Coral Springs

 

1890 N. University Drive

Suite 215

Coral Springs, FL 33071

Telephone: (954) 227-2700

Fax: (954) 227-2704

Linda Berlin, Psy.D.

&

Psychological Associates

Boca Raton

 

7000 W. Palmetto Park Road

Suite 407

Boca Raton, FL 33433

Telephone: (561) 347-0997

Fax: (561) 347-0996

 

Teen Drug Abuse Statistics

Percent of high school seniors reporting they could obtain drugs fairly easily or very easily, 2004:

Between 1992 and 2004 past-month use of marijuana increased from:

Of high school seniors in 2004 --

Nearly one in five (19 percent or 4.5 million) teens has tried prescription medication (pain relievers such as Vicodin and OxyContin; stimulants like Ritalin and Adderall) to get high

One in 10 (10 percent or 2.4 million) teens report abusing cough medicine to get high

Abuse of Rx and OTC medications is on par or higher than the abuse of illegal drugs such as Ecstasy (8 percent), cocaine/crack (10 percent), methamphetamine (8 percent) and heroin (5 percent).

Two in five teens (40 percent or 9.4 million) agree that Rx medicines, even if they are not prescribed by a doctor, are “much safer” to use than illegal drugs;

Nearly one-third of teens (31 percent or 7.3 million) believe there’s “nothing wrong” with using Rx medicines without a prescription “once in a while;”

Nearly three out of 10 teens (29 percent or 6.8 million) believe prescription pain relievers – even if not prescribed by a doctor – are not addictive; and

More than half of teens (55 percent or 13 million) don’t agree strongly that using cough medicines to get high is risky.

Kids who learn a lot about the risks of drugs at home are up to 50 percent less likely to use drugs;

Nine out of 10 parents of teens (92 percent or 22 million) say they have talked to their teen about the dangers of drugs, yet fewer than one third of teens (31 percent or 7.4 million) say they “learn a lot about the risks of drugs” from their parents.

While three out of five parents report discussing drugs like marijuana “a lot” with their children, only a third of parents report discussing the risks of using prescription medicines or non-prescription cold or cough medicine to get high.

Drugs in the Workplace

In 1990, problems resulting from the use of alcohol and other drugs cost American businesses an estimated $81.6 billion in lost productivity due to premature death (37 billion) and illness (44 billion); 86% of these combined costs were attributed to drinking.

Full-time workers age 18-49 who reported current illicit drug use were more likely than those reporting no current illicit drug use to state that they had worked for three or more employers in the past year (32.1% versus 17.9%), taken an unexcused absence from work in the past month (12.1% versus 6.1%), voluntarily left an employer in the past year (25.8 % versus 13.6%), and been fired by an employer in the past year (4.6% versus 1.4%). Similar results were reported for employees who were heavy alcohol users.

According to results of a NIDA-sponsored survey, drug-using employees are 2.2 times more likely to request early dismissal or time off, 2.5 times more likely to have absences of eight days or more, three times more likely to be late for work, 3.6 times more likely to be involved in a workplace accident, and five times more likely to file a workers’ compensation claim.

Results from a U.S. Postal Service study indicate that employees who tested positive on their pre-employment drug test were 77 percent more likely to be discharged within the first three years of employment, and were absent from work 66 percent more often than those who tested negative.

A survey of callers to the national cocaine helpline revealed that 75 percent reported using drugs on the job, 64 percent admitted that drugs adversely affected their job performance, 44 percent sold drugs to other employees, and 18 percent had stolen from co-workers to support their drug habit.

Alcoholism causes 500 million lost workdays each year.

SOURCES: PARTNERSHIP FOR A DRUG FREE AMERICA; DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Intervention Services

We provide comprehensive help for Addictions. We can help you and your family through the whole process beginning with intervention services and continuing with follow up psychological and psychiatric care. The following article was written by Lynn Tress, Psy.D., LMHC, our world-reknowned interventions specialist. Her intervention services have helped families throughout the United States and internationally. Dr. Tress has written the following article to introduce you to her services and the intervention process.

Interventions for Addictions

By Lynn Tress, Psy.D., LMHC

Introduction

Our American culture is running rampant with addictions, the impact to our legal, economic, and medical infrastructures overwhelming, costing billions of dollars annually to contain this growing epidemic. Each year, the number of users increases dramatically providing a new generation of addicts. Addiction can strike anyone at any age and nearly every person is vulnerable. Think about it. Infants are born to mothers who are addicted to drugs and experience withdrawal the moment they are disengaged from the mother’s circulatory system. Children are exposed to hyper stimulus by non-stop commercial marketing interests encouraging them to purchase or engage in addictive internet sites and video games. Adolescents and adults are invited to seek increasing amounts of mind and body stimulating addictive activities or substances, by the media, classmates, colleagues, family, and significant others. In addition, addictions can innocently be created by rites of passage usually associated with coming of age, such as the use of alcohol or tobacco introduced to gain social acceptance and maturity. Our growing senior population is vulnerable too, often under informed about the potential for dependence or abuse of prescription drugs and the potentially lethal interaction effects they create for our fragile and vulnerable older population.

When someone you care about is in trouble with an alcohol, drug, or other life threatening addiction, it is challenging to know how to proceed and how to begin the intervention process. Frequently, an addiction spins completely out of control and the person feels entirely powerless to change their compulsive behavior. Feeling overwhelmed and in denial of the damage created by their compelling desire to use over and over again their substance of choice, a person’s life deteriorates with increasing momentum. The addict is caught in an addictive downward spiral, subjectively having the horrifying sense of one’s life spinning out of control, unable to stop the progression, yet looking you in the eye and stating “there is no problem.”

How Does The Addiction Begin?

Addictions usually begin with the recreational or social use of a mind altering chemical or behavior, i.e. gambling, drugs, sex, smoking, alcohol, eating disorders, etc. These behaviors and substances when in contact with the user bring about an altered state of consciousness, often manifesting as initial euphoria, accompanied with a temporary freedom from the burdens of reality. However, once the effect wears off, the user is faced with a rebound effect that increases the intensity of the depressing, anxious, negative, or empty feelings that existed prior to use. To avoid further emotional and physical distress, cravings develop at both the physiological and psychological levels to replace the neurotransmitter chemicals that are artificially generated when engaging in the substance or behavior of choice. When replenished by the substance or behavior of choice, these quell, temporarily, the rebound effects (cravings and withdrawal) for the user. Unfortunately, for the individual with the predisposition to developing an addiction, “self-medication” as it is known in the field of addictions is a costly and unhealthy way to deal with denied issues and emotions.

The Transition From Recreational User to Abuser

In fact, as the person gradually makes the transition from recreational use to abuse to dependence at least two major events occur. First, the unwitting addict in “training” begins to develop what is known as tolerance. Tolerance to the substance or activity of choice begins to increase so that it requires increasingly greater quantities of the same substance or activity to produce the same effect. Using alcohol, as an example, an alcoholic in the early stage of recreational use, may require just a single drink to produce a sense of euphoria, but as his or her frequency of use increases, so does the amount ingested to recreate the initial sensation, hence one beverage “just doesn’t do it anymore.” In fact, tolerance is being developed, signaling that it takes more and more of the substance or activity to generate the same effect. In addition, another factor that develops in tandem with the addictive process is craving, almost always followed by withdrawal when availability of the substance of choice is withdrawn. Brain imaging studies reveal that the sensations of craving and withdrawal take place in different parts of the brain and impact different receptor sites and different areas, such as the pre-frontal cortex, the temporal lobes, and the limbic system. Both cravings and withdrawal produce effects that are subjectively perceived as highly unpleasant and feel nearly intolerable to endure, especially when the substance or activity of choice is withdrawn abruptly. In some cases, withdrawal can be so uncomfortable or physiologically dangerous it can be life threatening without a medically supervised detoxification.

In addition, an individual with the diagnosis of addiction becomes a victim to a highly dangerous and insidious psychological process within the self. It is called denial. The development of denial is a psychological defense mechanism that acts to protect the mechanism of addiction. An addict in denial is a danger to himself, rendered helpless without the ability to see themselves objectively. Unable to consciously acknowledge the manner in which their addiction is robbing them of their life, livelihood, relationships, with increasing damage to their body, mind, and soul, the addict is paralyzed to pull out of their downward spiral. Unaware of the damage taking place and oblivious to the long term consequences of their behavior; the addict is trapped in an unwelcome world of their own making, unable and often unwilling to avail themselves to treatment. Usually it is the combined efforts of friends, family, co-workers, and professionals who make concerted efforts to break through the walls of denial and gain the cooperation of the addict to go into treatment. Denial of the seriousness of the addiction and recognition of its many forms can lead a person in recovery back into the clutches of their substance of choice once again. This is called relapse.

Addictions and Biology

Although addictions are rampant in our culture, they represent nothing new in either human or animal behavior. The capacity to become physiologically and psychologically addicted is innate within all mammals. All human beings have specialized receptor sites for opiates, cannabis, alcohol, and other mind altering substances. This being the case, it is important to understand the biological need for pleasure and recreation is innate too. We as humans have the natural desire to seek pleasure, and the availability of mood altering activities and substances, including the use of alcohol, sex, and food is can be healthy in moderation. Research indicates that natural substances and activities when used occasionally in moderation are actually healthy for the immune system and part of good mental health. Those individuals without a pre-disposition to addiction who do not abuse or become dependent are amongst the fortunate few. Research is now investigating the biological basis of addiction or not. Certainly those born with genetic tendencies of low tolerance are blessed to enjoy the healthy benefits and occasional exposure to potentially addictive substances or behaviors without the desire to abuse. Unfortunately, addicts are not so lucky; their brain chemistry is biologically and genetically pre-disposed to develop high tolerance, craving neuro-physiological excitement that requires reinforcement with increasingly greater doses of the substance of choice to provide the requisite intoxication effects.

In the case of individuals with this predisposition, it is imperative to take action before they further harm themselves or others. Let’s look at the current research that views addiction as a disease process, no different than the development of coronary heart disease, Type II diabetes, or cancer. In all three of the above referenced conditions these diseases take time to develop and are avertable in most cases when detected in the early stages. Addiction is no different in this case.

When is the Right Time To Intervene?

You may be asking by now when is the proper time to intervene? Should you wait until the person “reaches bottom” or step-in while the person is still somewhat able to function?  According to the previous manner of thinking in the treatment community, some individuals believed that the addict needed to learn a lesson and only by letting the individual hit the bottom of utter physical and psychological deterioration, could the individual make a comeback from the trenches. In fact, this is not the case. Quite to the contrary, an individual who has hit bottom and is in stage IV of a progressive disease state and may be beyond rehabilitation. Most likely irreversible damage has been created to the principal organs of the body, other opportunistic infections and diseases may of have slipped into  the vulnerable immune system of the end stage addict and the only remaining treatment is palliative.

Similar to any disease state that is progressive in nature; at the first sign of trouble or abuse in the case of addictions, action must be taken. The old adage “nip it in the bud’ applies to all addictions. To wait and see what happens is akin to allowing a boulder rolling down a hill to gather momentum. The disease will only progress due to factors of tolerance, cravings, withdrawal, and denial of dependence on the substance or activity of choice. Addictions, like a disease left untreated, only get worse with time and give other cross-addictions a chance to develop. This is known as poly-substance dependence. Finally, when an individual is admitted to treatment and more than one addiction needs attention, both the treatment and prognosis becomes more complex which usually complicates and lengthens the recovery process.

Conclusion

Having read this you are now more knowledgeable about the course of addictions and have a sense of where to begin. Keep in mind that not all addictions need in-patient treatment. If you catch addictive behaviors at the early stage the person at risk may be able to benefit from out-patient treatment. In order to determine the proper course of treatment for the person at risk, it is essential to schedule a meeting and then determine the most appropriate course of action based on the history and description of the present situation. Following an assessment of the circumstances we can then collaborate on the best course of action. The first step is to call and set-up a time to meet and discuss the possibilities that are available for the person you care about. I look forward to helping you with the situation and assisting in delivering the best outcome possible. Please feel free to contact me in order that I may assist you.

Dr. Lynn Tress is a Certified Addictions Professional, Clinical Hypnotherapist and Board Certified Interventionist.  She has worked in the field of addictions treatment for over a decade in Boca Raton, FL. If you would like to learn more about Dr. Tress click here or call (954) 227-2700 or (561)347-0997.

You can also read more about Substance Abuse here or our Outpatient Detoxification services here.

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