eDrug Rehab Newsletter Volume 2 Dec 1st, 2008

eDrug Rehab Newsletter Volume 2 December 1st, 2008 ***************************************************************************** Hello everyone and welcome to the 2nd installment of the eDrug Rehab Newsletter. It's nice to see that more and more people are subscribing to our Newsletter. We have added another Newsletter only featured article as well as highlighted some of our most popular stories from the month of November. Please feel free to pass our newsletter along to friends, family, coworkers, or anyone affected by drug and/or alcohol addiction. ********************************************************************************************************************************************************************* Contents: 1.**The Science Behind Addiction** Fetured Newsletter Only Article 2. Signs of a Gambling Problem 3. What You & YourYoung Adult Need to Know About Campus Life 4. Hollywood's Take on Addiction 5. Alcoholism: From the Inside ********************************************************************************************************************************************************************* 1. The Science Behind Addiction The medical community has specific criteria for determining whether or not a person is addicted to a substance. This determination involves many factors, but tolerance and dependence are critical aspects of addiction. Tolerance occurs when a person requires higher and/or more frequent dosages of a substance in order to achieve the same effect. Tolerance is not only an issue in the context of abuse and addiction, but is also a factor when a physician decides to make changes to prescription medications that are being used to treat acute and chronic illnesses in legal, clinical settings. A major side concern with tolerance occurs when an addict relapses on a substance. Because tolerance may decrease during recovery/abstinence (when the addict does not consume the substance for an extended period), addicts may overdose on the substance during a relapse because they "return" to their most recent dose, which may be too high for the "clean," sober body to tolerate. Dependence is subdivided into two categories: physical dependence and psychological dependence. A person may be dependent on a substance in either sense – or both. Dependence is signaled by the presence of physical and/or psychological withdrawal symptoms when the person stops administering the substance. The substance becomes so integral to the brain and body's ability to function, that the brain and body "forget" how to operate naturally without the substance present, sending the addict into withdrawal when the substance is not present. Tolerance is a factor in physical dependence. Physical dependence is characterized by the substance's effect on the body, the body's response to the substance (which can include tolerance) and the presence of physical withdrawal symptoms when use of the substance is stopped. Depending on the substance, physical withdrawal symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, bone pain, cold sweats, diarrhea, tremors, insomnia, and seizures. In the case of opiate addictions, for example, the physical dependence may be so strong that the doctor may elect to treat the addict by replacing the addictive substance with another substance (like Methadone) that can create a similar physical environment in the body without the devastating consequences that the original substance would cause. Psychological dependence occurs when a substance interacts with the brain's reward system. This system is designed to "reward" human beings with pleasant feelings whenever we do something that is advantageous to our survival or the survival of our species – like spending time with individuals whom we like, having sex, or eating. The neurotransmitter dopamine, which controls feelings of pleasure, is, in a sense, unnaturally over-stimulated by the presence of most addictive substances. In the case of behavioral disorders (like gambling addictions, video game addictions, sex addictions, and internet addictions, etc.), the behavior triggers similar positive feedback in the addict's brain. The addict gets addicted to recreating the pleasant feelings, and the pursuit of that end becomes the addict's obsession. Depending on the substance, psychological withdrawal symptoms may include anxiety, depression, hallucinations, aggression, and suicidal ideation. The role of genetics in addiction continues to be an area of interest for researchers and scholars. According to some, how our genes are put together (with proteins and amino acids) may determine how we respond to certain substances. This response may be a factor that plays into addiction. Environment is another factor. Despite numerous promising advances, there is still much work to be done on the topic. ********************************************************************************************************************************************************************* 2. Signs of a Gambling Problem The National Council on Problem Gambling estimates that nearly two million Americans annually are pathological gamblers, according to diagnostic criteria. "Problem gamblers," which means that they don't meet the criteria for pathological gambling, make up a group of an additional 4-6 million. Like alcohol, millions of people have gambled without falling into addictive or pathological behaviors as a result of it. /signs-of-a-gambling-problem ********************************************************************************************************************************************************************* 3. What You & Your Young Adult Need to Know About Campus Life Going away to college can be both exciting and a little scary. For many young adults, it may be the first time they will be away from home for an extended period of time. This means that they will need to learn how to live independently, and to accept both the benefits and responsibilities of this life stage. /what-you-and-your-young-adult-need-to-know-about-campus-life ********************************************************************************************************************************************************************* 4. Hollywood's Take on Addiction Drug addiction and alcoholism have become such prevalent issues in American culture that Hollywood has taken on the topic of abuse and addiction in numerous recent films. In many cases, the topic will only appear briefly – perhaps the problem of a minor character or a momentary side note. But in the movies listed below, addiction and/or abuse plays a central role in the plot or in the lives of the primary characters. /hollywoods-take-on-addiction ********************************************************************************************************************************************************************* 5. Alcoholism: From the Inside If you know an alcoholic, you probably have seen the physical and behavioral – and, in many cases, devastating – results of addiction to this powerful substance. However, you may not realize the full extent of what is going on inside the alcoholic's body. As the addiction progresses, the alcoholic may severely damage a number of body organs and systems. /alcoholism-from-the-inside *********************************************************************************************************************************************************************