Nowadays, drug abuse is a universally condemned action such that selling certain drugs are illegal. Children are not allowed to take drugs until they reach a certain age such as 21 for most states in India. Lots of problems start occurring when you are addicted to a certain drug. It is also nearly impossible to stop since the nerve cells change the way they function due to drugs. 

These nerve cells overstimulate the 'reward circuit' of the brain. This means that your brain constantly needs to be 'rewarded' and this reward comes in the form of drugs. There are many reasons why people become addicts and here are some of them.

People want to get high: This is perhaps the most common reason why people become drug addicts. The moment they take in one drug, they love the feeling they get so much that they keep wanting to go back to it.
People want to fit in: This is also a very common reason. When all your friends and perhaps even your bosses and other superiors are taking drugs, you do not want to feel left out or ostracized by your friend group. This is why many people start taking drugs.
Unintentionally taking drugs due to injuries or medical conditions: Sometimes a doctor prescribes a medicine for a certain time period but it does not work or works too well and so you keep taking the drug so that you will feel better. This happens more often than you think.
People take drugs to relieve stress: This is another very common reason why people take drugs. You may easily rationalize with them thinking that taking drugs is a good way to relax from work and family pressures. However, the long term effects of taking drugs are much worse than the stress.
Boredom from daily life: In young teens and adolescents especially, life can be so boring that they want to try something new and thus resort to drug abuse.

5 Reasons Why People Get Addicted To Drugs

If you are a heavy drinker and consume excess alcohol, you may face severe consequences related to short-term and long-term health. Alcohol has several negative impacts and affects on your heart. Although occasional drinking does not cause much harm, excess drinking may lead to many heart complications. There are chances of the development of cardiovascular diseases in an alcoholic person.
Alcohol affects the heart in several ways. Binge drinkers are more prone to face these complications. A person who drinks alcohol regularly, drinks very fast and drinks much more than the recommended consumption limit during a single session is called a binge drinker.

Here the ways in which alcohol affects your heart:

Alcohol weakens the heart muscles: Heavy drinking for a long span of time tends to weaken the heart muscles. A condition known alcoholic cardiomyopathy may be caused. When the heart gets weakened, proper contraction gets disrupted and the heart is unable to pump sufficient amount of blood. Due to this, a person may experience certain symptoms such as tiredness, irregular heart rhythm, shortness of breath and swelling of the feet and legs. This can also lead to a heart failure.
Alcohol affects your heart beat rate: Binge drinking and regular drinking over a long period of time may affect the rate of the heart beat or how quickly the heart beats. Alcohol may cause the heart to beat too fast, and irregular beating is observed. This is a condition known as arrhythmias, which may have grave consequences on your health. If you are not a regular drinker but drink too much in a day, you could face this condition.
Alcohol can lead to high blood pressure and also cause a stroke: Binge drinking leads to increased blood pressure, also known as hypertension. The blood vessels become stiff, and this causes the pressure to rise in the arteries and veins. Heavy consumption of alcohol may also trigger several stress hormones to be released, which cause a constriction in the blood vessels. This leads to increased blood pressure. Hypertension may lead to a heart attack or stroke.
In order to reduce the negative impacts of alcohol on your heart and overall health, you must practice drinking in moderation. You must not drink more than fourteen units of alcohol in a single week. Consume these fourteen units in three to four parts instead of consuming it all at once. You should give gaps and avoid regular drinking.

Alcohol - How It Affects Your Health?

The World Health Organization defines Alcoholism as, chronic continual drinking, frequent episodes of intoxication, and preoccupation with alcohol, despite the adverse affects of it. It lays the perspective Alcoholics Anonymous (1939)-that alcoholism, characterized by the individual s loss of control over drinking and thus over his or her life, was a sickness -was carried into the scholarly literature in the 1950s in the form of the disease concept of alcoholism.

Alcoholism is on the rise as per the current global scenario. In fact, one of the main concerns after cigarette smoking is that of consuming excessive alcohol. Those who consume alcohol in an excessive quantity often create health hazards for themselves, and their behaviour makes it difficult for those who live in their immediate surroundings. For most people, a rehabilitation centre is the only option to treat alcoholism. But this is not so.

Homoeopathy too can effectively treat the problem of alcoholism. There are certain medicines which work wonders in getting you rid of this bad habit.

Nux Vomica: When your alcoholism is in its earliest stages, then it becomes easier to leave this addiction. For those people who have just started to fall prey to alcohol, Nux Vomica is a wonder medicine. It is administered for faster relief against your drinking problem. It starts showing its effects within a month s time.
Sulphur: Sulphur is a medicine which helps in curing many health issues. It is mostly prescribed to those who have started experiencing liver issues due to excessive drinking. One of the vital organs of the body, the liver, is affected when you drink excessively. Thus, to prevent degeneration of the liver, sulphur is usually prescribed.
Cannabis Indica: Marijuana is often treated as a medicinal plant. There are many extracts derived from this plant which is later on used to make many useful medicines. One such homoeopathic medicine is Cannabis Indica. It helps in not only detoxing the body against the ill effects of alcoholism but also helps in preventing associated symptoms to show up.
Natrum Mur: This medicine is derived from the extracts of what you know to be simple common salt. Once consumed it helps in blood cell production, cellular regulation, and albumin production. These help in coping up with extreme alcoholism. At times, alcoholism is triggered in people due to depression. Natrum Mur also helps in coping up with depression.
Avena Sativa: This is derived from the oat leaves. Just as oats themselves are considered to be one of the healthiest foods to consume, this medicine made from the oat leaves is no less. It helps to relax the senses and detoxifies the body against alcohol.
Acid Sulph.: A marvelous medicine if the patient has the family history of alcholism.
Quercus: Works wonderfully in mother tincture form.
Thus, these are some of the most important medicines that are administered on those who suffer from the problem of alcoholism. If you or any of your near ones have fallen prey to this habit, then it is recommended that you immediately take help of your homoeopathic practitioner to help you out of alcoholism.

Note: There are certain organizations that are actively helping people with alcholism and their families. A few are:

Brahmakumaris
Alcholic anonymus
Al-anon family group
Click, If you wish to consult for alcohol addiction and hangover symptoms.

Alcohol Addiction And Ways Homeopathy Can Help You Leaving It!

Drinking too much alcohol has its effects and these are manifested morning after, called as a hangover. Although it affects different people differently, anxiety, dizziness, headache, sensitivity, fatigue and accelerated heart beat are common symptoms.

Here are 5 easy ways to get rid of hangover-

1) Hydrate: Since alcohol causes dehydration, it becomes imperative to drink lots of water to rehydrate your body. It dilutes the toxins left in your body. You can also add electrolyte replenishing sports drinks. Avoid Tea/Coffee or other dehydrating beverages.

2) Go Lemons: Lemons help in reducing effects such as dizziness, muscle pain, sensitivity to light and sound. It also rebalances the body by controlling the blood sugar level and adjusting the pH level. Add Honey helps counter the side effects too.

3) Have Tomato Juice:  Tomato Juice contains fructose, a type of sugar that supplements elimination of alcohol from the body quickly. Tomato is rich in mineral, vitamins and enzymes that help the body in recovering.

4) Eat Banana:  excessive drinking makes you lose lots of potassium. Having bananas replenishes potassium quickly and also restores other electrolytes. Bananas calm the stomach and boost your energy levels.

5) Have Toast &amp; Egg: Having few slices of toast with an egg can help in more ways than one. The carbohydrates in toast reverse the depletion. Carbon in the burnt part of the toast acts like a filter by removing impurities. Egg provides cysteine that breaks alcohol down and reduces toxins in the body.

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Overcome Hangovers - 5 Best Ways

Many people enjoy having alcohol on the weekends after long working hours and hectic weekdays. There are many people who consume alcohol to deal with stress or simply because they enjoy it. But consuming alcohol very often, especially every day can lead to many health issues. Medical experts call alcohol a toxin that affects each and every organ of the consumer s body and disturb its processing. The individual s body has to go through the recovery process every time after its consumption. Giving up alcohol is not easy, especially for the people who tend to consume it every day. Almost everyone is aware of how alcohol affects our mind and body but not everyone is aware of what happens when they give it up only if for a month or even lessen their consumption.

What Happens to Body When You Stop Drinking Alcohol?

One might not believe how fast his/ her system improves when he/ she stops drinking. They can actually see and feel the changes in their life pattern.

Quitting alcohol helps in losing weight as the body can now focus on burning other extra calories.

Drinking hinders one s sleeping pattern. Alcohol drops the production of melatonin hormone, responsible for controlling the sleep pattern, which affects the quality of one s sleep and escalates the production of adenosine in the body. This disturbance in the chemical production within the body affects the sleeping pattern. The alcohol consumer may suddenly wake up in the night or feel sleepy at work. Giving up alcohol helps one get better sleep making their days more productive and restful.

The liver is responsible to clean the toxins out of the body, including alcohol. Drinking alcohol affects the liver severely over time. It can cause many liver issues such as fatty liver disease, liver inflammation, cirrhosis, and liver failure. Intake of alcohol can disturb the digestive system as well by overproducing the gastric acid and damaging the gastrointestinal tract. Giving up on alcohol can improve digestion and organ functions.

Alcohol leads to diuresis (increased urine production). Consumption of alcohol drop the level of Antidiuretic Hormone (ADH) that leads to the increased urine production and less water holding capacity in the body. This can eventually lead to kidney ailments, even its failure. This causes dehydration. When a person quits or decreases the amount of alcohol, his/her body restores the level of ADH to its natural level and the kidneys resume to function in its natural state. This helps the body retain hydration that improves the overall health, including the proper pumping of blood and better kidney function.

Drinking alcohol on a regular basis affects the immune system, making the body more prone to diseases. It can also cause inflammation in the body that can lead to many other health problems. Quitting alcohol can decrease and reverse inflammation and thus improves and strengthens the complete immune system. How One Can Quit Drinking Alcohol? It is not easy for an individual to quit drinking alcohol but a sincere effort is highly desirable.

The very first step towards quitting alcohol is to know that it is unhealthy and can lead to various health issues and even death.

One should then know the benefits of quitting alcohol consumption.

Next step requires determination to reduce the alcohol consumption in unusual quantity, reducing the days of drinking, avoiding parties, and gathering that includes alcohol and to follow upon these processes sincerely.

Another important step is to reduce and avoid interaction with friends and people who consume alcohol, at least till one has not taken a commendable control over his/her drinking habit.

One should not feel ashamed of taking the decision of quitting alcohol and should not hide the fact from his/her friends and family so that they could not force him/her for a drink.

One can go to the rehabilitation centers if it is difficult for him/her to control his/her drinking habits.
Takeaway

Alcohol might help people deal with stress but it also makes them feel more fatigued and affects their overall health. Quitting alcohol is not easy for someone who is habitual of consuming it every other day. However, stopping its consumption even for a small time period can have visible health improvements. One can quit alcohol by reducing its intake over a week or month but if he/she finds it difficult to have control over their desire for consuming alcohol. He/She can also take help from doctors and medical experts who work in the areas of helping people trying to quit alcohol. One should not assume that once he/she gets the taste and habit of alcohol, it is impossible to quit. It is nothing but all about their will power and effort in the desired direction.

Giving Up Alcohol For Just A Month Has Amazing benefits!

Drug addiction is one of the social menaces and in most people, what starts off as a result of peer pressure and trying to be cool ends up affecting lives significantly. It is not just social, but also affects financial, physical, emotional, and social well-being. The small periods of happiness given by the drug is followed by months and years of torment.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has identified that drug addiction causes chemical and structural changes in the brain, leading to dangerous and self-destructive behaviours. The brain s response to stimulus like pleasure, joy, happiness, and pain are altered with constant drug abuse. For instance, the neurotransmitter called dopamine, which makes one feel good, is usually produced by the brain in small amounts. However, drugs increase this level to 2 to 10 times more, making the person feel extremely high and happy. Since the body is unable to reach the highest level of happiness on its own, the dependency on these drugs to feel good increases.

Repeated use of the drugs leads to increased dependency, wherein the brain refuses to feel good without reaching those high levels of dopamine. The issue is mostly seen in teenagers and young adults but can be seen in any age group.

October 2 is recognised as National Anti-Drug Addiction Day and nationwide campaigns and drives are done to help people overcome addiction. One of the main reasons a drive this size is required is because of the social stigma attached to the problem. Most families shun away from recognising it as a problem that can be easily treated, and so the affected person is sucked deeper into the problem.

Overcoming addiction: One of the main success factors for treating addiction is for the affected person to recognise that he or she is addicted and needs to get rid of the problem.

    There are national toll-free helplines that are set up, which can guide through the whole program. This way, if required, anonymity is maintained and support for overcoming addiction is increased.
    It involves a group effort involving the affected person, family and friends, medical and clinical personnel, and counsellors in some cases.
    Cognitive behavioural therapy: The person is made conscious of the change in behaviour and the way drugs affect it. Healthier patterns to be happy and joyful are discussed.
    In most cases, the underlying reason for reaching out to drugs needs to be addressed also to prevent relapse.
    Group therapies where the person makes friends who have faced similar issues and overcome the problem. This increases their accountability and commitment to getting rid of the problem.

Drug abuse is a national social menace and needs more free admittance and management.

National Anti-Drug Addiction Day - Overcoming Addiction

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