These days you hear people say that they are addicted to things like chocolate, shopping and even their smartphones. Most people wouldn’t jump to candy and technology when it comes to addiction, rather its drugs and alcohol that come to mind. Addiction is an interesting term to think about because there are so many things that it can define. Doug Sellman, who works at the National Addiction Center, defines addiction as compulsive behavior stemming from the subconscious mind. Addiction is often associated with those who suffer from psychological aliments like obsessive compulsive disorder. People with OCD are addicted to certain behaviors like hand washing, counting things and a whole number of quirky actions. In order to delineate between addictions such as drugs and alcohol from those who suffer from OCD, another definition was created.Drug addiction is the repeated consumption of a drug and the overpowering desire or need to continue the behavior. Substitute the word drug for alcohol and it still works perfectly. In order to treat addiction, it’s helpful to know as much about drugs and alcohol as possible. That’s why scientists created a chart of addiction potential for all the major drugs. Heroin took the top spot, but it was followed closely by cocaine and then alcohol in the number three spot. The list was controversial however, as it did not include caffeine, which is widely considered to be a stimulant with addictive properties. The list includes both uppers and downers, as both categories produce addictive substances.In order to combat drug addiction, numerous treatment center programs have been created. Alcoholics Anonymous, also called AA, is one of the longest running and most effective treatment programs ever designed. AA follows a very strict 12-step process, that when followed exactly, will help a person overcome their addiction to alcohol. The steps in Alcoholics Anonymous are very much centered on religion as guide for people to reach sobriety. Many who complete AA consider it to be a spiritual awakening. That’s partly because the twelve steps are aimed at the four major areas of health; physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. AA is also characterized by its use of sponsors, who are fellow AA members assigned to be a support system for each other. Some of the twelve steps even require participation by an addict’s sponsor.If you or someone you know as tried to kick a substance abuse habit in the past but was unsuccessful, contact the addiction treatment specialists at the Christian Alcoholism Helpline in International Falls, MN as soon as you can. The trained staff is professional, knowledgeable and willing to help anyone who is serious about making a positive change in their lifestyle. ...read more

On a Friday or a Saturday night, it’s common to see people out on the town having a good time with friends. People often choose to drink alcohol when they go out as it is an acceptable social activity. There are literally hundreds of different types of drinks with all sorts of different alcohols. Some people prefer to drink beer while others like their spirits mixed or straight. With the recent diet craze going on in America, many people are looking for ways to cut out the excess calories when they drink. One way to do that is to choose mixers very carefully. Fruit juices are very popular with alcohol like vodka and gin. The upside to juice is that it complements the taste of the alcohol very nicely. The downside of using juice as a mixer is that fruit has a lot of natural sugar. Juices such as orange, cranberry and pineapple are popular mixers, but they have a lot of excess calories thanks to their high sugar content. Excess sugar also contributes to a more severe hangover the next day.Soda is another popular mixer. Some of the most commonly ordered drinks are rum and cola, lemon-lime sodas and vodka, or even gin and ginger ale. Many people, women in particular, turn to diet soda when looking to cut the calorie count. Diet soda has artificial sweetener as opposed to real sugar so the calorie count is less. However, recent studies have shown that mixing alcohol with diet soda will make a person more drunk than if they mixed with regular soda. Why is that the case? The stomach has an easier time breaking down real sugar than fake sugar. When someone drinks a real soda with alcohol in it, the body breaks down the sugar before the alcohol. With diet soda, the body digests the alcohol first because it does not know what to do with the fake sugar. Since the alcohol is digested first, it gets into the bloodstream faster. The danger is that people cannot usually feel the difference and can end up drinking more than they want. The best low-calorie sugar free mixer is tonic or soda water, which contains zero calories and zero sugar. However, some don’t like mixing with soda or tonic because of the flavor.Its fine to go out to a bar with your friends, but remember that being responsible should be your number one priority. Staying away from drinks with a lot of calories is a good idea, but be careful because some of those drinks can make you more drunk than you intended. If you or someone you know is struggling with an addiction to drugs or alcohol, contact Christian Alcoholism Helpline in International Falls, MN right away. The experienced addiction specialists can help get your life back on the right track. ...read more

Alcohol is used for many different reasons. People most often drink in social settings with friends and family and often times grabbing a drink makes a pretty good first date because it’s social yet casual. People may have a drink when they get home from work because it’s nice to kick your feet up and relax a little bit after a long day. These are all examples of responsible alcohol use. Alcohol becomes problematic when users begin to drink irresponsibly. Irresponsible drinking can have a different definition depending on the person. The number of drinks you have doesn’t necessarily matter either. A guy that weighs 200 pounds is obviously going to be able to drink more without feeling the effects than a girl who is half that size. Frequency is one of the big indicators that someone may have a problem with alcohol. Then again, having one drink after work every day is frequent, but the amount is so low that it’s probably not an issue. Sometimes it’s easy to see when someone has a drinking problem. One such indicator is unfortunately domestic violence. It’s not right to say that alcohol is the sole perpetrator in domestic violence, because it’s not. Domestic violence occurs without the added influence of alcohol. However, there is a strong link between domestic violence and alcohol. It’s no secret that alcohol impede a person’s ability to think clearly, act rationally, and make good decisions. A drunk person is more likely to have mood swings and act irrationally than a sober person. Thus it becomes no surprise that drunken domestic arguments can escalate quickly. People tend to use alcohol as an excuse when it comes to domestic violence. Being drunk does not justify the behavior whatsoever. While it may have had an effect on the decision making process, the alcohol alone did not cause the violence to occur. Studies have shown that many of those who commit domestic violence were the victim of violence themselves at some point in their lives. Since alcohol can create a sense of power and control, it’s like a perfect storm of factors coming together. Since so many factors go into domestic violence, it can be difficult to study. Most experts agree that the violence is a learned behavior stemming from social factors in a person’s life, but alcohol certainly comes into play in many cases. If you or someone you know is struggling with an addiction to alcohol or other drugs, contact the trained professionals at the Christian Alcoholism Helpline in International Falls, MN. These addiction counselors utilize the most up to date treatment techniques when helping patients reach sobriety. ...read more