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How does alcohol affect your happiness later in life?

November 16, 2013 By Nick Leave a Comment

Happy Old Man-cropIt’s an age old question that many people who drink find themselves wrestling with. Does alcohol affect happiness later in life? According to a landmark research out of Harvard the answer, at least for men, is a resounding yes1. In a longitudinal study that covered everything from scrotum size (yes really) to alcohol levels throughout life, Harvard professors and researchers found out that alcohol contributed in extremely negative ways to overall life happiness. The study which started in 1938 and covered 238 students for approximately 75 years discovered many things about happiness and what it means to be so.

Among the findings that we found particularly interesting was that alcoholism was the number one contributing factor to early death, depression and psychosis among the men. While it is nothing that people did not already know about the dangers of alcohol it does underscore the importance of recognizing that alcohol abuse has far reaching impacts all the way throughout life. Alcohol was also noted to be the biggest factor among divorce.

There are some gems however, of course alcohol was not the focus of the study, including those that focused on happiness and love lived longer, more fulfilling lives. We know it can seem hard to focus on these kinds of things in the middle of recovery or after recovery but the important thing to know is that you can be and live a happy life.

Filed Under: Blog

1 in 4 Deaths Attributed to Alcohol, Tobacco or Illicit Drug Use

November 5, 2013 By Nick Leave a Comment

deaths from substancesAccording to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (http://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/medical-consequences-drug-abuse/mortality) 1 in 4 deaths can be directly attributed to either alcohol, tobacco or illicit drug use.  That number is staggering considering that according to statistics from 2011 there were approximately 2.5 million deaths (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/10/us-mortality-rate_n_1953215.html).  What this essentially boils down to is that about 625,000 people died from alcohol, tobacco or illicit drug use.  The information from NIDA is light on the details and the breakdown of specifics from what caused what, and also what is counted as directly attributable, but it still stands to point out just how incredible these numbers really are.  We dove a little deeper into these numbers to see just what was making up these alcohol deaths, tobacco deaths and illicit drug deaths to see if we could get a better overall picture.

Alcohol Deaths

Alcohol deaths can be a statistic skewed in many different ways.  Do you attribute motor vehicle related incidents? Do the statistics include those where alcohol abuse was not the primary factor?  Either way alcohol deaths in this country and around the world are extremely high.  If you check out what the CDC has to say (http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/alcohol-use.htm) they estimate that around 80,000 alcohol related deaths can be directly counted which leaves a hole in our numbers from the guys over at NIDA of 545,000 deaths attributable now to tobacco and illicit drugs.

Tobacco Deaths

If we switch focus to tobacco deaths then according to the CDC (http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/tobacco_related_mortality/) again, we come up with a whopping 440,000 deaths per year either directly through smoking or through second hand smoke.  This number leaves us with a remaining amount of 105,000 deaths from which illicit drugs make up.  Tobacco deaths resoundingly come from some things we’ve covered previously like lung disease, bronchitis and others.

Illicit Drug Deaths

Here is where it gets a little murkier.  Finding out official numbers becomes a lot less involved with places like the CDC and on to more politically charged sites like Drug War Facts (http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Causes_of_Death) which counts illicit drug use deaths in 2000 at a low 17,000.  The White House (http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/Fact_Sheets/consequences_of_illicit_drug_use.pdf) pegs those deaths at 37,000 or so in 2007 which gets us a little closer to our figures.

No matter how you slice it, drugs make up a large percentage of deaths in this country and regardless of legal or illegal status we can make changes to some significant areas.  Leave us a thought in the comments section.  What would you do to change these numbers?

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: alcohol deaths, cdc, illicit drug deaths, tobacco deaths

Dual Diagnosis Treatment Centers

August 15, 2012 By Nick Leave a Comment

Dual Diagnosis Treatment Centers

Dual Diagnosis Treatment Centers

Dual Diagnosis treatment centers were designed so that people who suffer from more than just drug addiction or mental health can get the help that they truly need. You see if someone has a dual diagnosis the chances are that they are going to need to visit specific dual diagnosis treatment centers to really have a chance at getting healthy. When dealing with dual diagnosis it is important to note that counselors need to have a set of specialized training if they want to be effective. Dual diagnosis treatment centers really take some different approaches than your run of the mill center which is typically only dealing with just the addiction piece.

Shouldn’t everyone just go to dual diagnosis treatment centers anyway?

Often times we hear people ask if,since addiction is typically combined with other mental issues, if they should just go to dual diagnosis treatment centers anyway. The easy answer is no not unless you have actually been diagnosed with a true disorder such as manic depressive or bipolar as these require specialized treatment alongside drug and alcohol rehabilitation. If you are suffering perhaps not from something diagnosed in this way then dual diagnosis treatment centers might not be the best option for you. That being said we try not to tell what you to do from a medical standpoint and you should always check with your own doctor. You could probably get away with not going the dual diagnosis treatment centers route if you are dealing only with addiction.

What do dual diagnosis treatment centers do differently?

Well dual diagnosis treatment centers approach treatment with needing to fix both the alcohol or drug addiction alongside severe to moderate mental illness. Sometimes the addiction is a component directly related to the mental problems one is having and other times it can be completely seperate. It is both these times where dual diagnosis treatment centers come into their own because they are trained to help people through dealing with both as effectively as possible. At times this means isolating one from another and focusing on this first before moving on. Other times dual diagnosis treatment centers will attack both problems head on for maximum effect. Whatever the case any time you are dealing with full on psychiatric issues dual diagnosis centers are going to be your best bet.

Dual diagnosis treatment centers training

Dual diagnosis treatment centers often have specialized training for their staff encouraging/requiring them to learn as much about the different mental illnesses when coupled with addiction problems as well. Having staff that are able to handle all manner of addiction and drug related problems and also treat severe mental illness situations leads to a much higher chance of success in your recovery. This is not to say anything bad about centers which do not specialize in dual diagnosis but is simply meant to highlight the important role that dual diagnosis centers have in the recovery process.
In the end, dual diagnosis treatment centers can provide an appropriate choice for people who are suffering from more than just addiction or drug problems. It is not however exclusive and does not restrict those from going if they do not have a dual diagnosis it just offers a specific place for those that do. Dual diagnosis treatment centers offer the most comprehensive approach to treating those with a combination of psychiatric and drug or alcohol problems. If you have experience in dual diagnosis treatment centers we ask you to provide your opinion or experience so we can share it anonymously with our other readers.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: addiction, alcohol, doctor, drugs, dual diagnosis treatment centers, mental illness, psychiatric

Does Long Term Marijuana Use Cause Brain Damage?

August 12, 2012 By Nick Leave a Comment

According to a new study out of the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute there appears to be some credible link between long term usage of marijuana and brain damage.  We know, we know, this is something we have heard bandied around for a while now and every now again someone else shows some link which is countered later down the path.  This study is a little different however because it appears to be focused on white brain matter which is the first of its kind to do so.  At Live Rehab we like to take new studies with a little bit of skepticism before touting them as complete gospel and as such have a few questions which should rightly be answered about the methods and details.

One of the main issues we have with the study and lack of details surrounding their published work is the actual amount of heavy usage.  What they consider heavy usage might be incredibly high and dangerous compared to small occasional users.  Additionally there is not a mention of what age the study used to conduct the research.  While we are sure that they did take these factors into consideration, the media has taken this headline and sensationalized it without asking the pertinent questions. If long term marijuana usage causes brain damage, as their study indicates, we need to know what the circumstances are so that the rehab community can appropriately adjust our approaches.  We have reached out to the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute for clarification on these points and will post an update when/if we receive a response.  The full report, for those with access to the Brain journal is located here http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/content/135/7/2245.full

**UPDATE**

The media contact for the Institute has provided us with a full copy of the study which we will evaluate and hopefully have our questions answered.  According to the full study the users consumed large amounts, on average 147 joints per month and typical long term usage was around 15 years.  Furthermore there is very little cross drug usage/experimentation which is good since it solely focuses on the effects of the marijuana (not including alcohol).

Journal Abstract:

Cannabis use typically begins during adolescence and early adulthood, a period when cannabinoid receptors are still abundant in white matter pathways across the brain. However, few studies to date have explored the impact of regular cannabis use on white matter structure, with no previous studies examining its impact on axonal connectivity. The aim of this study was to examine axonal fibre pathways across the brain for evidence of microstructural alterations associated with long-term cannabis use and to test whether age of regular cannabis use is associated with severity of any microstructural change. To this end, diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging and brain connectivity mapping techniques were performed in 59 cannabis users with longstanding histories of heavy use and 33 matched controls. Axonal connectivity was found to be impaired in the right fimbria of the hippocampus (fornix), splenium of the corpus callosum and commissural fibres. Radial and axial diffusivity in these pathways were associated with the age at which regular cannabis use commenced. Our findings indicate long-term cannabis use is hazardous to the white matter of the developing brain. Delaying the age at which regular use begins may minimize the severity of microstructural impairment.

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: brain, habitual, heavy user, Marijuana Use Cause Brain Damage, usage

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