Addiction transfer happens when a person exchanges an addiction in recovery for another addiction. It can also be known as a substitute addiction or cross addiction, where someone replaces one compulsive behavior with another.
The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reports that after marijuana, prescription medications are the drugs most commonly abused by the adolescent population with the biggest growth of abuse among persons aged 12 to 24 years.5 Alarmingly, the abuse of prescription and OTC medications has surpassed the use of illegal drugs such as crack, cocaine, ecstasy, and heroin. An estimated 14% of high school seniors have used prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons at least once. - (Source: Contemporary Pediatrics)
Unfortunately it isn't just drinking that parents have to worry about when their teens go to a party. A newer trend has developed where teenagers raid their parents or grandparents' medicine cabinets for prescription drugs. They then take the prescription drugs to the party where they combine drugs into one container/bag and take turns reaching into the...
It's the most wonderful time of the year, but it can also be the most stressful. Relationships, loneliness, depression, and unreasonable expectations from family have a way of unveiling themselves in the months of November and December. Family issues often come to light; negative holiday memories from childhood may reappear, unhealthy relationships or family dynamics may surface along with family secrets or pressures. Surviving the holidays as an addict in recovery can be daunting.
Of course, it's not just family issues that cause stress over the holidays. Worries about finances, expectations for a "perfect" holiday or making up for past holidays that failed to measure up can also cause stress. Holidays are meant to be joyous, but we often finish the year feeling overwhelmed. It's enough for anyone to feel defeated instead of rejoiced. For a recovering addict, however,...