Having a Drug Addiction While Pregnant

When a woman is struggling with drug addiction during her pregnancy, that drug use affects more than just her – it affects her fetus as well. The drugs can also have devastating effects on the child one he or she is born. Drug addiction and pregnancy should be treated as a very serious issue. A mother taking illegal drugs during pregnancy increases her risk for anemia, blood and heart infections, skin infections, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases. She also is at greater risk for sexually transmitted diseases. Most drugs cross the placenta – the organ that provides nourishment to the baby. Some can cause direct toxic, or poisonous effets and create a child who is born with a drug addiction.

During pregnancy, a woman needs to take active steps to combat her drug addiction, if not for herself, but for the good of her unborn child. While most drugs don’t necessarily cause deformities, what they can do is stunt the growth of the child leading to low birth weight and having a baby born already addicted to drugs. Once that child takes his or her first breath, they begin the painful process of withdrawing from drugs. This puts stress on the baby’s organs and provides for a very unhappy life. As much pain as an adult goes through during withdrawal, the pain is compounded for a helpless child. A urine lab test performed on a woman during her pregnancy called a chromatography can detect the presence of many drugs including marijuana and cocaine. Marijuana use during pregnancy is linked to behavioral problems in the child and cocaine can bring on premature delivery and even stillbirth. Drug addiction is a very complex mental condition as well a physical one.

During pregnancy, it becomes a serious health risk both for the mother and the baby. After birth, you may find yourself having troubles coping with the stress of a newborn. You may have difficulty dealing with your baby’s needs such as feeding and diapering. So what can you do if you are dealing with drug addiction during pregnancy? This can be problematic, especially if the child is not planned. The best thing you can do is to stop using drugs immediately. Sure, this will cause severe physical symptoms, but those generally subside within a few weeks. Get yourself into some type of treatment program and get counseling. A pregnancy is exciting, but when you are struggling with drug addiction, it can be painful. You owe it to yourself and you owe it to your child to beat your drug addiction and have a healthy pregnancy.

Effects Of Cannabis Addiction: Marijuana Withdrawal .org

Here is another good article on cannabis addiction.  Smokers must realize there will be effects on the body, and some of these may be detrimental. Here at marijuana withdrawal .org we hope to provide you with up to date articles on marijuana withdrawal symptoms and tips for getting help.  Enjoy the article

 

Cannabis is a plant that we commonly call marijuana, ganja in herbal form or hashish in resinous form. It has been commonly used way back prehistoric times. However, its use became prevalent in the 20th century when cannabis was utilized for religious, spiritual, medicinal and even recreational purposes. It was then that its possession, use or sale was prohibited. To date, the use of cannabis for drug use or cannabis addiction remains illegal all throughout the most parts of the world.

Psychologically, cannabis is already a recognized addictive drug. Cannabis addiction occurs when one’s mental and physical state are prominently altered due to its consumption. Although in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), there is no cannabis withdrawal syndrome, evidences show that cannabis addiction induces similar withdrawal symptoms to other drug addiction.

But unlike tobacco, cannabis addiction has not shown to cause lung cancer, chronic pulmonary disease or emphysema. It does not also cause birth defects to expectant mothers who are hooked to cannabis. Basically, cannabis addiction is less hazardous than addiction to tobacco, prescription drugs or alcohol.

Different users may experience different effects in cannabis addiction. Factors such as the dose, its potency, its chemical composition or its method of consumption are what elicit different levels of high in cannabis addiction. Long-term effects include, a feeling of euphoria, intense relaxation, laughter and giggle fits, increased appreciation for music, and either a feeling of intense pleasure or anxiety.

Forgetfulness, laziness, distorted perception, rambling, troubled concentration, inability of motor coordination, increased heart rate, spiritual talking and paranoia are some of the short-term effects of cannabis addiction. It is also shown to manifest its ill effects on the hippocampus (the part of the brain linked with learning and memory), thereby causing short-term memory impairment. Cannabis addiction has also been associated to other mental illnesses, from psychotic episodes to clinical schizophrenia.

Nevertheless, there is always a way out of cannabis addiction. The steps may be simple yet hard and requires extreme sense of commitment and dedication to move out of this addiction. Be willing to feel whatever painful feelings and take part in being responsible for them. Instead of avoiding them with your addiction, face them. Be conscious that you want to know what it causing your pain. Discover the thoughts and actions causing your pain. It should just come from within. Perseverance, will and devotion is all that it takes.

Can You Get Addicted to Marijuana?

As far as real drug addictions go, does marijuana really qualify as being a true addiction? Some people debate the idea that it could be a real addiction because there are generally no physical consequences when stopping the use of the drug. But on the other hand, a lot of people seem to depend heavily on smoking weed every single day of their lives and in this respect it seems like the drug might very well be more addictive then we once thought.

So what is the real truth here? Is it addictive? Or do people just fall into the patterns and the lifestyle naturally and want to keep getting high? Where do we draw the line and say that this behavior is real addiction?

Let’s think for a second about what real addiction is. We can look at the medical definition, the definition in the dictionary, what behaviorists believe addiction is, and so on. For the purposes of our discussion, we are going to define addiction as this: when someone has lost the power of choice regarding their behavior. That is real addiction and almost no one would argue that someone in this state of being is not addicted. If they have truly lost the power to decide whether to take or leave a drug, then that is real addiction.

Does this happen with marijuana use? Yes it does. Most people who try marijuana get high a few times and then move on with their lives. The same would go for thousands of young people who try alcohol or other drugs for the first time in their life. It is just another experience for them and they move on and don’t really think much of it.

But for a small percentage of people out there, they try a drug such as marijuana and they are hooked. They are off to the races. The drug lights up their life and they get excited and passionate about it. They obsess over it and want to do it all the time. This is addiction. What typically happens next is that the person will start to slowly restructure their life so that they are living a lifestyle that involves heavy smoking of marijuana. In other words, they drift away from friends who do not smoke weed and start making new friends who do use marijuana all the time. They start to focus and plan their activities around smoking weed and planning and scheming for ways to buy and get more of it. This is the obsessive element that accompanies any addiction. It happens with marijuana and this is just more evidence that it is an addictive drug.

Now of course, there are some who content that weed is not really addictive because there are almost no physical side effects when you stop using it suddenly. This is actually not true in heavy smokers and some people do experience signs of a withdrawal that include sluggishness and fatigue. But also, it is obvious to me that smoking weed is very addictive mentally and many people use it on a daily basis in order to escape their reality. Another way to say it is if you are relying on marijuana use on a regular basis in order to make it through your day, then that is basically using the chemical instead of coping with real life. This is an immature way to live and if you cannot walk away from such a pattern very easily then you are probably addicted to the drug.

Getting Over Marijuana Addiction

Marijuana is not as tough as other drugs…this how others believed it, that’s why they resulted in marijuana addiction. This is a misperception that needs to be corrected…if it’s not that stronger, then why do we get addicted of it?

Humans are creatures of pleasure that’s why people smoke marijuana…because it feels good. It’s just sad to think that there are still so many marijuana addicted out there who had not realized how it will ruin their life. I was once like them, but I finally decided to be on the right side, no longer blinded by the pleasure I get from my marijuana addiction.

Marijuana is both emotionally and mentally addictive. Marijuana addiction has the same characteristics as any other addiction to other drugs including alcohol, tobacco or even caffeine. But many marijuana users aren’t serious cases, and usually smoke only once or twice a month. While not everyone who uses marijuana becomes addicted, when a user begins to seek out and take the drug compulsively, that person is said to be dependent on the drug or addicted to it. The short-term effects of marijuana addiction can include problems with memory and learning, distorted perception, difficulty in thinking and problem solving, loss of coordination and increased heart rate. Research findings for long-term marijuana use indicate some changes in the brain similar to those seen after long-term use of other major drugs of abuse.

There is more to marijuana addiction treatment than just ending marijuana use. Addiction isn’t something that readily can be ended. Marijuana addiction treatment is a vital step in marijuana addiction recovery. Marijuana addiction rehabilitation program helps the recovering marijuana user make lifestyle changes, manage their feelings, develop coping tools, and learn marijuana refusal skills. Drug rehabilitation is a long term process. Detoxification is only the first step on the road of addiction treatment. Physical detoxification alone is not sufficient to change the patterns of a drug addict. Recovery from addiction involves an extended process which usually requires the help of drug addiction professionals.

To make a successful recovery, the addict needs new tools in order to deal with situations and problems which arise. Use your resources. Overcoming marijuana addiction is difficult, but you are not alone. If you are tempted to use or experience troublesome withdrawal symptoms, speak to your sponsor, your therapist or seek medical attention. Your chances for success are much higher if you maintain strong ties with your treatment team.

Marijuana Addiction Hypnosis For Quitting

Marijuana is popularly called cannabis, pot, weed, dope, hash, grass, draw etc, it has many different names. After continued use over a long period of time marijuana can lead to addiction. Marijuana addiction often creeps up on people, it’s something that people often fall into and don’t even realise that they are addicted, because they don’t realise it’s possible to be addicted to cannabis. Some people who are addicted to marijuana even need professional rehabilitation, in fact over 500,000 Americans go to rehab for marijuana addiction every year.

Hypnosis has become extremely popular lately as a complimentary option for those undergoing treatment for marijuana addiction. Hypnosis can be tried in two ways. You can go to a hypnotherapist practitioner, or you can buy a CD or mp3 that help you with self-hypnosis in your own home. They both work in the same way but seeing a therapist will cost you a lot more money.

The technique of hypnotherapy effects major changes in your habits by routing messages straight to the subconscious. Therefore, you develop a liking for certain habits and dislike for others. This helps you follow a certain pattern of behaviour without as much effort. Hypnosis cannot however, interfere with your ethical ideas. It’s recognised to be safe and cannot make you do something that you do not want to. It’s not a forum of magic Jedi mind control.

Trying a hypnosis session is actually quite easy. It may include four major steps and last for about an hour. You don’t have to do anything but go into a trance as led by the hypnotherapist in the clinic. A similar trance is induced by listening to a CD. In the case of the CD, messages are woven into music of certain frequencies. You may sometimes fall asleep during a hypnosis session, but you will always wake up naturally fully refreshed.

If you visit a hypnotherapist your sessions may be scheduled thrice a week. A CD for self-hypnosis can be used thrice in a day if you wish. Either way, to actually benefit from hypnosis to treat marijuana addiction you must remain regular with your sessions. Most hypnosis treatments last for a couple of months. A minimum of 60-day usage is recommended with CDs for self-hypnosis.

Marijuana withdrawal symptoms can range from physical tension and irritability to mood swings, depression and complete loss of appetite. Hypnosis can compliment any treatment for de-addiction and is helpful in most cases.

Marijuana addiction can be got rid of by a combination of exercise, will power, the right support network and hypnosis. No approach should be used in isolation. But, all the effort is worth it for improving your life and becoming addiction free.

Success with hypnosis will vary depending on your susceptibility, some will go deeper into trance than others and are more susceptible to suggestion, but many do experience a significant effect. Obviously will power will still be required.

Marijuana Addiction Symptoms and Signs

Perhaps no drug has invited as much heated debate and ferocious argument as marijuana. Marijuana has been a source of fierce pro and against positions mainly because it is considered by many to be the least harmful of drugs; and whether or not marijuana addiction is an actual threat is debated as often.

Effects of marijuana: Marijuana is harmful because it is a drug like any other, even if it is the least harmful. More importantly, it is considered a “gateway drug”, in that this is the stepping stone to higher drugs. The cream of marijuana addicts are the youth, in the 18-25 age group.

Short term effects of marijuana: The most important short-term effect of marijuana is that it produces a feeling of well-being in the one who has used it. It is because of this reason that one of its legal uses is as a pain-alleviating drug in patients undergoing chemotherapy.

But being a mind-altering drug, it also produces the effect of temporary distortion of perception, or what addicts term the “buzz”. It acts on the central nervous system in the same way as all other drugs by plugging on some receptors. By doing this, it prepares the mind for the admission of more powerful drugs.

Long term effect: Long term effects of marijuana primarily concern the mind. It makes dependency easy and inevitable. Long Marijuana addicts have a major problem in the use of the drug, because they soon try to use the drug as a cover for their weaknesses and fallacies. Marijuana has a tendency to find easy target in those with escapist behavior.

Marijuana also has another important effect: it speeds heartbeat, which in some cases can be as much as twice the normal rate. Marijuana addicts are susceptible to memory deterioration over time. They are also prone to losing interest in all matters other than the drug, family and social contacts.

Users of marijuana have reported a slowing down of motor responses at the workplace, which means it places workers, whether they do physical or cerebral work, at considerably greater risk. While obviously slowing down productivity, this can translate to being a cause of deaths in the workplace. Marijuana addicts also experience major and sudden changes in weight and appetite.

Withdrawal symptoms: These usually include loss of appetite, headache, depression, a craving for the drug again, irritability, anger and restlessness. Although these are far fewer and less intense than those of other drugs, marijuana withdrawal symptoms are significant in themselves.

Marijuana treatment: Ironically, marijuana’s not being a conventional, “hard” drug makes its treatment difficult. This is because it is difficult to define the exact line of treatment the patient requires. A marijuana treatment center needs to impart individualized assessment and care. In many cases, the marijuana addict is left to give up on his or her own. Just like how strong determination can sometimes help a person overcome drinking or smoking, at times, marijuana addiction can be kicked too, in the same way. Learn more about the symptoms of marijuana addiction here.

In some cases, intervention from marijuana addiction treatment programs is needed. In such cases, the therapist in marijuana rehab centers needs to decide whether inpatient or outpatient care is needed. In many cases, supportive care can go a long way in helping a patient get to the right track. Since most marijuana addicts are those without an independent bent of mind, just avoiding the company of other addicts can be a deterrent.

Likewise, marijuana rehabs advice that spirituality can have a soothing effect on the marijuana addict. Other ways of dealing with it can include pursuit of meaningful and purposeful hobbies, listening to music and being in the company of loved ones.

How to Quit Marijuana Addiction by Pot Free Goal Setting!

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How to Break an Addiction to Marijuana

Marijuana is addictive and there is a syndrome of withdrawal that will occur whenever a dependent person attempts to quit their habit.

Marijuana is not terribly dangerous over the short run, but the consequences of long term use and addiction are a greater risk for certain cancers, some cognitive and learning deficits, and certain social deficits. People using marijuana heavily are not as able to realize their full potential, and heavy marijuana usage can detract from quality of life ( The problems of marijuana addiction ).

Marijuana withdrawal symptoms

The withdrawal symptoms of marijuana cessation can include irritability, insomnia, anxiety, headaches, nausea, depression, a loss of appetite and others. The withdrawal is not dangerous, is not as severe as for some other drugs, but is very unpleasant; and during the initial few days the cravings back to marijuana can be very strong.

Too many people trying to quit their habit are unable to resist these cravings back to use of a drug that they know will take away all of these very unpleasant symptoms of withdrawal.

Try exercise…really, it works!

Because marijuana detox is not medically dangerous, there is no current pharmacological intervention to ease the pains of withdrawal, and only time will truly better the discomfort. After 3 or 4 days the intensity of withdrawal symptoms should subside considerably; and if you can make it past the first few days, you’ve got a much better chance of making it for the long term.

One very effective, free and completely safe way to reduce the intensity of the symptoms of withdrawal is through long and enjoyable exercise. To lessen the symptoms of withdrawal, and take your mind off of the constant cravings, you need to get off of the couch, and get out and get your heart pumping.

Exercise helps on a number of levels. Through sustained and vigorous activity you release endorphins in the brain. Endorphins are a “natural” way of feeling high, and a bit of exercise and the corresponding release of endorphins can do a lot to lessen feelings of anxiety, lethargy and depressions.

Sustained and vigorous exercise can also fatigue the body, and hopefully lessen characteristic insomnia that can so often trigger a relapse back to use. With exercise and vigorous perspiration, you can also cleanse the body of toxins and drug metabolites; toxins that some maintain have an influence on the continuation of detox symptoms.

Getting past the first few days

Exercise is free, it will make you feel better, it keeps you busy and keeps your mind off of use; and it may even help you to sleep at night. Nothing will eliminate all of the symptoms of withdrawal but time, but by spending a few days engaged in sustained exercise, you should make those days more bearable, and you should have a much better chance at resisting temptation.

Go for a hike in the mountains, ride your bike across town, play basketball…do whatever you enjoy. It can help a lot!

If you find that you are simply unable to resist the temptations and find yourself using again, you may want to consider professional help. Getting some therapy and getting away from access to marijuana for a period may help those people unable to do it on their own.

Marijuana Addiction and Withdrawal. What Parents Need to Know

Marijuana is addictive, it can limit your potential, increase your risks for a number of psychiatric disorders, and there is a withdrawal syndrome associated with the drug.

Marijuana today is not what it was even a couple of decades ago, and parents may be underestimating the threat that marijuana poses to today’s teens.

The potency of marijuana has increased many-fold in the last couple of decades alone, and it is as much as 6 times as strong as the marijuana of the 60’s and 70’s. With increased potency unfortunately comes an increased risk for social and health problems and addiction, and with addiction, the inevitable need to detox off of the drug.

Addictions professionals now recognize marijuana as an addictive drug, and there is a documented syndrome of withdrawal symptoms that occur when marijuana addicts try to break free from their habit. The intensity of these marijuana withdrawal symptoms may not be as great as with drugs like heroin, and they may not be as dangerous as a detox off of alcohol; but they are real, they are unpleasant, and they do pose a threat to recovery.

What are the symptoms of marijuana withdrawal?

Marijuana withdrawal symptoms can include insomnia, irritability, aggression, nausea, a lack of appetite, headaches and very strong cravings for the drug. So strong are the cravings and so uncomfortable are the withdrawal symptoms, that many people cannot get past the initial few days of intense withdrawal, and use marijuana again if only to make the symptoms of withdrawal go away.

Marijuana abuse and addiction is the number one reason for a teen entry into drug treatment or drug rehab, and so strong is today’s pot, that many thousands of kids have developed addictions strong enough to require residential treatment, and untold more thousands have developed as yet untreated addictions.

Heavy marijuana use brings an increased risk of present and future psychiatric problems, including depression, anxiety and psychosis, is linked to certain cancers, is linked to developmental delays, and is strongly and negatively linked to academic performance.

How to beat an addiction to marijuana

The reality is that an occasional joint is very unlikely to do much damage, and many people can use marijuana recreationally at this occasional level. But when recreational use becomes regular abuse, and possibly addiction, the detrimental impacts of marijuana on quality of life and potential become very evident( The problems of marijuana addiction).

Many thousands of kids (and adults) need drug treatment each year for assistance bettering an addiction to marijuana, if someone you love is having difficulty reducing their usage or quitting altogether, there are programs and therapies available, and these can be very helpful for anyone committed to quitting.

It is not unusual for anyone to need professional help when dealing with an addiction, and with marijuana addiction, as with any dependency, it is unlikely to go away on its own; and the sooner it’s dealt with, the better the ultimate prognosis.

Marijuana Detox Tips – How To Overcome Marijuana Addiction – Stop Bad Marijuana Withdrawal Bobby Min

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