Worldwide Sober Adventures Offers Great Sober Vacations

Posted on February 27, 2009 by admin

Worldwide Sober Adventures (WSAT), the first adventure travel tour company dedicated to providing excellent experiences for people in recovery, launched at the Adventures in Travel Expo in Los Angeles, February 14 and 15 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Worldwide Sober Adventures’ will offer sober adventure travelers distinctive itineraries in unusual destinations with the added benefit of being hosted by a team of professional committed to a sober lifestyle. Eric Humbert, himself a recovering alcoholic, was inspired to create Worldwide Sober Adventures when he discovered that tour operators who could cater to sober travelers’ needs for a supportive, alcohol-free environment on adventure travel trips were not available.

Mr. Humbert is also fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, English and Visaya (a dialect of the Southern Philippines), and brings his personal passion for authentic travel and connection with cultures and nature to the design of Worldwide Sober Adventures’ trips.

Mr. Humbert spent 2008 building his sober travel itineraries and the upcoming itineraries include:

- Mexico- “The Mayan Experience”
- Mexico- ” The Mayan Experience- for Overeaters
- Puerto Rico- ” A Caribbean Latino Experience”
- Grand Canyon- “Rafting the Grand Canyon- A Natural High”
- Santa Fe/ Taos New Mexico- ” Cultures of the American South West”

The company will offer a range of 5 -10 day trips for people who do not drink alcohol or take drugs. Group sizes will be small, ensuring that guests committed to recovery are cared for and that each itinerary provides unique experiences, with a blend of cultural, physical and nature elements. Participants are required to have 90 days of sobriety.

Although these are sober trips, spouses and children are welcome and encouraged as long as they accept the no alcohol/drugs policy.

For more information visit: www.soberworldtravel.com or call1-877-85-SOBER.

Sunshine Coast Health Centre in Canada

Posted on February 26, 2009 by admin

The effects of alcohol and drug abuse on the human body are disastrous. Sunshine Coast Health Centre in Canada understands that addiction to drugs like cocaine, heroin, marijuana, methamphetamines and other prescription and non-prescription drugs can lead to serious depression and social awkwardness. You will face problems everywhere, at work and at home. You will lose important factors in your life physically, mentally, and financially. Long term heavy drinking causes many medical problems.

It can damage the liver, heart, nervous system and brain. It also causes problems in the stomach, high blood pressure, sexual problems osteoporosis, and might lead to cancer. Alcohol and drug abuse can also lead to disastrous accidents, violence and social isolation. Alcohol and drug abuse during pregnancy can increase the risk of infant mortality and cause birth defects.

There are various drug rehab programs which can help in curing alcohol and drug abuse. But Sunshine Coast Health Centre knows that there are various myths and misconceptions regarding drug addiction recovery programs. Alcohol rehab programs may include residential, inpatient, outpatient, and/or short-stay options. Inpatient services are provided by licensed hospitals and clinics, while residential drug addiction recovery programs are provided by many drug rehab centers.

Sunshine Coast Health Centre, one of Canada’s leading residential drug rehab centers, can dismantle all the myths about drug addiction recovery.

Located on a five-acre campus of private waterfront, the center is specially designed for adult men. Depending on their needs, patients can stay anywhere from 49 days till 60 days. The center offers drug rehabilitation program and medical detox that includes therapy, exercise, nutrition, lectures and off-site recreation. For Sunshine Coast Health Centre, drug addiction recovery is about helping patients reach their goals. Log on to www.sunshinecoasthealthcentre.ca for more information on various rehab programs and how they can be of your help.

AddictionRecovery.net Offers Live Support for Addicts Worldwide

Posted on February 25, 2009 by admin

A resource long associated with the addiction help industry has announced their new live support feature that links addicts to real professionals in the self help industry.

The new service by AddictionRecovery.net was unveiled as a way to give addicts the help they need without having to have a phone number or even so much as an email address. The resource has been monitoring the online help service as much as possible to help cater to users of different time zones.

AddictionRecovery.net has received a warm commendation from the addict community, which previously had to pay for valuable advice that can come from the free service. It seems as technology grows, so too does the generosity of addiction help resources with it.

The service AddictionRecovery.net recently announced is in addition to the hotline they offer on their website, which can be called at any hour of the day, seven days a week. Those who live in time zones in which live support staff can’t be reached often opt for this option.

Regardless of access to the website, users can also resort to email as a form of communicating and receiving help from the resource. AddictionRecovery.net will continue to strive to meet the demand of those who need help, and give it to all of whom request it.

Internet Addiction Linked to Aggression in Teens

Posted on February 24, 2009 by admin

Armed with the findings of a new study, Taiwanese researchers suggest parents and educators pay more attention to children’s online habits because Internet-addicted teens seem more prone to aggression. However, Americans who study violence are not ready to make any conclusions about a possible link.

The study “does not demonstrate that one behavior caused the other,” said Dewey Cornell, a professor of education at the University of Virginia. Even so, he said, other research shows “that persons who play violent video games will be more prone to have aggressive thoughts, feelings and actions.”

Internet addiction itself remains a controversial topic more than a decade after it was first described. Some mental health specialists refuse to recognize its existence, although a number of rehabilitation centers treat people who say they suffer from it.

In the new study, researchers led by Chih-Hung Ko, M.D., from Kaohsiung Medical University, gave questionnaires to 9,405 adolescents and asked about their Internet activity and behaviors. The study appears online in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

The researchers deemed 25 percent of the male students and 13 percent of females to be Internet addicts based on a commonly used scale.

Thirteen percent of all female students and 32 percent of all males reported engaging in aggressive behavior — such as threatening or hurting others — within the last year, compared with 37 percent of those suffering from Internet addiction.

The researchers, who were not available for comment, wrote in the study that chatting online, playing video games and visiting sexually oriented Web sites could provide opportunities for teens to “observe, experience and try aggressive behaviors resulting in positive outcome, (such as) identification in a group, being a hero or winning in games.”

Brad Bushman, a psychology professor at the University of Michigan, said the study does not allow conclusions about which came first — Internet addiction or aggression. “It could be that using the Internet causes people to behave more aggressively or it could be that aggressive people seek out the Internet,” he said. “Or some other third factor could cause both — people with poor social skills don’t have any friends, so they spend a lot of time on the Internet and can’t resolve conflicts in non-aggressive ways.”

Drug Addiction Statistics from USNoDrugs.com

Posted on February 23, 2009 by admin

US NO DRUGS.com is a comprehensive directory containing information pertaining to Drug and alcohol addiction, rehabilitation and several other aspects of recovery. From USNoDrugs.com, here are some eye-opening statistics on drug addiction.

Drug Addiction statistics can benefit the public by displaying factual evidence that certain drugs are becoming a problem. Also, Drug Addiction statistics show the growing trends of drug use which will give us a look to the future. Hopefully, this will help in preventing the rise of Drug Addiction.

- In one research study, approximately 1 in 5 people between the ages of 16 and 59 said that they had taken at least one of the drugs mentioned.

- People ages 18 to 21 were most likely to admit having taken drugs with almost half (46%) claiming to have taken them.

- More men than women said that they had taken drugs. 24% of men and 16% of women had taken at least one kind of drug in their lives. Amongst those ages 18-21; 51% of men and 38% of women had taken drugs.

- More men than women had experienced taking more than one drug at a time. 52% of men but only 36% of women who had taken drugs had taken more than one type.

- Marijuana was the most commonly used drug, experienced by 12% of all participants and 24% of those ages 18 to 25.

- 19.5 million people over the age of 12 use illegal drugs in the United States (Mayo Clinic).

Addington House in Canada

Posted on February 23, 2009 by admin

A Rehabilitation Center is a place where people who have either abused themselves by choice or have been abused by someone, seek shelter. This abuse could be alcoholic, through drugs or sexual in nature. Safety, care and an environment where they can recover from these ailments is what a rehab center provides. Drug rehabilitation centre or centers offering alcohol treatment help people who have indulged in substance abuse and at the moment want to recover.

Rehab treatment consists of various phases. Detoxification through a non-medical procedure and group and individual therapies are very important to ensure an effective recovery. Proper follow-up programs and after-care services make the system more efficient. A smooth transition back into the society is of utmost importance. A person who has spent a certain period of time in an alcohol or drug rehab center needs a lot of care and understanding to be able to gel in with his/her surroundings.

A rehab center provides a safe and caring environment for the alcoholics or drug addicts to get well. Use of other drugs or medicines for treatment would only provide a temporary solution, but non-medical means ensures a more long lasting effect.
Introduction or re-introduction to alcohol or drugs needs to be carried out very carefully. Also counseling sessions for the family members of the affected person needs to be organized. It’s these people who need to actually understand the graveness of the situation.

Addington house Rehabilitation Treatment Center in Canada works diligently in helping alcoholics and drug addicts to get back to their normal routine and lead a normal life. The nature of problems for each individual is unique and requires specific attention. Addington house has a edge over other rehab centers because they provide customized rehab treatment for each individual.

They use behavioral and cognitive approach to help their patients. Being a non-medical facility it focuses on detoxifying the individual instead of adding more chemicals to his/her system. Increasing the self-esteem of the person is their major goal. Inculcating the quality of abstinence is another goal. Patients get a warm, family-like atmosphere and home cooked food at the rehab center. Improvement in the overall quality of life of the patient is what they strive to achieve. That’s what makes Addington house the most sought after rehab center in Canada.

Methadone Use as Treatment for Pain and Addiction

Posted on February 19, 2009 by admin

In this report from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIDA Director, Nora D. Volkow, M.D., talks about the effects of methadone as treatment for pain relief from drug addiction.

“Recent reports have highlighted the potential dangers, including death, of the improper use (or abuse) of methadone. Growing accounts of this medication’s adverse effects – which likely stem from its increased use for treating pain, along with physician inexperience in prescribing it – should not overshadow methadone’s proven benefits. For more than 30 years, methadone has been used safely and effectively to treat people with opioid addiction, particularly heroin.”

“Methadone is a long-acting synthetic opiate that works at the same receptors in the brain as heroin (the mu opioid receptors). However, unlike heroin, it has a slow onset and long duration of action when taken orally as directed. Properly prescribed, methadone is not intoxicating or sedating and does not interfere with ordinary activities like driving a car. It does effectively suppress opiate withdrawal and relieve the debilitating craving that typically causes people to relapse.”

“Combined with behavioral therapies or counseling and other supportive services, methadone enables patients to stop using heroin (and other opiates) and return to more stable and productive lives. Methadone has also been shown to reduce addiction-related death, criminal recidivism, and the spread of HIV. The increased incidence of adverse methadone-related consequences demands that we intensify our efforts to mitigate its potential misuse or abuse, starting with physician and patient education. That said, we must not lose sight of methadone’s powerful benefits as a therapeutic medicationÑfor both pain and addiction.”

AlcoholAddiction.org Expands to Include Drug Abuse

Posted on February 18, 2009 by admin

As no stranger to the addiction market, AlcoholAddiction.org has announced that it has added drug addiction information to its already compelling information base of alcohol addiction self-help guides.

While the company is strongly rooted into the alcohol recovery business, responses from consumers indicated that the same level of quality in alcohol recovery information should be present in other areas such as drug recovery.

AlcoholAddiction.org, in response to concerns, has released a string of drug recovery guides to help consumers learn more about addiction in a sensible manner. The guides, like the acclaimed alcohol addiction guides, follow the same helpful format that seeks to benefit consumers.

As the resource at AlcoholAddiction.org has expanded its premises to include drug recovery information, it is uncertain as to whether or not they plan to encompass other areas of addiction as of yet.

AlcoholAddiction.org remains to be a leader in the alcohol addiction recovery industry, and is now setting its sights on the drug recovery industry as well. Whether or not they achieve this goal, time will tell.

DART: the Drug and Alcohol Registry of Treatment

Posted on February 17, 2009 by admin

Funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, DART is a toll-free, province-wide, treatment information resources located in Ontario, Canada. DART pairs callers (both professional and public) with suitable treatments for their specific ailments. DART specializes in the provision of information and referral to treatment services related to alcohol and drugs in Ontario.

DART operates their toll-free, province-wide telephone service: the Drug and Alcohol Registry of Treatment Information Line (1-800-565-8603), which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

DART’s main goal is to join members of the public with treatment resources for themselves or someone they know. DART also provides professional callers with information about a range of suitable treatment options tailored to their client’s specific needs. DART provides comprehensive, up-to-date status reports on the availability of a wide range of drug and alcohol treatment options, detailed descriptions of the types of treatment services available, and referral and admission procedures.

DART staff members search a computerized database that is updated regularly and includes information about the 187 alcohol and/or drug treatment organizations in Ontario providing over 1,200 different programs. Treatment organizations report regularly to DART about available or upcoming treatment spaces.

DART also responds to requests from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs), other planning bodies, and treatment organizations for summaries of descriptive and statistical information from the DART database regarding the addiction treatment system in Ontario.

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Monthly Archives: February 2009