This weekend, the Drug Enforcement Administration is helping Americans do a little responsible spring-cleaning and bring awareness to the growing problem prescription drug abuse at the same time. The DEA’s 4th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day takes place this Saturday, April 28, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. nationwide where anyone can discard their unused, unwanted, [...]
Passages Malibu launched a new and improved website this week at www.passagesmalibu.com with more social interaction, more videos, more detailed information, and a beautifully shot new Passages Malibu Experience Video Tour, which takes you through the lush 10-acre grounds of our 5-star premium treatment center and tells the tale of one client’s powerful journey to [...]
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I have never read a book that I agreed with so whole-heartedly! Calling “The Cure” a breath of fresh air would be an understatement.
-from Breath of Fresh Air
The book has been a precious gift that has helped me identify the underlying issues of my dependency. Today, I am at peace with others, my circumstances and myself.
-from Precious Gift
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Anxiety disorders are very common amongst individuals with substance abuse issues. Often times, an individual with an anxiety disorder begins abusing drugs or alcohol in an attempt to self-medicate their unpleasant symptoms.
The most commonly abused substances by people with anxiety disorders are alcohol and various benzodiazepines. For those with anxiety or panic disorders, drugs like Ativan can provide temporary relief from symptoms on a short-term or episodic basis.
However, especially in comparison with other benzodiazepines, Ativan carries a high potential for abuse and addiction. With continued or excessive use, Ativan can trigger chemical dependency, with side effects such as dizziness, muscular weakness, memory loss, sexual dysfunction, and constipation. In serious cases of Ativan addiction, side effects can even include severe depression, suicidal thoughts, allergic reactions, respiratory difficulties, hallucinations and hostility. If you or someone you know is suffering from an anxiety disorder or substance abuse, Passages can help.
Demerol is an opiate prescription pain reliever with an extremely powerful strength, similar to morphine. Often used in relation to surgery or childbirth, Demerol is an analgesic (pain reliever) that works in the body within 20 minutes of ingestion. Generally available in tablet or syrup form, Demerol has incredibly high addiction potential, due to its euphoric, relaxing effects.
Recently, Demerol has become available in patches that can be applied directly to the body, releasing the drug through the skin, much like nicotine patches. This is becoming very dangerous and a common way for addicts to abuse they drug; they get access to patches and place them all over the body.
Recovering from Demerol addiction can be exhausting, as the drug and its withdrawal symptoms take a toll on the user psychologically and physically. Those withdrawing from Demerol addiction can encounter a host of harrowing side effects, including severe diarrhea, heart palpitations, racing heart, profuse sweating and muscle pains.
At Passages, we offer managed withdrawal care that compassionately leads patients through the Demerol withdrawal experience, so they know what to expect and find alleviation of mental and physical side effects in a safe, medically supervised environment.
Heroin addiction develops rapidly, often within two to three weeks of first use. As the body becomes heroin dependent, users commonly feel the need to use heroin upon waking in addition to several times throughout the day. While many users seek the euphoria associated with heroin use, the forces of withdrawal symptoms help create fast-developing addiction to heroin. Painful withdrawal symptoms accompany abstinence from heroin use, with heightened and severe heroin withdrawal symptoms setting in 18 to 24 hours after cessation. Heroin withdrawal symptoms can vary, but often include hot and cold flashes, excessive abdominal cramps, diarrhea, profuse sweating, mental disturbances such as anxiety, depression and psychosis, intense muscle and deep bone aches, nausea and vomiting and lethargy. These withdrawal symptoms can be so severe, and the complications associated with overdose and withdrawal so serious, that virtually every heroin addicted individual requires professional detoxification and rehabilitation in order to overcome their addictions. At Passages, we provide a full heroin detox and top of the line heroin treatment program, customized to fit each client’s particular needs.
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According to recent report released by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, cocaine is currently the most abused major stimulant in America and it has recently become the drug most frequently involved in emergency room visits, and it’s abuse is rapidly increasing amongst all demographics in the United States. Cocaine abuse is a complex problem because it actually causes biological changes in the brain, and recent research has uncovered a process in the brain that more thoroughly explains addiction to cocaine.
In addition to the amount of people using cocaine, an enormous increase has occurred in the number of people going into treatment for cocaine addiction during the last several years. This widespread abuse of cocaine has been a catalyst for many treatment centers to develop new programs specifically customized for individuals addicted to cocaine. Treatment of cocaine or crack dependency is complex and is most effective when it involves a number of different and diverse treatment methods, such as individual psychotherapy, group therapy, marriage and family therapy, and so on. Passages Malibu’s treatment program is tailored to treat the physical, emotional, and psychological damage caused by cocaine.
Over the years, new scientific evidence has come to light regarding the effects of drug and alcohol abuse on the body and brain. Although researchers have always been aware that drugs and alcohol have a detrimental effect on the brain, it has not been until recently that they were actually aware of what specific damage they cause.
According to a new research study, drug abuse, regardless of the substance abused, causes manipulations in the brain that impairs an individual’s ability to recognize certain facial expressions and also causes other psychological damage. The findings also show that failure to seek substance abuse help or failure to attend an inpatient drug rehab center may result in serious long-term neurological damage.
In this study, the researchers observed groups of people with a history of drug and alcohol abuse and found that 70 percent of the drug users showed signs of neurological damage. The individuals showed signs of impaired working memory, fluency, mental flexibility and multitasking ability, and many of the participants were unable to recognize negative facial emotions, including fear, wrath, disgust and sadness. They also studied non-drug users, who had a much lower instance of showing any of these symptoms. If you or someone you know has a drug problem, Passages can help.
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