Depression

Depression in 12 Step Groups members .

 

Major depression in patients with substance use disorders: Relationship to 12-Step self-help involvement and substance use outcomes.

Alcohol & Addiction News

7 Ways to Give An Apology & 4 Ways to Accept One

• Apologizing is hard, but so is accepting an apology gracefully.

Substance Abuse, Schizophrenia And Risk Of Violence

• A new study demonstrates that there is an association between schizophrenia and violence, but shows that this association is greatly increased by drug and alcohol abuse. Importantly, the study also finds that the risk of violence from patients with psychoses who also have substance use disorder is no greater than those who have a substance use disorder but who do not have a psychotic illness.

Russia’s president calls time on vodka "disaster"

• Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday called time on the country’s vodka tipplers, saying alcoholism had become a "national disaster." Medvedev said measures aimed at reducing binge drinking had not reduced alcoholism in Russia, where downing vast amounts of vodka at one sitting is an integral part of national culture.

Charity warns over child drinkers

• Fewer children are drinking but those who do are downing more than every before, the charity Alcohol Concern warns.

1m Scots drinking at danger levels More than a million Scots are…

• More than a million Scots are drinking alcohol at hazardous or harmful levels, a report has revealed.

Help an Alcoholic 3

• Don’t nag, criticize, preach, or complain
• Many say that nagging, begging, confiscating liquor, and sorrowfully reminding the person of the night before are to little or no avail.
• One alcoholic attests, "The more I was urged to cut back or quit, the more I denied I had a problem. My advice is, ’Don’t push.’

Excessive Drinking Can Damage Brain Regions Used For Processing Facial Emotions

• Heavy, constant drinking damages the brain in many different ways, including difficulties in perception of emotional expressions. Brain-imaging findings show that abstinent alcoholics have decreased activation in the amygdala and hippocampus regions of the brain when viewing faces with emotional expressions. Misreading facial cues can escalate conflict and difficulties, impaired social interaction and continued drinking.

Not all addicts incapacitated

• In fact the greatest number of addicts in our society are "functional" addicts. They can regulate when they ingest their drugs of choice, which enables them …

Don Shenker: We need action to shield children from alcohol

• Last month’s statistics from the NHS revealed the true extent of children’s drinking in England and a worrying pattern which has emerged over recent years. (The Yorkshire Post)

Scottish Rehab Treating Child Alcoholics as Young as 9 Years Old

• Counsellor Francesca Martin, who works with children and families hit by long-term alcoholism, said a lot of kids have self-esteem issues and use drinking as …

Prescription "Sharing" Among Teens Widespread, Dangerous

• A new study shows that one in five U.S. adolescents "lends" or "borrows" diverse prescriptions, with consequences that are sometimes dangerous or even deadly.

Effective Weed Control: A guide for people trying to cut down or stop using cannabis

• This self-help guide is for people who are having problems with their cannabis use and want to do something about it [Turning Point, Australia]

Police get tough on ‘all you can drink’ promotions

• Bars and clubs which offer ”all you can drink” promotions have been told they could face losing their licences by Devon and Cornwall police. (The Telegraph)

A Place Called Self: Women, Sobriety and Radical Transformation by Stephanie Brown

Gifts of Sobriety: When the Promises of Recovery Come True by Barbara S. Cole

Alcohol-related brain damage

Alcohol-related brain damage warning

International experts are warning that one in five New Zealanders faces alcohol-related brain damage from our heavy drinking culture.

It is estimated 800,000 New Zealanders binge drink regularly placing them at high risk of alcohol related brain damage.

Chief executive of Australian based organisation, Alcohol Related Brain Injury Australian Services ( ARBIAS ), Sonia Burton says it is critical that New Zealanders wake up to the issue.

“It’s almost like boxing, you know, it’s like taking a blow to the brain every time you binge drink,” she says.

For young people the statistics are even worse – with 50% of those under 25 binge drinking regularly.

“That’s half your future generation that is placing themselves at risk of alcohol related brain damage,” she says.

“We are growing a real problem for ourselves,” she says.

Full story at New Zealand TV

See also;

• Alcohol intervention may help.
• Alcohol Related Brain Injury
• A Problem Shared is a Problem Halved

Legal Drugs Kill Far More Than Illegal

Legal Drugs Kill Far More Than Illegal, Florida Says

From “Scarface” to “Miami Vice,” Florida’s drug problem has been portrayed as the story of a single narcotic: cocaine. But for Floridians, prescription drugs are increasingly a far more lethal habit.

An analysis of autopsies in 2007 released this week by the Florida Medical Examiners Commission found that the rate of deaths caused by prescription drugs was three times the rate of deaths caused by all illicit drugs combined.

Law enforcement officials said that the shift toward prescription-drug abuse, which began here about eight years ago, showed no sign of letting up and that the state must do more to control it.

“You have health care providers involved, you have doctor shoppers, and then there are crimes like robbing drug shipments,” said Jeff Beasley, a drug intelligence inspector for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which co-sponsored the study. “There is a multitude of ways to get these drugs, and that’s what makes things complicated.”

Full story at the New York Times

See also;

• Abstinence from Heroin Addiction Works
• Alcohol & Medication Interactions
• Alcohol is a drug – TOO!
• Subscribe by e-Mail to Alcohol Self-help News

Recovery Focused Approach to Tackling Drug Use in Scotland

Recovery Focused Approach to Tackling Drug Use in Scotland

Scotland’s first national drugs strategy The Road to Recovery: A New Approach to Tackling Scotland’s Drug Problem was launched on May 29, 2008. The Government believes that preventing drug use is more effective than treating established drug problems and that treatment services in Scotland should be based on the principle of recovery.

The key priorities are:

• better prevention of drug problems, with improved life chances for children and young people
• more people recovering from problem drug use
• communities that are safer and stronger places to live and work
• ensuring that children affected by parental substance use are safer
• improving the effectiveness of delivery at a national and local level

The Government’s vision for how drug treatment services in Scotland should be delivered is based on the principle that recovery should be the explicit aim of all services providing treatment and rehabilitation for people with problem drug use.

‘Recovery’ is the principle that people suffering from problem drug use should receive support which does more than just reduce the immediate risks and harms of addiction. Individuals become active participants in their own care, moving forward in the hope and belief that they will get better.

What do we mean by recovery?

We mean a process through which an individual is enabled to move on from their problem drug use, towards a drug-free life as an active and contributing member of society. Recovery is most effective when service users’ needs and aspirations are placed at the centre of their care and treatment. There is no right or wrong way to recover.

The Road to Recovery sets out the Government’s vision of recovery as an achievable goal for people with problem drug use and the actions it intends to carry out to promote a shared understanding of how to promote and support recovery. These include establishing and supporting a ‘recovery network’, building the capacity of services which can help services users choose the treatment that is right for them, and ensuring that the principles of recovery are reflected in the reform of delivery arrangements and in training and workforce development programmes.