abuse

Time to take a look at how you or someone you love is using alcohol and/or drugs? What we put into our body matters. Substances like drugs and alcohol have a huge impact on our brain and activate its reward system. Often people try to replicate that feeling of being high or intoxicated despite ever-increasing personal loss and suffering.

On a typical day, do you have 2 or more drinks?

Is it difficult to stop drinking once you start?

Do responsibilities at work or home go undone because of drinking?

Have you forgotten events due to drinking?

Do you ever need a drink in the morning?

Has anyone expressed concern about your alcohol consumption?

Do you wrestle with guilt after you drink?

SUBSTANCE ABUSE INDICATORS

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM–5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) lists the criteria needed to be diagnosed with a substance use disorder. Some of the hallmarks identified in this list include: craving, drinking or using more than intended. Clinicians highlight two benchmarks for determining a substance use disorder, tolerance and withdrawal. Your answers to the questions below will provide an indication as to whether or not you might be experiencing a substance use disorder.

Have you ever used drugs for other than medical reasons?

Do you need drugs to make it through your week?

Have you ever abused more than one drug at a time?

Do you struggle with guilt about your drug use?

Have you neglected family or work because of drugs?

Have you engaged in illegal activities to get drugs?

Do you feel withdrawal symptoms if you stop using?

Has anyone expressed concern about your drug usage?

ACTION STEPS

Knowing where to start is often the hardest part in any recovery journey. These suggestions can help you begin the treatment process:

✓ Take an honest look at the problems drinking or drug use are causing in your life.

✓ Schedule a visit with your primary care provider to explore treatment options.

✓ Ask for help from friends, family and community resources.

✓ Access peer support resources such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics

Anonymous.

KEEP IN MIND

If you or someone you know struggles with alcohol or drug use, be courageous and seek help. Consider reaching out to your health care provider and engaging other counseling resources for guidance on next steps.

Want to talk to a counselor today about this?

Call us at 800-453-7733 and ask for your “Free 15 Minute Phone Consultation" with one of our licensed counselors. We’ll listen, answer questions you may have, and help you plan next steps.

Having 4-5 drinks within a two hour time span is binge drinking and it can be deadly. One in six Americans drinks to excess, or binge drinks, at least four times per month. Binge drinking occurs when an individual’s drinking pattern causes their blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to be 0.08 percent or higher. In common terms, this equates to roughly five drinks for a man and four drinks for a woman within a two-hour span.

THE DAMAGE OF BINGE DRINKING

It’s no secret that excessive alcohol can negatively impact our lives. Drinking alcohol can affect our physical, emotional, and mental health. It can alter our sense of balance, decision-making abilities, alcohol consumption changes your brain’s chemical balance and nerve tracks associated with the experience of pleasure and judgment. The ability to exercise control over your behavior becomes severely distorted. These chemical changes cause you to crave alcohol to feel good or alleviate negative emotions.

There are several questions to signal if you or a loved one is struggling with binge drinking. Answering yes to one or more of these questions might be a warning sign to seek help.

Do you wrestle with guilt about drinking too much?

Do you feel you need to reduce your drinking?

Are you surprised when you drink more than you intended?

Do you ever have four or more drinks in one day?

Do you forget conversations or events that happened while you were drinking?

Are you frustrated by others’ comments on how much you drink?

Does drinking come before other responsibilities?

Binge drinking affects memory and a variety of other brain and body functions, and is often associated with social and relational consequences such as car accidents, domestic violence, sexually transmitted diseases, and unintended pregnancies. The short-term physical effects of binge drinking include nausea, hangovers, memory loss, alcohol poisoning, and personal injury. Long-term potential consequences can include brain or liver damage, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, depression, cancer, and relational and work problems.

ACTION STEPS

Making the choice to reduce or eliminate drinking is a powerful step. The following tips will help you navigate through the process:

✓ Take an honest inventory of your life, how much you drink and the consequences.

✓ Take a look at where and when you binge drink and consider avoiding these situations.

✓ Reduce the amount you consume at one time and delay having another drink.

✓ Intersperse non-alcoholic beverages like soda or quinine water.

✓ Talk with your health care providers about treatment options.

✓ Seek out individual counseling or support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous.

KEEP IN MIND

There are numerous benefits to reducing your alcohol consumption. Most importantly, changing excessive drinking habits allows you to once again take control of your life. You’re not alone, and help is available. Consider reaching out to your health care provider and engaging other counseling resources for guidance on next steps.

Want to talk to a counselor today about this?

Call us at 800-453-7733 and ask for your “Free 15 Minute Phone Consultation" with one of our licensed counselors. We’ll listen, answer questions you may have, and help you plan next steps.

When it comes to the risk of prescription drug abuse, everyone is susceptible. Especially common among young people, an estimated 52 million have taken prescription drugs for a nonmedical reason at least once. After marijuana and alcohol, prescription medications are the most abused substances in the U.S.

THE CYCLE OF PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE

People misuse prescription drugs for many reasons. Social pressures, stress relief, and the need to be alert for work and school are common motivations. Because these medications activate the brain’s reward center, you can become addicted easily and continue using them despite serious consequences.

COMMONLY ABUSED PRESCRIPTION DRUGS AND SYMPTOMS

Painkillers

• Can include opioids, or painkillers, such as oxycodone (Oxycontin) and hydrocodone (Vicodin).
• Symptoms of abuse include sweating, confusion, slowed breathing, lower blood pressure, poor coordination, and depression.
• A person abusing opioids is at risk for choking, dangerously low blood pressure and breathing rate, and inducing a coma.

Stimulants

• Can include Methylphenidate (Ritalin), used to treat ADHD and sleep disorders.
• Symptoms of abuse include dizziness, poor judgment, rapid eye movement, drowsiness, and imbalance.
• Abusing stimulants places one at risk for heart problems, seizures, paranoia, and hallucinations.

Sedatives

• Can include Alprazolam (Xanax) or Zolpidem (Ambien), which are prescribed for anxiety and sleep disorders.
• Symptoms of sedative abuse include restlessness, irregular heartbeat, insomnia, high blood pressure, irritability, and weight loss.
• When sedatives are abused, a person is at risk for memory loss. Overdose can lead to a coma or death.

RISKS AND CONSEQUENCES

Prescription drug abuse is highest among young adults; however, older people taking multiple medications are also at risk. Besides physical symptoms, the consequences of prescription drug abuse are severe. Car accidents, criminal actions, illegal drug use, decreased performance at work or school, and relational problems are all common effects of misusing prescription medications. Judgment is often seriously impaired.

ACTION STEPS

✓ Schedule a visit with your primary care provider to discuss treatment options.

✓ Follow primary care provider’s treatment recommendations, which may involve detox.

✓ Consider participating in a recovery or peer support program.

✓ Enlist the support of family and friends and be accountable to them for recovery.

✓ Explore the root causes of prescription drug abuse such as when and why it started.

KEEP IN MIND

You’re not alone, and help is available. Consider reaching out to your health care provider and engaging other counseling resources for guidance on next steps.

Want to talk to a counselor today about this?

Call us at 800-453-7733 and ask for your “Free 15 Minute Phone Consultation" with one of our licensed counselors. We’ll listen, answer questions you may have, and help you plan next steps.