A few weeks ago we talked about 5 Signs of Addiction to CNS Stimulants like crystal methamphetamine, and since then I’ve fielded a few questions on the insidious nature of this drug. A common problem among those whose drug of choice is crystal is that they are often fooled into thinking that they can quit alone because the withdrawal symptoms are more emotional than physical like opiate withdrawal. Unfortunately, it’s just not true. The relapse rate for those addicted to crystal is about three months long. You may be able to hold off, not use, “white knuckle it” as they say in recovery, but the mental addiction to the drug is difficult to overcome on your own.

Here’s why.

Crystal Meth and Dopamine Production

It’s all about dopamine, the happy chemical in your brain. You know how you crash into an overwhelming depression for days and days after a run on crystal meth? It seems like the crash parallels the run in intensity and duration and, for some, it’s the kind of depression that is suicidal and desperate. That’s because the intense amoung of dopamine that is stimulated by crystal meth through smoking or injecting the drug is what makes you feel so good while you’re high. Take it away, and your brain crashes. No more dopamine stimulation, no more dopamine, hence the depression.

Crystal Meth Plays Tricks on Your Mind

After about three months, according to studies, the dreaded crash has faded from memory and for some reason, crystal meth addicts begin to romanticize the high associated with the drug. Some are convinced that they can’t be really happy without it, that they won’t be able to handle basic tasks much less big projects. It’s a drug that seems to mess with your head even more than your body when you stop taking it.

Treating Crystal Meth Addiction

A crystal meth detox can be an overwhelming experience, one that you may require help with. If you feel suicidal, contact a medical professional immediately. If you need help breaking the mental hold of crystal meth, contact a drug addiction facility like The Canyon. The Canyon provides a relaxing and vacation like spot for you to get away from temptation and get the help you need. A dual diagnosis treatment facility, The Canyon specializes in treating those who are struggling with mental issues as well as addiction to drugs. We can answer any questions you have, whether it’s your drug use that has you concerned or that of someone you love. Contact us today for more information.

For more about the work being done to find new treatments for crystal methamphetamine addiction and other studies, check out the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) and Medical News Today.

So what does it take to make a healthy relationship – trust, communication, spending time together? Yes, all of those things and more. Being able to put someone else’s needs ahead of your own is perhaps the most basic building block for a healthy relationship. But if your world is turned upside down with addiction and mental disorders, you may not know how to do anything but look after yourself. Relationships and untreated dual diagnosis problems just don’t mix well.

What You Need for Healthy Adult Relationships

First, take a look at some of the skills a person needs to create and keep a healthy adult romantic relationships. Many of these principles apply to casual daters as well as people dating for marriage and married or life-long couples.

• Having empathy means that you can take the other person’s viewpoint and understand where they are coming from.
• Being selfish is easy; putting the other person first makes them feel important to you.
• Being vulnerable means that you share some things about yourself that aren’t so perfect.
  One of the most valuable things you can give to another person is your time.
• When a couple solves problems together, they are putting aside their selfishness to gain something greater for both of them.
• The more effort and patience you put forth in choosing your partner wisely, the better your relationship experience will be.
• When you do decide to date seriously and eventually marry, the strongest relationships bring two healthy people together to create something bigger than just themselves.

How Addiction and Mental Disorders Create Relationship Problems

So do you have a good picture in your mind of how a healthy relationship comes together? Giving, sharing, making time, being a decent person to your partner? Now throw in everything about addiction and mental disorders that makes a person’s daily life miserable. Hours or days of being drunk or high, stuck in a foggy daze. Excuses for where money has gone, why you are hardly ever home, why you cancel dates or commitments. Confusion, unbearable despair, fears and obsessions, a constant bad mood – does any of this sound conducive to a great relationship? No, not hardly.

In fact, probably the biggest problem is how people with co-occurring disorders chose their partners to begin with. (This also holds true for people with just mental illness or addiction alone.) As a general rule, people tend to pick romantic partners that are about as mentally healthy and confident as they are.

For example, a self-confident woman who is content with herself and has a solid character is not likely to get deeply involved with a drug addict or someone with bipolar disorder. She would quickly recognize signs of a person with little life direction, poor self concept, evidence of a heavy drinking or drug lifestyle. Not something she’s likely to keep doing for very long. She wants someone she can count on, not someone she has to chase after or babysit when life gets tough.

By the same token, an anxious woman with alcoholism won’t stay with a strong steady guy who has ambition and good impulse control. She won’t be able to deal with her feelings of inadequacy very well, won’t relate to his consistency and self-control. She’d be much more comfortable with someone who’s got a similar level of life problems, maybe even someone with worse problems than herself to improve her feeling of personal power.

Drug Treatment Helps Relationship Problems

Drug treatment can help relationship troubles When a person’s life is completely out of control from untreated addiction and mental disorders, dual diagnosis rehab is the way to turn everything around. You learn how to live without the deception and turmoil of addiction, you learn how to use your mind and handle your emotions more effectively. Essentially, you learn all the things it takes to become a healthy part of a great relationship.

photo credit: wonker

An addiction to prescription drugs can feel like it comes from out of nowhere. At one point, you are managing pain from a car accident. A few months later, you are using three times your usual dose and seeing multiple doctors just to keep up with your ever growing need for pills. How did your life turn upside down so quickly? Prescription drug addiction is more common and easier to fall into than many people think.

Common Addictive Prescription Drugs

Prescription drugs that tend to be addictive come in three basic forms. Central Nervous System (CNS) depressants slow the nervous system down. These include drugs like Xanax, Valium, and Nembutal (for insomnia). CNS stimulants include Ritalin and Dexadrine, which have an amphetamine base. Narcotic analgesics are used to treat severe pain, also making you sleepy and slowing down the respiratory system. Some commonly used drugs include Vicodin and Oxycontin.

How Prescription Drug Addiction Can Develop

The prescription drugs described above are quickly addictive and can cause a medical emergency if the drugs are stopped suddenly without medical supervision. Often times, a prescription drug addiction occurs because there is no specific “exit plan” for getting off the medication or the doctor’s instructions aren’t followed exactly.

This kind of addiction can strike down stay-at-home moms recovering from a car accident, highly achieving executives with attention problems, or energetic productive citizens recovering from painful surgery. Not every person who is prescribed painkillers or stimulants becomes addicted. However, the potential is there each and every time someone takes these medications in a way that is risky.

Risk Factors for Prescription Drug Addiction

This is a list of possible risk factors for developing a prescription drug addiction. Notice that anything over-stretching a person’s coping skills, health, or abilities puts them at risk.

Not following doctor’s medication directions exactly
Depression or bipolar disorder
High level of stress, chronic stress
Poor economic conditions
Chronic fatigue/overworked
Poor self esteem, poor social support
Daily use of alcohol
Family or personal history of addiction
Poor health (easy access)
Addictive personality (low self control, high aggression, high risk taking, socially difficult)
Requiring greater and greater doses to feel original pain relief

Prescription Drug Addiction and Dual Diagnosis

Prescription drugs can be highly addictive, especially dangerous when give for mental illness symptoms such as anxiety. Xanax is such a drug, often prescribed to help people manage severe anxiety. When abused, Xanax can produce painful harsh withdrawal symptoms and make an anxiety condition worse. This becomes a vicious cycle – using more drugs to help the anxiety, using more drugs to avoid the awful withdrawal process.

Prescription Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery

The Canyon is well equipped to treat individuals with prescription drug addictions. Few treatment centers offer highly trained professionals prepared to deal with a variety of mental illnesses as well as challenging drug and alcohol addictions. A person needing prescription drug treatment is especially urged to seek a facility capable of supervising the difficult and medically risky detox process. The Canyon specializes in a full range of prescription drug rehab services including drug detox, drug addiction treatment, and drug addiction aftercare. The blog for Meditox of Palm Beach also has a great deal of information about prescription drug addiction.

Your Reaction and Experience

Have you ever fallen into an addiction with prescription painkillers or medication for mental disorders? How quickly did your addiction develop? It’s so easy for prescription medication to start out as a helpful tool and end up a dangerous addiction – I’m interested to hear your story.

photo credit: Oslo In The Summertime

It’s already difficult to know just how common dual diagnosis issues are in the United States. There have not been many studies done to find out. What’s even more hidden is the true number of people with multiple co-occurring disorders – one or more mental disorders and one or more addictions at once.

Dual Diagnosis Includes Multiple Co-Occurring Disorders

It’s already difficult to know just how common dual diagnosis issues are in the United States. There have not been many studies done to find out. What’s even more hidden is the true number of people with multiple co-occurring diagnoses, one or more mental disorders and one or more addictions at once.

While several reliable resources acknowledge that some people with dual disorders actually have multiple disorders, it’s difficult to really know the true numbers. Suffice to say that mental health professionals may need to consider co-occurring disorders more of the norm than the exception.

Prevalence of Multiple Co-Occurring Disorders

It isn’t really accurate to use the word “dual” because that implies the existance of just two co-occurring disorders. In fact, some people have three or more diagnosable mental or addiction disorders going on at the same time. It is difficult to get statistics on how many people are affected by more than two disorders. Few studies have been done on dual diagnosis prevalence at this point. Hopefully, the current shift in awareness and treatment of dual diagnosis disorders will prompt the push for more studies. Professionals need to get a good handle on the problem to continue improving treatment options, treatment availability, and awareness.

Proper Assessment for Multiple Co-Occurring Disorders

For anyone needing help with a mental illness or addiction, proper assessment and diagnosis is absolutely essential. The Canyon has participated in dual diagnosis research and found that although 14 million people in the United States have co-occurring disorders, only 19% actually get treatment. Since it’s clear that many more people have co-occurring disorders than was once thought, accurate diagnosis is the first step to getting the right treatment. Certainly there need not be over-diagnosis hysteria, seeing anyone and everyone as possibly having dual and multiple disorders. However, the current pattern is under-diagnosis.

The recent trend of greater awareness among the public and professionals is heartening. Perhaps the entire treatment success rate for mental health and addiction services has been skewed for years because one or more disorders were either undiagnosed or not properly treated in the first place. It all boils down to people getting the treatment that fits their needs. The Canyon’s treatment process includes careful and thorough dual diagnosis assessment. The staff is committed to understanding the whole picture and treating the whole person.

Your Experience

Have you ever had more than one addiction and realized you also had other problems like wild mood swings, bouts with depression, or a serious anger problem (possibly depression in disguise)? Or, have you had more than one mental illness (bipolar and anxiety, schizophrenia and depression, etc) and also developed an addiction? Assessment and study of multiple mental illness and addiction disorders is a subject that needs much light shed on it. The experiences you share are very valuable to us and everyone else going through the struggle.

photo credit: Daquella manera

Change is society can be slow, especially for something that has so many unknowns. The mainstream practice for dual diagnosis treatment used to be treat the addiction then treat the mental disorder. Now researchers and professional are realizing that there is a much better way – dual diagnosis treatment that helps both problems at once.

Which Came First Mental Illness or Addiction

Occasionally the dual diagnosis “chicken and the egg” question arises. Which came first for this person – the mental illness or the addiction? And for that matter, which one usually comes first in the dual diagnosis population? Sometimes it turns out you are asking the wrong question from the beginning.

Researchers have found that in most cases, the mental illness has developed before the addiction. The debate has gone on for years, but this focus has taken the mental health and addiction community off track. The point is really this – worrying which came first masks the fact that the interaction of the diagnoses is what really matters. The person with these problems is only concerned that their life is going downhill and they need the best treatment the mental health and addiction community can offer.

Separation of Mental Illness and Addiction in Treatment

Until recently, most professionals kept addiction and mental health treatment fairly separated. The conventional wisdom had been to get the person stable in their sobriety before really addressing any mental health diagnoses. It was thought that you couldn’t effectively treat the mental illness if the addiction was still “getting in the way,” so to speak. However, this process has misinterpreted the basic way co-occurring disorders work. Again, it is the interaction that dual diagnosis recovery needs to focus on.

When one diagnosis gets the focus and the other is left aside, the person isn’t getting the whole problem addressed. It’s like finding two different infections on a person’s two hands, but waiting until the left hand gets better before treating the right one. In the meantime, the infection in the right hand just continues to get worse!

Misdiagnosis and Under-Diagnosis of Co-Occurring Disorders

Also, it’s important that genuine dual disorders are not seen as one major disorder with a small side-problem – like a depressed person what has a few too many drinks after work (alcoholic), or a drug addict with an occasional anger and aggression problem (probably some form of depression in disguise).

It is certainly possible for a major disorder to occur with some minor disturbances on the side, it is absolutely essential that a well-trained professional make sure significant problems aren’t getting the brush-off. The Canyon takes accurate dual diagnosis assessment quite seriously. The staff is highly trained in the complexities of dual diagnosis treatment and assessment.

Your Experience

Have you ever been treated for your dual diagnoses separately? What was your experience like? How do you think that affected your overall recovery? We here at the Canyon very much appreciate you sharing your stories and with us. It helps us to make your dual diagnosis treatment experience the best possible.

The stigma of either a drug addiction or a mental disorder is difficult enough. Having both can make a person want to hide their face in town. Famous people have had to deal with their dual diagnoses in public, which would be unthinkable for most folks. However famous (or unfamous) you are, it can be hard to get around the stigma of addiction and mental illness together.

Stigma is some kind of trait or characteristic that causes a person to be rejected or shamed by the masses. Unfortunately, stigma is also closely related stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination. All of these social phenomena are based more on beliefs and values than actual fact. Society resists open-minded thoughts and discussions about addiction and mental illness. Mentally ill addicts magnify their own (repeat source) self-stigma by assuming no one would help them anyway.

Prevalence of Dual Diagnosis

Dual diagnosis is much more common than people may think. According to Foundation Associates, “Up to 65.5 percent of people with a substance dependence disorder had at least one mental disorder and 51 percent of people with a mental disorder had at least one substance abuse disorder.”

Many people with dual diagnoses never get treatment for a variety of reasons. The stigma can make it difficult to ask for help. The stigma can make it difficult for communities to talk about problems and solutions for mentally ill addicts.

How to Beat the Stigma

Fame has been doing one thing for addiction and mental illness. It has put real names and faces to the labels “addict,” “bipolar,” “alcoholic,” and so on. Celebrities’ substance and mental disorders have at the very least made it easier to spark conversations these problems. And when a celebrity actually comes forward to speak honestly about their struggles, fame and pain can come together in an educational stigma-breaking sort of way. I’m not saying that celebrities often look for opportunities like this, but it can happen. Some good recent examples of this:

• Carrie Fisher has a book about her struggles with bipolar and drugs.
• Brooke Shields came forward about her postpartum depression.
• Jane Pauley will be attending this years NAMI convention, also discussing her book about her bipolar experiences.

Read up on mental illness and addiction yourself. When the gossip mags blurt out how Britney Spears has bipolar or a drug addiction, look it up at a reputable source like NAMI or The Canyon. Is it what you thought it was? Do you know someone who fits these criteria that might actually need your help? Are you suffering from drug abuse or mental illness symptoms but haven’t reached out because of stigma?

If you find yourself in the definitions of “drug abuse”, “alcoholism”, or “mental disorder,” find one person you trust to tell your story. Many mental disorder and drug abuse symptoms mess with your judgment and your logic, causing you to think no one would want to help a “loser” or “junkie” like you. If you are suffering in silence, things will only get worse. You may not be able to afford to wait until someone rescues you. Find someone you know, or contact The Canyon to speak to someone will listen and extend help to you.

Who’s Fighting the Fight Against Dual Diagnosis Stigma

Fortunately, people with mental disorders and drug addictions have some pretty large and loud advocates in their corner. The common person doesn’t have to fight the stigma all alone. Here are some great resources for stigma busters you can learn about and even do yourself.

Foundation Associates Outreach and Advocacy
Foundation Associates Anti-Stigma Campaign
NAMI Stigma Busters
National Mental Health Awareness Campaign
You Tube – Mental Illness Stigma Project

Your Comments

What do you think about the stigma of mental illness and addiction, especially when they occur together? Have you had a dual diagnosis and experienced the stigma first-hand? What conversations have you heard others having about these issues?

Schizoaffective disorder is an unusual and commonly misdiagnosed condition. Because of the mixture of symptoms, doctors and mental health professional often catch just the schizophrenia or just the mood disorder. It can take some time to really sort out all the symptoms and make a proper diagnosis.

Typical schizophrenia symptoms include hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized speech, thoughts, and behavior. Mood symptoms can include depressed mood, social isolation, negative thoughts, thoughts of harming oneself, sleep problems, despair, and some mania (for manic subtype). Although there have not been any official prevalence studies done, experts estimate that about one in every 200-500 people could develop schizoaffective disorder sometimes in their lives.

How Might Schizoaffective Disorder and Addiction Look to Friends and Family?

Schizoaffective disorder causes a lot of emotional pain along with confusing thoughts, isolation, and mood problems. It’s common for people with schizoaffective disorder to develop an alcohol or drug addiction while trying to self-medicate their pain or increase feelings of pleasure. Substance use can magnify their isolation, mood symptoms, and thought problems.

If some you knew had both problems, you would likely notice the strange schizophrenia symptoms (delusions, disorganized behavior, etc) as well as limited social interactions. They may seem to really lose touch with reality for periods of time. Drugs and alcohol often impair judgment and increase impulsively. They may seem frequently suicidal from both the dual diagnosis problems and the affects of their addiction.

How is Schizoaffective Disorder Treated?

Schizoaffective treatment has many components to it. Cognitive therapy is used to help reconnect thought processes and cope with emotions. If they are actively suicidal, they may need to be admitted to a hospital or inpatient psychiatric unit. Group and individual therapy supports them as they learn (or relearn) and maintain good social skills. Anti-depressants, mood stabilizers, and anti-psychotic medication are used in combination depending on the person’s symptoms.

Family involvement is an important part of treatment. Some people with schizoaffective disorder live with family members because they cannot care for themselves. Families greatly benefit from psychoeducation about the disorder and family therapy. Medication is a critical part of treatment and must be closely monitored.

How Does Schizoaffective Disorder Interact With Drugs and Alcohol?

Alcohol and marijuana worsen schizoaffective symptoms. Alcohol and drug addiction can interact in harmful, even deadly ways with anti-psychotic and anti-depressant medications. People with schizoaffective disorder can create a more devastating affect on themselves with smaller and less frequent amounts of alcohol or drugs than people without a mental disorder. Just think for a minute about all these dangerous factors put together. Getting proper dual diagnosis treatment is critical for someone in this situation.

There is bad news and good news about schizoaffective disorder and dual diagnosis. The bad news – people with schizoaffective disorder and an addiction are more likely to have relapses and are more likely to require hospitalization than those who abstain from drugs and alcohol. But wait, here’s the good news. The long-term prognosis looks good when these people follow long-term drug treatment programs along with other support systems for several years.

What Treatment and Support is Available for Schizoaffective Dual Diagnosis?

The experts at the Canyon are specifically trained to treat both mental disorders and addictions. The team works together to provide coordinated treatment for a challenging dual diagnosis like schizoaffective disorder and addiction. Ongoing support can be found on schizoaffective message boards, schizoaffective forums, and another schizoaffective forum.

Your Thoughts

What’s been your experience with schizoaffective disorder and an addiction? Were you misdiagnosed at first, or did you get connected with the right kind of help right away. The more we learn about your experiences, the more we are able to provide high quality custom treatment for people with schizoaffective disorder. We truly appreciate your comments and stories.

Once you are out of dual diagnosis rehab, it’s so important to have continued support with your recovery. Drug rehab certainly isn’t a cure, and much work continues as you create a sober life over the years. Many people have found 12-step support groups to be a big part of their recovery process. I’ll explain how they can support recovery, some advantages of a dual diagnosis support group, and where you can find more information about these groups.

Dual Diagnosis Group or Traditional 12 Step Recovery Group?

Of course, one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to support groups. However, there are some groups that are offering help to those with the unique challenges of a mental disorder and a substance addiction. These dual diagnosis groups tend to share the general philosophies and approaches as the traditional 12-step groups. However, they do have a “unique advantage” according to a study in March of 2007 about dual diagnosis 12 step-based groups. Recovery is a lifelong process, and groups offer not only support but also strategies for common recovery issues.

Dual Diagnosis Group or Traditional 12 Step Recovery Group?

Availability of dual diagnosis support groups is somewhat limited compared to other 12-step groups. However, if there is one in your area and you are in recovery from dual diagnosis problems, I strongly encourage you to check it out. More and more groups are being formed around the country as it becomes increasingly clear that dual diagnosis persons have some unique needs.

The traditional support groups like NA and AA can still be beneficial for some people with a dual diagnosis. Each and every 12-step meeting is unique regardless of its particular problem focus. If this is the only type of support in your area, this can still be a good resource for you. The support group study mentioned above stated that the differences between dual diagnosis and traditional groups wasn’t as important as the support they provided. It is not unusual for someone to try more than onegroup because of their schedule, the mix of people that attend, or other factors. So don’t be discouraged – this is a personal journey and there is no way to know what fits until you just start with a group.

Dual Diagnosis Recovery Groups to Explore

Dual Diagnosis Anonymous began in California and seems to be expanding. The website looks somewhat new and parts are under construction. However, there is contact information, literature available, some good links, and even materials to start your own support group. It seems this is one to watch for, especially if you live in California.

Dual Recovery Anonymous began in Kansas City, Missouri nearly twenty years ago. They have an extensive website with resource, a “meeting finder” feature, and even a bookstore. There seem to be meetings available in nearly every state and look like a fairly well established group.

Recovery Anonymous is a bit different. This is aimed at folks who haven’t found success or a good fit in other self-help support groups. They welcome people with all kinds of problems including addictive overeaters, gamblers, drug and alcohol addicts, and people with mental disorders. Another unique features is that they also include any family members or other supportive people in someone’s life. Recovery Anonymous also focuses more on “restoration of sanity” and a “solution focus.” There is quite a bit of information there, so it is worth a look.

Double Trouble in Recovery does not offer any history on their website that I could find. However, they have many long webpages that answer nearly any question you could have before visiting a group. There are materials available, contact information, and quite a bit about sponsorship. There is a link at the top of the main page about a list of meetings. It is apparently still be built, so check their site soon or use the contact information to find a meeting near you.

What Do You Think?

Have you been to any dual diagnosis support group meetings? What’s been your experience there? Who has been to both a traditional recovery group and a dual diagnosis group? How would you compare the two groups? Are they mostly similar, or did you notice some important differences?

Your input is especially valuable here since dual diagnosis support groups are more limited. It helps us to be more in touch with grassroots recovery efforts.

Stories about relapsing addicts seem pretty common. Just when you think that person is getting it together, they fall off the path. Maybe this is your story, and you feel unsure how to keep yourself from going back to that life.

The Real Risk of Addiction Relapse

First, it’s very important to realize that relapse happens. It’s an expected part of the recovery process. But each relapse teaches you something about yourself. What have I been getting lax about? Where has my attitude slipped? Have I been in touch with my AA or NA sponsor lately?

When you can glean even one small lesson from your experience, you have one more piece of awareness to help you. The more you pay attention to the patterns of your feelings, thoughts, and other symptoms, the better chance you have of getting back to a sober life. People with addictions and mental disorders have usually spent years ignoring their feelings, thoughts, and symptoms. Opening your awareness to these things happens one step at a time.

Thinking you are immune to relapse could get you into trouble. The Recovery Radio has a comprehensive post about the concept of “personal exceptionalism.” This is basically the idea that the addict is special and the common rules of addiction or relapse don’t apply. Big red flag waving here – doesn’t that say “relapse risk” to you?

Addiction Relapse Risk Factors

If you are a drug addict or alcoholic with a dual diagnosis, there is a long list of possible relapse risk factors. Many of them depend on your past personal experiences, the symptoms of your mental illness, and your current “life situation.”

Here is a general list of some relapse risk factors to be aware of. Keep the symptoms of your mental illness diagnosis in mind as you read through these.

1 – High-risk situations such as hanging out with old “using” friends, keeping alcohol or drugs in your house even when you are trying to stay clean, keeping drug and alcohol paraphernalia at your house, etc. Each of these is an easy shortcut to using again.

2- States of negative emotion – boredom, anger, impatience, irritability, depression, anxiety. Being mad for a few minutes may not send you into relapse, but rehashing old anger at your dad for a few days might. Be especially aware of your mental disorder diagnosis here. It’s more than just a trigger.

3 – Not taking care of your mental illness properly such as skipping therapy or doctor appointments, messing with your meds, not using your coping skills to deal with symptoms, not seeking help if symptoms get worse. There is a pretty good chance some addicts will try “self-medicating” when this happens.

4 – Relationship problems whether they are with friends, your marriage or boyfriend/girlfriend, problems with your children, etc. Sometimes the people you want to rely on can provide more relapse risk than support.

Arming Yourself Against Addiction Relapse

The Canyon offers not only high quality drug detox and treatment, but also help dealing with relapse. Another option is a sober living home in California. No matter what your method, learning about how you are vulnerable to relapse can keep you living a sober life.

Obviously, everyone has unique relapse triggers. Your triggers fit your life, but it may also strike a chord with someone else. What are your personal triggers for relapse? What relapse risk factors seem to be connected with your mental disorder diagnosis? As always, we thank you for sharing your personal comments.

CNS (or central nervous system) stimulants refer to all those drugs that make you feel speedy, stimulating you, if you will, into a state of high alertness. A few days ago we posted the Top 10 Signs of Methamphetamine Addiction, which talked about symptoms of meth addiction in particular, but a lot of these signs are typical of those addicted to any number of stimulants including amphetamines, cocaine and prescription stimulants like methylphenidate, also known as Ritalin.

Signs of CNS Stimulant Use

During use, these drugs generally make the user feel euphoric, super human even, as if they can accomplish anything. The talk fast, move fast and do whatever they’re doing with a focus and speed that is out of character. Their blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature also increase.

Signs of CNS Addiction

Addiction to CNS stimulants is apparent when the following symptoms are seen regularly, whether or not the user is “high” on their drug of choice:

* Decreased appetite and extreme weight loss
* Irritability and depression
* Restlessness and insomnia
* Paranoia and, in extreme cases, psychosis
* In those who snort their drugs, a damaged mucous membrane, regular nose bleeds and nasal congestion are common

If you have noticed this behavior in someone you love or recognize the signs of CNS stimulant addiction in yourself, there is help. The Canyon provides a comprehensive treatment program that offers crystal meth rehab as well as a medically supervised crystal meth detox. For those who suffer from a psychosis or psychotic episodes that linger long after the drug’s effects have vanished, The Canyon is especially equipped for dual diagnosis, or the treatment of psychological disorders and drug addiction. Contact The Canyon today!