When we have patients come into our facility at The Ranch, we want to encourage open conversations about substance use disorders. Part of this starts with asking and answering those commonly asked questions. For instance, we often hear, why do I need alcohol abuse counseling, from patients who are entering treatment. Also, some patients may […]
Drinking and driving is a mistake more than 4 million adults make on occasion, according to NBC news. This number translates into a staggering 121 million times a year that someone is driving on the road when they shouldn’t be. Drunk driving results in almost 30 deaths per day as reported by the National Highway
Did you know that nearly 20 percent of all alcoholics in America are considered high functioning? In other words, they don’t fit the typical stereotype you may envision when you think of someone who suffers from alcohol use disorder. Rather, a high-functioning alcoholic is typically successful. Signs of a functioning alcoholic may be difficult to
Five Signs of a Functioning Alcoholic: Is Your Loved One Struggling? Read More »
How does AA help you recover from addiction? Specifically, AA, an acronym for Alcoholics Anonymous, is an organization created to help people heal from alcohol use disorder. Since its inception in 1935, millions of people have found help and hope through participation in a local AA chapter — even those who suffer other forms of addiction. If you’re struggling
How Does AA Help? Addiction Recovery for Beginners Read More »
In a recent study, Claire Garnett and her colleagues at University College London and King’s College London found that people tend to underestimate the amount they drink, especially if they’re young, male, white and unemployed. Close to 50 percent of the people who participated in a survey were found to underestimate the amount they drank
Alcohol use disorder and cannabis use disorder are frequently co-occurring or comorbid substance problems in both teenagers and adults, a group of U.S.-based researchers report. Comorbid conditions are health problems that appear together in one person and cause more difficulties for that person than they would on their own. In a study published in January
Alcoholism, Cannabis Use Disorder Go Hand-in-Hand Read More »
People who drink heavily must work substantially harder on critical thinking tasks to achieve the same results as people unaffected by alcohol problems due to changes in the white matter in their brains, a new study finds. Changes in the health of white matter were recently compared among people affected by alcohol dependence (alcoholism) and
Alcohol Damages White Matter in Brain, Affects Critical Thinking Read More »
We have all heard that some people are prone to addiction, and there seem to be plenty of real-world examples to illustrate the truth of this adage. But is it accurate to say that someone who has suffered through multiple addictions has a really addictive personality? Or is this an overly simplistic explanation for a
Among the many tragic aspects of alcoholism is that it doesn’t only affect the alcoholic. The disease extends its tentacles into the lives of all those who surround the addict until the entire family is ill. Years of living with an alcoholic can plunge the family, as well as close friends, into their own morass,
Alcoholism is a form of addiction that affects all aspects of the drinker’s life. When a person has a problem with alcohol addiction, the compulsion to drink becomes the most important thing in that person’s life. Many people who abuse alcohol or become addicted to it believe they aren’t hurting anyone but themselves. But alcohol