Somehow when we get a drug through a prescription, we tend to think of that drug as being safer. That’s not always true. Even if the drug is safe, it’s only considered safe when taken in precisely the manner it is prescribed. One example is the dangers of taking Xanax outside of the parameters specified by your healthcare provider. If your healthcare provider instructs you to take one pill per day and you take three, you are abusing the drug. Even if taken as prescribed, using Xanax still requires caution because it can be dangerous when mixed with other drugs, including alcohol. Laguna View Detox, we understand how easily you can become dependent on or addicted to drugs like Xanax, and we are here to help. 

Is Xanax Dangerous if I’m Prescribed It?

The short answer is that it depends. While taking Xanax can be relatively safe, it is safer when taken for a short period of time. For example, if you are going through an incredibly stressful time in your life and your healthcare provider prescribes a few days’ worth of Xanax, you will likely not become dependent or addicted. However, if you take Xanax daily over a longer time, you will find that you become dependent on the medication. You may even find that you require more of it to continue to function at the same level. Additionally, if you mix Xanax with other substances such as alcohol, it can be quite dangerous.  Both alcohol and Xanax are depressants and can depress your central nervous system. The mixture of these two drugs can result in slower breathing and possibly death. To know if your prescription Xanax is dangerous to you, you should speak to your healthcare provider or an addiction professional for more information. In the end, you may already know that Xanax is dangerous to you. Often, if we question whether we have become too dependent on a substance, the answer is yes. 

What Should I Do if I’m Addicted To My Xanax Prescription?

If you are addicted to taking Xanax, the first thing you need to do is to get honest with yourself and someone else about your use. If you’ve been kidding yourself about how much you depend on those pills, talking to your healthcare provider or another person can be especially helpful in facing the problem.  It is critical to note that you should never stop taking Xanax without tapering down your dose. Withdrawing from drugs like Xanax can be quite dangerous and, in an ideal world, should be done under medical supervision. Your brain has been rewired while you’ve been using Xanax, and it will need some time to adjust to your stopping. While withdrawing from Xanax, you may experience symptoms, including shakiness, seizures, insomnia, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, elevated body temperature, hallucinations, seizures, and overactive reflexes. A healthcare provider can help you detox in the safest way possible and help to manage your symptoms. Detoxing on your own is not only tricky, but it is also dangerous. 

How Laguna View Detox Can Help You With Addiction

At Laguna View Detox, you will get round the clock professional care for your addiction. As one of the leading private drug rehab centers in Orange County, we provide luxurious, inpatient rehab treatment. With some of the industry’s best staff, we will design a holistic treatment plan catered to you. We are committed to assisting you in getting onto the road to clean and sober. We’ll guide you from detox to inpatient treatment to aftercare in one of the most beautiful areas in California. Contact us today, and let us help you get free of your addiction!  

Oscar Wilde wrote that “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” And while that can be debated, we know there is a benefit to reading books or watching movies that crossover into your life experiences. You may not always know someone personally who shares your experiences, however, watching a similar experience on a film, television, or device screen can help you feel less alone. It can also help you see things in your own life differently because you’ll likely watch a movie more objectively than you view your own life.  Finally, films about addiction and recovery humanize the problems you face for others. It’s not always easy to explain addiction and recovery to someone else, but it’s not too hard to get them to watch a movie about it. At Laguna View Detox, we love movies about addiction and recovery. 

Laguna View Detox’s Favorite Movies About Addiction and Recovery

Not only do we love movies about addiction and recovery, but we also have a few favorites. 

A Star is Born

A Star is Born (2018) does far more than show a famous singer’s struggles with addiction and recovery. The movie shows how we can find ourselves using drugs and alcohol to soothe our childhood wounds. It also shows how addiction affects the whole family across the generations. Bradley Cooper has been in recovery for years, and there are moments in A Star is Born when you can see how well he incorporated that experience.  

Beautiful Boy

Beautiful Boy is based on a book written by David Sheff, a New York Times writer who stood by his son through a long and heartbreaking road of methamphetamine addiction. The movie manages to capture the heartbreak of the father and the son while also demonstrating how complicated it can be to get sober.  Beautiful Boy delivers a realistic look at the effects of addiction on the family and highlights that recovery can take time. 

28 Days

28 Days with Sandra Bullock is a movie that shows one woman trying to find her way out of her addiction because the court ordered her to go to rehab. It is literally the consequences of her drinking landing in her lap and the events that follow. While it is a movie that seems to be loved or hated, 28 Days does offer insight into how hard it can be to make the changes needed to get sober. Watching Sandra Bullock’s character navigate early sobriety is sure to remind you of your own life just a little bit. 

Thirteen

Thirteen tells the story of an adolescent girl so desperate to fit in that she finds herself engaging with a world of drugs, drinking, sex, and crime. The film highlights how addiction does not have a minimum age requirement. Thirteen demonstrates how quickly bad decisions can spiral our lives out of control until we find ourselves so far over our heads we don’t know how to get out. While some feel the film oversteps in what can happen during teen addiction, some know better. There are a lot of movies about addiction and recovery but these four made it to the top of our list. 

How Laguna View Detox Helps with Addiction

At Laguna View Detox, we understand addiction and recovery first hand. We know it’s not as neat and tidy as it looks on the movie screen, and we’re here to support you with round the clock care for your addiction.  We are one of the leading private alcohol and drug rehab centers in Orange County. We provide luxurious, inpatient rehab treatment in one of the most beautiful areas California has to offer. 

Our staff includes some of the most experienced and most compassionate in the industry, and we’ll create a holistic treatment plan tailored to you. If you or your college student is struggling with drinking, we are here. We will care for you while you safely detox and then guide you through inpatient treatment and aftercare.  Contact us today and let us help you with your addiction!  

Getting drunk and making a fool of yourself has been a storied part of college life for years. It’s almost considered a rite of passage during young adulthood. Young adults away from home for the first time like to test out their newfound freedom, and that includes experimenting with alcohol and drugs. However, that experimentation can cross the line from investigation to substance misuse and abuse. College binge drinking isn’t so much about how often college students drink; it’s more about how much they consume when they do drink. You’ve likely seen the heartbreaking headlines reporting the untimely deaths of college students who binge drank to their death. Parents, colleges, and universities realized that they had to face up to the dangers of binge drinking in college students. But while many policies have been put in place to curb binge drinking in college students, the sad fact remains that it’s still happening on college campuses all over the United States. At Laguna View Detox, we understand the dangers of binge drinking, and we’re here to help you. 

Why Do College Students Binge Drink?

Binge drinking is the top way that college students misuse alcohol. Many students see it as a right of passage as if the college experience would not be complete without it. Researchers have found that nearly 53% of full-time college students ages 18 to 22 drank alcohol in the past month, with 33% of those admitted to binge drinking. While drinking before college will likely lead to more drinking in college, there are other contributing factors. College life is much different than life in high school at home with parental supervision. College students find themselves with unstructured time and the availability of alcohol. Add in the inconsistent enforcement of underage drinking laws, the pressures of being a new college student, and fewer parents’ interactions. You have the perfect storm for binge drinking. 

What Are the Dangers of Binge Drinking in College Students?

Binge drinking can have adverse effects in and outside of the classroom. Leading to the death of nearly 2,000 people between the ages of 18 and 24 each year, binge drinking also leads to almost 700,000 assaults and 100,000 sexual assaults.  With one out of four college students experiencing academic difficulties due to drinking, this rite of passage needs to become a thing of the past. 

In one study, college students who binge drank multiple times per week were six times as likely to perform poorly on exams and projects. Students who engage in binge drinking regularly find themselves unable to learn and memorize information in the same way as their non-drinking peers.  In addition to the immediate consequences of binge drinking, there is also an increased risk that it will turn into a regular habit, lead to drug use, and possibly lead to addiction. 

How To Get Help With a Drinking Problem

At Laguna View Detox, we understand the effects of binge drinking and addiction. We will support you with round the clock care for your addiction.  We are one of the leading private alcohol and drug rehab centers in Orange County. We provide luxurious, inpatient rehab treatment in one of the most beautiful areas California has to offer. 

Our staff includes some of the most experienced and most compassionate in the industry, and we’ll create a holistic treatment plan tailored to you. If you or your college student is struggling with drinking, we are here to help. We will care for you while you safely detox and then guide you through inpatient treatment and aftercare.  Contact us today and let us help you with your addiction!  

Addiction is often misunderstood. There is a lot of false information perpetuated due to the stigma associated with addiction. Perhaps the only thing that everyone can agree upon about addiction is that there are many opinions about addiction. Is addiction really a disease, or is it a choice? It depends on who you ask. There was a time when society viewed addiction as a choice and saw those struggling with addiction as having no willpower or morality. As time has passed, researchers have defined addiction as a disease, and the stigma around addiction has diminished. At Laguna View Detox, we understand the complexities of addiction, and we’re here to help you get on the road to sobriety. 

What Is the Definition of Addiction?

Addiction is a chronic disease characterized by drug seeking and use that is compulsive or difficult to control, despite harmful consequences.  Most people encounter drugs voluntarily and may see their initial use as experimental. However, repeated drug use changes the brain, and more regular use leads to more changes. As you use more drugs more often, it becomes more difficult to stop. Many addiction professionals now rely on the biopsychosocial model of addiction. While it sounds complicated, the biopsychosocial model acknowledges the intersection of biology, your social circumstances, and psychological factors. For example, if you are genetically predisposed to addiction, grew up with parents who abused substances, and have few coping skills, you are more likely to become addicted to drugs if you begin using them. Likewise, someone without those risk factors would be less likely to become addicted.  However, this is not a perfect science as there are those without the same risk factors who become addicted. 

Is Addiction a Lifelong Battle?

Addiction, like many other diseases, can be thought of as going into remission. The hard part is knowing just when remission occurs.  With other diseases such as cancer, a physician can provide a rule such as a certain number of months with no cancer. Addiction is not that simple. Once you are addicted, you are addicted. However, addiction is a disease of mind, body, and spirit. All three must be treated. 

Treatment begins with detox to rid the body of the drugs, but your body may experience lingering effects.  How long these effects continue depends on which drugs you used and for how long. Treatment for the mind and the body are ongoing. Some would say it’s lifelong to keep your addiction in remission. No one can tell you precisely what long-term sobriety is like and how it will work for you. All we know is the early months are when you build a firm foundation, and then you build onto it forever. All you have to do is not use drugs because there will never come a time when you will stop being addicted. This doesn’t mean that you’ll be thinking about using every day for the remainder of your life. You likely will not. It does mean that there will never come a time when it is safe for you to use drugs. 

How Laguna View Detox Can Help You With Addiction

At Laguna View Detox, you will get round the clock professional care for your addiction. As one of the leading private drug rehab centers in Orange County, we provide luxurious, inpatient rehab treatment. With some of the best staff in the industry, we will create a holistic treatment plan individualized to you. We are dedicated to helping you get onto the road to clean and sober. We’ll guide you from detox to inpatient treatment to aftercare in one of the most beautiful areas in California. Contact us today and let us help you with your addiction! 

If you’ve watched or read the news in the last few weeks, you’ve likely heard or read about the Purdue Pharma Opioid Settlement.  You might be wondering who Purdue Pharma is, why the government sued them, and what it means for those who became addicted to prescription opioids.  At Laguna View Detox, we’re here to help you understand if and how this settlement affects you or someone you love who has been affected by prescription opioids. 

Who Is Purdue Pharma? 

Purdue Pharma is a pharmaceutical company that developed, manufactured, and marketed medications and consumer health products.  The company is not aligned with Purdue University but was founded and owned by the Sackler family.  The Sackler family, many of whom were physicians, were integral in the company’s running and are viewed as having significant responsibility for Purdue Pharma’s impact on the opioid crisis. 

What Is the Purdue Pharma Opioid Settlement? 

The United States Department of Justice recently resolved criminal and civil complaints against Purdue Pharma based on its business practices contributing significantly to the opioid crisis.  Quite simply, the Purdue Pharma opioid settlement acknowledges and attempts to rectify that the company put its business and the marketing of its drug, Oxycontin, above the health and safety of the patients to whom it was prescribed.  Because Purdue’s opioid practices were found to be egregious in nature, the settlement dissolves the company and repurposes its assets to benefit the public it has harmed.  Not only did Purdue Pharma misrepresent its anti-diversion program to the FBI, but it also continued to provide incentives to physicians encouraging the prescribing of Oxycontin unnecessarily.  Purdue Pharma downplayed the highly addictive nature of the drug and provided financial incentives for physicians to continue to prescribe the medication. 

Why This Is a Small Victory for the Opioid Epidemic

While this settlement does represent the most considerable penalties ever levied against a pharmaceutical company, it has not satisfied many of those who have lost family members to opioid addiction.  It is not hard to see why many see this settlement as a drop in the bucket compared to the created crisis.  While the fines being levied against Purdue Pharma are large, they barely compare to the opioid crisis cost.  

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the total economic burden of prescription opioid misuse in the United States exceeds $78 billion each year. This does not include the burden of illicit opioid use.  Beyond the financial costs, more than 120 people die from opioid overdoses every day, and no dollar amount can compensate for those losses. Many who are unhappy with this settlement believe that the Sackler family has managed to retain much of the profits that they made creating this crisis. However, this settlement is only with the federal government; Purdue Pharma and the Sacklers still face several state governments’ legal actions. What may be most confusing about this settlement is what the restructured version of Purdue Pharma looks like and who will own the company. 

Get Free From Opioids at Laguna View Detox

At Laguna View Detox, we understand how easy it is to find yourself addicted to opioids.  At our facility, you will get round the clock holistic care for your addiction.  We are one of the leading drug rehab centers in California. We provide luxurious, individualized inpatient rehab treatment in one of the most beautiful areas in Southern California. We remain dedicated to helping you detox safely and seeing you succeed by providing you with the care you need while you’re with us and setting you up for success with our aftercare. Contact us today and let us help you with your addiction.  

Understanding drug addiction becomes more complicated because not all drugs are the same.  You may hear terms like opioids, stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, and more to describe the kinds of drugs that are used.  You may also hear different names for the same drug and terms for combining drugs. Once you get past what the drug is and what it might be called, it’s time to look for the signs that someone is on a particular drug. At Laguna View Detox, we can help you understand the different drugs and how to talk about them.  More importantly, we can help you or your loved one find a way to be free of them. 

Heroin Explained

Heroin is classified as an opioid drug and is made from morphine. Heroin can be found in more than one form.  Often a white or brown powder, heroin can also be found as a black sticky substance, referred to as black tar heroin.  Heroin has many street names including big H, smack, thunder, hell dust, and horse. Heroin can be injected, smoked, sniffed, or snorted.  It can also be mixed with crack cocaine, which is known as speedballing. 

Four Signs of Heroin Use and Addiction

Heroin is a highly addictive drug and it can be heartbreaking to watch someone you love suffer through heroin addiction.  Using heroin can give someone a feeling of comfort and happiness while also making it feel like the world has slowed down.  Four signs that someone is using heroin include:

• Very small pupils
• Needle marks on the skin where the heroin was injected
• Vomiting
• Itchiness

As heroin wears off, the person might have pain in their muscles or bones, get the chills, suffer from insomnia, and be nervous.  Because coming down off of heroin is so unpleasant, users will often seek more heroin to feel better.  As more heroin is used, the user will develop a higher tolerance which will lead to the need for more heroin to feel better.  While the body becomes more dependent on heroin, the individual will find that they need to use heroin just to feel normal or not sick. At the same time, the brain is changed by using heroin. All of this adds up to increasing difficulty in quitting heroin and a vicious cycle of needing more and more of the drug to feel normal. You may notice that your loved one just looks less healthy and is much moodier. 

Heroin Overdose

Because of heroin’s effects on breathing, many people die from heroin overdoses.  Heroin overdoses happen because the strength of the drug isn’t known until it is consumed.  Overdoses also happen because individuals might start to use more and more heroin as their addiction progresses. Signs of a heroin overdose include slowed breathing, failing to wake up, slow or stopped heartbeat, inability to speak, and blue lips. If you see the signs of a heroin overdose in your loved one, call 911 immediately. Many times overdoses can successfully be treated with naloxone (Narcan) if it is given quickly enough. 

Get Help Today at Laguna View Detox

At Laguna View Detox, you will get round the clock holistic care for your addiction.  We are one of the leading drug rehab centers in California. We provide luxurious, individualized inpatient rehab treatment in one of the most beautiful areas in Southern California. We remain dedicated to helping you detox safely and seeing you succeed by providing you with the care you need while you’re with us and setting you up for success with our aftercare. Contact us today and let us help you with your addiction!  

Without personal experience, individuals may make some incorrect assumptions about addicts, the substances they use, and addiction itself.  Sadly, this is seen not only in the general public but also within the healthcare setting.  While much of the stigma of addiction has been reduced in recent years, there are still common myths about addiction that persist.  By talking more about addiction and increasing education, we can further reduce the stigma, help addicts find treatment sooner, and have more open conversations.

Addiction Defined

Addiction is a chronic disease that is characterized by repeatedly engaging in the use of substances or behaviors, despite any risks or harmful consequences. While we typically think of drugs and alcohol when we think of addiction, behaviors such as gaming, gambling, or consuming pornography can also be addicting and require treatment. While drug or alcohol use often begins voluntarily, it may become more compulsive over time.  With continued drug or alcohol use, an individual’s brain pathways change in such a way that it is almost rewired and quitting becomes increasingly difficult. 

Why Do Some People Get Addicted and Some Don’t?

Lots of factors come into play when we look at substance use and addiction.  One person may become addicted and another may not.  While we don’t know exactly why, we do know that things like genetics, existing mental disorders and adverse childhood experiences play a large role in addiction.  Additionally, the age of first use can contribute greatly to addiction.  The younger an individual is when drug and alcohol use begin, the more likely that the use will be disordered. At Laguna View Detox, we take a holistic approach and customize addiction treatment for you.

Common Misconceptions About Drugs

Beyond the myths about addiction, there are a lot of misconceptions about drugs too.  Many believe that marijuana is not addictive or that prescription pills are safe because they came from a doctor.  While most will not become addicted to marijuana, some will.  As for prescription pills, it only takes a few moments of watching the news to see how the opioid crisis has grown out of people taking prescribed pills such as a Vicodin or Oxycontin.  It’s not only drugs that can be dangerous, drinking alcohol can have serious consequences.  Drinking alcohol impairs your judgement and your reaction time.  While previously thought to be a right of passage, college-aged drinking and drug use is now known to put individuals at a greater risk for being victims of sexual assault, academic problems, and more. 

Common Myths About Addiction

One of the most common myths about addiction is that the individual would quit if they “really wanted to quit.”  Here at Laguna View Detox, we understand that it is much more complicated than “wanting to quit”.  We know that addiction is not a character flaw.  We know that you may want to be free of drugs and alcohol but not yet have found the path to get you there.  Often it takes people more than one attempt to achieve long-term sobriety and that does not indicate anything about a person’s character.  Addiction is a complex disease that requires long-term treatment.  There is no one size fits all answer and there’s no cure. Treatment for addiction is ongoing and long-term. 

Get Help Today at Laguna View Detox

At Laguna View Detox, you will get round the clock holistic care for your addiction.  We are one of the leading drug rehab centers in California. We provide luxurious, individualized inpatient rehab treatment in one of the most beautiful areas in Southern California. We are dedicated to helping you detox safely and seeing you succeed. Contact us today and let us help you with your addiction! 

Addiction is a physical and psychological condition involving the inability to stop taking a drug or carrying out a destructive behavior. It’s not uncommon for an addict’s personal life to crumble, shown by loss of relationships, social life, and jobs. But what about the addict’s family? Is there a connection between addiction and family relationships? How does addiction affect the lives of the family members involved? At Laguna View Detox, we emphasize the importance of exploring how an addict’s actions affect the people around them. By acknowledging and making amends for your behavior, you will be able to fully move forward with your life, drug & alcohol free.

Addiction Is a Family Disease

People often think that addiction affects only the person that depends on drugs or alcohol but this is not true.  Addiction is a prevalent disease with an effect that reaches the addict and the family. Yes, the damaging impacts of addiction can extend to family members that don’t consume alcohol or use drugs.

Addiction can add addiction stress to the family and can make the home feel unstable. It also affects the family’s health (mentally and physically), finances, unity, and general family dynamics.

So what does “addiction is a family disease” really mean?

In this case, the whole family gets consumed by the addict and his actions.

This damaging enmeshment pattern with the addict’s condition is known as codependency. And it reveals itself in several ways. Here are some common symptoms manifested by the co-dependent family:

• The need to control 
• Obsession with the addict 
• Nurturing, enabling, guilt 
• Afraid to make the addict take responsibility 
• No healthy limits 
• Devoting time and energy 
• Wishful thinking
• Unable to say “no” 
• No self-care

These are acute symptoms, and since the addict can’t get better alone, it’s important for the family to break away from these unhealthy behavioral patterns. One way to break these patterns of behavior is by joining a support group. 

Support Groups for Families of Addicts

Dealing with the effects of your loved ones’ addiction and family responses to these effects can be exhausting and frustrating, but the good news is support groups aren’t just for an addict. There are resources for families of addicts as well. 

It is best you put yourself first when dealing with such situations. Although it sounds contradicting, you won’t be able to help the struggling addict without helping yourself first. Laguna View Detox hopes the following tips can help:

• Get in touch with a therapist to focus on your mental health. Therapists are great sources of strength and support during these challenging times.
• Take care of yourself – you’re important too. Stressing over your loved one’s addiction and excessive worry or anxiety can take a toll on your health.
• Fix reasonable, healthy, and fair boundaries.
• Accept the truth – and the truth is… you can’t control an addicts actions.  While you can’t make decisions for your addicted family, you can control your life and choose a healthy path.

Many support groups exist to help family members going through the same thing you are. People with addiction and family of addicts can benefit from this group as they exist to provide information and education to help guide you through the process. They also offer excellent support networks with people who know how you feel.

How to Get Your Loved One’s Help With Addiction

Your loved one can overcome addiction with your support. Although each situation is unique, these general recommendations can help.

• Be forthright and communicate with your loved one
• Work on building trust
• Respect his or her privacy
• Don’t threaten or rebuke him or her

Don’t expect instant change. Granted, there are various methods of treating addiction, but transformations don’t happen overnight.

Get Support From Laguna View Detox

Indeed, addiction is a family disease. But there are treatment centers that can teach you how to cope and help the addict.

Here, at Laguna View Detox, within our comprehensive addiction therapy treatment program, we offer support programs that focus on you and your family’s healing needs. 

We have been helping families in Southern California and beyond to make complete recoveries from addictions. And we can help you too. Contact us today to learn more.