The Faces and Voices of Recovery movement has published a mini guide to their services. The following is an extract.
Addiction Addiction is a public health problem that affects many people and has wide-ranging social consequences. Addiction does begin when an individual makes a conscious choice to use drugs, but addiction is not just “a lot of drug use.” Recent scientific research provides overwhelming evidence that not only do drugs interfere with normal brain functioning creating powerful feelings of pleasure, but they also have long-term effects on brain metabolism and activity. At some point, changes occur in the brain that can turn drug abuse into addiction, a chronic, relapsing illness.
Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse INFOFACTS, “Understanding Drug Abuse and Addiction”
Alcoholism People with alcoholism are addicted to alcohol. They suffer from a chronic disease that results in chemical and biological changes in the brain. People with alcoholism are unable to stop drinking even if their continued use of this drug brings about serious family, health or legal problems. They experience withdrawal symptoms when they stop drinking and they need greater amounts of alcohol to get high or even to feel normal. Anyone can develop alcoholism.
RecoveryRecovery is the process of regaining a healthy balance in the lives of persons adversely affected, directly or indirectly, by alcohol and other drug addiction. The recovery process can affect the physiological, pharmacological and cultural effects of addiction, as well as its adverse social and medical/psychiatric consequences. The process may take months or years, and often is characterized by frequent relapses. Like people working to recover from other chronic diseases such as diabetes or asthma, people working to recover from addictions often require substantial support from others, including loved ones and professionals. Millions of Americans are in long-term recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs. Rapid progress over the last two decades in the way scientists understand addiction have augmented tools for addiction recovery. Source: Community Recovery Network
Recovery Advocacy Recovery advocacy is the process of exerting influence to advance public policies and programs that help initiate and sustain recovery from addiction. Recovery advocacy provides families, friends and neighbors a message of hope about the power and possibility of recovery.
See more at; Faces and Voices of Recovery
Alcohol Self-Help News 