Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment of Alcohol, Narcotics and other Addictions

First version: 22 Jul 2008. Latest revision: 24 May 2018.

Question:

 What are the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of alcohol, narcotics and other addictions?

Answer:

Addictions in General
Drugs effect on society Addictions - description, symptoms Addicted once, addicted forever? Addictive drugs The difference between use and abuse Slang terminology of drugs How addictive are different drugs/narcotics? Are there any non-addictive drugs? Is someone who only uses drugs/narcotics during weekends also addicted? Detection of drug abuse How to handle drug dealers Relapse, rebound, abstinence, withdrawal, addiction, tolerance and adaptation Can drugs/narcotics cause heart attacks? Afraid to admit your addiction? More articles about risks
Causes of addiction
Causes for addictions When do addictions occur? Who use drugs/narcotics and why? Can a depression cause an addiction?
Treatment of Substance Abuse
How to get off drugs Treatment of addiction problems Should an addict kick the habit voluntarily or involuntarily Therapies for the treatment of drugs addiction Cognitive therapy of addiction Behavioural therapy of addiction Other psychiatric problems Naltrexone (Revia, Trexan) medicine for treating heroin addiction Methadone medicine for the treatment of heroin addiction Rehabilitation centers for addiction The "Rational recovery" treatment method
Children, School and Addiction
Distinguishing between use and abuse of recreational drugs Excessive use of substances by your child/children Prevent children from using recreational drugs Before your child starts experimenting with drugs Should i forbid my child to use certain drugs? When your child starts experimenting with drugs Educators/teachers who smoke or drink
Alcohol Abuse, Alcoholism
Definition of alcohol addiction Positive and negative effects of alcohol use Why do people drink alcohol? Short term physical alcohol effects Long term alcohol effects Alcoholism: Becoming an alcoholic, Becoming an alcohol addict What happens to alcohol when it enters the body? Combining alcohol abuse with anorexia Is alcohol addiction hereditary? Liver cirrhosis Wernicke-korsakoff syndrome and what can you do for somebody who has this disease Do people with an alcohol problem often have psychological/psychiatric problems? How long should I stop drinking to get rid of my dependence? The pressure of friends to drink alcohol Handling of withdrawal symptoms Helping people with an alcohol addiction Naltrexone (Revia, Trexan) medicine for treating alcohol addiction Antabuse/disulfiram medicines for alcohol addiction
Tobacco/Nicotine Addiction
Nicotine effects on the body Calming effects of nicotine The consequences of smoking No visible damage from smoking; the body is still suffering What happens to the body when you stop smoking Tips to quit smoking Self treatment People who quit smoking and start again Stopping smoking at once or step by step Test your nicotine addiction
Cannabis/ Hasch/ Marijuana/ Weed Abuse
Effects of cannabis The effects of cannabis on your mood? The physical effects of cannabis The differences between hashish and weed (marijuana) The effects of long-term use of cannabis Psychosis caused by cannabis Can cannabis cause paranoia?
XTC (Extacy) Abuse
What is XTC? What does an XTC user feel? How dangerous is XTC? Is XTC addictive? Dealing with the fear that can occur when using XTC Testing for XTC Can you see if someone uses XTC? Dealing with an XTC user
Heroin Abuse
What is heroin? What does a heroin user feel? Heroin addiction: physical dependence and tolerance development Risks of using heroin To stop using heroin is hard Treatment of heroin addicts/abusers Treatment of heroin addiction under an anesthetic Naltrexone (Revia, Trexan) medicine for the treatment heroin addiction Dealing with a heroin user
Cocaine Abuse
Is it possible to use cocaine in a sensible way? Overdose by sniffing cocaine Damaging physical smoking cocaine effects The treatment of cocaine addiction When the use of cocaine gets out of hand
Shopping and gambling addiction
Medical Drugs Dependence
Bensodiazepine dependence Dependence-forming medicines Dependence on sleeping pills A collection of articles about benzodiazepines Are ADHD medicines addictive?
Other web sites about addiction
US Government site Treatment of addictioon through "rational recovery" Columbia Universitet Addiction center National Institute on Drug Abuse How to diagnose opiod addiction Drugs and breastfeeding
Pages of interest from other web sites
Alcohol rehabitation cost A Alcohol rehabitation cost B Smoking and drinking combined effect on the body Responsibly quit smoking

Sources, references