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What is Addiction?

Addiction is a Compulsive physiological and psychological need for a habit-forming substance. The condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or involved in something. Simply, addiction is a physical or mental dependence on a behavior or substance that a person feels powerless to stop.

Addiction and facts:

Addiction is one of the most dangerous public health and social problem. It is a progressive syndrome, which means that it increases in severity over time unless it is treated. Addiction has been extended, however, to include mood-altering behaviors or activities. There is a growing recognition that many addicts are addicted to more than one substance or process. Substance abuse is characterized by frequent relapse orreturn to the abused substance. Substance abusers often make repeated attempts to quit before they have any successful treatment. Changing pattern of substance from one to another (as example: from marijuana to heroine) abuse in patients been increased without proper treatment.

Addiction and Substances:

Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is a patterned use of a substance in which the user using the objects against the rules and policies of the matter and become powerless to it. Therefore, mood-altering and psychoactive substances are not the only types of drugs abused. Using illicit drugs/narcotics, stimulants, depressants (sedatives), hallucinogens, cannabis, even glues and paints, are also considered to be classified as drug/substance abuse. Addicts are commonly depends on alcohol, opium, cannabis, heroine, brown sugar, cocaine, cough syrup and various type of pharmaceutical drugs.

Addiction without Substances:

Addiction have several different ways to revel itself without particular substance. This type of addiction is a condition that results when a person engages in an activity like gambling, sex, internet, shopping e.t.c. It laid people to insist that psychological dependency. That may causes psychological and behavioral disorder and produces the same result just alike substance abusers.

Addiction Around Us:

A study, conducted by doctors of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), has shown that drug abuse has increased among youngsters in the 16-25 age group. The study shows that most of the patients in the de-addiction centre were dependent often on alcohol, opium, cannabis, heroine, brown sugar, cocaine, cough syrup and various types of pharmaceutical drugs. Most of the patients at the centre belong to the urban area with few of the rest of the patients belonging to rural backgrounds. Substance use patterns are notorious for their ability to change over time. Both licit and illicit substance use cause serious public health problems and evidence for the same is now available in our country. As per World Health Organization, 230 million people, or 1 in 20 adults, are estimated to have used an illicit drug. They need proper treatment of alcohol and drug use disorders.

Addiction Symptoms and Results:

Depending on the actual compound, drug abuse including alcohol lead to health problems, social problems, morbidity, injuries, unprotected sex, violence, deaths, motor vehicle accidents, homicides, suicides, physical dependence or psychological addiction. Long-term abuse of alcohol and other drugs causing physiological distortion of brain chemistry as well as the social isolation. Alcohol or Drug abuse is also associated with increased risks of committing criminal offences including child abuse, domestic violence, rapes, burglaries and assaults. Drug abuse makes central nervous system (CNS) effects, which produce changes in mood, levels of awareness or perceptions and sensations.

Our Research in this field shows addictions, drug induced psychiatric & behavioral disorders would be fade away with PROPER TREATMENT and Prolonged Abstinence only. Many websites are there to give information about the nature of Addiction & Alcoholism but this site primarily concerns itself with the nature of Recovery from the disease named Addiction/ Alcoholism. As an organization we fundamentally focus on recovery that is why we have the highest recovery rate i.e. highest rate of clean out from active addiction (please refer to the page “Success Stories”). If you or your loved ones suffer from Addiction/ Alcoholism, please give yourself a break and go through our website.

An Addict/ Alcoholic who do not want to stop using will not stop using. They can be analyzed, reasoned with, prayed over, threatened, beaten up, locked up, medicated; but they will not stop using until they “realize – why to stop”.

The purpose of our rehabilitation process is to help one “realize – why to stop” and make him learn the art of staying stopped. This realization is an inside job. Only after this realization they will attain a profound personality change i.e. an active change in ideas & attitude. This very change will not only be reflected on their lifestyle and behavior but also in all spheres of their life. The target of our rehabilitation process is to make the Addict/ Alcoholic acceptable, productive and responsible members of the society.

What is Addiction or Alcoholism?

Though Addiction & Alcoholism are two different terms, but both refer to the same problem. It is a ‘DISEASE’. It has been recognized as a disease by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Indian Medical Association (IMA) in the year of 1956 and 1960 respectively. The terms ‘ Addiction’& ‘ Alcoholism’ have become obsolete. Nowadays both the terms are internationally recognized as ‘ Chemical Dependency’. The reality is that there are many other ‘ Addictions’ besides ‘Chemical Dependency’. To mention a few ‘Work holism’, ‘ Food Addiction’, ‘ Sex Addiction’, ‘ Gambling Addiction’, ‘ Money Addiction’, ‘ Power Addiction’, ‘Cyber Addiction’, ‘Lifestyle and Behavioural Disorder’, etc. In a nutshell, Addiction is ” An inclination toward over consumption of any mood altering substance for euphoric high or pleasure”. And the substance varies from person to person.

Any kind of Addiction is a disordered pattern of personality, which is scientifically referred to as Obsessive Compulsive Pattern. To tell the truth, in case of ‘ chemical dependency’ the chemical appears to be the only problem apparently; but, that is only the tip of the iceberg. The actual problem is more deep rooted- the personality disorder. And in most of the cases, the ‘ personality disorder’ surfaces much before the chemical abuse. This is why the rehabilitation is required. Chemical abuse can be stopped through many ways for a short period, but the obsessive and compulsive pattern cannot be eradicated from the person by medication only. Till date, medical science could not provide a definite solution for a chemically dependent person which stops his desire to use the chemical substance. Only proper rehabilitation can and will restore a chemically dependent person to sanity i.e., his original personality prior to occurrence of disorder.

Who is a Chemically Dependent Person- Addict- Alcoholic?

If you have gone through our website, by now you already know that all these three different terms refer to the same origin ” The Disease of Addiction”. The term Addict/ Alcoholic has been explained in many ways, amongst which we have noted a few for your convenience:

If the use of chemical is causing any continuing disruption in an individual's personal- social- spiritual- economic life but the individual doesn't stop using, he is a chemically dependent person. (Source: WHO)
A person who goes through a radical personality change under the influence of mood altering chemical is a chemically dependent person. (Concept adopted from Narcotics Anonymous)
Addicts' whole life and thinking have been centered in Drugs in one form or another- the getting and using and finding ways and means to get more. They live to use and use to live. Very simply, they are men or women whose life is controlled by Drugs. (Concept adopted from Narcotics Anonymous)
An Alcoholic/ Addict is a person who cannot consistently choose whether he will use or not, and once he does, cannot consistently choose whether he will stop or not. (Source: Rutgers Centre Of Alcohol Studies)

If you are not sure whether a person is chemically dependent or not please check the points noted below:

Regular or periodic over consumption of mood altering chemicals.
Bio, psycho, socio, economic damage and loss because of over consumption of mood altering chemicals.
Because of the damage/ loss, the person wishes to quit/ stop at times.
In spite of the damage/ loss and the wish to quit/stop, if a person still continues using mood altering chemicals, he is chemically dependent.

What is recovery?

Sir Albert Einstein said “Quitting smoking is so easy, I’ve done it so many times in my life” so quitting i.e. stopping is very easy & simple but getting back is easier and simpler. Target in Recovery is not only to ‘stop’, but to ‘stay stop’ forever.

Addiction is defined as a “Relapse Prone Disease” so the term ‘Recovered’ is not appropriate. The Internationally acclaimed term is ‘In Recovery’. This term does not refer to a static state which a person attains once and that lasts forever, it rather refers to a lifelong continuous process.

(All the aforesaid phrases are adopted from Narcotics Anonymous) Recovery is a Psycho Spiritual State of being. In order to attain & maintain that state one has to follow a way of life named ‘The 12 Steps’. Recovery cannot be measured by wealth, power, contacts, social recognitions, etc. There are many celebrities who in spite of being miles ahead in these aspects could not handle their Addiction problem. Some are resting in peace, some have been through mental institutions whereas, the fortunate ones’ are in Recovery with the help of 12 steps. We do not need to quote the names, you probably know a few.

Recovery means:

Abstinence from mood altering chemicals
Abstinence from compulsive and impulsive behaviors
Improvement on Bio-Psycho-Socio-Emotional aspects of life
Recovery is also defined as "Continued acceptance of Addiction and the continuous monitoring of the Addictive personality in whatever form it may take" (Quoted from The Book named Addictive Personality Published by Hazelden) The purpose of a proper rehabilitation is to make one realize 'why one needs to recover', 'how to attain Recovery', 'how to maintain Recovery'.

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Management of chemical dependency is a complex issue which has to be handled by professionals specialized in various discipline...

Addiction & Recovery

Addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry. Dysfunction in these circuits...

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Our gratitude to all those ex- clients who started their journey of recovery from Prayas Centre. Though Addiction/ Alcoholism is a disease...

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Happy that my son has come back and leading a good life. Thanks to all of you at Prayas.

Mr. Ghosh

Kolkata

Very pleased with your staff and treatment facility. Thanks to all of you at Prayas.

Mrs. Guha

Birati, West Bengal

I pray to God that you all stay well as you have done this good thing for me. My son is in recovery now.

Mr. Saha

Behala, Kolkata