly fund a drug stash or help you make bail.

The Price Your Body Pays For Addiction

Addiction changes your brain, not only while you are using but also long after. Brain cells die, oxygen gets cut off, thought patterns change. Your liver gets choked by processing so many toxins over time. Your nerves have problems reading your own body’s signals because they’ve been ravaged and overstimulated by drugs. Heart problems, blood pressure problems, lung disease, and brain damage are just a few of the health problems that can develop.

The Cost of Rehab

If you are facing the prospect of drug rehab, you are probably looking at the price tag. If you have a dual diagnosis, there is no more specialized research-backed drug rehab available to you than The Canyon. As you look at this big decision, think of the other costs of your addiction – family life, health, financial stress. You’ll pay a price for your addiction one way or another. But when you consider the cost of drug treatment, it’s small compared to everything else you could lose if you don’t go.

Alcohol Addiction Treatment

Naltrexone (Vivitrol) continues to make news among recovering alcoholics for its effectiveness in curbing alcohol dependence and consumption, but even bad publicity is good publicity. Since the drug was approved for use in 2006, there have been 70,000 doses shipped to medical clinics and rehab facilities around the country. While no one knows for certain how many doses have been administered, 196 reports of serious, adverse reactions at the site of injection have been submitted to the FDA.

Alcohol Addiction Treatment Drug Not Without Side Effects

The Vivitrol website advises both patients and doctors alike on the correct procedure for giving the drug. They warn:

“Once a month, a healthcare professional will inject Vivitrol into the upper outer portion of your buttocks, alternating sides each month. As with any intramuscular injection, some patients may feel pain or tenderness at, or after, the time of the injection. In addition, you might feel itching, swelling, a lump, or other discomfort at the injection site…. The most common adverse events associated with Vivitrol in clinical trials were injection site reactions, nausea, headache, fatigue, dizziness, vomiting, decreased appetite, painful joints and muscle cramps.”

If symptoms haven’t disappeared after two weeks, have grown increasingly worse, or you experience other symptoms that haven’t been listed, call your doctor for an immediate consultation. Sixteen patients have had to undergo surgical procedures as a result of abscessed tissue and necrosis. Yikes!

Take Charge of Your Alcohol Addiction Recovery

As with any drug or medication, it is vitally important that you are aware of how much, how often, and where the injections are supposed to be given. Have the nurse or doctor double check the label to make sure they are giving you the drug you are supposed to be getting. Observe any reactions. Keep tabs on yourself afterwards, or have a friend or family member keep an eye on you for a day or so. Most importantly, trust your instincts, even if your gut disagrees with what your doctor tells you.

Tell us: Have you ever been on Vivitrol? What was your experience?

What do you think of the use of medications to fight cravings during and after drug and alcohol treatment? Is it worth the risks?

Know someone who seems completely wrapped up in their own greatness and mystique? Then you might consider them to be narcissistic. It’s one thing if a person gets a little too proud of themselves from time to time. It’s another problem entirely if they have narcissistic personality disorder. They do anything and everything to protect their fragile sense of self, mostly by inflating it and creating an “admiration society” that they can depend on. When their emotional pain and anxiety get too overwhelming, people with narcissistic personalities often turn to drugs and alcohol for soothing escape.

How Narcissistic Personality Disorder Looks and Feels to Others

The narcissistic does a tricky dance between getting the admiration and from others and keeping people emotionally distant from them. If they feel threatened or someone gets too close, they crank up their narcissistic behavior. This is often offending or irritating enough that others are happy to put some distance between them. He or she blames others for their anger, which allows the narcissist to ignore reality and keep their elevated self-perception intact.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder and Drug Addiction

One study highlighted the course of narcissistic personality disordered client going through a course of outpatient cocaine treatment. The narcissists generally had unrealistically high demands of perfectionism for the therapist, other clients in the treatment, and anyone else associated with the drug treatment program. When these private standards of perfection weren’t met by the other people, the narcissists tended to quit outpatient cocaine treatment (probably casting blame on everyone as he or she walked out the door). A narcissist usually denies their drug use is addictive (even if it clearly looks like it). They describe their use as enhancing their energy and their life.

Narcissism and drug addiction have similarities in that the person relies on something from the outside to fill up their empty inside. The narcissist depends on the attention and admiration from others (whether this attention is imagined or real) for their sense of well-being. They do things to draw attention to them and create situations of achievement that set them up for congratulations and possible envy from others. This is done in much the same way that an addict makes sure their supply of drugs is steady and secure.

They have a lot of effort and time put into creating the situations and maintaining the appearances that keep their emptiness “filled up”. However, just like a drug addict, the admiration and attention does not fill the emptiness as well as it used to. When it seems they aren’t getting the admiration and attention they need, they become anxious and sink into depression. If they are using drugs, they may simultaneously be chasing the high of drugs when they can’t get the admiration they demand. The narcissist often has people around that will remind them of all their “greatness” when they get depressed. This storytelling and encouraging gradually “fills them up” again, bringing their mood back up. Once again, they are in the pursuit of ultimate admiration and notoriety.

Starting Drug Rehab

Getting a person with narcissistic personality disorder into treatment can be a real challenge, especially since they are not likely to admit problems resulting from their drug addiction. However, if you know someone with this disorder who really needs this help, find a way to extend your helping hand to them. They need you more than they want to know. If you need help setting up an intervention or need to get information about dual diagnosis drug rehab, contact The Canyon right away.

Talk to Your Teen About Drug Abuse

The other day we talked about divorce and its impact on teen drug abuse. This and other stressors can push your child to look for refuge in alcohol and illicit substances. The new school year approaching brings with it a slew of new stresses as well as access to multitude of drugs. But going back to school is also a great time to talk to your kids about the dangers of using drugs and alcohol. When you’re shopping for new clothes and school supplies, ask your child what her goals are for the coming year. Listen quietly and offer positive feedback, then chime in with a few suggestions of your own–especially concerning drug abuse and addiction.

Staying drug free is a high priority for accomplishing your goals and meeting unexpected challenges. But unless kids know about other alternatives to relieving stress, they run the risk of using because they trust their friends and think it won’t hurt them just to try it.

Hidden Dangers of Teen Drug Abuse

Teenagers have a way of conceptualizing events that translate into present tense. They’re not thinking about the future and the consequences of their actions, only how it relates to the here and now. As a result, the long-term dangers of drugs and alcohol are either ignored, or completely unknown.

Most public schools used to have drug education programs, D.A.R.E. for example, but with massive budget cuts across the nation, you can bet that these programs will quickly go the way of the do-do if it hasn’t happened already. That means the first line of defense you have against your child using drugs is you.

Prevent Teen Drug Addiction

Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, realizes “there’s a real disconnect between what teens are thinking and feeling and what parents believe about their teens when it comes to attitudes about drug use.” In a recent survey done by the Partnership, 73 percent of teenagers admit to using drugs as a way to cope with stressors from school, while only 7 percent of parents considered it an option.

The reality is, drugs and alcohol are available to your child at any time. It’s not a matter of knowing the “right” person, because kids who use drugs are everywhere. There is no stereotypical drug user, or dealer for that matter.

Everyone is susceptible to the pressures of life, it’s knowing what to do when the pressure gets to be too much that makes all the difference. For ideas on how to talk to your kids about keeping clear of drugs, visit TimeToTalk.org and register for the Partnership’s free talk guide for realistic information related to teen drug use.

Teen Drug Addiction

Parents cope with the stinging pain of divorce in different ways. As adults, we know how life is filled with constant ups and downs and can easily trick ourselves into thinking “it’s not so bad.” When we can no longer ignore the pain, heartache, anger and frustration, we seek out other ways to steel ourselves so we can carry on through another day.

Our children, who bear witness to it all especially in the wake of divorce are confused and bewildered, lonely and ashamed. They see their parents having trouble getting along and try to figure out what it was they did to make things turn ugly. Mom and Dad are busy going through their own emotional turmoil and aren’t as available to lend an ear as they once were. Some, in an effort to numb the pain or escape the fighting, may turn to drug abuse and addiction.

Grief and Loss Contributes to Drug Addiction

Loss is something we all experience throughout the course of life. A lost dog, a favorite toy, a best friend who moves away, grandparents passing on; it’s part of the give and take that makes life meaningful. For every loss, including divorce, we are subjected to the accompanying wave of grief, sometimes more powerful and incapacitating than other times. A child may not express her loss to you in words, but it is there nonetheless, as powerful and consuming as the grief that consumes you over the loss of your former life. Divorce can leave your teen agitated with unanswered questions. Rather than bother you with their questions or concerns they may begin to experiment with crystal meth, alcohol, marijuana, prescription painkillers… whatever drugs are available to them.

Teen Drug Abuse

Struggling and Coping with Teen Drug Addiction

The National Longitudinal Sample of Adolescent Health sponsored by the Mapping America project, reveals that teenagers whose parents have divorced are four times more likely to use drugs than teens whose parental relationships are intact – even after they reach adulthood.

Trying drugs leads to using drugs, which quickly escalates into dependency and abuse, and finally, addiction. It’s not a pretty picture, but for anyone weighed down with the emotional baggage of divorce, little else can appear to be able to solve the problem.

A Positive Step Toward Fighting Teen Drug Abuse

When we aren’t feeling well physically, we go see a doctor. But when we feel emotionally unwell, most of us just try to suffer through it hoping it will clear up on its own. Would you try that tactic if you thought you had the flu? Probably not, because the consequences of missed days at work and a potential for developing bronchitis or pneumonia are just too great. Your friends and family would do everything they could to persuade you to see a doctor because you could die if you don’t get help.

Emotional and mental illnesses are no different. Most mild cases can be treated with outpatient talk therapy an hour a week at a counselor’s office. Your child’s school most likely has a school counselor on staff that can offer advice or referrals to get the right help for your situation. In more serious circumstances, inpatient or outpatient drug addiction treatment centers may be necessary. Emotional pain doesn’t just vanish. We must identify and accept that it is a valid response to a crisis and open ourselves to the possibility of healing through patience and understanding.

Anxiety and Addiction

Anxiety is a pretty common response to something frightening, unknown, or somewhat dangerous. Humans are built to have some anxiety to help keep their impulses under control, think twice before you make a move sometimes. But what if even ordinary activities and interactions made you feel this way much of the time? What if you turned to drugs and alcohol to calm your nerves? Unmanaged anxiety and addiction can go hand in hand to cause a lot of problems.

Anxiety Disorders And Symptoms

Anxiety disorders can range from mild social or performance anxiety to panic disorders and agoraphobia. As stated earlier, a little anxiety is pretty normal. You do need to worry a little about what would happen if you paid your bills late, or if you didn’t get to work on time, or if you remembered to turn off the oven before you left town. The usefulness of anxiety only goes so far. When most things trigger the fight-or-flight response, it becomes difficult to tell what is really threatening and what is a false alarm.

Anxiety symptoms can include many sensations including heart palpitations, sweating, clammy hands, a hot flushing feeling, tingling, shakiness, faintness, upset stomach, and diarrhea. There are also lots of negative thoughts, “what if’s”, self-doubt, feelings of uncertainy and fear. Some people who have panic attacks can feel so bad they believe they might be dying, having a heart attack, or losing control of their mind.

How Would an Addict With Anxiety Look to Others?

A person with anxiety may isolate themselves, or limit their activities that cause their anxiety to get worse. They may have the idea that if they don’t “push” themselves, they can prevent the anxiety from coming on. They might make their personal world smaller and smaller, avoiding anything that might seem to difficult to cope with. They might very well still feel anxiety, regardless of their self-limiting actions.

They most likely do a lot of their drinking or drugging alone. If they do need to be out in public and feel anxiety from this, they are likely to use just prior to or while being with others in the situations that make them uncomfortable. And some drugs may actually make their anxiety worse, such as marijuana and stimulant use and coming off alcohol or another depressant. The person is compelled to use more drugs to get rid of the uncomfortable anxiety sensations.

Treatment For Anxiety and Addiction

Generally, a person can learn to manage their anxiety with cognitive behavioral therapy. Often, anti-anxiety medication is used to help calm the mind and make physical symptoms better. When a person with anxiety also has an addiction, it is important to get treatment for both together. The reason for the drug use is tightly linked with the anxiety. Getting a person sober without addressing their underlying anxiety problem will make sobriety difficult to maintain.

The Canyon offers a full program for anyone suffering from anxiety and addiction together. The beautiful surroundings, expert dual diagnosis staff, research-based addiction treatment, and the unique therapies help the whole person through the start of their recovery process.