Wheelbarrows

Tweet

The following studies are just two of many that continue to affirm one of the fundamentals of socialisation and behaviour – that is; your perception of reality is constructed socially, and that’s done through recency, frequency, proximity and intensity. What and who you are immersed in and with,  will INFLUENCE the ‘lens’ through which you see. 

What makes things worse still, is that if there is an absence of sound positive values that are not ‘anchored’ to a sustainable and healthy, values informing worldview. These deficits will pretty much ensure that this ‘INFLUENCE’ will push the ‘wheelbarrow’ (that is YOU) in a direction that will be way less than helpful! When substances are thrown into that mix, then you have even less control over what is ‘pushing’ your life and where!

Genes and teens: How is youth cannabis use influenced by genetic risk and peer use?

Having more peers that were perceived to use cannabis was associated with higher levels of cannabis over time, and this factor was nearly 4-times more important in understanding patterns of cannabis use than genetic risk. Further, perceived peer cannabis use predicted cannabis involvement at all levels of genetic risk.

Reducing affiliation with substance using peers is a powerful target for both prevention and treatment, as is correcting and re-structuring misperceptions surrounding normative behavior that might implicitly and/or explicitly impact health behavior. 

For more

Network Support II: Randomized Controlled Trial of Network Support Treatment and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Alcohol Use Disorder

Background: The social network of those treated for alcohol use disorder can play a significant role in subsequent drinking behavior, both for better and worse. Network Support treatment was devised to teach ways to reconstruct social networks so that they are more supportive of abstinence and less supportive of drinking. For many patients this may involve engagement with AA, but other strategies are also used.

Conclusion: It was concluded that helping patients enhance their abstinent social network can be effective, and may provide a useful alternative or adjunctive approach to treatment. 

For complete Study

Tweet

The message that addiction is a disease makes substance users less likely to seek help!

Research finds that people with substance-use problems who read a message describing addiction as a disease are less likely to report wanting to engage in effective therapies, compared to those who read a message that addiction behaviors are subject to change. The finding could inform future public and interpersonal communication efforts regarding addiction. 

"Overall, our findings support moving away from messaging about addiction solely as a disease," Desmarais says. "It's more complicated than that. Instead, the finding suggests that it would be more helpful to talk about the many different reasons people become addicted."

For complete article go to ‘Disease or Decision – Which One Empowers?

Also see Dalgarno Research Report: Dealing With Addiction

Tweet

Sylvia Fox has spent her entire adult life on methadone. Now 48, she got mixed up in drugs as a youngster and she was put on the heroin substitute programme at the age of 17. She said that’s when the real addiction started. For complete article Liquid Handcuffs

Read More

Tweet

Highlights

• • Pre-existing mental disorders increases the risk of developing SUD.
• • Prior SUD increases the risk of transitioning from use to use disorder.
• • Highest rates of transition to SUD occurred among stimulant and opioid users.
• • Mood and anxiety disorders increased the risk of transitioning to AUD and CUD.
• • The rapidity of transition to SUD emphasizes the narrow opportunity to intervene.

Conclusion: The relative speed associated with the transition from use to SUD emphasizes the narrow window of time available to intervene, underscoring the urgency of early identification of mental health conditions and the timely provision of appropriate evidence-based interventions, which could potentially prevent the development of secondary SUDs.

For complete article