Blacking out vs. Passing out

Blacking out due to your pathological use of alcohol?

Blacking out is commonly confused with passing out. It cannot be overemphasized that these two conditions are mutually exclusive. That is, by definition, at any given time, you cannot have one if you have the other. A blackout is a period of amnesia during which the person is actively engaged in behaviors (e.g., walking, talking) but the brain is unable to form new memories for the events, leaving the person unable to recall the events once they are no longer intoxicated. Consistent with the definitions used by other researchers, Goodwin et al. (1969a) defined a blackout as "amnesia for the events of any part of a drinking episode, without loss of consciousness" (p. 194). Indeed, far from losing consciousness, the literature suggests that it is possible for individuals to experience blackouts while appearing only moderately intoxicated to the outside world. Jennison and Johnson (1994) state, "Blackouts usually happen in a drinking setting during which the person may or may not appear to be intoxicated" (p. 24). Further, Sweeney (1989) indicates that "...a person may drive a car and carry on a conversation in a nearly 'normal' fashion" (p. 161).
The term passing out is less clearly defined, but is invariably used to mean either falling asleep from excessive drinking or literally drinking oneself unconscious. Even in its most general, colloquial usage, passing out indicates the occurrence of a state that is incompatible with active behavior. Given that blackouts tend to occur at relatively high BAC levels, particularly after rapid consumption of alcohol, it is certainly possible that an individual could experience a blackout prior to passing out. However, the two states cannot occur simultaneously, as a person cannot be both conscious and unconscious at the same time.

Many treatment options for alcohol abuse are available.

For help and information follow the Nike Slogan "Just Do it".

Call us at Paradise Recovery now for the best alcohol treatment and addiction services!

Don’t give up!

People can and do get better, every day.Recovery is possible.

P.L. Wong

Labels: alcohol rehab, alcohol treatment center, alcohol treatment program, best alcohol rehab, Paradise Recovery

Denial

Denial is the most important obstacle to be overcome in getting someone with an addiction help. If the alcoholic or addict can't see that the problems they are facing in their lives are a direct result of the addiction, he or she is unlikely to seek help when it comes to dealing with their addiction. Addicts and Alcoholics are usually the last ones to realize their addiction is likely the cause of all their problems. These problems include but are not limited to; loss of a job, relationship issues, or legal troubles. The phrase "Denial is not just a river in Egypt." is commonly heard at Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings worldwide. So if you or a loved one are tired of paddling down the very deadly and uncharted river of denial please give Paradise Recovery a call today to set up an appointment.

Creating Your Reality

The Art of persuasion is a powerful tool used for centuries. This art that when used correctly will effect change in people, you can do anything. How often do we tell ourselves how dumb we are. Always convincing our selves on what we can't do. Often times recovery is a goal so alien to us just the thought may lead to thinking how unattainable it could be.
Drug addictions creep up on us and before we know it we are in so deep it seems there is no way out. In reality most cases of addiction does not happen over night. When intoxicated we feel good but only for the first few times. And then we have to chase that high. All the time convincing our selves I cant wait to get high. We talk ourselves into a good time we know deep down we may not get and usually don't.
When would now be a good time to convince yourself of a new reality. Create for your self a life that others have. You have the power to be, do or have what ever it is you want. Picture in your mind the person you know you are and let us help you find that person.
Create a future memories of your self. Stop letting the past define you and learn from it. Let us use the power of persuasion to go beyond your current reality. Take your power back and transform your self. Take the time you deserve 90, 60, or 30 day stay to re discover you.
Be Amazing
Anthony J Mendez csac

Residential treatment vs. Outpatient.

There are times people are able to address drug and alcohol abuse issues by going to AA or NA meetings and seeing a therapist. These people find the help and support needed to get a life of sober living. There are also times that people need a more focused support, such as residentail treatment. Residental treatment offers the opportunity to be removed from the environment that may be increasing substance abuse. Residential treatment offers the opportunity to focus on yourself in a manner that you may never have been able to do in the past. Residential treatment can range from 30 to 90 days. The more time one is able to spend on helping themselves to learn how to live a sober live can often help insure a stronger insight into maintaining sobriety.

Study Shows Too Much Drinking Shrinks Your Brain

Do you polish off this much alcohol each week?

Debating on whether or not to have that last drink for the night? A new study at the Wellesley College in Massachusetts has found that the more alcohol you consume, the more your brain shrinks.

The brain will normally shrink with age, but researchers have found that drinking more than 14 alcoholic drinks per week will speed up this process of brain shrinkage.

Memory problems, along with the beginnings of dementia have been linked to shrinkage of the brain.

A study was done on 1,839 men and women over two years, asking them how much alcohol they drank on a regular basis. Most people reported drinking one to seven alcoholic beverages a week, which is considered low intake. Men were more likely to report drinking higher amounts of alcohol – more than 14 drinks per week.

Brain scans were performed and researchers found that the more a person drank, the more their brain volume diminished.

While women tend to be lighter drinkers, the study showed a greater effect of this with women. Researchers state that this difference in gender could be the result of women generally being smaller in size and their higher susceptibility to the effects of alcohol.

Carol Ann Paul, from Wellesley College, who led the study, warned: "The public health effect of this study gives a clear message about the possible dangers of drinking alcohol."

"There was a significant negative linear relationship between alcohol consumption and total ... brain volume."

"I don't know about you but I will need all the brain power that I can muster to be able to negotiate these tough economic times".

Problem Drinking Is Treatable.

Looking honestly at your own drinking can be difficult.

This is called “denial” and is part of the problem.

Many treatment options for alcohol abuse are available.

For help and information follow the Nike Slogan "Just Do it".

Call us at Paradise Recovery now for the best alcohol treatment and addiction services!

Don’t give up!

People can and do get better, every day.

Recovery is possible.
P.L. Wong
Labels: alcohol rehab, alcohol treatment center, alcohol treatment program, best alcohol rehab, Paradise Recovery

Addiction, Family, and Hawaiian Culture

Addiction not only effects the individual who is active in his or her disease, but also places a great deal of stress on the individuals family and friends. Hawaiian culture places a great deal of emphasis on the family or "Ohana". According to Hawaiian culture "Ohana" is the idea that family and friends are bound together and must cooperate and remember one other. Addiction of any type puts strains on these important bonds that the family needs in order to function properly. The movie Lilo and Stitch also suggests that "Ohana" means family and family means no one gets left behind. Often times in addiction individuals, family,and friends get left behind. If you or someone you know is feeling left behind please feel free to give Paradise Recovery a call today!

Is Abstinance the same as Addiction Recovery?

Some people think that abstinence from drugs or alcohol is the same as being in recovery. The truth is, abstinence is only a part of true addiction recovery.

Recovery is a process. Abstinance is one of the events that occurs as part of addiction recovery. True recovery is more about a transformation of the your person into someone who acts, thinks, and behaves differently than someone who acts, thinks, and behaves like an "addict". In other words, you take the best parts of your person, develop them more fully, and take away many of the negative parts that helped foster the addiction. You become a better you!

How does addiction recovery happen? Basically, it happens through great guidance and a lot of hard work. The best drug rehabs and best alcohol rehabs offer a great way to jump start your recovery and save your life. They are able to offer the guidance and support that it takes to put you on the right path. Always remember that addiction recovery has to be your new number one priority in your life from now on.

Residential Substance Abuse Treatment

Recovery from drugs and alcohol can be addressed in different settings depending on your specific needs. Residential offers the opportunity to concentrate on both the addiction and how past and present events in your life may have impacted or fostered your substance abuse. Residential addiction treatment usually offers Group Therapy to address interpersonal issues as well as issues that you haven't been able to see and how they may relate to substance abuse. Some residential settings may also offer Individual Therapy which can increase your ability to develop coping skills to help prevent relapse. Individual core issue work can also be done in the individual therapy in order to recognize and change how your core issues have supported your addiction. That's the kind of work the best drug rehabs and best alcohol rehabs do.

Emotional Reasoning

Often feelings regarding substance abuse are disconnected from the facts. While one may FEEL like "everyone is mad at me for drinking" there are people in your life who are not mad at you. These people want to see you get help. Even the people who are "mad" at you want to see you get help! Help can be in the form of 12 step meetings such as Alcoholics Anonymous and residential rehabilitation treatment. Thinking that others are going to treat you a certain way, based on your emotions at the time, is called emotional reasoning. You may actually be basing how you imagine people are thinking about you due to thoughts that you are having about yourself! For example, you may think that people are mad at you for your drinking when, in fact, it is you who is mad at yourself for your drinking. It may have nothing to do with how other people personally view you. In any case, you need to get help. There is help for alcoholics out there that is life-changing.

Best Alcohol Treatment

When searching for an alcohol treatment program, there are many choices out there. Everyone is probably saying they have a great program. It is up to you to be able to figure out which ones really are the best alcohol treatment programs.

Some things to consider are whether you want a more private alcohol treatment program or one that is public, whether you want a cookie cutter, group-only approach, or if you want individualized therapy as part of your treatment, do you want to be in a peaceful setting or a hospital-like setting, do they do detox, and how much do you want to pay.

If you want an alcohol treatment program that costs about as much as many of the famous hospital-like environments with many beds, that provides treatment for you as an individual, does alcohol detox, in a beautiful beachfront setting, then Paradise Recovery is for you. Give them a call today: 1-866-478-9898. A counselor will be there to help you.

90 day Drug and Alcohol Treatment

Is 90 days of drug rehab or alcohol rehab treatment really better than 28 or 30 days?

The best way to answer the question is to look at what the results have been from national studies. There has been extensive research done by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) on this issue. NIDA concluded from it's research that for the majority of people, the most substantiative gains came with 90 days of primary drug rehab or alcohol rehab treatment. Those that stayed in a program 90 days or more had the best rates of successful sobriety! NIDA referred to 90-day addiction treatment programs as the "gold standard" in addiction treatment.

So, it is clear that if you want sobriety, 90 days of primary treatment is the way to go. Primary treatment, by the way, clearly was more successful as compared with outpatient treatment alone.

If you want sobriety, go to a program that has a design that allows for 90 days of stay. Recovery takes a major commitment. Be willing to commit and you will reap the rewards.

Easy Ways to Stop Drinking Alcohol

If you are looking for easy ways to stop drinking, it indicates that you have a problem. If you didn't have a problem, stopping drinking would be easy and you would not have to hunt for "easy" ways out of the problem.

If you can't easily stop drinking on your own, then there are ways in which you will be able to stop as well as get yourself into recovery. Even though there are solutions, they are not easy. Like most things, they take work. The first thing to recognize is that you need help. You can't do it on your own. You have already tried to control your drinking. That's what everyone tries at first. It didn't work. The best help is going to be found in a top alcohol rehab program. The best alcohol rehab programs are going to help jump start your recovery and put you on the right path. They can also do alcohol detox, so you don't have to worry about dangerous or uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms.

Most things worth having take work. Addiction recovery is one of the most valuable things you could ever have. Be willing to put in some hard work in order to get it.

Private Addiction Treatment

Private addiction treatment is important to many people. One of the reasons is the quality of care. Imagine the difference in care when you go to a rehab that has 100+ beds versus going to a private drug rehab or alcohol rehab that has 8 beds. Often, in larger facilities the greatest emphasis is on group work. Group work is important. But what about the individual issues that you have? Or what about things that are too sensitive for you to share in a group setting? This is one of the reasons why it is important to have a combination of both individual and group work for your addiction treatment.

Another reason is that studies are showing improved results for people who get treated for both their addiction and other issues that may be contributing to their addiction (such as depression, anxiety, trauma, etc). That is called dual diagnosis. How are you going to address your anxiety in a group setting? Very difficult without individual work!

Take care when selecting a drug rehab or alcohol rehab. It is well-worth looking into a more private setting for yourself where your therapy is going to be more individualized.

How to Overcome Addiction

Overcoming addiction. That's what everyone wants to know, right? Well, first of all, you need help. There is help for alcoholics. There is help for drug addiction. You can't do it by yourself. Overcoming addiction is not done by cutting back or limiting use. Surprisingly, it is not overcome just by stopping drinking or using drugs!

The answer to overcoming addiction can be complicated at times (the help of a top drug rehab or alcohol rehab can get you going on the right path), but it essentially boils down to this:

Make Recovery your Numero Uno Priority! That means that nothing else is more important than your own personal recovery. I don't care if your house is on fire, recovery has to be the number one priority. After all, let's say your house is on fire, if you are falling down drunk or stoned out of your mind, you are not going to be helpful putting out the fire. In fact you might find yourself on fire in addition to your house!

The point is this: if recovery is always your number one priority above everything else, you are well on your way to a new and much better life. There is a terrific private drug and alcohol rehab program called Paradise Recovery, located in Hawaii, that can teach you exactly how to make recovery the number one priority in your life. Are you ready for change? Give them a call: 866-478-9898.

Hawaii Alcohol Rehab

There is only one licensed and accredited private alcohol rehab in Hawaii: Paradise Recovery. Located on Oahu, Paradise Recovery is limited to 8 beds, ensuring the ultimate in individualized treatment with some of the best addiction treatment professionals in Hawaii. Paradise Recovery takes a holistic approach to addiction recovery and alcohol rehab. However, the treatment itself utilizes scientifically proven methods to help put you on the road to recovery. Give Paradise Recovery a call today to speak to a counselor at their toll-free number: 866-478-9898.