A new study shows why some people may find it so hard to stop drinking when others have no problem knowing when to say “when.”

It can be hard to understand why an individual struggling with substance abuse seems unable to quit despite devastating negative consequences and a true desire to change. Now, a new study may provide some clues into that contradiction, proving scientifically that it’s not a lack of willpower but instead a chemical reaction in the brain that makes it so hard for some to just say “no.”

This latest research, published in the Science Translational Medicine journal, can help us understand what makes alcohol so addictive to some people. Researchers used positron emission tomography (PET) to look at the distribution of chemicals in the brains of participants, which included 13 heavy social drinkers and 12 healthy control subjects. (A heavy social drinker is categorized as a woman who consumes 10 to 16 drinks per week or a man who indulges in 14 to 20 drinks per week, while the women in the control group drank fewer than five drinks per week and the men drank less than seven.)

Researchers found some people’s brains give them more of an opioid release when they drink, leading them to perceive alcohol as more pleasurable than other people do. In the heavy drinkers who were studied, a single drink led to the release of more opioids in the orbital frontal cortex and the nucleus accumbens — two regions that play a role in reward. That reward makes the individuals in that group subconsciously learn to want that rush of pleasure again — making them seek and crave alcohol in a way they’re not even aware of.

This may also explain why alcoholics who truly desire to stop drinking have so much trouble doing so. Once part of the brain learns that drinking is important, it compels the individual to continue the behavior – even despite negative consequences.

While the study can be applied to our understanding of alcoholics, it’s important to note that the heavy drinkers in the study didn’t meet the criteria for alcohol dependence. The researchers’ ultimate objective was to come up with new ways of treating alcohol addiction, according to Jennifer Mitchell, adjunct assistant professor at University of California, San Francisco, and lead author of the study.

Alcohol Addiction Help at The Canyon

If you or someone you love needs help with alcohol addiction, call The Canyon at the toll-free number on our homepage. Someone is there to take your call 24 hours a day and answer any questions you have about treatment, financing or insurance.

One adoptive mother’s story serves as a cautionary tale for all women.

Those warnings against drinking alcohol while pregnant are so ubiquitous these days that many of us just look right through them. Every expectant mom knows to trade in the cosmos and martinis for juice, water and milk during her pregnancy, right? But everyone doesn’t always do what they know they should. Some expectant moms don’t even know they’re pregnant until they’re in their second trimester. Still others are in denial and refuse to accept the responsibility of caring for another human being in utero.

Adoptive mom Lori Gertz discovered this the hard way. She was vilified in 2010 when she sent away her seven-year-old adoptive daughter, Ellie, to be raised by strangers. What led to this extreme act? Gertz blames fetal alcohol syndrome disorder (FASD), which causes an array of neurological deficits that can result in poor judgment, inability to bond and aggression.

In Ellie’s case, that meant violent outbursts that began in infancy and progressed from there. She threatened to kill her little sister and pulled her pregnant mother down the stairs. There were suicide attempts, psychiatric hospitalizations and consultations with nearly 40 doctors. The FASD diagnosis didn’t solve the problem, but it did give the Gertzes the information they needed to formulate a plan.

Fearing for the family’s safety, Gertz made the heartbreaking choice to relinquish her daughter to the care of a couple from Washington state who had experience with FASD, hoping it would allow Ellie to improve.

Ellie’s case isn’t a rare exception. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP), approximately 125,000 women a year have serious alcohol problems throughout pregnancy. FASD affects about 40,000 newborns a year — about one percent of all live births in the United States — according to the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS). And since FASD has no cure, it’s a diagnosis that’s for life, resulting in 2 million adults being affected.

After a 15-month honeymoon with her new family, Ellie’s aggression and outbursts returned. The two families faced unfounded charges of abuse, and now they struggle to co-parent a child whose brain has been permanently damaged by her biological mother’s drinking, Gertz told ABCNews.com.

Gertz can’t undo the damage Ellie’s birth mom did during pregnancy, so she’s speaking out now to save other children from the same fate. Gertz is outspoken in warning women not to drink during pregnancy, ever, and to be “ultra-cautious” during childbearing years. “The legacy of FASD never wanes,” she cautions. She should know.

Alcohol Addiction Rehab

If you or someone you love needs help with alcohol rehab, call The Canyon at our toll-free number. Someone is there to take your call 24 hours a day and answer any questions you have about treatment, financing or insurance.

They agreed to speak in order to prevent other parents from going through the same thing.

If you ever need a reminder of the toll addiction takes, watch a clip from Anderson Cooper’s recent interview with the parents of the late Amy Winehouse. During the family’s first sit-down interview since their daughter’s tragic passing, Amy’s father Mitch blamed her death on her efforts to quit drinking. It’s not the first time they’ve suggested it may have been alcohol withdrawal that killed her.

Toxicology reports showed no illegal drugs were found in Winehouse’s system, but at the end of her life Winehouse was still struggling to deal with her alcohol addiction. Her father confirmed that traces of Librium, a prescription drug used to fight anxiety and alcohol withdrawal symptoms, was found in her system along with some alcohol. No official cause of death has not yet been identified.

“She drank to excess and did detox to excess,” Mitch told Cooper, saying it was a pattern he had seen before. “The periods of abstinence were becoming longer, and the periods of drinking were becoming shorter,” he said. “It was heading in the right direction.”

It’s ironic that Winehouse’s attempts to quit drinking may have actually caused her death, but alcohol detox is particularly difficult and should be done under the care of professionals.

Cooper also spoke to Amy’s mother, Janis Winehouse, her stepmother, her aunt and boyfriend Reg Traviss. According to Traviss, he wanted to talk to her more about her drinking problem but worried she would feel he was “nagging.”

A full inquest into the singer’s death will begin next month.

Alcohol Detox

If you or someone you love is in need of alcohol detox or other help, call The Canyon at our toll-free number. Someone is there to take your call 24 hours a day and answer any questions you have about treatment, financing or insurance.

Former NHL Predator Wade Belak is the latest in a series of young hockey players who have died recently. Is there a connection to depression, alcohol or prescription meds?

What is behind the death of former Predator Wade Belak, an enforcer who retired in March, ending a career that included five different NHL teams? Just 35 years old, he was found dead this week in Toronto.

Toronto police spokesman Tony Vella said officers found a man dead when they were called to a hotel and condo complex in the early afternoon. No foul play is suspected and an investigation is ongoing.

While any unexplained death of an athlete still in their prime is disturbing, the fact that Belak is the third NHL enforcer found dead since May is especially alarming.

Winnipeg’s Rick Rypien, only 27, was found dead in August 2011 at his home in Alberta. A police official termed it a “sudden and non-suspicious’’ death, but ESPN reports that the implication was that Rypien’s mental health issues were directly linked to his untimely death. Teammates and coaches were surprised, as it seemed Rypien had turned a corner in recent months after twice leaving the Canucks during the season for personal reasons. Meanwhile, former Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard, 28, died in May from what was ruled an accidental mix of alcohol and the prescription painkiller oxycodone.

After the first two deaths, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said he expected the NHL to review its substance abuse and behavioral health program.

“It’s not only about the deaths, it’s the deaths that surround similar type players,’’ former Flames general manager Craig Button told The Canadian Press. “It’s not just getting hit in the head, it’s everything that goes with that role. I think that people are paying very, very serious attention to concussions.’’

Pro athletes need to be particularly vigilant when it comes to injuries and the use of prescription drugs and alcohol to dull chronic pain. An injury on the field, court or rink can easily turn into a substance abuse problem. Would OxyContin rehab have helped Boogaard? Would treatment for co-occurring disorders have saved Rypien? We’ll never know.

While retired from the game, Belak was set to return to the rink as a sideline reporter on Nashville television broadcasts this season.

Drug Rehab

If you or someone you love is in need of drug treatment or help for a mental health issue and addiction, call The Canyon at our toll-free number. Someone is there to take your call 24 hours a day and answer any questions you have about treatment, financing or insurance.

The cost of drug and alcohol rehab can be high, and if you opt for a high-end addiction treatment center to ensure that you have access to everything you need during your recovery, you can end up with a hefty bill. Health insurance may cover part of the costs, and you can always get financing to cover the rest, but when it comes to tax time, can you recoup any of the costs?

As of right now, there are ways to claim the cost of drug and alcohol rehab on your tax return – as long as you itemize your deductions on Schedule A. In fact, any medical and dental cost is deductible in the same way, as long as it exceeds more than 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income for the year. For example, if your adjusted gross income is $50,000, you can deduct the expenses that exceed $3750. So if your treatment costs $10,000, then you can deduct $6250.

So which addiction treatment costs are included as acceptable medical expenses that can be deducted? According to §213(d)(1)(A) of the Tax Code, medical costs are defined as “the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease.”

Not a lot of guidance. The only other directives point out that illegal treatments or operations are not tax deductible and that a few services are definitely included. Some of the ones that relate to drug addiction treatment include x-rays, hospital and nursing services – pretty much any diagnostic, evaluation, and treatment services. If you are enrolled in a drug detox program or a drug addiction treatment program and incur costs for psychological treatment or medical treatment – even an ambulance ride somewhere in the process of healing and getting better – then your costs are covered under the circumstances described above.

Does drug and alcohol addiction qualify as a medical and/ or psychological disease according to the IRS? Absolutely. Even if the general public is split on the question, the medical establishment and the IRS are not. They agree that costs incurred in the treatment of drug addiction is absolutely a medical expense and as such qualifies as a deduction for those who itemize and whose expenses exceed 7.5 percent of their income.

If you would like assistance filing your taxes in a year that you pay for drug and alcohol rehab, tax accountants can help. If you are seeking a drug rehab for yourself or your loved one, we can assist you. Contact us at The Canyon today.

All the stars of the Harry Potter movie series are making tabloid headlines these days with the release of the last installment of the series – and Daniel Radcliffe, Harry Potter himself, is the most prominent. In a recent interview with the UK version of GQ, Radcliffe talked about an alcohol abuse problem that plagued him during his teen years while filming the first few Harry Potter movies.

Says Radcliffe: “I became so reliant on alcohol to enjoy stuff. There were a few years there when I was just so enamored with the idea of living some sort of famous person’s lifestyle that really isn’t suited to me.”

Radcliffe was 11 years old when he made the first Harry Potter movie – and was instantly famous. That’s when the alcohol abuse and dependence began and Radcliffe considers it amazing that he was never caught by the paparazzi while under the influence or with a drink in his hand: “I really got away with that because there were many instances when a paparazzi shot like that could have been taken.”

Luckily, it didn’t take a lifetime for Radcliffe to realize that alcohol addiction was ruining his life. He’s been drug-free and alcohol-free for almost a year now – since August of 2010. Total abstinence is his way of life now and he’s embraced it wholeheartedly: “As much as I would love to be a person that goes to parties and has a couple of drinks and has a nice time, that doesn’t work for me. I’m actually enjoying the fact I can have a relationship with my girlfriend where I’m really pleasant and I’m not f–king up totally all the time. There’s no shame in enjoying the quiet life. And that’s been the realization of the past few years for me.”

Radcliffe’s revelations are refreshing for a number of reasons. First, it’s good to see someone who started drinking so young and continued to drink heavily for so long make the decision to get clean and sober and stick to it. Second, as a celebrity, it’s not so rare to develop an alcohol addiction or even to go to alcohol rehab, but it is extremely rare to kick the habit so young and to remain dedicated to sobriety without the usual DUI charges, accidents, relapses, and revolving door rehab stints.

If you started drinking at a young age, it’s never too late to quit. Contact us today to find out more about our alcohol detox and addiction treatment programs here at The Canyon. Call now.

Though there are not medications FDA-approved to aid in the treatment of addiction to all illicit substances, there are quite a few medications that work quite well to help fight withdrawal symptoms for certain drugs or reduce the cravings that many experience when they try to quit drinking or getting high. Each drug works differently and in different doses for different people according to their drug history and other co-occurring disorders. Medications may not be appropriate for everyone in recovery. But for those living with an addiction and looking for the most effective treatment available, it’s certainly a viable option and one worth exploring.

Medications that Stop You from Getting Drunk or High

Some medications have one purpose: to subvert a patient’s attempt to relapse during recovery. For those fighting alcoholism, Antabuse is a common medication – this drug will make the patient nauseous if he or she attempts to drink while on the medication. Even though many recovering alcoholics know that they are on the drug and how it will affect them if they attempt to override it, they drink anyway and get very ill.

For those struggling with opiate addiction, naltrexone is a commonly prescribed drug. This drug doesn’t make the patient ill if he or she attempts to use heroin or take opiate painkillers, but it does block the receptors in the brain so that the patient will not experience the euphoric effects, or high. It has the same effect on alcoholics, though, when an alcoholic drinks, they will experience the other side effects of alcohol – slurred speech, slow reaction time, et cetera. They just won’t get high from the experience.

Detox Medications

For those who are detoxing off of opiate painkillers, there are a couple of other medication options that work to help the patient immediately stop taking their drug of choice without experiencing the bulk of the withdrawal symptoms. Methadone is the most common. Taken daily, it blocks the effects of opiates like heroin when it is taken in doses of 80 milligrams or more. It is more often used for patients with a high-dose heroin habit and helps them to transition off of heroin more quickly and avoid a painful detox as they begin the process of rebuilding their lives without drugs.

Suboxone is the latest in opiate detox and addiction treatment medications. Approved by the FDA for nothing but opiate addiction treatment, it combines naltrexone and buprenorphine. It is generally most suitable for patients with low-dose heroin or opiate addictions and can be prescribed by any physician certified to dispense the medication.

Are Medications Right for You?

Do you think a medicated detox would work for you? Have you gone through a medicated detox and have any tips or words of caution to offer? Tell us what you think!