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1. If you need help for problems with drugs or alcohol abuse then the first place that you need to look is your health insurance coverage. Some policies will cover specific types of methods or certain facilities or programs. Be prepared though, because there are many policies which do not provide effective treatment in this area.
2. If you do not have health insurance and you need substance abuse treatment then there may be state and government programs which may help pay for this type of help. Do some research and determine which government programs you may be eligible for and then apply to these programs.
3. Ask friends and family for financial help. No wants wants to ask for money but your recovery needs to be the top priority at this point. Most family members and close friends will want to help you get better, and you may be surprised at how fast you can afford effective treatment when the cost is spread out among several people.
4. If you do not have health insurance coverage then there may be charitable organizations which offer treatment for drug or alcohol abuse or who will help to pay the cost for another facility or program. Check out which charities help with this type of need in your community and then contact these organizations.
5. If you can not afford inpatient substance abuse treatment there are free programs n an outpatient basis that can be used. Many AA and NA groups hold daily meetings which do not have any cost to attend. Outpatient counseling may also be offered at a reduced cost or even free of charge.
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For many people the idea of a breath test for illegal drug use may seem like something from a futuristic science fiction movie, but scientists have developed this technology and it will soon become available to replace the urine analysis that is so common for drug testing right now. Many view a urinalysis as invasive and a privacy violation, while a breath test is far less intrusive and does not cause embarrassment during the specimen collection process. According to the scientists who developed the new test for and detect heroin, cocaine, marijuana, amphetamines, and methamphetamines just from your breath. The latest testing technology uses liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and it is very sensitive. The study results can be found in the Journal of Chromatography B, in the March 15 2015 edition.
The breath test for illegal drug abuse utilizes the aerosol particles that are exhaled in the breath. According to Karolinska Institute in Sweden professor and study researcher Olof Beck “These aerosol particles may become contaminated with drugs present in the body, which enables drugs to be highlighted. A simple collection device is currently available which selectively collects the micrometer aerosol particles on a filter and enables further laboratory investigation of possible drug content.” The availability of a breath test for illegal drug abuse also has another potential application. Patients who are on certain medications can be tested to ensure that they are in compliance and these drugs are not being sold on the street to others. Roadside checks may involve testing drivers for drugs as well as alcohol in the near future as this technology becomes widely available.
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Could a pill be developed that boosts empathy by altering brain chemistry? According to a new research study this could be possible at some point in the future. The research suggests that the sensitivity to inequality that we have is influenced by the neurochemical balance in our brain, and changing the neurochemistry could induce more empathy in people. The medical study was performed at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, San Francisco. When a drug which causes prefrontal cortex neurochemical changes was given the level of empathy and fairness felt was increased. This was seen by the increased willingness to engage in and exhibit prosocial behaviors. Additional research is still needed, but the hope is that new diagnostic tools and treatments can be developed to treat individuals with conditions that cause low empathy for others.
The medical study on empathy and brain chemistry is important, because many mental disorders can impact empathy and this may be due to neurochemical changes that occur when the mental disorder starts to develop. University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business assistant professor and co-principal investigator Ming Hsu said “Our study shows how studying basic scientific questions about human nature can, in fact, provide important insights into diagnosis and treatment of social dysfunctions.” Andrew Kayser, University of California, San Francisco assistant professor of neurology and a co-principal study investigator, explained “Our hope is that medications targeting social function may someday be used to treat these disabling conditions.”
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A new scientific study on rats, specifically on the brains of rats, suggest that being exposed to lead may be a contributing factor to schizophrenia onset. The study was performed at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, and a study description was published in the Translational Psychiatry journal. There were many similarities between the brains of rats and the brains of humans with schizophrenia when rats were exposed to lead before birth an during the early postnatal period. Lead, a heavy metal which can cause damage in small amounts or even be toxic in larger amounts, has a detrimental effect on the brain in three specific areas which are implicated in schizophrenia. These brain areas were the striatum, the medial prefrontal cortex, and the hippocampus.
The scientific study on rat brains exposed to lead also showed that lead can mimic other brain changes in schizophrenia. According to senior study author Tomás Guilarte, Ph.D. “The similarities in the brain structure and neuronal systems between what we see in lead-exposed rats and human schizophrenia patients are striking, and adds to a growing body of literature suggesting that early lead exposure primes the brain for schizophrenia later in life.” First study author Kirstie Stansfield, Ph.D, explained
“We are currently assessing the impact of lead exposure on both the rewarding and reinforcing properties of addictive drugs like cocaine while exploring the biological underpinnings of how lead exposure plays a role in addiction.” The study results could lead to additional studies to determine just how much lead is necessary before the onset of schizophrenia is triggered in a person.
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Schizophrenia, a serious and sometimes extremely devastating mental disorder, is a condition that has no cure right now. Thanks to advances in modern medicine and imaging technology scientists today know that people who suffer from schizophrenia tend to have brain function that is abnormal in certain respects. Imaging scans of those with the mental disorder and with control scans from patents who have no mental illness show that different areas of the brain are active in those who have schizophrenia. People who have this condition may suffer from chemical imbalances with neurotransmitters, complex chemicals that allow communication between brain cells and chemical systems in the brain and body. Some scientists believe that the neurotransmitters glutamate and dopamine may be involved in schizophrenia but this is still being tested and is not proven yet.
In addition to differences in brain function many people with schizophrenia also have abnormalities in the structure of the brain. When images of normal and schizophrenic brains are compared there are small but very discernible differences in the structure of the brain. It is important to note that some with schizophrenia may not have these physical abnormalities in the brain structure, and some without this condition may also have the same structural abnormalities though. This means that simply looking at brain scans can not predict who will develop the condition. Some neurobiologists theorize that schizophrenia may result from inappropriate connections which are formed by neurons in the fetal brain, and these are activated during puberty when the drastic brain changes that occur during this growth phase affect the faulty connections.
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Schizophrenia is a form of mental disorder that can be very serious, and it is usually treated with medications and other treatment methods but there is no cure right, and it is a typically life long condition for anyone who is diagnosed with this type of mental disorder. The medical community has noted that this form of mental illness tends to run in families and that shows that genetics play a role, but there are also environmental factors that may be involved as well. Medical science is not yet able to predict which adolescents and young adults will develop this mental condition and which groups will never display any symptoms of schizophrenia, even with advancements in genetics today. Some people with long family histories of mental illness may never display any signs, while others may not have any family history of mental disorders and yet become schizophrenic.
There is some speculation that schizophrenia is affected just as much by environmental factors as this condition is by genetics, if not more so. Right now medical science believes that this mental disorder is a result of many influences, and there is not a single gene mutation or defect that causes this condition. There are several genes which are thought to raise the risk of developing schizophrenia, and people diagnosed with this disorder do tend to have rare genetic mutations at higher rates. The mutations involved can be one of hundreds of different genes, and it is suspected that the genetic mutations have a disruptive impact on normal brain development.
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There are a number of alcohol facts that everyone should know, and this knowledge could help lower the rate of alcohol abuse by preventing excessive drinking in the first place. For instance the amount which is considered a single drink. Many people miscalculate how much they are actually drinking, and this can lead to intoxication, blacking out, or even alcohol toxicity in the body. A standard drink is considered to be 12 ounces of beer with a 5% alcohol content, 8-9 ounces of malt liquor with a 7% alcohol content, 5 ounces of wine with a 12% alcohol content, or one and a half ounces of 80 proof liquor with an alcohol content of roughly 40%.
Another one of the important alcohol facts that everyone should be aware of is what constitutes problem drinking. Alcoholism is a very common condition that is both serious and chronic, and it often starts with alcohol abuse and problem drinking. A male who has 5 or more drinks in a single day, or a woman who has 4 or more drinks in a day, may have a problem with alcohol. This is also true if you have ever started the morning with a drink, or if this activity interferes with your life, causes problems, or causes you to feel guilty about your actions. If friends or family show concern about your alcohol use then a substance abuse evaluation should be arranged. This will help identify any problems and determine the most appropriate treatment for your specific situation and issues.
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A new study by University of South Carolina researchers shows that roughly 20% of college students misuse and abuse ADHD drugs. The abuse of drugs in this class can have serious consequences, both legal and for health related reasons. Since ADHD drugs are generally listed as controlled substances with a Schedule II classification anyone who takes or possesses these medications without a valid prescription can be arrested and face serious legal issues as a result. According to Kari Benson, researcher and senior psychology major, “People would ask me if I could get them Adderall or Ritalin. I realized that this was a pretty prevalent issue on campus, and I wanted to see what I could do about it.”
The research on college students and ADHD drugs was also undertaken by University of South Carolina’s Parenting and Family Research Center Dr. Kate Flory. According to Dr. Flory “If you looked at individual studies, the rates of college student misuse were all over the place. They ranged from two percent to 43 percent. So when we submitted this for publication, the journal was really interested in us doing a meta-review of all the existing studies.” The goal is to identify the college students who could benefit most from an intervention program. Dr. Flory explained “That’s something we’re hoping to do here. We have a substance abuse prevention and education office, and they have a group that’s focused on prescription medications. We’ve pulled together an interdisciplinary group of researchers here at University of South Carolina to apply for a grant from the National Institute of Drug Abuse, which would enable us to actually do an intervention on campus.”
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1. One of the biggest reasons that group counseling is offered by almost every rehab facility is that this method has lower costs involved. One professional can handle a group of people, where individual counseling requires a professional to spend time with each individual instead of everyone as a group.
2. Part of substance abuse treatment involves peers. Group sessions help each individual in treatment receive feedback from peers, and it helps show that you are not alone in your struggles and there are many others out there who share the problems that you have. This can help promote solidarity and support during treatment.
3. Treatment for substance abuse and addiction means working through the issues that led to the abuse of a specific substance in the first place. Sometimes this may be easier when you are in group with others who share similar issues. Each individual in the group is less likely to feel judged or excluded because everyone has the same problems that need to be addressed and resolved.
4. Group counseling allows many individuals to receive treatment at the same time. For programs that have small budgets and high demand this may be one of the few treatment methods available, and these programs may be very short in duration when they are residential in nature.
5. Outpatient substance abuse treatment is less effective than residential programs, but for many this is the only type of program that is covered by insurance or that will fit within your budget. Group sessions on an outpatient basis will not usually interfere with work or other daily responsibilities.
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The rising rate of substance abuse across the USA and Canada is a troublesome trend, and far too often this also leads to an increase in child neglect and child abuse. A parent or caregiver who has an addiction does not always put the needs of the child first. When someone who has an addiction is withdrawing this can increase the risk of neglect or even abuse for children in the household. In the last decade there have been cases where children were seriously injured and died, sometimes after weeks or even longer of horrendous abuse that could be considered torture. Certain types of substance abuse increase the odds of physical violence, emotional abuse, and neglect more than other types. This has led many in the medical community to call for an increase in screening of adults in households where there are children.
Both child abuse and substance abuse are serious problems that need to be addressed, but in the USA many are hesitant to interfere with the parent child relationship and household dynamics. The agencies in charge of protecting children sometimes go too far, removing children from a home where substance abuse is suspected but no signs of child abuse exist, and at other times children who are clearly at a high risk for harm are left in the home with the goal of keeping a family together only to have the child end up seriously injured or even worse. If you or someone you know has a substance abuse problem don’t wait until things escalate, there is help available that can help prevent child abuse and neglect while allowing you to get your life back on track.
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Psychopath and sociopath are so called psychological terms that describe a mental disorder, but do both terms mean the same thing or are they different? Both of these terms describe someone who has antisocial personality disorder, and they are not really used in the psychology literature and research material. Both terms refer to specific personality types, and there are some differences between the two mental disorders. Both forms of personality have little or no regard for the safety or feelings of others, and with both of these personality types deceit, manipulation, and frequent lies. Neither type of personality is always violent, but both types hold the possibility of violence and aggression towards others. Many in the mental health community believe that a psychopath is a personality disorder which is genetic in nature, in other words a psychopath is born this way, while a sociopath is a result of the environment that they were exposed to in childhood.
Both a psychopath and a sociopath will have a mental disorder, but this fact is usually not apparent to anyone except the victims affected by the individual. Both personality types allow the individual to be charming, appealing, and someone that others like and want to be around. This allows them to use and manipulate others easily. Sociopaths tend to be more impulsive when they are committing a crime, with less concern about being caught or the possible consequences of their actions. Psychopaths are usually more careful in the commission of any crimes, so that any risk to the individual is minimized as much as possible.
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1. One of the biggest keys to preventing teen alcohol abuse is open communication. Parents need to talk with teens about alcohol use and listen carefully. When parents keep communication open the teen is more likely to abstain from substance abuse including alcohol abuse. Teens need to know that as a parent you are always available and willing to listen.
2. Part of substance abuse prevention in adolescents is setting boundaries and laying down rules. Let your teens know that there are consequences if the rules are broken, and what these consequences are. Teens need parents, not adult friends or those who want to be buddies with their children.
3. The peer group that your teens associate with should be monitored, and any peers who seem to be a bad influence when it comes to substance abuse should be banned from your teen’s social circle. Peer pressure can cause teens to use alcohol or drugs if they do not have strong parental support, so make sure that the peer your teen has are a good influence.
4. Know where your teens are at all times to prevent teen alcohol abuse. Adolescents who are not closely monitored and supervised may engage in substance abuse when they think they will not get caught. Know who your teen is with and where they will be.
5. If the goal is substance abuse prevention then be a role model for teens. Households where parents drink or use drugs have a higher rate of teen substance abuse because teens emulate the behvior that they see in their parents.
