A Sober Life

Did you know that the United States has some of the toughest anti-drug laws in the world? Ironically, in spite of this, the country also has the highest level of illegal drug use in the world.

There’s over a hundred million frequent drinkers in the US, and many estimates are suggesting that nearly ten million of them could very well be considered alcoholics. Meaning that roughly 10% of drinkers has a problem with alcohol. Regardless if it is due to peer pressures or actual physical reliance, it can be very hard to quit, but year after year many people make that decisions and begin the alcohol detox process.

Consuming a diet filled with vitamins and nutrients has forever been key, but now research studies show that there probably is a link between drug addiction and dietary inadequacies. Carolyn Reuben, a nutrition authority (and the executive director of the Community Addiction Recovery Association in Sacramento, CA) believes that the human body can react to certain dietary deficiencies in a manner that may in the end lead to mental health troubles and/or addiction.

Difficult to define exactly, it has become popular to think of almost any behavior that has a compulsive quality as an “addiction. Addictions come in all shapes and forms. ” But for those who have an addiction, or for those affected by the addiction of a loved one or close friend, it’s clear what an addiction means in “real” terms.

People can become addicted to a variety of drugs for a variety of reasons. Some of the most addictive drugs include, but are not limited to: cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, and amphetamines (uppers). Drug rehabs offer drug abusers an opportunity to rid their addiction. Drug rehabs are located in virtually every city and town in the United States as drug addiction is a problem that will not go away. The same holds true for drug addiction in Europe and other parts of the world as well.

Recovering from drug addiction is as much a psychological change as it is physical. It is a change of perspectives from despair, cynicism and self-loathing to one of optimism and self-respect. In fact, the very first battle of drug addiction recovery takes place in the mind.

Drug addiction is typically caused by deep seeded emotional problems that exist from past trauma. People use drugs to numb the pain. Feelings of guilt and shame are masked by drug and alcohol use. A vicious addiction cycle occurs because the behaviors and associations that go along with drug use only cause more guilt and shame.

Families who have mentally ill relatives whose problems are compounded by substance abuse face problems of enormous proportions. Mental health services are not well prepared to deal with patients having both afflictions.