Category: Addiction
Psychological treatment for Opiate Addiction
Opioids are synthetic or natural drugs that are derived from chemical syntheses or poppy plant. These drugs include both legal and illegal drugs. Examples of legally prescribed drugs are codeine, morphine and oxycodone.
Opioids are prescribed by healthcare professionals to help people deal with pain. These drugs bind brain receptors that are responsible for sensations of pleasure, pain relief and reward. These drugs are especially helpful to those who are suffering from acute pain. Most doctors prescribe opioids when no other medicine is successful in reducing pain. However, since the drug has several psychological and pain relieving properties, it is amongst the most abused substances currently available.
When people increase their dose without consulting their healthcare provider or when they take illegal opioids, the route administration of the drug is altered. Many people take the drug in powdered form or inject themselves with water that contains opioids. These methods increase the absorption speed of the drug which leads to a rush that has instant effect on the positive sensations. Please note that opioids have the potential of addiction and abuse even when they are taken as prescribed. Taking these drugs for more than a few weeks can lead to physical dependence on these drugs. Even though physical addiction to opioids takes a few weeks, psychological addictions can result in a few days.
Opiate Addiction
If you suspect that you are addicted to these drugs, there is a high probability that you are. Here are a few signs of Opiate Addiction:
- You spend several hours every day trying to locate or recovering from the side effects of the drugs.
- You have made several unsuccessful attempts to reduce your usage or quit altogether.
- You continue to take these drugs even after you know that these drugs cause psychological, physical, social and financial problem.
- When you don’t take opioids, you experience withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms get alleviated when you start taking these drugs again.
- You don’t have any regards to your personal and professional obligation and are only interested in using these drugs.
- You have developed tolerance to these drugs and you start taking higher doses to get the same effect.
Psychological treatment for Opiate Addiction
Counseling can play an important role in treatment of opiate addiction. People living in Scottsdale can visit opiate abuse counseling Scottsdale to get help for treating people with addiction. There are many outpatient and residential programs that use both behavioral therapies and medications to help people change their lives and stop opiate abuse. In counseling sessions, patients are encouraged to make changes in their lives and are praised for the progress they make.
Some of the important benefits of counseling include:
- Improving patients motivation for recovery
- Patients learn skills for stopping addiction and avoiding relapse
- Accelerates the process of recovery
- Involves family and friends in treatment activities
Even though counseling can help people with opiate addiction, the first step of the recovery process is the willingness of the patients to make changes in their lives. Patients must understand their condition and must take all possible steps to recover from the problem.
Are E-Cigarettes safer than regular cigarettes?
E-cigs were introduced in United States in 2007 to help people who suffered from tobacco addiction. There is no difference in appearance of normal cigarettes and electronic cigarettes but e-cigs are considered to be less harmful when compared to normal cigarettes, as they don’t contain tobacco. The demand for e-cigs has grown sharply as manufacturers have come out with appealing advertisements that highlight the benefits of the products. However, before you start using e-cigs, it is important that you are aware of the benefits and drawbacks of the product.
What are Electronic Cigarettes or E-cigs?
These are battery-operated cigarettes that are designed to help people who are unable to quit smoking. They work by heating up the liquid nicotine which turns into vapor. This vapor is inhaled and exhaled by users when they use the machine. It looks like a normal cigarette but does not produce any smell because the cig is not burning. E-cigs are available in different flavours like vanilla, coffee and strawberry to suit the need of the users.
Reasons for Growing Popularity of E-Cigs
There are several reasons why most people are switching to e-cigs. One of the main reasons why people prefer using this product is because it is less harmful when compared to normal cigs. Regular cigs are known to contain thousands of chemicals that can harm your body. On the other hand, e-cigs contain only 4 chemicals which are less harmful when compared to chemicals found in normal cigs. Also, it does not contain any tar and carbon monoxide when can cause serious health problems.
Another reason why this product is becoming extremely popular is because it is less expensive when compared to normal cigs. If you smoke a pack of normal cigs every day, you must be spending at least $150 on cigs every month. However, if you use e-cigs your expenses will to just $25 a month.
Since e-cigs don’t contain tobacco, they are not subject to tobacco laws of the country. This means that they can be purchased without giving any age proof. Many youngsters have started using this product without understanding its benefits and drawbacks. Even though FDA is likely to announce the guidelines for use of e-cigs, many people have started using it without analysing the pros and cons.
Facts you must Know
It is imperative that you know certain facts about the product before you start using it. Most people use this product because it contains less nicotine when compared to normal cigs. However, this perception of people is not correct as the nicotine content will vary depending on the level of liquid nicotine present in the cartridge. Some cartridges may have as much or even more nicotine than normal cigs.
In a recent study, it was found that e-cigs could be as addictive as normal cigs because the vapour contains nicotine. Many people who use this product regularly get addicted to it without knowing where this addictive substance is coming from. Since most manufacturers use flavours to hide the smell and taste of nicotine, it becomes difficult for users to differentiate between the flavour and the nicotine present in the cartridge.
Many people who use e-cigs to deal with tobacco addiction have not actually benefited from the product. These people continue to smoke normal cigs even after they use e-cigs. Using both normal and electronic cigarette can do more harm than good.
Are E-Cigarettes safer than regular cigarettes?
Even though e-cigs are not as addictive as normal cigs, they can as be as harmful as normal cigs. They contain a chemical called propylene glycol which is required to vaporize the nicotine solution. Propylene glycol accounts for nearly 90 percent of the content and is known to cause acute respiratory system irritation. Also, some products contain carcinogen nitrosamine which can damage your lungs.
So if you are addicted to tobacco smoking and are looking at ways of overcoming this addiction you can use e-cigs. However, make sure you check the contents of the product you plan to use. If you are unsure of the product you must use, make sure you get help from an expert.