Sometimes people are referred to being “dependent” on drugs or alcohol and you may be wondering what is the difference between being “dependent” and “addicted”? Mood altering drugs affect the brain in ways still not completely understood. Why some of these drugs become addictive is an even more complicated matter. The language itself can be quite confusing, with the term addiction increasingly being supplanted, at least among professionals, by the term dependence. The newer term avoids the difficult issue of distinguishing between physical and psychological dependency (the term addiction can properly be used only when there is physical dependence). Psychological dependence is when you “think” too much about alcohol or drugs.  You plan your next hit of alcohol or drugs and your life revolves around that next drink or drugs. Physical dependence is the next step to total addiction. You will know if you are physically dependent on alcohol or drugs when your body tells you it craves the next hit of alcohol or drugs.  You may experience the shakes, sweats or headaches because the body is going through withdrawals. Then again, we know some addicts or alcoholics who do not experience severe withdrawals but become agitated and irritable. That’s the only way their loved ones know they are going through withdrawals. There are two aspects to physical dependence: tolerance – the need to take ever larger doses in order to achieve the same level of intoxication and withdrawal symptoms. These are painful or distressing symptoms that occur when the alcohol or drug is denied. Some drugs such as heroin, give rise to both; some to one or the other; and some to neither. Drugs that do not produce true physical dependence such as cannabis may still cause psychological dependence – a state in which the user has a compulsive emotional need for the substance. However, since both types of dependence have a biochemical basis in the brain, the distinction between the two terms is blurred. Whether the drug is nicotine, alcohol or heroin, breaking a drug dependence can be difficult, sometimes painful process. The first step is recognition that a problem exists, followed by detoxification, either abrupt or gradual, depending on the drug and the user.  Withdrawal symptoms, when they occur, also vary from drug to drug and user to user in both kind and severity. In the worst cases, such as heroin, withdrawal can cause severe physical symptoms and should be undertaken only under expert medical supervision. In addition to medical assistance, rehabilitation measures can include psychotherapy to deal with any underlying or contributing behavioural or psychological problems, personal counselling and membership of support groups like AA, NA, Co-Dependency Anonymous and Adult Children of Alcoholics.  Look up your telephone directory or the internet for the nearest group and give them a call. The vicious spiral of drug abuse and its cost to individuals, their families and society at large have heightened scientific interest in finding medical treatments that can facilitate withdrawal from drugs or eliminate the desire for them. We have drugs like Campral and Naltrexone to curb your cravings. Speak to your local doctor about these drugs to help wean you off your drug of choice. Antabuse and methadone were two of the first and best-known drug treatments and are still used for overcoming dependence on alcohol and heroin. More recently new antidepressants, anticonvulsant and anti-anxiety medications have yielded promising results in trials. Although such medication may one day help to win the battle against addiction completely, today relapses remain quite common among recovering alcoholics and addicts and it may take several attempts before a dependency can be broken. The use of alcohol and drugs are only symptoms of an underlying problem.  If you are to succeed in long term sobriety, you need to accept responsibility for your behavior. You need to change your thinking to change your feelings (emotions) to change your behavior. Nothing changes if nothing changes. You might like to help your liver with the following suggested products. LivaTone Plus is a more powerful formula that can support liver function when there are more chronic liver problems. LivaTone Plus combines the proven doses of St Mary’s Thistle with the benefits of Turmeric and Selenium. It also contains all the B vitamins and the amino acid Taurine as well as the antioxidant vitamins C and E. LivaTone Plus is designed to support the step one and two detoxification pathways in the liver. Glutamine can help support efficient brain function. Tyrosine Mood Food as Tyrosine is necessary for the manufacture of dopamine and noradrenaline, which are required for concentration, alertness, memory and a happy stable mood. Magnesium is known as The Great Relaxer and may assist in the reduction of stress, nervous tension, anxiety and sleeplessness. Glicemic Balance Capsules aid in the metabolism of carbohydrates and supports insulin function and is helpful in curbing sugar and carbohydrate cravings when you are detoxing from alcohol.   The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.