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Set Recovery Goals
Published in Sandra Rasmussen, Developing Competencies for Recovery, 2023
Abstinence is the process of abstaining from addictive substances and/or behaviors. If an individual does not engage in the addictive behavior, either indefinitely or for a short time, that person is said to be abstinent or abstaining. Abstinence can be a personal recovery goal, or a program philosophy Abstinence is part of most 12-step facilitated treatment programs. Abstinence is often the goal of choice for individuals with severe addictions. Abstinence is a healthy goal for pregnant women.
Define Your Recovery, Design Your Life
Published in Joi Andreoli, The Recovery Cycle, 2023
Why any one of us gets and stays sober is a huge mystery. Again, our natural state as addicts seems to be that of being drunk or wanting to get drunk (or act out compulsively). There is good news, though. You can be one of the sober ones, too. You can have the recovery you want. With abstinence and your personal realization that you are done using, you will have a choice. Once addicts can make the choice to stay abstinent, they can focus on recovery and begin their new drug-free life. I want to add a note here about opioid addiction, as the withdrawal and sobering up from this type of substance appears to have a different intensity than for any other kind of addiction or compulsive behavior.
Polydrug use: cocktails and combinations, including benzodiazepines, alcohol and cannabis
Published in Berry Beaumont, David Haslam, Care of Drug Users in General Practice, 2021
Maintaining abstinence is difficult. About 50% of alcohol-dependent patients relapse within three months of completing treatment. Work needs to be done to maintain the abstinence, e.g. additional counselling, self-help groups. Follow-up by the specialist alcohol service should be encouraged. This can take the form of counselling, relapse prevention groups and drugs such as acamprosate, naltrexone or disulfiram.
Changes in Solo and Partnered Sexual Behaviors following the First COVID-19 Wave: Data from an International Study of 26 Countries
Published in International Journal of Sexual Health, 2023
Devon J. Hensel, Kristen P. Mark, Amr Abdelhamed, Sharyn Burns, Tammary Esho, Jacqueline Hendriks, Vinicius Jobim Fischer, Olena Ivanova, Michael Marks, Kristien Michelsen, Fillipo Nimby, Jenna Strizzi, Joe Tucker, Maximiliane Uhlich, Jennifer Toller Erausquin
Our data collectively highlight an important point: sexuality and sexual behavior remain a fundamental human experience, even during a global pandemic (Hall et al., 2020). Although both the types and frequency of behaviors chosen may change, ensuring people’s access to safe, wanted, and satisfying sexual experiences should be as much of a public health priority as virus mitigation (Banerjee & Rao, 2020). A core lesson learned during HIV and other sexually transmitted infection (STI) public health responses is that recommending sexual abstinence as a means of virus transmission control is both implausible and unreasonable (Newman & Guta, 2020). For those who choose, intimate contact serves many purposes (Meston & Buss, 2007) and is a bolster to mental and physical health (Diamond & Huebner, 2012). A key role of both clinical/public health and education efforts during a pandemic, then, is working with patients and clients to ensure ongoing sexual wellness, including if and/or how they can participate in sex. Although not fully articulated in this paper, such efforts are particularly important among the multiple marginalized communities—gender and sexual minorities, people of color, those with disabilities, young people, refugees and immigrants, sex workers, populations, people experiencing poverty/financial hardship and more—who experience disproportionately more barriers to good sexual and reproductive health outcomes (de la Rocha et al., 2022; Hall et al., 2020).
Lifestyle redesign program with motivational enhancement for young people with drug use in Hong Kong: a retrospective study
Published in Journal of Substance Use, 2023
Calvin Wing-Cheong Chiu, Catherine Wai-Yan Li, Eric Shek-Kin Lai, Colin Kwok-Man Law, Ming Lam
Drug addiction is a chronic health problem that severely impedes one’s social and occupational activities (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Existing treatments such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Brief Intervention or Family Therapy for treating addictive behaviors are available (Miller et al., 2019). However, continuous abstinence is not always guaranteed. A study has reported a rather high relapse rate (66%) within 6 months after treatment, with a median time for reinstatement of fewer than 2 months (Cornelius et al., 2003). One of the contributing factors appears to be the destructive lifestyle which perpetuates drug use (Davies et al., 2015). Such lifestyle is characterized by a lack of meaningful engagement, unhealthy social relationships, or financial tightness (Central Registry of Drug Abuse, 2018a; Fergusson et al., 2002), and drugs are used for stress relief. This imbalanced and maladaptive lifestyle eventually leads to the vicious cycle of drug addiction (Marlatt et al., 2002).
Home-Based Sexuality Education in Ghana: The Perspectives of Adolescents and Parents
Published in International Journal of Sexual Health, 2022
Jessica Osei Owusu, Joana Salifu Yendork, Joseph Osafo
The finding of abstinence as one of the most commonly discussed topics in home-based sexuality education reflects the adolescent's exposure to strict African cultural norms. In most African cultures which Ghana is inclusive, sex is considered to be sacred and thus, must solely be shared between married couples (Baku et al., 2017). In adolescents’ quest to have a positive image in society, they are constantly taught by significant others to live a chaste life until marriage. Topics on abstinence may also be motivated by reasons such as a desire to live a "Christian life" and live according to Bible principles, avoiding negative consequences and trouble, and an attempt to distinguish oneself from other people who have promiscuous sexuality (Iyer et al., 2014). These reasons echo the findings of many studies that show that sexual abstinence is primarily determined by religious beliefs and personal values (Gardner, 2011; Gesser-Edelsburg & Arabia, 2018; Landor & Simons, 2014).