Nobody will argue that drug addiction is a dangerous disease that can be fatal. If left untreated it progresses until eventually the addict is living in a nightmare. It is seen as a chronically relapsing illness and many addicts do in fact relapse back into active addiction after some clean time. This is however not […]
In psychotherapy this is the attempt to change a person’s behaviour through a process of rewarding desirable behaviour and applying negative consequences for undesired behaviour. This is based on the behavioural school of thought first championed by B.F.Skinner. Behaviour modification programmes are usually highly structured and will involve careful observation and monitoring. In the addiction […]
This term is essentially a shortcut for saying biological, psychological and social. It refers to the belief that a particular disease (e.g.: drug addiction) has roots in and affects biological areas, psychological (thoughts, emotions and behaviour) as well as in social life. The concept of Bio-Psycho-Social recognises that addiction and recovery encompass more than just […]
There are several understandings of what “drug addiction” is. Modern scientific thought has laid out a number of symptoms that include (amongst others) an unmanageable lifestyle, using too much drugs and developing a tolerance for drugs. Another feature of any drug addiction is the “mental obsession” (the incessant thinking that one needs to get and […]
Drug addiction is recognised as a major problem worldwide. The cost to society of this illness is staggering. It costs society through increased hospital visits, elevated crimes, premature deaths, as well as having members of society going through life in an altered state. These indirect costs show why many countries have established anti-drug campaigns to […]
Drug recovery is so much more than just stopping using drugs or alcohol. There are many “dry out” programs that will be able to detoxify you from substances but recovery only comes about if you take the next steps after detoxification. There is an old joke in the 12 step fellowship that goes “if you’re […]
There are a lot of drug addiction treatment myths, not only in South Africa but all over the world. Sometimes we see the tabloids trumpeting the “newest most dangerous drug” but how much proper information is there surrounding this disease of drug addiction? This article will introduce drug addiction in South Africa, talk about drug […]
Recovery from alcoholism is a lifelong venture that has tremendous benefits and rewards for the alcoholic. When compared to the misery and danger of living with active alcoholism, recovery becomes the only viable option to consider. Yet when the alcoholic is in the midst of their full blown addiction to alcohol this sensible approach and […]
When people think of alcoholic rehabilitation centres they may initially be confused about the huge amount of options from which they may choose. Not only do you need to be assessed to determine whether you have alcohol abuse symptoms or full blown alcoholism there probably several rehab clinics in your local area but there are […]
