Drug Addiction Treatment Blog

What are the short-term impacts of crystal meth on brain chemistry? Each time you get high, crystal floods your brain with serotonin, (your happy “mood” chemical) and dopamine (your “pleasure” chemical). But once the crystal wears off, your serotonin and dopamine levels drop, often below their normal levels. This is why you feel so lousy, and often depressed, during your crash. Given enough time between highs, most brains will “restock” their normal chemical levels naturally. But if you get high again, these levels will surge back up and crash again.

If you are looking for a drug rehab or addiction treatment program for crystal meth try….www.lakeviewhealth.com

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It’s difficult to be gay in a straight world, so it’s no wonder that so many individuals who deem themselves to be gay or are uncertain about their sexuality search for counselors that offer gay and lesbian therapy.
Great care should be taken in locating a licensed therapist who specializes in gay therapy. Beware of therapists who may attempt to “cure” or even “convert” you. Those individuals have their own agenda.

Also be sure that your chosen therapist is well-versed on issues confronting the gay community and isn’t afraid to talk about sexual issues. It’s best to contact local or regional organizations concerned with gay issues to find a reputable counselor for your needs.

Therapy for the gay and lesbian population should consist of a number of factors and how you’re counseled may depend on where you stand as far as accepting your sexuality. A good counselor will determine that before proceeding.

Most gay and lesbian therapy centers on the widely-accepted six stages of homosexuality: 1) identity awareness – feelings that you are different from others or from what you’ve been taught; 2) identity comparison – not understanding why your feelings are different from those of your parents, friends, siblings, etc; 3) identity tolerance – rebelling against homosexual feelings; 4) identity acceptance – embracing your sexuality and what goes with it; 5) identity pride – anger toward parents, society, religion or others who refuse to accept your homosexuality; and 6) identity synthesis – when homosexuality becomes a part of who you are, not the defining factor for your life.

Certified therapists should also be prepared and able to discuss and treat mood disorders, not unlike those of the heterosexual population, including depression, anxiety, stress, and sexual issues. Statistics show that the rate of depression is much higher among the homosexual population and that thoughts of suicide are not uncommon.

Gay and lesbian therapy can also assist clients in “coming out” to friends, family, and co-workers and deal with the emotional and practical questions and challenges that arise at that time. Therapists will also attempt to eliminate feelings of fear and being alone and teach clients how to develop healthy homosexual relationships.

If you are looking for a gay friendly drug rehab or gay friendly alcohol rehab, go to www.gay-rehab.com or call 1-800-511-9225.

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Ground broken for drug rehab center in Madison County

Lawmakers and anti-drug officials broke ground on a drug rehab program in Madison County Wednesday, saying they hope the drug rehab will help free drug users “from the jaws of addiction.”

The Liberty Place Recovery Center will sit off Main Street in East Richmond. It’s part of Gov. Ernie Fletcher’s Recovery Kentucky initiative, which will create 10 drug rehab programs throughout the state.

Fletcher blamed alcohol addiction and drug addiction leading contributors to homelessness and domestic violence. Drug rehab efforts and stronger enforcement can help reduce those negative effects of drug addictions on the state, he said.

“This drug rehab program is about taking those individuals who are caught in the jaws of addiction and who have been overcome with substance abuse and giving them a renewed hope of overcoming that and grasping something better in life,” Fletcher said at the ceremony attended by about 70 people.

The Liberty Center — a $4.6 million complex that will treat about 100 women at a time — is scheduled to be running in about a year.

Work on five of the 10 drug rehab programs already has started. Those five are in Henderson and Boone counties and in Hopkinsville, Morehead and Harlan. A ground-breaking is scheduled in Paducah Dec. 5.

Drug rehab programs also are planned for Erlanger, Campbellsville and Owensboro.

The addiction treatment programs will be patterned after Lexington’s Hope Center and Chrysalis House. Each community, which had to apply for a rehab center, decides whether the single-sex centers are for women or for men.

Program participants get shelter, support and training in daily living skills. The centers’ construction and operation are paid for mostly with state and federal money.

For those of you looking for drug rehab or addiction treatment in your local area, go to www.recoverycopnnection.org or call 1-800-511-9225 a national helpline for the treatment of drug addiction and alcoholism.

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From 1994 to 2004, the number of admissions to addiction treatment and drug rehab in which crystal meth amphetamine was the primary drug of abuse increased from 33,443 in 1994 to 129,079 in 2004. The crystal meth amphetamine admissions represented 2.0% of the total drug/alcohol admissions to addiction treatment and drug rehab during 1994 and 6.9% of the addiction treatment and drug rehab admissions in 2004. The average age of those admitted to addiction treatment for crystal meth amphetamine during 2004 was 30 years.14

Crystal Meth amphetamine is a Schedule II narcotic under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970.25 The chemicals that are used to produce crystal meth amphetamine are also controlled under the Comprehensive Methamphetamine Control Act of 1996 (MCA). This legislation broadened the controls on listed chemicals used in the production of crystal meth amphetamine, increased penalties for the trafficking and manufacturing of crystal meth amphetamine and listed chemicals, and expanded the controls of products containing the licit chemicals ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and phenylpropanolamine (PPA).26

Signed in October 2000, the Children’s Health Act of 2000 includes provisions dealing with crystal meth amphetamine prevention, production, enforcement, treatment and abuse.27

On March 9, 2006, President Bush signed the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005, which includes provisions to strengthen Federal, state, and local efforts to combat the spread of crystal meth amphetamine.28

If you are looking for a drug rehab or addiction treatment center in your area go to www.recoveryconnection.org or call 1-800-511-9225, a national drug rehab helpline.

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