Addictions - Recognising an Alcoholic

Writen by Michael Russell

Learning that your life partner or a close friend or family member is an alcoholic can come as a severe shock. This is particularly true when you have failed to notice that anything was wrong with them over a long period. However, you shouldn’t blame yourself because the nature of an alcoholic is to be secretive and devious so as not to be caught out.

In some households, it is normal practice to have a couple of drinks after work, wine with dinner and maybe even a nightcap. If yours is one of those, then it is even less likely that you will notice if someone is an alcoholic. The same holds true for couples or families who socialise a lot in pubs or restaurants or other establishments, which serve alcoholic drinks. In these circumstances, if someone seems a little tipsy occasionally, the assembled company will probably pass it off as “one too many”, but what’s going on when “one too many” becomes a daily occurrence?

Unfortunately, the signs of alcoholism differ from person to person. Some can consume huge quantities of alcohol, without apparent ill effects, until one last drink tips them over the edge. Others will get drunk very quickly, on what appears to be a small amount of alcohol. However, don’t forget they may actually have been drinking since early in the morning.

Some tell-tale signs are:

- furtive behaviour

- lurking near the drinks tray at odd times of day

- smell of alcohol on the breath at odd times of day

- undue irritability

- defensive responses to innocent enquiries

Some alcoholics are so sure that they have covered their tracks that they will do very strange things indeed. A prime example of this was a man who had two friends who were traffic police officers. His route to work each day took him past their police station, so he decided to drop in and join them for a cup of coffee. However, he had made one fundamental mistake, following his early morning drink of scotch; he had failed to cover up the smell on his breath. He was lucky; one officer took him home and the other drove his car. He could have been caught on the motorway, been breathalysed and lost his licence.

Another obvious sign of an alcoholic in the house is empty bottles hidden in strange places, for example:

- rarely used suitcases

- the very back of cupboards

- on top of wardrobes

- in the loo cistern

- in the shed or garage

Many alcoholics will insist on having a drink when there isn’t really time such as just before leaving the house for a dinner party or last thing before bed, having been drinking all evening. If you try to stop them, they will become bad-tempered and argumentative.

When you become convinced that the person in question is addicted to alcohol, check with a few close family friends to have your suspicions confirmed. If they too believe that there is a problem, then there almost certainly is. When you confront the alcoholic, they will vehemently deny that anything is wrong, so it’s as well to have a second opinion to bolster your confidence.

Well, you’ve done the easy bit; you’ve recognised that your friend or lover is an alcoholic; all you have to do now is get them to recognise it and seek treatment.

Share This

Hydrocodone Addiction

Writen by Jack Smith

Do you feel anxious about getting your prescription filled before it runs out? Do you need to take more pills than before to achieve the effect you desire? Do you get your prescriptions from many doctors? Perhaps you are, like many others, a sufferer of a drug addiction. One of the most common addictions in the American society today is a relatively unheard of drug called hydrocodone. So, why haven’t you heard of it before? Because, pure hydrocodone is seldom sold on its own.

Why is hydrocodone addiction so common?

Evidence shows that hydrocodone addiction is increasing amongst habitual users in the United States. Perhaps one of the most important factors causing this alarming rise is the fact that hydrocodone is consumed with drugs whose use and distribution is not as severely restricted. Pure hydrocodone is classified as a Schedule II substance, whereas when it is mixed with other non-narcotic ingredients to create other medicines, it is classified as a Schedule III drug. Schedule III drugs, such as Vicodin and Lortab, which contain hydrocodone, are not as strictly restricted as pure hydrocodone would be if it was sold as is. Thus its easy availability becomes one of the root causes for its devastating addiction. The lack of regulation makes these drugs susceptible to misuse and addiction.

Painkillers containing hydrocodone are available in tablet, capsule and syrup forms. Chief sources of hydrocodone’s easy availability can be traced to forged prescriptions, large scale thefts at pharmacies and deviations by unprincipled pharmacists from ethical medical standards.

Treating Hydrocodone Addiction

The good news is that hydrocodone addiction is definitely treatable. Methods for treating hydrocodone drug addicts are similar to treatment given to heroin addicts. In most cases long-term abuse of the drug changes the brain in a fundamental manner in that the drug starts controlling the brain’s role in establishing pleasure and motivational hierarchy. The drug effectively moves itself to the highest priority in the person’s motivational hierarchy, superseding all other drives. Thus a person feels compelled to use the drug to derive pleasure and this slowly leads to a persistent addiction. It is in this state that people may start pretending to be ill to obtain prescriptions, steal from pharmacies and even go “doctor shopping”. So, much so that it may become impossible to quit the drug on one’s own accord and the person may have to resort to undergoing treatment to get cured.

Fortunately, there are a number of treatment options to treat hydrocodone addiction and to help mange the withdrawal symptoms associated with the treatment. These options include medications, such as methadone, levo-alpha-acetyl-methadol (LAAM), and counseling. Usually, a patient is detoxified prior to any treatment for hydrocodone addiction. This, although not a treatment in itself, can help to alleviate the withdrawal symptoms while the patient learns to live a drug free life.

Jack Smith writes about various topics. This article is free to re-print as long as nothing is changed, all links remained intact, the bio remains in full and the rel=”nofollow” tag is not added to any of the links. Thank-you - Please visit crack-cocaine-addiction.info

Share This

An Enquiry into the Personal Maladjustment Pattern Among Alcoholics Following De-addiction Treatment

Writen by Dr. Hari Chandran

Alcoholism is matter of serious concern, not confined to any group, culture or country. Universally it creates professional, social, financial, legal, medical, psychological, and familial problems. The cost of alcoholism to the society is staggering by any account. Lost working days, accidents and related disability, family disruptions and resulting juvenile problems, and direct medical complications of alcohol abuse add up to a significant proportion of loss to nations` economy and well being. Alcoholism thus becomes a complex phenomenon deserving attention from different angles.
Studies have reveled that alcoholics” families acquire certain typical coping strategies within the family system (Orford et.al., 1975, Glassner and Loughlin, 1987). This invariably evokes further stress, feelings of hopelessness, withdrawnness and depression in alcoholics. Thus, a vicious cycle of alcohol, stress and maladjustment is found to exist. In the post de-addiction treatment phase, this situation is expected to change. The treatment as such and its positive outcome should bring in a new atmosphere to the family. In spite of differences, all treatment modalities for de-addiction aims at improved family relations and better social adjustments. A positive change in adjustment skills is necessary to keep the person sober after treatment. Psychotherapy, practice of relaxation, family counseling, rehabilitation counseling, and group therapies are deferent methods of attaining this goal. Do these techniques work in the long run? Does participation in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings modify a person’s adjustment skills?

The present study therefore attempts to investigate the nature of change in Maladjustment among alcoholic patients in the immediate three years following de-addiction treatment.

OBJECTIVES

The central theme of the present investigation is to study the nature of maladjustment among alcoholics in the immediate three years following de-addiction treatment.

1 To find out maladjustment among alcoholics in the immediate three years following de-addiction treatment.

2 To find out whether deferent treatment methods, viz. regular attendance to AA meetings and practice of relaxation are effective in modifying the maladjustment patterns present in alcoholics in the immediate three years following de-addiction treatment.

SAMPLE

Sample of the study consisted of 166 male alcoholics admitted in deferent de_addiction centers in Kerala. Their age ranged from 26 to 53 (mean 34, SD12.5). All subjects belonged to middle socio economic class. Duration of alcohol consumption ranged from 4 to 23 yrs. (mean 14.5, SD 9.6)

TOOLS

Mathew Maladjustment Inventory

Mathew maladjustment inventory (MMI), assesses five major aspects of maladjustment viz., anxiety, depression, mania, inferiority, and paranoia. The test is reported to have high degree of content validity. The coefficient of reliability (split half) of the subscales ranged from 0.6 to 0.9, the total score having a reliability of 0.9 (Mathew, 1975)

RESEARCH DESIGN

Present investigation is an experimental study with two independent variables and a dependent variable. First independent variable is the participation Ss in AA meetings, Second independent variable is the Relaxation training given to the Ss.Dependent variable is General Maladjustment.

A sample of 166 alcoholics who were admitted for de-addiction treatment was chosen for the study. Out of the sample,60 Ss were randomly assigned to the first group ( Exp Gr.1,regular participation in AA meetings) ,another 60 Ss were randomly assigned to the second group (Exp Gr.2, regular practice of relaxation).The second group was given training on relaxation techniques, viz. Jacobson’s relaxation and Benson`s relaxation, and were advised to continue it regularly. Rest of the sample, (n 46) were kept as control group.

MMI was administered to the whole sample at the time of admission and base line data on maladjustment was obtained. During the study, Ss were assessed on maladjustment, after 2 months, 1 year, 2 year and 3 year periods.
The final sample consisted of only those subjects who were regular for follow-ups. Exp Gr.1, Exp Gr.2, and control group for final analysis consisted of 46, 48, and 32 Ss respectively. It may be noted that the size were 60, 60, and 46 respectively for the three groups.

3 X 5 Univariate analysis was conducted on scores on maladjustment among the three groups during the three year period. A graph was plotted.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Results are presented in tables 1 and 2.There is no significant difference among groups on their scores on general maladjustment. However the scores were found varying significantly across duration of treatment. (F=72.5, P<0.01). Interaction between treatment and duration was also found significant. (F=3, P<0.01).

The three groups do not vary significantly on general maladjustment. This result reveals that the two treatments given, viz. regular attendance to AA meetings and practice of relaxation do not influence Sis scores differently. Irrespective of treatments, the three groups vary significantly on their scores on general maladjustment across time. This shows that there is significant reduction in general maladjustment following de-addiction treatment. The interaction between treatment and duration was found to be significant. Treatment has interacted with duration to bring down general maladjustment over a period of three years.

Insert Table 1 & Table 2

Considering the mean scores on general maladjustment among the three groups over a period of three years, (refer graph) experimental groups were found scoring lower on general maladjustment compared to the control group.

Irrespective of treatments, Experimental Group 1(attending AA meetings regularly), Experimental Group 2 (practicing relaxation) and the control group show reduction in general maladjustment in the first two months of treatment. But among the Ss in the experimental groups, general maladjustment comes down further. This can be a general effect of the treatment given to these groups. It should also be noted that significant level of interaction has been found to exist between treatment and duration, which influences the scores on general maladjustment.

Insert Graph

While attending the different educational sessions and group meetings in AA, one obtains more insight in to his problems and learns better coping strategies to situation which previously evoked situations of general maladjustment. Mutual trust and caring, unconditional surrender before the Almighty and frank discussions of emotional, social and adjustment problems which are unique to AA should have brought down S`s scores on general maladjustment. The twelve steps followed by AA, give much concern to the feelings of others. It encourages one to make a list of whomever he has harmed and to make amends to them. This attitude which is a unique feature of AA also accounts for reduction of maladjustments.

Relaxation on the other hand influences general maladjustment from a different angle. Matteson and Ivancevich (1980), has reported that by practicing relaxation, a person begins to realize how all are alike beneath their various customs and roles. He feels like being nicer to people and to be interested in fellow human beings. The benefit is that the person feels good about himself because he feels this way towards other people. Thus adjustment difficulties gradually disappear. According to Noshpitz (1990), relaxation techniques are directed towards the person’s state of arousal, which helps to manage anxiety, anger or other aspects of maladjustment. Relaxation brings down the autonomous arousal and hence improves the adjustment skills.

CONCLUSIONS

A general trend of reduction in general maladjustment was noted following de addiction treatment.
Attendance to AA meetings and practice of relaxation were not found independently effective in managing general maladjustment among alcoholic patient who underwent de addiction treatment.
Interaction between treatments and duration was found to be significantly reducing general maladjustment.

REFERENCES

GLASSNER, B and LOUGHLIN, B. (1987) Drugs in Adolescent Worlds: Burnout to Straight, London: Macmillan Press,

MATTESON, M.T.andIVANCEVICH, J.M, (1987) Individual Stress management interventions: Evaluation of techniques, Journal of Managerial Psychology, 2(1) 24-30.

MATHEW, V.G, (1975) Manual of Mathew Maladjustment Inventory, Department of Psychology, University of Kerala.

Noshpitz, J.D, (1990) Treatment for Stress-related Disorders, In: NOSHPITZ, J.D, and CODDINGTON (Eds.) Stressors and Adjustment Disorders. (New York: john Willey and Sons)

ORFORD,J, GUTHRIE,S, NICHOLLS,P, OPPENHEIMER,E, EGERT,S,and HENSMAN,C,( 1975) Self reported coping behavior of wives of alcoholics and its association with drinking out come. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 36-1254-67

Table 1
Means and SDs of the three groups on general maladjustment at different durations of treatment

Group N Baseline 2 months 1 year 2 years 3 years

mean SD mean SD mean SD mean SD mean SD
Exp. Group 1 46 14.5 2.6 13.8 3.6 11 2.7 10.8 2.2 10.8 2.2
Exp. Group 1 48 14.7 2.9 13.3 2.7 12.3 2.6 11.6 2.6 10.7 1.6
Control Group 32 14.7 2.7 13.3 2.6 12.5 2.9 12 2.2 12.2 2.4

Table 2
3×5 Univariate F tests conducted on scores on general maladjustment at different durations of treatment

Source Hypo. Ss DF Error Ss DF Hypo. MS Error MS F
Among Groups (A) 53.5 2 2466.7 123 26.8 20 1.3 NS
Among

intervals(B)

1037.5 4 1760.2 492 259.4 3.6 72.5 **

Interaction (A&B) 86.5 8 1760.2 492 10.8 3.6 3

**P<0.01 NS- Not Significant

Dr. Hari S.Chandran, M.Phil (Psy), Ph.D, PGDPC is working as Cons. Psychologist ,Department of Deaddiction&Mental Health, St. Gregorios Mission Hospital, Parumala. Kerala, drhari7@hotmail.com

Share This