Theories-On-Causes-of-Addiction

There are many factors that can cause addiction-

The Disease Concept

The direct relationship between neurotransmitters and drug abuse was discovered in 1970 that some neurotransmitters have molecular similarity to those of plant opioids –opium, morphine and heroin.

The normal human brain has a certain set level of release, increase and stabilization of dopamine –the pleasure neurotransmitter. However, in an addict brain the level of pleasure achieved is higher than normal and there is no plateau or stabilization phase, on the contrary the levels dip down to below baseline. This simulates the effect of consumption of substance in an addictive brain. Eventually, with each succeeding drug or alcohol event, the addicted person must use more and more to get less and less of an effect (tolerance) — the levels continues falling further and further until they are using not to get high but just to get normal

The Genetic & Inheritance Concept

Children born of Alcoholic parents have 4% more chances to be alcoholics.

Staying with Biological parents or Foster parents has not made any difference

Theory of inheritance of alcoholism, suicidal depression and epilepsy is known in female children of alcoholic parents.Some inherit anger, some inherit depression but more often so; it is the self-destructive attitude.

The Dysfunctional family Concept

Dysfunctional family members have common symptoms and behavior patterns as a result of their experiences within the family structure. This tends to reinforce the dysfunctional behavior, either through enabling or perpetuation. The family unit can be affected by a variety of factors

The following symptoms occur in most dysfunctional families:

Lack of empathy, understanding, and sensitivity toward certain family members; while, on the other hand, expressing extreme empathy toward one or more family members who have (real or perceived) “special needs”

Denial (a refusal to acknowledge abusive behaviour; also known as the “elephant in the room”) Extremes in conflict (either too much fighting or insufficient arguing between family members)

Inadequate or missing boundaries for self (e.g., tolerating inappropriate treatment from others, failing to express what is acceptable and unacceptable treatment, tolerance of physical, emotional or sexual abuse)

Unequal or unfair treatment of one or more family members due to their gender, age (e.g., seniors, children), abilities, race, economic status, etc. (may include frequent appeasement of one member at the expense of others, or an uneven enforcement of rules).

Abnormal sexual behavior such as incest

Abuse in childhood in any form emotional or physical.

Divorced or separated parents in continuous conflict, or parents who should separate, but do not (to the detriment of their children)

People living in such an environment can easily fall prey to addictions as a relief from stifling family circumstances.

Behavioral Concept

A Maladaptive Personality who cannot adjust to his surroundings and to his internal milieu can be more prone to addictions.

Whatever may be the cause and theories related to the same..if a fracture has to heal it has to be plastered. Likewise , the addiction has to be treated first and in the process the envelope of one’s life is turned inside out, and issues dealt with in a most compassionate, loving, confidential manner. We at Anatta provide the right mileu for the same.

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GOING BEYOND EMOTIONS

Man lives in his mind.
Most of his activity revolves around the mind. As a result the body has been neglected and the unity of mind body has been shaken. The result- stress, emotional angst etc... we color every experience with emotions , thus deluding us from reality.
Have you ever eaten something very delicious and wanted to hold on to that taste ? For that, if you stay hungry and do not brush your teeth the whole day..what do you think will happen? The next morning, you wake up hungry, stinking  and grumpy and the taste that one so wanted to hold on to is now only in the mind...  this is exactly what we do with our emotions .. Whether happy or sad, we tend to hold on to them till they raise a stink....
We find ourselves living in more than one mind at a time trying to think why another person behaved in a particular manner , what will people think  if I did this etc. ; living in one mind itself is tiring , imagine living in multiple minds- exhausting!
In addiction  , the addict is at an advantage because the problem is so in the face that he has to do something about it. With the rest of the world the proverbial carpet is ever present.
But do things actually get brushed under the carpet? The incidents will, but the emotions are held on to in a conscious or unconscious form either suppressed or repressed... which then colors all our responses to incidents in our lives.
Thus, we can conclude that it is our emotions that are behind every so called “ issue” in our lives. “Gurus” tell us go beyond emotions, detach ourselves from emotions, be in the present, renounce our relations, material things etc but can we “renounce” our minds? And HOW do we go beyond all our emotions?
Our mind never allows us to see reality as it is, for, it takes us to the past and the future [ both non -existent]  thus enabling us never to  be in the present. A story- two monks come across a woman waiting to cross a river. One of the monks volunteers to help and carries the woman across, lets her down and goes his way. The younger monk begins arguing for 3 hours about how could the monk touch a woman , it is forbidden in their sect and is a sin… the older monk quietly tells him,  I dropped off the woman 3 hours ago..I see my friend, that you are still carrying her... this, is what we do with all our emotions.
The ability of going beyond emotions is inherently present within each of us, we only have to become aware of it and live it.
A few methods we incorporate :
Writing
The writing is in a prescribed manner. We write all the incidents in our lives as they happened  , without embellishments or adornment  of philosophy and retrospective analysis. It is describing the incident as it happened. Then, to make it more interesting write down the emotions you felt at the time separately. Also add the emotions you feel now when writing the incident. If you sit with yourself for at least 45mins everyday and keep writing all the incidents in your life in this method ; slowly you will realize that you develop a detachment from the emotions one has held on to over the years.
Meditation
Regular practice of meditation releases suppressed and repressed emotions stored in our cellular memory and changes the structure of our brains, reducing the size of the areas that cause emotional fluctuations thereby changing the responses to stressors around us ; the areas of our brains that regulate compassion and empathy increases in size. Meditation keeps us in the present moment.
Yoga
Yoga balances the interiority of an individual ,keeping one in the present enabling an increase in awareness of our body and mind.
Being present
Extending this practice of being present to everything we do in life. While eating eat , while drinking water drink, while walking, walk.... cut out the multitasking.
Being present and doing all of the above to do so , eventually, helps us to deal with incidents in our lives without attaching emotions to them and seeing them in all their reality and we learn to truly “respond “ instead of “ reacting”.

We at Anatta enable this ability to go beyond emotions to surface and provide the tools to maintain it because we are one of the finest rehabilitation treatment centers in India.
Get speedy recovery from drug and alcohol addiction with the top drug rehab center as well as top alcohol rehab in India. We are only a phone call away.

ADDICTION AND SOCIAL OSTRACISM

Addiction to alcohol/drugs is one of the oldest ailments known to mankind as intoxicating substances have always been around since time immemorial used for recreation, celebration, religious, ritualistic shamanic practices etc.
 There was a time when people were ostracized for being part of a particular race, caste, creed or disease across the world.
Addiction to alcohol/drugs is such a disease that the person afflicted is ostracized by immediate family apart from society at large.
A client’s daughter shared that friends were not invited home as she was ashamed of her drunken daddy. Most times the alcoholic in a blackout says and does things that he has no memory of the next day ... he realizes this by the look on his wife’s face. The addict at least has the excuse that he is under the influence of the substance. What is the excuse of the families who shout, scream and treat them as though they were lepers / untouchables?
People avoid family members of addicts as they do not want to “get involved”. There are sniggers behind their backs and bullying and insults to their faces.
Till even the first part of the 20th century those addicted to substances were relegated to “mad” houses. Today too they land up at psychiatric offices wherein they are given medication for behavioral issues resultant to substance use- further damaging the individual, as many consume both, the substance and the medication. 
Social invitations decline once an alcoholic gets repeatedly drunk and creates ruckus at functions....  the employee is sidelined for promotions and loses his job over a drinking problem.
The family hides the addiction even from doctors resulting in progression of the illness and sure death.
The person is looked upon in disgust disdain and as a discard... hastening his journey to the grave.
Do we treat someone with any other illness like this – would we treat a family member or friend who is a diabetic or hypertensive like this? Or do we look at treatment options for them? Would we not help a family who has a member suffering from any of these illnesses with knowledge of doctors we know or Treatment facilities we are aware of?
Why this ostracism? Just as anyone with any illness does not ask for it, neither is addiction a disease that is asked for- the substance controls and consumes the person afflicted... if left untreated will be 100% fatal and result in Death.. like any other systemic disease.
As a society, let us wake up to the awareness of this disease and realize there is help available… let us arm ourselves with the knowledge of the same. Treatment that is seen to work the best is Residential, Non medical, Voluntary, using Counseling and alternative healing methods like Meditation ,Yoga etc.
We at AH facilitate this process to enable the individuals afflicted /affected by Addiction to alcohol/ drugs go beyond them and towards a fulfilling life!  We have doctors who are specialized in drug & alcohol rehabilitation.
Share the solution- the problem is known to all- awareness of the solution is what is required-  be socially responsible- someone somewhere might find help and You might be instrumental in saving Lives..  AH is one of the best alcohol addiction treatment centers.

PROHIBITION

-By Dr. Sujatha Nair
Mahatma Gandhi was the primary advocate of prohibition in India considering alcohol as a social evil. Prohibition exists in Gujarat, Nagaland; parts of Manipur; and Lakshadweep.
It is not the person who controls his drinks – it is the drink that controls and consumes the person.  
Gujarat
Let us take state Gujarat as a model for the results of prohibition.
Since 1958 Gujarat has a law in force that prohibits the manufacture, storage, sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages. The only Indian state with death penalty for makers and sellers of homemade liquor where fatalities are caused. And yet there is rampant Alcoholism prevalent there.
Smuggling and illicit liquor trade flourishes. 'Folder' is the local slang for the person who provides alcohol on demand. The Union Territory of Daman that is an hour away from Gujarat has a flourishing liquor trade thanks to the tipplers from there. Liquor is smuggled in from neighbouring States, manufacture and sale of spurious liquor still goes on and so do the related deaths, the last being of 148 people in 2009 indicating that the authorities are in cahoots with the bootleggers.
All the other states with prohibition allows production of local brews and also IMFL (Indian made foreign liquor)
Kerala
Kerala is planning to implement prohibition in a phased manner, by the next decade. The liquor business forms 22 per cent of the state’s revenue. As a first step to total prohibition, the government decided to close down 730 bars out of 752.  Increase in retail prices have never been a dissuading factor for drinkers.
Is alcoholism and Kerala meant for each other? There are queues since early morning outside liquor shops that resemble the lines outside a temple. Kerala has the highest per capita consumption of alcohol in the country. The drinking age has dropped from 19 years to 13.5 years. The per capita consumption is 20l/person amongst those who drink. Today there is not a celebration there that does not begin with popping of the proverbial cork. Children are watching a generation of parents coming home drunk or getting drunk at home or drinking in the day at home/outside and growing up to think that this is “normal.”

There have been numerous talk shows on the subject with people baying for shutting down bars in villages and towns to curb the menace of alcoholism. This only reflects the abject lack of awareness amongst the people and sad to say even the medical fraternity in Kerala regarding the actual nature of the disease of addiction and myths abound.

The primary aim of prohibition has been to curb alcoholism, and this has failed miserably. There is instead increased consumption of spurious liquor, local brews, perfumes, after shaves etc. Alternate addictions set in and rise which tend to affect the health of the addict, even further.

Banning alcohol will not result in an end to alcoholism

Awareness about the nature of addiction and primarily awareness regarding the solutions to go beyond it needs to be propagated in every village, town and city.

It is very essential to treat the Addiction in the person in a residential,++ non-medical facility, as left untreated addiction is fatal .Treatment of the family becomes as essential for co-dependency as consequently it destroys families. For the same purpose the government has now established Alcohol Rehabilitation Treatment Centres all over India. Indian government has come up with Drug Addiction Treatment Center as well.

True lasting change has to happen from within outwards...never only with a change in the external milieu.

ADDICTION TO PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

Addiction to alcohol and illicit drugs has always been spoken about, prescribed medication has remained silent but IS also a frontline addiction..

Addiction to prescription drugs is on the rise in India and across the world.

There are drugs to sleep, there are drugs to wake up, there are drugs to perform, there are drugs for pain , there are drugs to focus in exams , there are drugs to treat various physical ailments which are being abused on a large scale-pain medications, cough syrups etc etc..

There is a chemical maelstrom brewing  in the brain and body of a large population of humanity addiction to which is as life threatening as addiction to alcohol and illicit drugs . Even more so as, because as they are “ prescription meds” they are thought to be “ safe” and far less harmful.

In the west addiction to prescription drugs are rampant amongst teenagers who hold  “Pharm parties” wherein a punch bowl is filled with medicines  pinched from the medicine cabinets of  their parents. The kids then take turns going to the punch bowl grabbing  a fistful of tablets and eating them most times with alcohol. Several times due to the ignorance of the kind of medicines consumed and the drug interactions between them or side effects and the combination with alcohol proves fatal.

Several times Psychiatrists and some Drug rehab centres prescribe medications for various disorders and the patient continues on them without a follow up and ends up getting addicted to them.

In Prescription medications addictions the most common classes of drugs involved are:

Opioids [for  cough,  pain] eg Oxycodone ,Hydrocodone,  Codeine cough syrups etc

Central Nervous system depressants [ for anxiety ,sleep disorders] eg alprazolam, diazepam, pentobarbital sodium etc

Stimulants [ ADHD medication etc] eg Methylphenidate[ADHD med] , Amphetamines etc.

Medical consequences of prescription drug abuse include the following.

   Opioids  can cause an increased risk of choking , low blood pressure, a slowed breathing rate and potential for breathing to stop as they suppress the respiratory center in the brain, or a coma.

Eg.When abused, promethazine-codeine cough syrup presents a high risk of fatal overdose due to its effect of depressing the central nervous system, which can slow or stop the heart and lungs. Mixing with alcohol greatly increases this risk. 

Withdrawals from opioids-  Restlessness, muscle and bone pains, Insomnis, diarrhea, vomiting, involuntary leg movements.

          Sedatives and anti-anxiety medications (anxiolytics)  can cause memory problems, low blood pressure and slowed breathing. Overdose can cause coma or death.

Abruptly stopping the medication may be associated with withdrawal symptoms that can include hyperactivity of the nervous system and seizures.

Stimulants can cause dangerously high body temperature, heart problems, high blood pressure, seizures or tremors, hallucinations, aggressiveness, and paranoia.

We at Anatta provide drug & alcoholrehabilitation and  have come across several clients who have been treated with psychiatric medications for their addiction wherein the person afflicted finally uses both the substance of their choice and the prescribed medications thereby ending up with multiple addictions.

We are one of the best rehab centres in India who treat these clients non medically after tapering off all their medications incorporating various meditation techniques that are psychotherapeutic along with Counselling and other techniques that take the person within allowing healing to happen.

Substance Abuse and Women

Across the centuries the status of women has improved from being treated as Adam’s rib or the weaker sex to receiving equal rights to being at par with men on all fronts. The woman of today is thus a Superwoman managing home and work with élan and going beyond all conditionings - except a very deep rooted conditioning of emotional dependency. This rarely leaves room for her to develop as an individual ; thus making her vulnerable to dependency and co-dependency.

There are growing economic instabilities due to which both spouses have to work or in the upper class the woman feels emotionally neglected by an over occupied spouse. In all instances the woman feels under appreciated.

Thus, despite financial and educational independence they turn out to be emotionally challenged.

 All these factors result in leaning towards addictions. The disadvantage in the case of women substance abusers is that they have an easier access to money and places of hiding the substance. Hence the abuse is detected after a longer period of time and still remains hidden many times due to fear of social stigma.

Physiological effects of Substance abuse on Women

Women are affected physically quicker and in a worse manner as compared to man owing to their shorter stature, metabolism and hormones.

Long-Term Consequences: Women experience negative physical consequences and complications from alcohol sooner and at lower levels of consumption than men. Evidence suggests that women progress significantly faster in developing dependence, organ damage, and diseases with much lower levels of alcohol/drug consumption. Women are more likely to die many years earlier from alcohol abuse and dependence.

For eg – cirrhosis of liver, Diabetes, Hypertension, cardiac conditions, malnutrition, painful or irregular menses, amenorrhoea [absence of menses] at times, various cancers,  fetal abnormalities, Alzheimer’s ,Dementia etc

The loss of inhibitions and rationality owing to the substance abuse makes women also more vulnerable sexually and to sexual abuse.

The very roles she plays- mother ,daughter, spouse, friend etc are all affected by her usage .

In the bargain, the woman is ridden by guilt, resentments and fears which isolate her from her own true self and her loved ones

 However the woman can be trained to access her inner potentials - to learn to love and esteem herself - make herself not just financially independent but also free herself emotionally and be her own person.

Treatment
For a woman to recover – she requires an intimate and therapeutic setting where her confidentiality is maintained and she can regain her dignity, independence and find fellowship within and around her. Women thus experience living a life away from substance in a conducive and loving environment.

We at AH provide such an environment.
It is a most beautiful experience to see a woman learn from her own experiences, realize her own inner potential and individuality to blossom into the human being she is meant to be without finding the need to go back to the Substance.