Substance Abuse Articles, Blogs and Resources

Man on mountain thinking about Substance AbuseAddiction Hope is dedicated to providing timely and helpful information on the dangers of Substance Abuse as well as alcohol abuse.

Drugs are a chemical substance that can be used in the prevention, cure and treatment of an ailment or disease. Often, medications can be used to help an individual’s emotional and psychological well being, and they can enhance one’s physical abilities or well being.

Medicines can help heal a person or destroy a life. They can be naturally derived from plants or synthesized in some type of laboratory. A drug addiction can ruin a man or woman’s existence. It is disappointing that many of the medications that were originally developed to help heal people will be abused and devastate the life of someone with a substance abuse addiction.

Substance abuse is when a person begins using a drug in a way other than its intended use as prescribed by a doctor. A drug addiction can be created when a man or woman continually abuses drugs in order to get high (an intense euphoric feeling). Some drugs are so addictive that someone using for the first time can become instantly addicted.

When someone has developed a drug addiction, they can build up a tolerance to the drug and need more and more of the substance to have the same effect. The person will sometimes begin smoking, snorting, or injecting the drugs so as to reach a quicker and more intense high. This leads to constant repeated use and, thus, the creation of a drug addiction.

Substance abuse addiction is outstandingly difficult to quit. Often one substance is abused with other drugs or alcohol. Sadly and frequently, substance abuse co-occurs with other mental disorders such as mood disorders, mental disorders and eating disorders.

This adds to the complexities of stopping the drug abuse. However, it is imperative that the drug addiction is ended because constant substance abuse can be deadly. Heart attacks and strokes often occur. Some of the more common drug types include opioids (heroin, morphine, hydrocodone), hallucinogens (LSD, DXM, PCP), stimulants (cocaine, Ecstasy, meth), and depressants (alcohol, Quaaludes).

Please continue reading below to see our latest blog posts on substance abuse. Under the “Substance Abuse Navigation” menu, you can click on the drop-down arrow to see evergreen, general information on dozens of individual drugs, including prescription substances.

Drinking In Adolescents May Lead to Serious Long Term Health Risks

Adolescents drinking An analysis of Vietnam-era veterans, found that those with alcohol dependence in young adulthood had on average, three medical conditions by the time they reached 60. Further research also found that young adults who drank for 5 or more years showed both physical and mental health decline once they reached their 60’s [1]. In a [...]
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Alcoholism and Bipolar Disorder: Treatment for Co-occurring Disorders

Young woman struggling with Co-occurring Disorders When you have a dual-diagnosis it is necessary to treat both conditions simultaneously. This isn’t a chicken or the egg scenario—it is more akin to having a flood in the basement and a fire in the attic. If you deal with one first, the other may have inflicted irreparable damage to the house by the [...]
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Overdoses in Youth Have Tripled

Youth Opioid overdoses have nearly tripled among kids, teens and children under 10 the highest rate of painkiller poisonings were Oxycontin, Percocet or Vicodin. For children aged 1-4, the number of poisonings increased to 205% from 1997-2012 and for teens aged 15-19 the increase was 176% [1]. In 2014 more people died from drug overdoses than [...]
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Making Room for the Sacred this Holiday Season

Man holding on to cross during the holidays “But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering all of them in her heart” -Luke 2:19 When was the last time you busted out a journal or a diary (for you ladies) and wrote down your thoughts, feelings, emotions, deepest dreams and fears in a place that was sacred? According to many studies people who [...]
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Co-Occurring Schizophrenia and Alcoholism: Effective Treatments

Co-occuring conditions As many as 50% of all individuals suffering with schizophrenia also meet the criteria for substance abuse disorder. According to the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and health (NSDUH), 43.6 million Americans, aged 18 and over, experience some form of mental illness. It further reports that in the past two years, 20.2 million adults [...]
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