If you or someone in your life is suffering from addiction and you are feeling helpless and confused as to how to help them or yourself, then this book will prove invaluable to you. It answers 55 of the most commonly asked questions about addiction and treatment, not only drug addiction but explains why and how humans can become addicted to nearly any pleasurable sensation.
Many have overcome varying addictions simply with the knowledge contained in this book as it will assure you that there is nothing "wrong" with being addicted, it is simply a part of the brain's natural functioning that often requires recognition and "re-tuning".
This book explains why and how we can take the basic human condition of "seek pleasure & avoid pain" to such extremes as to abandon families, lose all possessions, cause extreme pain to others, attempt suicide and what we can do about it.
Tim Chapman's Combat Guide to Addictions & Treatment is the culmination of 20 years of opiate addiction, 6 years of University study & teaching, and 20years of front-line work with addicts. It is written from the perspective of the latest research into the science of the brain, the science of addiction, and love-based counseling. As the title states, it is designed as a "combat guide" to assist people go straight to the answer(s) they need NOW. If you catch your child with drugs that chapter will inform you what to do in the moment, in the interim and for the long term. Other chapters go on to address the fascinating connections between brain chemistry, upbringing, human behavior, and all addictions.
Accurately & Concisely Answers These 55 Questions
1) How can someone get addicted to something that is not even a drug?
2) Is there such a thing as an “addictive personality”?
3) Are there any drugs that will successfully treat addiction?
4) What is the best way to quit drugs?
5) Are people born addicts or do they learn to be addicts?
6) Can drug addicts use alcohol and can alcoholics use drugs safely?
7) If I catch my child with drugs, what should I do?
8) Can an addict ever be cured for life?
9) Is it possible for an addict to just “cut down”?
10) What is “denial” when it comes to addictions?
11) What is “detox”? How does it work and what does it feel like?
12) Is there a difference between female and male addicts?
13) Should young people, adolescents, and adults all be treated differently for addictions?
14) We hear a lot about Alcoholics Anonymous, does it really work?
15) What kind of counseling works best with addicts?
16) Is it true that drug use can cause mental illness?
17) What is Dual Diagnosis?
18) Do (elderly) people get addiction problems?
19) What does it mean to enable a person?
20) Why is addiction called a “family disease”?
21) Does “forced” treatment work?
22) Everywhere I look in addictions literature and at Al-Anon meetings it talks about forgiveness, how am I supposed to do this when I’m so angry?
23) What is harm reduction?
24) What are the possible health risks of various drugs?
25) What does it mean when the ads say Holistic Treatment?
26) Is there something I can do to stop my children from using drugs?
27) How many people become addicts?
28) Do interventions work (like on television)?
29) How can I be sure that the treatment center I am paying for is any good?
30) Is one drug more addictive than another?
31) Is there such a thing as a “lost cause” in addictions?
32) Why do so many mentally ill people self-medicate with (illicit) drugs?
33) when prescription drugs are available for free?
34) Why do people continue to use drugs despite the obvious drawbacks?
35) Can you get addicted to Over the Counter (OTC) drugs?
36) What is the differencebetween physical dependence and being addicted?
37) I’ve heard of withdrawal but what is post-acute withdrawal?
38) How can some pot smokers get straight A’s in school if it’s so bad for you?
39) Why do some addicts prefer different drugs than other addicts?
40) What happens when a drug addict becomes pregnant?
41) What about relapse and how can the addict avoid it?
42) How does addiction affect a person’s sex life?
43) Should I stay married to an addict?
44) What are some signs that people are misusing drugs?
45) What are “synthetic” drugs and are they safer than regular drugs?
46) Are children affected very much if their parents use drugs in front of them?
47) What is meant when people speak of warning signs and triggers in addictions?
48) It seems like all the help is for the addict, what about us?
49) What causes addiction?
50) What does doing drugs make you feel like?
51) What constitutes addiction as opposed to “really enjoying” something?
52) Why do addicts prefer doing different drugs than other addicts?
53) Why do some people get addicted to drugs when others don’t?
54) How long is withdrawal from drugs and what happens?
55) As an employer how should I deal with people using drugs at work?
