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Alcohol Abuse and Drug Addiction By Teenagers in Kelowna, BC

Alcohol Abuse and Drug Addiction By Teenagers in Kelowna, British Columbia and How Options Okanagan Treatment Center can Help.

Options Okanagan Alcohol Treatment Center
Toll Free Phone Number : 1-855-335-0331

Over the years, there are lots of issues and cases where young adults take part in alcohol and drug abuse. There are many elements and explanations why substance abuse is a common problem among young people. With the innovation of technologies, impact of friends, fast changing adaption of the generation and through insufficient advice, there are higher chances that teenagers could see their life meaningful with the influence of drugs and alcohol. Finding the factors for adolescent addiction with the help of professionals of drug treatment programs is extremely helpful in identifying the ideal rehabilitation treatment program.

Children Living with Alcohol addiction in Kelowna

1) Pinpointing the Characteristics In Alcohol Abuse And Drug Addiction

Its not all teenagers are being exposed to the influence of drugs and alcohol. Curiosity is but one culprit that makes a teen rely on substance abuse. It’s natural for kids and young adults to become curious due to the fact that they do not know a lot about things. They eagerly want to see and learn more about what exactly are the effects of alcohol and drugs in one’s body. One of the big explanations why teens choose substance abuse is because of pressure from peers which can be from friends or others to help the teenager easily fit in the crowd.

Children Living with Alcohol addiction in Kelowna

2) Family History In Alcohol Abuse And Drug Addiction

An additional factor that may lead to drug and alcohol abuse in teenagers is from their genealogy. Histories of neglect and child abuse are factors that have been acknowledged by health care professionals to cause substance abuse in young adults. The parents play a huge role in guiding their young children to the right path of life. If parents fail to do so, young children will be left alone doing things they wish to do without thinking what is right and wrong. If mothers and fathers are the primary source of drug abuse, their children will in all probability develop right into a drug abuser in the foreseeable future.

Al-Anon and Alateen Group Meetings on Alcoholism - Frequently Asked Questions – Kelowna, British Columbia - Options Okanagan Treatment Center for Alcoholism

3) Prevention and Treatment In Alcohol Abuse And Drug Addiction

One strategy to prevent substance abuse in teenagers is to have appropriate counselling and open conversation. This would imply in selecting the right friends, having consistent communication from parents and proper guidance. The environment suitable for the child or teen should be a drug-free place and that a strong relationship foundation must be kept up. If the teenager has already been affected with substance abuse, it is best to submit her or him to professionals of drug rehab programs to help in recovery.

Alcohol addiction (alcoholism) and drug addiction in Kelowna

Despite the curiosity from young children and teenagers, it is best that parents provide full counselling to help teens fully grasp the right and wrong things to be done in life. Substance abuse is really a serious problem that needs proper therapy and prevention so that the cases of substance addiction will appear reduced and finally be removed in the community.

Our Treatment Location:
Options Okanagan Alcohol Treatment Center
551 Sherrydale Crescent, Kelowna, British Columbia, V1V 2E6
Toll Free Phone Number : 1-855-335-0331

Al-Anon and Alateen on Alcoholism – Frequently Asked Questions – Kelowna, BC – Part 2

Al-Anon and Alateen Group Meetings on Alcoholism – Frequently Asked Questions – Kelowna, British Columbia – Options Okanagan Treatment Center for Alcoholism

What about problems and issues other than somebody else’s Alcohol drinking?

Al-Anon and Alateen Group Meetings on Alcoholism - Frequently Asked Questions – Kelowna, British Columbia - Options Okanagan Treatment Center for Alcoholism

In addition to alcohol abuse or alcoholism, newcomers as well as Al-Anon members may be worried and concerned about a relative or even a friend who has yet another kind of addiction, mental illness, mental disease, psychopathy, compulsive, addictive or problematic behavior and conduct. Even though Al-Anon’s principles and guidelines can be applied to a lot of different and distinct situations and concerns or issues, the Al-Anon program focuses and concentrates upon helping members recover from and get over the effects of somebody else’s drinking problems. Newcomers as well as Al-Anon/Alateen members will also be encouraged to seek and look for help and assistance from other additional resources for their concerns and issues in addition to OR other than someone else’s drinking when needed and required.

Is Al-Anon or Alateen compatible with and suitable for the professional care, treatment and services other people offer?

Al-Anon Meetings on Alcoholism in Kelowna, British Columbia - Options Okanagan Treatment Center for Drugs and Alcoholism

Yes. Al-Anon/Alateen is a peer support and assistance group. As peers, they will exchange their respective and particular experiences. The common sharing among members helps members to realize and understand that they have a wide range of options that they may not have realized and noticed they had and experienced before participating in Al-Anon or Alateen. Al-Anon members do not really give direction or even prescribe specific solutions and alternatives for other Al-Anon or Alateen members.

Is the Al-Anon or Alateen Family Groups program religious, spiritual, faith-based, non secular?
It is spiritually-based on principles and concepts applicable to individuals from a wide selection of backgrounds and applicable and relevant to individuals regardless of and no matter what their religious beliefs or values – or lack of religious beliefs and philosophy.

What is the Al-Anon or Alateen meeting format or structure and exactly what do members talk about and discuss at these meetings?

Al-Anon Group Meetings on Alcoholism and Frequently Asked Questions in Kelowna, British Columbia - Options Okanagan Treatment Center for Alcoholics

The majority of Al-Anon and Alateen groups or organizations have a discussion or dialogue topic or subject matter at their meetings such as acceptance, toleration, overcoming and alleviating fear and concern, change, one of Al-Anon’s slogans (Easy Does It, One Day at a Time) or one of the Twelve Steps. Al-Anon and Alateen group meetings are facilitated through members, instead of a professional. Each and every week, a different fellow member chairs the meetings on a different subject or issue.

Why do Al-Anon or Alateen members continue to go to Al-Anon or Alateen after the problem drinker is in treatment, therapy, sober, attending Alcoholics Anonymous, or even no longer actively involved with the person’s life?

Al-Anon and Alateen Meetings on Alcoholism  and FAQ in Kelowna, British Columbia - Options Okanagan Treatment Center for Alcoholism

Al-Anon or Alateen is a program of self discovery and personal growth and development. Recovery is an ongoing process and isn’t tied to regardless of whether or not the problem drinker or alcoholic carries on drinking, is visibility present, or actively involved with a Al-Anon member’s life. The effects and results of somebody else’s drinking are deep and can present challenges and issues which continue throughout life.
Al-Anon and Alateen members form brand new friendships with other fellow members and often will find great personal satisfaction and fulfillment in maintaining relationships with their Al-Anon friends. Al-Anon and Alateen members also strengthen and reinforce their very own recovery and find wonderful satisfaction is sharing and discussing their application of the Al-Anon program with other newcomers to Al-Anon and Alateen.

Opiate Addiction with Treatments and Therapies in Kelowna – Options Okanagan

Dealing with Opiate Addiction with Replacement or Alternative Treatments and Therapies in Kelowna, British Columbia – Options Okanagan Treatment Center

Replacement or alternative treatments are usually medications which are prescribed by doctors to take care of addictions to opiates such as OxyContin, morphine and heroin. There are 2 principal replacement therapy drugs: methadone, that has been used for many years, and buprenorphine, a somewhat new medication and treatment that has proven to work in dealing with men and women with opiate addictions.

Senior Living Prescription Painkillers or Abuse of Methadone

Even though an addiction or dependency to opiates could happen to any individual taking these drugs, teenagers or young adults in North America are the fastest growing group to try out opiates and they are increasingly at risk for and vulnerable to developing an opiate addiction to these drugs. About 54 percent of recreational opiate users will turn out to be addicted to these powerful and dangerous drugs/medications. Once addicted to and dependent on opiates, most individuals will need professional and specialized opiate therapy and treatment programs to assist them to overcome and conquer their particular addiction and then be able to return to society and lead a normal lifestyle and way of life.

Senior Living Prescription Painkiller Abuse Opioids

Understanding and Comprehending Opiate Addictions

Opiate use produces significant chemical alterations inside the brain. These kinds of changes are not only long-lasting, they trigger individuals to be able to feel extreme and severe negative emotions, feelings, inner thoughts and extreme cravings any time or in the event that they stop using opiates. Sometimes, individuals can start experiencing these types of feelings in a matter of a couple of hours of their last use of opiates.

Senior Living Prescription Painkiller Abuse Opioids

The reason or explanation that opiate usage is so challenging to get over is really because the chemical state within the brain is so drastically altered even with just a couple of uses of the drug. When addicted, individuals require alternative medications in order to be able to safely kick the drug addiction.

People Living Prescription Painkiller Abuse Opioids

It is important to understand and comprehend that opiate addiction is a chronic physical health condition just like heart conditions, high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure levels or hypertension are. There is certainly much less sympathy offered toward opiate addicts or junkies, however, because individuals view these types of addictions as preventable or avoidable. It does not matter how those conditions, problems or ailments developed, the truth is that opiate addiction is an extremely serious matter and issue that calls for long-term opiate treatment and therapy to get over the drug addiction.

Teens Living Prescription Painkiller Abuse Opioids

Relapse Prevention in Kelowna – Options Okanagan Treatment Center – Part 2

Alcohol and drug rehabilitation treatment is the first and initial step of living sober. After this, long-term changes and adjustments along with a relapse prevention plan and strategy needs to be implemented and put in place in order to maintain and sustain sobriety. There is a lot of personal growth which comes after many years of being in sobriety and free from drugs. It is important for and essential that a recovering individual to critically and significantly evaluate and assess their whole life in order to develop and build up a plan for long-term recovery from drugs or alcohol addictions. A relapse and backsliding drug or alcohol prevention plan is and will be a road map and guide to a sober way of living and a new approach to life, not only a state of being . Getting sober is just a small part associated with recovery from addictions.

Alcohol addiction (alcoholism) and drug addiction in Kelowna

3) Living Sober in Kelowna, British Columbia
It is stated in the Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) and Narcotic Anonymous (NA) programs that if an individual wants to gain and achieve sobriety, they must change people, places, and things. Additionally, their spirituality or spiritualism and different ways of thinking are important and crucial to long-term recovery from drugs and alcohol addictions . Any person can join these people who are living sober lives. Living and residing in sobriety means maintaining and sustaining recovery while making life affirming and re-inifocing changes. Addictions destroy an individual’s ability and power to become healthy as well as productive. A sober recovery diminishes and reduces the chances and likelihood of relapse by using the foundation of the actual recovery process to continually and constantly address problems and issues or even successes in self-affirming ways and approaches.

4) Halfway Houses as well as Sober Living Homes in Kelowna
In many cases, completing a detoxification (detox) program along with a inpatient program is not really sufficient to establish and begin a full, long-term recovery from drugs and alcohol. A totally brand new way of living must be learned and realized. A halfway house or sober living home can result in the difference and distinction between a solid and strong recovery and an unstable and unpredictable early recovery. Re-entering life after spending an amount of time in a rehabilitation program can be a frightening and daunting prospect. Would not it be wonderful and good if there was a special person there to meet the affected individual halfway? This is just what is meant by spending sometime at a Halfway House or Recovery Home is all about. A person’s addiction is an illness and sickness that has been little by little destroying or doing damage to their body and harming their relationships with friends, family and loved ones. An individual has taken the first steps and actions by detoxing as well as receiving addiction treatment. At this point, it is time for a person to get back on their feet and stay there, sober. Options Okanagan Treatment Center in Kelowna is right here to help.

Living with Drug addiction in Kelowna, British Columbia

5) Drug Courts in Kelowna, British Columbia
Drug courts were established and set up to help and assist individuals with legal issues and problems related and associated with drug or alcohol addictions. Drug Courts were created and produced in responding to local community needs in order to combat recidivism as well as criminal behavior and actions which involved drugs as well as alcohol. These courts can certainly mandate time in jail, and/or addiction treatment therapy and supervision. The actual success rates related to drug courts have already been positive and constructive, helping both local communities and individuals in addictions as well.

Teens Living with Alcohol addiction in Kelowna

6) Alcoholism, Alcohol Addiction and Drug Addiction Support Groups and Organizations in Kelowna, British Columbia
Staying and remaining clean and sober subsequent to a drug and alcohol addiction treatment program requires focus, individual or group therapy and treatment, family therapy, and also the creation of a strong and solid recovery support network. To prevent an alcohol and drug relapse and backslide, sort through the confusion of early addiction recovery and, build and develop a strong foundation or base for long-term recovery, the recovering individual in addiction should strive to take part in one or more alcohol and drug addiction support groups .

Relapse Prevention in Kelowna – Options Okanagan Treatment Center – Part 1

A relapse and backsliding drug or alcohol prevention plan is and will be a road map and guide to a sober way of living and a new approach to life, not only a state of being . Getting sober is just a small part associated with recovery from addictions. There is a lot of personal growth which comes after many years of being in sobriety and free from drugs. It is important for and essential that a recovering individual to critically and significantly evaluate and assess their whole life in order to develop and build up a plan for long-term recovery from drugs or alcohol addictions. Alcohol and drug rehabilitation treatment is the first and initial step of living sober. After this, long-term changes and adjustments along with a relapse prevention plan and strategy needs to be implemented and put in place in order to maintain and sustain sobriety.

Alcohol addiction (alcoholism) and drug addiction in Kelowna

1) Alcohol and Drug Relapse Prevention in Kelowna, British Columbia

There are steps and actions that an individual suffering and battling from alcohol addiction (alcoholism) or drug addiction can take to help ensure and make certain that they remain in recovery for the addictions. Relapse prevention measures and steps as well as what to do if an alcohol or drug relapse occurs in a person’s life. If an individual is sick and tired and fed up with relapsing, they can stop using drugs and alcohol, but unless a person acquires the skills and abilities needed to stay and remain sober they might, ‘NO’ they will relapse. A good quality drug and alcohol addiction treatment program will usually contain a comprehensive and thorough alcohol and drug relapse prevention component to them. Getting sober is only and just a small component of the battle and struggle that should be, needs to be and must be fought against addiction. Staying sober requires and demands constant vigilance and alertness as well as appropriate and suitable, long-term care.

Living with Drug addiction in Kelowna, British Columbia

2) Alcohol and Drug Relapse, Backsliding in Kelowna, British Columbia

When a person uses drugs or alcohol even in one case , after stepping into recovery is considered and recognized to be a relapse and backsliding. Going back to drinking alcohol or using drugs does not mean that it is the end to recovery. It is important and imperative that the individual regain their sobriety as quickly as possible. Relapse and backsliding takes place for a lot of reasons and motives. An outburst of psychiatric or psychological symptoms, spending any amount of time in old hangouts, financial and monetary troubles and difficulties or depression and depressive disorders can make a person more prone to relapse and backsliding. In reality even positive and constructive life events which are emotionally and sentimentally charged may also lead an individual to relapse, for instance getting a job promotion or a pay raise, or even the big one getting married. In the event that a person has gone back out and are using drugs and alcohol again; Options Okanagan in Kelowna will help that individual get their life back again and on track to a sober life. Call Options Okanagan at 1-855-335-0331 today!

Teens Living with Alcohol addiction in Kelowna

Recovery from Addiction in Kelowna, British Columbia – Options Okanagan

Find ones path to recovery from addiction with us. Options Okanagan has a team of drug therapists, experienced counselors and advisors who are waiting to help anyone with an addiction problem. Call us right now. Toll free (855)335-0331

During the last five years, Kelowna, British Columbia has seen an increase in heroin as well as a rise in the dangers and risks from its use. Law enforcement and the administration now identifies and pinpoints heroin and cocaine as the greatest threats and dangers to their local community, drug trafficking, abuse and misuse of these illegal and unlawful drugs of addiction, pass all prior statistics from other drugs. The groups of professionals working and dealing with Kelowna’s substance abuse rehabilitation centers know the difficulty and issues of getting clean from these highly addictive and hard to kick drugs. Options are able to help an individual search for and find a much better life with complete aftercare support. Call us now. Toll free (855)335-0331

Senior Living with Heroin Abuse and Addiction to Opioids

In lots of cities across North America including Kelowna, an increase in heroin use and addiction has been and continues to be attributed to the actual epidemic and crisis of addiction to prescription medications prescribed by doctors and medical professionals. There are numerous addicts that are looking towards and embracing heroin due to the fact it is much easier and less of a challenge to get and in addition to inexpensive. Significantly more Heroin overdoses in 2013 than any previous years.

Finding and Discovering Treatment That Works in Kelowna

Apart from the physical signs and symptoms associated with dealing with the drug addiction, an individual might have concerns, worries and fears in their life that they might not be comfortable or at ease talking about. Options residential treatment center will deal with them with respect and give them the support, assistance and help they need and require without being judgmental. Options specialists and medical professionals are aware of their needs and the staff at Options all know that privacy is essential and important for their complete and total recovery.

Senior Living Prescription Painkiller Abuse Opioids

Drug rehab treatment at Options requires has a multifaceted and diverse approach. An individual’s dependency on drugs is just one part of the problem and issue, and in many instances, taking drugs is really a side effect associated with other things which may be going on in their life. Options drug recovery professionals will deal with and take care of them as a whole person. Options consists of counseling to help and enable them to come to terms with things in the past and behavioral therapy and treatment to help and guide them learn new life skills and construct positive new habits and routines.

Coping With and Managing Stress and Tension in Addiction

Stress, emotional and psychological challenges are factors or elements in what makes an individual turn to drugs or doctor prescribed medications. Options many years of experience have taught and trained them that to recover and recuperate from the addiction, an individual will need new skills which will enable them to effectively deal with frustrating and disheartening circumstances and scenarios. Learning to and understanding how to recognize, avoid and prevent situations that trigger and bring about cravings for drug abuse and addiction are skills learned, realized and mastered to help facilitate long-term and lasting recovery without relapses.

Senior Living Prescription Painkiller Addiction Heroin Opioids

Building their Life Back Up From Drug Addiction

If a person feels that they do not have anyone to turn to due to the fact their relationships and associations with their family and loved ones are strained, Options will help them build and develop a support group. Options counseling professionals will include their family members in their recovery program because the staff at Options recognize and acknowledge that family are an important and significant part of building a drug-free life . Through mending their relationships and associations, an individual can start to heal as well as take refuge in the fact that they care and are concerned, and will be there for them.

Individuals Living with Prescription Painkiller Abuse Opioids

By reaching out, an individual has taken the most important step and the first thing to do towards their drug addiction recovery. The Options team is here now to support and help that person.

Drug Rehabilitation Treatment in Kelowna, BC

Why Drug Rehabilitation Treatment?

To begin with, a large number of patients and sufferers think that drug rehabilitation in a clinical or medical environment is unnecessary or unneeded for them to get well. It is frequently very difficult to convince or persuade an addict that the drug problem and issue even exists. Nevertheless deep down, they realize and understand that their lives are now being controlled by the drug substance. They are tired of and finished of the constant pursuit of the next high and are in need of and looking for immediate help. Rehabilitation is a means of not only reclaiming a person’s physical well-being but also a self-discovery of inner strength that most patients and  sufferers do not realize and recognize they possess.

Senior Living with Drug Abuse Opioids

A Kelowna Relapse Prevention Center – Options Okanagan offers inpatient and outpatient treatment programs , with lengths of 30, 60 and 90 days in most cases. Both inpatient as well as outpatient treatment programs have their own advantages and drawbacks, depending on the level of and amount of treatment that is needed and necessary. Inpatient programs inside residential facilities provide a greater degree of stability and possess several staff members ready to help and assist at a moment’s notice. Outpatient programs offer a greater sense of independence and ease, however they may lack the actual structured 24/7 surroundings needed to overcome and defeat a more serious and severe addiction.

Senior Living Prescription Painkiller Abuse Opioids

Getting Started with Drug Rehabilitation

Beginning the process associated with drug rehabilitation is easier stated than carried out. As soon as an individual has admitted and accepted there is a problem and an issue that needs fixing, choosing the right drug rehab facility is crucial and essential for success. Although it should be a rehab where a individual feels comfortable and secure, they should not be too comfy. There ought to be a sense associated with duty and expectation emanating from the Drug Treatment Center , helping an individual realize there is a certain aspect of self-discipline that must definitely be called upon to reach and achieve both short-term as well as long-term goals and objectives. Getting together with a drug treatment team for an intake interview can help set the tone for an individual’s stay. Throughout the interview, it is important and crucial to tell the truth and be honest about their present physical and mental, psychological state, so the suitable treatment plan can end up being constructed for them. Obtaining a physical examination to check and look for traces of drugs in their system is additionally necessary as is a psychological evaluation. Having a willingness to cooperate and work with the drug rehab treatment team, the chances and likelihood of recovery are greatly increased and improved.

Senior Living Prescription Painkiller Abuse Opioids

Recovery: The Ultimate and Greatest Goal and Objective

Even though recovery is the ultimate and greatest goal, patients and sufferers, together with family members and friends, should remember and don’t forget that it is a lifelong and long-term process, not one that is simply wrapped up in 30, 60 or 90 days of rehab treatments. Completion of the drug rehabilitation program is something to be really proud of; however it is only just the beginning of a path of choices, options and decisions made every day which will eventually decide an individual’s success in drug recovery. Upon leaving a drug rehab treatment facility, family as well as friends will end up being briefed on how to continue to help the individual stay drug-free. By paying attention to these suggestions, regaining and restoring a family member or friend that seemed lost permanently no longer feels and seems impossible.

Drug and Alcohol Addiction Recovery in Kelowna is Possible

Drug and Alcohol Recovery in Kelowna is Possible! Get Drug Addiction Help Now.

For those who are suffering with an drug or alcohol addiction and substance abuse problems, it might seem as if there aren’t any options, that the drug or alcohol addiction has taken over and there isn’t any hope for the future. At Kelowna Drug Treatment Center – Options Okanagan, they know that recovery from addiction is possible and that an individual can overcome and conquer their addiction of choice. Addiction does not really care what job or work a person has, how much money they make or even have made, whether or not they are male or even female, or what race, religion or color of skin a person is. It is really a disease and sickness of the mind and brain, and it doesn’t discriminate on anybody. One common and widespread misbelief is that drug addiction only happens with illegal and outlawed substances, but the truth is that alcohol, cigarette smoking and prescription drugs and medicines can also result in addictions. It isn’t a matter or issue of just willpower or a lack of moral principles leading a person into the world of drug and alcohol addiction and substance abuse. In reality, addiction is a very complex and complicated problem that really affects the mind. However, there is actually hope. Kelowna Drug Treatment Center – Options Okanagan, while using the latest in medical advances to treat and deal with drug and alcohol abuse, have seen lots of people successfully treated and that go on to live a happy, healthy life.

Seniors Living with Alcohol addictions and abusing Prescription Painkillers

The Stigma associated with Addictions in Kelowna

Despite the truth that doctors and health professionals have known for some time that addiction is really a disease and a illness, there continues to be a stigma attached to people who search for and seek out help in coping with addiction. Options Drug Treatment Center in Kelowna take care of and treat the drug or alcohol addiction like the disease and condition that it actually is, never attaching a stigma or preconception to individuals seeking assistance. Options recognizes that the common view of drug as well as alcohol abuse is usually detrimental as numerous addicts avoid looking for help in an attempt to hide their own addiction problem. It is crucial to remember that addiction is a disease and a illness, much like cancer is, which requires a particular form of treatment and in order for that patient and sufferer to survive and endure. Treatment for drug and alcohol addiction is very similar as there isn’t any “one-size-fits-all” answer with regard to treating addicts, neither is the course of action always simple. There are often underlying causes and reasons for an individual to turn to drugs or even alcohol, and the important key to success is actually determining what those underlying and root factors are in order to deal with the addiction problem and issues.

Treatment Rehab Facility in Kelowna

The Most Vulnerable to Opioids and Drug Addiction

There are 3 Groups Of People who are The Most Vulnerable to Opioids and Drug Addiction

Adolescents or Teens – Relating to a 2004 Countrywide Survey about Drug Usage and Health and Wellness, 10.4% of teenagers or adolescents aged twelve to seventeen had used doctor prescribed psychotherapeutic drugs for non-medical or health-related reasons or motives in the previous year and also 5.3% have been current drug users. Doctor prescribed opioids really are a particularly serious and major problem in this age grouping.  A nationwide government agency in  2005 overseeing a long-term survey regarding 8th through 12th-graders discovered that 5.3% of 12th-graders had been abusing OxyContin in the previous year, as well as 9.7% who reported abusing Vicodin, making Vicodin just about the most commonly over used or abused prescription drug medication in this particular population. One more troubling and disturbing pattern is the particular recent phenomena referred to as “pharming,” in which young individuals mix prescription medications or prescription drugs and consume some or even  all of these drugs at one time, unaware and ignorant of the potential serious and severe drug interactions.

Senior Living Prescription Painkiller Abuse Opioids;

Elderly or Older Adults – Although individuals 65 years old and over comprise or consist of only about 14% of the population, they are prescribed roughly one-third of almost all medications or prescription drugs in North America. Furthermore, older or elderly individuals are oftentimes prescribed more long-term prescription medications, along with multiple medications, which might result in unintentional abusing these drugs. A huge percentage of elderly adults also utilize over the counter medicines or medications and also dietary and health supplements like vitamins, together with prescription drugs, which can lead to dangerous and grave outcomes. The elderly or seniors also are at risk regarding prescription substance abuse, in which they intentionally take medications or prescription drugs which are not medically required. As a result of high rates of comorbid illnesses and health problems among the elderly or seniors, changes within drug metabolic rate with age, and the likelihood or risk of drug interactions, prescription or doctor prescribed and over the counter drug abuse, misuse or improper usage can have more adverse health consequences and outcomes amongst this age bracket.

Opioid Activity in Vancouver;

Gender Distinctions – Studies and research claim that women are more inclined than men to be prescribed by doctors an abusable prescription drug or  medicine, specifically narcotics and anti-anxiety drugs or medications, in certain cases, 62% much more likely. Overall, men and women have more or less comparable rates of non-medical usage of prescription drugs and medications. An exception is identified involving 12- to 18-year-olds. Within this age group, young females are much more likely than young teenage boys to use psychotherapeutic drugs or medicines non-medically. Furthermore, research and analysis indicate that females are at increased risk and danger for non-medical use of narcotic analgesics, pain killers, medications and tranquilizers (e.g., benzodiazepines, diazepam). However, amongst women as well as men who use a sedative, anti-anxiety drug medication, or hypnotic, women are usually almost 2 times more prone to become addicted to these drugs.

Giving Al-Anon in BC an Attempt May Open Secret Doorways of Alcoholism and Addiction

There are people who have known many individuals and while making an attempt to help the ones they love with alcohol addiction or alcoholism have acted as some type of amateur counselor, therapist or psychologist for a long time in the hope it would help the problem drinker arrive at his or her senses. Eventually and at some point, they find themselves in a dilemma or crisis or find themselves tired, exhausted and drained of energy and unable or unwilling to assist or help anymore and wonder and ask themselves where all this talk therapies ever got them.

Eventually after many years of beseeching, entreating, praying and pleading with someone to stop their drinking, the crisis they have always feared happens and their own life is damaged or sometimes ruined.

So a key message is for anyone who loves a problem drinker is get help for oneself first or they will not only end up as obsessive and as ill as the individual in addiction, they will also be engaging in actions and behavior which will enable and permit the addicted person they love to go much deeper into his or her drug addiction .

A failure to understand where drug and alcohol addiction comes from, how it works and how individuals with serious alcohol addictions end up prevents people who love a problem drinker from really going for a solution of the problem and issues. That’s the reason Al-Anon is an absolute must for an individual or anyone whose member of the family or loved one has a problem with alcohol or drugs. That is also the main reason Al-Anon is an absolutely essential (particularly in the early days) for anyone whose family member, or loved one has developed an addiction and dependency to alcohol.

Not only is loving someone with an dependence on alcohol all consuming, exhausting and stressful, it is also one of the final social or cultural taboos and acknowledging to someone else that they have got a problem drinker in the family or they are married to an alcoholic, for example, is not really what most people feel they are able to or want to confess to. This is often due to a feeling of perceived failure, weakness or shame or simply because most men and women who do not know or love an addict are extremely unkind and unknowing towards the addiction.

There has been a popular view over the years that it is due to an addict’s insufficient willpower that lay behind the problem. So for people who love the individual with an alcohol addiction it is a double whammy or curse. Their heart is breaking inside because from the negative effects drinking is doing to their loved one and on their own life but they feel an extra attack as they do not feel as free to discuss and focus on their problem and difficulty as they would for example if their family member had an illness like cancer.

Nevertheless, Al-Anon and other family counselling groups have had the experience as a support for many years for those affected by living with, or caring about or for somebody with an alcohol addiction or drug problem. They provide a refuge where problems and issues can be discussed and talked about with individuals who understand and who are compassionate and loving. And that is not the only advantage or benefit as Al-Anon helps and aids families and friends of problem drinkers to understand, accept and acknowledge that it is not their fault or wrong doing that the person they know and love is undoubtedly an alcohol addict and that while they cannot change the mind sets from the drinker they can change their own attitudes and see positives where they only have seen darkness and sorrow before.

Al-Anon also helps and assists families and friends of alcohol addicted loved ones to understand the art of disengagement and separation and to make certain they do not enable and allow the person they love to sink more deeply into their alcohol or drug addiction.