Chemical Addictions

Question: Is it possible to be addicted to something without it being a chemical addiction? What I mean, is it possible to be addicted to something that doesn't have a chemical basis like drugs or alcohol? Because I've heard of people being addicted to the internet, porn, and even food. Is it possible to be addicted to something like a daily routine like always practicing a musical instrument at the same exact time and length every day, or always running in the morning, or is that just a fear of change? I guess what I'm asking for is types of addictions. Thanks for your help.

Answer: absolutely. if you like something a lot, like porn, it makes you happy...it causes your brain to release dopamine. if it raises it a lot[if you like it a lot] than your brain will need it in order to keep the dopamine levels higher than the norepinephrine. when your dopamine levels are higher than the norepinephrine levels in you brain, your brain produces and releases more norepinephrine to try to even it out, and ends up producing more than it needs, causing you to be depressed. since you're depressed, you turn to porn to make you happy[causing your brain to release more dopamine] and the cycle continues! so essentially, it's ALL a chemical addiction.

Question: Do you have any serious substance or chemical addictions?

Answer: Yeah, I smoke.

Question: Chemical Addictions homework...book stolen...need help with a few questions...PLEASE!! DUE TODAY!!? If someone is knowledgable on the topics of chemical addictions, I am in dire need of your help. My book was stolen on Monday and I have some online questions due tonight. Please help!!! Which is not a diagnostic category related to substance abuse in the DSM IV a. Substance Intoxication b. Substance use c. Substance Abuse d. Substance Dependence It is believed that most drugs with abuse potential enhance pleasure centers by causing the release of ______. a. norepinephrine b. dopamine c. serotonin d. adrenalin When LSD is taken orally, what percentage of the total dose reaches the brain? a. 75% b. 100% c. 1% d. 25% The idea that assessments must be able to stand up in court is called a. Marketability b. Ideation c. The Gold Standard d. Assessment specification ______ is a effect that occurs when a drug has been eliminated from the body a. Reverse tolerance b. Rebound effect c. Physical dependence d. Mental set A glass of champagne has a faster onset of action than a glass of wine which contains the same amount of alcohol because ______ a. liver enzymes do not metabolize champagne as rapidly as wine. b. wine, but not champagne, contain contaminant products which slow down absorption. c. champagne does not have to be digested because it is absorbed more readily, whereas wine has to be digested. d. the carbon dioxide (carbonation) in champagne moves it more rapidly from the stomach to the small intestine where absorption occurs more rapidly. In families where “We keep peace at all costs” is called a _____ family system. a. overfunctioning b. ambiguous c. ineffective d. bargaining e. cognitively ineffective The numbering code associated with a diagnosis is called a. The Numeric Diagnostic Categories b. The OHRP reporting criteria c. The ICD-10 codes d. The OCRH scaling system Which is correct about screenings? a. screenings allow the therapist to develop a DSM diagnosis. b. screenings tend to get a lot of information and take a long time. c. screenings allow the therapist to place the client in an appropriate treatment setting. d. . screening are designed to allow the therapist to determine if more information is needed

Answer: Substance intoxication, dopamine, 100, assessment specification, reverse tolerance(NOT TO SURE? BEST SUITS QUESTION), the carbon dioxide (carbonation) in champagne moves it more rapidly from the stomach to the small intestine where absorption occurs more rapidly, overfunctioning or cognitively ineffective (both could be correct, you decide), NOT TOO SURE ABOUT # Coding, screening are designed to allow the therapist to determine if more information is needed. I hope this helps! Good luck and if im wrong sorry...

Question: How much time must pass after your last cigarette before you break the chemical addiction? I have been a smoker for 5 years and got sick last Thursday. I didn't smoke for 3 days because I felt so ill and now I have decided to try to quit for real. How many days until the chemical addiction is broken, and is there any good advice you can offer me? I don't want to do the patches because I've actually been entirely without nicotine for so long....

Answer: The nicotine is cut in half in about an hour. And by the third day all traces have left your system I commend you for your decision. I was a smoker for 12 years. Now here's the crazy thing I didn't even wanna quit a friend gave me a book and dared me to read it. I still can't believe it worked. I fully recommend that you go on Amazon.com and order it. It's called Allen Carr's The Easy Way. I would say good luck but with that book you won't need it.

Question: What chemical does the brain release that forms addictions?

Answer: Isn't it dopamine?

Question: Will Obama Be The First U.S. President To Resign Durring His Presidency Due To His Chemical Addictions? ...or will he try to ride this all out ? What a chore.....Why did he opt for this...Why ??? It makes no sense.

Answer: What addictions? Being a Communist loving liberal is not an addiction, it's a political belief.

Question: Do you think that creative people tend to have more chemical imbalances, addictions, mood disorders than? non-creative people and if so why???

Answer: I always love your questions. Been a long time..... I would say no. I think most artist start off with a gift and upon sharing that gift with the world that is when things get warped. The admiration somehow instead of impacting the individual in a positive way, shift to this unfilled desire to want more. More money, more fans, more albums, more movies. The chemical imbalance and addiction may exist prior to celebrity. If the mood disorder becomes much worst when you step into that field. Especially, when your in the world of, "Nothing is wrong with me, everybody loves me." People are supporting you despite your hangups, so you don't feel the need to do anything about it. You have to be careful what you wish for. It strikes me odd that celebrities want privacy, yet they chose a profession which is focus on being in the public eye. It takes a very grounded and grateful individual not to fall into the trappings of fame. That grounding, I believe comes from the foundation of a good family and/or strong support system.

Question: What's harder to get over; a psychological addiction or chemical addiction? Thanks.

Answer: Chemical by far.

Question: What would you consider "bottom" for somebody dealing with chemical addiction? I am conducting an informal survey to figure out what most people would consider "hitting bottom" when it comes to drug and alcohol addiction. This question is espeically for addicts, their friends and family, mental health workers and anyone else who has contact with people with substance abuse problems.

Answer: Each person's bottom is different. Each person knows when he has hit his bottom. Some people hit VERY low bottoms - they end up in prison, or injured for life, or divorced, or bankrupted, or ill, or face legal problems, or in some other severe situation. Some people don't "lose it all" - but they still KNOW when they've hit bottom. The most bottom of the bottom, of course, is they end up dead. I am a recovering alcoholic, here's my story: I have made at least eight trips to the psych unit since 2001, each time being there for at least a week. I did therapy and meds, intensive outpatient, lost a close love relationship, had my first DUI in 2003 in which I wrecked my car and suffered a broken collarbone and sternum, lost my license for 6 months, had to attend IDRC and a 14 week counseling thing, stayed mostly broke, lost close friendships, ruined my reputation, spent a night in jail last August, ran with seedy characters to drug neighborhoods, fell a number of times and got banged up ("unexplained bruises"), blacked out a lot, browned out even more, made a fool of myself, did property damage at my university, had to quit halfway through a PhD program, had to move back home at 41, all the while could never hold a steady job, had risky sex with strangers, scared my family and friends, troubled my family financially, alienated many people, and finally, last month, got my second DUI, for which I will soon lose my license for two years, face thousands in fines and expenses, have to attend IDRC (again) and will be committed to a 16 week counseling program for drunk drivers. I consider this last event (DUI) my bottom, and I am not going back to that mess. I'm grateful to be alive, and am doing everything I can to get better. Again, everyone's bottom is different. I consider myself fortunate. I suffer from a mental illness, and for that I do not apologize. (For more details, see my 360 page - I am blogging my progress.)

Question: why is it that some people can't overcome addictions, and others can?? Is it chemical or heretity??

Answer: Actually addictions can have a heredity component...it also has a physiologic component...just like how some people have schizophrenia, or personality disorders...some people have a harder time breaking addictions. Addictions are "based" in the limbic system of the brain, while our logic center is found in our frontal cortex...these areas are "neural miles" away...not close to each other at all. Some people have more communication problems between these two areas...it could be a problems with neurotransmitters or the neurons "connecting" the two themselves...it's different for different people The brain is a VERY complex thing and everyone's is VERY different from each other To lump addicts in a category as "weak" as some are doing in their answers is like telling a type 1 diabetic to use their "strong will" to make their pancreas produce more insulin...it just doesn't work like that.

Question: Is chemical dependency disease or addiction a good idea for term a paper? So im going into MA and for my Anatomy class we have to write a report on a disease. She gave us a list and most of them were pretty common, and i want to do something more interesting and different. I've heard about chemical dependency disease but dunno much about it. So does anyone have any advice?

Answer: I really like posters two answer,that's a great way to approach it.I'd just add that you should note the "difference" between ADDICTION vs DEPENDANCY as well on your paper.I believe they are two seperate issues....addiction is something your BODY faces,while dependancy is something your MIND faces. For example...addiction causes physical withdrawl symptoms such as sweating,nausea,headaches,ect,ect Dependancy causes more a FEELING of NEEDING that substance,like you are extremely uncomfortable until you get the substance,whatever it may be.Your MIND makes you feel like you "need it".....vs addiction where your body DOES actually need it to prevent withdrawl symptoms. I hope I explained that well LOL...and that it might help. Good Luck w/the paper!

Question: why does society as a whole create a stigma about chemical imbalance and/or addiction? why is it so taboo? why do we judge those that deal with these issues? i had to sit at work and listen to these two people talk terribly about a recovering alcholic and i am constantly barraged with comments about bipolar or schizophrenia.

Answer: way too many people feel the need to put down other people in order to make themselves feel better. kinda 3rd grade, don'tcha think!!!? i think that's ridiculous. and if i had been the one in that situation, listening to them talk bad about a recovering alcoholic, i probably would have said "there has never been a point in your life where you needed help? what gives you the right to judge?" i just can't keep my mouth shut in a lot of situations like that. always stick up for the little guy. and about people making comments towards you about your mental health? tell them to fukc off. it's none of their business if you didn't begin a conversation about it with them. and by the way, if they don't like you for YOU, problems, issues and all, they are not worth your time, jay. (not saying you have problems! lol, i'm saying be who you are, and expect people to like you for the real you, no matter how good or bad) goodnight.

Question: My Chemical Romance, how did they decide their name? I'm 48 and I am not really into emo,(or rap for that matter, I'm a Heavy Metal fan myself), but I've always been into comic books since I was about 10. I've read Gerald's book "The Umbrella Academy" and was duly impressed, I really liked it. I was wondering, I've heard rumors that he had overcome an addiction to drugs,(to his credit, I respect that), did he name his band in honor of his victory over chemical addiction, or is that just a bunch of internet urban legend?

Answer: No gerard didnt come up with the name for the band, mikey did, at the time mikey came up with this band name himself and gerard were working at barnes and noble near home and mikey went into the store room i think or it was the back of the shop with the manager of the book shop and they started to read a book by irvine welsh and in the blurb or inside cover (gerard cant remember) it said three tales of chemical romance (i think) and mikey went to gerard wouldnt it be really cool if u put a my infrount of chemical romance, my chemical romance would make a realli cool band name... and soo when mikey joined the band his brother gerard had made, gerard went err mikey can we ve that band name u made up please?? and mikey did let them ve it.....but at the time this was all happening gerard was on anti depressent tablets sooo to gerard it made sense for the band to have that name.. hope this helps......sorri its soo long...xo

Question: POLL: Where is the origin of all addictions: the heart, mind, the chemical itself, the person, all or neither?

Answer: In my opinion, and being the fact that I work in the substance addiction field, I would say that it is for the most part genetic. I agree that everyone has an addiction, but when it comes to drugs and alcohol, you either have the gene or not. There are some people who can take one sip of alcohol, and never drink it again, but for an alcoholic that is not the case. It triggers the nerutransmitters in their body and it is something that they need, crave, have to have. Now of course it can be treated, just like all addictions. I don't know all the scientific facts, but this explanation made the most sense to me. I don't think this is the actual answer you were looking for, but I beleive all addictions come from our genetic make up. It is the only logical explanation. Each addiction is individual, but there is a reason it is an addiction for that person.♥≈ yaddajean ≈♥

Question: Is a Chemical addiction a Mental illness?

Answer: Hmm...kind of. It definitely comes into play when dealing with mental health, but we (specifically the US) have a strange way of dealing with mental health and substance abuse as two distinct problems. Many mental health facilities won't treat clients with substance abuse problems, and many substance abuse facilities won't treat people who also suffer from mental disorders. There are new laws, funding sources, guidelines, etc. for people in my profession of treating mental health issues to incorporate substance abuse and mental health into what is called "co-occurring disorders"--basically meaning mental disorder and substance abuse problem which occur at the same time, but as our health care system is currently functioning, it's not working out so well and people with both issues can easily fall through the cracks ie. get treatment for one without the other being addressed.

Question: What is the percentage of North Americans who are addicts? I am curious to know the estimated percentage of all North American who have an addiction of any type. This includes all chemical addictions such as alcohol, tobacco, and drugs of any kind and all behavioral addictions such as gambling, food, shopping, sex, work and so on. I would guess when you add up all these addictions, you would get a figure approaching 10-15%. What do you think? Are there any estimates out there?

Answer: closer to 100%, according to REBT experts. Most everyone is addicted to something, be it coffee, shopping, the internet, sex, gambling, chocolate, or a million other things. And every person is different, so what 1 person may be able to control another may not.