Detoxification and other addiction treatment modalities in a rehab environment are major adjustments for people in early recovery. Body and mind are suddenly challenged in ways that can cause stress and anxiety. A patient in detoxification may experience a whole range of unpleasant symptoms and sensations such as headaches, insomnia, fatigue, irritability, heart palpitations, shallow […]

“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise,” wrote Benjamin Franklin in Poor Richard’s Almanack in the 18th century. “It’s important to get enough sleep. Sleep helps keep your mind and body healthy,” reads more recent advice from the US Department of Health and Human Services.  Getting enough sleep […]

America’s addiction crisis continues unabated. Last year, more than 107,000 Americans died of drug overdoses, setting another tragic record in the nation’s escalating overdose epidemic, according to an estimate published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in May. The provisional 2021 data translates to roughly one US overdose death every 5 minutes […]

One of the eleven criteria of a substance use disorder listed in the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), is the recurrent use of the substance in situations in which it is physically hazardous. All too often these situations involve operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. Every day, about […]

“More than 900 Coloradans died of fentanyl last year — more than the number killed in homicides or traffic crashes,” reported the Denver Post in April.  This month, the state reacted to the crisis by approving HB22-1326 but it took a conference committee appointed by the House and Senate to come up with compromise language […]