Nicotine Replacement Therapy is a treatment to help people stop smoking. It uses products that supply low doses of nicotine. The goal of therapy is to cut down cravings for nicotine and ease the symptoms of nicotine. If a person smokes more cigarettes, he requires higher dose of nicotine replacement to start. Blending the NRT with motivational enhancement counselling will reinforce the chances of cessation of smoking. The best ways to use NRT to quit smoking are as follows-
- Use of two forms of NRT rather than one.
NRT is available in a range of forms: skin patches, chewing gum, nasal and oral sprays, inhalators, and lozenges. There is evidence that sticking on a patch while also using another form of NRT, such as gum, increases chances of quitting. - It is better to start NRT before stopping smoking.
Usually people start using NRT on the day they quit. But starting to use NRT a few weeks before, while they are still smoking, may help more people to quit successfully. - Higher dose of NRT may help some people.
Some NRT releases higher levels of nicotine than others. The higher dose i.e. 4 mg may be helpful for people who smoke more cigarettes (over 20 a day). Using 21 mg or 25mg patches might increase the chance of quitting compared to using 14 mg or 15 mg patches.</br
Alcohol: Causes, Hazards and Treatment
Alcoholism, or an addiction to alcohol is a medical illness impacting the body, mind and conduct of the individual. In addition, it affects the society and the crime statistics.
Causes
There is no one single cause of alcoholism. Multiple factors play a role to develop alcoholism. These factors interact and influence differently every individual. Internal factors include genetics, psychological conditions, personality, personal choice. External factors include family, environment, religion, social and cultural norms, age, education, and job status.
The Genetic factors behind alcohol use are extremely complex, though 51 genes that impact alcoholism have been discovered. Genetics influence alcohol consumption in many ways; the extent of susceptibility, how alcohol makes an individual feel, how much an individual would seek out risky behaviours etc.
Apart from intense motivation, thrill & pleasure seeking tendency, experimentation, certain psychological conditions, like depression, social anxiety and other mental illness may be associated with alcohol consumption. Approximately 20% of depression sufferers abuse alcohol. In addition, psychological disorders reduce an individual’s ability to perceive the reality of their drinking or to ignore risks and warning signs.
Some personality traits, such as feeling of inadequacy, emotional immaturity, less stress tolerance, more need for appreciation, disregard for risks and positive attitude towards drugs are found in people who consume alcohol.
Peer pressure is powerful influencing factor during teen & youth stage. During educational period, students face multiple stress due to learning, adjustment anxiety or low esteem. So, they are likely to be misguided by peers for sharing, status, relieving of stress, exploitation and are likely to fall victim of alcohol abuse. In general, alcohol use begins in late teens to early twenties, peaks in late to mid-twenties, and slows down by the early thirties.
An individual’s family life plays a significant role in the likelihood of developing alcoholism. In a family where drinking alcohol is practiced, or even encouraged, persons are more likely to develop alcoholism. In these families, drinking is normalized and glamorized, making it socially acceptable, expected, and potentially desirable.
Family dysfunction and addiction are significant, faulty parental functioning, family disruption, familial stress, crisis management etc. increase the probability of becoming alcohol addict.
Socio-cultural and environmental factors are also important factors for alcohol addiction. The environment where drinking is acceptable or encouraged, alcohol abuse disorders are more likely to develop. They also impact treatment. Cultures where drinking is considered shameful may cause alcoholics to hide their condition and avoid treatment due to the stigma of being labeled an alcoholic.
While someone of any religion can become an alcoholic, individuals who are strict adherents to religions that strongly oppose alcohol are less likely to become alcoholics. This is especially true when that religion strongly influences local laws, social practices, and the prohibition of alcohol as in Islam, Protestantism, Orthodox Judaism.
- Consuming alcohol for long time or continuous/ binge drinking
- Severe withdrawals can be fatal
- Accident proneness while driving vehicle during intoxicated state or fall causing head injury
- May result mental illness or enhance co-occurring mental health illness; affective, depressive or anxiety disorders
- Experiencing high levels of stress
- Drinking excessively can lead to the following health problems:
- Liver disease: Fat in the liver or irreversible destruction and scarring of
liver tissue (cirrhosis). - Heart problems: high blood pressure, enlargement of heart, heart failure or stroke.
- Digestive problems: Inflammation of the stomach lining (gastritis), stomach and oesophagus
- Ulcers hinders absorption of nutrients and cause inflammation of the pancreas
- Diabetic complications
- Cancer: Cancer in mouth, throat, liver, colon and breast cancer
- Weakens immunity: Weakens immune system & may lead to pneumonia or TB.
- Affect nervous system, causing numbness, disordered thinking, dementia, and short-term memory loss.
- Liver disease: Fat in the liver or irreversible destruction and scarring of
Alcohol Treatment
As alcoholic patients are hardly concerned about alcoholic problem and its gravity, psychological counselling helps them to better understand the problem. It can motivate the patients to seek treatment. After the patient is admitted in the centre/ hospital, the patient is assessed not only for alcohol addiction and its consequences on body and mind, but also for co-occurring illness like depression, anxiety, mood disorder etc. Withdrawal symptoms like flushing, nausea, vomiting and headaches, anxiety, depression caused due to long abuse of alcohol are medically managed by the doctor with detoxification. The patient may also be administered supportive measures viz fluids, electrolytes etc. as per the need. Soon after the acute symptoms are settled, patients are gradually disciplined by involving them in curriculum to inculcate in them the sense of discipline, obedience to norms and beneficial social ways along with counselling (CBT, Reconstructive, RET) sessions for motivational enhancement, modification of thinking patterns, coping skills improvement, life skills; yoga, meditation and other activities for engaging, modification of habits and life patterns. Simultaneously, patients are involved in sports, constructive activities and rehabilitation process to revive or develop responsibility to do tasks according to their individual interests. Family sessions are also organized to improve upon the family relations. The ADDAC is a known Centre for these quality services.
Yoga in drug recovery
Yoga is a holistic therapy that helps improve both physical and emotional wellbeing. In addition, yoga/ pranayamopens up all the alveoli in the lungs for exchange of oxygen. Persons who practise yoga regularly are potentially healthy people, who are very unlikely to experiment with drugs.
Drug addiction having a long lasting and recurring disorder is difficult to treat. Recovering from addiction is not easy as in fact, recovery from this is one of the toughest things done. However, with the right kind of activities, this can become much more achievable. One of the means that can be made good use of is Yoga to strengthen recovery and get rid of relapse from drug addiction. It is beneficial for those patients who are in recovery phase. If some practical yoga poses are performed for just thirty minutes each day that will help to relax and process thoughts without feeling negative emotions such as anxiety and stress. At the beginning of treatment, simple few yoga positions are introduced one after the other. The overall aim of yoga from an addiction recovery perspective is to allow the patients to build tolerance for uncomfortable feelings and emotions that typically result to relapse. It is no secret that addicts abuse drugs and alcohol as a means of escaping negative thoughts, feelings and sensations. They are able to better manage these negative emotions through yoga. Thus, yoga offers a healthy alternative to substance abusers when it comes to managing negative emotions. This will also make the patients to feel empowered and serve to raise self-esteem. Many people who have invested the requisite time to learn yoga say it makes them feel spiritually and emotionally empowered in coping with relapse urges. It will also develop emotional resilience to avoid relapse. In fact, many addicts must attend rehab and hundreds of hours of mutual support group meetings before relapse becomes less of a threat. The ADDAC, Baru Sahib offers a variety of holistic therapies, Yoga, together with spiritualism and mindfulness meditation that result in higher rate of success.
Role of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy in drug recovery
Cognitive behavioral therapy is a problem-oriented strategy which helps a person look at dysfunctional patterns within their current life. Past events aren’t ignored, however, the focus is on helping a person identify and change current thoughts, emotional reactions, and behaviors which are damaging their life and recovery. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps a person remove self-sabotaging thoughts which fuel drug or alcohol abuse. More specifically, it focuses on the way a person’s thoughts influence their feelings and behaviours. By understanding how these elements are connected, a person is better equipped to think and act in a positive way that supports sobriety. What a person thinks, how they feel and how they act has a massive impact on their life and health, especially during recovery. When these factors are grounded in positive habits they increase a person’s well-being and sober living skills. As part of addiction treatment, cognitive behavioral therapy helps a person confront and cope with thought patterns and problems in their life which drive addictive behaviors. One of the greatest benefits of cognitive behavioral therapy is its intensive approach and relatively short treatment time when compared to other therapies. Typically, a person may have weekly sessions for five to 20 weeks, a total of 10 to 20 sessions. The exact length of treatment and frequency of sessions may vary depending on an individual’s specific needs, longevity of addiction and treatment goals. CBT is effective in treatment of depressive, anxiety states, post-traumatic stress and personality disorder. Akal ADDAC, an addiction treatment facility, offers CBT as part of a comprehensive treatment programme.
Drug Detoxification
Drug detoxification is cleaning the body of poison and management of acute withdrawal symptoms. It is the first stage of ongoing therapeutic measures aimed at the recovery of the individual suffering from drug addiction. This phase lasts for about ten days. It is often followed by behavioral therapy, medication and continued support. In some situations, withdrawal from a substance of abuse can be life threatening. De-addiction centres and Rehabilitation centres are safe environments where health professionals use medications and other techniques to ease the withdrawal process and safely manage the side effects of withdrawal. In general, medical detox is a three-step process: evaluation, stabilization and preparation for future treatment. Patients also learn about addiction, attend therapy sessions or attend support group meetings during detox. However, these are complementary treatments and are not stages of detox.
Evaluation: – Evaluation usually involves assessment that includes a physical exam, blood tests and a screening for co-occurring mental health disorder or other medical conditions. Medical doctor will determine a person’s psychological state and the strength of a person’s support system during evaluation for the development of a treatment plan.
Stabilization: – Stabilization is the step where patients are enabled to discontinue drug use and achieve sobriety and a medically stable condition.
Preparation:-Patients should be prepared for additional treatment following detox. The ADDAC, Baru Sahib with expert professionals provides complete long-term treatment including detox, CBT, counselling sessions with spiritualist core to increase chances of recovery.
Women and Addiction
Women often use substances differently than men, such as using smaller amounts of certain drugs for less time before they become addicted. Women can respond to substances differently such as they may have more drug. Women who use drugs may also experience more physical effects on their heart and blood vessels. Brain changes in women who use drugs can be different from those in men. Women may be more likely to go to the emergency room or die from overdose or other effects of certain substances. Women who are victims of domestic violence are at increased risk of substance use. Divorce, loss of child custody, or the death of a partner or child can trigger women’s substance use or other mental health disorders. Women who use certain substances may be more likely to have panic attacks, anxiety, or depression. Drug in women progresses to addiction faster than men. It is associated with more co-morbid diseases. Thus, the problem of drug abuse in women is an alarming situation which needs to be tackled early. The ADDAC, Baru Sahib is well furnished with all quality amenities for the care and treatment of women victims of drug consumption by experienced professional team in the most enchanting safe environment.
