Sober Teens

New Designer Drug Use On Rise In Md. - Baltimore News Story - WBAL Baltimore

2011-07-20T13:01:00.000-07:00

New Designer Drug Use On Rise In Md. - Baltimore News Story - WBAL Baltimore

Who Becomes A Cutter?

2010-11-06T15:12:00.000-07:00

Cutting Yourself - Who Becomes a Cutter?

Most parents believe that their children are well adjusted and happy for the most part, and most parents are right. Yes, pre-teens and teenagers suffer through their trials but most make it through “none the worse for wear”. However, there are those who only know how to deal with the hurt and pain by inflicting self harm, or cutting themselves.

Who Becomes a Cutter?

For the most part, people who indulge in cutting behavior are those who feel as though they have no other way to cope. Often, they may have intense emotions built up inside that they do not know how to release in any other way. The cutting behavior may be the only way they can attempt to release some of the emotional stress and tension. Also, most cutters are girls, but this not a rule.

Cutters may also suffer from some sort of psychological disorder as well, though this is not always the case. Some of these psychological disorders include depression, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive behavior, and bipolar disorder. Other cutters may be dealing with alcohol or drug abuse. However, anyone who is feeling overwhelmed and lacks the appropriate coping mechanisms can become a cutter.

Signs Your Child May Be Cutting

As a parent, you have been watching your child grow from an infant and often know his/her personality fairly well. When children become pre-teens and teenagers, though, raging hormones may often have an effect on your once angelic child. Most teenagers begin to want to express their individuality and independence around this time. So, how do you know if your changing/child is cutting himself/herself?

When a child is engaging in cutting behavior, he/she often wants to hide the evidence. They may tell you that the cuts and scratches come from rough play, a pet, or some other benign incident. So, you will need to look further. Some signs to watch for include sudden secretiveness, small linear cuts on the body (forearms, upper arms, inner thighs, etc.), and mood changes such as depression or anxiety. Also, if your child insists on wearing inappropriate clothing for the weather (i.e. sweatshirt and jeans on a 90 degree day), he or she may have a problem with cutting.

If you suspect that your child may be cutting himself/herself, do not become overly upset or hysterical. The most important thing is that your child receives help, but he/she must be willing to accept the help as well. The first step in the ‘help’ process normally begins with psychotherapy. However, be sure to select a psychotherapist who understands and is skilled in this type of behavior.

Are Parents Responsible for Increasing Drug Addiction among Teenagers?

2009-11-07T14:27:00.000-08:00

Are Parents Responsible for Increasing Drug Addiction among Teenagers?

Teenagers are the most concerning and the most viable group of age that needs attention and proper guidance because they are more prone of getting into trouble and false activities. If you are a parent, you would be held responsible for the future of your children’s life no matter what the reasons or causes are. Your teenage daughter or son can easily get influenced by the friends and company he or she has around him or her. Teenage alcohol addiction is increasing every day and the reason behind this could be the carelessness of parents.

Most of the time, all the kids need attention and they need somebody to talk their problems out but there is nobody they can consult or talk their grievances. With the concern, they turn towards the things that can keep them away from the stress they are going through and for that purpose they turn towards hazardous things like alcohol, cigarette, cocaine, heroine and etc. Parents should monitor the daily routine and schedule of their children and must provide them with ample amount of time so they children never feel lonely or neglected. A few motivating lines or phrases will be enough for them to realize that their parents are with them.

If you are a parent and you are an alcoholic or addicted to any other drugs then you should know that the teenagers learn from you and they would be influenced by your actions and activities, They will assume that my father or mother is doing the right thing and they will do the same without know that what his or her mother or father was doing. In order to overcome such situations you must completely avoid drinking or drug abuse in front of your children.

If you observe that your children remain unhappy or depressed most of the time then you should discuss with them about the reasons or causes behind the unhappy mood of your children.

According to me if parents take good care of their children and provide them suitable time then I am sure that not a single teenager will get addicted towards something like alcohol, heroine or marijuana. Increasing drug addiction among teenagers is a sign of carelessness of different parents. So I appeal to all those parents that they must wake up and take good care of their teenagers before it gets too late for them to get a hold on their children.

Sober Teens Online: Support for Today's Teens with Teen Issues!

Help With Teen Addiction

2009-05-25T12:37:00.000-07:00

Teen Addiction Help

Teenagers are one of the most common addicts to both alcohol and substances. Many teens start these addictions by recreational use, to speak out against their parents. However, by the end, teenagers may be so addicted that they need professional help.

The teenage brain is highly susceptible to addiction. Once a teen starts a substance, or alcohol it is very hard to avoid becoming addicted. Teens often begin abusing substances because of peer pressure by their friends or because they have problems in their lives. While the addiction itself needs to be treated, these underlying causes need to be examined as well.

Sober Teens Online is a great community for teens who may not be ready to reach out to someone in their community. Visiting Sober Teens Online allows troubled teens to talk with peers and get help with their addiction. While the main focus of Sober Teens Online is to get teens help for their addiction, Sober Teens Online also provides an enormous amount of fellowship. One of the great parts about Sober Teens Online is its large amount of members. Over 1,000 teens are members on the forum, which means that teens will easily be able to find a member that can relate to the situation that they are in.

Once teens have gathered up the courage, whether via Sober Teens Online or through self-reflection, the next major task is to get help. There are hundreds of centers across North America, and even the world that will help teens who are stuck in an addiction. Not all of these centers are a perfect fit for each teen, and some may not be looking to help a teen at all. When you are looking for a rehabilitation center for a teen with addiction, try to get references from a local teen crisis center. These centers often deal with teens who are having problems, and will be able to help point you in the right direction.

Teens may not always be willing to deal with the hard facts of life. However, with an addiction recovery program that is targeted directly for them, and a very powerful support group, teens will be able to conquer even the most difficult addiction. Teens cannot get help for their addiction without wanting it. As much as it may hurt their loved ones to see their lives fall into despair, a teenage addict needs to step forward and admit they have a problem. If an addict does not, but enters treatment anyways, they will relapse. Make sure the teenager has tons of support throughout their addiction recovery process. Stays at rehabilitation centers can be as long as months at a time, and recovery lasts for a life time.

Sober Teens Forums on YouTube

2009-02-12T19:17:00.000-08:00

I HAVEN'T KILLED ANYONE....YET.

2009-01-23T08:40:00.000-08:00

I've come to the conclusion over the years that most addicts are good people with a bad disease. In my conversations with many of them, they express a great deal of remorse for what they do and continue to do. Many become suicidal, not because they feel so sick, but because they cannot bear the thought of continuing to hurt those they love. To wake up day after day, not quite remembering what occurred the night before, then to see the look of disappointment and fear on the faces of the ones closest to you is a terrible thing - for everyone.

My arms are covered with light scarring - from practice cuts, "calls for help", and sometimes the pain inflicted would over-ride the confusion, fear and other emotional pain that was building inside me. They are a good reminder of the "dark days".........Death would have been an acceptable if not desirable effect of what I was doing.

There's a saying that goes "God looks after drunks and fools"....well, I can say from personal experience he (whoever he/she/it is) definitely does. When things got too much for me, I took a massive overdose and woke up 3 days later. Alone (no-one had found me), hallucinating, bright red through high blood pressure but, unfortunately, alive. I say unfortunately because that is how I felt at the time. I feared the future and what I may do next. I was so sure I was going to die from the overdose, I was at a total loss when I regained consciousness. So I did what any good addict would do in the situation - went and got blasted!

The years of accumulated destruction I had left behind me were really starting to wear me down. I could not see a time when I could walk down a street without looking over my shoulder. There were all the "yets" to think about:

I hadn't robbed a bank...yet
I hadn't killed anyone...yet
I didn't have irreversible brain damage...yet
There were still quite a few unspeakable things I hadn't done...yet.

If you are in the grip of a substance addiction....look back over the years...have things gotten better? What makes you think they will?

When you are an addict, you don't have control over a substance or a great deal of your behaviour while you are under the influence of that substance. As the disease progresses, your self-control declines. If you are an addict, it is very unwise to say "I would never do something like that" .... our jails are full of people who have uttered those damning words.

If you are close to an addict; whether you are their partner, family or friend there is also no way that you can state "He/She would never do that to me". Your false sense of security could cost you your life.

If you are living with someone who has a substance abuse problem and refuses to do anything about it, my advice to you is to pack your bags and leave... especially if you have children in your care. You may be saying to yourself "it's not that easy". It is. Think about the alternative - a life of continued fear and insecurity, or worse.

Have you ever heard of the "battered wife syndrome"? The victims are usually people who have been in an abusive relationship for so long, the person feels they can no longer leave, they have forgotten what "normal" is. Substance abuse is usually a feature in these relationships.

Read the papers.... "Father of four slays family"

Alcohol and other drugs greatly impair areas of the brain that deal with memory, reasoning, inhibition and aggression....the longer the abuse, the more the damage - the worse the behaviour.

So fellow addicts, what to do?

Suicide is an option if you don't wish to get help - but make it quick, the suicide through drug abuse is long and drawn out for everyone. Also, suicide is a bit harder than what people imagine. I have tasted the cold steel of a rifle barrel in my mouth - I didn't pull the trigger. I do know others that did. After all their years of drug abuse, they left one final gift for their family and friends - their corpses. How thoughtful. Another mess that others have to clean up on your behalf.

But there is another way, it's called recovery. A total stranger introduced it to me....

There are many strangers who can show you it too....

Pick up a telephone directory and look under "Drug and Alcohol". Almost everyone country in the world has a section for it. There you will find numbers for groups of people who have been to hell and back, who know just what you are going through. While I am aware that many countries in the world do not offer free detox services, these community based groups will assist you with detoxing and have "contacts" that can help you through the dangerous time of physical withdrawal.

Please, never try to withdraw on your own....

Life can be different for you - positive, energizing, peaceful

Or haven't you had enough of your addiction.....yet?

Michael Bloch
michael@worldwideaddiction.com
http://www.worldwideaddiction.com

Copyright information.... This article is free for reproduction but must be reproduced in its entirety along with the authors' name and web site link. This copyright statement must be also be included. (c) 2001 - 2007 Michael Bloch, World Wide Addiction.com,. All rights reserved.

New Facet of Self Harm

2008-12-18T14:24:00.000-08:00

Self-Embedding

By Tiffany Sharples, from Time Magazine--link is here, with other links to photographs and x-rays

At a recent medical conference in Chicago, a team of radiologists from Nationwide Children's Hospital presented intriguing X-ray evidence of a psychological phenomenon — what they believed was a new form of self-injury among teens and adolescents. Eleven out of 505 patients whom the team had treated in more than a decade had inserted objects — from chunks of crayons to unfolded paper clips — under their skin in a behavior the Nationwide team labeled "self-embedding."

All of Nationwide's patients were young females, but when the researchers, including Dr. William Shiels II, the hospital's chief of radiology, turned to medical literature for other examples of self-embedding, they found very few — and those were among adults, primarily males. Shiels and his colleagues asked around at the hospital, but not even mental-health specialists had heard of it, nor had many of their colleagues outside the hospital. "As a profession in general, psychologists were not aware that this was happening," Shiels says.

At the time of the conference, however, a Chicago Tribune reporter uncovered two more instances of self-embedding in an Illinois town — two teen girls had deliberately inserted pencils into their skin and broken off the tips — lending credence to the possibility that self-embedding was a growing trend, albeit off the radar. "We know it's elsewhere," says Shiels, who is creating a protected database for medical professionals worldwide to track the behavior. "It just hasn't been discussed and it hasn't been studied."

Shiels' team stumbled on the peculiar practice largely by chance. In 2007, a premed student named Adam Young, then 21, was compiling data during his summer internship at Nationwide. Part of his responsibilities included maintaining a database of patients who had been treated by the hospital's radiology department using Image Guided Foreign Body Removal, a technique that was developed by Shiels during his Army days to help remove foreign objects like shrapnel from soft tissue. Shiels' method was less invasive than surgery, which often requires an incision of 2 to 3 inches and can lead to damage in surrounding tissues or organs; the new method requires a quarter-inch incision and uses a combination of ultrasound and fluoroscopy — live X-ray — to carefully guide forceps to the object, steering clear of the body's vital structures during extraction. The scar is also much smaller, "about the size of a freckle," Shiels says.

While Young was cataloging the hospital's data on procedures involving Shiels' technique, which Shiels first introduced to the hospital in 1995, Young realized that some of the patients hadn't injured themselves accidentally. Unlike the majority of people who came in for treatment — for stepping on a piece of glass or being impaled by a particularly large splinter — these patients' wounds were self-inflicted. "I started to see three or four instances where the foreign-body cases were not accidental," he says. "I started to think it was a little strange and mentioned it to Dr. Shiels."

Young went back to school in the fall, and two or three more patients came to Nationwide with similar wounds. For Shiels and Young, it became clear that they were on to something. The following summer, Shiels, Young (who graduated from Miami University in Ohio) and three others worked their way through the data, unearthing cases of self-embedding going back to 2005. They also discovered that the majority of patients who harmed themselves in this way did so more than once — the average recurrence was three times — and that the materials embedded under the skin varied dramatically in size, from several unfolded staples embedded into a hand to a 6.3-in. unfolded paper clip inserted into a bicep.

Once they were aware of the trend, Shiels and his colleagues analyzed the patients' medical records, finding consistent histories of self-injury and mental-health problems. There are numerous psychological and emotional factors that drive people to self-harm, but according to Harvard psychology professor Matthew Nock, who specializes in the study of self-injurious behavior and edited a book on the subject, Understanding Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (due March 2009), many do it for two broad reasons: to regulate their emotions and to communicate with others. "Self-injurers experience greater physiological arousal in response to stress, show poor ability to tolerate distress, and have greater deficits in social problem-solving skills," Nock explains, meaning that people self-injure to distract themselves from other emotional pain, to counter feelings of numbness or to let people know that they're suffering.

The Nationwide team's findings sparked a frenzy on the Internet, with stories cropping up one after the other and chatter lighting up on blogs. But as the news spread, globally even, some mental-health professionals grew wary. Without discounting the severity of the problem — particularly among adolescent girls — some experts felt the headlines declaring self-embedding a new "disorder" went too far. Characterizing it as a disorder rather than a symptom of one may miss the mark, says Dr. John Campo, chief of child and adolescent psychiatry at Nationwide Children's and one of the specialists consulted by Shiels. "Young people with a variety of different psychiatric diagnoses may engage in this behavior," says Campo, and proclaiming it as its own condition may deter comprehensive mental-health care to identify the true nature of the problem.

Nock believes self-embedding is a dangerous evolution, but says it is not unique. "I view this as a more severe variation of self-injury," he says. An analysis of the data Nock has compiled in his years of research reveals that some 10% to 20% of adolescents who injure themselves have inserted objects beneath their skin. None of those patients reported leaving the objects there, however, and only two out of 12 patients who reported doing so had to seek medical treatment as a result. "The fact that kids are inserting things under their skin is not necessarily new," Nock says, adding that those who leave the objects embedded are probably in a very small minority.

The dangers of this form of self-injury are obvious, and serious. Creating any wound in the skin can lead to infection, but when foreign objects are inserted deep into tissue, the risk is amplified. "The infections aren't just at the site," Shiels says. "You can get a deep muscle infection or a bone infection," or if you hit arteries, veins, nerves or tendons while driving something into the soft tissue, you can cause tears or other damage. Beyond those risks, there is also the possibility that objects can travel once inside the body, approaching vital organs. "They pose significant risk, not only during insertion, but also if they're not removed," Shiels says.
The other major concern among mental-health specialists is that publicizing the behavior could exacerbate the problem. In a study of self-injury among adolescents conducted earlier this year, Nock found that 38% of teens who injured themselves learned of the practice from friends, while 13% first heard about it through the media. It's a bit of a catch-22, says Nock. "On the one hand, it's very helpful and useful for health professionals to communicate with each other and learn how to proceed when they see [these cases]," he says, "but we know that media coverage of self-injurious behavior influences rates of self-injurious behavior."

As studies show a surge in self-injury in recent years, "we've also seen increased media reports," Nock says. "It could be the media is catching up, but the opposite is also true: as kids hear more about it, it enters into the realm of behaviors in which they can engage."

SOBER TEENS ONLINE, ONLINE HELP FOR TEENS BY TEENS!

P.U.R.E Services

2008-10-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

P.U.R.E. Services

P.U.R.E.™ is a service to parents and families to assist them with Parent Awareness regarding schools and programs. This industry is extremely competitive and can be very confusing. "The Desperate Parent" is at high risk of making wrong decisions that may be detrimental to you and your child. Since we were once in that position, we want you to take comfort in the fact "you are not alone," and give you the opportunity to learn from our experiences and more importantly, gain from our knowledge.

Researching can be time consuming and tedious, yet very important. How do you know if a program or school is right for your child or if they really are who they claim to be? We speak from our hearts & our experiences to give you a feeling of ease. Restricting your search to a geographical area, you are limiting your chances of finding the right placement for your child. We encourage you to review what is best for your child, not what is closest to home.

We believe in finding a positive and encouraging setting for children. Placing a negative child into a negative environment can usually build resentment and anger, especially to the family that placed them there. Today's society with peer pressure is making it very difficult for our children. Let's help them, not punish them. P.U.R.E.™ believes in bringing families back together...

You can contact us or request information by filling out the Free Consultation Form.

Call Toll Free: 1-800-730-7260

Local and International Callers please call us at (954) 349-7260. Our fax number is (954) 349-6540.

Our Mission Statement: We are dedicated as professionals and parents to assist families that are looking for placement for their struggling teens. Our personal motto is "Bringing Families Back Together™."

For additional information about our services please read our Frequently Asked Questions section.

Internet addiction becomes growing concern

2008-10-14T05:01:00.000-07:00

The symptoms of Internet addiction are stark but the causes elusive: a teenager begins gaming on the Internet in the early evening and is still feverishly pecking away when the sun comes up.

Another goes to online chat rooms and e-mail sites for 12 hours at a stretch, or even 24.

A third stops eating or eats in front of the screen. Or stops washing. Their identities become twisted up, like strands of DNA, with computer characters.

"It is clear right now that there are people who really, really struggle with what we can easily define as Internet addiction. What that number is we don't know," said Louise Nadeau, a professor at the University of Montreal's psychology department who is researching the issue.

She is one part of a growing cadre of academics examining the social and psychological problems that have sprung from the explosive growth of the World Wide Web.

But drawing any conclusions or projections is a mug's game, said Nadeau, because researchers have barely delved into the issue.

She estimates that in Quebec one quarter of one per cent of those who seek addictions counselling are hooked on the web -- outnumbered by far by those trying to overcome drug or alcohol problems.

"That's really not a lot," said Nadeau. "But then there was no advertising for (Internet addiction treatment), so the people who did ask for it were really in distress."

The problem, she said, is defining Internet addiction and determining where to draw the line between avid computer user and addict.

A child who spends 12 consecutive hours a day on the web may be addicted or may just lack parental supervision, said Nadeau. And does a compulsive online gambler or porn site surfer have an Internet problem or a gambling/sexual disorder?

"Are we at the step in this province where we can advertise our addiction (treatment) service? I'm not sure we're there," said Nadeau.

"But (Internet addiction) is something new that wasn't there 15 years ago."

Cyber addictions have been the subject of a number of recent studies and test cases.

In Britain, psychologist David Lewis recently spearheaded a survey of 2,100 subjects that found close to half experienced stress and anxiety -- detected by measuring heart rates and brainwave activity -- when unable to go online, a phenomenon that has been dubbed "discomgoogolation." It also suggested that half of Britons are on the Net between one and four hours a day and 87 per cent rely on it as their primary source of information.

Karyn Gordon, a Toronto-based teen coach and author of Dr. Karyn's Guide to the Teen Years, says she has counselled some adolescents whose "entire social life is in cyberspace."

Addiction to video games is "a huge problem," particularly with boys, she said in an interview when her book was launched earlier this year.

"I don't think video games are bad and should be banned," but parents need to set limits for their children, Gordon said.

Having games is "a privilege, and with any privilege there needs to be responsibility and boundaries around that."

If it reaches the point of addiction, parents should seek professional help, she said.

"Yes, there are some parents that can handle it (on their own), but really a lot of times I find it almost just gets a lot worse."
___________
source: London Free Press

Video Game Addiction

2008-09-19T12:10:00.000-07:00

Studies show that the excitement of video games makes playing them addictive. Parents of preteens hardly find this surprising.
Ask any preteen how they love to spend their spare time, and chances are you'll get an earful about video games. But why do they love them so? Are they addictive? According to some studies it would appear that the excitement of video games causes the brain to release a chemical that is, in essence, addictive. For any parent who has seen the fervor by which some kids play video games, this news is no surprise.

What makes these games so addictive? Media literacy specialist, Dr. Charles Ungerleider explains that "they're very compelling with increasing complexity, so a child becomes more facile, yet wants to know more and apply new skills." While wanting to improve their game isn't a problem in itself, it becomes one if video games are "taking a youngster away too much from other activities," says Ungerleider. "Then the parent has to intervene and limit the amount of time the youngster spends with the video game."

Professor of Computer Science, Maria Klavee feels video games, if not too violent, can "offer some real opportunities for puzzle solving, strategic and critical thinking". But she adds that it's important that video and computer games are played in moderation. Klavee says parents should "provide a selection of activities, not just the ones that have the most action or are addictive. Choose some that involve problem solving or good story lines. Also aim for a balance in your child's life. Sports are important, reading's important. Just think of computer games as one more component in a child's exploration of what's out there in society."

As for addiction? Ungerleider believes that "a parent can prevent youngsters from becoming addicted to too much TV or too many video games by establishing a pattern of selective viewing or by using video game material early in a child's life so that by the time a youngster gets to be an adolescent and there's very little surveillance or control, it's less likely to occur."

Finally, Ungerleider remind parents that "if a youngster becomes addicted to video games it can be a problem and the parent does need to intervene and provide attractive alternatives."

Adapted from The Parent Report Radio Show. Any advice or information contained herein should never be a substitute for professional and/or medical advice, diagnosis and treatment. For more information please review Terms of Service. Source: http://www.theparentreport.com/resources/ages/preteen/kids_culture/130.html

Anger Management in Children

2008-08-19T18:28:00.001-07:00

Anger Management in Children

Anger, a normal emotion, can transform into something painful and ugly. First thoughts of anger issues may bring about images of a couple fighting, a parent abusing a child, a teenager lashing out at a teacher or a parent. Rarely will images of angry children come to mind. Unfortunately children, at very young ages, have to deal with feelings of anger and rage. This is a truth which is often difficult to understand or manage.

Children, young children especially, aren't normally aware of how they feel. When a child becomes upset or mad they simply show these emotions through their behavior. A good example of this might be the little boy in the supermarket who throws a tantrum because he's upset. Many parents have had to deal with similar situations. It is unfortunate that often times these occurrences are overlooked or dismissed because they are "just children". Anger management in children is as important, or perhaps even more important than anger management in adults.

A child requires instruction and guidance from their coming into the world to their entry into adulthood. The things they learn throughout their young lives are likely to form the person they become as an adult. For this reason anger management in children with difficulties controlling their temper is extremely important. Finding ways to teach anger management in children might present challenges.

There are programs designed specifically for children with anger management issues. Finding one that works for a particular child might require testing many methods. Not all children will respond to the same treatments for anger management in children. Because a child cannot always relate their feelings surrounding angry outburst, finding the right approach may take some time. Until the issue is resolved or at least controlled, it is imperative to continue the search.

Young children may respond well to worksheets, games and fun activities. All of these can be used effectively to teach anger management in children. Developing programs which incorporate each of these might be the best route to take. A child completing a worksheet, coloring sheet or participating in games and activities with underlying messages regarding anger management, may not even realize they are working on their problem. Making the activity fun doesn't mean that the anger issue has to be left out. Choosing fun activities which teach healthy interaction and decision making might be good for anger management in children. Teaching them to take turns and helping them to learn that they can't always be the best or the winner would definitely make a difference when confrontational situations arise. Little activities which instill values and positive thinking would be beneficial for anger management in children.

If a child is old enough to talk about their anger problem, encouraging them to share their feelings is important. Suggesting they talk to someone who they feel comfortable with and trust is a good idea regarding anger management in children. Asking them to write or draw about their emotions may be able to help disclose their underlying issues, whether fear, hurt or sadness. Teaching them to ask for help when they feel threatened or angry would certainly help the child with a problem. The important detail to realize when considering anger management in children are they are just "children". Their minds are not equipped to handle big people situations and so they will require a more careful approach.

Avoid Alcohol for a Better Body and Mind

2008-07-13T18:38:00.000-07:00

What is alcohol?

Alcohol is nothing but a natural fruit juice. It is a health drink also. There are many types of alcohol. But the one which is useful to human being is ethyl alcohol. It is also known as grain alcohol since it is prepared from starch grains. Ethyl alcohol is the alcohol of wine beer, whisky and similar beverages. It is often simply referred as “alcohol”. Most of the alcohol is prepared when grains, fruits or vegetables are fermented.

What is fermentation?

The process of conversion of sugars into ethyl alcohol under the influence of yeast is known as fermentation. The raw materials of ethyl alcohol are cane juice, beets, dates, molasses, fruit juices which contains sugar, substances which contain starch such as potatoes, rice, barley and maize.

Why should you avoid commercial alcohol?

Denatured Alcohols

It is commercial ethyl alcohol to which small amounts of very poisonous substance have been added. So, commercial alcohol contains methyl alcohol which is poisonous. The manufacture and sale of ethyl alcohol is under strict government control. Heavy excise duty is levied on sale of alcoholic beverages. For industrial purpose ethyl alcohol is duty free in some of the countries.

Alcoholic Beverages

The largest use of ethyl alcohol is considered as a beverage. Wine contains about 12% ethyl alcohol. Beers contain about 4%. Whisky and Brandy contains about 40-50% ethyl alcohol. The alcoholic content of a beverage is indicated by a measure known as proof spirit.

How does it affect your health?

When you drink alcoholic beverages, the ethyl alcohol finds its way in your blood. When you consume 0.8% you will feel steady. If it is 2% you feel giddiness, 3% not able to walk, 4% you may fall down. When it reaches 5% it may leads to death

Why do people like to have it?

Due to some curiosity people like to drink it. They feel that it is good and reduces stress. Some times to people drink to relax themselves.

A Step By Step Method for Alcohol Detox

Alcohol detox may be defined as a phase of medically supervised and monitored withdrawal from alcohol at the same time the alcohol is detached from the body.

Alcohol detoxification depends on your age, medical status and alcohol intake history. In the case of a young man who drinks a lot and looks for 7 days treatment after his last consumed alcohol, he may not need detoxification ahead of starting medication for alcoholism. The most common drugs employed for this purpose are the benzodiazepines, which are followed by barbiturates.

What are benzodiazepines?

Benzodiazepines, diazepam, oxazepam or lorazepam are the most common drugs used to minimize symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. There are a number of treatment methods in which it is employed. The choice of benzodiazepine depends upon the situation.

Chlordiazepoxide is preferred in case of uncomplicated withdrawal of alcohol.
Diazepam or Lorazepam are available for persons who are not able to take medicines safely by mouth.
Oxazepam and Lorazepam is considered best for patients who have cirrhosis

What is the proper medication for alcohol detox and withdrawal?

Alcohol detox can cause suffering and pain and it can be life threatening. Detox from alcohol, otherwise known as withdrawal, may lead to various problems. The symptoms of acute alcohol detox and withdrawal start to emerge within 6 to 48 hours. Proper medication for alcohol detox and withdrawal is to lessen the discomfort of the patient and avoid the development of severe symptoms. Admission in hospital gives the safest situation for alcohol detox and withdrawal.

What is common procedure to detox?

Most doctors are contented to prescribe for alcohol detox. A common procedure for detox is as follows.

Your doctor may prescribe a high dosage medication for the first day so that you discontinue drinking alcohol.
Then the dosage will be reduced gradually over the next five to seven days. Usually this avoids or reduces the nasty withdrawal symptoms.
You should accept not to consume any alcohol in the course of alcohol detoxification. In order to make sure that you are not drinking alcohol, a breathalyzer may be used.
Usually your doctor or nurse will monitor you more often at the time of detox.

While under going detox, support from friends or family may be of great help. The work of receiving the prescription and providing the detox medicine is shared with a friend or family member.

The Risks of Teen Drinking and Drug Use

2008-07-06T07:47:00.000-07:00

Underage Drinkers Get Their Alcohol From Adults, US Survey

2008-06-27T14:48:00.000-07:00

A new nationwide survey on underage drinking in the US estimates that 40 per cent of underage drinkers get free alcohol from adults over the age of 21, including more than 5 per cent who receive it from parents and guardians.

The report, dated June 2008 and produced by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), is available to download from the SAMHSA website.

Underage drinking is responsible for more than 5,000 deaths a year of Americans under the age of 21, said the SAMHSA.

There are about 11 million underage drinkers in the US, according to the study, which surveyed about 23,000 American teenagers and young adults from 2002 to 2006. The researchers defined underage current drinkers as persons aged from 12 to 20 who had consumed alcohol in the past 30 days.

The nationwide survey was the first to ask detailed questions about underage drinking behaviour and social situations in which young people drink alcohol.

It found that 40 per cent of underage drinkers were given alcohol by adults over the age of 21 in the previous month, and that 650,000, or 6.4 per cent, of underage drinkers were given the alcohol by their parents.

The study also found that:

* 53.9 per cent of all people aged 12 to 20 engaged in underage drinking in their lifetime, ranging from 11.0 per cent of 12 year olds to 85.5 per cent of 20 year olds.

* An average of 3.5 million people aged 12 to 20 each year (about 10 per cent of the US population) meet the diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence.

* About 1 in 5 in this age group, or around 7 million, have engaged in binge drinking where they had five or more drinks on at least one occasion in the previous 30 days.

* Over 80 per cent of underage drinkers said they were with two or more other people when they last had an alcoholic drink, during which time they drank an average of 4.9 drinks, compared with 2.9 drinks when they on their own or 3.1 when with only one other person.

* Over half of underage drinkers were at someone else's home when they last had a drink of alcohol.

* Binge drinking occurs significantly more often among youngsters who live with a parent who engaged in binge drinking in the past year.

Acting Surgeon General Dr Steven K. Galson, a rear admiral in the US Public Health Service said:

"In far too many instances parents directly enable their children's underage drinking - in essence encouraging them to risk their health and wellbeing."

"Proper parental guidance alone may not be the complete solution to this devastating public health problem - but it is a critical part," he added.

SAMHSA Administrator Dr Terry Cline said:

"This report provides unprecedented insight into the social context of this public health problem and shows that it cuts across many different parts of our community."

"Its findings strongly indicate that parents and other adults can play an important role in helping influence -- for better or for worse -- young people's behavior with regard to underage drinking."

Research has shown that one of the reasons people who start drinking at an early age tend to become problem drinkers later in life is they use alcohol to relieve stress.

A survey of 27,000 people by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) in the US, and published in the January 2007 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, found that people who reported the most stressful incidents in their lives also drank the most, and those who started to drink alcohol in their teens, and reported at least six "stressors" (pressures that made them feel stressed rather than challenged) drank five times more alcohol than those who started drinking when they were 18 or older.

"Underage Alcohol Use: Findings from the 2002-2006 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health."
Michael R. Pemberton, James D. Colliver, Tania M. Robbins, Joseph C. Gfroerer.
US Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Office of Applied Studies.
DHHS Publication No. SMA 08-4333, Analytic Series A-30, June 2008.

Organic Food vs. Childhood Obesity

2008-06-24T15:02:00.000-07:00

Eating organic is such a simple concept that it is deceiving. The idea is to eat fruits and vegetables that have been produced without the use of chemical fertilizers and toxic pesticides, meat that is from animals that have not been given antibiotics and growth hormones, and food that does not contain chemical flavor enhancers or preservatives. It sounds simple enough, and it is simple — it just isn't easy to accomplish.

We have an epidemic of childhood obesity in this country. The causes for this epidemic are many, but there are two main causes — lack of exercise, and eating the wrong food.

Food preferences are acquired. Little babies aren't born into this world loving chocolate and hating broccoli. They don't have an opinion, but they form opinions based upon their early experiences with food. If they are given chocolate, they will like chocolate. If they are given apples, they will like apples. So the first thing that we can do to stop this epidemic of childhood obesity is to help kids develop food preferences that are healthy and less fattening.

The second thing that we can do is to systematically begin eliminating the additives and preservatives in food that contribute to childhood obesity — and adult obesity as well. Flavor enhancers like MSG actually excite brain cells to the point that they self-destruct. The additive also increases the tendency for obesity. There's no doubt about it.

There are other food additives that are just as bad. The best policy is to eliminate all prepackaged foods from a child's diet. The weight loss will begin almost immediately when organic apples are substituted for potato chips.

The toxins that are in food that is produced by conventional means are also contributing to childhood obesity. Organic food can help to cure the childhood obesity epidemic!
Sober Teens Online!

Studies link marijuana, schizophrenia

2008-06-19T13:01:00.001-07:00

Last year, Netherlands researchers reviewed five studies and concluded that the use of marijuana (cannabis) approximately doubles the risk of developing schizophrenia. Because the studies excluded anyone with a history of psychosis and controlled for the use of other drugs, they were "able to show the specific effects of cannabis."

Now a new study from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York has shed light on the reason for the link between marijuana and schizophrenia. With several groups of adolescents as their subjects, they used a special type of MRI called diffusion tensor imaging to compare the brains of those with and without schizophrenia, both users and non-users of marijuana. They found that heavy use of marijuana caused the type of abnormalities in certain areas of the brain as were found in the brains of the subjects with schizophrenia, and these abnormalities were the most pronounced in schizophrenic subjects who regularly smoked marijuana. The abnormalities occur in a brain pathway related to language and auditory functions which is still developing during adolescence.

Thus if a young person is genetically at risk for schizophrenia, the research suggests, the use of marijuana can cause the same kind of damage the schizophenia would cause, which could bring on the illness when it might otherwise have not have emerged, cause earlier onset, and/or worsen the condition.

Newsday quoted one of the study's authors, Dr. Manzar Ashtari, as saying, ""Don't put yourself at risk, especially if you have a family history of schizophrenia or severe mental illness -- especially when the brain is still growing."

College Culture: The Way to Addiction

2008-06-13T18:01:00.000-07:00

Most college kids, being away from home are sucked up in the pressures of belonging, gaining friends, as well as being popular and invited to the frequent parties that come with college life. College is usually the time where the youth learn about drugs and at the same time experiment on drug use. Being in college also means drinking parties from left to right with no parents watching over or family members reminding the youth about what is right from wrong. This may result to drug abuse or being under the spell of alcoholism.

There are a lot of addicts who started their dependence on drugs and alcohol due to the following situations that are normal in colleges:

*Fraternity pressure – because of the student’s need for being accepted, they join a fraternity and then succumb to the pressures of the organization. It is a reality that a lot of negative and sometimes deadly activities are being performed by fraternity members. One such activity is hazing which would range from being spanked hundreds of times by a paddle to being forced to drink gallons and gallons of water that at one time or another lead to the death of one or a couple of members. Most fraternities also encourage members to drink and do drugs and this commonly result to substance abuse. This is also the main factor for reported fraternity deaths.

*Binge drinking – this activity will never be absent from parties, especially fraternity parties. Some students are being forced to drink in order to be part of the cool crowd; this activity more often than not cause the youth to be inflicted with alcoholism and there were even some reported deaths caused by binge drinking. Most alcoholics under going treatment admit that their drinking habit started with a single or a couple of bottles of alcohol in school parties and that took them to where they are now: a rehabilitation center for alcoholics.

Using alcohol and drugs is viewed as normal activities and at the same time harmless during college. The fact that it is taken for granted leads the students to being addicts and before they know it, their lives are ruined. After all, nobody ever dreamed of becoming an alcoholic or an addict.

Education on alcoholism and substance abuse prevention should be reiterated by college campuses. Programs to fight off college addiction should also be part of the college activities. Remember that the youth headed on the path to college addiction will never admit it and would not want to seek help so it is up to the college to ensure that every student is aware of the signs and symptoms of alcoholism and drug abuse. Preventive Measures on becoming addicts also need to be reminded to the students.

Drinking habits and drug intake habits may also be developed during college, leading to their use even after graduation especially because of the feeling of being freer now that they have graduated and will soon be working. A college addiction is never harmless. It should be stopped as early as possible.
C.King, M.Ed.

Teen Depression Worsened by Marijuana, Government Says

2008-06-10T13:44:00.000-07:00

By Sarah Baldauf
Posted May 9, 2008

Today the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy sent out a clear message on teen pot use and depression: They're a bad combination. Issuing a report that analyzes around a dozen studies about marijuana use and mental health, the policy office warned that teens who use marijuana to "self-medicate" may worsen their underlying depression or other mental health issues. The intention of the report, says John Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, is to "try to correct two misunderstandings: That teen depression is not a problem and that teen marijuana use is not a problem—marijuana use is not safe." He advises parents to talk to their kids' pediatrician if they see signs of depression and suspect drug use.

The report, entitled "Teen Marijuana Use Worsens Depression: An Analysis of Recent Data Shows 'Self-Medicating' Could Actually Make Thing Worse," cites statistics to support its warning message, but experts are quick to note that it should be interpreted with caution. For example, the report's statement, "One 16-year study showed that individuals who were not depressed and then used marijuana were four times more likely to be depressed at follow-up," suggests marijuana might cause depression. That data from a 2001 study in the American Journal of Psychiatry was only statistically meaningful after the researchers adjusted for variables including age, gender, and antisocial symptoms, suggesting a weaker relationship between depression and marijuana before adjustments were made.The study also showed that those who were not depressed when first surveyed and then used opioids were 228 times more likely to be depressed at follow-up—without any adjustments. That statistic was not mentioned in the Drug Control Policy's report today. "Adolescent marijuana use may be a factor that triggers psychosis, depression, and other mental illness," says Walters, acknowledging that "research about causality is still ongoing."

Policy groups on the other side of the aisle believe the report is misleading. "We agree that kids shouldn't smoke marijuana, but we simply have to be honest to teens and parents. This report [is] deliberately confusing correlation with causation," says Bruce Mirken, director of communications at The Marijuana Project , a Washington-based group that aims to remove criminal penalties for marijuana use and make medical marijuana available to seriously ill patients with doctor's approval. "This very week the British government's official scientific advisors on illegal drugs issued a report saying they are 'unconvinced that there is a causal relationship between the use of cannabis and any affective disorder,' such as depression." Mirken takes issue with the lack of warning about alcohol's relationship to depression. "Data linking alcohol to depression is much stronger and alcohol use by teens is greater than marijuana use," he notes.

To be sure, experts believe marijuana carries risk, especially in the subset of teens who are more susceptible to substance abuse and mental health problems due to genetic makeup or environmental factors. "Among treatment populations [in] youth with substance abuse, there's a pretty high rate of clinical depression," says Oscar Bukstein, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; "many kids get high not to stay low."

Perhaps most important, those people with co-existing substance abuse and a mental health disorder have worse outcomes than those with either problem alone, he adds. For perspective, Bukstein notes that research has shown 1 in 10 kids who smoke marijuana go on to develop dependence, and about 1 in 10 kids who become dependent on marijuana have psychotic symptoms.

The bottom line, says Bukstein, is that mental illness and substance abuse very often go hand-in-hand. Parents who spot signs of depression should have their child professionally assessed for mental health issues, he says, and also for substance abuse—and the reverse is also true. As part of their development, kids are curious (see our previous story on teens' questions about drugs, addiction, alcohol and the like). To lower the likelihood of experimentation with pot, he advises parents to:

Always monitor and supervise. Know where your kids are going and with whom.

Set limits. Be sure they're not hanging out in homes where no adults are present.

Be consistent. Discipline works only when it's reinforced.

Seek professional help. If you have a hunch something's wrong, you're probably right.

Take care of your own problems. The biggest risk factor for substance abuse and mental health problems is family history.

A new National Directory of addiction and alcoholism treatment centers, therapists and specialists.

2008-06-04T04:59:00.001-07:00

Most addicted people need help to find a way to live clean, sober lives. Treatment Centers, therapists and specialists are often the last stop in the vicious cycle that is substance addiction.

Maryland 6/03/2008 07:29 PM GMT (TransWorldNews)

TreatmentCenters.com is a national directory for treatment centers, therapists and specialists. We offer a free, simple and comprehensive index that provides assistance and guidance for those seeking help regarding alcohol addiction, drug addiction, eating disorders, cancer and many other conditions that affect the mind, body and soul. We also offer a wide variety of addiction and illness treatment centers, as well as individual counselors that can address your specific needs. We include peer support and detoxification programs. In addition, we can provide you with many resources for outpatient and residential programs.

Making the choice to seek treatment for an illness or addiction can be challenging. Our goal at TreatmentCenters.com is to make that job easier for you. We provide a bridge between people seeking treatment and the centers, physicians and counselors who provide that treatment. Keeping in mind that any disorder can affect the entire family, we provide resources and information for friends and family members as well. If you are a person seeking treatment, you will find a vast number of resources on our site.

If you are a professional offering services, we provide a first class showcase for what you have to offer. Our site consists of an easy to use search center that will match your needs to the services provided by professionals in your area. We also offer discussion forums where you can dialogue with others about various relevant topics. We provide cutting edge news on a variety of treatment related topics and offer a blog section in which you can journal about your personal experience.

Many individuals will not seek treatment for various reasons. It has been our experience that 'active' addicts and alcoholics, as well as people afflicted with different addictions or physical conditions can sometimes lose the ability to reason. A therapist or specialist for a specific illness or addiction issue, or a full-fledged residential treatment center can and will help. You, and/or your loved one, can find it at TreatmentCenters.com.

We appreciate input to further refine and maintain the efficiency of this website.
Please contact us with your thoughts. Thank You.

"Turn over a new leaf with TreatmentCenters.com"

Our motto "Hope, Help, Heal, and Happiness" shows the path.
You provide the hope. We provide the help

TreatmentCenters.com is a national directory for treatment centers, therapists and specialists. We offer a free, simple and comprehensive index that provides assistance and guidance for those seeking help regarding alcohol addiction, drug addiction, eating disorders, cancer and many other conditions that affect the mind, body and soul.

For further information, please contact us at 713.992.2828.
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Webmaster: dan@treatmentcenters.com
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source: TransWorld News

How To Live Without Drugs And Alcohol

2008-06-03T14:49:00.001-07:00

Addicts and alcoholics that are still drinking and using can be overwhelmed at the prospect of getting clean and sober. The problem is not sobering up, because that happens every once in a while anyway. The problem is not even "how do I stay clean?", because most people understand the basics of such an idea--you avoid drugs and alcohol. The real question then becomes: "how do I live without self-medicating? How do I cope with life?"

Recovery programs as a guide for living

This is what recovery programs are for, such as the 12 step program of Alcoholics Anonymous. The program itself doesn't really address the mechanics of putting down the booze or even how to avoid slippery places (such as a bar) that might get you in trouble. Instead, the program is a guide for living; a set of guidelines to keep a person on an upward path of spiritual growth.

Do I need a program in order to enjoy the benefits of recovery?

Probably, but not necessarily. There are many paths to recovery. For example, some addicts find recovery and meaningful growth simply by going to counseling each week. Others might find salvation in a church community. The program itself is probably much less important than the level of conviction with which you pursue it. So it might be useful to start out in a program of recovery, something with some guidelines about how to live. The reason a program is useful is because most of us don't really know how to live when we first get clean and sober. Our lives are a mess and we are out of control. So you might do well to seek out some guidance and ask for help.

So how can I live without drugs and alcohol?

So the real secret to finding a successful life in sobriety is through a replacement strategy. You need to find passion and excitement about living again without drugs and alcohol. Some people will find this passion through church, some through a 12 step program and working with other recovering addicts and alcoholics, and some might find it through a personal path of spiritual growth and development. What's critical is that you have a strong commitment to sobriety and pursue your own growth and development with enthusiasm--regardless of which "program" you are practicing.

Still struggling to make recovery work for you? Are you clean and sober, but find that you're not really happy? If so, then learn more about how to live without drugs and alcohol.

Patrick Meninga is a recovering addict and alcoholic who authors the Spiritual River

WHO Slams Tobacco Marketing to Youth

2008-06-01T09:01:00.000-07:00

The tobacco industry deliberately targets children with advertising, warranting a complete ban on tobacco ads worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Fox News reported May 30 that the United Nations agency marked World No Tobacco Day by excoriating the marketing practices of multinational tobacco firms.

"The bombardment of messages through billboards, newspapers, magazines, radio and television ads, as well as sports and fashion sponsorships and other ploys, are meant to deceive young people into trying their first stick," said Shigeru Omi, the WHO regional director for the Western Pacific.

The WHO called on member nations to implement the advertising ban spelled out in the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, noting that only total ad bans are effective because the industry takes advantage of partial bans by shifting their resources to alternative types of promotions.

Spillover Effects Of Family And School Stress Linger In Adolescents' Daily Lives

2008-05-28T08:46:00.000-07:00

ScienceDaily (May 15, 2008) — Teenagers today face increasing pressures and demands from school and home. New research has found that stress at home affects adolescents' school life, and vice versa. What's more, that stress lasts for two days and affects academic performance across the high school years.

The research, carried out at the University of California, Los Angeles, examined the implications of stress in adolescents' daily lives, looked at the spillover between daily family stressors and school problems among an ethically diverse group of 589 9th-grade students in the Los Angeles area. The teenagers reported their daily family and school experiences in a diary every day for two weeks, completing a checklist that assessed conflict with parents, family demands, learning difficulties, school attendance, and other experiences.

The study found that when adolescents experienced family stress, they had more problems with attendance and learning at school the next day. And when they had attendance and learning problems, they experienced more family stress the following day. These spillover effects continued for two days after the initial stressor occurred: Teenagers who experienced family stress had school adjustment problems not only the next day, but two days later. Similarly, teens with academic problems reported family stress for the next two days.

Stress also affected academic performance across the high school years, the researchers found. Adolescents who had higher levels of family stress and school problems at the start of high school, in 9th grade, saw declining academic achievement four years later, at the end of 12th grade.

"The findings from this study indicate that there are indeed short- and long-term consequences of daily stress that should not be overlooked," according to Lisa Flook, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the study's lead author. "By the same token, the two-directional process of spillover between family and school identified here suggests that reducing stress in the family may have benefits for adolescents' school adjustment and vice versa."

Journal reference:

1. Family and School Spillover in Adolescents' Daily Lives. Flook, L, and Fuligni, AJ (University of California, Los Angeles. Child Development, Vol. 79, Issue 3. (May/June 2008).

Adapted from materials provided by Society for Research in Child Development, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Program Works On Body Image Of Young Women To Reduce Onset Of Obesity And Eating Disorders

2008-05-24T15:59:00.000-07:00

In their research on eating disorders, Oregon Research Institute (ORI) scientists help young women reduce the influence of the "thin ideal," which is described as associating success and happiness with being thin.

ORI scientist Eric Stice, Ph.D. and his colleagues have found that their obesity prevention program reduced the risk for onset of eating disorders by 61% and obesity by 55% in young women. These effects continued for as long as 3 years after the program ended. Results of this study are published in the April issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.

These results are noteworthy because, to date, the idea that we can reduce risk for future onset of eating disorders and obesity has been an unrealized goal: over 80 prevention programs have been evaluated, but no previous program had been found to significantly reduce risk for onset of these serious health problems.

Stice notes that, "One reason these programs might be more effective is that they require youth to take a more healthy perspective, which leads them to internalize the more healthy attitudes. In addition, these programs have simple take-home messages, which may be easier to remember in the future than messages from more complex prevention programs."

Funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Stice has been studying eating disorders for 18 years. He has conducted this line of research at Stanford University and the University of Texas, and now continues at the Oregon Research Institute in Eugene, Oregon. He is presently funded by NIH to conduct two research studies to further test these programs with young women in Eugene/Springfield.

The obesity prevention program, called Healthy Weight, helps adolescents adopt a healthier lifestyle, wherein they gradually reduce intake of the least healthy portion of their diet and increase physical activity. This program simply teaches youth to balance their energy intake with their energy needs, and to do so on a permanent basis, rather than on the transient basis which is more typical of diets. College-age women in Eugene/Springfield are participating in this study.

The eating disorder prevention program, called the Body Project, consists of four one-hour weekly sessions in which participants critique the thin ideal espoused for women in our culture and learn how to challenge current and future pressures to be thin. The program has also produced reductions in other important outcomes such as body dissatisfaction and eating disorder symptoms. Stice has partnered with area high schools on this study and has trained high school counselors to facilitate the weekly sessions.

"It is our hope that other institutions and communities will adopt this program for delivery in their schools," notes Stice; "If this program is delivered to enough youth, it should be possible to reduce the prevalence of these serious health problems."

Given that eating disorders are one of the most common problems faced by young women and that obesity is presently credited with 111,000 deaths per year in the US, it is vital to develop brief prevention programs for these pernicious conditions. At least seven other institutions have begun delivering these interventions in the US and in other countries.

----------------------------
Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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Problems Facing Teens Today

2008-05-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

Teen problems are growing. If you think that being a teen today is the same as it was when you were in their shoes, you are probably mistaken. Now, listen to yourself say how strict and how hard life was when you where young. But, you need to realize that teens today face huge, life threatening decisions just about ever day. What they face has a lot to do with where they grow up. Yet do not be fooled into thinking that your child is safe.

In the normal course of your teen's day, he or she may face any of these things; one or more of them.

Drugs. Think that drugs are simple like they used to be? They are not. Kids today are not just smoking the easy stuff. They are into crack or other strong and deadly drugs.

Sex. Not only are they exposed to it on the television, but they are encouraged by others. They may be engaging in sexual acts that you have never heard of. They may be doing it unprotected as well. At school, after school, on the car ride home - there are many opportunities you do not realize. Teens get pregnant and have babies.

Violence. Today's teen problems often revolve around violence. They see friends with guns at school or after school. They witness huge fights. They hear threats. They see anger and deal with it daily.

Depression. With all that they see and do, teens face depression today at an alarming rate as compared to just a decade ago. Depression is not something that just goes away, but can cause them harm and threaten their lives.

Driving. Teens drive drunk. Teens drive under the influence of drugs. Teens get in cars that others are driving under the influence. Teens may also be responsible drivers, but share the road with those that are not.

Teen problems that are at a lower level can be just as deadly. They face lying, cheating, emotional trauma, learning disabilities and divorce. All of these things a child will face daily in some cases. In those cases, it is no wonder that they have low self esteems, high drop out rates and some of the students will break under the pressure. Teen problems should be addressed and noticed by their parents first.

Resources:
Therapy for Teens and FamiliesHelp with Parenting Teens

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Keith_Allen

Teenagers and their Invincibility-Complex

2008-05-18T10:19:00.000-07:00

Teenagers often think they are invincible. They are in the stage where they perceive themselves as all high and mighty. They think they can always get away with any trouble that they may encounter in their teenage escapades. But nothing could be further from the truth.

One major cause of teenage addiction is young people’s tendency to underestimate the risk of dependence associated with drug, alcohol or tobacco experimentation. These potentially harmful habits may seem to young people the mature thing to do, yet they do not really understand that those habits can post detrimental threats to their health and well-being.

Also adding insult to injury to the teenager’s underestimation of the danger of addiction is the harsh truth that they have not been educated enough about the risks of addiction. Today’s young generation tend to underrate addiction because they have not received proper drug, alcohol and tobacco resistance lessons in school, or heard much of it from the media. If the absence of effective anti-addiction messages continues to grow, teenage drug and alcohol abuse will, consequently, continue to rise.

The risk of addiction is overwhelmingly strong for teenagers who try experimenting with harmful substances for fun. The younger they are when they had their first taste of drugs, alcohol or cigarettes, the higher their chances of addiction become. Teens most likely do not intend to become addicted on their first puff or their first bottle. But frequent use could lead to abuse and before they realize it, they are now unable to get themselves out of the web they have spun themselves into.

With all of these disturbing trends, it is also helpful to note that the media has not been doing anything to help curb the development of teenage addiction. Movies, music videos and TV portray celebrities that teenagers look up to and idolize get themselves into drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Exposure to this could mislead teenagers into thinking that it’s cool. Another thing to worry about is how the parents do not set a good example to their children. The lack of parental guidance greatly contributes to the rising population of teenage addicts.

It is of utmost importance to identify the common causes of how teenagers get hooked. Though undeniably, there are many overlapping causes, it would greatly help that the society tackles each cause once and start the change from there. Big things come from small beginnings – this applies well to addiction as much as it does to the process of stopping it.
C.King, M.Ed.
Sober Sources Network

Drunkorexia

2008-05-13T09:50:00.000-07:00

Drunkorexia. It's not a real word, but describes an emerging, confounding, and self-destructive behavior engaged in primarily by young women of college-age to twenty-somethings. They avoid food as much as possible, saving the calories for alcohol. Without food, of course, these young women may unwittingly get drunk quite quickly.

The Pop Culture influence on thin and sexy

In our celebrity-crazed society, maybe we can blame this practice in part on omnipresent images of super skinny celebs. These images are difficult to avoid, from the tabloid at the supermarket checkout, to television and movies. A number of stars and other high profile luminaries also seem to be going to rehab almost as if it was summer camp - a retreat from partying, a little therapy and back to hanging out with the same pals.

A frightening aspect of the recent rise of "drunkorexia" is that the young women who suffer from it don't view this as a disorder, for the most part. They thought they'd live a fun lifestyle, but for many it has spun out of control. When it does, the dual occurrence of eating disorders and drinking is threatening their health and their lives.

How does this happen? Some influence are rooted in pop culture: look at a video of Sex and the City and you'll see how sexy and smart it seems for young women friends to meet each other in hip settings for cocktails after work. And these are cool cocktails that taste sweet, like appletinis or every kind of Margarita imaginable. Drinking regularly and to excess while remaining thin has become fashionable.

Elevating the risk for "Drunkorexia"

Actually, the fact is, no one really knows all the causes for this phenomena in America today. Academic studies pose different theories but these dual disorders may have some common causes in a range of contributing factors. Does an eating disorder lead to alcohol abuse and vice versa? Bulimia is much more commonly associated with alcohol and substance abuse than anorexia, because while bulimia is associated with binging followed by purging, anorexia centers on continual and severely controlled restriction of food.

It could be that the attitude towards compulsive substance and alcohol abuse can lead to compulsivity and lack of control over drinking. Both behaviors can be self-soothing, although drinking on an empty stomach often leads to vomiting. And dehydration may require hospitalization. Some women suffered from eating disorders first, and even after purging, would drink because it self- medicated the guilt and tension they felt. Those suffering from anorexia who try to cope with the challenge of eating with other people may use alcohol to ease the stress.

Of course, a young woman may come into the wretched state of "drunkorexia" without an eating disorder, but only with the idea of having fun, being attractive and living the good life. But drinking repeatedly without food can be both humiliating and dangerous, and ongoing habits can eventually become addictive both biologically and psychologically. The brain pathways are actually altered.

Hope for recovery fro m"Drunkorexia"

Left untreated and unabated, the "drunkorexic" suffers serious consequences to her health, job or school status, and relationships. Medical stabilization is part of a treatment process that should address both the chemical dependency and the eating disorder. The Hanley Center's Center of Women's Recovery, http://www.hanleycenter.org, has increasingly treated young women with the dual diagnoses of eating disorders and alcohol and/or substance abuse. Earlier treatment methods for co-occurring eating disorders and alcohol abuse sought to treat the alcohol problems first, with the idea that this was the more serious problem. Eating disorders are deadly as well.

Treating both disorders concurrently, in a medically based, holistic program that is rooted in the Twelve Step philosophy has been shown to be effective, and therapists who treat eating disorders must also have received related training. Depression is usually associated with dual diagnoses like this, and there may underlying conditions such as bi-polar disorders. Recovery is a process that may entail longer treatment, a combination of pharmacology and interactive therapies such as Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, based on mindfulness and mood regulation, and expressive therapies that help to address and safely express deep-seated emotions. Hormonal Shift Assessment and care plans also help women understand and address mood swings, anxiety and cravings. Continuing care and support group participation are associated with more successful recovery.

The role of culture, environment, genetics and biochemistry

Studies now have shown that young girls who start to diet at about sixth grade are more likely to abuse alcohol and other chemicals as teenagers or young adults. Besides the pop culture images we're bombarded with, family history of substance abuse, and genetic factors can be factors along with other environmental markers, such as history of abuse or abandonment or family instability.

Neurochemical changes that affect opiod peptides in the body, regulators of food intake, may also modulate intake of alcohol or cocaine, say some studies. Personality characteristics may hold clues too, such as extreme impulsiveness and difficulty in controlling behavior. Borderline Personality Disorder causes rapidly cycling mood swings and impulsively as well. Another behavioral profile is what has been called the Novelty Seeker, who continually pursues new stimuli and "more" of it. The young woman suffering from bulimia often fits a profile of the "Novelty Seeker" and one with mood wings and impulsivity.

"Drunkorexics" don't share all the same behavioral or personality types, genetic background, hormonal makeup or family histories. By understanding some underlying causes, though, treatment can be more effective, and the individual more readily engages in the recovery process. Sustained support of Twelve Step groups, for example, can provide the stability to continue, and tools learned in such therapies as Dialectical Behavior Therapy can offer help in self-regulating moods without addictive and destructive behaviors.

How to find gender-specific treatment for recovery from addiction and dual diagnosis for women: for the Center for Women's Recovery at Hanley Center, has developed a medically-based, holistic program for women that is rooted in the Twelve Step philosophyHttp://www.hanleycenter.org Jeannie Provost, program director, is a distinguished professional with broad experience in the treatment of women who suffer from addictions.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeannie_Provost

Addiction Award

2008-05-09T09:13:00.000-07:00

First Addiction Science Award to be Given to Students at International Science Fair
NIDA Teams with Scholastic to Create Award at Intel International Science and Engineering Fair

This year, for the first time, three students will receive awards for exemplary projects in Addiction Science at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the world’s largest science competition for high school students. The Addiction Science award is co-sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company.

"We want talented young scientists to know that the science of addiction is fascinating and complex, encompassing a wide array of research areas," said NIDA Director Dr. Nora D. Volkow. "We are hoping as their careers develop, they will consider contributing to this diverse and growing field."

Every year, nearly 1500 students from more than 40 countries compete in the ISEF competition, which is coordinated by the Society for Science & the Public. This year the 59th annual Intel ISEF will be held in Atlanta beginning May 11. NIDA scientists will participate as judges and the winners of the Addiction Science Awards will be announced at the awards ceremony on May 15; winners will receive cash awards.

Addiction is a chronic, relapsing yet treatable brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. The science of addiction includes any research that contributes to our understanding, the prevention, and treatment of addiction, and its health consequences.

Addiction science projects can involve a variety of scientific disciplines, including biology, neurology, psychology and medicine. Addiction scientists research the role of genetics and what makes people vulnerable to addiction, as well as the structure and function of the brain and how it is changed by drug use. They also study the behaviors that can lead to addiction; strategies that can prevent it; counseling and medication to treat it; and how our health system can get the best treatments to those who need it. Projects that focus on these scientific questions will be considered for the 2008 Addiction Science Award.

Scholastic will co-sponsor the award as part of its ongoing collaboration with NIDA. Scholastic provides age-appropriate educational information on substance abuse and the effects that drugs have on the brain for select Scholastic classroom magazines, including Science World and Super Science.

"Scholastic applauds NIDA’s ongoing efforts to bring relevant educational materials on the science of addiction and its impact on the developing brain and body to schools across the country," said David Lange, general manager, Scholastic InSchool Solutions. "Our work together in this endeavor draws consistent accolades from classroom teachers who do their best each day to educate and inspire the nation’s 50 million students."

The Intel ISEF is the world’s premiere science competition exclusively for students in grades 9–12, and annually provides a forum for more than 1,500 high school students to showcase their independent research. Each year, millions of students worldwide compete in local and school-sponsored science fairs; the winners of these events go on to participate in Intel ISEF-affiliated regional and state fairs from which the best win the opportunity to attend the Intel ISEF.

The nonprofit organization Society for Science & the Public partners with Intel — along with dozens of other corporate, academic, government and science-focused sponsors — provide support and awards for the Intel ISEF each year. This is the first series of awards given exclusively for projects that advance addiction science. NIDA has developed a special section on its Web site to help science fair entrants understand the criteria for the awards, which includes other resources on addiction science http://www.drugabuse.gov/sciencefair/.

Scholastic Corporation is the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books and a leader in educational technology and children’s media. Scholastic creates quality educational and entertaining materials and products for use in school and at home, including children's books, magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television programming, film, videos and toys. The Company distributes its products and services through a variety of channels, including proprietary school-based book clubs and school-based book fairs, retail stores, schools, libraries, television networks and the Company’s Internet Site, www.scholastic.com.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse is a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA supports most of the world’s research on the health aspects of drug abuse and addiction. The Institute carries out a large variety of programs to inform policy and improve practice. Fact sheets on the health effects of drugs of abuse and information on NIDA research and other activities can be found on the NIDA home page at www.drugabuse.gov.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

Double Damage: Teenage Eating Disorders and Substance Abuse

2008-05-07T18:52:00.000-07:00

A seventy-three-page report that was released by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University revealed that half of individuals who suffer from eating disorders also abuse alcohol and illicit drugs. The study, aptly titled Food for Thought: Substance Abuse and Eating Disorders, is the first research of its kind that was aiming to find any significant correlation between eating disorders and substance abuse.

Eating disorders are gaining grounds as a common problem for teenagers today. Ranging from teen bulimia, to teen anorexia, to teen obesity, these disorders are becoming detrimental to young people’s health and over-all well-being. Though some of these disorders stem from hormonal imbalance, some are products of mental disorders associated with depression, anxiety and low self-esteem. Some of these disorders can cause serious health problems in teens that would require long-term treatment.

Compounding the damage done by weight issues is alcohol and drug abuse. Going back to the research findings of the study aforementioned, up to thirty-five percent of alcohol or drug abusers also have eating disorders. This is a significant statistic that we should be concerned about. With the already damaging health effects that eating disorders can cause, added effects that are caused by alcoholism and drug abuse is therefore considerably destructive.

Some of the risk factors of these dual disorders are unhealthy peer norms and social pressure. With the way looks and personalities are packaged by the media, young people are often misled into pushing themselves to the limits, often resulting to eating disorders. Susceptibility to messages from advertising and entertainment media has also been known to cause unfavorable effects to the minds of teens. Unhealthy parental behaviors coupled with an ongoing battle against depression and anxiety is also a factor that could be blamed.

When ignored or overlooked, these problems could be life-threatening to young people. Teenagers can become socially isolated, difficult to handle and show self-destructive signs like self-harm and possibly even suicide. They could suffer short or long term effects like chronic diseases with high relapse rates as a result to these prolonged and untreated disorders.

Dual disorders in teenagers are serious issues that need full attention today. It is very important not to overlook the significant link between eating disorders and substance abuse, so treatment options can be geared into solving these co-existing conditions.

Teen Drug Abuse

2008-05-06T14:32:00.001-07:00

As a teenager, the likelihood that you will be exposed to drugs and alcohol is very high, and there is a good chance that you will try drugs and alcohol. Even though you tell yourself that you will only try drugs once, you do it one more time, and then one more time after that, and before you know it you are developing a drug problem. Most teens don't start using drugs expecting to develop a substance abuse problem, and while most teens probably see their drug use as a casual way to have fun, there are negative effects that are a result of this use and abuse of alcohol and other drugs.

One of the consequences of drug and alcohol abuse is addiction. Most teens don't think that they will become addicted, and simply use drug and alcohol to have a good time. However, the reality of addiction to drugs and alcohol can result in some pretty undesirable consequences, such as loss of friendships, health problems, behavioral problems, alienation of family, and a loss of interest in sports, academics, hobbies, etc.

Substance abuse and addiction can greatly alter behavior, and a new preoccupation with drugs can crowd out activities that were previously important, like sports or academics. Abuse of drugs and alcohol can also change friendships, as teens begin to move away from old friends who don't approve of their drug use and begin to associate with fellow drug users who will encourage and support one other's drug use. Most teens who are addicted won't see a problem with their behavior or their drug use. Drugs make them feel good, and are a way to relieve the stress of school, problems at home, disagreements with friends, etc.

Because it is unlikely that teens will want to stop using drugs, it is important for friends and parents to look for the signs of drug use in their loved ones. The sooner you can recognize that your child or your friend is abusing alcohol or other drugs, the sooner you can seek help. If you notice changes in behavior, changes in friends, lying about after school or weekend activities, changes in mood, or depression your teen might have a problem with substance abuse.

If you or someone you care about has a drug problem, talk to them about it and encourage them to get help. For teens, your parents are probably the last people you want to ask for help, but they can help you to find the treatment program that will support and guide you through recovery. If you are a parent or friend of a teen who has a substance abuse problem, talk to them about their problem and encourage them to get help. The sooner you or someone you love gets help, the more likely they are to be successful in their recovery from drug and alcohol abuse.
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Understanding Teen Addictions

2008-05-02T09:46:00.000-07:00

A Closer Look at Teen Addictions

You may never know that your kids are involved in substance abuse, drug addiction, as well as experiencing personality disorders in terms of eating, self cutting that may be due to depression and a feeling of helplessness, etc. These disorders may normally result from substance abuse because of the mind of the user not being able to think as clearly as before. It is a reality nowadays that teens need to be handled with care especially since experimentation with drugs in the adolescent stage is common and something that will be hard to avoid.

It is said that the use of cigarettes and alcohol at a young age will increase the possibility of the teen being involved in substance abuse and alcoholism at the latter part of life increase the risk of using other drugs later. There are teens that would just have a taste to satisfy their curiosity and eventually stop while some become dependent on the drugs and the booze, causing harm not only to themselves but to the people around them.

The relationship between substance abuse and personality disorders have not really been proven or understood well but there sure are instances wherein substance abuse either leads or develops more the disorder that was observed in the user. The most common so called co-occurring disorder would be bipolar disorder which is defined as a manic-depressive ailment that is characterized by frequent changes in the person’s mood and feelings. These people, more often than not use drugs as a tool for balancing their mood swings. Once a person is addicted to drugs, smoking or alcohol and at the same time has developed a disorder, both the addiction and the disorder must be treated distinctively.

Cutting is also a form of disorder that is a coping mechanism for the cutters. Substance abuse and cutting have a correlation because they are both “survival tools,” enabling teens to be comforted in difficult times as well as from the harsh realities of life. Self-injury or cutting your own skin might be something you will never ever do because of the pain that comes with it. For teens that resort to cutting, however, the method is effective in a strange kind of way in helping them cope with the pain they feel inside that they wouldn’t really be affected with the external pain of cutting one’s self.

Substance abuse may also be connected with the teens with the latchkey syndrome, wherein most of them would feel alone and unnoticed by their parents or other family members. Because these teens are given independence at an early age, they might feel neglected and may resort to substance abuse, alcoholism, and other harmful activities without the knowledge of their loved ones.

What parents, siblings, as well as relatives should do would be to keep a close watch over the teens in their homes. Make sure that you would have an open relationship wherein these teens would be able to trust you enough to tell you anything or better yet, everything. If your teens have been acting strangely for some reason you do not know, never ever let that pass. Do your own “research,” have a meaningful talk and make them feel that you are there to care for them.

Copyright 2008 C.King, M.Ed., Sober Sources Network may be reproduced with proper acknowledgments.

Impulse Control Log

2008-04-29T09:12:00.001-07:00

The impulse control log is taken from S.A.F.E and is geared specifically for self-injury but can be used for many types of compulsions.
With the impulse control log it is required that you log down every thought or feeling associated with a particular urge to self injure, whether or not you actually go through with the act or not. In the beginning the goal is that the writing will become a diversion from the act itself. The long-term goal is to understand the connection between your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Self-injury itself is a thought, not a feeling. Once you can fully grasp and understand that internally, you can begin to understand that self-injury is a behavior and behaviors can be changed.

Self-injury keeps us from dealing with uncomfortable feelings. Feelings or thoughts we find unacceptable are disguised through self-harming in some way although only a temporary relief is felt. If you feel the need to self-harm there is a feeling behind that, something you need to express.

Using the impulse control log is a good way to make you slow down, think before you act and remind you that you are in control.

Below is a generic example

IMPULSE CONTROL LOG

1.SELF-INJURY THOUGHTS: Burning, Cutting

2.TIME AND DATE: 3/9/07

3.LOCATION: My Room

4.SITUATION: A Friend and I aren't speaking, my boyfriend and I got into a fight, a relative is sick, and I lost my wallet.

5.FEELING: Angry, Upset, Lonely, Frustrated, Alone, And Disappointed

6.WHAT WOULD BE THE RESULT OF SELF-INJURY? If I cut/burn, Then I don’t have to get angry, then I don’t have to cry, then I don’t have to care,
then it won’t matter what they say or do, I can act and appear like I don't care.

7. WHAT WOULD I BE TRYING TO COMMUNICATE WITH MY SELF-INJURY?
That I do have feelings, that I think no ones cares, that I think I don't matter, that it hurts less if I cut/burn myself, that I'm scared.

8.ACTION TAKEN: Ended up running, doing some artwork, and writing in my journal.

9.COMMENTS: My desire to cut or act out is still w/me but I’m challenging the thoughts. Tonight I plan on going to the gym and then to a friends house.

Your Natural Feelings

2008-04-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

What every eight-year-old should know
and most adults have never been taught
about the emotions that run our lives.

THE NATURAL, REAL FEELINGS

Feelings that start in our senses are natural responses to the real world.

When we notice real anger, or sadness, or scare,
we notice that something is wrong in our lives.

When we notice real joy or excitement
we notice that something is right in our lives.

Natural feelings are always trustable.
Learn what they are saying to you.
Use them well.

TYPES OF FEELINGS

There are five natural and necessary feelings:
Sad, Mad, Glad, Scared and Excited.

There are many other unnatural and unnecessary feelings
- and all of them cause problems.
Guilt, shame, and imagined fear
are by far the most common and troublesome of these.
("The Basics #3" is about these.)

THREE HUGE QUESTIONS THAT AFFECT OUR FEELINGS

When any feeling starts we are immediately faced with three huge questions
- and we tend to automatically answer them in less than a second:

1) Will you admit to yourself what you are feeling?
If you don't, you'll feel "out of touch" or "crazy" or uncentered.

2) Will you express the feeling either alone or with someone else?
If you don't, you are giving up the chance for relief.

3) Will you take action to improve things?
If you don't, you are giving up the chance to improve your future.

When we are having problems,
we need to slow down this automatic process
so that it takes longer than a second or two.
This will allow us to think through each step
instead of relying on old habits.

THE FIVE NATURAL FEELINGS
Use this information so you will always know what you want and feel.
THE FEELING: WHEN YOU FEEL IT: WHAT TO DO FIRST: WHAT TO DO NEXT:
SADNESS When you've LOST something,
or when something important is MISSING from your life. Feel it through thoroughly, to notice how important the loss was. Work to replace what you've lost or what is missing.
ANGER / "MAD" When there is a BLOCK between you and what you want. Feel it through thoroughly, to notice how powerful you are. Work toward getting past the block powerfully, wisely, and safely.
FEAR / SCARED When your EXISTENCE is threatened.
Feel it immediately - in a second or less - and notice the danger. Tune into your senses (what you see, hear, smell, taste or feel in your body) and protect yourself!
EXCITEMENT When you are
ON YOUR WAY to something you want.
Feel it through thoroughly, to notice how good you feel about what's coming. Enjoy it for the fun of it!
JOY When You've GOT What You Want. Feel it through thoroughly, so you notice how happy you are and how good you are at getting what you want. Enjoy it for the fun of it!

HOW TO FIND EACH FEELING IN YOUR BODY

1st Remember a time when you felt each feeling very strongly.
2nd Recall what was going on when you felt the feeling so strongly. Remember it in enough detail so that you actually start to feel the feeling again.
3rd Notice where, in your body, you feel each emotion. (Find your "sad spot," your "angry spot," etc.)
4th Describe what you feel in your body. Use adjectives like tight, weak, empty, heavy, light, etc.
5th REMEMBER what you learn by doing this. Do this exercise over a few times if needed.

यौर नातुरल फीलिंग्स

2008-04-29T09:03:00.001-07:00

Heavy Drinking, Conduct Disorder Linked To High-risk Sexual Behavior

2008-04-28T12:27:00.000-07:00

ScienceDaily (Dec. 3, 2007) — Previous studies have linked heavy drinking and conduct disorder to high-risk sexual behaviors that can, in turn, lead to unintended pregnancies, infection, and damage to reproductive health. A new study has linked the clinical diagnoses of alcohol dependence and conduct disorder among 18-to-25-year-olds to the risk of having a high number of sexual partners.

"Our study is the first of its kind to link problematic drinking and alcohol dependence with a high number of sex partners," said Patricia A. Cavazos-Rehg, research instructor in the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine and corresponding author for the study. "We have moved beyond self-reports of heavy and/or frequent drinking to utilizing a clinical diagnosis of alcohol dependence in order to improve understanding of how alcohol use influences risky sexual behaviors."

"The relationship between risky sexual behavior and conduct disorder has been well documented, especially among young women," added Denise Hallfors, senior research scientist at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation. "What was not known was whether alcohol dependence and conduct disorder independently contribute to the number of sexual partners. Previous studies tended to look at either alcohol dependence and conduct disorder, or conduct disorder and sexual risk, or heavy drinking and sexual risk, but not at all three behaviors together."

Researchers gathered data through personal interviews from 601 unmarried relatives, 18 to 25 years of age, of alcohol-dependent individuals who participated in the Collaborative Study on The Genetics of Alcoholism. Variables examined included: problem drinking, alcohol dependence, conduct problems, conduct disorder, family status, educational attainment, gender, race, age at first intercourse, age at time of interview, and number of sexual partners.

"A significant number of participants with alcohol dependence, 45 percent, had 10 or more sexual partners," said Cavazos-Rehg. "Moreover, we categorized individuals into three levels of alcohol involvement -- non-dependent, problem drinking, alcohol dependent -- and demonstrated how a stepwise increase from non-dependence to problematic alcohol use to alcohol dependence was associated with a higher rate of sexual partners. We also found a risk for high number of sexual partners among persons with conduct disorder independent of level of alcohol involvement. In addition, individuals with co-occurring alcohol dependence and conduct disorder are at even greater risk of multiple sex partnerships."

"These young adults with alcohol dependence and conduct problems are likely to have many sexual partners," said Hallfors. "This suggests that they are not only at greater risk for STDs and HIV, but if infected, they are likely to infect many others."

Hallfors suggested that college campuses help address this problem. "Students are frequently referred to the campus health clinic for alcohol-related problems," she said. "Young adults who are running into problems because of their heavy drinking and who present for treatment should be screened for sexually transmitted diseases and treated if infected. Furthermore, college health care staff could greatly improve care by asking about sexual risk behaviors and screening for STDs."

Hallfors also suggested two other possibilities for public-health intervention. "Young adults who present in emergency rooms for drinking-related injuries or illnesses could be screened for HIV and STDs," she said. "Similarly, a majority of prison inmates have been incarcerated for substance-abuse related crimes, including alcohol problems. Prison populations are known to have higher rates of STDs and HIV, but few prisons screen inmates at admission for these diseases. These data provide additional support for screening young adults in jail or prison for HIV and STDs."

"At the alcohol-treatment level, clients could be targeted by health professionals to receive education, screening, and treatment for STDs," added Cavazos-Rehg. "Furthermore, STD prevention programs and clinics can better understand the role of alcohol dependence and conduct disorder as part of a comprehensive strategy for reducing STD transmission."

Results are published in the December issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

Co-authors of the ACER paper, "The Relationship between Alcohol Problems and Dependence, Conduct Problems and Diagnosis, and Number of Sex Partners in a Sample of Young Adults," were: Edward L. Spitznagel, Kathleen K. Bucholz, Karen Norberg, Wendy Reich and Laura Jean Bierut of Washington University in St. Louis; John Nurnberger, Jr. of Indiana University School of Medicine; Victor Hesselbrock of the University of Connecticut Health Center; and John Kramer and Sam Kuperman of the University of Iowa College of Medicine. The study was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Adapted from materials provided by Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

U.S. Urges H.I.V. Tests for Adults and Teenagers

2008-04-25T09:10:00.001-07:00

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended yesterday that all adults and teenagers have H.I.V. tests as part of routine medical care. The agency also urged the removal of two major testing barriers: separate signed consent forms and lengthy counseling before each test.

Some civil liberties organizations and those representing people with AIDS, while favoring more testing, have objected to removing the consent forms and pretest counseling for fear that such changes will make testing less voluntary.

Where should the line be drawn between such concerns and the desirability of broader testing?

http://news.blogs.nytimes.com

Meth Production

2008-04-23T13:56:00.001-07:00

New York, NY (1888PressRelease) April 23, 2008 - It’s been said that drug use is a “victimless crime,” but for methamphetamine addicts, it’s certainly not true—especially for those with children in their homes.

Many users of methamphetamine—a.k.a. “meth”—manufacture the drug in makeshift, homemade “labs,” using ingredients that can be easily found in household cleaners and over-the-counter allergy medications. When combined, these chemicals pose a deadly threat not only to the meth users but to anyone in the immediate area.

“More and more, children of methamphetamine users are falling victim to chemical burns, respiratory problems and even symptoms of meth addiction itself,” says Stephen Della Valle, author of the new addiction and recovery memoir Rising Above the Influence. “If they live in the house where the drug is being ‘cooked,’ they’re constantly exposed to fumes and residue that can severely compromise their health.”

Some of the symptoms of meth addiction that these children can find themselves experiencing include:
• Weight loss
• Pale complexion
• Excessive sweating
• Dental decay (known as “meth mouth”)
• Body odor
• Dry skin and “meth mites”—the feeling that they have bugs on their skin, leading to picking and sores, which can then become infected

Often, children of meth addicts even go through withdrawal when they are removed from their homes.

“But the ultimate problem,” notes Mr. Della Valle, “is that with meth production, you have an impaired person messing with chemicals and fire. Meth labs sometimes explode, causing damage to the user’s property—and possible death to any children who may be nearby.”

Although new laws are helping to curb the meth epidemic that has swept the US in recent years, there’s no telling what the long-term effects will be for its youngest and most unwilling victims. “Even if they’re taken out of that situation,” says Mr. Della Valle, “who knows what sort of permanent damage has been done to their health? Unfortunately, only time will tell on that one.”

Stephen Della Valle is president of the board of directors at Turning Point rehabilitation center in Verona, New Jersey. Currently celebrating twenty years of sobriety, he lives in Oak Ridge, New Jersey, with his wife, Donna. He has three children.

Understanding Your Teen

2008-04-22T20:10:00.000-07:00

Looking back, most of us would probably say that parenting a newborn was easy – tiring of course, often stressful, sometimes worrisome – but easy in comparison with parenting a teenager. You held your baby, knowing that this little person depended on you for everything he or she needed to survive – nourishment, shelter, protection from the dangers of the world outside your arms – and initially your child readily accepted what you had to give and what you had to teach. Now, 13 or 14 years later, that same child retreats into silence, resists your advice and guidance, and sometimes even your attempts to participate in or share his or her life. He/she may react with anger or sullen resentment when you make these attempts. What happened?

What happened is that your child reached the point we all must eventually reach, where we need to step out of the shade of our parents’ lives and begin to forge our own lives and our own identities.

Understanding Your Teen
Does raising your teen mean you must step aside and accept that you are no longer needed as a parent? Of course not. But this is an important time of transition for you and your child. What she or he needs from you, and how you will parent is going to change over the next few years as your child completes the metamorphosis from infant to adult. In effect, what you are doing during this time is defining the kind of relationship you will eventually have for the rest of your lives – as parent and adult child.

What Teenagers Think They Need

· Independence and Autonomy

· Privacy and Respect for individuality

· Freedom in decision-making and to make mistakes

· More time with and closer links to friends

· Less time with parents and siblings

What Parents Think Teenagers Need

· Advice and Guidance

· Rules, Structure, Limits, Restrictions

· Goals and Direction

· Protection, both from external dangers and from their own mistakes

· Responsibility

· Strong ties to immediate and extended family

The reality is that your teen does need to move away from you and out into the world beyond your guidance and protection. But he or she also still needs you to be there to provide a foundation that permits the teen to do this with confidence and minimal fear.

Visualize a preschooler in a grocery store – the child runs off, down the aisle, around the corner... freedom! And a second or two later, the child runs back to make sure that you are still there, and, reassured that you haven’t left, disappears into the next aisle again. You provide the security that allows the child to venture away, independently, knowing that if anything happens you are there as a safe haven.

This is the prototype for parenting a teenager!

Changing Your Parenting Style
To successfully parent a teenager requires a major evolution of your parenting style. It means letting go – trusting that your teen, even if he or she makes some mistakes along the way, will eventually make good choices – and conveying that message to your teen. It means understanding that the way any of us learns to make good choices is by making some bad ones along the way and experiencing the consequences.

“Remember when your teen was a baby just learning to walk?… You would take her little hands in yours and start walking along with her – but you knew you had to let go in order for her to walk by herself. You also knew that she might fall when you let go, but you had faith that this was just part of the process… Now you have a teen who is learning to be an adult… Do you know you have to let go before she can ever master adulthood? Do you know that when you do let go, she will stumble and fall? When she falls or makes a mistake, do you understand that this is just part of the growing up process?” (Nelsen & Lott, Positive Discipline for Teenagers, 2000)

However, it doesn’t mean letting go completely. Remember the image of the preschooler in the shopping mall? What we try to do as parents in that situation is encourage a sense of independence and self-confidence in the child while simultaneously ensuring that the child is safe. I call this “monitoring from a distance”, because it means we continue to be aware of what the child is doing and to head off potential dangers that the child is probably not even aware of without needing to be right there hanging over the child’s shoulder. This is exactly what we need to do to assist our teenagers in their striving toward adult status.

In order to develop the confidence he or she needs to fully enter the world of adults, your teen needs to push you far enough away to explore his or her capabilities as an individual. Try not to take this personally – it doesn’t mean that your teen hates you or that you are a bad parent. It happens to all parents. And, sometimes, the closer the relationship you have had with your child before adolescence, the harder the push away must be. Understand that this distance is temporary and your teen will eventually find a way to establish the individual identity he or she requires and to recreate a close relationship with you.

Go back in your memory to when you were a teen. You may be able to remember what it is that you were attempting to do when you individuated from your parents. Now take the next step: Remember that your teen isn’t you. You were an individual, with your own specific history and your own insecurities and your own individual needs. So is your teenage child. Don’t try to stamp your experiences or history on your teenager. It really is a much different world for teens today than it was when you were that age. Learn about what the world is like for your teen and how to look at that world through his or her eyes. There are stresses and pressures that today’s teens face daily that we never dreamed of.

Understand that your teen will ultimately live up to the level of trust and the degree of faith that you have in her or him. Convey to your teen that you have confidence in who he or she is and you will encourage the teen to live up to that confidence.

Finally, keep in mind that what is happening now between you and your teen is a process of building toward an adult relationship with her or him. What kind of relationship do you imagine you will have with your teen when he or she is 25, or 30, or 40? What kind of relationship would you like that to be? You are laying the foundation for that relationship today so trust the process of the teen years. Appreciate that you are the cheerleader, the guide, the coach and the mirror as your child takes on the task of moving toward being an adult life.

Author: Dr. Baxterhttp://www.psychlinks.ca/pages/transitioning-with-teens.htm is a Registered Psychologist in private practice in Ottawa. His practice includes individual therapy with adolescents and adults, relationship or couples counselling, and working with families with teens.

School Nurses Helping With Presciription Drug Abuse

2008-04-18T19:24:00.001-07:00

Silver Spring, MD -- The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) announced "Smart Moves, Smart Choices," a program that responds to the growing rate of prescription drug abuse among middle and high school students nationwide.

NASN has teamed up with PriCara®, Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., on the program, which features a news series and Web-based resources targeted to school nurses, teachers and parents. "Smart Moves, Smart Choices" educates teens about the serious risks of abusing prescription medicines, such as those used legitimately to treat pain.

"As the onsite healthcare professionals in schools, school nurses are preparing themselves with the right tools to help with the prevention of prescription drug abuse," said Sandra Delack, RN, MEd, NCSN, NASN President-Elect. "This program will provide schools and parents with facts in a news-style format to motivate young people to make informed choices that lead to healthy behaviors."

A national survey of more than 1,300 school nurses revealed that nearly 60 percent of school nurses indicated prescription drug abuse is a growing or significant problem in their communities.

The nurses' observations are consistent with research showing the explosion of prescription drug abuse among youth:

* From 1995 to 2005, the number of teenagers treated for addiction to prescription pain relievers increased more than 300 percent.
* Nearly one-quarter of 12th graders report that they have abused prescription drugs by the time they graduate from high school.
* Every day, 2,500 children age 12 to 17 abuse a prescription pain reliever for the first time.

"Smart Moves, Smart Choices" includes four videos and lesson plans prepared for "the.Medic," a health and wellness feature of MacNeil/Lehrer Productions' "the.News," a new national news service for middle and high school students.

Videos feature interviews with experts on drug abuse, scientists, health practitioners, parents and recovering teens. The series kicks off with "Myth Busters," a video dispelling the misinformation about prescription drugs, including the beliefs that they are less dangerous than illegal drugs and not addictive.

Other topics include a look at the impact of abusing prescription pain medications on the developing brain, the social impact of addiction, and analyzing messages about drugs in popular culture.

Each downloadable video is accompanied by science and language arts curricula to facilitate classroom activities and discussion. The program includes a "the.Medic" video and guide for parents, who play an important role in reinforcing their children's education about prescription medications.

"I think this program is a great way for teens to see and hear, firsthand, the consequences of poor choices…choices that they don't have to make," said Hayley Norwood, a recovering teen. "Since prescription drugs are given by a doctor, I thought they were okay for me to take, even though they weren't for me. What I didn't realize was the serious consequences I faced by taking someone else's medications."

NASN will promote the program among its 14,000 members to reach teens and their parents around the country.

For more information on the program and to view the videos and curricula, visit www.macneillehrer.com/thenews/themedic.

PriCara™, Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., provided funding for the program.

DAWN Report-Underage Drinking

2008-04-16T20:59:00.001-07:00

Underage use of alcohol can have both immediate and long-lasting consequences. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly 25 percent of drivers aged 16 to 20 who were involved in fatal motor vehicle crashes in 2003 had been drinking alcohol.

Among 14 million adults who could be classified as dependent on or abusing alcohol in the past year, 95 percent started drinking alcohol before age 21.

The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) collects data from a national sample of hospitals on emergency department (ED) visits related to recent drug use. Since 2003, DAWN has included ED visits involving alcohol alone or in combination with other drug(s) for patients younger than age 21.

This report presents findings on these alcohol-related ED visits for patients aged 12 to 20.

http://dawninfo.samhsa.gov/files/TNDR02UnderageDrinking.htm

Australian Parents Face Mandatory Classes When Kids are Caught Drinking

2008-04-08T18:12:00.001-07:00

The state government of New South Wales (NSW) in Australia requires parents of underage drinkers to attend mandatory counseling sessions with their kids or face a $500 fine, the Sydney Morning Herald reported April 7.

The program, which officials say is intended to educate, not punish parents, has been operating in one Sydney neighborhood since 1999, and now the NSW government is considering expanding it to other areas. "It's not about parents being charged with offenses," sand NSW Police Minister David Campbell. "It's about saying to parents, 'This is what your child has been up to, do you condone it, do you support it?'"

Government officials are evaluating the program's effectiveness before deciding if it should be expanded.

"My view about binge drinking, or binge eating, is that it ultimately comes down to personal responsibility," said Barry O'Farrell, leader of the local political opposition. "What we need to be doing is educating both parents and children alike about the responsible use of alcohol, the responsible use of foodstuffs."
Source: http://www.jointogether.org/news

Are parents to blame for teen suicide?

2008-04-06T14:49:00.001-07:00

What drives a teenager to commit suicide? Is a dysfunctional family the cause of teen suicide or is it the peer pressure, low self-esteem, stress, access to drugs, guns, or an unyielding desire to make the pain disappear. Teenage suicide has and is becoming a pandemic in our country and around the world.

According to the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center, "teen suicide is the third leading cause of death among teenagers -- almost 2,000 teens kill themselves each year." It is estimated that "over 90% of teen suicide victims have a mental disorder, such as depression, and/or a history of alcohol or drug abuse."

Our youth has become entrenched in an ideology doled out by those who seek to control, persuade, and coerce our teenagers. At the same time, communication between parent and child has become, in most situations, non-existent. This leaves teenagers to fend for themselves in areas they are too immature to understand, or too eager to become engaged in activities which can lead them astray.

There was a time when teens came directly home after school; were greeted by at least one parent; studied; had a family dinner, and off to bed. Today, the term "latch-key kid" has become the norm, rather than the exception. Teens arrive home late; often to an empty apartment or home. They engage in computer games, while eating junk food; and often do not see their parents until morning and only because they are late getting out of bed. Homework is secondary or non-existent. One can argue a two income household is necessary; but at what cost? Furthermore, if you've ever graced a public school environment, you would find teens lack even the rudimentary necessities of life; yet, cell phones are tucked in their worn out jeans and skirts.

The music, movies, and educational system have let down our teenagers in the most rudimentary way. They lack guidance and care. Our child services, our family courts, and our caregivers have offered little to assert the importance of self-worth. Over the years, the make-up of the "family" has dramatically changed. A teenager's family could be his gang members who, on a daily basis, feed into the destruction of that teen. Morality has become passe, and they have become self-absorbed in an underworld of hatred and self-loathing.

Have all teenagers talked or even thought about suicide? No. However, the statistics are still frightening. A teenager doesn't suddenly choose to die unless something terribly wrong has pushed him/her over the edge. We cannot allow them to choose that endgame. Teenagers do become depressed, alone, angry, hopeless and helpless. As parents, as friends, as educators, as guardians of this precious commodity - we cannot allow them to succeed in what they think may be in their best interest. They must be given a reason to live, to love, to become needed and useful members of our society.

As adults/parents, we must educate and interact with our youth in a positive, caring and thoughtful way to ensure they have the proper tools with which to grow and gain empowerment. To do less would without a doubt contribute to the cause of teen suicide, the ultimate tragedy.

Article Source: http://article2008.com

Glamorization Of Drugs In Rap Music Linked To Greater Risk Of Alcohol And Drug Use Among Adolescents

2008-04-03T16:32:00.000-07:00

A new study finds that references to illegal drug use in rap music jumped sixfold in the two decades since 1979, the year Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" hit the charts and introduced to a mainstream audience a music genre born from inner-city America.

Moreover, illegal drug use became increasingly linked during this time period to wealth, glamour and social standing, marking a significant change from earlier years, when rap music was more likely to have depicted the dangers and negative consequences of drug abuse, according to the study authored by Denise Herd, associate professor in the division of Community Health and Human Development at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Public Health.

"This trajectory in rap music raises a number of red flags," said Herd, who also is associate dean for student affairs at the School of Public Health. "Rap music is especially appealing to young people, many of whom look up to rappers as role models. As a public health researcher, and as a parent of a 7-year-old, I'm concerned about the impact that long-term exposure to this music has on its listeners."

The new study, published in the April issue of the peer-reviewed journal Addiction Research & Theory, is the first scientific survey to analyze the content of rap music over two decades.

Herd and her team examined the lyrics of 341 of the most popular rap songs - as determined by Billboard and Gavin music rating services - from 1979 to 1997. Researchers coded songs for drug mentions, behaviors and contexts surrounding the mention of drugs, as well as the attitudes and consequences stemming from illicit drug use.

Of the 38 most popular rap songs between 1979 and 1984, only four, or 11 percent, contained drug references. In the early 1990s, the percentage of rap songs with drug references experienced a sharp jump to 45 percent, and steadily increased to 69 percent of the 125 top rap songs between 1994 and 1997.

The study found that drug references in early rap songs - "White Lines" by Grandmaster Flash, "Crack Monster" by Kool Moe Dee and "Night of the Living Baseheads" by Public Enemy - often depicted the destructiveness of cocaine and, particularly, of crack, its freebase form.

This cautionary tone about cocaine gave way to rap lyrics in the early 1990s that increasingly portrayed marijuana use as a positive activity. The UC Berkeley study documented a threefold increase between 1979 and 1997 in rap songs' mentions of marijuana and marijuana-stuffed cigars, or "blunts," and noted marijuana's association in those songs with creativity, wealth and status.

Herd noted that the study puts hard numbers to a trend that has long been noted anecdotally among observers of the music industry. She referenced a 1996 article in Vibe, a magazine that covers hip hop culture, highlighting the success of Cypress Hill's 1991 debut album celebrating marijuana use as a turning point in rap music's popularization of the drug. The Vibe article noted that other rap artists, including Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, soon followed suit with their own references to marijuana as an appealing drug to use.

Herd said that after rap albums celebrating marijuana use started going platinum in the early 1990s, drug references became increasingly common in rap music, as if they were a key ingredient to success.

"There is a common perception that drugs and rap music are inextricably linked, but that wasn't always the case," said Herd. "The fact that rap music didn't always have those drug references is compelling because it shows that this music didn't depend on that as an art form. The direction of the music seemed to change with the music's growing commercial success."

Herd's analysis stopped at 1997, but she noted that a recent study suggests the continued prevalence of substance abuse references in contemporary rap music. That study, led by Dr. Brian Primack from the University of Pittsburgh's School of Medicine, found that of Billboard's 279 most popular songs in 2005, a staggering 77 percent of the 62 rap songs portrayed substance use, often in the context of peer pressure, wealth and sex. He also found that only four of the 279 songs analyzed contained an "anti-use" message, and none of them was in the rap category.

Notably, other music genres had far lower rates of substance abuse references. Country music came in a distant second to rap with 36 percent of songs referencing substance abuse.

Herd noted that the image that rap artists portray of drug use in the African American community distorts reality. "Young black people actually have similar or lower rates of drug and alcohol abuse compared with their white peers, but you wouldn't guess that based upon the lyrics in rap music," said Herd.

The reasons behind rap music's shift in drug references are complex, said Herd. They may reflect the nuanced interplay of changes in the drug use habits of rappers and listeners - particularly the growing popularity of marijuana during the study period - greater commercialization of rap music, and the rise of gangsta rap and other rap music genres. It could also be a reflection of social rebellion stemming from the disproportionate punishment of African Americans in the U.S. government's War on Drugs.

"Rap is inherently powerful," said Herd. "It has experienced phenomenal growth in many sectors of society in this country and even abroad. Rap artists have become key role models and trendsetters, and their music serves as the CNN for our nation's young people by providing them with a way to stay current. But we have to ask ourselves whether there are other kinds of messages rap music could deliver. We need to better understand how this trend got started so we can find effective ways to counter it."

Herd did not study whether rap music's glamorization of illegal drugs actually led to increased drug abuse, but the debate about the potentially negative influence on young people of various media, from movies to music to video games, that depict drug and alcohol use in a positive light is certainly not new.

Herd's paper cited other studies linking certain movies and music videos to the onset of smoking, alcohol and drug use. One study specifically linked greater exposure to rap music videos to a greater risk of alcohol and drug use among adolescents over the next 12 months, while another survey associated the use of codeine-laced cough syrup among some at-risk Houston teens with an emerging form of rap music called "screw music," in which cough medicine abuse was promoted.

"Most adults have very little idea about what's going on in music these days," said Herd. "This new study reinforces the need for adults to pay closer attention to the music children are listening to."

This study is part of a larger research project analyzing changes in rap music funded by the Innovators Combating Substance Abuse program of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the nation's largest philanthropic organization devoted exclusively to health care.

Through this project, Herd published an earlier study that found a significant increase in references to alcohol in rap music over the years, and she is now analyzing rap music's depiction of violence.

Source: Sarah Yang
University of California - Berkeley

How can you Manage Alcohol and Heroin Addiction?

2008-04-01T16:15:00.000-07:00

How can you Manage Alcohol and Heroin Addiction?

What is heroin?
Heroin is a powerful drug which is processed from a chemical called morphine. Morphine is extracted from poppy plants. It is a powdery substance which appears to be white or brown. Heroin gives high pleasuring sense to its users. Of the entire drugs heroin is highly addictive because it develops a tolerance causing intense euphoria and strong physical dependence.

How is it used?
Heroin can be taken in different ways; the effect on the body depends on the methods of administration. It can be administered orally which gets metabolized to morphine in the body. It can be smoked, which will have immediate heightening sense of pleasure. It can be injected which results in rush and euphoria in 7 to 8 seconds.

Why does a person get addicted?
When a person succeeds in something he/she experiences intense feelings of pleasure due to the limbic system because it is flooded with dopamine. So he/she is naturally driven to seek these feelings again. So likewise when a person uses a drug he/she experiences intense feelings of pleasure and the limbic system creates an appetite which drives us to seek those things again and again. Once a person stops using these drugs, it makes him feel lifeless and depressed and the only way is to use the drug again and again which makes him addicted. Drug addiction is a sort of disease. It makes the natural pleasuring sense of our brain to decrease. It is called as down regulation.

What are the Problems of Using Alcohol?
The teenagers may find it difficult to follow their studies.
They may commit crimes than those who don’t.
Those who have drunken may be sexually active and have unsafe, unprotected sex. This may result in unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS.
Use of alcohol may be cause for car crash, homicide or suicide.
It may affect the health also such as making to get high blood pressure. It is damaging your organs such as the liver, heart and brain.

How to avoid your bad habit?
In an unavoidable circumstance, you can leave that place at once. Otherwise you can drink some other beverages which do not contain any alcohol. You must have full self-confidence in that situation.
If you think you have drinking problem, get help soon. You must get treatment from a good doctor. These treatment centers help a person to gradually overcome the physical and psychological dependence of alcohol.

Binge Drinking
The habit of drinking over several days is known as binge drinking. This may lead to alcoholic poisoning. The symptoms of alcohol poisoning include
Extreme confusion
Inability to be awakened
Vomiting
Trouble in breathing
Low body temperature
Pale skin

People who have impaired judgment may have unprotected sex leading to Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) or unplanned pregnancy. Their physical and mental health may get upset.

Abuse and Addiction
Using the legal drugs or illegal medicines in a wrong way is known as abuse. Addiction means a person has no control over whether he or she uses a drug or drinks. Addiction can be physical, psychological or both. Overcoming addiction is not easy. Get help right away so that you can find recovery.
What is the treatment?
There is no cure for addiction, but it is a recoverable disease. The person must undergo drug addiction therapy and it takes time and moreover strong desire to get rid of it.

What are the effects?
Heroin enters the body rapidly and affects the regions of the brain like cerebellum and basal ganglia which are responsible for physical dependence, memory, actions and reaction time. It also affects the way one thinks. To get the same effect, the abuser must have or intake higher dose. Usage of heroin is always associated with crime, violence, fetal effects, AIDS, tuberculosis and also long term effects like disastrous personal life both physically and mentally. Of all the other drug abuse deaths, heroin tops the list.

What are the withdrawal symptoms?
Withdrawal symptoms can occur from a few hours to 72 hours after the dose and which can include drug craving, restlessness, bone and muscle pain, nausea, insomnia, vomiting and involuntary twitching or kicking movements.

What are the addiction treatments?
Medical drugs like methadone and buprenorphine administration have proven to be successful in treating heroin addiction. There are different opiates which can be used for heroin addiction. Methadone, a synthetic opiate is administered for blocking the effects for about 24 hours but it has more risk when being used in private office. Buprenorphine is also an opiate which is the most recent medication for the treatment of heroin. It also offers less risk and can be dispensed in the privacy of a doctor’s clinic.

There are other medications such as naloxone and naltrexone, which also block the effects of heroin and other opiates. There are also behavioral treatments available for heroin addictions which are designed to help and modify the patient’s thinking and behaviors to increase the skills in coping up with various life stresses. Moreover addiction can be overcome only by hard work and pure determination of the patient himself/herself.

If you need help with alcohol or heroin addiction we can help you by offering you support in overcoming these issues.

10 year olds treated for alcohol problems

2008-03-30T08:14:00.000-07:00

CUMBRIAN children as young as 10 and 11 have been treated at the Cumberland Infirmary for alcohol problems and people in their 20s have developed liver disease, shocking figures have revealed.

The statistics, obtained by The Cumberland News under the Freedom of Information Act, show for the first time the true extent of the county’s booze culture, with pregnant mums admitted for complications related to alcohol use, three young people killed by drink, and 740 people aged under 30 treated for alcohol-related illness and injury in two years.

The culture of heavy drinking has led to five people aged just 27 and 28 developing liver disease.

Speaking to The Cumberland News yesterday, Cumbrian public health director Professor John Ashton said society was “in a complete mess” where alcohol was concerned.

And A&E consultant Vincent Foxworthy said the alcohol-related casualties were creating a “big workload” for emergency services.

Among the figures, which apply to people aged under 30 and treated at the Cumberland Infirmary and the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven, it emerged:

Thirteen and 14-year-olds were among 263 patients taken to hospital with alcohol poisoning in 2006 and 2007. In some cases booze had been mixed with drugs including heroin, cannabis and cocaine;

175 teenagers and young adults, including 74 people under 16, have been treated for mental and behavioural disorders related to alcohol use. One of them was aged just 10, two were 11, two were 12, and 17 aged 13;

Thirty-four expectant mums – including a 16-year-old girl – have been treated for alcohol-related complications, including foetal heart rate problems and haemorrhaging after labour.

A one-year-old child was also treated in hospital suffering from the toxic effects of alcohol in the form of ethanol, a chemical which can be found in fuel and household cleaners.

The patients, who have either attended A&E or been referred by GPs, have suffered from a range of alcohol-related illnesses, including chronic pancreatitis; hepatitis; blood clots; cuts and bruises; abdominal pain; poisoning and sickness.

Professor John Ashton, said: “This is young people going out and drinking bottles and bottles of spirits – it is a big issue. Our society is in a complete mess in terms of social awareness about alcohol.

“There needs to be a far more sensible approach.”

He has called for supermarkets to stop selling alcohol and said children need to be introduced to drinking in a more responsible way by their parents.

Vincent Foxworthy, A&E consultant at the Cumberland Infirmary, added: “People do drink more and it is not just young people – everyone seems to be drinking more.

“The kind of people we see are people who are drunk and aggressive, and their victims.

“Also people who have fallen or hurt themselves accidentally – you only have to look at the fact that they have closed Botchergate at the weekends to see this is a social problem.”

Mr Foxworthy has worked in A&E departments in Glasgow and Newcastle and said that the Carlisle booze culture is catching up with the bigger cities.

He added that drunken casualties created a “big workload” and said: “It does put a big strain on all the services involved including police and the ambulance service.

“Social drinking is something that most do but people are getting carried away and drinking more than they used to.”

View this story and the latest newspaper in full digital reproduction, just like the printed copy at www.cumberland-news.co.uk/digitalcopy

Relapse Prevention - Eating Disorders

2008-03-26T07:07:00.000-07:00

The road to recovery is usually long and hard.No one travels it gracefully.There are many slips, trips and lapses.Those who eventually do recover learn to pick themselves up when they fall,brush off the dust, and keep going.By doing so,they keep temporary lapses from turning into full-blown relapses.

they can and will happen during recovery from an eating disorder. I want to say right now that if you are suffering from an eating disorder and making a hard attempt at getting better, that sooner or later you will encounter a relapse (if you haven't already). The relapse could last a day, a week, a month, but a relapse is not an uncommon thing to have happen during recovery from an eating disorder. This does not mean that you shouldn't try at all to recover because you think, "Well, I'm just going to relapse anyway, so what's the point?"

Relapses are a common part of recovery from an eating disorder because during the time at which we are trying to break free from the chains of a anorexia or bulimia, we are learning to be ourselves again. Many times, someone doesn't even know who they actually are when in the world of an eating disorder, so recovery means breaking free from everything they have thought they were in life. This makes recovery from an eating disorder a big learning experience for not just finding out who we are in life, but also how to deal with the pain in our lives that we tried to starve into control or purge away. Relapses will happen, but that doesn't mean you should give up right away or not try. Relapses are here to teach us where the areas are that we still need to work on.

Just like with an eating disorder,recovery from an eating disorder is not about perfection.No one recovery is perfect and never will be.Don't beat yourself up for any relapses that you have.Instead,look at your progress and the good days,and congratulate yourself for those.=)

So how do you prevent eating disorder relapses?
Realize that a relapse can come on quickly by the smallest trigger and that not just one trigger can cause a relapse.Anything from stress from school or your family,to coping with something that a friend is going through,to having just talked about a difficult thing that occurred in your life with a therapist can trigger the onset of an eating disorder relapse.Recognize ahead of time the things that could trigger you to a relapse.Here are some things that I've noticed tend to trigger relapses or slip backs for me:
-Mid-terms and finals at school or any major exams that are in the near future.
-Increasing pressure from family (especially parents) or problems with them are increasing.
-Going through a painful break-up with a girlfriend or boyfriend or being rejected.
-Problems with a husband or wife.
-Problems at work.
-A competition in a sport coming up (spec. gymnastics, ballet and/or dance)
-The loss of a friend or family member.
-Having a friend that is going through a rough time.
-Recently talking to a therapist about past trauma (sexual/mental/physical abuse,rape,etc.)
-Just being released from inpatient treatment.
-Being around those that are engrossed with their own eating disorders while you are trying to recover.
-Fear of recovering.
-Believing that you are fully recovered when there are still underlying issues that have not been properly dealt with in a non-destructive way.

These are just some of the things that can trigger an eating disorder relapse. Look at your own life and make your own list ahead of time of things that can trigger you to turn back to trying to starve or purge your problems away. Recognizing ahead of time what can harm you and what you can do to help deal with those problems in a non-self-destructive way when they come.

Many relapses occur when someone has begun talking with a therapist about past traumas like abuse or rape,but that this does not mean that you should not talk about it just because it triggers you.

With something as horrific as abuse or rape you must talk about it so that you can learn to move on from it.Otherwise,if you just continue to run from dealing with those issues,they will continue to haunt you and cause pain in your life. The only way to finally free yourself of those problems is by dealing with them.If you are talking with your therapist about issues that are triggering, please,please,please let the therapist know that this is very hard for you to talk about and that your other problems,whether they be an eating disorder,depression,self mutilation,OCD, etc.,are at high risk of getting worse from talking and finally having to deal with it.

Studies have suggested that almost 30 to 50% of all patients thought to be successfully treated become ill again within 1 year of achieving clinical recovery.After this first,most difficult post-recovery year,patients may still relapse at the rate of 3% per year.The overall relapse rate is currently about 20%.

Relapse is defined as:
-The failure of the patient to maintain a body weight that is at least 85% of what is considered to be the individual’s ideal body weight given the individual’s height, age, and gender.
-The cessation of menstrual periods in women.
-The resumption of restrictive and/or purging behaviors.
-The resumption of maladaptive attitudes regarding dietary habits

*Relapse can occur only after the achievement of clinical recovery,as previously defined.

Before an eating disorder relapse,it's also helpful to have a list of people(and phone numbers) to call during the times that you are triggered or when you suspect that you will be triggered.If possible,you might also want to have a sponsor,a person who can keep track of your behaviors and reactions,so that you have someone to warn you ahead of time when it is suspected that you are relapsing.No matter what your head tells you,it really is okay to have extra support during the rough times.You are not weak or greedy.You are,however,going through a rough time and just need some help coping.

ASK FOR IT!!
There is nothing wrong with that!

Sometimes what helps people from relapsing is making a list of things they can do instead of starving or purging.Things like cleaning,playing with your cat your dog, an animal,going on the computer,talking with a friend,going camping,listening to your favorite CD,and so on can be very helpful!

The signs of an eating disorders relapse:
Perhaps you're wondering how you can tell if you are even relapsing or not. Here's a list of signs to look for.If you,or someone you know is experiencing these signs of an eating disorders relapse,then it's time to get help:
-Thoughts continue to turn back to weight and food. -Increasing need to be in control over many things.
-Perfectionistic thinking returns or becomes stronger. -Feelings of needing to escape from stress and problems.
-Feeling hopelessness and/or increasing sadness. -Increasing belief that you can only be happy if you are thin.
-Increasing belief that you are out of control if you are not on a "diet." -Dishonesty with treatment coordinators and/or friends and family.
-Looking in mirrors often. -Skipping meals, or purging them.
-Avoiding food and/or get-togethers that involve food. -Increasing need to exercise continually.
-Thoughts of suicide. -Feeling guilt after eating.
-Feeling the need to isolate yourself from those around you. -Feeling "fat" even though people say otherwise.

When you have most of the signs of an eating disorder relapse:
If you are currently going through an eating disorder relapse:
-Sit down and try to figure out how you were feeling before the relapse occurred and what was going on at the time that could have triggered you.
-Make a plan of how you can deal with the trigger in better ways the next time it comes around.
-Recognize how you are feeling right now and how you can change those feelings through helpful reactions.
-Know that you can talk to someone about what is going on in your life,whether it involves the relapse or things that triggered the relapse.

Most importantly,realize that you do not need to be hard on yourself for this relapse!Guilt and beating yourself up for slipping gets you nowhere and is not needed.All beating yourself up over this will do is make you feel bad and will give even more fuel to the eating disorder to use against you.You are not a failure.Recovery from an eating disorder is not meant to be perfect,and you are not meant to be perfect.There is no shame with having an eating disorder or a relapse.I cannot stress enough that when a relapse occurs it does not mean that you have "failed once again," but what it does mean is that there are feelings inside that still need to be dealt with!!

Once again, relapses - they can and will happen during recovery from an eating disorder. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't try at all or that you are a failure if you relapse.Recovery takes a long,long time to reach and it involves dealing with a lot of painful issues that can leave you susceptible to relapsing into old "comforts" like starving or purging.

Please,reach out for help if you suspect that you have relapsed or that you are close to doing so,and then recognize what caused you to relapse in the beginning.

You deserve help and you deserve to get better...no matter what. Sober Teens Online Can Help

Teen Substance Abuse and Treatment

2008-03-24T07:40:00.000-07:00

If you need help for alcohol or substance abuse problems and would like to meet friends who understand then visit our sober forums for teens and adults at The Sober Village or Sober Teens Online where we care about your teen problems and issues!

Now for today's article on teen substance abuse and treatment:

Being a teenager is often a confusing, challenging time, which can make teens vulnerable to falling into a destructive pattern of drug use. While most teens probably see their drug use as a casual way to have fun, there are negative effects that are a result of this use of alcohol or other drugs. Even if adolescent drug use does not necessarily lead to adult drug abuse, there are still risks and consequences of adolescent drug use. These negative effects usually include a drop in academic performance or interest, and strained relationships with family or friends.

Adolescent substance abuse can greatly alter behavior, and a new preoccupation with drugs can crowd out activities that were previously important. Drug use can also change friendships as teens begin to associate more with fellow drug users, who encourage and support one another's drug use. For adolescents, these changes as a result of substance abuse signal a problem in the teen's environment, and should be seen as a call to action for parents, teachers, or friends to seek help for their loved one.
Seeking Help

The sooner you can recognize that your teen is abusing alcohol or other drugs, the sooner you can seek help. Make sure to keep track of your teen, their friends, and where they are going. While your teen will probably call you a nag or become annoyed with the constant questions, it is more important to make sure that you know what is going on in your child's life, so that if a problem does arise you can take rapid action.

There are some things to look for in your adolescent's behavior that may be indications of drug use, which include changes in appearances, friends, behavior, and interests. Indications of substance abuse may include:

* physical evidence of drugs or drug paraphernalia
* behavior problems and a drop in academic performance
* emotional distancing, depression, or fatigue
* changes in mood, eating patterns, or sleeping patterns
* change in friendships
* increased hostility or irritability
* decrease in interest in personal appearance
* lying or increased evasiveness about school or weekend activities

If your teen exhibits these behaviors, they may have a problem with substance abuse, and the sooner you seek help for them, the better.
Treatment

Once teens start using drugs, they are not usually motivated to stop. For many teens, drugs are a pleasurable way to relax and fit in. For teens, drugs also don't represent a serious threat because teens typically have the mentality that they are invincible. Because of this, it is important that parents and friends are involved in encouraging adolescents to enter treatment in order to help them achieve a drug free lifestyle. Without this support, it is unlikely that teens will seek help for their drug problem.

There is a variety of treatment programs for adolescent substance abuse, and when seeking help for a loved one, it is important that the treatment program that you choose suits their individual needs.

Treatment for adolescent substance abuse usually includes:

* Detoxification: Detoxification is for adolescents who need safe, medically supervised relief from withdrawal symptoms when they first enter a rehabilitation program.
* Residential Rehabilitation: Residential rehabilitation is for teens who cannot stop using drugs without 24 hour supervision. Teens in residential rehab are individuals who have continued to use despite knowledge of the risks and consequences, or have continued to use despite previous attempts to stop. In a residential rehab program, these teens can learn and practice new skills that will help them in recovery. Residential programs may include individual and group therapy, 12-step programs, and relapse prevention.
* Intensive Outpatient Program: Intensive outpatient programs are for teens who have committed to staying drug free, but need treatment after school to prevent use and promote recovery. These programs can also include adolescents who have already completed residential treatment, but feel that they need further support in the transition back into daily life. These programs usually rely on support from friends and family.
* Aftercare/continuing care: These programs are a very important part of recovery, and help adolescents to maintain a drug free lifestyle. These programs usually include family support groups, or alumni support groups of people who have also completed a treatment program to provide support for the adolescent in recovery.

These treatment programs are designed to teach teens the skills that will help them to maintain their recovery and to sustain a drug-free lifestyle.

Alcohol awareness advocates to hold meeting

2008-03-21T03:36:00.000-07:00

At the age of 12 Somerset County youths might go on their first hunting trip, get an extended bed time, or, if they’re lucky, watch a PG-13 rated movie.

Local alcohol awareness advocate Mary Ann Bowman said, by 12 years old, quite a few county kids may have already cracked open their first beer.

“Kids get alcohol at home from older siblings and even parents,” said Bowman, project director for the Somerset County Drug-Free Communities Coalition. “Kids are drinking younger than ever. It can be destructive to young people.”
Bowman, along with a host of sponsors and panelists, are organizing a 7 p.m. April 1 meeting at the Somerset high school auditorium designed to educate the community about underage drinking.

It will be the second of its kind in the county. Coordinators say the last one was held about 1 1/2 years ago.

State police Trooper John Matchik, Somerset Borough police Officer Charles Santa, students from Somerset high school and representatives from several alcohol awareness organizations are to present information.

Underage alcohol abusers may form habits that can last a lifetime. According to Somerset County Coroner Wallace Miller, those habits may even contribute to an abuser’s death.

Miller said 65 percent of highway fatalities in Somerset County are alcohol related.

“To me, that is an astonishing number,” said Miller, who is participating in the meeting.

Miller said alcohol is often a factor in unnatural deaths that occur in the county.

“It is far and away one of the biggest causes,” he said.

According to statistics provided by the Somerset Borough police, there were 23 underage alcohol-related incidents in the borough last year. There were 35 DUIs and 23 public drunkenness incidents, including adults.

“I can’t say we have a severe problem with under-21-year-olds getting killed,” Miller said. “We have had a few.”

Miller said educating people can help keep that number down and help to decrease other alcohol-related problems.

“Alcohol is involved with so many incidents,” he said. “I try to help (educate kids) when they are young.”

Alcohol may not be hard for some kids to find.

“Kids get alcohol at home from older siblings and even parents. We have a serious problem,” Bowman said. “Alcohol is the No. 1 drug of use.”

Meeting coordinators encourage anyone interested to attend the meeting.

“The parents and community must be involved with this,” Bowman said. “We can’t do this alone.”

source: Daily American Online

Depression: Children and Adolescents

2008-03-20T17:22:00.000-07:00

he signs of depression in infants are often screaming, restlessness, and weeping attacks for no clear reason. Preschool children may behave irritably and aggressively, while schoolchildren may be listless and apathetic. The symptoms in adolescents become similar to those in adults.

It is thought that up to 3.5% of children and 9% of adolescents in industrial countries are depressive. In particular, the risk of depression increases from the age of 12. In a third of minors, the depressive symptoms subside within three months. However, in 80% of those affected, the symptoms may reappear and become chronic. Mehler-Wex and Kölch emphasize that psychotherapy and psychosocial therapy are mostly necessary. The antidepressive fluoxetine can also be used. Patients with a severe clinical course, a difficult family background or suicidal tendencies may have to be admitted to hospital.

Depressive minors often exhibit other psychological abnormalities. Thus, anxiety disorders and disorders in social behavior occur widely, followed by substance abuse and aggression.

The causes of depression are multifactorial. The decisive factors include hereditary, personality and environmental factors, particularly in early youth.

DEUTSCHES AERZTEBLATT
Deutsches Aerzteblatt
Ottostrasse 12
http://www.aerzteblatt.de
Sober Teens Here!

Harder To Curb Teen Drinking In Inner City Areas Compared To Rural Areas

2008-03-17T14:20:00.000-07:00

Efforts to keep middle schoolers from consuming alcohol are more effective in rural areas than inner city ones, according to a study carried out by researchers at the University of Florida.

A three-year, three-pronged prevention program did little to keep Chicago middle schoolers from drinking or using drugs, despite its prior success in rural Minnesota, where the program reduced alcohol use 20 to 30 percent, UF and University of Minnesota researchers recently reported in the online edition of the journal Addiction.

"The intervention found to be effective in rural areas was not effective here, which really surprised us," said Kelli A. Komro, Ph.D., a UF associate professor of epidemiology in the UF College of Medicine and the study's lead author. "This is an important finding to realize this program was not enough. The bottom line is this: Low-income children in urban areas need more, long-term intensive efforts."

Adolescents who drink by age 15 - about half of teens - are more likely to struggle in school, abuse alcohol later in life, smoke cigarettes and use other drugs than those who don't. Even worse, exposure to alcohol at a young age may damage the developing brain, according to a 2007 U.S. Surgeon General report.

"Almost any problem kids might have, alcohol increases that risk," Komro said.

By targeting middle-school-age children, the UF and University of Minnesota team hoped to reduce these risks. The researchers studied 5,812 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders from mostly low-income communities in Chicago, randomly dividing the neighborhoods into two groups: those who would participate in the prevention program and those who would not.

The program, a tweaked version of what Komro and her colleagues developed for their Minnesota study, included three preventive approaches to relay the message that drinking is not acceptable in school, at home and in the community.

In participating schools, an alcohol prevention curriculum was used in the classroom. Students led these sessions because the prevention messages are more accepted when they come from peers rather than teachers, Komro said. The family component included homework assignments that parents and children could complete together, organized events for families, and educational postcards with helpful hints that were sent to parents. For the community aspect of the program, researchers hired organizers to work with community volunteers to change the risks and problems with teen drinking in their neighborhoods.

But at the end of the study, year-end surveys showed no difference in alcohol use among the teens who took part in the project and those who did not. At least 70 percent of the schools in the neighborhoods that did not use the program had some form of drug and alcohol prevention program in the schools. It's unlikely these programs skewed the results of the study though, Komro said. UF's prevention program was larger and more comprehensive than the other school-based programs and researchers would have detected a difference among the students had it worked.

One particular problem surfaced during the community component of the project. The organizers struggled to rally some community members around the cause, often having to explain why they should be concerned about adolescent alcohol use. That gave researchers some insight into why the program did not work there.

"People in these areas are concerned with housing, they're concerned with gangs and other drug use," Komro said. "There was a whole upfront effort where we had to educate people about how alcohol was related to those other issues, and that it was an important issue to think about with their young people.

"We know from other studies in low-income, urban neighborhoods, there is a higher concentration of alcohol outlets, compared to suburban or rural areas. There were a lot of alcohol ads around these schools and a greater density of pro-alcohol messages these children are exposed to. You mix that with the poverty level and it's just a high-risk environment."

Despite the overall results, there were positive findings that researchers hope to build on, Komro said. Of all the components, the family interventions had the most significant effects. And one aspect of the community project worked well: Half of the community teams went to stores that sold alcohol and asked merchants not to sell to underage kids. In those communities, the ability of young people to buy alcohol went down 64 percent.

"While the findings may not be what the investigators were hoping for, they reported them fully and openly, and this is good for the field," said Brian Flay, Ph.D., a professor of public health and director of the Prevention Research Center at Oregon State University. "Science can advance properly only when both positive and negative findings are reported."

The University of Florida Health Science Center - the most comprehensive academic health center in the Southeast - is dedicated to high-quality programs of education, research, patient care and public service. The Health Science Center encompasses the colleges of Dentistry, Public Health and Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Veterinary Medicine, as well as the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital and an academic campus in Jacksonville offering graduate education programs in dentistry, medicine, nursing and pharmacy. Patient care activities, under the banner UF&Shands, are provided through teaching hospitals and a network of clinics in Gainesville and Jacksonville. The Health Science Center also has a statewide presence through satellite medical, dental and nursing clinics staffed by UF health professionals; and affiliations with community-based health-care facilities stretching from Hialeah and Miami to the Florida Panhandle.

www.health.ufl.edu

'I Was An Alcoholic By The Time I Was 17'

2008-03-14T02:32:00.000-07:00

An alcoholic who went into recovery aged just 17 has told her story alongside three other Plymouth women to raise awareness of how lives can be devastated by addiction.

The four women, who all attend a Plymouth Alcoholics Anonymous group, shared their stories in a bid to give others hope of recovery.

Bethany said at age 17 she was feeling suicidal due to binge drinking three or four times a week - downing a bottle of wine before going out and having pints and shots.

Now 22, she said: "I was drinking as often and as much as I could. There can be an insanity around alcohol - just wanting another drink and another drink. A lot of the time I couldn't even remember how much I'd drunk.

"Towards the end I felt suicidal. I'd just lie in bed thinking I wanted to die.

"I know if I had carried on I would have died - suicide or something bad would have happened. I couldn't have felt any worse."

Bethany, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, said she started drinking when she was 13 when she would down cider in local parks with friends.

"I loved it. I love the effect it had on me. It tasted horrible but gave me confidence, took all my inhibitions away," she said.

Her drinking habit worsened from there. By 14 she was being thrown out of nightclubs for "being sick, crying and causing trouble", and was binge drinking on weeknights and weekends with friends.

She said her school work suffered and at age 17 was failing her A-levels at a Plymouth sixth form college.

"My family were so disappointed in me," she said. "A lot of them weren't talking to me. They'd had enough.

"I woke up one morning and just knew my life wasn't going anywhere."

She had heard of Alcoholics Anonymous and attended a meeting out of curiosity, and was surprised to find around 100 people of all ages and professions.

She said she didn't realise she was an alcoholic until that first meeting.

"I knew I had a problem. I would wake up feeling awful," she said. "I'd have done awful things, was promiscuous, got into trouble, lied, fell out with my friends."

"But I thought there's no way I'm an alcoholic, I didn't drink in the morning, I wasn't even old enough to legally drink," she said.

"My idea of an alcoholic was a drunk on a park bench, but it wasn't like that at all - there were all sorts of people there.

"Once I heard their stories I knew I was the same."

She added: "I have friends who drink as much as I probably did but are not alcoholics. The difference is that I tried to stop on my own and couldn't, I couldn't control it."

Bethany has now been going to AA for four-and-a-half years and has not drunk since the first meeting.

"Alcohol isn't an issue any more," she said. "I finished my A-levels, went to university, graduated and have now found a job, get on well with my family. I've been given a second chance at life."

All names have been changed to protect the identity of the women.

source: This Is Plymouth

Extreme drinking culture the problem

2008-03-13T08:56:00.000-07:00

The problem isn't exclusively about a Bradley University junior mortally pushed into traffic by a friend who had been drinking.

The problem isn't exclusively about a pair of Bradley basketball players getting in trouble for underage drinking.

The problem isn't exclusively about a Bradley soccer player dying in a fire sparked by four college students who had been drinking.

The problem isn't exclusively Bradley.

The problem isn't exclusively students.

The problem is our culture, one that accepts excessive drinking as an unavoidable rite of young people.

Bradley is in the middle of crafting a new alcohol action plan. It comes at a time when campuses face new challenges in student imbibing.

Studies by Dr. Aaron White of the Duke University Medical Center include an eye-opener from 2006.

For the past 15 years, colleges have seen a leveling of binge drinking, defined as five drinks for males and four drinks for females at any one time. About 45 percent of college students are binge drinkers.

White says binge drinking is problematic - increased absenteeism, lower grades - but the effects typically aren't devastating.

"You don't see 45 percent of college students dying or destroying their cars every weekend," White says.

The bigger, growing trouble lies at the focus of his study: extreme drinking. During a two-week survey of college students, one in five men reported guzzling 10 or more drinks at one time, while 8 percent reported 15 or more drinks. At the same time, one in 10 women reported drinking eight or more drinks at one time, while 2 percent had 12 or more drinks.

"I think a lot of the damage you see on college campuses you see coming from that category," White says. " ...You have this subset (of college students) drinking themselves into oblivion."

Alcohol kills 1,700 students annually. College drinking also causes 600,000 injuries and 97,000 sexual assaults a year, all according to the National Institutes of Health.

Extreme drinking is a new field of study, so researchers have no hard numbers of yesteryear for comparison. But White says every indication shows students headed in two ways: toward little or no drinking, or more extreme drinking.

"We're seeing a migration to the poles," he says.

White has several theories for the explosion in extreme drinking. For one, sports - college and pro - are rife with alcohol commercials. Not only do young people get the message that liquor is fun, but they tie the competition of sports to competition in drinking, White says.

Meanwhile, college-theme movies continue to glorify "Animal House" themes. And our culture has embraced "extreme" as the ideal in much entertainment, including sports, video games and reality shows.

"You got a lot of students who think the way you drink is, you do it as far as you can," White says.

Meanwhile, as a sad bonus, more females are drinking to binge and extreme levels, White says.

"I think it's an issue of equality," he says. "If you're equal to males, you should drink like males."

What to do? Certainly, students bear responsibility for putting a bottle to their lips

- and whatever happens afterward. Still, to a large degree, young people are reflecting the society in which they grew up.

"The culture has to age out of this," White says.

There are signs that's happening. For example, as for those students choosing little or no drinking, White says science likely played a part. Parents now know that alcohol damages brain development in adolescents, a fact unknown decades ago. So more parents are less likely to wink at teenage drinking.

As for parents and young people who ignore those warnings, colleges can help stem boozing - at least, a little. White developed a program (used for more than 1 million freshmen) that explicitly spells out alcohol's dangers. That might sound simplistic, but he says the program has helped slow (though not eliminate) freshmen booze intake. Some colleges start those programs while prospective freshmen are still in high school - and make the parents come along, boosting anti-drinking pressure back at home.

But other tactics should be explored too, says Henry Wechsler, a retired Harvard University professor whose pioneering research coined the term "binge drinking."

"Address the supply side," he says. "I think you have to change the alcohol culture" at the community level.

Many campuses are surrounded by liquor stores and bars touting inexpensive alcohol. These promotions override student's views of entertainment options, he says.

"It might be cheaper to get drunk than go to a movie," he says.

Some campuses have worked with city governments to strong-arm alcohol outlets to tone down or eliminate advertisements of cheap booze. In turn, that has led to fewer alcohol problems on those campuses, Wechsler says.

"Make them an offer they can't refuse," Wechsler says. "Be tough. Universities are powerful."

The community can pitch in, vowing to stop frequenting businesses that hype cheap booze. If that sounds like pie-in-the-sky thinking, Wechsler points out that anti-smoking advocates have come a long way in what years ago seemed like an impossible battle.

As for Bradley's action plan? I couldn't find anyone to talk about it Monday. But the document is supposed to be finished by the end of the week, with changes instituted by next fall.

Think it's a waste of time? That kids will be kids?

That's dangerous thinking. That's defeatist thinking. That's the kind of thinking that keeps sending college students to county jails and early graves.

We should eagerly look forward to see what Bradley has to offer.

source: Journal Star

How to Identify When Your Child Needs Intervention

2008-03-12T05:54:00.000-07:00

How to identify when your adolescent needs help or outside intervention

Which teenagers are at high risk for such behaviors as drug/alcohol use, dropping out of school, pregnancy, violence, depression, or suicide? One of the difficulties parents face is how to recognize the more subtle indicators of such behavioral problems and when and how to intervene.

One of the obstacles that can cause parents to delay in getting help for their struggling adolescent is their confusion about the answer to this question. What truly defines a troubled teen, and when does a parent really need to seek intervention? Many parents find themselves comparing their child to other children. Parents often vacillate between, "My child is not as bad as their kid!" and "Why can't my teen act like that so-and-so's child?"

Although it is tempting to compare your child to other adolescents in an attempt to measure the seriousness of the situation, this is not truly indicative of a teen's need for outside intervention. Parents will do best if they look at their individual situation and decide for themselves if the teenager is on a self-destructive path. This is not to say that parents should not avail themselves of support groups or other sources of information that might guide them in their choices. It simply means that you know if your child is in trouble. Trust your instincts and take action before the situation deteriorates.

Many adolescents become skilled manipulators, highly secretive, and expert at wriggling out of a situation. If a parent just "doesn't want to know" on some level, these teens can easily manipulate the situation so the parent can feel as if everything is fine. Parents get into the cycle of denial, always finding a way to explain the behavior away so as to avoid the pain that is inevitable when you take decisive action with a rebellious, defiant child.

Is your teen troubled? Or just a normal adolescent going through the growing pains of becoming an adult? There are some tell-tale signs of a truly troubled teenager. Parents should be on the look out for these signs and take a closer look should they recognize a number of them in their child. Parents who take an honest look at their child should trust their instincts; if you think your child is in trouble, take action now.

Signs of a troubled teen:

Your child becomes more secretive, and it seems like more than a desire for greater privacy

Your teen has regular, sudden outbursts of anger that are clearly unreasonable and out of proportion to whatever has caused the anger

Your teen regularly misses curfew, does not show up when expected, and lies about his or her whereabouts (is not where you expected them to be if you check up on them)

Your teenager has suddenly changed his or her peer group and hasn't made an effort to let you meet these new friends. The new group has led to a distinct change in appearance (clothing, jewelry) and change in attitude (more sullen, defiant, hostile).

Your adolescent has stolen money from your purse on regular occasions.

Your adolescent has extreme mood swings, from depression to elation, and seems to sleep a lot more than usual at times.

Your child's grades have suddenly dropped and the child has lost interest in the usual activities.

Providing parents with information to help their troubled teen, troubled teenager, troubled youth, and troubled child including schools for troubled teen and treatment for troubled teens.
Source:http://www.4troubledteens.com/troubledteen.html

Sober Teens

Teen alcoholic admits: Booze nearly killed me

2008-03-10T09:20:00.000-07:00

Helen ( name has been changed to protect identity ) nearly died when she was 16 due to a drink habit.

A shy and socially awkward teenager, she had her first drink at 14 “just to fit in with the crowd”.

Quickly becoming hooked, Helen says she and her mates would regularly shoplift to get the alcohol they craved and would think nothing of downing bottles of gin and vodka in local parks and on waste ground.

“I liked it, the feeling of euphoria it gave me, and the confidence to talk to people and especially to boys,” says Helen, now 38.

“Sober, I had no social confidence and felt that I was unattractive. With a drink inside me everything was great. Anyway, people thought you were weird if you didn’t drink.”

But at 16, and after drinking two-thirds of a bottle of neat gin and tumblers of vodka in one evening, Helen threw herself down a flight of concrete steps and nearly died.

“I’ve no memory of what happened,” she says, “but friends said there was some drama or other and it looked like I threw myself down the steps rather than just falling.

“If it hadn’t been for the mate who put me in the recovery position I would be dead, because by then I was vomiting everywhere.”

Her parents were called and they took her home, but did not realise the severity of Helen’s drinking.

“I think they knew I was drinking, but they had no idea how much and anyway they thought it was just a phase,” says Helen, who now lives in Mid Wales.

“They warned me about the dangers of drinking – I had a good, solid upbringing in that sense – but we all hid what we were doing very well.”

But years of heavy drinking through university and then work culminated in a nervous breakdown at 35.

It was then that Helen sought help for her addiction from Alcoholics Anonymous, which she says “completely turned my life around”.

“Drink becomes an obsession, but the more you drink the more you have to drink to get that feeling of euphoria,” says Helen.

“And soon you don’t get that feeling at all.

“For me, drinking in my teens was all about going to the disco and drinking my guts out.

“Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but if I had my chance I wouldn’t do what I did to that extent again.

“Drinking to excess can put you in so many dangerous situations.

“Basically you lose your right to say ‘no’, because effectively you have lost your mind.

“I used to come home covered in bruises and have absolutely no idea how I got them.

“So very many bad things could have happened to me while I was drunk – and to this day I have no idea whether they did or not.”

source: Wales On Sunday

Anorexia Symptoms Test

2008-03-06T13:13:00.001-08:00

If you suspect you or a loved one may be suffering from Anorexia Nervosa, This test can help you determine the severity of the disorder and what should be done to investigate further or to get additional help to resolve the problem. It is always better to get help to investigate a possible eating disorder than to assume there is no problem. This disease can be fatal if not diagnosed and treated. To learn more about this disease, here are the recent top-selling books on anorexia nervosa.
Anorexia Symptoms Test:

Answer "yes" or "no" to the following questions:

1. Divide your weight (in pounds) by your height (in inches). If the result is over 2.4 pounds per inch or you don't think of yourself as "fat" or "overweight", you can discontinue this test...you are not anorexic. Do you think of yourself as overweight or "fat" although the result is less than 2.4 pounds per inch?

2. Do friends and family regularly express concern about your weight loss?

3. Has a doctor told you you need to gain weight?

4. When you look at yourself in the mirror, can you see your individual ribs or hip bones?

5. Do your arms have light, soft, peach-fuzz-like hair?

6. Have friends or family members regularly expressed concern about how little you eat or about your apparent weight loss?

7. Do you regularly suffer from fatigue or inability to concentrate?

8. Do you feel anxiety about eating?

9. Do you regularly find it difficult to consume a normal serving of meat, grain and vegetables at one meal? A normal serving of each is about 6-8 ounces.

10. Do you regularly find it difficult to consume 3 normal meals a day?

11. To control your weight, do you feel it's necessary to exercise more than 1 hour a day, 3-4 days a week?
Anorexia Symptoms Test Scoring:

A. If you answered "yes" to any of the above questions, monitor yourself for the next 3 months and visit Anorexia Nervosa Tips for more information.

B. If you answered "yes" to 3 or more of the questions, take the actions in "A" above and find a trusted friend or family member (one without an eating disorder) to help you monitor yourself.

C. If you answered "yes" to 5 or more of the questions, Take the actions in "A" & "B" above and have your friend take you to the doctor for a complete examination to rule out Anorexia Nervosa. Your friend is necessary because many who suffer from this disease also suffer from denial.

D. If you're taking this test to see if a loved one may have Anorexia Nervosa, understand you may have fewer "yes" answers for them by observation and they still may have the disease. If you're still concerned after the test, confront them on the issue and get them to take the test, themselves. Then help them follow the instructions in the test scoring section.

Teen Smoking

2008-03-05T10:40:00.001-08:00

Why do children smoke?

There are a number of reasons why children may try smoking.

Tobacco advertising

Research has shown that advertising may encourage children to start smoking. Even adverts aimed at over 18s are attractive to children who aspire to adult behaviour. Direct cigarette advertising is now banned in the UK.

A sibling or parent who smokes

Siblings and parents are role models for children. If a child's parents smoke they are four times more likely to smoke themselves.

Experimentation

All teenagers experiment - often with activities that they believe make them appear more 'grown up'. Trying new things and making mistakes is part of the normal learning process. But the danger with trying smoking is that nicotine is very addictive.

What can you do if your child has started smoking?

Talking to teenagers about smoking can be tricky. Read these tips if your child is smoking and you want to try to help them quit.

- If you smoke yourself, give up. It will help if you can set a good example.
- Don't panic or overreact. If you are very worried you may want to talk to another adult before talking to your child.
- Choose a time to talk to your child when you're calm and they don't want to be somewhere else.
- Ask lots of open questions to find out how they started smoking, how often they smoke, who they smoke with etc. Be aware that starting conversations with 'why' can seem aggressive.
- Make sure you really listen to what your child is saying.
- Explain that it's better never to start smoking as it quickly leads to addiction.
- Point out how expensive smoking is and discuss what else your child could do with the money.
- You can try discussing the health effects of smoking. But young people will often have learnt about the consequences of smoking at school and may not want to think about their long-term health.
- Keep talking about smoking from time to time in a non-confrontational manner. At the same time make it clear that you do have your own views and house rules.
- Offer your love and support. Focus on the positives and try to build your child's self esteem. Acknowledge any progress they make with giving up.
- Giving up isn't easy for adults or children. Be aware of the difficulties your child may be facing and the isolation they may feel if all their friends are smoking.

Giving up smoking

There are professionals available to help you give up smoking. The NHS has a range of services on offer including stop smoking groups and one-to-one counselling. You are up to four times more likely to succeed if you use NHS support and stop smoking medicines such as patches or gum to manage your cravings. To find out more about these services call the NHS Smoking Helpline on 0800 169 0 169, open 7am-11pm every day, or visit the NHS Go Smokefree website.

Quit also have a helpline with information and advice to help you give up smoking. Call 0800 00 22 00 between 9am and 9pm or visit the Quit homepage. Quit have also developed a youth stop smoking programme called Quit Because.

Early Signs of Drug Abuse in Children and Adolescents

2008-03-03T08:21:00.000-08:00

Some signs of risk can be seen as early as infancy. Children’s personality traits or temperament can place them at increased risk for later drug abuse. Withdrawn and aggressive boys, for example, often exhibit problem behaviors in interactions with their families, peers, and others they encounter in social settings. If these behaviors continue, they will likely lead to other risks. These risks can include academic failure, early peer rejection, and later affiliation with deviant peers, often the most immediate risk for drug abuse in adolescence. Studies have shown that children with poor academic performance and inappropriate social behavior at ages 7 to 9 are more likely to be involved with substance abuse by age 14 or 15.

Other risk factors relate to the quality of children’s relationships in settings outside the family, such as in their schools, with their peers, teachers, and in the community. Difficulties in these settings can be crucial to a child’s emotional, cognitive, and social development. Some of these risk factors are:
• inappropriate classroom behavior, such as aggression and impulsivity;
• academic failure;
• poor social coping skills;
• association with peers with problem behaviors, including drug abuse; and
• misperceptions of the extent and acceptability of drug-abusing behaviors in school, peer, and community environments.
Association with drug-abusing peers is often the most immediate risk for exposing adolescents to drug abuse and delinquent behavior. Research has shown, however, that addressing such behavior in interventions can be challenging. For example, a recent study (Dishion et al. 2002) found that placing high-risk youth in a peer group intervention resulted in negative outcomes. Current research is exploring the role that adults and positive peers can play in helping to avoid such outcomes in future interventions.
Other factors—such as drug availability, drug trafficking patterns, and beliefs that drug abuse is generally tolerated—are also risks that can influence young people to start to abuse drugs.

Research has shown that the key risk periods for drug abuse occur during major transitions in children’s lives. These transitions include significant changes in physical development (for example, puberty) or social situations (such as moving or parents divorcing) when children experience heightened vulnerability for problem behaviors.

The first big transition for children is when they leave the security of the family and enter school. Later, when they advance from elementary school to middle or junior high school, they often experience new academic and social situations, such as learning to get along with a wider group of peers and having greater expectations for academic performance. It is at this stage—early adolescence—that children are likely to encounter drug abuse for the first time.

Source taken from excerpts of http://www.drugabuse.gov/pdf/prevention/RedBook.pdf

Learn how to say no

2008-02-29T14:55:00.000-08:00

ScienceDaily (Feb. 29, 2008) — Teens who can recognize and resist the persuasive tactics used in alcohol ads are less likely to succumb to alcohol advertising and peer pressure to drink.

The results of a three-year study of inner-city middle school students by Weill Cornell Medical College researchers appears online in the journal Addictive Behaviors (April print edition). Previous research has shown the connection between advertising and adolescent alcohol, use as well as the influence of peers in promoting adolescent alcohol use.

"There are many pressures on teens to drink. One very powerful influence is advertising — from television to billboards, it's everywhere. Our study found their ability to be critically aware of advertising as well as their ability to resist peer pressure are both key skills for avoiding alcohol," says Dr. Jennifer A. Epstein, lead author and assistant professor of public health in the Division of Prevention and Health Behavior at Weill Cornell Medical College.

Results were taken from surveys of over 2,000 predominantly African-American adolescents from 13 inner-city junior high schools in New York City over three years. The study found that seventh graders better able to be critically aware of advertising — something the study terms "media resistance skills" — were significantly less likely to drink alcohol as ninth graders.

These same seventh graders were more likely to have developed better skills for resisting peer pressure by the eighth grade, further reducing their likelihood of drinking. Armed with media resistance and peer refusal skills (saying "no"), these students were less likely to succumb to advertising and peer pressure to drink alcohol subsequently in the ninth grade.

Alcohol is the number one drug of choice in this country and among our nation's youth. A recent report by the Surgeon General found that despite laws against it, underage drinking is deeply embedded in American culture, viewed as a rite of passage and facilitated by adults.

"Our findings point to the need for prevention programs that teach adolescents media resistance skills and peer refusal skills to reduce the likelihood that they will succumb to the powerful dual influences of alcohol advertising and peer pressure," says Dr. Gilbert J. Botvin, the senior author; professor of psychology in public health and professor of psychology in psychiatry; and chief of the Public Health Department's Division of Prevention and Health Behavior.

Dr. Botvin, who developed the award-winning Life Skills Training (LST) substance-abuse prevention program for junior high and middle school students more than 25 years ago, continuously works with his colleagues to refine and disseminate the program through research and teaching. (Dr. Botvin has a financial interest in LST, and his consulting company provides training and technical assistance for the program.)

This study was supported by a grant to Dr. Epstein from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and to a grant to Dr. Botvin from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

Adapted from materials provided by Weill Cornell Medical College.

Video Game Addiction

2008-02-25T16:22:00.001-08:00

by John M. Grohol, Psy.D.
June 8, 2007

While it has long been suspected that video games can cause problems in a person’s life if they play them for too long, too often, more recent research confirms that video games do have an impact. There are things, however, that a person can do to reduce the impact of video game playing and reduce the likelihood of video game addiction seriously impacting a person’s life.
What to Do to Better Cope with Video Game Addiction

If you feel like you can’t part from your favorite video game or have run up huge gaming WoW bills unexpectedly, don’t worry, there are some steps you can take to bring your relationship with video games back down to earth.

1. Track your video game use. Yes, it’s a pain to do, but the more you keep track of the time you spend playing video games, the better you’ll be able to control it. Jot down in a notepad when you start and stop game play. Keep the journal for a week’s time, then review the amounts of time you’re spending on each game, or if it’s just one game, the activities that keep you in-game for so long.

2. Start the weaning. Now that you know you’re spending 20 hours a week on game play, it’s time to start cutting back. Take it slow and start with the least important game or activity in a game. Commit to reducing the time spent on that game or activity just 10% the first week. So if you’re spending 10 hours a week on planning for battles, aim for 9 hours the next week. That means being more conscious each time you’re in-game doing that activity, and trying to cut things short sooner rather than later.

3. Commit to being in the moment. One of the reasons people enjoy playing video games as much as they do is because it is very rewarding and often, fun. Most modern video games also offer a level of social interactivity with other players in the game, which is also rewarding. The key here is to prioritize what’s important in your life. If it’s more important for you to spend time with your online friends that your IRL friends or significant other, that’s your choice. But don’t expect your significant other to still be there when you decide you have time for him or her. It is a choice you make every time you pick up the control or sit at the keyboard, and it is one you have to become more conscious of in order to change that choice to one that can accommodate both in your life. Living life in the moment means, first of all, to live life outside of a screen.

4. You don’t need that kind of connection. So many people spend so much time online or in playing video games because they believe it is a necessary part of their connections with others, or with their ability to move forward in the game. For what purpose? If you need such hyperactive connectivity, that suggests something isn’t entirely healthy with some of those relationships to begin with. Or that the game was designed to only reward spending massive amounts of time playing it. Great for the game developers or publishers, who are enjoying your money. Not so great for you. While it’s fun for a time, it’s not going to lead to a higher-quality relationship or a better, more enjoyable life (especially if it’s creating anxiety and problems in your existing life).

5. Turn it off. Yes, that’s right. Turn it off. There’s no easier way to deal with video game addiction than to simply turn off the console or the computer and go out and do something different. By turning it off, you’re taking back conscious control of your life and this little piece of technology. Instead of it calling to you, you’re telling it, “Hey, I’ve had enough for one day. Seeya in the morning.” Set a deadline every evening for a time to retire game playing, and then don’t check or play it again until the next morning.

6. Technology works for us, not the other way around. If technology is taking control of your life — creating stress, anxiety, arguments with other people in your life, or financial hardships — then you have a backwards relationship with technology. Technology — including video games — works for us. If it’s not working for you, you’re chosen to be on the losing side of the relationship, and it’s time to put a stake in the ground and take responsibility and control for your use of the technology. Set aside specific times of the day or evening you will play your favorite video game, for instance, rather than doing so every spare moment you get. Instead of playing video games being the default thing you do, change the default to “living my life.”

Video game addiction doesn’t have to ruin your life, your work, or your relationships with others. If these tips still don’t help, it might be a sign that your video game addiction is more of an issue in your life than you realized. A psychotherapist who has experience in treating addictions can often help in such a case, and it is a treatment you should explore if you can’t reduce video game playing on your own.

What's Related

* Understanding More about Sexual Addiction
* What If Someone I Know Is a Compulsive Gambler?
* Neurofeedback Training for Your Brain
* Is Sexual Addiction a Recognized Disorder?
* More articles about holiday coping
* If You Think You Have a Problem with Sexual Addiction
* If Someone You Know Has a Problem with Cocaine
* Preparing Kids for Holiday Visits
* Symptoms of Sexual Addiction
* Self Quiz: Am I Addicted to Sex?
* Other articles by John M. Grohol, Psy.D.

Teen girls see sex assaults as ‘normal,’ educator says

2008-02-22T05:50:00.000-08:00

A growing number of teenage girls view sexual harassment and even assault as “normal,” says a top Toronto school board official.
Gerry Connelly described the “new normal” phenomenon during her keynote address at the annual Safe Schools Conference in Toronto today.
“A young girl will see somebody being pushed against a locker and fondled inappropriately, or they are being touched inappropriately and they say: ‘Well that’s just the way it is,’” said Ms. Connelly, director of education at the Toronto District School Board.

“Well folks, that’s not acceptable, but our young girls are treating it like it is acceptable and we have to address that.”
The Toronto school safety report released last month found that “sexual assault and sexual harassment are prevalent in TDSB schools.”
According to a survey conducted at one North York high school, 33% of students surveyed reported being sexually harassed in the school over the past two years. Twenty-nine per cent reported being the victim of unwanted sexual contact, including touching or grabbing at their school, and 29 female students or 7% of respondents reported being the victim of a major sexual assault at their school.
Another report on sexual harassment at 23 Ontario schools by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health showed that 30% of Grade 9 girls and 28% of Grade 11 girls reported having been touched, grabbed or pinched in a sexual way.
The panel behind the school safety report, led by human rights lawyer Julian Falconer, said more must be done to encourage students to report all incidents of violence, and urged a sexual assault and gender-based violence prevention strategy at the TDSB.

Ms. Connelly said she was disturbed to learn that 80% of TDSB students said they would not talk to teachers or police about crimes they witnessed or experienced.
“Why? You’ve heard the expression: snitches get stitches,” she said told the audience, which included educators, social workers and police officers.
But students also worry that if they tell, their parents will forbid them from associating with certain peers or force them to switch schools, said Ms. Connelly. Many students do not trust police, she said.

Some schools have “safe rooms” where female students can talk freely about their feelings. But more must be done to create more welcoming environments that combat the “code of silence” that appears to be fostering gender-based violence directed at girls, said Ms. Connelly, who cited figures from the CAMH study and a TDSB survey that showed the troubling rate of sexual harassment and assault in schools.
For example, 21% of surveyed TDSB students said they knew at least one student who had been sexually assaulted at school over the past two years.
“It’s a phenomenon across Canada, and it’s a phenomenon that is not well researched or understood,” said Ms. Connelly.

Ontario’s education minister today announced a team of safety and education experts will examine the causes of sexual harassment, homophobia and gender-based violence and draw up recommendations to prevent the behaviours.
The Canadian Safe School Network, which put on the conference, is developing a program that addresses sexuality and unhealthy relationships among girls in Grades 6 to 10. Pauline Auty, a former guidance counselor who is part of the network, detailed some of the shocking revelations in focus groups across the province, including some from mothers as young as 12 and 13 years old. “We don’t know how to have a healthy relationship,” the girls told her. “We just know what feels good.” The children also distinguish between relationships between their friends and relationships between adults. “They think it’s OK for kids to sleep around, as long as they don’t tell (but they think) it’s not OK for adults,” said Ms. Auty.
___
source: The National Post

Internet Addiction

2008-02-19T16:04:00.000-08:00

Because cyberspace can satisfy so many of the adolescent's needs, there is the possibility of becoming "addicted" to it. Are all teens susceptible to this danger? No. Some will always be casual users, some may just go through phases of intense internet use. The ones who do fall prey to the net most likely are experiencing problems in their real lives. Cyberspace becomes an escape, a place to vent, a place to act out or even cry out for help.

As Dr. Kimberly Young -- a psychologist who studies internet addiction -- points out in her book "Caught in the Net," internet-obsessed adolescents may become the "identified patient" in the family. Fingers are pointed at them and at the "evils" of the internet, when the real problems probably lie in the family.

What are some of the danger signals of excessive internet use? In her book, Dr. Young identifies several warning signs:

-- Denial and lying about the amount of time spent on the computer or about what they are doing on the computer.

-- Excessive fatigue and changes in sleeping habits, such as getting up early or staying up late (in order to spend more time online).

-- Academic problems, usually grades slipping. Sometimes parents might overlook the fact that the computer is the culprit since they assume their children are doing school work at the keyboard.

-- Withdrawal from friends and declining interest in hobbies (online friends and activities are taking the place of the "real" world).

-- Loss of appetite; irritability when cut-off from computer use; a decline in their appearance or hygiene.

-- Disobedience and acting out. Teens may become very hostile when parents confront them. They may deliberately break the computer-use rules that are set. Their reactions may be so intense because they feel that they are being cut off from their attachments to cyberfriends.

by John Suler, Ph.D.

The Power of Journaling

2008-02-16T07:11:00.000-08:00

I am a firm believer that there is no greater self-help or self-exploration tool than a journal. That’s right—a simple blank book and a pen can help you manifest millions of dollars. It can help you identify goals. It can ease emotional pain or grief. It can transport you back in time. The journal is a physical manifestation of the contents within your own mind and heart. In this article, I am going to list some basic techniques and guidelines to follow when journaling.

Your life is special and worth recording. I firmly believe that all human life is special and purposeful. You and I were placed on this world for a reason and we have a limited time on this world to establish our legacy. Some very famous people in history have the benefit of having others essentially journal for them in chronicles, biographies, and other materials that record their life, but the best and most accurate record of who you are now and who you will be remembered as after you leave this world will be through the journals that you write.

Write only for yourself. A client of mine once asked me if it was okay to journal on an internet blog for everyone to read. She said that all of her friends had created blogs and that it seemed like a fun thing to do. I told her that there is nothing wrong with blogging, but for the purposes of life journaling, you should keep your journal private and write strictly for yourself. This is because we write differently when we know that our writing will be read by other people. We have what is known as an internal editor inside our minds who edits what we write and it’s this internal editor who prevents us from genuinely writing from the heart. So while I think blogs are fun and great to share with others, a life journal needs to be written with a one-person audience in mind—you. Now this is not to say that you can’t ever share your journal with anyone. I have often shared my journal entries with the people who are special in my life, but there is a difference between sharing an entry later on and writing that entry for yourself in mind.

Human memory is fallible so write it down. Our organic memory is not as sharp as one would think. Over time, our memories of certain events either get washed away or become tainted with our retrospective and emotional views of that event. Journaling is like taking a snapshot photo of our mind and emotions during that event. It allows our memory to remain true as to the events of our past and by reading those entries months, even years later, catapults us back to that moment in time and allows us to remember it with much greater detail and accuracy than if we relied on memory alone.

Select a physical journal, not a computer. Although many people in this day and age are much more accustom to typing rather than handwriting, I argue that for the purposes of journaling, there is a big difference. In my workshops, I advocate the use of a physical journal you can hold in your hand because you can always take it with you wherever you go. I myself have some great adventures all over the world and often I go weeks without any access to electricity. Having a journal and a pen in my backpack as I explore the Amazon of Brazil or trek the desert plains of Australia is lightweight and always available to jot down notes.

Invest in a quality journal. Your journal is the most important book you will ever own. The thoughts and ideas and emotions that are contained within its pages are more precious than anything you possess because it becomes a part of you. Therefore I suggest investing in a journal that is representative of those special thoughts and ideas. Personally, I choose a handmade leather journal for all my life journaling not only because it is highly rugged and durable, but also because it looks nice and will remain that way far after I am gone. Investing some money into a good journal that you like will also be an incentive for you to actually follow through with consistent journaling practices.

-10 to +10. One thing that I do different in my journaling practices and what I suggest you do also is give yourself a pain – pleasure ranking next to the date that you write your entry. On a scale of -10 (most painful) to +10 (most pleasurable), rate yourself on how you feel at that particular time. Do this for two reasons. One, it is good for you to know exactly how you are feeling each day and to quantify that experience with a numerical value. Two, you can go back and review how you felt on a given day and you can thumb through your entries and see if there exists a pattern of low feelings or high feelings and what the cause of those feelings were.

Self-probing questions. When people think of journaling, they think of simply logging the day’s events on paper. This is far from true with my journaling techniques. Of course, I do recommend regular event recording, but I also advocate interweaving what I call self-probing questions along with those other journal entries. Self-probing questions are questions you ask yourself and from which you brainstorm your own answers to. It’s a way of reaching deep within your mind and your heart to retrieve answers that may not have surfaced to your conscious mind. Self-probing questions help you bring clarity to issues in your life that need to be solidified in your mind. For example, in one such entry of mine, I asked myself the question of what exactly are my dreams in life? What did I want to accomplish, see, or do in my life before I die? I brainstormed and wrote down every answer without evaluating or judging those answers and let me tell you, I came up with goals that I never even realized I had, but made sense to me after I realized that I did in fact have such goals in the back of my mind. Each week ask yourself an intuitive question and brainstorm answers on paper without evaluating them….just write them down. You might be surprised at how powerful this technique is.

Author: Tristan Loo

Parental Drinking Boosts Teen Alcohol Risks

2008-02-10T07:14:00.000-08:00

MONDAY, Feb. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Parents' drinking directly influences teen drinking and also has an indirect effect through teen perceptions of parenting, especially monitoring and disciplines, a new study says.

Reporting in the February issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, researchers analyzed data collected from 2,402 male and 2,329 female teens and their parents in Finland. The teens were asked about their alcohol use and intoxication at ages 14 and 17.5, while the parents were asked about frequency of alcohol use and intoxication, as well as their lifetime prevalence of alcohol-related problems.

"We wanted to, first, examine the extent of the relationship between the drinking behaviors of parents and those of their adolescent offspring at 14 and 17.5 years of age," corresponding author Shawn J. Latendresse, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics at Virginia Commonwealth University, said in a prepared statement.

"Second, we wanted to determine how much of that association was due to parents' drinking behaviors affecting their ability to parent responsibly, which translated into a risky or protective environment," Latendresse said.

The study found that, among parental dimensions examined, monitoring and discipline played the strongest intermediary role in associations between parental and adolescent drinking behaviors. The researchers also found that the magnitude of this role was much stronger during early adolescence, while parental drinking had a stronger effect on teen drinking in later adolescence.

"With respect to individual aspects of parenting, our analyses show that parental alcohol use, intoxication, and problem drinking symptoms are consistently associated with decreases in monitoring and increases in discipline," Lantendresse said.

"Decreases in monitoring are related to higher levels of adolescent alcohol use at age 14 and more frequent intoxication at both 14 and 17.5. Likewise, increases in discipline are linked to more frequent use and intoxication but only when adolescents are 17.5," Lantendresse said.

While the study findings "are consistent with the protective effects of parental monitoring, it is important to note that excessive discipline may actually have the unintended effect of conveying greater risk for alcohol-related behaviors among adolescents as they get older and are seeking a greater sense of autonomy," the statement said.

Battling The Binge

2008-02-09T03:27:00.000-08:00

Now we have begun to get to grips with stopping the nation smoking and turning our attention to obesity, alcohol abuse must be the next big issue to have health chiefs scratching their heads for a solution.

The tragic rail death of Roddy Stewart, just before his 17th birthday this week, brings in to sharp focus the way teenagers treat alcohol.

There are few who abstain and many are binge drinkers from an early age.

Recent figures released under Freedom of Information for the Highlands and Islands show 61 under-18s were lifted by Northern Constabulary in 2007 for public drunkenness. In 2006 it was 49.

Although the full details of how the schoolboy came to be hit by a train on the rail line after a pre-birthday celebration with friends are yet to come out, his father admits drink was undoubtedly a factor in his death.

The young lad did not want to say "No" to people, according to his father.

"He would go along with the social convention and if that meant going out to celebrate his forthcoming birthday with friends then he would do it. Inevitably, at that age, alcohol is involved at some stage," said the former policeman.

And, that must be one of the key messages to try to hammer home to young people — saying no is not uncool and neither is knowing when to stop.

Roddy did nothing wrong with the peer pressure and social conventions currently circulating in our society.

But, until we built into our psyche, at the youngest age, the health and social consequences of continually overindulging in alcohol, the results will become apparent as young men and women start showing up on statistics later in life.

The number of people in the UK dying from alcohol-related problems is continuing to rise.

Office for National Statistics figures show there were 13.4 alcohol-related deaths per 100,000 population in 2006 — up from 12.9 in 2005.

The mortality rate in men was more than twice the rate for females with the overall death rate almost doubling from that in 1991.

It appears that, for certain younger people who have been drinking heavily for most of their lives, the consequences are beginning to show themselves at ever earlier stages.

Parents also have a responsibility to drive home the message — even if it appears young people are not listening.

A top Ross-shire police officer recently said he was aghast at parents turning up to demand that alcohol confiscated from teenagers be returned, saying many were grateful their youngsters were not turning to drugs.

He explained youngsters are often put under pressure to turn up to a party or gathering with a bottle and what happens is they pinch supplies from the home.

The issue should be tackled from a number of angles — more expensive alcohol could help and, as flagged up by Scotland's largest licensing forum, made up of NHS and local government officials, the police, drinks trade and retail lobbying groups, minimum pricing for drinks could be introduced.

This would allow for a bottom price to be set for alcohol in pubs and clubs.

According to a report by Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems, raising alcohol prices by 10 per cent would save the lives of 479 men and 265 women every year.

We should get behind Alcohol Counselling Inverness (ACI) which, as we highlight today, is trying to raise awareness about the risks associated with drinking alcohol.

It has called on Highland Council to provide funding from its education budget so its programme of talks can be rolled out to every school in the area.

Although, we know the council already tackles it through personal and social education.

It would be a step in the right direction.

source: Inverness Courier

Parent's Drinking Raises Risk Of Teenage Alcoholism

2008-02-05T03:16:00.000-08:00

Drinking habits of parents significantly affects their children's future alcohol habits, and as well as their perception of parenting, a new study shows.

Experts from the Virginia Commonwealth University drew their findings from an experiment involving teenagers, 2,402 males and 2,329 females in Finland, as well as their parents. The scientists asked the teenagers about their alcohol use and intoxication experiences during the ages of 14, and 17.5.

The parents were then asked about their own alcohol use, and intoxications. Questions were also raised about any lifelong alcohol-related problems, according to HealthDay.

"We wanted to, first, examine the extent of the relationship between the drinking behaviors of parents and those of their adolescent offspring at 13 and 17.5 years of age," said author Shawn J. Latendresse of the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics at VCU.

He added that they also intended to find any connections between the parents' alcohol behaviors and the children's perception of parenting, in terms of responsibility and environment.

The findings revealed that monitoring and disciplining were the ones most affected by parental drinking, with it having the greatest effect during early adolescence. According to the experts, these two work together to increase in the teenagers' drinking.

"Although these findings are consistent with the protective effects of parental monitoring," said Latendresse, as quoted by Science Daily, "it is important to note that excessive discipline may actually have the unintended effect of conveying greater risk for alcohol-related behaviors among adolescents as they get older and are seeking a greater sense of autonomy."

Michael Windle, professor at Emory University, added that the results "may be viewed as an empowering finding for parents," and will urge parents to seek help, if it is needed for the sake of their parenting methods.

The research appear in the February issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

source: allheadlinenews.com

Flip sides of an addiction

2008-02-04T11:42:00.000-08:00

TWEAK by Nic Sheff (Pocket Books, £7.99)
Beautiful Boy by David Sheff (Pocket Books, £11.99)

When David Sheff's home was burgled, he didn't need the police to find the culprit.

There was a prime suspect, his own 21-year-old son, Nic.

Another time Nic broke into his mother's house to steal her computer. He also burgled his grandparents and once pilfered his nine-year-old stepbrother's moneybox of its $8 savings.

Nic was the walking incarnation of every parent's worst nightmare: a child lost, seemingly irredeemably, to drugs.

Growing up, Nic was the 'beautiful boy' of John Lennon's song. He seemed to have it all. The son of prosperous journalists, he was precociously intelligent, personable and popular, and by his early teens already proving himself a talented artist and writer, a handsome blond surfer, the epitome of middle-class American health.

A brilliant future seemed assured.

Except he was already experimenting with cannabis, and his childhood had not been without difficulties.

His parents divorced when he was seven and joint custody meant he became a frequent flyer between father David in San Francisco and mother Vicki in Los Angeles.

As a young man, David himself had smoked pot and experimented with other drugs. He didn't panic at finding cannabis in his son's room and indeed, Nic's dabbling with drugs, typical of his generation, might have stopped there..

Unfortunately Nic also tried a drug described as 'the number one drug problem in America', crystal meth, formal name methamphetamine, alias tweak, gak, Tina or speed, a drug so addictive it has 35 million users worldwide, compared to 15 million cocaine and seven million heroin users.

Made in makeshift labs from ingredients found in decongestants and brake cleaner, injected and sometimes smoked, crystal meth is highly addictive and very dangerous.

Users often 'tweak', experiencing a psychosis and suffering hallucinations, intense paranoia, deluassions and symptoms similar to schizophrenia.

Tweakers can go without sleep for 15 days and be extremely violent, committing spousal and child abuse, and murder. In some U.S. cities 80-100 per cent of all crime is reckoned to be methrelated.

Meth use is spreading across Britain, too.

The success rate for users permanently kicking the habit may be under ten per cent, and even then it takes at least two years for the ex-addict's burned-out brain to regain normal function, if ever.

Nic Sheff's account of his addiction begins in the middle; he's relapsed after a period of rehab and sobriety, having saved £1,000 from working. It almost seems fun he and lowlife associate Gak find ingenious ways to score drugs.

They set up as drug dealers, buying wholesale and selling in small amounts, but increasingly the merchandise ends up in their own veins and they are so stoned they get ripped off. The money dwindles and the fun stops as the inevitable downward spiral of drug addiction takes over.

We learn the history of Nic's addiction, his twice dropping out of university, his many abortive attempts at therapy and rehab, how he supported his habit by working the streets as a gay prostitute.

His desperate family get him into rehab again, he stays clean for more than a year, has a job and has film reviews published. But one phone call from an addict exgirlfriend and he's using again.

They end up utterly destitute and living in squalor with Nic so wasted he can't even resist his family's attempts to put him in long-term rehab.

Nic's father David's record of these events shows the anguish that addicts' parents face. There are the brief respites when rehab seems to work, then the inevitable relapses when Nic simply disappears and David waits anxiously for the phone to ring.

Often it's Nic spinning him pathetic lies to obtain money; once it's a hospital where Nic's on a life-support machine, having overloaded his system with drugs.

Best is when Nic is under arrest because at least then his father knows where he is. With ever-diminishing hope David gets Nic into rehab after rehab, the emotional cost matched by the financial drain, up to £5,000 a week.

He questions his own responsibility for his son's addiction, despite the '3 Cs' maxim of Al-Anon, a support organisation for families of addicts: 'You didn't cause it. You can't control it. You can't cure it.' Finally David and Vicki persuade Nic into long-term rehab that addresses the psychological roots of his addiction. It appears to work. Now 23, Nic has been sober for 18 months, has a partner and looks on course to lead a productive, happy, drug-free life.

Both takes on this story are riveting, brilliantly written, thoughtful, searingly honest and equally essential. They should be mandatory reading for every teenager and every parent of one.

Buy a copy of 'Tweak'
Buy a copy of 'beautiful Boy'
______
source: The Daily Mail

Cutting-Documentary

2008-02-02T12:55:00.000-08:00

WARNING: THIS MAY BE DISTURBING TO VIEWERS AND MAY TRIGGER!

YOUR NOT ALONE! PLEASE VISIT US AT Sober Teens if you have self-harm issues, eating disorders that you could use some help and support with!

THIS VIDEO MAY TRIGGER- PLEASE DON'T WATCH IF YOU ARE EASILY TRIGGERED!!!

Examining Addiction on A&E's 'Intervention'

2008-01-31T07:41:00.000-08:00

'My name is Dylan, D.Y.L.A.N.'

What started out as a simple name spelling to the videographer has become an almost ominous part of the compelling reality show Intervention. Now in it’s forth season, the A&E hit has captivated audiences, and revealed what happens when people suffer from some of the most severe forms of addiction. From meth use to bulimia, the show demonstrates a desperate cry from family and friends who are trying to save their loved ones, and in the process depicts the individuals struggle to overcome their own personal demons.

Developed by executive producers Dan Partland and Sam Mettler, the show sets out to follow participants who are suffering from addiction and allows them to tell their own stories in their own words. Without a lot of editorializing or preaching about the harms of addiction, the show simply asks for those suffering from various diseases to be filmed for a documentary about their problems.

Intervention relies on actual footage of drug use, body abuse, or other destructive behavior to tell the story, and the participants are unaware that their family and loved ones are also part of the process. While the cameras are filming the behavior, the supporters are gathering for a surprise intervention where they hope to help those who are addicted to want to seek help for themselves.

Without all of the FOX television hoopla, sponsorship and endorsement deals clouding the screen, the show tries to keep the documentary feel in it’s most pure form, and the participants seem willing to want to share their powerful stories of triumph and tragedy with the audience.

Although the show has received critical acclaim, it has also brought out some cynics who say that it is nothing more than a chance to exploit those who are featured for their illnesses.

Mathew Gilbert, a columnist from the Boston Globe explained, “A&E's Intervention is the latest faux reality philanthropy, and it ranks as one of the rankest. On the surface, it's a benevolent effort to reveal the power and beauty of interventions, which find loved ones confronting an addict about his problem and instantly removing him to rehab. But underneath the charitable veneer, the show is about watching broken addicts destroy themselves.

"No amount of inspirational reality TV can justify that kind of trick."

Other critics say that the addicts are coerced to participate in the show and are most likely not in the proper mind frame to consent to filming. Still, almost all participants say that the show has had a positive and profound effect on their lives in the end.

The shows interventionists are considered some of the leading addiction experts in the field. With over 25 years of experience, Jeff VanVonderen may not have the most eloquent approach to dealing with those who are seeking help, but his direct and uncompromising style seems to produce results. He has authored several best selling books about dealing with addiction and has become a mainstay on the show.

After 20 years of recovery for her own substance abuse, Candy Finnigan has been trained how to deal with relapse prevention and family counseling. Finnigan not only provides support for those who need help, but she is also able to share her own story as a means of inspiration and hope.

On her website, she explains, "I was inspired to go into this work because I saw that as a recovering woman, I might be able to connect with suffering people in a way that others couldn't. It's not just my work, it's my life."

Interventionist Ken Seeley has also dealt with substance abuse first hand and has been clean and sober since 1989. He helped found Intervention911, which offers online and toll free phone assistance to those battling diseases and wanting to end the cycle.

"By effectively empowering addicts and their families with the necessary tools, Intervention 911 is able to not only help each individual involved get the help they need, but also provide them with a blueprint for lifelong sobriety, success and health", Seeley explains.

The interventionist works along side the family and friends of those who are suffering from addiction and helps them to get the assistance that they often need in order to stop the destructive behavior. The interventionist, however, can only counsel and offer the opportunity; It is up to the friends and family to commit to changing their lives and stop enabling the participants in their addiction cycle.

A recent episode demonstrated a severe case where the family’s disapproval and lack of support was considered an underlying cause of the addiction. The episode focused on one of the nation's most promising athletes - Tressa Thompson, who had been disqualified from the 2000 Olympic team after testing positive for cocaine use. Although Tressa had a promising future in athletics, she began to spiral into the dark world of drugs (particularly meth amphetamine) after her suspension from the sport.

The show not only focused on Tressa’s disturbing intravenous drug use, it also highlighted the struggle for acceptance as an openly gay person in a small town. Although she was in a three-year relationship with another woman, her closest family members refused to accept her as a homosexual and made several references on the show that Tressa’s "lifestyle" was against the Bible and would send her to hell.

Tressa behavior showed that she needed the love and support of her friends and family in order to battle her problems. Interventionist Candy Finnigan explained to the family that the process was not about Tressa as a homosexual, it was about her drug abuse, and they would have to look past their disapproval of her lifestyle and focus on saving her life.

Like most of the participants, Tressa agreed to rehabilitation treatment and their follow up videos can be seen on the A&E website offering hope to others that treatment is possible and can be the catalyst to saving lives.

The show eschews the glamour of a Celebrity Rehab and offers audiences the chance to watch what happens when self-destructive behavior takes over a person’s life.

Must see TV? Yes! All the more essential if that someone in need of an intervention is you or a loved one.

source: http://www.gaywired.com

Self-Control

2008-01-29T08:43:00.000-08:00

Self-control may be defined as the exercise of internal control over one's own actions. This exercise may take the form of mental regulation, emotional management, goal setting, self-monitoring and making responsible choices.

In spite of this simple definition, we need to appreciate the complexity of self-control. The following represents the different facets and distinct functions of self-control.

* To the extent that self-control can be acquired through socialization and education, it can be considered a skill.
* Self-control becomes self-discipline, as long as it requires intentional effort to exercise self-control.
* However, when it is practiced habitually for some time, it becomes a personality or character trait.
* When one resists temptation in order to achieve a desired goal, self-control becomes a virtue.
* Self-control becomes a thought process, because of the cognitive processes and mental regulations needed to implement self-control.
* When it is the by-product of spiritual transformation, then, it may be considered as a spiritual gift.
* When self-control is tested by unrelenting pressure or prolonged deprivation, then its continuation depends on internal resources such as character, courage, faith, purpose, endurance. In this case, self-control may be considered a resource, an important part of a cluster of inner resources.
* Finally, self-control requires motivation. Even when one possesses all of the above, in certain situations, such as a special celebration or an artificial psychology experiment, one may decide to briefly give up self-control for the occasion.

Unlike physiological mechanisms, most self-control mechanisms need to be acquired through conditioning, learning and socialization. As adults, we are held responsible for our thoughts, emotions and behaviors to the extent that these are subject to self-control.

An important part of self-control has to do with regulating one's own emotions so that one's behavior is situation-appropriate and socially acceptable. Even though feelings are generally considered uncontrollable, their intensity and expressions can be regulated.

The importance of self-control

We admire the spontaneity and transparency of little children. They have no guile and no disguise. They can be engulfed with the sheer joy of the moment, unencumbered by the past or the future

A coupe of months ago, I went to my sister's family dinner. A boy shouted across the table as soon as I walked in: "Uncle Paul, you are ugly. Why are you so ugly? " Is his remark cute or rude for an eight-year-old grade-two child? Is it proper for adults to grant children the license to ridicule other people's physical appearance? Is it advisable to create a permissive environment so that children can freely express themselves and do whatever that strikes their fancy? Is it possible that children can naturally become the "noble savages" as theorized by Jean-Jacques Rousseau?

Regardless of how we answer the above questions, no one can deny that children need to learn self-control. Self-control encompasses the skills to gain control over their own behaviors, such as following instructions and rules, focusing on the task at hand, and taking responsibility for their actions. Without self-control skills, behavior problems will multiply and serious learning cannot take place; without a sense of responsibility, they are not ready to join society. That's why parents and educators are very concerned about teaching children self-control skills.

It is important to remember that children are not miniature adults. They cannot handle the same kind of freedom as adults. They need to learn the importance of boundaries and following rules. However, too much control by adults can be just as counterproductive as too much freedom with respect to the development of self-control skills.

Even adults will experience all sorts of problems, if they have not learned adequate self-control skills in today's complex and fast changing society. Just consider the following scenarios:

* A careless word or a caring touch can ruin one's career in the minefield of political correctness and litigation craze.
* In a global village with competing worldviews and civilizations, one has to be sensitive to other people's values and traditions. Such awareness requires a certain amount of self-control and humility in order not to fall into the easy trap of ethnocentric arrogance.
* To stay competitive in a knowledge economy, one needs many years of higher education and professional training. Prolonged education means delay of gratification.
* Given the breakdown of traditional values and conventional morality, coupled with the daily onslaught of temptations from TV and the Internet, individuals must follow their own moral compass in order to avoid "shipwreck".
* Life is full of frustration and injustice. But this does not justify outbursts of rage and violence. When anger is not properly managed, it can destroy one's life.
* Addictions, eating disorders, and all sorts of adjustment problems are related to self-control issues.

Self-control is necessary not only for personal success but also for spiritual progress. All major religions emphasize the virtue of self-control.

Source: http://www.meaning.ca

Restrictions don’t solve alcohol issue

2008-01-28T02:14:00.000-08:00

by Ryan Greenfield

When I turned 21, it felt downright bizarre to drink in public. So long had the stigma of doing something forbidden been attached to drinking, the idea that one random day in my life it should suddenly become A-OK still seems weird. Whether it was through older friends, peers with fake IDs, house parties or lax liquor store carding standards, finding a way to get drunk was never really a challenge.

I know you’ve heard this all in D.A.R.E., but binge drinking does have many unfortunate side effects. What you may not know is binge drinking is by definition only having more than four drinks in two hours for men, and more than three in two hours for women. I’d be surprised if the majority of those in the bars of Madison on a Saturday night haven’t surpassed this.

Understandably, the Madison authorities want to find ways to reduce college alcohol abuse. A new report from a community organization called Capitol Neighborhoods, Inc. recommends many financial incentives and enforcement measures to reduce underage drinking. As The Badger Herald reported Friday, these measures include raising taxes on alcohol sold in the downtown area of Madison by about 20 percent, having bars install electric scanners to check IDs and doubling the number of citations issued to underage drinkers.

But whenever new policies are being considered, it’s useful to foresee possible unintended consequences. For instance, if less people are in the bars and on the streets, it may encourage those who want to commit crimes since there is less chance they will be seen.

The likely effect of a slight increase in the alcohol tax probably won’t deter those who really want to drink. Additionally, the owner of Hawk’s Bar and Grill was quoted Friday in the Wisconsin State Journal as saying he considered that proposal “elitist” because it would prevent less-well-off students from drinking while the affluent would continue doing so.

Bars and liquor stores downtown would probably lose revenue as the students migrate to establishments away from downtown that aren’t subject to the tax. More students (especially those underage) would probably throw more house parties, which would offer unlimited booze and provide ideal locations for alcohol abuse. Thus, this policy mostly amounts to passing the buck.

Instead of trying to end underage drinking completely, we should encourage moderation. Part of the reason students go overboard is that alcohol is so forbidden and stigmatized. If you have never drank before, and you’re in a situation where everyone else is getting wasted, there is going to be pressure to match your friends shot for shot. How can you be expected to suddenly know where your limits are if alcohol was completely forbidden through high school?

Paradoxically, the best possible solution to underage drinking may be to lower the drinking age. Anyone who has ever been to Europe knows that binge drinking there is far less prevalent, and it’s because teens regularly have alcohol with their families during meals. Alcohol must be something that’s recognized as a part of life that must be enjoyed responsibly. It should not be something that needs to be stamped out. As with anything that is forbidden, it just makes you want it more.

Until the drinking age drops, our culture needs to evolve toward an understanding that underage drinking isn’t going to end. Parents and authorities should teach responsible drinking to those who are going to do it. Penalties should be focused on those who drink irresponsibly, not 20-year-olds who just want to hang out with their friends at bars. Like the war on drugs and the war on teenage sex, the war on underage drinking is one that is bound to fail unless we realize that the goal must be moderation rather than elimination.

source: The Badger Herald

Peer Influence and Peer Relationships

2008-01-25T08:58:00.001-08:00

Everyone needs to belong — to feel connected with others and be with others who share attitudes, interests, and circumstances that resemble their own. People choose friends who accept and like them and see them in a favorable light.

Teens want to be with people their own age — their peers. During the teen years, teens spend more time with their peers and without parental supervision. With peers, teens can be both connected and independent, as they break away from their parents' images of them and develop identities of their own.

While many families help teens in feeling proud and confident of their unique traits, backgrounds, and abilities, peers are often more accepting of the feelings, thoughts, and actions associated with the teen's search for self-identity.

The influence of peers — whether positive or negative — is of critical importance in your teen's life. Whether you like it or not, the opinions of your child's peers often carry more weight than yours.

Positive Peer Pressure

The ability to develop healthy friendships and peer relationships depends on a teen's self-identity, self-esteem, and self-reliance.

At its best, peer pressure can mobilize your teen's energy, motivate for success, and encourage your teen to conform to healthy behavior. Peers can and do act as positive role models. Peers can and do demonstrate appropriate social behaviors. Peers often listen to, accept, and understand the frustrations, challenges, and concerns associated with being a teenager.

Negative Peer Pressure

The need for acceptance, approval, and belonging is vital during the teen years. Teens who feel isolated or rejected by their peers — or in their family — are more likely to engage in risky behaviors in order to fit in with a group. In such situations, peer pressure can impair good judgment and fuel risk-taking behavior, drawing a teen away from the family and positive influences and luring into dangerous activities.

For example, teens with ADHD, learning differences, or disabilities are often rejected due to their age-inappropriate behavior, and thus are more likely to associate with other rejected and/or delinquent peers. Some experts believe that teenage girls frequently enter into sexual relationships when what they are seeking is acceptance, approval, and love.

A powerful negative peer influence can motivate a teen to make choices and engage in behavior that his or her values might otherwise reject. Some teens will risk being grounded, losing their parents' trust, or even facing jail time, just to try and fit in or feel like they have a group of friends they can identify with and who accept them. Sometimes, teens will change the way they dress, their friends, give up their values or create new ones, depending on the people they hang around with.

Some teens harbor secret lives governed by the influence of their peers. Some — including those who appear to be well-behaved, high-achieving teens when they are with adults — engage in negative, even dangerous behavior when with their peers.

Once influenced, teens may continue the slide into problems with the law, substance abuse, school problems, authority defiance, gang involvement, etc.

If your teen associates with people who are using drugs or displaying self-destructive behaviors, then your child is doing the same.

Encourage Healthy and Positive Relationships

It is important to encourage friendships among teens. We all want our children to be with persons who will have a positive influence, and stay away from persons who will encourage or engage in harmful, destructive, immoral, or illegal activities.

Parents can support positive peer relationships by giving their teenagers their love, time, boundaries, and encouragement to think for themselves.

Specifically, parents can show support by:

*Having a positive relationship with your teen. When parent-teen interactions are characterized by warmth, kindness, consistency, respect, and love, the relationship will flourish, as will the teen's self-esteem, mental health, spirituality, and social skills.

*Being genuinely interested in your teen's activities. This allows parents to know their teen's friends and to monitor behavior, which is crucial in keeping teens out of trouble. When misbehavior does occur, parents who have involved their children in setting family rules and consequences can expect less flack from their children as they calmly enforce the rules. Parents who, together with their children, set firm boundaries and high expectations may find that their children's abilities to live up to those expectations grow.

*Encouraging independent thought and expression. In this way, teens can develop a healthy sense of self and an enhanced ability to resist peer pressure.

When Parents Don't Approve

You may not be comfortable about your son or daughter's choice of friends or peer group. This may be because of their image, negative attitudes, or serious behaviors (such as alcohol use, drug use, truancy, violence, sexual behaviors).

Here are some suggestions:

*Get to know the friends of your teen. Learn their names, invite them into your home so you can talk and listen to them, and introduce yourself to their parents.

*Do not attack your child's friends. Remember that criticizing your teen's choice of friends is like a personal attack.

*Help your teen understand the difference between image (expressions of youth culture) and identity (who he or she is).

*Keep the lines of communication open and find out why these friends are important to your teenager.

*Check whether your concerns about their friends are real and important.

*If you believe your concerns are serious, talk to your teenager about behavior and choices -- not the friends.

*Encourage your teen's independence by supporting decision-making based on principles and not other people.

*Let your teen know of your concerns and feelings.

*Encourage reflective thinking by helping your teen think about his or her actions in advance and discussing immediate and long-term consequences of risky behavior.

*Remember that we all learn valuable lessons from mistakes.

No matter what kind of peer influence your teen faces, he or she must learn how to balance the value of going along with the crowd (connection) against the importance of making principle-based decisions (independence).

And you must ensure that your teen knows that he or she is loved and valued as an individual at home.

Source: http://www.focusas.com/PeerInfluence.html

The Habit of Identity

2008-01-23T08:35:00.000-08:00

by Dr. Sam Vaknin

In a famous experiment, students were asked to take a lemon home and to get used to it. Three days later, they were able to single out “their” lemon from a pile of rather similar ones. They seemed to have bonded.

Is this the true meaning of love, bonding, coupling?

Do we simply get used to other human beings, pets, or objects?

Habit-forming in humans is reflexive. We change ourselves and our environment in order to attain maximum comfort and well being. It is the effort that goes into these adaptive processes that forms a habit. The habit is intended to prevent us from constant experimenting and risk taking. The greater our well being, the better we function and the longer we survive.

Actually, when we get used to something or to someone – we get used to ourselves. In the object of the habit we see a part of our history, all the time and effort that we put into it. It is an encapsulated version of our acts, intentions, emotions and reactions. It is a mirror reflecting back at us that part in us, which formed the habit. Hence, the feeling of comfort: we really feel comfortable with our own selves through the agency of the object of our habit.

Because of this, we tend to confuse habits with identity. If asked WHO they are, most people will resort to describing their habits. They will relate to their work, their loved ones, their pets, their hobbies, or their material possessions. Yet, all of these cannot constitute part of an identity because their removal does not change the identity that we are seeking to establish when we enquire WHO someone is. They are habits and they make the respondent comfortable and relaxed. But they are not part of his identity in the truest, deepest sense.

Still, it is this simple mechanism of deception that binds people together. A mother feels that her offspring are part of her identity because she is so used to them that her well being depends on their existence and availability. Thus, any threat to her children is interpreted to mean a threat on her Self. Her reaction is, therefore, strong and enduring and can be recurrently elicited.

The truth, of course, is that her children are a part of her identity in a superficial manner. Removing them will make her a different person, but only in the shallow, phenomenological sense of the word. Her deep-set, true identity will not change as a result. Children do die at times and their mother does go on living, essentially unchanged.

But what is this kernel of identity that I am referring to?

This immutable entity which is the definition of who we are

and what we are and which, ostensibly, is not influenced

by the death of our loved ones?

What is so strong as to resist the breaking of habits that die hard?

It is our personality. This elusive, loosely interconnected, interacting, pattern of reactions to our changing environment. Like the Brain, it is difficult to define or to capture. Like the Soul, many believe that it does not exist, that it is a fictitious convention. Yet, we know that we do have a personality. We feel it, we experience it. It sometimes encourages us to do things – at other times, as much as prevents us from doing them. It can be supple or rigid, benign or malignant, open or closed. Its power lies in its looseness. It is able to combine, recombine and permute in hundreds of unforeseeable ways. It metamorphizes and the constancy of its rate and kind of change is what gives us a sense of identity.

Actually, when the personality is rigid to the point of being unable to change in reaction to changing circumstances, we say that it is disordered. A personality disorder is the ultimate misidentification. The individual mistakes his habits for his identity. He identifies himself with his environment, taking behavioral, emotional, and cognitive cues exclusively from it. His inner world is, so to speak, vacated, inhabited, as it were, by the apparition of his True Self.

Such a person is incapable of loving and of living. He is incapable of loving because to love (at least according to our model) is to equate and collate two distinct entities: one's Self and one's habits. The personality disordered sees no distinction. He is his habits and, therefore, by definition, can only rarely and with an incredible amount of exertion, change them. And, in the long term, he is incapable of living because life is a struggle towards, a striving, a drive at something.

In other words: Life is Change.

The person who cannot change, cannot live.

Staying Clean

2008-01-21T12:31:00.001-08:00

Staying Clean

Recovering from a drug or alcohol addiction doesn't end with a 6-week treatment program. It's a lifelong process. Many people find that joining a support group can help them stay clean. There are support groups specifically for teens and younger people. You'll meet people who have gone through the same experiences you have, and you'll be able to participate in real-life discussions about drugs that you won't hear in your school's health class.

Many people find that helping others is also the best way to help themselves. Your understanding of how difficult the recovery process can be will help you to support others — both teens and adults — who are battling an addiction.

If you do have a relapse, recognizing the problem as soon as possible is critical. Get help right away so that you don't undo all the hard work you put into your initial recovery. And, if you do have a relapse, don't ever be afraid to ask for help!

Need help with addiction now? Contact us at Sober Teens Online

Underage Drinking

2008-01-16T08:38:00.001-08:00

Alcohol abuse is a significant problem among young people and a solution needs to be found. This page evaluates prevention programs and identifies effective and ineffective ways to reduce drinking problems among young people, especially high school, college, and university students. The best preventive measures are often the easiest and most economical and can be easily implemented by parents and educators.
The Issue

We've all seen the distressing headlines. Case in point --- newspapers across the country carried frightening statistics reported by Joe Califano and the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA).

On national television programs, Califano reported horror stories of alcohol abuse among college students, associating it with assault, rape, and even murder. A CASA report asserted that:

* "60 percent of college women who have acquired sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS and genital herpes, were under the influence of alcohol at the time they had intercourse"
* "90 percent of all reported campus rapes occur when alcohol is being used by either the assailant or the victim"
* "The number of women who reported drinking to get drunk more than tripled between 1977 and 1993"
* "95 percent of violent crime on campus is alcohol-related" 1

But relax. These assertions are not supported by the facts. According to an investigative reporter, one of these statistics "appears to have been pulled from thin air," another is based on no evidence whatsoever, another is based on one inadequate survey and is inconsistent with all other surveys, and a fourth is highly suspect at best. 2 (See reference #2 for additional specifics.)

Even the most improbable of statistics are often repeated by news media as fact and become part of public belief. It is now commonly believed that the average young person will have seen 100,000 beer commercials between the age of two and eighteen But just think --- sixteen years or about 5,844 days occur between a person's second and eighteenth birthday. To see 100,000 beer commercials in that period, a person would have to see an average of more than seventeen a day! Common sense alone should have been enough to dispel the myth. But this clearly absurd statistic has been gullibly repeated over and over:

* by the Center for Science in the Public Interest in the New York Times
* in Sports Illustrated
* in Congressional testimony by Senator Strom Thurmond, the National Council on Alcoholism, and The Center for Children
* by Remove Intoxicated Drivers (RID) on "Sonya Live"
* by former Surgeon General Everett Koop in the New York Times
* and in countless newspapers and magazines across the country 3

This blatantly erroneous statistic has even found its way into textbooks for students and in materials for teachers. 4

Distorted, biased, or incorrect statistics may attract media attention. They may even influence public policy. But they can't contribute to a reduction of alcohol abuse, which requires accurate information and unbiased interpretation. Therefore, we must be skeptical of surprising, sensationalized statistics.

Typically, inflated statistics are associated with talk of epidemics, threats to our youth, and similar alarmist language. Often they are promoted by groups with laudable sounding names such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest. But many such groups, which may have underlying social or political agendas, tend to exaggerate the extent and growth of problems in which they have a vested interest and, typically, a proposed solution. Problems widely seen by the public as being of epidemic proportion justify ever larger budgets, increased staffs, higher salaries, more power, and greater organizational prestige.

And many groups and individuals have a vested interest in exaggerating the extent of drinking problems. They generally include federal, state, and other governmental alcohol agencies; private alcohol agencies; alcohol treatment facilities, therapists, alcohol educators; and often alcohol abusers themselves.

Editors sometimes confess that sensational statistics have much more reader appeal than reports of generally declining problems. Thus, when alcohol statistics are presented by researchers, the media tend to spin stories in a negative light. For example, the Wall Street Journal ran the following headline and lead sentence in response to a press release by the Harvard School of Public Health:

5

Instead, the study could have resulted in this headline and lead story:

Similarly, a nation-wide survey of students at 168 U. S. colleges and universities found that:

* 98% have never been in trouble with a college administrator because of behavior resulting from drinking too much
* 93% have never received a lower grade because of drinking too much
* 93% have never come to class after having had several drinks
* 90% have never damaged property, pulled a false alarm, or engaged in similar inappropriate behavior because of drinking 6

While headlines typically express alarm over drinking epidemics among collegians, in reality drinking among college students continues to decline as abstaining from alcohol climbs:

* The proportion of college students who abstain from alcohol jumped 58% between 1983 and 1994, according to a series of nation-wide surveys 7
* A 16% increase in college non-drinkers has been found between the periods of 1989-1991 and 1995-1997 by the federally-funded CORE Institute 8
* A recent study by Dr. Henry Wechsler of Harvard University found that the proportion of collegiate abstainers in the U.S. jumped nearly 22% in the four years since his earlier study 9
* The proportion of non-drinkers among college students in the U.S.recently reached a record-breaking all-time high accoring to statistics collected for the National Institute on Drug Abuse by the Institute for Social Research of the University of Michigan. 10 That means that the proportion of students who drink has dropped to an all-time record-breaking low!
* The proportion of first year college students who drink beer has fallen dramatically and recently reached the lowest level in 30 years, according to national annual surveys by UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute. Similar drops were found for wine and distilled spirits 11

So-called binge drinking among American college students also continues to decline For example, the proportion of college students who binge decreased significantly within a recent four-year period, according to the Harvard University study mentioned above. 12 (To see why much so-called binge drinking really isn't, visit Binge Drinking. You'll learn how completely sober people can be labeled bingers!)

These findings are consistent with data collected by for the National Institute on Drug Abuse by the Institute for Social Research. The ISR found that college "binge" drinking in the U.S. recently reached the lowest level of the entire 17-year period that its surveys have been conducted. 13
College students drink less than generally thought

College students "simply don't drink as much as everyone seems to think they do," according to researchers who used Breathalizers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Even on the traditional party nights of Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 66% of the students returned home with absolutely no blood alcohol content; two of every three students had not a trace of alcohol in their systems at the end of party nights.

"I'm not surprised at all by these results," said Rob Foss, manager of Alcohol Studies for the UNC Highway Traffic Safety Center, which conducted the study with funding from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the North Carolina Governor's Highway Safety Program. "Other Breathalizer studies we have done with drivers and recreational boaters show similar results - less drinking than is generally believed. We have substantial misperceptions about alcohol use in this country."

Similarly, drinking among young people in general continues to decline. For example, the proportion of youths aged 12 through 17 who consumed any alcohol within the previous month has dropped from 50% in 1979 down to 19% in 1998, according to the federal government's National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. That's down from one of every two youths to fewer than one of every five. 14

The proportion of both junior and senior high school students who have consumed any alcohol during the year has dropped again for the third year in a row, according to the PRIDE Survey, a nation-wide study of 138,079 students, which is designated by federal law as an official measure of substance use by teen-agers in the U.S. 15

Within a period of 17 years, there has been a 13% decrease in the proportion of American high school seniors who have ever consumed alcohol and a 24% decrease in the proportion who have ever "binged." 16

These are very important facts, but you probably haven't seen or heard much, if anything, about them in the mass media.
A Solution

In spite of all the hype and exaggeration, the fact remains that alcohol abuse is still a significant problem among youth that requires our attention. Thus, the question remains: what can we do to reduce alcohol abuse?

Significantly, hype and exaggeration are actually an important part of the problem. A negative spin on drinking statistics has a negative impact on drinking behaviors by contributing to a "reign of error. 17 When people believe that "everyone is doing it," abusive drinking increases as they try to conform to the imagined behaviors of others. 18 This is especially true among young people. Perceptions of the drinking behaviors of others strongly influences the actual drinking behavior of students. 19

The exaggeration of alcohol abuse tends to create a self-fulfilling prophesy. The more young people believe heavy drinking occurs, the more heavily they tend to drink in order to conform. 20 Research has demonstrated that reducing misperceptions of alcohol abuse is an effective way to reduce actual abuse among adolescents. 21

Individual students almost always believe that most others on campus drink more heavily than they do and the disparity between the perceived and the actual behaviors tend to be quite large. By conducting surveys of actual behavior and publicizing the results, the extent of heavy drinking can be quickly and significantly reduced. The most carefully assessed such project demonstrated a 35% reduction in heavy drinking, a 31% reduction in alcohol-related injuries to self, and a 54% reduction in alcohol-related injuries to others. 22

This approach to reducing alcohol problems is remarkably quick and inexpensive and has proven to be highly effective.
Alcohol And Society

Alcohol is a part of Western society and the majority of Americans enjoy alcohol beverages. To pretend that young people will grow up to enter a world of abstinence is both unrealistic and irresponsible.

Even religious groups strongly committed to abstinence are not very successful in maintaining it among their young people, the majority of whom drink. This is true even among students attending church supported schools. 23 Why should we expect secular alcohol education to even reach that very low level of "success"? It can't -- and it won't.

But many groups around the world have learned how to consume alcohol widely with almost no problems. Those familiar to most Americans include Italians, Jews, and Greeks. The success of such groups has three parts: 1) beliefs about the substance of alcohol, 2) the act of drinking, and 3) education about drinking.

In these successful groups:

* the substance of alcohol is seen as neutral. It is neither a terrible poison nor is it a magic substance that can transform people into what they would like to be
* The act of drinking is seen as natural and normal. While there is little or no social pressure to drink, there is absolutely no tolerance for abusive drinking
* Education about alcohol starts early and starts in the home. Young people are taught -- through their parents' good example and under their supervision -- that if they drink, they must do so moderately and responsibly 24

This three-part approach has enabled many groups to avoid the alcohol abuse problems that have plagued our society. Yet our federal government and others in the U.S. prevention field fail to learn from the experience of successful groups, opting instead to portray alcohol as a "dirty drug" to be feared and avoided; to promote abstinence as the best choice for all people; and to work toward reducing all, including moderate and responsible, consumption of alcohol beverages.
Scare Tactics

Federal agencies systematically attempt to equate legal alcohol consumption with illegal drug use. For example, federal guidelines direct agencies to substitute "alcohol and drug use" with "alcohol and other drug use" and to avoid use of the term "responsible drinking" altogether. 26

Alcohol is also stigmatized by associating it with crack cocaine and other illegal drugs. A poster picturing a wine cooler warns "Don't be fooled. This is a drug." 28

Technically, this assertion is correct. Any substance -- salt, vitamins, water, food, etc. -- that alters the functioning of the body is a drug. But the word "drug" has negative connotations and the attempt is clearly to stigmatize a legal product that is used in moderation by most American adults.

Stigmatizing alcohol as a "drug" may trivialize the use of illegal drugs and thereby encourage their use. Or, especially among the very young, may create the false impression that parents who use alcohol in moderation are drug abusers whose good example should be rejected by their children. Thus, this misguided effort to equate alcohol with illicit drugs is likely to be counterproductive.
A Better Way

Instead of stigmatizing alcohol and trying to scare people into abstinence, we need to recognize that it is not alcohol itself but rather the abuse of alcohol that is the problem.

Teaching about responsible use does not require student consumption of alcohol any more than teaching them world geography requires them to visit Nepal, or teaching them civics requires that they run for office or vote in presidential elections. We teach students civics to prepare them for the day when they can vote and assume other civic responsibilities if they choose to do so.

Because either drinking in moderation or abstaining should both be equally acceptable options for adults, we must prepare students for either choice. To do otherwise is both irresponsible and ineffective, if not counterproductive.

A recent study of the effectiveness of alcohol education programs compared those that present an abstinence-only message with those that present drinking in moderation as an option. It is clear that programs accepting responsible use are demonstrably more successful than are no-use-only programs. 29

In spite of noble intentions and the expenditure of massive amounts of time, energy, and money the best evidence shows that our current abstinence-oriented alcohol education is ineffective. Simply doing more of what is not working will not lead to success; it is essential that we re-think our approach to the problem. Our youth are too important and the stakes are too high to so otherwise.

Alcoholism in the family

2008-01-12T08:59:00.000-08:00

The effects of alcoholism in a spouse can be devastating not only for the marriage but for the children as well. Because the alcoholic spends an inordinate amount of time thinking about and consuming alcohol, it robs the other family members of his attention and love.

How can you tell if your spouse is an alcoholic? There are several signs to look for:

* A history of alcoholism in the family. People inherit a hereditary predisposition for alcoholism. All of us can become addicted to alcohol if we drink enough of it, but those with a history of alcoholism in their families become addicted more easily than those without this history.
* A history of heavy drinking. The earlier a person began to drink, the more years he has been drinking, the more frequently he drinks and the more he consumes, the more likely it is that he has become addicted to alcohol. Any amount beyond two drinks each time alcohol is consumed suggests the potential for a problem.
* Denial about one's drinking. Alcohol has become the alcoholic's best friend because it always provides her with a high or temporary relief from stress. As a result, she will do anything to protect her use of it. Even when it is obvious to everyone else, the alcoholic will vigorously deny she has a problem. One person with a twenty year history of heavy drinking and five alcohol-related arrests told me with a straight face he didn't have a drinking problem. End of discussion. Another who admitted he had been drinking a six pack of beer every day for twenty-five years denied he was addicted to alcohol. Alcoholics show us how great is the human capacity for denial and self-delusion!
* Problems caused by drinking. DUI arrests, bad fights at home, absenteeism at work, complaints of friends, spouses and children, medical conditions caused by drinking--all are indications that alcohol has become a serious problem.
* Blackouts. Blackouts are a loss of memory, but not a loss of consciousness, which occur when a person is intoxicated. Others remember, perhaps all to painfully, what she did last night, but the alcoholic can't recall a thing.
* Preoccupation with drinking. Making sure there is an adequate supply of alcohol at a party or in the house. Also, drinking before a party.
* Gulping alcohol. Drinking quickly to get the high as soon as possible.
* Sneaking drinks. Hiding bottles in the house.
* Loss of control of drinking. If a person plans to stop at the local bar for two beers and often stays much longer until he's intoxicated, chances are he has a drinking problem. The bottom line question about alcohol is, "Do you control it or does it control you?"
* Failure to stop drinking. Let's assume a person has become concerned about her drinking and so vows to stop or control it. The fact that she can't is another sign that drinking has become a serious problem for her.

For an alcoholic to seek help, he has to decide himself he has a drinking problem. If you think your spouse is an alcoholic, I'll discuss in my next article what you can do to help him make that decision.

Source: http://www.enhancedhealing.com/

Child Abuse

2008-01-11T14:00:00.000-08:00

Child abuse is widespread and can occur in any cultural, ethnic, and income group. Child abuse can be physical, emotional, verbal, or sexual. It can also result from neglect. Abuse can result in serious injury to the child and even possible death.

Studies show that one in four girls and one in eight boys are sexually abused before the age of 18, and that approximately one in 20 children are physically abused each year. Physical abuse involves harming a child by, for example, burning, beating, or breaking their bones. Sexual abuse occurs when there is inappropriate touching of a child's breasts or genitalia, or by someone exposing their genitalia to a child. Neglect can include physical neglect, such as withholding food, clothing, shelter, or other necessities. Emotional neglect includes withholding love or comfort or affection. Medical neglect occurs when medical care is withheld.

Symptoms

Children who are abused are often afraid to complain; they are fearful that they will be blamed or that no one will believe them. Parents are often unable to recognize symptoms of abuse because they may not want to face the truth. A child who has been abused needs access to special support and treatment as soon as possible. The longer the abuse continues, the less likely the child will make full recovery.

Watch out for unexplained changes in your child's body or behavior. Conduct a formal examination only if you have reason to suspect your child has been abused. Otherwise, the child may become fearful. Be alert to any of the following changes:

Signs of Physical Abuse: Any injury (bruise, burn, fracture, abdominal or head injury) that cannot be explained

Signs of Sexual Abuse: Fearful behavior (nightmares, depression, unusual fears, attempts to run away) Abdominal pain, bedwetting, urinary tract infection, genital pain or bleeding, sexually transmitted disease Extreme sexual behavior that seems inappropriate for the child's age

Signs of Emotional Abuse: Sudden change in self-confidence Headaches or stomachaches with no medical cause Abnormal fears, increased nightmares Attempts to run away

Signs of Emotional Neglect: Failure to gain weight (especially in infants) Desperately affectionate behavior Voracious appetite and stealing food

Causes

Abuse can happen in a variety of family settings. However, abuse is more likely to occur in families that are isolated and have no friends, relatives, church, or other support. Parents who suffered childhood abuse are more likely to abuse their own children. Alcohol and drug abuse also increases the likelihood that child abuse will occur. Parents who are overly critical, who are very rigid in their disciplining methods, who show too much or too little concern for their child, and who are under extreme stress are more likely to abuse their child.

Abusive parents often do not intend to hurt their children. Usually they are lashing out in anger, but a single episode increases the likelihood that other instances will occur. Such parents need professional help to develop coping strategies.

Treatment

If you suspect a child has been abused, contact a pediatrician or a local child protective agency for help. Physicians are legally obligated to report all suspected cases of abuse or neglect to state authorities. They can also recommend a therapist and provide the necessary information for investigators. Doctors may also testify in court to obtain legal protection for the child and to criminally prosecute an individual suspected of engaging in sexual abuse.

Whatever the nature of the abuse, steps should be taken immediately to report the abuse and obtain help. Delaying a report decreases the child's chances for full recovery. Oftentimes, a child who has been abused or maltreated will become depressed and develop suicidal, withdrawn, or violent behavior. As the child grows older, they may turn to drugs or alcohol, attempt to run away, or they may refuse discipline and abuse others. Childhood abuse may also result in sexual difficulties, depression or suicidal behavior in adulthood.

If your child has been abused, you may be the only person who can help him. Do not delay reporting your suspicions of abuse. Denying the problem will only worsen the situation; allowing the abuse to continue decreases the child's chance for full recovery. In most cases, children who are abused or neglected suffer greater emotional than physical damage. A child who is severely mistreated may become depressed or develop suicidal, withdrawn, or violent behavior. The younger the child and the closer the child's relationship is to the abuser, the more serious the emotional damage will be. As adults, they may develop marital and sexual difficulties, depression or suicidal behavior.

If you suspect child abuse of any kind, you should:

* Take the child to a quiet, private area
* Gently encourage the child to give you enough information to evaluate whether abuse may have occurred
* Remain calm; do not upset the child
* If the child reveals the abuse, reassure her that you believe her, that she is right to tell you, and that she is not bad
* Tell the child you are going to talk to persons who can help
* Record all information
* Immediately report the suspected abuse to the proper local authorities

Sources:

* American Psychiatric Association
* National Library of Medicine

The emotional trauma of early teen sex

2008-01-08T08:18:00.001-08:00

The pressure to have sex is one of the major issues that have plagued teenagers for decades. With hormones raging and peer pressure the urge for sexual exploration will increase. Some will give into the urge but they should consider both the physical risk and emotional turmoil.

Often, parents dread the very thought, let alone the knowledge, that their little girl or boy is having sex. However, it is important that parents put aside their fears and deal with the reality and give them 'the birds-and-bees talk' at an ideal age.

Marcus Williams, a father of two boys and two girls, said he had the talk with his girls when they were 14 years old. "My opening statement was, 'I don't grow grandchildren, they visit me'."

He said he does not talk to them about protection. Rather he believes in abstinence. He told them that education opens many doors and that should be their focus.

"I told them not to give in to peer pressure and they must not be afraid to come to me or their mother for advice."

He notes that he made sure that the types of friends they keep have positive values and are well mannered. Plus, when it comes to sleepovers, he ensures that their friends' parents are people who he is comfortable with.

He told Flair that as it relates to the boys he gives them the talk at 16 years old. He uses the same opening statement. However, he said he does not focus on abstinence, but on protection. "I let them know it is not just about protecting themselves from becoming a father but also protection against sexually transmitted infections (STIs)."

Homosexuals

He notes that he does not come down on the boys too hard if they are sexually active before the talk because they might go the other way and his major concern is that they not become homosexuals.

Fathers more protective

Sex therapist, Dr. Sidney McGill, advises that fathers tend to be more protective than mothers, especially of the girls, and often advocate abstinence.

He said that one has to look at the reasons other than teens libido why they want to have sex so early. Is it because of peer pressure? If not, is it depression? Or are there relationship problems with parents?

"If a teen is sexually active, then the implication of sex, even safe sex, may not prevent STIs," said Dr. McGill. In a sexual relationship, one has to make an emotional investment and adolescents are not good at coping with the complexities of such a relationship. He said that kind of relationship would open a world that exposes them to the potential of getting hurt.

He further stated that teens usually have to cope with academics and extra-curricular activities and entering in a sexual relationship can add more stress. Instead of parents telling their children whether or not to have sex, Dr. McGill said, "They should supervise the kind of friends they keep. Plus, cultivate an open-door policy with them so they feel free to discuss anything with you. The fact is that children need the emotional experience of their parents.

Silent Epidemic

2008-01-07T09:14:00.000-08:00

According to the most recent study by the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, nearly seventeen million Americans have tried huffing or inhaling the intoxicating fumes from common household products. Despite a small decline in huffing since 1995, experts say that millions of American kids will try huffing at least once, and some of those will develop a habit. This is the “silent epidemic” and it needs to be more recognized.

Easy access to chemicals makes huffing a popular alternative for teens. Inhalants effect the biological and neurobiological involvement by abusing brain receptors in the neurotransmitter system. These areas of the brain change by an action of the different chemicals, which are facilitated by inhaling or breathing in enough molecular levels to change the biological influences, which leads to intoxication.

More adolescents are using inhalants than those who use illicit drugs. Teenagers who might never try illegal drugs may try inhalants because they are legal, and easy to access. Inhalants are inexpensive and relatively easy to steal. Inhalants come in many shapes and forms. Kids find it in spray paint, glue, shoe polish, and Toluene. Studies show that white Caucasians and Hispanics among the ages of twelve to seventeen are more likely to use inhalants. In junior high schools, teens find easy access to chemicals located in the wood shop, auto shop, and the janitor closet that will get them high. Parents need to be educated, as well as teachers, coaches, counselors, and young children to the warning signs of intoxication from inhalants, and that every day chemicals can be used for this purpose.

There are one thousand common household products that can be used for intoxicating proposes. These volatile chemicals such as Toluene and other fumes, can be inhaled and offer a rush that lasts for forty five minutes or more. These products are legal, inexpensive, and easy to get. Studies have shown that it is easy to walk into any hardware store and walk out with a can of paint thinner, or any other chemical that can be used to get high by huffing.

Stephen Dewey, an inhalant researcher at the U.S. Department of Energy in Brookhaven New York, says that many parents and school teachers don’t even realize how easy and dangerous these products are, and that they are being used by our youth to get high. Addiction is just one of the many pitfalls that kids who huff go through. Many kids turn to inhalants as a cheap and easy way to get high; yet huffing can easily turn into a fatal mistake. Inhalants can trigger a dangerously irregular heartbeat, even in the first time user. These kids may start out laughing or giddy, and several minutes later they are dead.

We have no accurate statistics on how many kids have died from huffing, due to the fact that many of these deaths are mistakenly documented as suicides or accidents. Their friends don’t want to get caught so they say that they were depressed and that it probably was a suicide. The parents hope that if they deny there is a problem it might go away; they don’t want their child’s name dragged through the mud by the stigma of addiction. This way the huffer never gets found out. Denial is a subtle foe and with it comes unresolved issues regarding the danger and abuse of inhalants.

The following are some known substances that are categorized as being abused by inhalation:
• Hydrocarbons
• Nitrites
• Anesthetics
• Alcohol
• Halogen compounds
• Airplane glue
• Scotch-guard
• Pam cooking sprays
• Carbon tetrachloride - used in swimming pools
• Gasoline
• Paint thinner
• Butane
• White out or correction fluid
• Colored markers

There are other items too numerous to list, because there are over fourteen hundred known substances that are categorized as a capable substance that can be abused by huffing.

Often children are abusing inhalants right in front of us, and without our knowledge. The youth of today abuse potentially toxic substances because they like how it makes them feel. It may produce a feeling of euphoria, which is associated with inhalants. As parents, teachers, counselors, and any other professional, we should fear that inhalant abuse could become the “in thing” to do in our neighborhoods schools and that peer pressure will prompt others to experiment with toxic inhalant products.

There are physical and mental complications associated with inhalant abuse. These include:
• Cardiac arrhythmias
• Suffocation
• Asphyxia
• Unintended trauma
• Damage to the optic nerve
• Diminishing of cognitive abilities
• Kidney damage
• Liver damage
• Heart diseases
• Bone disease
• Breathing disruptions

Worst yet, according to medical professionals it is a fact that few young people care or feel that the above things will ever happen to them. Statistically it does happen and most children that suffer from any of these ailments eventually die at a young age. Inhalers that abuse chemicals have permanent brain damage and an increase of problems with their organs, such as the lungs, heart, and liver.

There is hope to this bleak epidemic if the public can recognize the dangers that inhalants pose, and that through our resources we will become more aware of what is going on with our youth. There are many studies and information available to help in resolving the silent and deadly abuse of inhalants.

Source: http://www.teendrugabuse.us/inhalants.html

What You Should Know About Mixing Alcohol and OTC Meds

2008-01-06T05:18:00.000-08:00

There are endless reasons to stay away from alcohol when taking over-the-counter medications. Alcohol can cause confusion, enhanced side effects, and even death with certain over the counter products. Here are a few things to consider before you mix alcohol with OTC meds:

Alcohol & Meds Together Can Overload Your Liver

When you drink alcohol, your liver is responsible for eliminating it from your system. This is why people with alcoholism get liver failure, because they're livers are overworked for years and years. Your liver also cleanses out toxic byproducts of OTC medications.

Unfortunately, this vital cleansing quality of liver is literally overloaded when you mix certain medications with alcohol. Your liver can't handle all the toxins you've put into your body, and then you're basically poisoned. Consequences can range from an elevated heart rate to death. To avoid potential poisoning, be sure to read all OTC labels and ask your doctor or pharmacist how much alcohol you can safely drink with your OTC meds.

Alcohol Can Worsen Side Effects

If alcohol doesn't directly damage your body, it still has the potential to exacerbate side effects associated with the OTC medications you're taking. Drowsiness and fogginess are common, and these worsened side effects can be dangerous when driving or operating heavy machinery.

It's Easy to Get Confused about Your Meds When Drunk

Yet another reason why mixing meds and alcohol is this: when you're drunk or even just have a buzz, you're less likely to take your medications correctly. You might forget to read the label, you might take the wrong dosage, or you might even take the wrong medicine all together. Even when dealing with over-the-counter drugs, it is essential to be lucid and intelligible when you taking any kind of measured medication.

Don't Be Afraid to Ask Your Local Pharmacist...

If you want to be positive that your OTC medications mixed with a night of partying won't produce undesirable side effects, don't hesitate to ask your local pharmacist any questions you can think of. This is the best way to definitively be informed about drug-alcohol interactions you could experience, aside from leaving warning labels on the OTC meds themselves. Trusted medical websites such as WebMD.com are also great places to go for drug information and answers you're looking for.

Mixing alcohol with over the counter medications is rarely a good idea, and you can avoid horrible side effects simply by being informed with labels and information. I hope this article has assisted you. Good luck!

author: Lisa Belle
associatedcontent.com

Updating drug, alcohol, sex education in school

2008-01-04T04:38:00.000-08:00

Although the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, better known as DARE, is common in school districts and is very popular among elementary-age students, the lessons are outdated and need to be revamped.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer is advocating a new program, called Enhanced HealthSmart, in place of DARE.

Enhanced HealthSmart will include what DARE covers but will include other topics such as Internet safety, nutrition, bullying, injury, unintended pregnancy and other sex education.

It also will be tailored to the needs and specifics of individual school districts, providing more flexibility than the DARE program.

Throughout elementary school I thought that the DARE program was extremely informational, and I believed it was going to make my school a better place. I now realize that I was so naive. Now that I am five years older and much more aware of what is actually going on in my community, I realize that the program has done next to nothing to help the drug, alcohol or violence issues that exist.

Although many students, including myself, choose to remain drug-free, there are many who do not. The students who resist the use of drugs or alcohol simply have willpower; they do not necessarily retain the information from DARE.

Although a major highlight of DARE was the interaction between the police officers and the students, police officers can be frightening to children who have only heard negative comments about them.

DARE has always tried to be a family-oriented program, but it tends to pit kids against their parents. In a number of communities around the country, students have been enlisted by DARE officers as informants against their parents.

As much as I feel that it is unacceptable to allow drugs or the overuse of alcohol in a house with young children - or in any situation, for that matter - I also believe children should not be pitted against their parents.

Another downside to the original program is that it teaches misleading information. According to the DARE program, Marlboro Light cigarettes, Bacardi rum and a drag from a joint are all equally dangerous. That information has been proven untrue.

The decision to end the DARE program was a good one. Enhanced HealthSmart is a much more beneficial program.

author: Alexa Bennett-Rosman |
Alexa Bennett- Rosman is a senior at Rocky Point High School.

source: newsday.com

Book tries to crack facade

2008-01-02T05:45:00.000-08:00

Jose Rosado walks next to the tree in Bethlehem where his mentor and Bethlehem Area School District educator Iris Cintron challenged him to turn his life around by enrolling in college. He is now an assistant principal at East Hills Middle School in the district.

Jose Rosado has told his story to individuals and small groups, always with the hope that it will inspire someone to change his life.

It begins in poverty, in a brown paper bag of booze and a haze of marijuana smoke. It ends with Rosado as a successful educator in the Bethlehem Area School District, a respected community activist and occasional political candidate.

''I'm not worried about skeletons in the closet,'' said Rosado, 44, an assistant principal at East Hills Middle School. ''I let them out a long time ago.''

Now Rosado is hoping to reach a bigger audience. He's shelled out $9,000 to self-publish an autobiography about growing up poor in Bethlehem public housing, becoming a father as a pot-smoking, boozing 19-year-old college student and giving up alcohol cold turkey 17 years ago.

''Being Good At Being Bad: Troubled Teenagers, Factors and Solutions'' intersperses Rosado's experiences and beliefs with national statistics to outline what he believes leads to happy children becoming angry teenagers on the brink of failure: broken homes, failed legislation and poor role models. The book, through infinitypublishing.com, sells for $13.95.

''Just by the feedback I've received from people, they are happy I've addressed many of these issues of troubled teens head-on,'' Rosado said. ''I'm willing to put myself out there with my thoughts on these controversial issues.''

While making money on the book would be nice, Rosado said, he is not holding out hope his book will become a best-seller. He is not embarrassed that he went the self-publishing route after a few traditional publishing houses turned him down. He's not worried about what people may think of him or his beliefs. He's just happy he had the guts to write what he has been preaching for more than two decades.

Rosado retold his story late last year while sitting on a shopping cart abandoned under a tree near Lebanon Street and Eastwood Road in Bethlehem's Marvine-Pembroke development. Rosado grew up there after his first home was razed in the South Terrace development in south Bethlehem.

Rosado knew what the shopping cart symbolized: poverty and despair. It was probably left there by a public housing resident who couldn't afford a car, he said, so it was used to get groceries home and abandoned, much like the resident's own dreams of a better life.

Rosado recalled that it was under the same tree 25 years earlier when he decided to retrieve his dreams, with a not-so-gentle nudging from longtime Bethlehem Area School District educator Iris Cintron.

''I was working at Hardy's on Airport Road; they've been closed forever,'' Rosado said. ''I came home, showered, shaved and did my normal routine. I grabbed a quart of beer and relaxed under the tree. Iris happened to be driving by, stopped, got out of the car and said, 'What are you planning to do?'''

With Cintron's guidance, Rosado put down the spatula that earned him minimum wage, got two college degrees and became a school guidance counselor and administrator who has used his personal experience of growing up and getting out of the projects to help individual students.

Cintron said Rosado's personal story connects with students.

''The kinds of barriers Jose has faced and the kinds of mountains he's had to climb are the same mountains many of our kids face on a daily basis,'' said Cintron, now the district's supervisor of Minority Affairs/Governmental Programs and Grants.

As far as his book is concerned, Cintron said, the ideas are Rosado's, not her's or the school district's. But she said his book makes you think.

Bethlehem Police Commissioner Randy Miller got to know Rosado when Miller was a rookie patrolman in the Marvine-Pembroke development, which in the 1970s and 1980s was so rife with violence and drugs that when two police cars responded to a call, a third was brought in to guard the cars. While he has not read Rosado's book, Miller said, he has always respected him for getting out of the developments.

''I always respected him for trying to better himself versus becoming another statistic,'' Miller said. ''He's a respected citizen.''

The new author does not pull punches in describing what he thinks leads to those grim statistics on dropouts, gangs, prisoners and substance abusers.

''What is 'Being Good At Being Bad?''' Rosado asked. ''Being good at being bad is a lifestyle, it's about status and recognition, it's about masking pain and failure with a tough facade.''

source: http://www.mcall.com

Eating Disorders in Adolescents

2007-12-28T12:02:00.000-08:00

ScienceDaily (Nov. 21, 2007) — Eating disorders in the U.S. among ethnic groups were thought to be rare, but recent studies have shown that many cultures are now exposed to the thin beauty ideal. As a result, experts expect to see an increase in eating disorder symptoms among ethnic groups. It is also suspected that eating disorders and weight control behaviors may be increasing among adolescent boys. Although research has shown that eating disorders begin during adolescence, few epidemiological studies have been conducted with teens and those that have examined weight control practices among adolescents are too varied to be able to discern trends.

A new study, one of the first to examine trends in adolescent weight control behaviors over a 10-year period, found that the prevalence of these behaviors in male adolescents significantly increased, while black females appear to resist pressure to pursue thinness.

Led by Y. May Chao of Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, researchers examined data from nationally representative samples of high school students from 1995 to 2005. The data was available via the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), a survey conducted every two years since 1991 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to assess the prevalence of health-risk behaviors among teens.

The results showed that the prevalence of dieting and diet product use among female adolescents significantly increased between 1995 and 2005 and as did the prevalence of all weight control behaviors (including dieting, diet product use, purging, exercise and vigorous exercise) among males. The data suggested that black female adolescents are the least likely to practice weight control, while white female adolescents are the most likely. Among males, white adolescents are the least likely to practice weight control and Hispanic adolescents are the most likely. The authors suggest that Hispanics may be more motivated to control their weight due to the higher prevalence of overweight among these young men.

The increase in weight control behaviors among males indicates that the social pressure for men to achieve unrealistic body ideals is growing, putting young males at an increased risk of body dissatisfaction and developing an eating disorder, according to the authors. "Considering that males have negative attitudes toward treatment-seeking and are less likely than females to seek treatment, efforts should be made to increase awareness of eating disorder symptomatology in male adolescents, and future prevention efforts should target male as well as female adolescents," they state.

The study reported the 10-year trends but also showed that some behaviors fluctuated during this period. The authors suggest that some practices, such as dieting, may be sensitive to changes in certain aspects of culture, such as fashion and topics of media focus, or seasonal variations, since it was not known at what time of year the YRBSS was administered.

Surprisingly, unlike previous studies, the current study did not find that ethnic differences in weight control behavior are decreasing. The authors suggest that black women tend to have more flexible concepts of beauty, which may make them less vulnerable to social pressure. However, this may put them at increased risk for becoming overweight, given the current environment of super-sized portions of nutritionally deficient foods.

The authors conclude, "Males, especially ethnic minority males, are under studied in this field, and this study provides key information about the prevalence of weight control practices in a large, diverse sample of male adolescents and raises important questions about the factors contributing to the ethnic difference in weight control practices among male adolescents."

The study was published online in the International Journal of Eating Disorders.

Teen drinking, anger a bad mix

2007-12-27T06:20:00.000-08:00

High school seniors who drink alcohol to cope with anger or other problems already show a risky pattern of alcohol use that could continue later in life, a study reports.

More than three-quarters of seniors say they have experimented with alcohol, so the findings may not help prevent alcohol use in high school, says researcher Lori Palen of Pennsylvania State University. But such research might help identify high-risk teens before they develop a severe problem, says Zili Sloboda of the international Society for Prevention Research.

The findings in the December issue of the journal Prevention Science raise important questions for parents, especially during the holidays, Sloboda says. Some believe teen drinking is OK with adult supervision. But parents may not realize the teen brain is not fully developed and is especially vulnerable to alcohol's effects, she says.

Palen and her colleagues studied 1,877 high school seniors nationwide; 32% said they drank mostly for the thrill of it, and 15% said they used alcohol to relax. Another 36% said they drank just to experiment. Teens might experiment with all kinds of things, including alcohol, but they're not necessarily developing worrisome habits such as daytime drinking, Palen says.

A smaller group, 18%, said they drank for multiple reasons, including an inability to deal with frustration or anger. This group did show problematic behavior around alcohol: They were more likely to get drunk during the day, possibly during school hours. They also said they got drunk frequently; many had started to drink by sixth grade.

"There are a number of kids who start using alcohol early and use alcohol to deal with psychological problems," Sloboda says. Such teens might not listen to prevention messages that stress the dangers of alcohol. But these same kids might stop risky drinking habits or stop drinking altogether if taught more effective ways to handle frustrations, she says.

source: USA Today

Juvenile drug court program addressing growing need

2007-12-26T09:17:00.000-08:00

According to court officials, there are 24 juveniles enrolled in the Knox County Juvenile Drug Court Program for various drug-related crimes. This represents the highest level of participation at any one time since the program’s inception.

Created by Juvenile Judge James M. Ronk in March 2001, the drug court program was designed to specifically address the intervention needs of the growing body of Knox County teens exhibiting addictive or potentially addictive drug-related behavior.

“Throughout the time I’ve been judge, there have been teen drinking parties and smoking marijuana,” said Ronk. “[At the time], I wasn’t happy with our response. We were looking around for evidence-based programs that offered the opportunity for more effective interventions.”

That same year, the Ohio Supreme Court established its own office to assist local communities in establishing drug court programs. The first drug court program entered Ohio in 1995; today there are 28 juvenile courts throughout the state and nearly 2,000 programs nationwide.

According to officials from Coshocton County, their juvenile drug court program has graduated 22 youths since its inception in December 2002. There are three youths currently enrolled. Dan Wallace, court program administrator for Morrow County, said that Morrow’s juvenile program began in April 2001 and has processed approximately 100 teens since then, with 14 currently enrolled.

“It’s the best thing we’ve found to help combat recidivism,” said Wallace.

The Knox County program accepts youths ages 14 to 18 and was designed, according to a mission statement, “for those juveniles who have been involved in criminal activity and are identified as having a significant drug and alcohol problem.”

Melissa Body, adolescent program coordinator for the Knox County Freedom Center and liaison to the drug court program, called the high number of youths in the program an identification issue.

“It’s not so much that [it’s more of a problem],” said Body. “It’s that we’re identifying kids more. We really try to intervene before there’s a big problem. We choose kids that we feel have potential and they’re headed down the wrong path.”

The court proceedings are unlike any other program in the judicial system. To enroll a child in the program, parents are required to co-sign a contract. Juvenile Magistrate Jeffrey C. Williams said it’s a way to hold parents accountable for their children’s behavior.

“If [we determine] the parent is not actively participating in the child’s recovery, he or she could be held in contempt,” said Williams. “We’ve had parents show up for [weekly] court intoxicated before. Once, it happened twice, and he was found in immediate contempt and went to jail.”

“Parents are required to set a standard in their home. Drugs or alcohol present hinders their recovery from their addiction. Kids have asked for their parents to be [drug] screened, too,” said Program Administrator Angie Webb.

Williams said parents usually end up getting the help they need after watching their child’s progress through the program.

Drug Court Probation Officer Misty Jenkins said the court program is an intensive probation intervention.

“It’s not just sanctions but rewards [for good behavior],” she said. “We’ve found that five positive rewards to one negative sanction is the ratio when [the child’s] behavior begins to change.”

Participants are required to undergo individual and group counseling, home inspections, routine court hearings, 150 hours of community service, scheduled exercise regiments, monthly family activities and a variety of other conditions that vary from child to child.

“It’s based on the idea that these families are not always educated in how to interact with each other,” said Webb. “We teach about them about doing other things than are drug related.”

Webb added that the scheduled family activities include picnics, planting trees, an annual chili cook-off, basketball and soup kitchens. Without a doubt, she said, the favorite this year was pumpkin carving.

“I don’t think any of these kids have ever carved a pumpkin,” said Webb.

Sanctions are handed down for any number of offenses, including missing school, missing a random drug test, missing a scheduled solo or family activity or violating curfews. A sanction could be anything from writing essays to an evening in Podville, forced bike riding, house arrest, community service or detention.

As far as rewards go, well-behaved candidates receive “drug court bucks” to be reimbursed later in the program for extra privileges or prizes. According to one court official, volunteers from the community have donated prizes such as sports equipment or movie tickets on which youths can redeem their bucks.

Williams said sanctions are catered to the individual.

“We try to take a holistic approach to the kids,” said Williams. “We look at the whole kid, the whole family.”

At a recent weekly drug court hearing, one 16-year-old boy who had been missing school was warned by the judge that each day he missed would result in one day’s detention and he would have his guitar taken away.

The nine-month program consists of four separate phases, each varying in the intensity level of supervision. A new enrollee is required to attend court once per week, but by the final phase may only need to show up once per month. Throughout the nine months, all enrollees are subjected to drug and alcohol testing several times per week.

“We’re always looking for a new viable alcohol monitor,” said Jenkins. “We found the ankle bracelet was ineffective. Now we have breathalyzers installed on their home telephones and we can actually see a picture of them breathing into the tube. We try to be as vigilant as we can be.”

Jenkins added that they are now able to track the real-time whereabouts of any child through the GPS chips installed in their cell phones.

Body said that in the early days of the program, youths were usually admitted to the program for repeated probation violations related to alcohol and marijuana.

“In the last six months, [prescription drug abuse] has become more of a problem, even with kids already in the program,” she said.

Recent studies conducted by several universities and the Department of Justice have shown that adolescents who successfully complete the program are less likely to commit future crimes and are more likely to stay clean over the years. A DOJ study conducted in Pennsylvania concluded that drug court graduates had a rearrest rate of 5.4 percent, versus a 21.5 percent rearrest rate among the control group. A Southern Methodist University study concluded that for every dollar spent on a drug court, $9.43 in tax dollar savings were realized over a 40-month period.

Special Agent Rich Isaacson of the Drug Enforcement Agency said his agency was in favor of the court program.

“We’re not going to just arrest our way out of the drug problem,” said Isaacson. “We need to look at it from a holistic approach.”

“Overall, I’m happy with the program,” said Ronk. “I’m convinced we’re having a positive impact on these kids. By definition, kids make mistakes. We hopefully plant some seeds that eventually come to fruition. That’s true with about everything we do.”

Webb said the level of success was relative.

“Any time you’re dealing with juveniles you have to judge success differently,” she said.

“When a parent and kid sit down and look at you and say ‘My kid wouldn’t be alive today if it weren’t for you,’ we call that a success,” said Jenkins. “In the long term, it’s also a real bargain for our community. We give the kids that period of time to give their brain a chance to develop normally as opposed to substance abuse.”

“I wish we could expand to take on kids who are at lesser risk [of addiction],” Ronk added. “Like every other agency, we’re limited by financial and human resources. We hope to add another probation officer soon so we can positively impact even more kids.”

For Jenkins, her definition of success is simple.

“I don’t have a dead kid yet,” she said.

source: Mount Vernon News

Holiday Blues

2007-12-23T07:32:00.000-08:00

This is a very difficult time for many teens and young adults. The holidays are supposed to be a time of joy and celebration. Unfortunately, that isn't true for many out there in the world and it can be a very lonely time. If you feel alone and need some help, if you just need to vent or need a friend. We invite you to join us at our teen forum where someone will be there to listen.

Sober Teens

You don't have to be alone during the holidays! A new year is coming and maybe, just maybe this will be YOUR year!

Happy Holidays to all of you reading!

N.

Tips for Youth Drunk, Drugged Driving Prevention Noted

2007-12-22T06:28:00.000-08:00

HARTFORD - Gov. M. Jodi Rell is reminding parents and teens that it is illegal for anyone under 21 to drink alcohol and any adult to allow parties where underage drinking is occurring.

This reminder comes on the heels of the governor proclaiming the month Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month in Connecticut.

As Connecticut youth face the temptations and pressures of the punchbowl-spiked holidays, two new studies find that teenagers and young adults who binge drink are at increased risk of developing chronic health problems later in life.

"We continue to see the tragic consequences of our youth drinking too much, too soon," said Gov. Rell, co-chairwoman of The Governor's Prevention Partnership.

"Adults need to draw the line against underage drinking, not just for the holidays, but year round. The more we learn of its detrimental effects, the clearer it is that reducing underage drinking should be viewed by all as a public health priority."

In addition to the evolving body of evidence on the detrimental effects of alcohol on still developing brains, new research highlights the long term physical effects of binge drinking on teenagers and young adults.

Youth who binge drink are more likely to develop heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes as they get older than those who drink moderately or start drinking at a later age. The higher risk was found to remain even if the binge drinking is curtailed later on.

Teenagers who binge drink are also more than twice as likely to become alcoholics by the time they reach 30 than non-binge drinkers.

These findings complement recent studies showing that drinking under the age of 21 can permanently impair the brain, causing memory and attention loss.

"As adults we need to change the way we think of underage drinking, and we need to examine the cues we give to adolescents," said Jill Spineti, president of The Governor's Prevention Partnership.

"Underage drinking, especially the turbo party culture that encourages teens to drink too much, too fast, is only as inevitable as we allow it to be. Parents are the leading influence in the decisions their children make."

The Governor's Prevention Partnership offers tips for parents this holiday weekend and for the upcoming New Year's weekend.

1. Don't relax your rules just because it's the holiday season. Kids still need limits and close monitoring. Expectations may need to be renegotiated or reiterated for college students returning home.

2. If your child attends a party, make sure alcohol will not be served and that partygoers will be properly supervised. Be available to provide a ride home if something unexpected happens.

3. If you leave for a night of celebration, be aware that unsupervised kids are at risk for alcohol use. Set up a reliable method for checking up on your child's whereabouts and activities.

4. If you host adult parties in your home and plan to serve alcohol, keep a clear head so that you can supervise any teens who may be present. Set a good example: drink responsibly and don't allow intoxicated guests to drive. Make sure any alcohol in your home is not accessible to your children.

5. Keep kids away from adult parties where there's a risk of witnessing guests overindulging. If appropriate and feasible, send your kids to another safe, supervised setting while your adult party is going on.

6. Be a good role model. Show your kids that you know your own limits, always designate a driver and never let someone drive away from your home intoxicated.

State surveys underscore that Connecticut youth are both drinking and driving impaired at troubling levels.

Nearly half (45 percent) of students in Connecticut's public high schools report having drunk alcohol at least once in the prior month, according to the 2005 Connecticut School Health Survey.

Overall, 28 percent of high school students and 40 percent of seniors reported binge drinking: consuming five or more drinks within a couple of hours, within the past 30 days.

The survey also found that white high school students are nearly twice as likely as their black classmates to binge drink: 31 percent to 18 percent.

The study found that two in 10 Connecticut high school students, more than 19,000, report having recently driven a vehicle while drinking alcohol.

By the time they reach senior year, 34 percent students report having driven under the influence of alcohol.

The incidence of college students driving under the influence of alcohol and or drugs rose 18 percent between 2001 and 2004, according to the State Epidemiological Workgroup.

The Governor's Prevention Partnership is a not-for-profit collaboration of state and business leaders providing prevention resources in schools and communities to keep Connecticut youth safe, successful and drug-free.

Those seeking information about prevention initiative may call Celine Provini, program director at 860-523-8042 or visit www.preventionworksct.org.

©Voices 2007
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?brd=1380

Adolescent Drug Abuse

2007-12-20T09:48:00.000-08:00

Adolescent drug abuse is of growing concern in America. Children are experimenting with drugs at very young ages. One of the most common drugs that the youth is abusing is alcohol. Surveys show that children as young as twelve years old have experience drinking. These children report that their adolescent drug abuse was induced by peer pressure from classmates, relatives and curiosity. They claim that alcohol use makes them feel like an adult although they need help purchasing the beverage.

Adolescent drug abuse is of concern because the younger a person is when they first start using the drug, the more likely they are for building tolerances and becoming dependent on the drug. Adolescent drug abuse in particular can effect a young girls menstruation and fertility and young boys sex drive. Also alcohol has other implications on sex because females tend to lower their inhibitions, thus making them vulnerable to unwanted sexual advances. Young men under the influence of alcohol tend to become aggressive. Unwanted pregnancies and date rapes are associated with adolescent drug abuse. The chronic effects of alcoholism are liver cirrhosis, Korsakoff Syndrome and possibly bladder cancer.

One atmosphere that encourages large amounts of adolescent drug abuse is colleges and universities. Alcohol tends to be a college undergraduates drug of choice. They have the highest incidence of alcohol abuse and binge drinking of any age group in The United States. This primarily because sororities and fraternities historically support this type of behavior. Adolescent drug abuse in college is not an indication that one will abuse alcohol or any drug later in life. In fact, most drug addicts and alcoholics are not college graduates.

Adolescent drug abuse has many negative side effects and can promote negative behaviors. Therefore, parents and teachers should educate children early about the risk factors of alcoholism and other drugs.

http://www.parentingteens.com

'Pre-partying' can kick off a big night of boozing

2007-12-19T05:19:00.000-08:00

College binge drinking has been on the public health radar for years, but new research sheds light on the extent of the problem on campuses today -- especially "pre-partying," participating in heavy, rapid drinking before attending a real party where the drinking continues.

Three-quarters of college drinkers say they "pre-party," and about 45 percent of all drinking events involve a pre-party.

That is according to a study in the December "Journal of American College Health", which features 16 articles rounding up recent research and recommendations.
About 85 percent of the 227 students who participated in the study were considered drinkers; findings are representative of all U.S. students, researchers say.

The study was led by Joseph LaBrie, assistant professor of psychology and director of an alcohol awareness program at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Students ages 18 to 25 were surveyed about their drinking habits over a one-month period. Among findings:

# Men reported 523 drinking events in the past month; 45 percent involved pre-parties. Women reported 654 drinking events, and 55 percent pre-partied. Both men and women reported heavy episodic drinking during 68 percent of events.

# On pre-partying days, men consumed about eight drinks on average and women consumed about six. On days when students went to parties but did not pre-party, men consumed an average of six drinks and women consumed about four.

# Of all drinking events involving pre-partying, 80 percent involved additional drinking afterward.

LaBrie says pre-partying is just now coming on the radar of administrators, although it has been a well-known behavior among students for some time. Most pre-partying is done in dorm rooms of underage students, he says.

"It's a judgment question. Pre-partying raises blood alcohol levels and impairs students' judgment, and then they continue drinking."

Hangovers, fights and sexual assaults also are more likely to occur on nights when students pre-party, according to the study. Nearly 600,000 injuries and 700,000 assaults result from excessive drinking each year, says the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

LaBrie says pre-partying should be addressed in prevention and intervention tactics on campuses.

Several journal articles recommend that policies focus on promoting responsible drinking and harm-reduction strategies, rather than trying to prohibit drinking.

One study, by Larry Hembroff of Michigan State University's office of survey research, examined a program that sends cards to students nearing their 21st birthdays. The cards encourage students to drink responsibly and are signed by the parents of a student who died from alcohol poisoning.

Of students who received the card, 74 percent of those surveyed saved part of the card, 12 percent say they drank less because of it, and 98 percent said the university should continue sending the cards.

"We can't just stay the course. When something doesn't work we have to try something new," says Reginald Fennel, executive editor of the journal.

source: USA Today

Curbing underage drinking takes a community effort

2007-12-17T05:01:00.000-08:00

The holiday season is upon us, and Christmas parties and New Year's celebrations are just around the corner. Unfortunately, the holiday season also is often soaked in alcohol, sometimes with tragic endings.

The best way to keep minors from illegally buying and drinking alcohol is not to lecture them about the evils of drinking or force them to watch grisly films of drunken-driving wrecks.

Those approaches have their place, but research confirms that the best defense against underage drinking is a good offense — increased enforcement of minimum-age purchase and minor-in-possession laws.

We support the upcoming — and unannounced — crackdown on underage drinking by undercover officers who will accompany people posing as underage customers looking to get a drink at local bars.

While officers are at it, they should also focus attention on adults who drink at bars and then get in their cars to drive while intoxicated.

While the holiday crackdown is not the result of any complaints or increase in underage drinking, Pensacola Police Department officials said they typically pay more attention to underage drinking during the holidays and summer when there are a lot of graduation parties.

Like underage drinking, drunken driving is a national crisis and an avoidable tragedy waiting to happen. The 1,719 DUI arrests made in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties alone last year are enough reasons to warrant aggressive crackdowns and enforcement.

Even though the legal drinking age is 21 in all 50 states, too many adults, including parents, view underage drinking as a rite of passage — and do nothing to stop it.

This is a dangerous approach. Studies show that children who drink are at greater risk of becoming alcoholics later in life, and are more likely to drive while drunk and cause harm to themselves and others.

To protect minors and discourage underage drinking, state lawmakers should consider legislation that would impose civil liability and tougher penalties on those who sell or provide alcoholic beverages to underage drinkers, as well as those who own or control premises on which underage drinking takes place. The law would include retailers and bars/restaurants that illegally sell or provide alcohol to underage people.

But laws and police undercover stings will not solve the problem. We must focus special attention on illegal underage drinking and do our part to prevent drunken driving.

This requires a community effort. It means involvement of parents, aunts, uncles, siblings, cousins, friends and neighbors. It also means the participation of educators, legislators, law enforcement and establishments that sell and serve alcohol.

The holiday season should be a time to safely have fun with family and friends.

Let us not revisit the holiday tragedies of recent years in which innocent lives were needlessly lost. Don't become an "enabler" by allowing underage children to drink. Remember, the life you save could be the life of someone you know.

source: Pensacola News Journal

The right environment helps teen take control of life

2007-12-16T05:32:00.000-08:00

There's no place like home. But Michael Brown, 17, believes he has found the next best thing.

Drinking heavily by age 12, Michael saw his life spiraling out of control. As a teen, he faced charges of vandalism, theft, and breaking and entering. He'd seen the inside of a courtroom too many times.

The Department of Children's Services stepped in and decided what Michael really needed was a home-like environment that would encourage balance, structure, nurturing and love. In August 2007, Michael went to live in My Friend's House.

My Friend's House is a residential group home operated by Williamson County Youth that began its operation in 1988. It currently houses seven boys ages 13-17. My Friend's House is a comprehensive treatment program that fosters self-esteem and confidence and encourages teens to achieve their highest potential. The ultimate goal and purpose of My Friend's House is to reunite young people with their families.

"I feel safe here, and it's a great feeling to know people here are rooting for me to succeed," Michael said. "It truly has become my home away from home."

Michael attends programs and classes such as conflict resolution, family dynamics, anger management and alcohol and drug abuse group therapy.

"I made some really bad decisions," Michael said. "But living at My Friend's House has taught me to accept responsibility for my own actions and that I am in control of my life and my destiny."

My Friend's House Executive Director Patty Martinez has seen many positive changes in Michael.

"He stopped blaming others. He is assuming leadership roles. He has a great attitude and long-range goals," she said. "He can and will make it happen."

source: The Tennessean.com

By PATRICIA BRAZZELL
For The Tennessean