Addiction Solutions Victoria - WHAT IS ADDICTION?

Addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterised by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite negative harmful consequences.

NIDA (National Institute of Drug Abuse).

These consequences can include problems with physical health, psychological health, dual diagnosis, and social stability; work; family; finances; legal issues and the breach of the person’s belief and value systems.

"I knew my life was spiralling out of control, I lost my job and I kept missing really important events like my mum’s birthday party, but it didn’t matter what people said or thought about me, whether I felt ashamed or sad or even happy, I kept using drugs. I remember when my family offered me an ultimatum, them or the drugs. I chose the drugs, with relief."

Anon

Addiction is like heart disease or diabetes—sometimes it’s linked with lifestyle choices, sometimes it's part of a family’s genetic heritage and other times it seems to come from nowhere.

And just like diabetes, correct management and monitoring over a person’s lifetime are important.

Addiction and Alcoholism both involve having obsessive thoughts, experiencing compulsive behaviours and losing control.

"Addiction almost destroyed my life, my hope and the trust of my family. My experience of recovery has been recovering my life, my relationships, my esteem and overall wellness apiece at a time. It's hard work, but the rewards are amazing."

Untreated addiction can be lethal. For example, a person can die from an overdose or a drug-related motorcar accident. Addiction can also cause serious medical problems such as acquired brain damage, liver disease and heart problems.

People can lose their jobs, leave school prematurely and disconnect from their dreams and hopes.

The most obvious impact is on a person’s relationships including the ones with their families and close friends.

Anyone can develop an addiction

This confuses people. They and their families can spend a lot of time going over things trying to find causes. Sometimes addiction can be linked with depression, anxiety or trauma; sometimes it’s the very cause of these conditions and sometimes there is no apparent tipping point or event.

It's impossible to tell when you've first become addicted. You might have been curious, or it could be the result of peer pressure and other factors such as stress relief; plenty of people turn to substances like drugs and alcohol for these reasons. But if your environment is one where there are a lot of drug users around, then chances are that you may go down this path too in the future-whether knowingly or not!

No matter how much someone plans on becoming an addict before they actually do so, no substance abuse disorder can ever be predicted ahead of time with 100% accuracy (not even close). There's always some chance involved whenever we make decisions about what sorts of things we'll put into our bodies.

Excessive substance abuse can have a number of negative effects on the body, but it is most evident in how drugs affect your brain. The surge that occurs when you ingest something like alcohol or cocaine creates large amounts of dopamine which triggers the reward system's pleasure receptors inside our brains. This causes us to continuously crave substances until we are unable to produce any more dopamine naturally and become addicted - creating these pleasurable cravings time after time without ever getting satisfied for long periods at all!

People who are addicted to drugs or alcohol find themselves in a difficult cycle where they need the drug just so that their body doesn't go through withdrawal. They start by prioritising getting high over anything else, and it can be hard for them to get out of this vicious circle before things spiral out of control

Of all the things that can go wrong when abusing drugs or alcohol, tolerance is one of the more insidious. Tolerance means larger amounts are required to achieve effects desired by abusers which escalates addiction and leads to other consequences such as risk-taking behavior (i.e., driving while intoxicated) with potentially deadly results!

Whatever the causes and the losses, people recover from addiction all the time.

"Our son was like a stranger to us – addiction drove him to behave in ways we never expected. But we never gave up and now he’s loving and caring again. Thanks ASV, we’ve got our boy back."

Dad

The World Health Organisation has created alcohol and/or other drug self-screen designed to raise awareness of potentially harmful use of mind and mood-altering substances, including cannabis, amphetamines, heroin, cocaine ice, GHB, prescription medications and alcohol.

Click here to take the World Health Organisation (WHO) self-screen, discretely and anonymously in the privacy of your own home.

People do recover

Recovery from alcohol or drug addiction is a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life and strive to reach their full potential.

SAMHSA (Substance and Mental Health Society America).

Most people need help to change their lives.

Research suggests that people require effective drug and alcohol treatment programs combined with ongoing recovery support as they navigate their way through the recovery process, stabilising their physical, emotional and mental health, and transitioning back into satisfying and meaningful lives.

"I was searching on google for a rehabilitation centre near me and I found ASV. The rehab at home program allowed me to begin to identify and address the many issues I had which related to my addiction and kept me trapped in my addictive patterns. Finding a sustainable way to address my demons allowed me the opportunity to move into a positive place in my life for the first time in over 20 years, addiction treatment is hard, recovering the things I lost from my addiction makes it all worth it."

Jack

Whilst families do their best, they are often too close to the person to be able to see what they need and may also be recovering from their own grief and loss issues.

Addiction Solutions Victoria understands addiction and recovery and tailors their support and interventions to suit each person and every family.

Although no one can go back and make a brand-new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand-new ending’.

Carl Bard (Author)

Are you worried that somebody you care about has an alcohol addiction?

Most people don’t know when drinking has become problematic and dangerous.

Although most who consume alcohol are moderate drinkers, there’s a staggering number of individuals Impacted in a negative manner by alcohol.

In Australia, 1 out of 6 people consumes alcohol at levels that put them in danger of disease or injury.

Individuals that are at risk of developing an addiction to alcohol or alcoholism are influenced by different genetic, psychological and emotional factors which will determine how alcohol affects them.

Excessive and prolonged alcohol intake affects the conventional functioning of the brain area that’s related to pleasure, judgment, and control. This might cause individuals to drink more alcohol to feel better about themselves or a situation, and as a result, they enter into an unhealthy cycle.

Alcohol dependence, addiction or alcoholism may result from various contributing factors. Excessive and regular drinking may result in alcoholism. Someone who started consuming alcohol at an early age also has an increased risk of developing the disorder. The chance of alcohol dependence is additionally higher in individuals who have parents or close relatives with similar alcohol issues. For others, alcoholism may develop as a result of anxiety, depression and other mental health or dual diagnosis disorders. Although it doesn’t always cause a disorder, those that are predisposed to alcoholism may find it difficult to manage or to quit.

Drinking itself isn't harmful when done occasionally or carefully. However, it does become problematic and even dangerous when it puts people in danger of developing diseases, or worse, an addiction. The abuse of alcohol can result in health problems and safety risks. Excessive alcohol consumption might also cause distress and problems in several aspects of an individual’s life, including work, school, and relationships.

Sometimes, it’s difficult to differentiate the difference between alcohol dependence and habitual drinking. Alcoholism comes in many forms. Occasionally, it’s hard to tell apart a habitually heavy drinker from someone with alcoholism. Even when their work or relationships suffer and despite awareness about their increased risk of disease, heart problems, diabetes, and cancer, they're going to struggle with ending their excessive drinking habits. Most of them feel irritable, restless and anxious once they can’t quench their cravings, while others experience withdrawal symptoms. To avoid these uncomfortable symptoms, they'd seek more alcohol and find short-term relief in intoxication and possible oblivion.

I completed the ASV Rehab at Home Program online during COVID.

"In the past, Drug Addiction was thought of as having a lack of willpower, or that an addict is lacking decent morals and principles. Thanks to modern research we now understand that this is not accurate.

Drug and alcohol addiction are more accurately and more usefully thought of as being a form of chronic disease. As with other chronic diseases, such as Asthma, Heart Disease and Diabetes, there is no specific, known cure. However, addiction can be managed and treated in a way that we can still live good lives, be successful at work, have meaningful and healthy relationships and stay out of trouble with the law.

Although the initial use of drugs or alcohol is usually voluntary, continuing to use changes the circuitry, or neural networking, within our brain. This change leads us to feel compelled to use again and again. Regular use of drugs or alcohol can significantly interfere with our lives, our relationships with family and friends, our ability to become or stay employed, and our ability to abide by the law.

Continuing to use, despite encountering the negative impacts, is the ‘Nature of Addiction’.

When I was using, I was often overwhelmed with anxiety before, during and after social occasions. This led me to avoid spending time with my friends and family. The anxiety was crippling, my chest would feel as though it was seizing up and preventing me from breathing, at times I couldn’t talk and have experienced several nervous breakdowns from this. My belief at the time was that getting high, whether it be drinking alcohol to excess, taking ecstasy or smoking meth, was alleviating the anxiety and nervous tension that I was experiencing. I was wrong. Although the euphoria of initial use may mask anxiety, stress and nervousness, prolonged use causes an imbalance of hormones which leads to heightened levels of stress anxiety and nervousness, as well as compounding other mental illnesses such as depression.

Over the last ten years, I have been employed by seven different companies, due to not managing my addiction appropriately and not staying recovery-focused, I have been fired or have had to quit all of these potential careers. I would get high before work thinking that I needed the energy to get me through the long hours of each shift and to prevent me from getting bored or fatigued during my shifts. Doing this is entirely unsustainable. I would often take days off in order to sleep due to coming down or I wouldn’t go to work if I couldn’t find a dealer to score from beforehand. I would get overly emotional, angry, paranoid and be anti-social due to the effects of my use.

I have lost my license four times due to drug and alcohol use.

The road to recovery is not an easy one, if it were, I wouldn’t be writing this, nor would you be reading it. But recovery is certainly possible. Many people have successfully recovered from addiction and are living good lives. With the right sponsor, appropriate recovery plan, attending plenty of narcotics anonymous meetings etc. Recovery really is possible".

Call Now

Call ASV for a free phone consultation

or for more information email

jason@addictionsolutionsvictoria.org.au

addictionsolutionsvictoria.org.au

addictionsolutionsgeelong.org.au

1227-1229 Malvern Road

Malvern, VIC 3144

"Most people we work with believe the problem (addiction) is the drugs or alcohol consumption and that when the person stops, everything can go back to normal. Stopping is only the beginning of the process. For most people who access treatment, developing a more genuine understanding of the nature of addiction provides them with the opportunity to look at the problem through a different lens, dramatically increasing the possibilities of a sustainable solution (recovery)". - Jase Bowman - ASV CEO - Rehabilitation Centre Near Me Program - Melbourne & Geelong 2020.

ASV staff provide programs that are delivered by experienced, qualified industry professionals.

For more information call Jason on 03 8374 7648

Email jason@addictionsolutionsvictoria.org.au

jason@addictionsolutionsgeelong.org.au

addictionsolutionsvictoria.org.au - addictionsolutionsgeelong.org.au

To access additional information and support, visit the Collective Recovery Support Network.