Oxycontin is most commonly used to help relieve severe chronic pain (like those in cancer patients) and is classified as being a narcotic. It works mostly through activating certain neurotransmitters that change how your body responds to and feels pain.
Living with an addict is hard and at times it may even come to the point of being impossible. Addicts tend to at one point or another be consumed by their addiction which means that their behavior starts to incorporate more lying, manipulation, emotional abuse and stealing, all of which are detrimental to a healthy…
For people who do not suffer from the disease of addiction, understanding why a loved one wants to start using, or continues to use, heroin can be confusing. Heroin is a drug derived from morphine and users experience its high from it rapidly binding to the brain’s natural opioid receptors, especially those that are responsible for things such as pain, pleasure, heart rate, breathing, and sleeping
A drinking problem can sometimes be hard to diagnose for a variety of reasons, especially if it’s not one that is personally experienced by you. In fact, many people, either themselves or someone they know, are affected by a drinking disorder. According to a national 2015 study, 15.1 million adults from the ages of 18…
They are called by different names: safe injection sites, supervised injection sites, supervised consumption facilities, or drug consumption rooms. These government-sanctioned facilities allow drug addicts to shoot up in a clean, safe environment without fear of arrest.
Addiction is most commonly associated with drugs and alcohol but the disease of addiction can manifest itself in many ways. For example, some other common problem areas of addiction are gambling, pornography, and eating. People sometimes get addicted to multiple things. While the manifestations differ, the causes are often the same. These can include fear,…
After my first brief stint in rehab I lasted about three days before I got loaded again and then went on a bad year-long run. My life was miserable and dark. The job I had didn’t pay much and I could barely afford bills, let alone afford the drugs I needed. I was constantly stressed…
Most people are familiar with or know someone that takes popular prescription drugs like Xanax or Adderall, but fentanyl may be one prescription drug that is not as widely used. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that can be similarly compared to morphine but is anywhere from 50 to 100 time more potent. Fentanyl is most…
In the digital era, understanding and treating internet addiction is complicated because so much of our everyday life relies on internet connectivity. Social media like Facebook and Instagram as well as YouTube videos and the endless information available thanks to smartphones has made the internet nearly impossible to ignore. In some senses, the internet has…
These days Mexican drug cartels are in the forefront of people’s minds when they think about the opioid epidemic. Our southern neighbor has vast poppy fields and tons of heroin are smuggled across the border each year. The violence associated with these drug organizations is frightening. Their power and influence reaches across Mexico and across…