Chemical Dependency Counseling and Relapse Prevention

Counselors want to help each patient understand the physical and mental consequences of substance abuse and teach patients ways to restore physical health while learning to recognize and stop behaviors and symptoms that can lead to relapse. Doctors motivate patients to accept and enjoy long term recovery through supportive individual and group education. Psychologists offer education about alcoholism and addiction. During treatment, patients learn various methods of healing and find what technique works for rehabilitation including: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing and general education around staying sober. Occasional meetings with alumni afford the patients the opportunity to hear success stories and learn about the experience of sobriety. Before leaving treatment, doctors give patients an individual relapse prevention plan, including helpful techniques and a comprehensive list of appropriate support systems to help maintain sobriety.

Heroin

Intravenous heroin injection results in euphoric feelings with a delay of only 10 seconds or less from the time of injection to the onset of the rush. If a user injects heroin into a muscle instead of vein, these effects can take 5 to 10 minutes to onset or 10 to 15 minutes to appear when users smoke or snort the drug. This delay leads many heroin users to opt for intravenous injection. When heroin first hits, users feel a mixture of intense feelings known as a "rush," described as euphoria and intense relaxation. Users also report feelings of intense heat and warmth as the heroin moves from the injection site into the bloodstream. Users commonly reported that the first heroin high ushers users into a dream-like state that is intensely euphoric, so much so that it is nearly impossible to reach again. Euphoric feelings tend to dissipate as tolerance builds and with repeated use, leading many heroin users to up dosages to unsafe levels. Heroin has many noticeable short and long term effects. In addition to the euphoric feelings associated with heroin, the body begins to feel heavy and sleepiness sets in. Many heroin users also experience difficulty breathing. Often heroin users experience a pervasively dry mouth, have difficulty coughing and experience nausea or an upset stomach. Long term heroin users often experience digestive problems that can result in near permanent constipation. Those who inject heroin face a host of additional physical problems including the telltale scarring, abscesses and infections along the inner arms which collectively are known as track marks. Additionally, intravenous users place themselves at significant risk for contracting blood diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis. Heroin is a powerful narcotic and heroin overdose is a highly likely occurrence for both new and long term users. As a central nervous system depressant, heroin slows down both heartbeat and breathing until the user loses consciousness and ultimately starves the body of oxygen. Since death is not instantaneous, proper medical treatment during a heroin overdose can save the life of a user. New users frequently take too much heroin out of inexperience, whereas long term users have developed a tolerance to heroin and need increasing large doses and make using a lethal dose more likely. The purity of heroin can vary greatly, resulting in accidentally ingesting a much larger dose than anticipated. Furthermore, taking heroin in combination with other drugs or alcohol can heighten the negative side effects and make a heroin overdose more likely.

Do You Think You Have a Sleep Disorder?

At various points in life, almost everyone suffers from a lack of sleep. People can easily repay these sleep debts by later on getting enough sleep. However, if a person spends enough time in bed and still wakes up tired or feel very sleepy during the day, this may be a sign of a sleep disorder.
One of the best ways to determine a good quality of sleep and the signs of a sleep disorder is keeping a sleep diary. Use the "Sample Sleep Diary" to record the quality and quantity of sleep; any use of medications, alcohol and caffeinated beverages; exercise patterns; and the levels of sleepiness felt during the day. After a week or so, look over this information to see how many hours of sleep or nighttime awak­enings relate to being tired the next day. This information will provide a sense of how much uninterrupted sleep needed in order to avoid daytime sleepiness.
If a sleep diary reveals any of the following, see a doctor:

• Consistently taking more than 30 minutes each night to fall asleep.
• Consistently waking up more than a few times or for long periods of time each night.
• Taking frequent naps.
• Feeling sleepy during the day, especially if falling asleep at inappropriate times during the day.