Iona Health
VerifiedCounselor/Therapist
Andrews, USA
Answers questions in Addiction Treatment · Addictions · Adolescent Issues
About Iona Health
Our staff has many years of professional trainings, advanced degrees, multidisciplinary clinical supervisions, study abroad programs in Korea, France and Mexico, numerous and diversified clinical settings and levels of care, served one purpose: the complete, effective, and comprehensive care of children, teens, couples, and families. Working with others who are hurting or uncomfortable allows me to engage the sacred of work, i.e., aiding human beings.
We bring many life experience to this work. I have worked in accounting, law enforcement, finance, information services, sales, marketing and public relations, law and judicial systems, the military, civil service, outpatient, residential, and inpatient substance abuse and mental health; sexaully abused children, and have worked with work different populations; such as African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics and Latinos, Christians, Jewish, Muslims, and Asians. As a social workers, counselors, marriage and family therapists, we are professionally and ethically responsible to serve all of the community.
What I do
Iona has mental health professionals with advanced training and education in psychology, counseling, social work and marriage and family therapy. Our passion to help others clearly define their challenges and to help them utilize their own strengths towards problem solving, goal setting, and goal success. We use a multi-disciplinary approach toward individual treatment and targeted results.
My story
Our staff has many years of professional trainings, advanced degrees, multidisciplinary clinical supervisions, study abroad programs in Korea, France and Mexico, numerous and diversified clinical settings and levels of care, served one purpose: the complete, effective, and comprehensive care of children, teens, couples, and families. Working with others who are hurting or uncomfortable allows me to engage the sacred of work, i.e., aiding human beings.
We bring many life experience to this work. I have worked in accounting, law enforcement, finance, information services, sales, marketing and public relations, law and judicial systems, the military, civil service, outpatient, residential, and inpatient substance abuse and mental health; sexaully abused children, and have worked with work different populations; such as African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics and Latinos, Christians, Jewish, Muslims, and Asians. As a social workers, counselors, marriage and family therapists, we are professionally and ethically responsible to serve all of the community.
Why life is worth living
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable." ----Helen Keller
Treatment Offered
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Answered Questions(60)
Child Sexual Abuse is Correlated with Alcoholism
I believe that the sexual abuse I suffered as a child and teen is the reason why I am an alcoholic today. I have decided that I need to get help and I want to go to a rehab but I think I need to address what happened to me in the past if I really want to get better and so I don't think that AA style rehab is what I need. What types of therapies r programs would you recommend I be looking for in a rehab?
Read answer →Percocet Abuse Is A Form of Opiate Abuse or Dependency
I have been having a lot of fun with percocets for about 6 weeks taking about 50 or 60mgs a day now. So stupid I realize now. I gotta stop this train before things get out of control but I am not sure how to do it best. Should I try to taper down slowly or should I just jump off and get this over with. I'm worried about it. Never went through anything worse than quitting smoking before. Is there any chance I am going to need some sort of detox program after such a short time on percs?
Read answer →Professional Intervention: Can It Work After the Family Has Failed?
My sister is an alcoholic. Last year we had a family intervention and we all got together a really tried to make her get into some treatment. We even had a place all arranged for her to go to. But it did not work and now she is drinking more than ever before. We do not know what to do. Some of the family want to try again but this time they want to hire a professional interventionist to help us. Others think this is ridiculous and that if it did not work once she is not going to be fooled by it a second time. I do not know what to think. Is it a ridiculous idea to try a second intervention on an alcoholic within a year?
Read answer →Drinking Alcohol to Avoid Withdrawal and Depression
I drink because it makes me feel better and if I don't I just feel depressed. I think I need medication but when I told my doctor how I feel he said I needed to cut down on my drinking before I should try medication because it could be the drinking that is making me feel depressed. The thing is without drinking I feel so bad that I never can make it more than a couple of days without drinking It s a catch 22 situation. The drinking is making me feel bad but I feel so bad I need to drink to feel better. Should I find another doctor who will prescribe me the medications?
Read answer →Borderline Intellectual Functioning, Alcohol Abuse, and Treatment Considerations
My son has borderline intellectual capacity. He has an IQ of about 70. He is 25 now and he is living independently with some financial support from us and he is working as a bagger at a local supermarket. He has started to get a taste for alcohol, which is something he never really had when living at home. His employer is a personal friend of the family and he called me yesterday to say that my son is starting to show up for work obviously hungover and smelling of alcohol. He notified us as a courtesy and he was very apologetic when he said that unless things changed for the better that he would have to let my son go. I can see this spiraling out of control unless we get ahead of it. I have tried talking to my son but I don’t think he gets the severity of the situation. Is there some sort of program we could get him into for people that are at risk of alcohol problems with diminished intellectual capacity? I am sure his boss would agree to give him a leave for a couple of weeks so he could go and get some help if that’s what would be best.
Read answer →Alternative Therapies Provide Chronic Pain Relief Without Pain Medications
Does acupressure work as well as acupuncture to help people who are suffering while trying to taper off opiate pain drugs? I prefer no needles and there is a local acupressure therapist but I am in so much discomfort trying to reduce my daily dosage of Lortabs that I am willing to go the needles route if it is necessary.
Read answer →Alcohol Detoxification Requires Medical Treatment and Standard Protocols
How do I know if I am going to have alcohol detox that is serious enough that I am going to need to go to the hospital. I want to do this on my own but my girlfriend is saying we have to go to a detox clinic. I am telling her that I will go but I do not want to unless it is really necessary. Since she will be at home with me while I am going through this she will be there to drive me to the hospital in planet of time if things get too serious. What is a warning sign I should be on the lookout for to let me know it is time to go to the hospital and that things are at risk of getting dangerous?
Read answer →Better Sobriety and Recovery: Christian-based Rehab or AA-based Programs?
Which has the best recovery rate Christian rehab or rehab that is based on AA?
Read answer →Teen Binge Drinking Can Lead to Blackouts and Alcohol Dependency
If I have blackouts when I get drunk most of the time does that mean I am becoming an alcoholic. I am in my senior year of high school and we have parties most nights during the summer vacation. I never feel like I need a drink but we get wasted most nights anyway.
Read answer →Teen Marijuana Abuse: Is There Something Parents Can Do?
My 17 year old son uses soft drugs. I have known that he has been using drugs like marijuana since he was 15. I have tried everything I can think of to try get him to stop and nothing really works. He has been grounded on countless occasions, he has had to do volunteering at a local hospital, he has had his allowance cut…all the normal punishments I meet out don’t seem to be able to stop him because I can just tell that he and his friends are still smoking weed and probably doing other drugs as well. Should I give up? He says he only smokes marijuana on the weekends and that it isn’t a big deal. His grades are still good and he is not a bad kid. Maybe he is right and I am wrong to be getting so upset. If his marijuana habit doesn’t seem to be harming him should I stop battling him on this point? After all, he is going to be an adult soon enough.
Read answer →Tanning Addictive Like Alcohol or Drugs?
I do indoor tanning about twice a week and I have been an indoor tanner for about 4 years. I am now 22. I know it’s bad for me but I like the way I look tanned and I find tanning relaxing and enjoyable. I don’t have the money to go to beach holidays but nobody gives people who go and lie on a beach a hard time so whats the difference? There are a lot of stories going on right now about people getting addicted to tanning. How do I know if I am one of them?
Read answer →Treating Gambling Addiction with Medical Marijuana?!
Is medical marijuana effective as way to give up gambling addiction? I have a hard time not visiting the casinos but when I occasionally smoke marijuana with my cousins I never feel the urge to go and play the slots. Can I get medical marijuana by prescription to control my compulsive gambling. I live in Nevada.
Read answer →Addiction Erodes Our Ability to Connect and Maintain Sober and Sobriety
I am borderline and ADHD and I don’t do to well in group with a bunch of whiners so slowly spinning out their miserable tales of heartbreak and woe. I know that this makes me a bit of an asshole lacking empathy but that’s just the way I am wired. I am trying to stay off cocaine and I just keep getting pushed to these suck ass NA meetings which are just full of pathetic dudes crying into the junk they obviously no longer have. Its just not working for me. I need some sort of group for people like me. People who aren’t really sorry about shit and don’t want to cry about anything but who do want to stay clean and who are having a hard time. Any ideas? Preferably someplace minus the Jesus…
Read answer →Alcohol Consumption Can Cause Complications to Heart Disease
I have early stage heart disease and my doctor says I need to quit smoking and drinking. I know the smokes are killing me so I cant make any more excuses but quit but I did not know that drinking beer only was bad for my heart. If I cut down and I only have 1 or 2 beers every day isn’t that supposed to be a good thing for my heart. I think it would be much easier for me to have 1 or 2 a day rather than not be able to have any at all. I have been drinking about 12 a day for a while.
Read answer →Vegan vs. Vegetarian Diet as an Intervention for Alcohol Recovery?
Are there any issues with a vegan diet for a person who is coming off a long bout with alcoholism? I am about to receive my cousin to come stay with us on our organic farm. We are all vegan here so he will also eat that way. He intends to stay for a long while while he recovers his health. I know that alcoholics can have some particular vitamin deficiencies so I want to be sure that our diet here, which is healthful for an average person, will be up to his nutritional needs.
Read answer →Is Marijuana Harmful to a Pregnant Mother and her Infant?
My pregnant girlfriend was a pot head. Since she found out she was pregnant she has stopped smoking marijuana but she will still eat hash brownies that she makes. She will get high almost every day. She says it doesn’t harm the baby as long as she doesn’t smoke it. Is this true? I don’t want to give her a hard time because I am proud of her for stopping cigarettes and smoking pot.
Read answer →Your Work Can Change Someone's Tomorrow
Hello again Mr. O'Neal, I just wanted to thank you for your response to my question last on Sunday May 6. You titled the response, "Recovering Addicts Make Huge Contributions as Counselors." I could tell the information you gave me was well thought and will be invaluable in the decisions I have to make. I live in Florida and here we have a Certifications Board that regulates the field. The 3 different types of Certifications are (CAS) Certified Addictions Specialist, (CAC) Certified Addictions Counselor, and the (CAP) Certified Addictions Professional. The CAP offers the most promise regarding a good job and all the Certs require a Bachelor's Degree in something. I chose Psych because of its proximity to addiction. I wanted to thank you especially for the 10 tips you included and the link to Dr Karen Kelly. This is a God send for me right now. I'm sure you remember what its like when your in your first year but I have great faith and I'm not afraid to ask for help. Thanks again John and I hope to meet you some day along the road. Sincerely Raymond Tirrell rtirrelljr@comcast.net
Read answer →Substance Use Can Be Part of Adolescent Experimentation and Development
How worried should I be that I caught our 12 year old sneaking a beer alone in our garage? My husband says it’s not that big of a deal but the fact that he was doing it alone really bothers me. My son says it is just something he does once in a while and that he will stop now. This all just blew up yesterday after I swooshed in silently on my bike and caught him by surprise after school in the garage. Should I let it go and see if he stops like he says he will and like my husband says or should I get him to talk to someone right away to make sure there is nothing more serious going on?
Read answer →Addicts Are Often the Last to See the “Problem”
My friend has been smoking pot for many years, her family and marriage are falling apart and now she thinks everyone is against her and she feels alone. She recently started sharing her pot with her teenage son. How do I schedule an intervention properly? Several people in her family deny that she has a problem, I think they are in denial about it altogether. How do I help? The husband has cried out for help.
Read answer →Wernike-Koraskoff Syndrome: Another Name for Alcohol-Related Dementia
My father is 81 and has moderate dementia. He forgets that he drinks and doesn't think he has a problem, but he has two DUIs and now he is walking to the liquor store and drinking on the way home with the police following him. Is there any hope of finding a treatment center for him or will he have to be arrested before anything can be done to help him?
Read answer →Hoarding is Complex and Challenging to Treat
I have a relative that is probably a hoarder. He has so much stuff that there are rooms I can’t even get into because the stuff is piled from floor to ceiling. I have tried for years to get him to work through some of the junk (because most of it is junk) but he just can’t seem to make any real progress on it. He always has a reason why everything has some value to him or why he might need it again in the future. It seems crazy but he actually starts to get pretty upset if I press the issue so invariably I just leave it alone and nothing really gets done. The place is obviously a fire hazard and to me the air is very stuffy and musty, although he says he doesn’t notice this. I worry he is going to get some sort of lung disease from the dust and bad air. I know that he has a real problem here and I don’t think he will ever be able to solve this on his own. I have keys to his house and I know his schedule and so what I am thinking about doing is going in when I know he’ll be gone for the day and renting a Uhaul and just pulling out a few literal truck loads of useless junk and taking it to the dump. I know he’ll be upset after but at least it will make a little room in the house and after he sees this maybe he’ll be inspired to keep the progress going. I guess I am not sure if I should do this or not. I am ready to give a little tough love here, but I don’t want to do something that is harmful or mean spirited. Should I make him take this help that he doesn’t want – for his own good?
Read answer →Recovering Addicts Make Huge Contributions as Counselors
Hi Mr. ONeal, I'm a former addict and now a student at an online university pursuing my Bachelor's / Master's in Psychology with a specialty in Substance Abuse. I would like to eventually become an addictions counselor but I'm leaving all options open. I would really like to become as active and involved as possible in prevention, such as educational intervention in elementary on up through adolescents. My question is this, where do you see the field going in the next 5 years? And what advice do you have for me regarding my goals concerning prevention? Thank You.
Read answer →Tramadol: Detox Horrors for Many
I am using like 800mgs of tramadol a day. I was prescribed them for back pain and I came to really like the energy and buzz they gave me and I started taking more than I was supposed to. That was 4 years ago. This has become a very expensive habit and I feel like I am on an emotional roller coaster. And that I totally cannot function without these pills. I have tried to quit using but I could not. I feel like the withdrawal from tramadol is not recognized as a very serious thing. I have tried to reduce my dosage but it is not really working. I do not really want to get on a stronger drug like methadone because that seems ridiculous but I am not sure what I can do? How can I get past tramadol withdrawals without taking any more strong medications that are also addictive?
Read answer →Families Often Need Help First Before the Alcoholic
I'm trying to get some help for my son he is addicted to alochol and he is living on the streets of baltimore I'm looking fgor a state funded rehab for him please help me
Read answer →Lying is a Symptom of a Bigger Problem
What do you do when you are 98% sure that your teen daughter did something but you can’t prove it beyond a doubt and so you don’t want to really punish too harshly on the off chance that you are wrong? I had noticed that my daughter, who is 14, seemed to be buying more stuff than she should have been able to based on the allowance she was earning from me but whenever I questioned her on this she would always say that a friend had given her that shirt or that she had traded her old phone to another friend for this much nicer looking phone that she had now. Stories that were a little hard to believe but since I had no alternate explanation and wanted to believe in her I went with it. Anyway, a couple of months ago I as good as caught her in the act of stealing from my wallet and when I confronted her on it she admitted that she had. She said that it was the first time she had done so and stuck with that story but I figure she had been doing it for a while. Anyway, we had a long and very serious talk about it and she promised she would not do it again. Yesterday there was money missing from my wallet again. I won’t get into the details but about 20$ was missing and there is no one else that could have taken it. My daughter swears up and down she didn’t do it but we were the only 2 people at home. I suppose there is an infinitesimal chance that I could have dropped a 20 out of the ATM or something, but it’s pretty unlikely. So the question now is what do I do about it? I told her after the last time I caught her that I would send her back to live with her mother if this happened again. I do not really want to do this, but now I feel like I am in a tough position. So I have 2 questions: Do I punish her severely if I am only 99% sure of what she has done. I don’t want to get it wrong, but in a situation like money missing from my wallet, I am not sure I am ever going to 100% sure. How do I deal with a child who repeatedly steals from me?
Read answer →Hidden Symptoms of Alcoholism Do Not Offer True Escape
I have a drinking problem that I can sort of control but which mostly controls me. I go through these back and forth phases of not drinking and binge drinking. What I do is quit drinking and get focused on getting in shape and doing better at work and being a better dad and being a more spiritual and mindful person. I do this for a while and after a couple of weeks I start feeling really great, much better than I ever feel when I am drinking. And then after a while I am feeling so great and there will be this reason to have a few glasses of wine or an old friend will come through town or whatever and I will end up having a few drinks. And then a few days later I will have a few more drinks and then it will just escalate until I am drinking between 6 and 12 beers every night. Once I am in a drinking phase I get obsessed with thinking about drinking and I will be thinking about getting and drinking beer all day long. Because my family knows about my battles with drinking I am also obsessed about hiding my drinking so they don’t know how much I am really having. After a while, things will get bad enough that I will quit drinking again and tell my wife that I am done with drinking again. I know myself very well and this cycle has repeated itself enough times that I know it’s like a pattern I can’t break free from. I am on my first day of not drinking again today after a health scare that I thought was related to drinking but wasn’t – but since I am in my 40s and have been drinking for decades, it very well could have been. I really want to break free from this cycle and stay sober for good. I have been to AA meetings before and I did not like them. I can easily quit for a few weeks or even months so I don’t think I need rehab. I just don’t know how to keep myself from slipping up a month or two down the road. How can I stop myself from repeating this pattern of my life?
Read answer →Alcohol Gastritis is Caused by Excessive Use of Alcohol
I am in my last year of high school and am on a trip with some friends. We have been drinking beers every night. I start drinking at about 1 or 2 and I will have 15 or 20 beer by the end of the day. I am usually pretty heavy but this week has been a lot even for me. I am starting to get this really painful stomach feeling that is difficult to explain in the morning after drinking beer. After a few beers it usually goes away but the next day it gets worse. I have had this before when I drink a lot a bunch of days in a row. I am 17 and have only been drinking for about a year so I don’t think I can have hurt my liver yet. None of my friends gets the same way as me but I probably drink more than them. How come drinking is starting to make my stomach hurt so much? Is it something I need to be worried about?
Read answer →Involuntary Commitment for Teens Indicates a Need for Medical Assessment
What states allow involuntary teen rehab? I live in RI looking for help for a 17 year-old male son. Have insurance. Looking for a GOOD wilderness rehab, heard high success rates with wilderness camp settings... Thanks Mom, Nicole.
Read answer →Spending Addiction: Shopaholics Can Spend Until They Burn
I am not very happy with my life right now. I feel like most of my day is dealing with frustrations. I am a pretty anxious person and I have a hard time making friends or other close relationships. I guess I am just not feeling very good with my life. I also have serious financial problems because the only way I know how to make myself feel ok is to go out and buy something. I never go out and buy big things that might actually make me happy, like a new phone or a vacation or things like that I just go out and buy some worthless stuff that I don’t even need, all the time. Mostly I buy stuff that is consumable or disposable in some way. It’s not the stuff that makes me feel better, just the going to the store and spending some money that lifts my mood for a few minutes. I know it is crazy to act like I do and I am going to get evicted from my apartment unless I can stop wasting all my money buying worthless stuff. I tell myself I won’t do it again but it seems to be something I can’t stop myself from doing. Especially when ever I have some free time. It is OK when I am at work but when I am walking home after work or on lunch break I will always buy stuff, everyday. I am too embarrassed to tell my family about my financial problems. I do not know what to do. I think I have an addiction to spending money.
Read answer →Excessive Alcohol Use Is Associated with the Acceleration and Intensification of Menopause
Is menopause ever a cause for excessive drinking. My wife is going through menopause right now and she is having a hard time with things. She is getting a lot of the usual symptoms like the hit flashes and sweats and she is also very emotional and sometimes, to my mind, she is not acting very rational. She is also drinking a lot more than she ever has before. She always liked to have a glass of wine with dinner and maybe a couple on the weekends but now she is getting drunk more than a couple nights a week, When she gets drunk she is much more likely to have an emotional ‘meltdown’ and it is very hard on me, but especially hard on our two high school aged kids. They know what she is going through and they’re good kids and they are trying to be sympathetic but they are also too often the target of her irrational anger and it’s hard for them to know how to handle this well. If she was acting like this a few years ago I would have been encouraging her to seek some help but as it is right now I know that her moodiness can be explained by the hormonal fluctuations. Is the drinking something that is also being caused by the menopause? I am kind of hoping this thing is just going to run its course soon enough but if the drinking is getting of control and it is not associated with the menopause then maybe I should encourage her to get some help. I have already tried just asking her to drink less and that didn’t go very well.
Read answer →Post-Acute Withdrawal Is Often Not Recognized in Early Recovery
My daughter was in rehab for 28 days for drugs and alcohol. While she was in rehab, she wanted contact with both her family and her in-laws. Now that she is out, she only wants contact with her rehab buddies - none with her in-laws, husband (who is off on military orders), or parents. Has decided that she may want a divorce and for me to stay out of her life. As my only child this is breaking my heart. Both myself and her husband have cut her off financially as she won't communicate with us. I'm in an online support group and I've encouraged her husband to go to meetings on base. She threatened to have her father in law arrested if he stopped by the house again (the house belongs to him and its up for sale). I don't understand what is going through her mind and it is so opposite and extreme to her previous self. I know I didn't cause the addiction, can't cure it, can't change it. But I am open to suggestions... Bless you all..
Read answer →In Recovery: "First Things First"
I drink every day. I got very drunk a couple of nights ago and then I got a panicky surprise phone call in the morning from my ex wife to go get our son from school. He had fallen at morning recess and they needed a parent to take him for x-rays since they thought he had a broken ankle. I went to the school to pick up my son and then they asked me to wait while they coordinated his homework with is homeroom teacher. I thought it was a bit weird to have to wait but my son was not in pain when he did not stand on the leg so I obliged. 10 minutes later a police officer walked into the principal’s office and I was asked to take a breath analyzer test, which I failed with a 0.085. I was very surprised but I guess I was still drunk from the night before and I must have really smelled of booze which is why they called the police instead of letting me take him in my car. I probably didn’t look too great either. They threatened to charge me with DUI and child endangerment but in the end because I was there in an emergency and because I had only been drinking the night before they let me off with a warning and I had to walk home. My ex wife had to come from work to take our son. All in all it was one of the most humiliating and degrading days I have ever experienced. And my son saw it all and now my ex wife is saying that she won’t allow me to see my son for a while. And the worst thing is I was feeling so bad about it all that I stopped off on the way home and bought a bottle of rye. I have been drunk ever since. My car is still at the school and I am too ashamed to go and get it. I am going to lose my kids unless I stop drinking but I just don’t know how to do that. It is noon right now and I am staring at a bottle and trying hard not to take a drink but I think I am about to have one. If this isn’t rock bottom I don’t know what is. I am ready to stop drinking but I don’t know how to do that. What’s the first thing I need to do?
Read answer →Internet Porn Addiction Restricts the Likelihood for Intimacy and Respect
If I look at porn on the internet every night that is degrading to women am I a sex addict? I do not know why I am attracted to this type of movie. Will looking at porn that is degrading to women make me think of women in a different way during the day? I am not very comfortable talking to women but I am trying. I have an online relationship with a woman for the first time in a while. It feels like a lie to talk nicely to her one minute and then switch to watching movies the next. I do not want to become the kind of person that thinks badly of women because I really do not feel that way now. I do not want to become like the people I see humiliating women on the videos I watch, but I always go back to watching these types of videos. Afterwards I am disgusted with myself. I am confused about why I do this and about whether I have a problem and if I do, what the consequences of this problem might be for me.
Read answer →Alcohol Abuse Makes Growing Up Difficult for Dependent Teens
I am 14 and I live with my mom who is a single parent to me. We don’t really have much close family except for 2 aunts and 2 uncles who don’t live here in Georgia. My mom has started drinking a lot and I am very worried about her. I have talked to her about how much she drinks but she says that she is fine. Sometimes she is angry with me when I ask if I ask when she is drunk and sometimes when I ask her when she is hangover she says she wants to talk to someone about her drinking but she never does. I want her to stop drinking so much because I am worried about her and because she is not the same person when she drinks. She is hard to live with when she drinks which is all the time now. How can I get her to stop drinking? I do not know if she needs to go to rehab or not but I am worried about that also because I do not want to leave my school and I am not sure if I would be allowed to stay over with my friend for very long. Who should I talk to about this to make her get some help but not someone who is going to take her away from me or anything like that.
Read answer →Laced Marijuana Can Lead to a Bad Trip
A few of days ago I smoked this joint with a couple of guys I only sort of know in the park and it must have been laced with something because it just ruined me and I can normally really hold my own. I was freaking out and I had to lay down in the park for a couple of hours before I could even walk home. I could barely move and was hallucinating in scary ways. Ever since then I feel really weird, like I am in the world but not quite in the world, like things are fuzzy or warped or something. Like I am in another dimension and I can see and hear everything and even participate but that I am not quite living in the same place as every one else. People talk to me and it sounds weird and it’s almost like I am above it all and watching it happen but that’s not quite right exactly either. It is almost like as acid trip but without the cool hallucinations or good feelings. This is quite unpleasant and I feel like I can’t connect with anyone anymore. I can barely talk to my girlfriend. She knows something is wrong with me but I can’t explain it to her as talking to her normally is quite challenging at the moment. What is going on with me?
Read answer →Early Recovery Teaches Recovery Must Come First
I am about to finish a 60 day residential alcohol addiction treatment program. My counselors are recommending that I move into a sober living house after my graduation from here. They have arranged for one that will accept me to be there with my son. Right now he is staying with my sister. I am kind of torn about what to do. I miss him like crazy. He is 7. And I also cannot really ask my sister to take him for any longer than she already has since it is hard for her to get him to school everyday since she has to drive him there herself. But I am very worried that the sober living home will not be a great environment for my son to be exposed to. I know that everyone is supposed to be sober but at the end of the day it is just a bunch of strangers. On the other hand if I go back to my old place there is a lot of temptation around me and I am not sure if I am ready for that, and I have to admit that I was not a very good mom to him when I was drinking, so the most important thing is that I stay sober. He is 7 so he is old enough to see what is going on. Is he going to be OK staying with me in a sober living home or is it going to be harmful to him in some way? I want to be a better mom to him from now on so I don’t want to put him in a bad situation, but if I start drinking again that will be even a worse situation for him. I am not sure what to do.
Read answer →Heroin Addiction: Amotivation Makes Recovery a Difficult Change
My boyfriend is addicted to heroin. His mom doesn't seem to care or want to help him at all because he has always been a troublemaker. He does not have health insurance or the means to get the help he truly needs. He is on probation and yet is driving to the city to get heroin. He doesn't seem to care about it either yet 2 of our close friends have overdosed and died from it. How to I help him?
Read answer →Meth Recovery: Adolescent or Adult Treatment
My 18 year old daughter is addicted to crystal meth. I want to send her to rehab. I am not sure if she should go to an adult rehab or to a teen rehab. I know she is legally an adult but to me she still seems very much like a kid.
Read answer →Rehab: Recovery is not a Pleasure Ride
There’s a pretty big difference in the cost of different drug rehab programs. My wife needs to go to rehab and we are fortunately in a position where we can afford to send her. I want her to get the best care but we are both in agreement that she doesn’t need a ‘luxury’ experience or a beach view or any of that extra stuff that isn’t really much about addiction treatment. How much do we need to spend to get a very high quality of care if we don’t need all the fancy luxury stuff? It seems to me that a lot of places are trying to sell themselves almost like spas or resorts and the last thing she needs right now is a vacation. She needs real help.
Read answer →Cocaine Addiction: Treatment First for the Family
My brother has hepatitis C, he is HIV positive and he is in a lot of pain from abscesses on his toes and legs from injection injuries. He can barely walk at this point and he is only 36 years old. He will not go to the hospital to get the treatment he needs because if he was laid up getting the IV antibiotics he couldn’t be on the street injecting cocaine. My brother rarely makes contact with me other than to try to scam money out of me and since I have been burned by him so many times already he doesn’t succeed to often in doing that anymore. He did get some money out me this weekend though after he called me up and told me he had had his big toe amputated and asked to meet me for some money so he could get a room for a couple of weeks. I gave it to him. He was obviously in pain and having more trouble than normal getting around. I don’t know if he will really get that room or not but it is a shocking thing to see a person (my dear little brother!) who uses cocaine until he needs to have his toe amputated and then still doesn’t want to stop. This is so tragic and insane. I know I can’t make him stop. I have given up on that. I just wish I could make things a little better for him so he wouldn’t be getting gangrene and wouldn’t be suffering such pain from all his abscesses. I know giving him money won’t help, but is there anything I could provide for him that would make his life a little easier and reduce some of the secondary infections and problems he gets from his IV drug use? Should I buy him needles? How many does a cocaine addict need in a week? I have no idea. What else does he need to be able to use without doing himself so much harm?
Read answer →Meth Recovery: A Choice Which Can Restore
My 26 year old brother has been a drug user for years. After one of his last big binges he wound up getting picked up by the police and spent a few days in a county mental psych ward because they said he had amphetamine induced psychosis. They said that it was unusual for a psychosis that was caused by meth to last for as long as his did and said that he must have been using an extreme amount in the days leading up to his getting picked up by the police because he had been hiding in a janitorial closet at the mall and he wouldn’t come out. I am really scared for him. My mom picked him up from the hospital and brought him home. She called me to come back to town to come for a visit and to talk to him. I had not seen him for about a year and I was really shocked by what he looked like. I am 2 years older than him but he looks grim and apparently he was looking a lot worse than this when they picked him up. I told him I’d sell my truck and pay for rehab if he’d go but he said it was too late for him. He says he has brain damage now and the only way he can ever feel happiness now is by using meth. He says he knows he won’t live long but there’s nothing he can do about it now. He seems really defeated and unwilling to do anything to fight to get better. Is this true or is this the drugs talking? I do not doubt that the drugs would have affected him in some ways, but I would think that once he could get really clean and sober for a while he’d be able to snap out of the depression? I feel like it’s our last chance to save his life because if we don’t get him to stop now it’s only going to get worse from here.
Read answer →Cocaine Addiction: Rehab or Going It Alone?
How do I know if I need to go to drug rehab or not? I am addicted to cocaine. I am a technical writer. I lost my largest client of many years last week for what they called erratic performance. It was a shock to me and it has me scrambling to make ends meet. Now I really can’t afford all the coke I’m buying but I am buying it anyway and using my savings to do it. Obviously I have a bigger problem than I thought. I have tried to quit on my own but I cannot last more than a few days. I need to get some help but I am not sure if I need to go to a drug rehab (which would be expensive and embarrassing) or if I can get effective treatment on an outpatient basis. How can I know if I am so addicted that I need the rehab treatment?
Read answer →Suboxone: An Effective Step-Down Detox Agent for Vicodin Addiction
I am addicted to Vicodin and I take about 15 every day. I am worried that I am going to die or wreck my liver and I know I have to stop. I am only 27. I have been using vicodin for about 2 years. I want to know if I should use Suboxone or if I should go to some sort of drug rehab? Which is the better way? I want to get free of all this.
Read answer →Secret Sex with Porn While Wife Sleeps
Am I a sex addict if I only have a problem with porn after drinking or smoking pot? When I do not get drunk or high I don’t very often look at porn, only once in a while. But if I get drunk I will always come home after a night out and jerk off to porn on my laptop. I always wake up feeling very ashamed about what I did the night before. I do this 2 or 3 times a week. I am embarrassed by what I look at. I will look at pictures when drunk and get turned on by stuff that does not interest me when not drunk. I am embarrassed to say what but it is stuff that if my wife ever caught me she would have a very big problem with it. Also, she could easily walk in on me because when I get drunk I get careless and look at porn in the room next to where she is sleeping and she could walk out and catch me at any time. I want to stop looking at porn but I always go back to it once drunk. If I can’t control my impulses to look at porn am I addicted?
Read answer →Self Medication: Polysubstance Abuse for Chronic Pain Control is Russian Roulette
My brother is a very good guy and he has never played around with drugs or alcohol. He has been unemployed for about 6 months now since he hurt his back on the job while landscaping. Last night he got really drunk and pretty much passed out after having only a few glasses of wine at dinner. It was pretty weird. My husband and I helped him to bed and I guess I was suspicious that something wasn’t right because I looked through his pants pocket after he was in bed and I found a small bag of powder. It was heroin. My brother confessed to it after I confronted him with the stuff the next day. He said he didn’t want me to worry but that money was really tight and that it was a lot cheaper for him to buy heroin than buy prescription pain meds and that his doctor wouldn’t give him as much as he needed to control his pain. He said he started off by buying extra pills from this guy he knew until one day that guy didn’t have pills but did have heroin. I know that he is in a lot of pain. He told me not to worry and that he only used as little as he could every day to take away most of the pain and that he never used it to get high. On one hand I have to believe him because I know that he is broke but I didn’t know things were so bad and I know that he is in a lot of pain still. He is also not the kind of guy that likes to get drunk at all. But on the other hand the fact that he is using heroin is really shocking and I am very worried about him. He could get arrested and who knows what is really in that stuff he buys. I am scared he could OD. I have told him I don’t want him using it anymore and that I will help him with money. But he says that sometimes he needs more than his doctor will prescribe so he may sometimes even still need to buy heroin. Can a person ever just use heroin like as a medicine for pain control without becoming a junky?
Read answer →Alcohol Withdrawal: Anxiety and Other Symptoms Vary Among Individual Users
I have been a heavy drinker for about 25 years. I drink 10 or 12 beers a day. I don’t get drunk and I know what the alcohol does to me and how it affects me. I am probably what you would call a functional alcoholic and at this stage in my life I am not interested in stopping. Lately I have been having a lot of anxiety and I went to my doctor to get some medication for it. He said that it could be the alcohol that was making me anxious and that he didn’t want to prescribe me anything until I tried quitting the drinking first to see if that made the anxiety go away. I do not wish to quit drinking and I have been drinking for long enough that I know what it does to me and what it does not do to me. Alcohol actually makes me feel less anxious and it’s pretty much the only thing I’ve got now to deal with the anxiety since he would not give me any medications. I do not wish to go against medical advice, if it is sound, but it simply makes no sense to me. Is it possible that alcohol would not make me anxious for 24 years and then all of a sudden it would start to make me feel anxious now? It just seems crazy to me.
Read answer →Alcoholism and Family Holiday Gatherings: Not a Good Mix for Most
I'm hoping/praying that our family alcoholic won't ruin Christmas for our family by getting drunk and creating tension and stress. She is in total denial and we do plan a family intervention soon after Christmas, but my concern is how to survive Christmas with the family. I would appreciate any comments or suggestions. Thanks
Read answer →Family Recovery: Self Care and Selfishness
My adult daughter has just entered a treatment facility this week for drug addiction. Our family is well aware we have been enablers for many years and allowed the addict to control our lives in many ways, but we are now attempting to get educated about dealing with this disease and how not to enable her further, as well as support her recovery. The facility is 3 hours away from our home and they allow visitation every Saturday. An extended family Christmas get together for my husband's side of the family has been planned for this Saturday and we made plans to attend prior to our daughter's admission so we explained to her we would not be visiting this first Saturday. The following Saturday is Christmas Eve and traditionally we have had my family members in our home for a celebration on Christmas Eve. My husband, mother, and brother have no problem changing our get together to Christmas night so we may visit our daughter in treatment on Christmas Eve, however my other daughter (sibling of the addict) thinks we are changing our tradition to revolve around the addict, which she believes is something we should not do. Rather than viewing this as letting her disease control us, I see changing our normal Christmas plans in order to visit as a way to show support for her recovery. Can you offer your opinion on this matter?
Read answer →Narconon: Effective Treatment or Scientology in Disguise?
Are you familiar with Narconon programs? They claim to have very high success rates and what I see on their websites seems to make sense. Is it too good to be true? Do you know of any outside verification of the 80% cure rate I saw they were claiming? I am ready to go to treatment and to give up all drugs and alcohol but I want to get into the best possible program that I can afford to make sure that I succeed and never again have to do this.
Read answer →Kleptomania: Stealing which will steal from you
I steal stuff for no reason at all. Sometimes I’ll just be in some store and I’ll start feeling all tense and I’ll get this ridiculous urge to just take something and the urge is really strong. So I’ll pocket something that and I’ll walk out and I’ll feel kind of a high for a few minutes but then I’ll feel just so stupid for having done it again. Yesterday I was a drug store I go to all the time and they totally know me there and I was with my 4 year old son. I took a pair of 9$ sunglasses and stuck them on my hat, like I had been wearing them when I came in. Unfortunately, I set off the alarm when I went out. The owner is this very nice guy and I must have walked through the alarm system like 5 times while we tried to ‘figure out’ why it was going off. I was so scared and embarrassed but I was just trying to act like it was a mystery. They never clued into the sunglasses and eventually they just let it go, but I think they think I took something but since I am such a regular customer and a nice guy in their eyes, they just let it go. How do I learn to overcome these urges I have to steal? If I was arrested yesterday in front of my son I don’t know how I could have lived with myself ever again.
Read answer →Family Intervention for Alcoholism during the Holidays
My whole immediate family and several of my uncles and their families will come to stay at my parents’ place over Christmas. My brother has had a drinking problem for years but things seem to have taken a real turn for the worse this year and he is getting in very heavy with the drinking. I would like to see him get some treatment for his problem but he insists that he doesn’t have a problem and he can get very angry if I bring it up. I think that he is in denial and I think that we need to do an intervention if we are going to have any hope of convincing him to go. I have been reading about interventions and I realize that it is important that we get as many people that are close to him as possible to talk about his drinking and how it has affected them to try to break down his wall of denial. Because of this, l I think that that Christmas, when several family members will be coming in from out of town, makes a lot of sense as the time to go ahead and do this. A part of me though thinks that it is too cruel. My brother has always loved Christmas and the whole holiday and family thing. Am I risking having the intervention not work by combining it with Christmas – with too many other emotions and stuff going on? Should I wait until after Christmas to do it, even though it may mean that some people in the family will not attend? I think if I do wait, some of the people in the family who are not as on board with the idea of sending him to treatment will at least get to observe him and his drinking over that few days and come to understand why we need to do something sooner than later.
Read answer →Cell Phones: Gateway to Porn Addiction
A friend is trying to get sober from internet porn after relapse. Main trigger is cell phone internet access. In looking for cell phones that do not have internet access, have had no luck. Blocks from cell phone companies have not been successful. Any ideas?
Read answer →Alcohol Detox and Rehab Overseas
I have an opportunity to work overseas in the Middle East starting just before Christmas. I would be working in a fairly remote area and there would none, or almost no alcohol available. I have always been a very heavy drinker but I have been drinking very hard for the last 7 or 8 months, basically all the time. I know I need to stop and going to place without alcohol seems like a good way to go about it. I think I need some help with the detox (I am already waking up shaking in the night) so I plan to get all my stuff together and then a couple of weeks before I leave I’ll do a rehab detox and about a week of inpatient treatment and then it will be pretty much straight from the rehab to the plane to a country without alcohol. Does this sound like an OK plan? Is there anything obvious I am missing that will cause me problems?
Read answer →Teen Alcohol Abuse with Asperger's Syndrome
My 17 year old son has Asperger's and he is now using alcohol as a way to cope with his condition in social situations. He says he tried it a few months ago on a band trip out of state and that after a couple of beers he felt so much more relaxed and able to talk to people in a normal social way that it was like the best medicine he has ever had. I have read that other people with Asperger's, adults, will also use alcohol to make it through social occasions more normally. Since he tried alcohol that first time my son started using it to make it through the day at school. Last week he was caught by his gym teacher while sneaking a drink in the changing room. He was suspended and we got the whole story out of him. We were so shocked at first, but now that we have heard his side of the story we can’t be angry and we understand why he would drink as he has been. He has been drinking almost everyday now for months. I can’t believe we never noticed at home. He really needs some emergency help for his drinking, but all the teen alcohol treatment programs we contact seem to be based on a lot of group type therapies, which I don’t think are going to be very effective for my son. Can you tell me what type of alcoholism treatment is going to work best for my son, given his Asperger's?
Read answer →Bath Salts Abuse shows dangers comparable to Meth Abuse
I’ve been riding a high of bath salts for like the last three months. Now theyre illegal all of a sudden and the price is way higher and they are getting way harder to get when they used to be on sale everywhere. Now that I have trouble getting them sometimes I am starting to realize how much I NEED THEM and this is a little bit scary to me. I always thought they were nonaddictive but now I think theyre ridiculously addictive. I used to smoke cigarettes but I quit and this is way harder than that was. Some of my friends are already switching on to meth and coke but I always said I wasn’t going to get going into those, especially the death meth. I have a few days supply left and then I don’t know if I am going to be able to get anymore and once I am afraid of what that will feel like. How can I get off the salts without feeling so terrible. I want to quit now but I am afraid if it gets to bad I will use another drug like meth just to feel that high again.
Read answer →Am I addicted to cocaine?
I USE COCAINE AND ECSTASY RECREATIONALLY ON THE WEEKENDS. LATELY I HAVE BEEN HAVING VERY STRONG CRAVINGS TO USE COCAINE DURING THE WORK WEEK ALSO AND I HAVE STARTED USING ONCE IN A WHILE. I DO NOT WANT TO STOP USING ON THE WEEKENDS BUT I DO NOT WANT TO BECOME ADDICTED EITHER. IF I AM CRAVING COCAINE DURING THE WORK WEEK AM I ADDICTED?
Read answer →Medical marijuana for the treatment of arthritis
I have arthritis and my doctor has suggested that I might want to try medical marijuana to control some of the pain and stiffness. I have never used drugs and I have only drank alcohol a few times in my life and I am certainly surprised to be considering using drugs now that I am past 60 years of age. I am willing though to do anything that will help me to regain some quality of life. What I want to know though is, will I get addicted to marijuana if I start using it every day? If I decide to use medical marijuana how can I keep myself from getting hooked?
Read answer →Sexual addiction is real and problematic
I feel like I am addicted to porn but I don’t really understand how this can happen? I understand how addiction happens when you drink or take drugs, but how can just looking at pictures and movies cause a brain addiction?
Read answer →Use of Intervention in Substance Abuse
After watching a lot of the show intervention on A and E I can see that bringing in an interventionist has a lot of value, but when I looked into it for our family situation I was surprised to learn how expensive they are, especially since there are traveling expenses that would need to be bundled in to get to us. (no one local performs this service). We are trying to get my brother to agree to get some help for his drinking. He has always resisted any attempts but he has a new baby son now and my parents say they are now willing to stop his financial support unless he goes along with getting some help. This is something they were not willing to do before. These 2 things together make me believe that we have a pretty good shot of having him agree to get the help that he so obviously needs. We have a certain amount of money available that should be enough to get him into a 1 month program that has a 2 month residential follow up program. This program was recommended to us by our doctor. If we spend several thousands on an interventionist we will have more difficulty paying for the treatment. But then again, if we cannot convince him to go at all, then savings the interventionist money doesn’t make a lot of sense. Is it worth it to pay for the professional help or are we best trying it out on our own?
Read answer →Compulsive Nail Biting: Onychophagia
I have started chewing my fingernails again. It’s a habit I thought I had beaten as a 9 year old but in the last couple of months I have found myself back on the old habit and it just seems to be getting worse. I have an excellent job as a restaurant hostess and my personal appearance and grooming is very important, and having guests walk in the door to see me with my fingers in my mouth is not going to work at all. I have tried using the bad tasting nail polish stuff but it doesn’t work for me at all – It just doesn’t stop me. How can I beat this disgusting habit before it costs me my job?
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