Ernest Hemingway drank, Aldous Huxley turned to psychedelics, and Stephen King binged on cocaine. Countless musicians, artists, and authors over the years have fallen under the influence of drugs and alcohol, feeding into the romanticized myth about substances and creativity. Today, our culture fixates on celebrities splashed across magazine covers with the words “drug rehab” plastered across their chests in big letters. The idea persists that substances make for a better writer, musician, or songwriter, but does that idea have any basis in fact?   Some would claim that anecdotal evidence says yes. Countless creative works have been produced while under the influence of drugs. Samuel Taylor Coleridge famously wrote “Kubla Kahn” while taking opium, David Bowie’s album “Station to Station” was influenced by cocaine, and Robert Louis Stevenson wrote “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” in six days while on a cocaine bender. These feats may inspire others to use drugs to fuel creative endeavours, but the truth is that long-term drug use will only cause detriment. Syd Barrett, the founder of Pink Floyd, used LSD to the point of harm; stories tell of him playing one chord for an entire concert. For every glamorous tale of creative drug use, there’s a story of those who needed treatment in an addiction recovery facility, those whose careers were ended by drugs, or most tragically, those who died by overdose or suicide.   Because so many creative people…

Parents, kids, and teachers everywhere know the phrase: peer pressure. Prevention and education programs target peer pressure and give kids tools to say no or walk away when their friends offer drugs. Addiction recovery centers offer support for young adults and their families struggling with drug use. But despite these efforts, peer pressure can still play a powerful role in prompting kids to use drugs. When a teen’s friends smoke or use drugs, they are more likely to follow suit.   Part of the problem with adolescent drug use is that teens tend to overestimate how much and how often their peers are engaging in risky behaviors such as drug use. In one study, a group of popular students self-reported no marijuana use in the past month, but their peers estimated that they smoked between one and nine times during the last month, a significant departure from the actual occurrence. Of course, much of this disparity between perception and reality may be due to the posturing that occurs in adolescence: in order to appear cool, teens may exaggerate or fabricate stories about their drug use. But these perceptions, despite being false, can still bear weight in the halls of middle and high schools, pressuring kids to try drugs.   Why does peer pressure exert such a powerful influence on kids? Several different models have been proposed. Some researchers say that peer pressure is a factor of social learning, or observing…

In ancient Greece, a group of people championed the philosophy of hedonism, an idea which considers pleasure to be the inherent value or good in life. Followers of hedonism spent their lives maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain, believing momentary pleasant sensations to be the highest goal in life. It’s from these people that we get the word hedonistic, meaning indulgent, decadent, or pleasure-seeking. But people who are addicted to drugs sometimes face a harrowing state that’s diametrically opposed to the hedonist lifestyle of old—anhedonia, a condition in which the body is physically incapable of experiencing pleasure.   Anhedonia occurs when the brain’s pleasure and reward system, involving the mesocortical reward circuit and the dopaminergic mesolimbic, experiences a decline in function. Researchers have suggested that long-term drug use hampers regular dopamine production and circulation in the brain, leading to extremely low levels of dopamine and an inability to experience pleasure. There are methods of treating anhedonia, including therapy, medications, and social support, and drug rehab programs or sober living can offer clients assistance in this challenging time, but full recovery can take months. Anhedonia can also play a significant role in prompting relapse, hindering those in recovery from maintaining sobriety.   Contrary to the moralistic model of addiction, people who are addicted to drugs don’t continue using just because they are chasing a high. Their motivation is not the pursuit of sensual pleasure, as hedonism might encourage, but, in fact, the…

As an opioid epidemic is sweeping across the nation, filling our addiction treatment centers, more and more people are turning to heroin as a cheap, easy to acquire alternative to prescription painkillers such as OxyContin. But along with heroin use comes the potential for dangerous or risky IV and needle use, leading to serious health problems. As people struggle to receive treatment in addiction recovery facilities, the vast majority are left without resources, care, or hope, and suffer from the serious consequences of IV drug use.   Injecting heroin with a needle causes the drug to act faster. Compared to snorting the white power, injecting it into the bloodstream allows it to reach the brain more quickly, producing almost instantaneous relief as rapidly as 15 to 30 seconds after injecting. This fast-acting quality holds powerful appeal for people suffering from withdrawal from opioids, sometimes two to three times per day. However, the near-instantaneous effect of injection makes it much easier to overdose, debilitating users before they can realize what’s happening and get help.   IV drug users face effects such as skin infections and abscesses from prolonged needle use. According to the UCLA Semel Institute, 11% of IV drug users reported at least one abscess within the last six months. Users can clean the skin and sterilize the needle to reduce the chance of skin infections, but users often don’t have the resources or presence of mind to sterilize equipment….

No one expects withdrawal or detoxification to be easy, but sometimes withdrawal symptoms drag on beyond what the person in recovery ever expected. For some people in recovery, after going through the initial, intense withdrawal symptoms that tend to last two weeks, they are bombarded by a new set of symptoms about two to six months after cessation of drug use. These symptoms are called post-acute withdrawal symptoms, or PAWS, and last for several months (or even a few years in extreme cases).   Acute withdrawal symptoms, which usually occur during detoxification at a safe addiction recovery facility, are fairly severe, and include tremors, cravings, nausea, irritability, mental confusion, insomnia, depression, and more. PAWS are more prolonged and tend to affect a person’s mental or emotional health. PAWS include depression, fatigue, cognitive impairment, anxiety, insomnia, mood swings, cravings, vulnerability to stress, and anhedonia, or the inability to feel joy, even from previously enjoyable activities. Though PAWS may persist for months or years, the symptoms usually ebb and flow, and most PAWS sufferers experience days and weeks with no PAWS at all.   PAWS occur because the body is slowly but surely repairing itself. After detox and treatment in an addiction recovery program, the body is adjusting to living without regular, chronic doses of drugs, and it goes through some growing pains before finally reaching a comfortable balance. Those growing pains can manifest as PAWS. For example, the body in recovery…

It’s the nightmare of any newly sober person fresh out of an addiction treatment center: invitations to a family party, bridal shower, or holiday celebration replete with alcoholic beverages and the possibility of cravings and relapse. While some family and friends will be supportive of recovery efforts, others will not, and still others won’t even be aware of the issue, creating a perilous recipe for temptation. How can someone in early recovery navigate the tumultuous waters of social gatherings featuring alcohol?   Someone who is shaky or new in their recovery should avoid social engagements altogether if it’s known that alcohol will be present. While skipping events can make you feel like you’re missing out on fun, friendship, and memories, choosing to abstain is a sign of maturity and responsibility. Nothing is more important in early recovery than sustained sobriety, and in the long-term, missing events creates a much firmer foundation for sobriety. And in the meantime, you can find support and social connection with the people in your meetings or addiction recovery facility’s alumni program.   In some cases, it may make sense to go to the social event. However, this endeavor should only be undertaken by those who are confident in their sobriety, and if planning on taking this route, you should build as many safeguards into the night as possible. Find a trusted friend to attend the event with you and keep you on track during the…

Tobacco is the number one cause of preventable disease and death in the U.S. It’s responsible for 430,000 deaths per year, and causes serious health complications such as lung disease, coronary heart disease, bronchitis, emphysema, and cancer. Many people with substance abuse disorders are also addicted to nicotine, or at least smoke regularly, but drug rehab programs often don’t treat or even address tobacco use. What is the effect of continuing to smoke during recovery?   According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), people struggling with substance abuse are much more likely to smoke cigarettes. 75% of people over the age of 12 who were treated at an addiction recovery facility within the past year reported cigarette smoking within the past month. In comparison, 24% of the general public reported cigarette smoking within the past month. People with substance abuse disorders likely turn to cigarettes because they offer a soothing, calming effect, and are seen as the lesser of two evils. Over time, however, those with chemical dependencies are more likely to become addicted to tobacco because their brains are already conditioned for addiction due to their pre-existing substance abuse disorder.   Despite what many people believe, smoking cigarettes is much more harmful than other forms of substance abuse in the long run. According to SAMHSA, an 11-year study found that out of 845 people who were in addiction treatment programs, 51% died due to tobacco-related…

Returning home after a stay in an addiction treatment facility opens a whole new door to the challenges of staying sober. Anyone who struggles with addiction is back in their old settings, back in their old routines, and in danger of coming into contact with powerful triggers that cause overwhelming cravings.   Triggers and cravings are very common in recovery. Most people in drug rehab experience triggers and cravings, and they don’t mean that a person actually wants to use drugs, but are a normal response to withdrawing from a drug over a period of time. Triggers can include physical objects, such as drug paraphernalia; people, such as other drug addicts; and places, such as where a former addict used to meet their dealer. Situations can also be triggers. For example, receiving a paycheck or having money in one’s pocket can prompt someone to want to buy drugs. Even emotional states such as happiness, anxiousness, or loneliness can trigger a drug craving. And of course, events such as a breakup, layoff, death in the family, or other extremely stressful occurrences can trigger cravings.   Those in recovery and in addiction recovery programs experience triggers differently. For some, the clink of a glass may cause them to imagine the smell of alcohol. Others might get a headache or a knot in their stomach at a certain time of day when they used to shoot up or get drunk. Still others will…

From the beginning stages of addiction when you realize that it’s something you can no longer control to after treatment and sustained recovery, self-loathing is common in the life of individuals who battle the illness. Self-loathing tends to manifest itself as the flipside of the major ego that often develops in those with addictive tendencies. Oversized egos sometimes try to compensate for the self-loathing, while other times, the self-loathing completely takes over.   Some individuals in recovery make the harmful choice to think of their self-loathing as “facing the truth” or “owning up” to what they did while under the influence; however, there is a difference between being honest with yourself and beating yourself up about something. Continually meditating on berating yourself for things you did wrong does not enable you to move forward and grow into a positive place.   Self-loathing is often explained as an entity unto itself. By recognizing it and naming it, you begin to have more power over it. By calling it “the mean voice” or “the monster,” and recognizing that it isn’t truly you who is speaking or thinking those thoughts takes away half of its power. Have you ever heard another individual describe their own self loathing and think, wow, but he’s such a great guy, or she’s so smart and hilarious? This is the way you need to train yourself to think about your own self loathing. Sure, everyone makes mistakes, but…

When someone falls into the vicious cycle of addiction, they’re not isolated in the damage. The effects of that addiction radiate outward and slam into family and close friends. Relationships deteriorate; trust is shaken. But then, perhaps miraculously, the addict goes to an addiction treatment center and returns home, determined to have a successful recovery. As everyone adjusts to the new normal, with the person in recovery integrated back into family life, the rest of the family may struggle to deal with the changes. Oftentimes, families need recovery just as much as the former addict does.   As their loved one enters recovery after drug rehab, families tend to face emotional exhaustion and turmoil. Families have to deal with the burden of a dozen different emotions—anger at their loved one’s actions, guilt for allowing the addiction to happen, fear that other people will find out. This emotional whirlwind may storm inside each family member, but oftentimes, fear of conflict keeps each person silent. Instead of speaking about their feelings openly, family members bottle them up, perhaps due to fears of upsetting the person in recovery. However, the best option for the family is to allow an open, safe space to discuss emotions, whether that’s in a support group or on the living room couch. Some addiction recovery facilities offer programs and support groups for families, where they can get the help and encouragement they need.   Recovery also causes divisions…