• Alcohol and Carcinogenesis

    Posted on July 23, 2013
    Individuals who drink heavily may find many benefits from either abstaining or dramatically reducing their alcohol consumption. Through a non 12 step approach to recovery, heavy drinkers can learn self-empowering tools to use in their daily life to assist them in coping with alcohol cravings, which in turn, may dramatically reduce their risk for developing various types of cancer in the future. Link Between Alcohol and Carcigonesis Previous studies show that chronic alcohol consumption is a risk factor for cancer of the mouth, pharynx, hypopharynx, larynx, and esophagus, and it is also a major factor in liver carcinogenesis (the creation of cancer). Studies also show that alcohol increases the risk for breast cancer and colorectal cancer. Alcohol treatment for heavy drinkers may preve...
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  • Expectations of alcohol treatment among alcohol dependent individuals

    Posted on July 23, 2013
    Through a self-empowering approach to recovery, those in alcohol treatment can learn about alcohol addiction and how to cope with cravings. It is important to implement a client-friendly approach to recovery because this will maintain the clients’ interest in treatment. Understanding what the client hopes to gain from treatment may be a key indicator of what to emphasize on during treatment. The interests of men and women during treatment may be different where women like to focus on self-esteem issues and men find that a less important aspect of their recovery. Through the use of a self-empowering approach to alcohol treatment, individualized treatment plans can be created for men and women that emphasize on specific areas of interest they would like to enhance. Tools and techniques wi...
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  • Drug rehab for mothers: drugs are transferred to breast milk

    Posted on July 23, 2013
    Many studies have shown that alcohol and drugs are transferred to breast milk and ultimately to infants. Thus, drugs and alcohol should be avoided while breast feeding. Mothers who struggle with reducing drug and alcohol consumption should consider entering a drug or alcohol rehab. In an alternative to AA, a self-empowering approach can be used to help mothers learn how to abstain from all drugs and alcohol and learn tactics to cope with cravings so mothers can continue to breast feed without possible harm to the infant. Individualized treatment plans can be created for mothers who are breast feeding which can emphasize on specific thoughts, feelings and behaviors that may have been the cause for their drug and alcohol consumption, and learn how to manage them. You might also be intere...
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  • Pharmacotherapies for Alcohol Treatment: A Comparative Trial of Disulfiram, Naltrexone, and Acamprosate

    Posted on July 23, 2013
    Past research suggests that (self-empowering addiction treatment) cognitive-behavioral therapy is effective in the treatment of alcohol dependence. In some cases, psychological treatment can be significantly improved by pharmacotherapy. Pharmacotherapies used in alcohol treatment include disulfiram, an aldehyde dehydrogenase inhibitor; naltrexone, an opioid antagonist; and acamprosate, a noncompetitive NMDA receptor blocker. Few studies have compared the effectiveness of these pharmacotherapies for alcohol treatment. A team of researchers from Finland set out to do just that (Laaksonen et. al., 2008). You might also be interested in: What is the Best Alcohol Treatment? Effectiveness of Pharmacotherapies for Alcohol Treatment: The Study The researchers conducted a randomized, open l...
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  • Link Between Gambling Addiction and the Brain's Reward Systems

    Posted on July 23, 2013
    A non 12 step approach to addiction treatment teaches people to distinguish the difference between positive and negative outcomes related to addictive behavior. Gambling Addiction and Reward Systems - The Study Pathological gambling, or gambling addiction, occurs when recreational activity becomes dysfunctional and detrimental, and many pathological gamblers need addiction treatment to overcome their addictive behavior. Pathological gamblers typically face a variety of cognitive distortions in which they overestimate their chances of winning. Some speculate that the excitement of “near-miss” outcomes in gambling games encourage such cognitive distortions. In a previous study with healthy participants, researchers found that near-miss outcomes in recreational gamblers shared overlappin...
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