When a person is in treatment for alcohol, methamphetamine or any other substance, receiving therapy and counseling is very important to recovery. Besides the dual-diagnosing aspect, many addicts have low self-esteem and feel very poorly about themselves. A lack of confidence combined with self-hatred can make the recovery process difficult. One of the things that individual and group therapy do to help those in recovery is help the addict to try to understand why she started to use in the first place. Often there is a combination of poor self-esteem and several other factors.

By increasing a person’s self-worth, the addict will begin to see hope instead of feeling despair. The guilt that is felt will start to go away and the addict will have a better chance at sobriety outside of treatment. Many studies have found that even young children, 11 years old, have a greater chance of using drugs if they have poor self-esteem. Being unhappy with oneself can lead to many problem and drug abuse and addiction is one of the main ones.

Increasing the self-esteem of users will help them in their battle against addiction. If the user feels that he or she can stay sober, the chances of success increase.

After an addict leaves rehab, he needs to become involved in an aftercare program and build a support system with other addicts while building a support system with friends and family in order to stay clean after treatment. One of the best predictors of success after drug or alcohol rehabilitation is involvement in aftercare. When a recovery addict or alcoholic is overconfident and feels that he does not need an aftercare program, the probability of relapse increases drastically. In addition, building a support system with friends and family will help to increase the chance of success. This is because if a person talks to friends and family about his feelings or when he has a craving, they are going to be supportive and help the addict stay sober. Also, if friends or family are not supportive, an aftercare program can help the recovering addict or alcoholic learn how to cope with loved ones.

Getting involved in a program such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous right away will help to build that support system. AA and NA are designed to help give the recovering addict or alcoholic a place to talk about feelings, triggers and problems. The people in these meetings are also recovering addicts and they offer a vast amount of wisdom.

There are numerous reasons why people relapse. Some of the major obstacles to addiction recovery include:

• Denial. Many recovering addicts do not accept that they have an addiction/dependence problem.
• Not changing lifestyle. Many addicts continue to hang around the same people and places that they did when they were using.
• Idle time. After treatment, addicts often find that they have an access of time and they begin to use again.
• Overconfidence. Some addicts feel that they have changed and start to believe that they can not become addicted again, when addiction never goes away.
• Effect of the drug. Addicts often relapse because they miss the “high” feeling that comes from doing drugs.
• Social effect. Addicts will miss the interactions they had when using and will miss the social effects of drugs.
• Daily stressors. Problems with family and friends can influence the decision of the addict to start using again. They want to escape the confrontation.
• Aftercare. When the addict participates in too little aftercare or no aftercare, the addict does not build a support system and is more likely to relapse.
• Personal issues. The addict stops working on psychological issues such as anger or sadness and begins to use again.

There are many warning signs of alcoholism. Here are just a few:

1. Do you drink alone?
2. Do you lie about the amount of alcohol you consume?
3. Has your tolerance increases?
4. Do you suffer from alcohol-related medical conditions?
5. Do you ever drink in the morning to get over a hangover?
6. Do you drink more than you used to?
7. Have you blacked out while drinking?
8. Do you drink to calm your nerves or relax?
9. Have you been involved in alcohol-related and/or legal problems?
10. Is alcohol affecting your relationship to a loved one or friend?

If you answered yes to even one of these questions there is a strong indication that you have a drinking problem.

Alcoholism is a complex, genetically influenced disorder. The way a person’s genetics affect their alcoholic tendencies is still unclear to scientists. But they do know that a person’s genetic makeup does play a large role. What is believed currently is that there is not one certain gene that is to blame. Most likely there are several of these genes. Individually they do not make much of an impact but combined they do. Genes affect both the intake and dependence while others affect only dependence.

Studies have shown that adopted children of alcoholic biological parents have an increased risk of becoming alcoholics. But there are other contributing factors towards alcoholism. The 5 most major influences are peer pressure, cultural influence, certain coexisting psychiatric conditions, availability and occupation.

A new article from MSNBC.com has reported that the "super pills" that doctors have been very excited about might actually increase the risk of suicide and depression among many of the addicts that take them. New pills have flooded the market for smoking and obesity in the past year and the manufacturers are both spending more time and money testing these drugs because of this risk.

Pills for cocaine addiction and alcoholism are also in the works but doctors are finding similar results. These pills block  pleasure centers that provide the good feeling that one experiences when doing something that person likes, whether that is eating, drinking alcohol, using drugs or smoking cigarettes.

The studies are showing that these pills are working too well and perhaps blocking too much pleasure, causing some to become suicidal and others to develop depression. One of the pills being studied caused 43% of patients to develop psychiatric trouble versus 28% on the placebo. Some doctors feel that this is a shame because they will not be able to prescribe  these types of pills to people with a history of depression, and depression is common among addicts (dual diagnosis).

However, many researchers feel that these drugs could be made to be even more specific and shut down only very specific pleasure centers, such as for cocaine.

Several drugs are classified as psychedelic drugs. Those include but are not limited to: LSD, peyote/mescaline, PCP, ketamine, mushrooms, LSA, Ayahuasca, and MDMA (ecstasy). The primary action of these drugs is to alter the thought process and the perception of the mind. Psychedelic drugs are a part of a wider class of drugs known as hallucinogen.

LSD or acid is potent in very small doses. Hallucinations are a very common side effect.

Mescaline occurs naturally in the peyote cactus.

PCP causes brain damage, hallucinations, mania, disorientation and delirium. It was first invented as an anesthetic.

Ketamine was also invented as an anesthetic but has been abused in order to take incredibly high doses which cause hallucinations.

Mushrooms or shrooms are a naturally occurring fungus that causes hallucinations, strong visual and auditory components.

LSA is Hawaiian baby rosewood and is a precursor to LSD.

Ayahuasca is used in a mix that when drunk causes visual hallucinations.

MDMA or ecstasy is an illegal drug used for its hallucinogenic effect along with others

A drug and/or alcohol invention is an organized attempt by people, usually family and friends, to get someone to seek professional help for certain problems, including but not limited to: alcoholism, compulsive gambling, drug abuse, compulsive eating, self-mutilation, tobacco smoking and workaholism. Some intervention models have recently come under scrutiny for the “ambushed” nature and the way the person that is at the center sometimes can feel.

Interventions are either direct or indirect. Direct involves a “confrontation” with the person and indirect involves a professional working with the family and friends that are co-dependent and encouraging them to be more effective with the addicted person.

There are several models of intervention but most of them are based on the Johnson Model which incorporates a surprise element. The Heart to Heart Model/Storti Model is very similar to the Johnson Model because it uses the element of surprise but it differs in that those participating are not to be aggressive. Instead they are to be supportive, non-judmental and loving.

Drug interventions and alcohol Interventions have been shown to be a successful motivator for addicts and those with compulsion problems.

Alcohol affects the body in many ways and even drinking in moderation can be harmful to your health. Alcohol is classified as a depressant because it slows down the nervous system, leading to a decrease in motor coordination, reaction time and intellectual performance. Once ingested, alcohol goes into the stomach. About 20% of it is absorbed into the bloodstream and the rest moves through the gastrointestinal tract and gets absorbed by the small intestine. The part that is left in the stomach causes irritation and can lead to vomiting.

Once the alcohol enters the bloodstream, it affects every organ. Blood pressure can rise and drinking regularly can contribute to coronary heart disease. When alcohol reaches the brain, the depressant nature of it impairs the nervous system and impairs judgement and coordination. Alcohol can cause many things to happen to the liver. "Fatty liver" often occurs in people and this is the first stage of alcoholic liver disease. Cirrhosis occurs and hepatitis–all from alcohol consumption.

Designer drug addiction refers to the physical and/or psychological dependence that develops from the use of specific drugs. Designer drugs are synthetic compounds that were created or marketed to get around existing drugs laws by modifying molecular structures to varying degrees. Designer drugs include Ecstasy, amphetamine drugs and hallucinogenics.

The signs and symptoms vary from drug to drug but according to the Mayo Clinic, they include: feeling that you need the drug regularly, making certain that you maintain a supply of the drug, failure at attempts to stop using, doing things to obtain the drug that you normally wouldn’t do such as steal, and you feel the need to use the drug in order to deal with your problems.

Another sign of addiction and/or abuse is driving or engaging in other activities that place you and others at risk for physical harm while under the influence.

These drugs are created to be heroin-like and to be addictive. It is never safe to even try designer drugs, not even once.