Addiction is a strong, uncontrollable need to take drugs, drink alcohol or carry out a particular activity, such as gambling.

It becomes the most important thing in your life and leads to problems at home, work and school.

There's no single reason why addictions develop. Some people experience particularly intense feelings for pleasurable or relaxing activities, such as:
• regularly drinking alcohol
• smoking
• using drugs or other substances
• spending time gambling
• using the internet (including porn sites)
• sex and love
• shopping

This can lead to a strong desire to repeat these activities more often.

From enjoyment to addiction
Many people regularly use addictive substances or engage in potentially addictive activities without having major problems.

However, in some people it can cause damaging physical and psychological effects, as their behaviour becomes more frequent and intense and turns into an addiction. This occurs as a result of chemical changes in the brain.

If you carry on using the substance or engaging in the behaviour, your brain and body become tolerant and you need more drugs, or spend more time on the behaviour to get the same effect. What started out as something you can control develops into an uncontrollable need or addiction.

If you try to stop, you'll experience physical or psychological withdrawal symptoms, or both. Withdrawal symptoms are wide ranging and vary depending on the substance involved, but generally you'll experience:
• feelings of discomfort
• distress
• an intense craving for the substance

Withdrawal from alcohol is often particularly difficult because it can sometimes be complicated by seizures (fits) and hallucinations.

There are many organizations that provide help in treating addictions. Your doctor is a good first point of contact. They'll be able to provide you with help and advice, and can recommend specialist addiction services both nationally and locally.

Read more information about overcoming addiction in this link (click to open new window).

Treatment for addiction focuses on the individual and their needs. Talking therapies and medication are recommended treatments. The most effective talking therapies for treating addiction include:

• cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) (click to open new window)

CBT is based on the concept that your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and actions are interconnected, and that negative thoughts and feelings can trap you in a negative cycle.

CBT aims to help you deal with overwhelming problems in a more positive way by breaking them down into smaller parts.

You're shown how to change these negative patterns to improve the way you feel. Unlike some other talking treatments, CBT deals with your current problems, rather than focusing on issues from your past.

It looks for practical ways to improve your state of mind on a daily basis.

• motivational enhancement therapy (MET)

MET is a counselling technique that can help you overcome any mixed feelings you have about taking part in a treatment programme and stopping your drug use.

It aims to draw out self-motivational statements. A plan for change can then be made based on a commitment to move forward and find a solution to the problem.

Treatment usually starts by encouraging you to think about how you want to change. It's important your counsellor is non-judgemental and a supportive listener. You need to believe that you want to – and can – overcome your addiction and your life will be better as a result.

An addiction counsellor will discuss:
• how you see your life in the future
• what obstacles you feel you face as you work towards changing
• what you think will help you deal with those obstacles

The addiction counsellor will also help you understand that stopping a drug or behaviour may involve major lifestyle changes and support will be needed in the long term to prevent relapse. It's important to involve family and friends in supporting you to overcome your addiction.

You're more at risk of developing an addiction if:

• other members of your family have addiction problems
• you experienced stress or abuse while growing up
• you have mental health problems
• you have unemployment and financial worries
• you're experiencing relationship problems

Addictive behaviour often occurs when people try to deal with or forget about these difficult issues.

Video Link:
How addiction changes your brain (click to open video in new window)


(Copied from: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Addictions/Pages/Introduction.aspx)

Alcohol
Defined from Oxford dictionary:

“a colorless volatile flammable liquid that is produced by the natural fermentation of sugars and is the intoxicating constituent of wine, beer, spirits, and other drinks, and is also used as an industrial solvent and as fuel.”

Cannabis
Defined:

“The dried leaves and flowering tops of the Cannabis sativa or Cannabis indica plant. Cannabis contains active chemicals called cannabinoids that cause drug-like effects all through the body, including the central nervous system and the immune system.”

Cannabis is made up of more than 120 components, which are known as cannabinoids. Experts still aren’t sure what each cannabinoid does, but they have a pretty good understanding of two of them, known as cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

Each has its own effects and uses:

• CBD. This is a psychoactive cannabinoid, yet it’s non-intoxicating and non-euphoric, meaning it won’t get you “high.” It’s often used to help reduce inflammation and pain. It may also ease nausea, migraine, seizures, and anxiety. (Epidiolex is the first and only prescription medication to contain CBD and be approved by the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA. This medication is used to treat certain kinds of epilepsy.) Researchers are still trying to fully understand the effectiveness of CBD’s medical use.

• THC. This is the main psychoactive compound in cannabis. THC is responsible for the “high” that most people associate with cannabis.

(copied from: https://www.healthline.com/health/what-is-cannabis#Whats-the-definition-of-cannabis?)

Cannabis has become legal in Canada since 2018. Click here for more information.


Weed while pregnant?
Pregnant women who use marijuana may risk changing the developing brain of the unborn baby. These changes could contribute to problems with attention, memory, and problem solving.

Weed and School
Students who smoke marijuana tend to get lower grades and are more likely to drop out of high school than their peers who do not use. The effects of marijuana on attention, memory, and learning can last for days or weeks. These effects have a negative impact on learning and motivation. In fact, people who use marijuana regularly for a long time are less satisfied with their lives and have more problems with friends and family compared to people who do not use marijuana.

Is weed addictive?
Yes, marijuana is addictive. A user may feel the urge to smoke marijuana again and again to re-create the “high.” Repeated use could lead to addiction—which means the person has trouble controlling their drug use and often cannot stop even though they want to.

Cannabis and schizophrenia
Since all substances affect the brain and nervous system, studies have shown that a teenage brain can be affected by using cannabis.

Click here for more information.

“Trauma is truly about: loss of connection, low stress tolerance, inability to process emotions, and nervous system overwhelmed.”
— Dr. Nicole LePera

“Trauma is not what happened to us, but the way we internalized what happened to us.”
— Dr. Gabor Maté

Click here for more information on:

• Indigenous perspectives on trauma and substance use.

• Trauma and dispossession.
  
  
  Children and Trauma
  Over the years we have learned more about the impact of trauma on children’s well-being, in childhood and on the rest of their lives.
  
  Childhood is a very important time, brains are growing and children are learning all the skills they will eventually need to be happy healthy adults.
  
  We know that many events in our communities today can be very hard on young children. Witnessing family violence, sexual abuse, physical abuse and childhood neglect can all have long lasting impacts on a person’s life. Experiencing the losses associated with increased accidents and suicides all take their toll. We are all doing our best to get by in this very stressful and complicated “modern” world, but we need to keep our eyes on the children, to make sure that they are getting the love and support they need every day.
  
  Take care of yourself first, as you are the one who can help nurture our children. They are our future … our gift to the world. Nurturing and protecting our children has to be a priority!