The Signs of Food Addiction

Food addiction can start out harmless, people may believe that they enjoy food or have a very strong relationship with their food. While there is nothing wrong with enjoying food, people with food addiction often experience many common signs of other addictions. They may feel out of control, eat to excess, and not know how to get help or how to stop the cycle of overeating. There are some simple things to watch for if you’re concerned about a friend, family member, or yourself.

Obsession with Food

Food addicts may only be able to think about their diet and about what they will eat next. This is often strong enough that it takes over their lives and leaves them unable to focus on other things. If preoccupation with food is interfering with a person’s life, it may be time to seek help for the problem.

Feeling Out of Control

One of the key signs to watch for in food addiction is lack of control.Food addicts maye binge on large amounts of food to the point that they get sick, but they cannot seem to stop themselves from repeating the cycle. They may not know how much they are eating and feel completely unable to stop themselves. Often they want to control the habit, but don’t know how to begin.

Linking Food to Comfort or Safety

Food addicts are often emotional eaters, linking food to comfort, pleasure, and well-being. When their food intake is limited, they may feel unsure, upset, or like their source of comfort has been taken away. This emotional connection is what makes it difficult for them to stop eating and take action.

Secretive Food Habits

Many food addicts try to hide their food intake and may binge late at night or at times when they know no one will find out about it. There may be feelings of guilt or shame, but an inability to stop or tell someone.

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    The Brain Link Between Romantic Love and Addiction

    Last year, a study in the Journal of Neurophysiology looked at the surprising links between the affects that romantic love and addiction have on the human brain. In fact, these two seemingly different conditions have a lot of very basic elements in common that can help to explain the concepts of love, loss, and addiction.

    The Study

    In the study, MRIs scanned the brains of individuals who had recently been left by a long-term romantic partner. All subjects in the study said they were still in love with their ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend. The subjects were shown pictures of their former partners and then shown pictures of a stranger for comparison.

    The Results

    Scientists saw increases in stimulation in some critical areas of the brain when they looked at photos of their former partners. In fact, there were strong similarities between someone looking at photos of an ex and someone craving drugs or alcohol. Rejection resembles addiction and involves similar coping mechanisms.

    The areas of the brain stimulated include the parts responsible for decision-making and physical pain. This is why people in recovery from addiction and people recovering from heartbreak often describe a physical pain in addition to the craving. Individuals may also be preoccupied with the decision-making part of the equation, trying to understand what is happening and why.

    The Similarities

    In rejection situations, there is a craving happening. People actually crave the people who left them just as people crave a drug or medication when they have become used to having it in their body. Rejection stimulates the production of dopamine, a chemical that can cause feelings of hopelessness and desperation. People going through a break-up in a romantic relationship may experience good days and bad days, withdrawal, and relapse in the period following. Luckily for both recovering addicts and healing hearts, these conditions all improved the more time went by since the break-up.

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    Signs of Addiction to Prescription Medications

    For most people, taking a prescription pain medication is part of healing from a surgery or an injury. Once the pain begins to subside, it’s time to switch to an over-the-counter painkiller and finally, to none at all. Prescription painkillers can be highly addictive and for some people, this can spell trouble. There are some signs to look for when deciding if a friend or family member may be struggling with an addiction to prescription pain medications.

    Taking medication for reasons other than pain

    People who are addicted to their prescription pain medications may begin to take them for many different reasons. They may claim to need a pill when they’ve had a rough day or are feeling depressed. The pain itself is no longer the issue.

    Increasingly frequent use of the medication

    People suffering from an addiction often find they need to continue to take more and more of the prescription medication in order to feel the same as when they began taking the pills. Increasing dosage and needing high dosages of the medication can signal a problem.

    Loss of control

    Many people addicted to prescriptions feel out of control. They may want to stop taking the medication, but feel as though they can no longer control their actions and have to keep taking it whether they want to or not. This loss of control drives the addiction forward and can sometimes lead to accidental overdose and other serious problems.

    Taking other people’s prescription medications

    Asking to borrow a friend’s medication or even stealing it from another person is sometimes the way a person with an addiction gets caught.  Borrowing medications can be dangerous for anyone, but it puts the person with an addiction at increased risk and opens the door to access to higher amounts of the substance.

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      Quick Quit Kit

      People who have never had an addiction don’t understand just how hard quitting can be. Quitting drugs or alcohol is often the battle of a lifetime. Those who are successful have managed to achieve what seems near impossible. Grit, hard work, courage and tears help addicts overcome their need for alcohol or drugs. Unfortunately, many recovering addicts who have successfully beaten their addiction to their drug of choice are paralyzed at the thought of giving up their last true drug – cigarettes.

      Like any other addiction, cigarette smoking is something that can be overcome with the proper tools and help. More and more, smokers are turning to a new technology to help them overcome this last hurdle in their race towards a healthier life style. E cigarette starter kits can make kicking this last addiction much easier.

      There is a lot of misinformation out there about e cigarettes, so it is important to understand just what they are and what they can do for you. Basically, an e-cigarette provides the sensation and taste of a traditional cigarette with none of the tobacco, smoke or flame. Instead, e-cigarettes use water vapor with various levels of nicotine. This provides a means of kicking the nicotine habit, by slowly decreasing the amount in your system. Plus, most companies offer a traditional tobacco flavor, menthol and a variety of other choices including cherry, vanilla or chocolate.

      Any recovering addict knows how hard it is to quit. If you have made the decision to quit drugs and alcohol and put in the hard work and dedication required to successfully quit, you know that quitting smoking is the right choice, the healthy choice, as well. You also know how important it is to have a plan and a system that will work for you. Successful quitters know just how effective e-cigarette starter kits can be for anyone trying to quit.

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      Choosing Between an Outpatient and Inpatient Rehab Center

      When you have made the decision to enter rehab for a substance addiction, you have already taken the single most important step. You now must make some additional important decisions about the next phase of your life and about how you will proceed with treatment. One important decision is whether to enter an inpatient rehab center or an outpatient center.

      Outpatient Rehab Centers

      Outpatient rehab centers typically offer support services, meetings, and counseling options for recovering addicts. You would remain at home or with family while going through your treatment. If you feel that you cannot leave your family and your home, but still have made the decision to get help, outpatient rehab centers provide a wide range of options and can build a plan that will work for you. You should talk to people at the center about the services that they offer and decide whether you can continue to function in your own life outside of a rehab center while you seek support and treatment.

      Inpatient Rehab Centers

      Inpatient rehab centers require the people in recovery to live at the center. While this can sound like a big commitment, it is also a great option for people who are in need of support while they are recovering from an addiction.  In a rehab center, you are going to be held accountable, surrounded by trained staff, and able to rest and recover without other stressors and other influences. For people who live alone or who lack a strong support system, an inpatient rehab center can be a good choice to keep them on the path to recovery.

      The decision between an inpatient and outpatient rehab center is an important choice and one that will greatly impact your life. The right decision is different for every individual. Counselors can work with you to make the right decision for your recovery.

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      Know the Warning Signs of Gambling Addiction

      While gambling is harmless hobby for many people, for some, it can easily become an addiction. Being able to identify signs of a gambling problem in a friend can be the first step in helping them to get help and break the cycle of the addiction. While the signs will differ for every individual, there are some general things to watch for when gauging whether or not your friend has developed an addiction to gambling and needs help.

      A Preoccupation with Gambling

      If your friend has been spending an increasingly high amount of time gambling, this can be an early sign of addictions. Gambling addicts may relate everything back to gambling or spend an abnormal amount of time discussing it. If you notice an uptick in this behavior, you may want to think further about your friend’s habits and what they mean for his or her well being and quality of life. If the gambling has already begun to interfere with his or her work, personal life, or mental state, there may already be the problems of an addiction.

      Gambling with Increasingly High Amounts of Money

      Gambling addicts will often increase the amount of money they are willing to risk as their addictin develops. They may no longer be satisfied with lower amounts and continue to risk more and more to get that rush from gambling. Problem gamblers will also gamble to try to win back money they have lost in the past–a problematic cycle that can result in great losses.

      Lying About the Habit

      Problem gamblers often cover up the amount of money they have been risking and the amount of time they have spent gambling. If you’re starting to see inconsistancies in your friend’s stories or lies that he or she has been trying to cover up, there may be a problem. Recognizing the signs of gambling addiction can be the first step to getting that person help.

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      Myths about alcohol

      Alcohol has been consumed by humans since centuries, so obviously it has a lot of myths attached to it. Some of these myths are listed below:
      • Mixing drinks will make you drunker: This myth probably stems from the fact that when you mix drinks, you get sick faster. However, intoxication is only dependent on the amount of alcohol consumed, not type.
      • Cold showers and coffee can help sober up a person: A person cannot be considered sober until all the alcohol is out of their system. This happens at a fixed rate, and cannot be speed up with any number of showers or coffee.
      • A full stomach keeps you from getting drunk: Food in the stomach delays the absorption of alcohol in the bloodstream but you will still get drunk if you drink enough.
      • One drink for women, and two drinks for men, is ‘safe’: Everyone’s body reacts differently to alcohol, depending on their body weight, metabolism, body chemistry, and any medications they may be taking at the time.
      • Alcohol warms you up: Alcohol creates a sense of warmth because it dilates blood vessels. This makes the body lose heat rapidly. This false sense of warmth can lead to hypothermia if it is allowed to be the only ‘warming’ factor.
      • Beer cannot damage you permanently: Beer, like any other alcoholic drink, has alcohol in it. if consumed in enough quantities, beer can be as damaging as any other alcoholic drink.
      • Hangover is the only risk of having too much to drink: Alcohol that people consume is ethyl alcohol, and it comes from a family of carbon compounds known as ‘Alcohols’. All alcohols are extremely toxic and so is ethyl alcohol. If taken in large enough quantities, it can kill you.
      • Drugs are bigger killers that alcohol: Drugs are dangerous, but alcohol kills because of health problems as well as drunken driving, violence and crime.

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      Curb Your Addiction to Cigarettes

      Most smokers already know the many benefits that come from quitting. These benefits include healthier lungs, decreased chance of lung cancer, COPD, and other types of cancers, and no more physical and psychological dependence.

      For those who would like to quit smoking, many different tools and devices are designed to successfully help you curb your addiction. Some of the most popular smoking cessation tools that have resulted in the greatest success include the following options.

      Nicotine Replacement Therapy

      With nicotine replacement therapy, cigarettes are replaced with foods or substances that give smokers doses of nicotine without the other harmful effects of smoking. Dosage is gradually decreased until cravings have subsided completely. Two types of nicotine replacement therapy include nicotine gum, which can be chewed when a craving hits, and nicotine patches, which are placed on the skin to give smokers steady streams of nicotine.

      Hypnotism

      Quitting smoking through hypnotism can be very successful when you use a skilled hypnotist that is trained in smoking cessation. While under hypnosis, there is an increase in the smoker’s resolve to quit, as well as his or her disgust for cigarettes.

      Prescription Medication

      One of the hardest parts of quitting smoking is the withdrawal symptoms and cravings. A number of prescription medications are available to help smokers quit smoking by lessening the side effects.

      Electronic Cigarettes

      Relatively new to the U.S., electronic cigarettes are a healthier alternative to cigarettes that have helped many people in their quest to quit smoking. These devices contain a nicotine cartridge and water vaporizer. Smokers can satisfy a nicotine craving without harmful chemicals or producing second-hand smoke. When you purchase electronic cigarette starter kits, the cartridges contain varying amounts of nicotine, allowing smokers to use E-cigarettes to gradually decrease nicotine dependence over time.

      For those who would like to quit smoking, there are many devices and tools that can help you.

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      Heroin De-addiction: Kicking the habit

      Heroin is an extremely addictive narcotic. It is supposed to be even more addictive than morphine, from which it is synthesized. Heroin addiction can happen after a single use and the habit is extremely difficult to get rid of. The addiction to heroin is physical which means that the body reacts with physical withdrawal symptoms if the ingestion is stopped. Since the body of a heroin user starts to develop a tolerance for the drug, the body starts craving for higher doses, and if the drug is not taken regularly, the withdrawal symptoms start.

      The physical craving for the drug are accompanied by body and muscle ache, diarrhea and vomiting. Sleeping becomes difficult and the user experiences cold flashes, which has given rise to the expression cold turkey referring to the chills and goose bumps that are a part of heroin withdrawal. Another distinctive symptom is the kicking of legs and feet, which gave birth to another expression, kicking the habit.

      The symptoms can be so severe that addicts who were into high doses are warned not to stop suddenly or it could be fatal. The symptoms can start within a few hours after the last dose, but they hit most severely between 48 to 72 hours. The body’s physical symptoms can last for up to 7 days.

      A heroin addict who wants to kick the habit needs to be physically detoxified of the drug. This can be an extremely painful process for the person and it requires a special environment for a safe and comfortable detox. Only after the body has been detoxed of all traces of the drug should a person enter a specialized heroin rehab program.

      One of the most important aspects of heroin rehab is the understanding why the person became addicted to heroin in the first place. Once the triggers are identified, a customized plan is designed to help him deal with them.

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      Heroin and Health

      The reason why heroin is considered very dangerous is that along with the highly addictive nature, it can pose several health issues in the body of the user. The health issues are not always just due to the effect of heroin on the body. Besides the direct health implications, there are several indirect effects of heroin usage on the addict’s health.

      Direct Health Implications of Heroin

      Heroin binds itself to certain receptors in the body, and regular use can decrease these receptors in the body. This makes the body physically dependent on the drug. Heroin can also cause infection in the lining of the heart and valves, leading to heart failure. Because it depresses respiration, and due to the ill-health of the user, pulmonary complications like several types of pneumonia can result. It can also cause liver failure, depression and suicidal tendencies and other problems.

      Direct Health Implications of the Additives in Heroin

      Heroin is not always found in its pure form. Sometimes, it can have additives, some of which were never intended to be ingested in the human body. Since the most popular methods of taking heroin involve directly injecting it into the body, these additives can eventually clog the blood vessels. If these blood vessels happen to be leading to important organs, the blockage can cause poor circulation to those organs which leads to damage or death of the organ cells. This can cause organ failure.

      Indirect Health Implications of Heroin

      There are several indirect health hazards associated with heroin use, especially if it is being injected. One of the first and most important hazards is HIV/AIDS transmission. This spreads when an infected person’s needle is used by another user. Used needles can also lead to the spread of hepatitis C, which can cause cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure. Heroin use also causes unsafe sexual behavior with multiple partners which can also cause the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

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