Drug-induced psychosis is a break from reality triggered by drugs. Someone in it may hear voices or see things that are not there, and hold fixed beliefs that cannot be true. For most people it clears within days to a few weeks of stopping the substance. While it lasts it is a real medical emergency, […]
Codeine addiction in South Africa rarely begins with a decision to use drugs. It usually begins with genuine pain and a pharmacy product that helped. Maybe it was a migraine that Myprodol finally touched, or a cough that only a codeine syrup could settle. The shift from taking codeine for pain to needing it to […]
Mandrax is the South African street name for tablets containing methaqualone, a sedative drug banned internationally in the 1970s but still produced in clandestine laboratories around the country. The drug acts as a central nervous system depressant. It slows breathing and dulls consciousness to a level that can cause respiratory failure, especially when combined with […]
Yes, you can be a high functioning alcoholic and still need treatment. The defining feature is that nobody around you sees the problem. You hold the senior job and pay the bond. You drink a bottle of wine every night. Your performance has not collapsed. That is not evidence you do not have a problem. […]
The safe way to stop drinking depends on how much you have been drinking and for how long. For light to moderate drinkers, the path is behavioural. You change your environment and your routine, and within a few weeks the cravings ease. For heavy daily drinkers, willpower alone is dangerous. Sudden withdrawal from heavy drinking […]
Coming into inpatient rehab can be daunting at first. Substance abuse is not something that develops overnight – it has a progression and a process; treatment is quite like this. Taking the first step and admitting a problem is the hardest part of the process. At Changes, we recognise that the disease of addiction is […]
At Changes Rehab in Johannesburg, we understand that overcoming addiction is more than just breaking a physical dependency. Our holistic approach addresses every aspect of an individual’s being – physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. This comprehensive guide explores how our unique methodology at Changes Rehab offers a path to lasting recovery. Holistic Treatment Embracing Total […]
GHB, or gamma-hydroxybutyrate, is a central nervous system depressant that is often used as a recreational drug due to its euphoric, relaxing and sedative effects. Although it was originally developed for medical purposes, including as an aesthetic and sleep aid, it is now mainly used illicitly for non-medical reasons. It is a very dangerous drug […]
Here are the four stages of an alcohol treatment centre programme: Treatment Initiation Early Abstinence Maintaining Abstinence Advanced Recovery. Few alcoholics’ recoveries are this direct. We move back and forth between the four stages, some alcoholics more than others. Knowing where you are in the 4 stages of an alcohol treatment centre programme can help […]
Am I an addict or alcoholic? If you are asking yourself this question it means that you are concerned about your drug or alcohol use. It is important to pay attention to these concerns and to find an answer to this question so that you can get help sooner rather than later – and prevent […]