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The Basics of Alcohol Dependency

How do I stop drinking alcohol? It’s what most alcoholics will ask at one time or another as they go through this difficult journey. Alcohol treatment is within your grasp when you seek help from White River Recovery, a substance abuse rehab in South Africa.

Dual diagnosis

Mental health disorders and addiction is a bit of a chicken and egg story. Which one comes first? The chicken or the egg? Mental illness or addiction?

The Basics of Substance Abuse

A 12 step program to lead you on the road to recovery is just one of the rehabilitation options for substance abuse. Drug treatment can be highly effective and with our approach to substance abuse treatment, you can bring your life back on track when you turn to White River Recovery, a rehab in South Africa, for assistance.

What should you know about heroin addiction?

Heroin addiction robs you of so much; your mental and physical wellbeing, healthy relationships, financial security and quality of life. Repeated heroin use can cause irreversible changes to your brain structure and damages grey matter that regulates your behaviour, decision-making abilities, and your response to stimuli.

Medical detox: why you need it and what to expect

Withdrawal symptoms can be severe for certain drugs and alcohol, even life-threatening. If you have developed a dependence on a substance, you may need to go through a detoxification process under medical supervision before entering an addiction treatment programme.

Do you have an addiction?

There is a fine line between substance misuse or abuse and addiction. How do you know if you have crossed that line? The simple answer is addiction is present when your substance use or behaviour is harming your physical, mental, social or financial wellbeing.

Is addiction hereditary?

This is a common question among people where addiction “runs in the family”. Scientists are now studying how genes can play a role in addiction and are devising ways to identify biological factors that make someone more vulnerable to drug and alcohol addiction. Let’s look at the most recent reports on the link between genetics and addiction.

What is substance use disorder?

Substance use disorder is the new medical term for addiction. It also replaces words like substance abuse and substance dependence. It is a chronic mental health disorder caused by the compulsive use of alcohol or drugs, or both that results in permanent changes to brain structure and function.

Alcohol Addiction Treatment

Alcoholism is now called alcohol use disorder (AUD). The new term more accurately describes a condition that goes through various stages, from alcohol tolerance to dependence and addiction. Alcoholism carries the social stigma of “heavy drinking,” while AUD (alcohol addiction) encompasses the biological side effects of long-term alcohol consumption.

What happens when you overdose on drugs?

There is nothing more frightening than finding your loved one in the grip of a life-threatening drug overdose. It’s something you dread and desperately hope never happens, but you need to be prepared for the eventuality. It hangs over your head and your loved one living with a drug addiction.