N.J. addicts suffer from shortage of drug treatment facilities
Three months after fleeing a Florida rehabilitation center, Amanda, a 24-year-old from Woodcliff Lake, was using heroin again. She stole her grandmother's credit card, bought thousands of dollars worth of electronics and sold them in Paterson for drugs.
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by javaturtle

Loopholes closed that kept insured from mental health therapy
10 (UPI) — U.S. government agencies say they closed the loopholes that kept insured patients from being treated for mental illness or substance abuse. "This final rule breaks down barriers that stand in the way of treatment and recovery services for …
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Drug treatment sign-up uncertain
One of the provisions that the Affordable Care Act is set to provide is substance abuse treatment to millions of Americans who never had access to it before. The question now among many health care professionals is: Will those who need addiction …
Read more on Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

Oxycontin Addiction and Oxycontin Abuse – http://drugstrategies.org/ Oxycontin Addiction & Oxycontin Abuse – Take the first step to discovering the best substance abuse treatment options for you. Cal…

What addiction experts are saying about Rob Ford's crack cocaine admission
TORONTO – Following his admission to smoking crack cocaine, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford became the talk of the town, the rest of the world and now, doctors dealing with substance abuse. It's been a tumultuous week for the mayor, who conceded to reporters …
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VIDEO: Recovering addicts, parents, officials discuss drug abuse at forum
EAST FISHKILL- Local organizations and community members came together to fight a growing "epidemic," in the country and locally- drug abuse. A forum to discuss opiate abuse was held at John Jay High School in Hopewell Junction. It was sponsored by …
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Addicts may be seeking relief from emotional lows more than euphoric highs
The Rutgers researchers say this animal study may lead to a better understanding of human addiction – alcohol, tobacco and food – as well as substance abuse. The reason animal studies are critical in addiction research, they say, is that human …
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Question by Michael Brian: What addictions does the APA recognize as actual addiction disorders?
I know technically anything can be an “addiction” but I’m trying to find a list that the APA has put out that lists the actual addictions someone can be diagnosed with.

Best answer:

Answer by Peachy Perfect
Depends on what you count as an addiction. The DSM-IV (current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) doesn’t have a definition for the word “addiction” and doesn’t use it.

As far as what *you* might classify as an “addiction”, you can be diagnosed with either Substance Abuse or Substance Dependence, depending on the severity of the addiction. This involves either the dependence on or abuse of substances, like alcohol, heroin, caffeine –yes, I said caffeine–, cocaine, nicotine, etc.

As far as other “addictions” to non-substances go, the ones found under the “Impulse Control Disorders” category include:
– Pathological Gambling (people addicted to gambling)
– Kleptomania (people addicted to stealing)
– Pyromania (people addicted to setting fires)
– Trichotillomania (people addicted to pulling their hair out — yes, I’m serious)

There are lots of other disorders, including but definitely not limited to pedophilia and hypochondriasis, which you might consider addictions (pedophilia being when you are “addicted” to sexual endeavors with children, hypochondriasis being when you are “addicted” to being sick), but I don’t really count those under the “addictions” category, personally.

However, in the DSM-5, which is set to come out in May 2013, they are going to add a ton more disorders involving addictions under the category “Substance Use and Addictive Disorders”. But mostly the only change that will be made is specifying the type of substance that one is abusing, dependent on, and/or suffering withdrawals from. For example, instead of being diagnosed with plain “Substance Abuse” with alcohol listed as a side note, an alcoholic would be diagnosed with “Alcohol Use Disorder”, “Alcohol Intoxication”, and/or “Alcohol Withdrawal”.

Addiction definition in flux
In September, Yale professor of psychiatry Marc Potenza published a letter in the journal “Addictive Behaviors” on how the definition of “addiction” had broadened in the new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) …
Read more on Yale Daily News (blog)

You can't treat addiction with willpower and denial
These phenomena have been incorporated into the definition of addiction as a chronic relapsing brain disorder by the American Society of Addiction Medicine and the symptoms include cravings and withdrawal with observable consequences such as loss of …
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Sugar as addictive as Cocaine
If we look at the above definition, then no, sugar is definitely NOT an addiction and using the term is highly erroneous. My view though is that "addiction" is much more complicated to define. Firstly we aren't all tempted by the same vices. I will …
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Chelmsford goes 'Behind Closed Doors' of teen drug abuse
More than 200 folks filtered into Chelmsford High School's Performing Arts Center last Thursday night for a "Behind Closed Doors" examination of current trends in teen substance abuse. "We did a great amount of advertising for this program, not just in …
Read more on wickedlocal.com/chelmsford

Hayes-Sammons warehouse owner wanted teen drug rehab, boot camp on site
But Hinojosa saw the warehouse as a way to help his drug-addicted teenage son and thousands others like him. He wanted to convert the hulking, graffiti-covered structure into a residential drug-treatment center and boot camp for troubled teens …
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Prescription Drug Abuse on the Rise, Iowa Teen Shares Her Struggle
The program, called Iowa Medicine TLC (Talk, Lock, Connect), is an effort by the Iowa Substance Abuse Information Center to get parents and their kids talking about abuse and misuse of prescription medication. 17 year-old Erbes says her first time …
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DoD widens addiction treatment options
21, the Defense Department lifted a restriction that prohibited Tricare from covering certain drug therapies used in substance abuse treatment. The change involves medications such as buprenorphine and methadone, considered potentially addictive for …
Read more on Military Times

Lois M. Collins: Quick consequence, intervention for drug use best hope for …
According to the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, the specialized courts exist to tackle addictions without throwing away lives that can be repaired. They work by diverting eligible drug addicts out of the criminal justice system and …
Read more on Deseret News

Pregnant women abusing drugs need addiction intervention, not stigma: report
But a new report says women with substance abuse problems should be treated with compassion by health providers and society at large, especially during pregnancy, because addiction is a brain disorder and not a personal failing. Story continues below.
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