What Cigarette Addiction Reveals About Substance Use Disorder
It’s the nicotine in cigarettes that makes them exceptionally difficult to quit. When someone consumes a cigarette, vapes tobacco, or uses chewing tobacco, they’re introducing nicotine into their bloodstream. Just seconds after inhaling, the brain detects the nicotine and releases [...]
Nitazene: What You Need to Know
In 2023, the Boulder County community of Colorado recorded two unique opioid-related deaths. Upon further investigation, officials found that the victims had consumed a newly modified, powerful synthetic opioid called nitazene. Because the type of nitazene currently on the market [...]
How Rumination Impacts Addiction Recovery
St. Joseph Institute for Addiction in Port Matilda, PA, treats substance use disorder (SUD) at the same time that we treat the entire individual and assess their general mental health. We know that treating addiction as an isolated issue misses [...]
Signs That Your Loved One Is Hiding an Addiction
Many of us may feel that we would immediately recognize addiction in our spouse, our child, our best friend, and especially ourselves. However, at least 48 million Americans are living with substance use disorder (SUD) right now, and not all [...]
Overcoming the Emotional Challenges of Substance Addiction Recovery
The journey toward sobriety requires significant effort, dedication, and determination to confront the challenges associated with substance abuse. Emotional challenges should not be overlooked, as they can often derail even the most well-intentioned recovery efforts. Understanding and addressing these emotional [...]
The First Signs of a Meth Addiction
Methamphetamine, known more commonly as meth, is a popular stimulant that targets the central nervous system. Over 2.5 million people use the substance and over half of those have methamphetamine use disorder. The stimulant has several forms and goes by [...]
How To Tell When It’s Time To Change Your Job in Recovery
We love to see our clients beat addiction and thrive in sobriety once they’ve completed residential or intensive outpatient treatment with us. We also know that a big part of a healthy, long-lasting recovery is the ability to foster a [...]
How Heroin Addiction Develops
Heroin is highly addictive and can lead to physiological dependence within days of repeated use. Dependence can lead to addiction when the person finds that they cannot stop using heroin despite negative consequences. In 2018, a study showed that around [...]
The Most Commonly Abused Drugs in Pennsylvania
It’s interesting but unsurprising to note that drug abuse is largely concentrated in Pennsylvania’s most populated major city: Philadelphia. Chances of finding illicit drugs, using them, and abusing them are more prevalent in Philly than anywhere else in the state. [...]
How Cocaine Addiction Develops
Stephen King famously struggled with cocaine addiction—even at his most productive and lucrative career points. One of his entertaining debut films, Overdrive, is a great example of the brain on cocaine: fast, hyped up, and disjointed. Although King quit using [...]
