by: Patrick Meninga

3 key strategies for beating alcohol addiction. Useful and informative with specific advice and tactics that can be used to overcome addiction.


It helps to think of beating an addiction to alcohol in 2 stages. The first stage, when you first get sober, is early recovery. The rest of your life is what we would call long term sobriety.

The first stage is when you first get into recovery and you are basically shocked right out of your mind - your world is turned upside down and you feel vulnerable and scared because you suddenly do not have the crutch of alcohol to rely on. This is what I would refer to as early recovery. There is no set amount of time that it takes to get through this stage of early recovery; some people are in it for a few months and others might be in it for a few years. But either way there is definitely a "breaking in" period of recovery where you are scrambling to get a foothold on how to live life without drinking. This stage of recovery is very different from when you have been sober for a few years or even for several months.

One big key of early recovery from alcohol addiction is the idea of learning. You have to learn how to do everything in your life all over again because now you are going to do it sober. This might sound quite trivial but in fact it can be quite an ordeal. Staying sober is an ongoing education and you have to stay teachable in order to make it in long term sobriety. That means that you must be eager to learn all sorts of different things on a regular basis. If you are cocky or look down on the idea of learning new things about how to live then you will never make it through early recovery.

Another key to early recovery is in support and networking. This is why 12 step meetings are so popular and helpful in early recovery. We need others who are on the same path as we are in order to draw strength and knowledge from them. This is part of the learning process as well...it is difficult to learn if there are no teachers in your life. In recovery, our fellow alcoholics become our instructors and we learn from their knowledge and hope that they give to us.

The 3rd tactic in beating alcoholism is in the drive for holistic growth as a person. You'll notice that this also ties in very well with learning and could almost be viewed as one and the same. But personal growth is more than just learning, it is applied life; applied knowledge and passion and purpose. One example of this might be daily exercise that might become a crucial part of someone's growth in recovery. This might not have much to do with learning but it's a new action of purpose that can be a crucial piece of their sobriety.

If you take these 3 key strategies and use them all in your life you will notice that it is an holistic approach to recovery. You don't want to limit yourself to what you can achieve or what you can learn just because it is not what others are doing in pursuit of their recovery. For example, practicing Tai Chi or getting into the habit of jogging might not seem relevant to beating alcohol addiction, but it has become a pillar of some people's sobriety and is as important as more traditional recovery strategies.
About the Author: Patrick Meninga is a recovering alcoholic and drug addict who tries to help people on the internet with overcoming addiction.

Source: www.articlesfactory.com

by Freddic

The US Food and Drug Administration recently announced that it was beefing up efforts to curb unsafe use of 24 narcotics products used as pharmaceutical drugs. In its first such measure the regulator sent 16 companies making these products letters, asking them to have a "Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS)," in place.
Narcotic products have a chemical composition that simulates the effects of naturally occurring opiates like the opium poppy, and are often prescribed to cancer patients for managing sudden and severe bouts of pain. Though these products have been in use for years now, the question is, why the FDA has come out railing against these prescription drugs?

At least five reasons are the triggers behind the FDA getting tough.

1.Widespread Use: The drugs targeted by the FDA are the most extensively prescribed and used medications. Going by the 2007 figures, pharmacies in the United States doled out about 21 million prescriptions for these 24 narcotic products, and were consumed by approximately 3.7 million Americans.

2.Ineffective Earlier Measures: The FDA was aware of the havoc these chemicals were causing and it did try to reign in on them by means of mandatory label warnings and by working together with other federal agencies. However, the problems seem to have had no effect, and instances of drug misuse, abuse and accidental overdoses have increased over the past decade.

3.3 .Increasing Non-medical Use: The Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) data shows that non-medical use of prescription pain relief drugs in Americans 18-25 has increased from 4.1% in 2002 to 4.6% in 2007. And for those aged 26 & Over, the increase has been from 1.6% from 1.3% over the same period.

4.The Products' Addictive Power: The products included in FDA's present hit list are those, which are based on extended-release formulas for long-lasting effects. But despite their efficacy in damping severe pain they carry the risk of being highly addictive. And this makes them perfect candidates for abuse, and they often are abused for their euphoric effects.

5.The FDA is now Empowered to Act! This isn't quite a reason inherent in unsafe use of drugs, but it still is the necessary condition for the FDA action. It was only in 2007, that the USFDA got the power to require risk-management plans. Otherwise it would still have been negotiating changes to drug labeling and promotion with the drug making companies from the medical industry.

Hopefully, the new measures will harness the beast of prescription drug abuse.

Source: www.getmyarticles.com

By: Justin Boyce

Nobody plans or desires to be an alcoholic in his life, but somehow, for one reason or another, a person may fall into the habit of taking sips from alcoholic drinks which leads to bottles, and before he knows it, he has sunk neck-deep into the habit. If you can relate to this situation, it may be high time for you to seek alcohol intervention.

However, one important aspect that needs to be emphasized is that the best alcoholism intervention is a method that would prod an alcoholic to seek or accept help if you want to be successful in your endeavor. This is very essential because interventions can save lives and lift victims out of the darkness of this evil vice that has ruined so many lives.

Alcohol intervention however can only be successful if the victim feels at ease about it, and it is conducted with support and understanding. Criticizing or blaming the alcoholic or making him feel guilty for his situation will shut doors towards any desire to change because alcoholics or other substance abusers are very sensitive when it comes to emotional aspects. With this, interventionists or those individuals who have the special training and expertise in dealing with alcoholics have emerged to offer assistance.

Alcoholism intervention is found to be most effective if it is integrated into a rehabilitation program and because of this, treatment centers for drugs or alcohol-related problems have included intervention as an essential part of the road towards recovery, Admitting that you are an alcoholic and that you need help is equivalent to taking that giant step back to the right road but it’s only the beginning. When you submit yourself for alcohol treatment, the rehab centers see to it that alcohol intervention specialists are there to guide you without pointing a blaming finger in your direction.

However, you need to know that interventionists are not miracle workers. If you think that healing is sure without exerting any effort on your part just because you submitted yourself for treatment, you are dead wrong because the success of any alcohol intervention starts within you. If you have no desire to be cured, all the efforts of all the interventionists in the world will go for nothing. This is a clear message that for your own sake, you must admit that you need help before you can accommodate the assistance of alcoholism intervention and treatment programs, regardless of the location or the cost of the treatment center you admit yourself into.

The button to point you or any alcoholic to the right direction towards full recovery is in you, and if you seek help you need to push that button to welcome alcohol intervention for your own sake. Keeping distance from the bottle is a hard battle to fight but you can do it with determination and support from others. If you need guidance, clicking through the internet can give you access to hundreds of alcoholism intervention facilities who all share the common goal of helping you to recover.

Source: www.isnare.com