Why a Live-In Rehab Centre has 

Higher Chances of Success

There is a reason that we always recommend inpatient programmes, and that is simply they have a much higher rate of success and here is why.There are many different types of rehabilitation programmes out there but they will all fall into the categories of inpatient or outpatient programmes.

1) You receive full time care

This is particularly helpful when trying to get through withdrawals and adjust to a life without drugs. Having the back up there means you have someone to talk to, and help get you through the more difficult times.

2) You are never totally alone.

Being totally alone in such a difficult time can be very, very hard. There are ups and downs during rehab and having someone there at any time, to help you through the downs, the bumps and difficulties in the road makes a big difference.

3) You can fully concentrate on recovery

When going home every night it is easy to get into home and domestic issues, the bills, the cleaning, the cooking etc. While getting through something as hard as rehab it is better to have your attention totally on what you are doing with no need to be distracted onto these other life things. Rehab is a full time job on its own.

4) It is a controlled area

Simply put, in a controlled area you will not be going out at night looking for the next hit. As good intentioned as you will be when starting rehab, it is still difficult to get through those physical and mental cravings. If you are at home, there are all too many reminders of the life with drugs, and that will just get in your road to full rehabilitation.

5) It is away from your home area

This is a continuation of the point above, but it is an important one. Knowing you are within a short drive of your normal dealer or pharmacy can just prey on your mind and make it that much harder to totally disconnect. When in a totally different environment without your connections it is easier to focus on the job at hand and truly have your attention on the rehab.

Here at Narconon we only deliver full time inpatient programmes, to find out more information, call us 00800 802 1375

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Live-In Rehab Fully Concentrate on Recovery

Alcohol in the Work Place

Loss of productivity and poor performance

When companies around the UK were surveyed for how alcohol affected their business these were the main items that came up:

• Lateness and absenteeism
• Safety concerns
• Effect on team morale and employee relations
• Bad behaviour or poor discipline
• Adverse effects on company image and customer relations

In order to strengthen your company and help all employees on an individual basis, it is important to take a look at how much alcohol really is being consumed and the effects that this may be having at work.

Facts about Alcohol

Alcohol is absorbed into your bloodstream within a few minutes of being drunk and carried to all parts of the body including the brain. The concentration of alcohol in the body varies depending on many factors including, how much you have drunk, your size and weight, whether you have eaten and so on.

It takes a healthy liver about 1 hour to break down and remove 1 unit of alcohol. A unit is the equivalent of 10 ml of pure alcohol. This would be the equivalent of half a pint of beer, a normal single measure of spirits or a small glass of wine.

Contrary to popular belief things like black coffee, cold showers and fresh air are not going to sober you up. Though you may feel a little better. Sobering up fully, simply relies on the amount of time that your liver has to remove the alcohol from your body.

For this reason, having a few drinks at lunch will mean that you, in fact, will have that alcohol in your system for most of the afternoon, or drinking very heavily at night would mean that you could still be affected while driving in the morning.

Why is this is so important to your business?

Alcohol is estimated to cause 3-5% of all absences from work; about 8 to 14 million lost working days in the UK each year.

There are many different effects that alcohol consumption can cause in an office, some examples of these are: reduced work performance, damaged customer relations, or resentment among employees who have to ‘carry’ colleagues whose work declines because of drinking.

We do not have the precise figures on the number of workplace accidents caused or related to alcohol, but alcohol is known to affect judgement and physical co-ordination. Drinking even small amounts of alcohol before or while carrying out work that is ‘safety sensitive’ such as driving or operating machinery, will increase the risk of an accident.

What can you do about it?

There is a simple process that you can undertake to decide on policies for your staff. Problems may appear from a variety of sources, such as drinking during working hours, drinking in breaks or just before work, regular heavy drinking or getting drunk outside of work hours.

Follow these simple steps as a guide:

1. Find out if there is an existing problem.

2. Make a list of who you need to consult, this can be staff, managers or outside advisers, and consult them as necessary.

3. Decide how your company expects employees to limit their drinking. Are they expected to drink when out with clients, can they drink on lunch breaks, if so how much would be acceptable and so on?

4. Consider how you can make sure that if an employee does have an alcohol problem, this is noticed and help is made available. It is vital that help is tried before any disciplinary action is taken.

5. Decide at what point, and in what circumstances you will treat an employee’s drinking as a matter of discipline rather than a health problem.

6. Think about how you will let your workforce know about company policy regarding alcohol. It is advised at this point, to introduce a formal written alcohol policy.

7. Find out if any of your managers or other staff need more information or training. If so, get it arranged and carried out.

8. Consider providing staff with general information about alcohol and health.

9. Lastly, you can regularly review all of these steps to ensure that they are correct, working for your company and being followed.

Summary

Having a clear and workable alcohol policy in place will benefit not only your company but all the individuals working for you too. Allowing guidelines to be followed, accidents avoided and help taken when needed.

These statistics and guidelines were based on the Health and Safety Executive ‘Don’t mix it, a guide for employers on alcohol at work.’

If you would like any further advice on alcohol at work or rehabilitating an alcohol, please call us on 

00800 802 1375

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Delirium Tremens

Most people are aware that delirium tremens can set in when withdrawing from alcohol and as the name suggests one of the symptoms is tremors and shaking.

What many people may not realise is how severe the other effects of delirium tremens can be. Delirium tremens not only includes body tremors but also changes in mental function, agitation, irritability, confusion, disorientation, decreased attention span, delirium, fear, hallucinations, quick mood changes and restlessness.

Delirium is defined as an acutely disturbed state of mind that occurs in fever, intoxication, and other disorders and is characterised by restlessness, illusions, and incoherence of thought and speech.

Hallucination is defined as an experience involving the apparent perception of something not present.

This acutely disturbed state of mind can lead to self-harm and even suicide. Hallucinations may be extremely scary, commanding actions which would not normally be taken by the person.

Symptoms of delirium tremens occur most often within 24 to 96 hours after the last drink, but they can occur up to 7 to 10 days later.

Delirium tremens is most often seen in people who drink 4-5 pints of wine, 7-8 pints of beer, or 1 pint of ‘hard’ alcohol every day for several months. Though the alcohol consumption does not have to be that high, or maintained for that long, in certain cases for delirium tremens to occur.

It is critical that people become aware of the reality of alcohol withdrawal, either for themselves, their loved ones or even strangers with whom they may cross paths.

A horrible example of this is at the end of 2014; a man was found dead in a hotel bathroom, it was discovered that he had repeatedly asked the hotel staff for help and they had dismissed him thinking he was a drunk. His laptop records showed he was searching for help from alcohol withdrawal, looking on Wikipedia and medical sites to help get him answers.

He did not get those answers in time, and those hotel staff were missing this vital information, and before the night was over, he was dead at his own hand.

For more information on alcohol withdrawal, 

please contact us on 00800 802 1375

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Alcohol Withdrawal

How to Talk to a Loved One About Addiction

It is important to be open and communicative about addiction with your loved one. Sometimes this can be difficult if you are unsure on how they are going to act, respond or deal with it. This shouldn’t stop you though. The first step for maintaining your relationship and perhaps helping the person through addiction is to be able to talk about it.

You should make sure that you are in a safe comfortable environment for both of you and that you have enough time and limited distractions to allow you to truly have the whole conversation. It could be tough during parts and you don’t want to be called away and leave something like this unfinished.

Next you should be open and honest but without being accusative or judgemental. This is important because you don’t want them to go on the defensive, but rather you want to open them up to be willing to share too. Share your feelings, what has been happening and how you feel affected by the situation.

Sometimes the person won’t fully have faced how bad their drug habit or drinking has gotten, so it is good to be able to draw some comparisons, maybe compare the quantity of drugs or alcohol taken or the fact that ‘now they drink in the morning’ for example. You can show how behaviours may have changed or goals or purposes have gone by the wayside.

You will have to analyse what particularly has changed and what may be real to them about the changes as a first step for them to be able to see that there is a situation. Don’t be put off if you don’t achieve something major, just having the conversation is an excellent first step.

If you need help or advise on talking to your loved one, then call us on

00800 802 1375

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How to talk about addiction First step on helping with addiction

Alcohol Really Is a Drug

 Alcohol is legal and it is a big part of most people’s social life, especially here in the UK where being able to “hold your drink” is considered a good thing. Most weekends don’t go by without at least one big night out. For that reason, it is not always thought of as “that bad” or “really a drug.”

Alcohol, though, is a drug, and it is important to realise that, and understand the facts so that you can then limit your drinking to a responsible level and not end up trapped in dependency.

Alcohol is classed as a depressant. Meaning that it slows down vital functions. That is why when you drink a lot you can end up with slurred speech, unsteady movement, disturbed perceptions and a slow reaction time. Mentally it also impairs your ability to think rationally and make good judgements.

The amount of alcohol that you drink determines the reaction that you will get, one beer or a glass of wine will not usually have a depressing effect but will stimulate you. The next level is the depressant affect. If even more is consumed, then you get into dangerous health areas such as vomiting, unconsciousness, coma or even death.

Statistically more than 9 million people in England drink over the recommended daily limits. In fact, in the UK in 2014 there were 8,697 alcohol-related deaths! Alcohol makes up 10% of the UK’s problems of disease and death, and is one of the three biggest lifestyle risks we have, along with smoking and obesity. 

For that reason, it is very important to understand fully that alcohol is a drug and how it effects the body.

Alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream via small blood vessels in the walls of the stomach and small intestine. Within minutes of drinking alcohol, it travels from the stomach to the brain where it quickly starts to slow the actions of the nerve cells.

Alcohol is also carried by the blood stream to the liver. The liver’s job is to remove the alcohol from the body, by converting it into a non-toxic substance by metabolizing it. The problem is the liver can only metabolize so much at a time. Which means when you consume a high amount, a lot of alcohol is left circulating in the blood stream. This specifically is why the quantity of alcohol you drink in a certain period of time directly effects your reaction to it.

When the amount of alcohol in your blood exceeds a certain amount, the depressing effects start to take their toll and the breathing system slows right down, meaning not much oxygen is reaching the brain which is what can lead to coma or death.

Some of the short term and more well-known effects of alcohol are slurred speech, drowsiness, vomiting, headaches, distorted vision and unconsciousness but there are other more drastic short term effects such as breathing difficulties, anaemia, blackouts and coma.

When you continue to binge drink over a longer period of time, there are other much longer term effects. Alcohol poisoning, high blood pressure, stroke, heart problems, liver disease, nerve damage, sexual problems, brain damage, ulcers and even cancer of the throat.

Other ways alcohol can affect your life is through accidents, or work and relationship losses. While consuming a large amount of alcohol you are more at risk to accidents and injuries whether intentional or not. Such things as car accidents, drowning, falls and burns are not uncommon. It can affect your productivity at work, cause you to make mistakes or even cause on the job injuries. Lastly is the effect on your family life. As you become more and more dependent, relationships will start to fall further and further away.

Think before you drink and if you feel you don’t have the ability to stop drinking, get help. 

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If you or someone you know needs help with alcohol dependence, then call Narconon today 

00800 802 1375

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Saving Artists from Addiction

Almost every month we read or hear about an artist who has succumbed to drugs. Artists are important for our society because they inspire the culture and society to better things. These individuals are talented and deserve support.

By the same token, they are often the target of drug dealers. Artists are often already on a different creative plane and casually taking drugs may not seem like a big deal. Alternately the pressures of the industry or fame can often take their toll and lead to drugs as a solution for the stress.

In the mainstream media you often do not hear about an artist’s drug problem until it is too late. But for those close by, there are usually warning signs or outright in your face signs that you should follow up on.

It takes stepping up to confront someone about their drug problem, facing their denial, recrimination or anger. It is not always easy and sometimes you may feel that it is not worth risking the friendship or relationship you have with the person. But over the long term if someone truly succumbs to addiction you are going to lose this bond in a much worse way anyway.

If you know that you are truly saving someone’s life, then it is always the right thing to do. Pushing through the denial and managing to get that person real help will always be worth it. Both for the person themselves as well as those around him.

If you need help or advise on how to talk to an artist suffering from drugs, 
contact us on 00800 802 1375

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The Future Was a Black Hole 
until the New Life Detox

“I have found that during Narconon’s New Life Detoxification step, I have been thinking about all the things I can do in the future to make mine and my family’s lives better.

While I do not want to forget the past, I do not want to dwell on it either. I have taken what I can from it and am looking forward to the many options I have. 

Before, I allowed my worries of how things would or could turn out control me, and my emotions; the future was a black hole. 

Now it is full of hope, faith and love, and more opportunities than I could ever have imagined before.“  E.R.

If your family needs help call Narconon today on

00800 802 1375
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The New Life Detox:
An Amazing Experience!

A student’s joy with the successful outcome of our comprehensive New Life Detoxification.
“The New Life Detoxification is really an amazing experience where oneprogressively cleans the entire body system, giving an increased feeling of improvement in many aspects of body and mind performance—until a point where one really feels reborn for a new world full of opportunities and future.”   G.C. Call today to discuss the full Narconon Programme and how it may help you or a loved one overcome addiction.

00800 802 1375

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How to Spot an Alcoholic?

Alcohol can seem so safe at first—everyone drinks, it's legal, it's not really a drug... until it is out of hand, and someone you know is addicted. Then is the time you really have to face the effects of alcohol abuse.

Here are some questions that you can ask yourself to determine the true level of the problem.

• Can the person control his (or her) drinking?
• If there is alcohol available can he make the choice to not drink and stick to it?
• Can he stop drinking while there is still alcohol in the bottle, glass or case?
• Is he always finding a reason or excuse to drink?
• Does he drink regularly on his own?
• Does he hide or deny the amount that he drinks?
• Have the costs related to drinking started getting out of control?
• Is he drinking in dangerous situations like driving or while taking prescription medication?
• Does the drinking continue despite things like legal problems or relationship issues?
• Is he neglecting his responsibilities?
• If you confront him on the problem, does he deny it, or even get angry with you?
• Does he deny the situation and refuse to look at change or solutions?
• Are there health problems being caused from the quantity of alcohol consumption?

Depending on how many of these were affirmative you can see how severe the situation really is. Alcoholism can creep up on someone, maybe it started socially but later got out of control. Because alcohol is a legal drug people often don't think that there is a problem until it is too late. Unfortunately like any addiction, it can ruin lives, and not only of the alcoholic themselves.

If the answer was yes to a only few of these, then don't wait for it to worsen but take effective action immediately, while the person is more able to confront the situation.

If you need advice with an alcoholic friend or family member, contact us to see how we can help.

 0800 802 1375

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Student Experiences “A Feeling That Was Better Than A Drug,” During Narconon’s Drug-Free Withdrawal

Withdrawal is often the most feared stage of getting off drugs. Withdrawal symptoms can be any combination of the following: insomnia, restlessness, irritability, muscle cramps and twitches, excessive sweating, loss of appetite, depression, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, shakiness, and headaches.

At Narconon we use simple yet precise and effective techniques, along with a specialised Nutritional programme that helps relieve the symptoms associated with drug or alcohol withdrawal. 

Here is what one student said about his Narconon Drug-Free Withdrawal:

“I wanted to come to Narconon to get off drugs because I had no other place to go. I couldn’t do it on my own. I did try, and I just kept going back. My girlfriend said I was making her ill and my dad nearly had a nervous breakdown. I was ringing loads of rehabs, and never really followed it through. And then Narconon rang me back. I said I need you to get me there today.

The first night I didn’t want to be there. And then I got to sleep—I slept right through to the next day. I never do this normally because my mind is never settled. But then I got to sleep. And then I slept most of the day too. Then I got more of my appetite back and every time I felt low, I got an assist and Cal-Mag (calcium and magnesium drink). That calmed me down and made me want to sleep and relax. This is a new feeling for me. It took my mind off the emotion. I feel this is an achievement for myself.

The techniques from the staff, and how they are—like how they talk to me—really helped me. Objectives really did help and give me a new sensation in my body. One of the objectives gave me a feeling that was better than a drug, a feeling it was unbelievable. It’s just unbelievable.”

L.H.

At Narconon we do not use any substitute drugs to get someone off drugs. Many of our students say their drug-free withdrawal was nowhere near as bad as they thought it was going to be.

If you want to get off drugs but are in fear of withdrawal, contact us to discuss your own personal case and how the Narconon programme could help.

Get Help!

00800 802 1375

The Problem of Opioid Painkiller Addiction

When you think of people addicted to opium you may think of the illicit drug heroin. However, as many prescription painkillers and even over-the-counter painkillers containing opium, this is far from the only problem.

Often when people start out on painkillers they may not realise that it is in fact opium-based or, though aware of it, are following the doctor's recommendations and don't think further on it—until it is too late and the addiction has fully set in.

Here in the UK, the problem is starting to reach crisis proportions. Here are some statistic from Opioid painkiller dependency - An overview: a report written for the All-Party Parliamentary Group onPrescribed Medicine Dependency by Harry Shapiro (Drug Information and Policy Analyst).

• In 2012, some ten million people in the UK were prescribed an opioid painkiller, more than double the next nearest EU country, which is France at four million.
• In 2013, the UK had the highest sales of morphine and opiates like codeine, by volume, than any other country in the EU.
• In 2011, Northern Ireland had the highest annual prevalence of prescription opioid use in the world.
• Just in England, the number of opioid prescriptions rose from around 3 million in 1991 to 23 million by 2014.

One of the reasons we, in the UK, are starting to particularly worry about these statistics is we have the USA to look at as an example of what happens when it gets to epidemic proportions. Looking at overdose and mortality figures in the US is quite startling. The figures in the UK are nothing as dramatic but worrying trends can be seen.The problem of prescription drug addiction has not been spoken of extensively, but these statistics give some idea of the prevalence of opium drug use in our society.

• In the USA in 2010 there were 16,500 deaths from opium painkillers. This is more than double the figure from 2002 and more than twice the number of deaths caused by cocaine and heroin combined!
• In the UK in 2013 there were 757 deaths from opium painkillers, which is a 30% rise from 2012.

Here is a more specific example using the opiate painkiller Tramadol here in the UK.

• In 1996 only one death from Tramadol, in 2011 that had risen to 154 and by 2014 it had reached 240.

So, you can see why now is the time that we have to do something about it. There are variations in who you see addicted to these opiate painkillers. One is the respectable working family man/woman who is following the GP instructions as a handling against some chronic pain. The second are those using it for recreational purposes.

There are a few important factors that need to be looked into here.

• The quantity of prescriptions being given out.
• Whether or not opium-based drugs should be able to be bought over the counter.
• What other solutions are out there, to help people looking to these drugs as the answer.
• How to help those already addicted.

Some ideas of what you can do about it,directly 

• Start increasing awareness of this problem. Do things like circulating this article and other related pieces, talking to your friends and family about it is a good start. If you want to do more you can try things like getting your local community centres together or working with a local newspaper to get it known about.
• Start a petition calling for stricter guidelines on over-the-counter medication and prescriptions. 
• Or if you know people actually within the industry then try to make some changes directly there.

Drugs are always used as a solution for some unwanted life condition, whether chronic pain or for recreational purposes—maybe even boredom or stress. If you know anyone in this situation but not yet addicted, help them to look at what other solutions there are. For pain, maybe some alternative remedies. For boredom or stress, maybe help them look at what lifestyle changes can be made so that life itself can be more enjoyable without drugs as the solution.

If you know someone already addicted then look for a good drug rehabilitation centre. I am writing from Narconon which is a drug rehabilitation centre you can check out here: Narcononuk United Kingdom

It is time that opium painkillers are widely known for what they truly are, and the devastating affects that addiction from them can cause.

00800 802 1375

Narconon United Kingdom - Drug Education and Rehabilitation.

It is a Drug and Alcohol free rehabilitation program

Drugs in the Work Place

Drug use affects all parts of life and that most definitely includes the workplace.

For each individual, a job is vital not only for keeping busy and active but for the means to live and support a family. For executives having happy and productive staff is vital to keeping the company running and viable.

Drug use has an affect on all of these things. Often it comes from not liking your job, not feeling challenged or feeling bored. Alternately or on the other side of the coin it can be from stress, or an unpleasant boss or work environment.

The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence gives some statistics and findings on just how severe the effects of drugs are on the workplace. A couple of stronger examples are these:

• Workers with alcohol problems were 2.7 times more likely than workers without drinking problems to have injury-related absences.
• One-fifth of workers and managers across a wide range of industries and company sizes report that a co-worker’s on- or off-the-job drinking jeopardized their own productivity and safety.

The most common affects are not as severe as this. They often include showing up late, missing a high number of days of work, doing work slowly or with mistakes. This of course is often the precursor of worse things to come.

Often drugs or alcohol is used as a solution to stress at work or a way to relax on the weekend. Unfortunately, this doesn't usually stay on the weekend and it will start to impinge on the work days too. It can often lead to more drugs too. What started as pot to relax on the weekends leads to cocaine to wake up during the week and so the vicious cycle goes.

If you believe you or a colleague or employee may be in need of help call us and see what we can do to help you  
0800 802 1375 

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