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A woman laying awake in bed in front of the clock experiencing insomnia from alcohol detox.

Insomnia from Alcohol Detox

Alcohol detox and withdrawal can be a very difficult and uncomfortable process to experience. One symptom that many people in treatment experience is insomnia-related alcohol detox. In fact, insomnia and other sleep disturbance disorders are highly linked to alcohol detox and alcohol withdrawal during the early stages of recovery. It is a very common symptom and occurs in about half of those who experience alcohol detox and withdrawal. According to a study in the Journal of Addiction Medicine, insomnia is five times higher in those in early alcohol recovery compared to the general population.

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A man with meth face wearing an olive green collared shirt.

What is Meth Face?

Methamphetamines are one of the most commonly abused drugs in the U.S. It is especially prevalent in the American Midwest. Meth abuse and addiction has become a growing problem. Research has found that an estimated 16 million people have tried meth at least once. One of the most common and most noticeable side effects of meth abuse is the visible deterioration of a person’s physical appearance, especially in the face. In serious cases, it can leave a person completely unrecognizable. This is where the term meth face comes from.

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A man in a grey suit sitting alone with his head in his hand and holding a glass of alcohol in the other hand.

What is Kindling Alcohol?

What happens when a person goes through a repeating pattern of binge drinking, detox and withdrawal? Every time a person repeats this pattern, the amount of stimuli needed to engage in withdrawal decreases, while the intensity of withdrawal symptoms increases. This is known as the kindling effect. Each time a person attempts to quit drinking alcohol and relapses and starts drinking again, the brain and body become more sensitive to the drastic changes that occur. Symptoms of withdrawal become more pronounced and intensified due to the chemical reactions occurring in different body systems. Kindling alcohol describes when a person goes through repeated alcohol withdrawals where the symptoms become more and more severe with each relapse.

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A person wearing medical gloves holding a glass bottle of liquid fentanyl and a syringe.

What does Fentanyl smell like?

Fentanyl is an extremely powerful opioid drug. The synthetic substance has been long associated with the decades-long drug overdose epidemic in the United States. According to the California Department of Public Health, fentanyl-related deaths for young people aged 18-39 skyrocketed from 36 in 2018 to 261 in 2020. And according to data from the California Department of Justice, in 2020, an estimated 4000 deaths were attributed to fentanyl overdoses. Fentanyl is largely responsible for more than 70,000 overdose deaths in 2021 alone.

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A young women sitting on a sofa experiencing the effects and symptoms of PCP and hallucinating.

Symptoms of PCP

Hallucinogenic substances have become quite popular over the past decade. They have the ability to induce illusions of euphoria, cause changes in thinking and alter your perception of your surrounding environment. Common hallucinogenic substances include LSD, ketamine, psilocybin, ecstasy and PCP. PCP, or phencyclidine, is a dissociative anesthetic commonly used as a recreational drug. It has the ability to cause the user to detach and disassociate from reality, and their surroundings and can produce intense feelings of euphoria.

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A young women covering her face with her hands experiencing the effects of Adderall and psychosis.

Adderall and Psychosis

Adderall is one of the most commonly prescribed prescription stimulant medications used to treat symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It is a safe and effective medication when clinically prescribed. In some cases, there will be potential for abuse of the medication which can lead to dangerous side effects including psychosis. The development of psychosis from Adderall misuse or stimulant medication misuse is a rare occurrence. The uncommon side effect increases in risk mostly in those who misuse and abuse the substance.

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Bottles of NyQuil lined on the drug store shelf begs the question of can you get addicted to NyQuil.

Is NyQuil Addictive?

NyQuil is a common over-the-counter medication that helps treat symptoms of the flu, common cold and other allergies and illnesses. It helps to provide temporary relief from symptoms such as coughing, headache, stuffy nose, runny nose, sore throat, fever or sneezing. It’s a common household medication found in most home medicine cabinets across the nation. Suffering from the flu, take NyQuil to help you sleep. Can’t stop coughing, take NyQuil to help you sleep and suppress the cough. NyQuil was designed for short-term relief and is not considered an addictive substance unless it has been misused.

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On a billards table with a few balls, there is rolled up wad of cash representing a gambling and substance use disorder cross addiction.

Waht is a Cross Addiction?

Is it possible to move from one addiction to another? Is it possible to substitute one addiction for another addiction? Yes. This phenomenon is called cross addiction. Also known as addiction interaction disorder, substitute addiction, addiction hopping or addiction transfer, a cross addiction occurs when a person substitutes one form of addictive behavior for another type of addictive behavior. According to a report from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 20 million people have an addiction problem in the U.S. It is assumed that an estimated 80% of those people carry the risk of developing a cross addiction.

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A variety of cocktail drinks sitting on a table represents how to flush alcohol out of your system.

How to flush alcohol out of your system

You’re out with friends and have had a few drinks or two. Somewhere along the way, those few drinks turn into too many drinks. How long will it take for the alcohol to leave your body? How do you flush alcohol out of your system? Scientifically speaking, if you are excessively drinking, but want to flush alcohol out of your body as quickly as possible, all you can do is wait. The human body is very efficient in processing alcohol. However, the processing system depends on many different factors including, how much you have drank, the type of alcohol you consumed, biological factors, environmental factors, as well as individual metabolism.

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