| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Phone 510.881.2540
Castro Valley
office
and mailing address:
21700 Redwood Rd, #B
Castro Valley, CA 94546
Pleasanton
office:
5820 Stoneridge Mall Rd, #219
Pleasanton, CA 94588
CA License #LCS12569
|
|
| |
Articles - Alcohol, Drug & Other
Addictions
I've been
educating people about substance abuse and addiction since the early
1980s. Back then, treatment was a one-size-fits-all, 30-day stay in the
hospital, which worked well for some, but definitely not for all.
Alcohol and
drug abusers, and the people who care about them, often end up feeling
frustrated and confused about how to deal with this "disease", which
mostly looks like bad behavior.
Thanks
to scientific research, using new technology like brain scans,
today I can tell you that:
-
alcoholism,
and all drug addictions, are diseases of brain chemistry imbalance, involving
a defect or deficiency in the "reward center", which is located in the
mid-brain, where our basic instincts related to survival are housed
-
we
can also think of addiction as a disease
of automaticity
because it involves automatic habits of thought and behavior that
function below
the level of conscious awareness
- there
is evidence of a genetic
pre-disposition
to alcoholism or addiction in many cases, but it can also
be triggered by severe stress or trauma, or simply the
inevitable result of long-term heavy drinking or drug use
Though there
still is no "magic pill" or medical procedure to cure addiction, we now
have a range of treatment strategies available, and can
do a far better job of tailoring treatment to an individual's needs,
with a much greater probability of long-term sobriety.
If you are
considering getting help for a drinking or drug problem, or simply want
to learn more about substance abuse, addiction or codependency, please
check out the articles and links below, or contact me!
Staying
Sober the Mindful Way
Change
Your Drinking Habits
Prescription
Drug Abuse
Marijuana
Addiction
Am
I Addicted?
Alcohol:
Know the Facts
Are
you a Co-dependent Person?
|
|
|
|
|
Some of my favorite links on substance
abuse, addiction and codependency
The
National Institutes of Health has a new website, "Rethinking Drinking",
where you can take a quiz on your drinking habits, get tips for cutting
down, and find out about ways to quit: http://rethinkingdrinking.niaaa.nih.gov/
To find a treatment program in your area, call 1-800-662-HELP or go to http://findtreatment.samhsa.gov
Besides AA
and Al-Anon,
there are self-help groups for nearly every issue, including:
©
2005 – 2011,
Rebecca A. Stanwyck, LCSW. All rights reserved
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
