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Tag: withdrawal

  • Addiction research – Who are we studying?

    I teach a class on the psychology of addiction (Psych 477 at California State University in Long Beach) and as I have been preparing the lectures something has become very clear to me – textbooks patently gloss over important details about the addiction research they cite. One of the most obvious gaps I’ve noticed this…

  • Treating alcohol withdrawal with benzodiazepines – Safe if mindful

    Contributing co-author: Andrew Chen Alcohol withdrawal can be extremely unpleasant (see here for an overview). Symptoms vary from person to person, but most people will experience some negative symptoms of alcohol withdrawal if they try to stop drinking after long term use. Mild to moderate symptoms include headache, nausea, vomiting, insomnia, rapid heart rate, abnormal…

  • Rubber-band addiction recovery – No shame

    There’s a specific issue that keeps coming up with nearly every addiction client I work with who is in early recovery. Regardless of whether they’re trying to stop unhealthy alcohol or drug use, sex or gambling behavior, or anything else, this issue keeps returning. It doesn’t even seem to matter if this is their first…

  • About Addiction: Addiction Recovery, Alcohol, and Drug Legalization

    Yes, you’ve got it, it’s your 30 seconds of news about addiction from around the world (wide web). Enjoy the reading – you can claim you learned your “new thing of the day.” Addiction recovery- Inpatient and Outpatient treatment plans Addiction Recovery-Recovering from addiction is hard, no matter what type of addiction it is. In…

  • About Addiction: Synthetic drugs, binge drinking, and recovery

    You didn’t think we’d let you go a whole week without giving you another of our amazing updates about addiction news and research from around the globe did you? I’m sure you didn’t, and you were right! Here we are again with some good old discussions of marijuana, alcohol binge drinking, and other issues relevant…

  • Physical addiction or psychological addiction – Is there a real difference?

    This is another one of the basic questions I get regarding addiction. It seems that people think about physical addiction and psychological addiction as somehow separate processes. I think this distinction makes no sense. Even if people really meant what they were saying, the brain is undoubtedly part of the body, and therefore, psychological addictions…

  • Addiction-brain effects – Tolerance, sensitization, and withdrawal

    If you’ve been with us for any length of time, you’ve already read about the addiction-brain effects for specific drugs. I think it’s important to understand some of the more general changes that occur in the addicted brain regardless of the specific drugs used. One of the most common effects of long term drug use…

  • Coffee’s darker side: What do you expect from caffeine?

    Do you think of caffeine as a drug? A highly addictive drug? If so, you are in the minority, but you’re also correct. Why is caffeine considered addictive? Caffeine is an addictive drug that produces several of the same withdrawal symptoms as many other drugs typically considered as dangerous and addictive (i.e. tobacco, cocaine, heroin).…

  • Time to get high- Circadian rhythms and drug use

    Contributing Co-Author: Andrew Chen Like most living creatures, humans have internal biological clocks known as circadian rhythms. These internal cycles synchronize our bodies with the Earth’s 24-hour day/night cycle and prepare us for predictable daily events (1). Circadian rhythms regulate a number of bodily functions including temperature, hormone secretion, bowel movements, and sleep (2). Recent…

  • Crystal meth withdrawal – It’s not like heroin, but don’t expect it to be easy

    Heroin, or opiate, withdrawal symptoms is the gold standard of addiction withdrawal. Imagine the worst flu of your life, multiply it by 1000, and then imagine knowing that taking a hit of this stuff will make it all better. Think sweats, fever, shaking, diarrhea, and vomiting. Think excruciating pain throughout as your pain sensors get…