Marcus (not his real name) had to hit rock bottom before he truly wanted to fight his way to the top. He was a drug addict. He was homeless. He was arrested on multiple charges and police wanted to send him to jail. He was in the grip of a five-year drug addiction that had cost him his family, his friends and a promising career as a swimmer. You’ve probably heard of ice/crystal meth, but take a step back and look at the group of drugs. While “speed” is the street name for the powder form of both amphetamine and methamphetamine, “ice” or “crystal” specifically refers to the crystalline form of methamphetamine. Ice is generally smoked or used intravenously, leading to faster absorption and slower metabolism by the body, resulting in a more intense high. The effects of amphetamine and methamphetamine range from increased energy, alertness and euphoria, to anxiety, paranoia, hallucinations and violence. Large doses can cause extremely high heart rate and body temperature, strokes and heart attacks; while long-term uses may lead to dependence or even brain damage. It was 3 years ago that Marcus finally dragged himself to rehab. He had to save himself from himself. “I definitely battled addiction,” the 22-year-old said. “I was in denial for the majority of time before I realised the damage I did to my family, my friends, I’d just thrown my whole career down the tube all for a drug addiction.” Initially Marcus used ice to glean that increased energy, alertness and euphoria but before long, those feelings were replaced with overwhelming anxiety, palpitations and paranoia. Marcus was hooked and could not get out of the web of this disease. “I was so ungrateful and I never appreciated anything in my life. I was spoilt.”  Marcus said.  “Reality clicked in, I was living on the street, I had no family, no one wanted to talk to me anymore and it was a very lonely life.” “I was in a lot of trouble with the law. I just realised I didn’t want to live that life anymore.” “I was very miserable, sad, lost, broken. I was just an ungrateful kid that was always chasing that empty void in my life. I couldn’t get clean on my own and was in a toxic cycle that I could not get over.” “I actually realised I needed to get help and I went to rehab and got help. From there my whole life changed and it’s been an overwhelming journey.” “I am so grateful and thankful that everything has been restored and I’ve been given a fresh start.” Marcus thought fame and fortune would fall in his lap and behaved like he was a rock star when in fact he’d proven nothing at all. He was totally self-absorbed with this sense of entitlement. It didn’t take long for his world to come crashing down and reality hit hard.  The behavioural effects of ice on Marcus, including confusion, agitation and aggression, adds to the complexity of medical assessment and treatment. It was in rehab, during those hellish withdrawals from his daily drug and alcohol binges, that he thought it wasn’t too late to fulfil his destiny. “I look at it as I’m born to swim and I want to fulfil my destiny. That is my destiny, to be a swimmer,” he said. “I’d trained myself to take drugs for five years. The hardest thing was that was gone. I had to get clean. Coming off it was like living in hell, but I had to do it. We’re not put on this planet to take drugs and drink alcohol every day. I completely believe that, I want to live a good clean life. I’d never wish it upon anybody. I definitely had to experience it to be where I am today.” This story has a happy ending with Marcus beating a drug and alcohol addiction and working through his personal problems. Marcus is now back in the pool and training hard for his place in the coming Olympic Games in Rio. Emerging anecdotal evidence also indicates that use and harm is increasing among people in occupational groups not traditionally associated with stimulant use, such as young trades’ people and professionals. Little is known about how ice affects these emerging user populations; researchers and clinicians are particularly concerned about the interplay between physical, behavioural, mental health and social problems. We know that ice-related harm is growing but given that we are dealing with research data and anecdotal evidence, questions remain about the factors that might be driving the rise in harm: whether it is a new population of users with more harm for existing users or changing patterns of use. It is also unclear how these rising harms will impact on the community, particularly for delivering services to high-risk groups. To minimise harms, we need to promote a greater understanding of ice use in the community to enable appropriate prevention.  Intervention and service responses that are evidence-based and target those who are most at risk. Parents need to take more responsibility for knowing where their teenagers are at night and what they are doing on week-ends. Being a typical “helicopter Mum” may be time consuming but it's worth it as your children grow into adulthood, hopefully without the scars of addiction. In our years of seeing drug and alcohol dependent people, mostly women, we have put together a program that enables  clients to understand the basis of their addiction is caused by their lack of brain chemistry along with guided imagery and a general pragmatic approach to healing the mind, body and spirit. We use supplements to help balance their brain chemistry In Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, there is a strong emphasis on mindfulness and acceptance. When we are mindful, we live in the present and are aware of our own thoughts and feelings as they occur. To live one day at a time takes the pressure off past and pending problems once you know how to emotionally detach from people, places, things and situations. When we are pre-occupied with our own neediness, we can be physically present to others, but mentally absent. Being mindful means having intention in your actions. With intention you purposefully choose your behaviour (not to use alcohol or drugs to self-medicate) with the bigger picture in mind. Learning how to be mindful of one’s thinking, emotions and behaviour, compliments a healthy life without the need to use food, alcohol or drugs to escape reality. Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) enables us to understand our feelings and untangle complicated emotions and ends cycles of depression, anxiety and substance abuse. Active meditation is another tool that assists the sub-conscious mind to change limited beliefs and change thought patterns that produce negative emotions. Recovery from sugar, drug or alcohol addiction is like a jig saw puzzle – a mental, emotional and physical journey that takes a lifetime of vigilance and we never stop learning. You might like to increase your supplements to help you in your quest for a healthier life. Adrenal Natural Glandular provides tissue from the entire adrenal gland, both medulla and cortex portions. This supplement may assist you to help fight adrenal fatigue. Super Digestive Enzymes will assist with your digestion of carbohydrates, protein and fat. I’ve ordered some Super Digestive Enzymes myself today to help me with my own digestive problems attributable to my age.  I haven’t fallen off my perch yet! Super Digestive Enzymes promote efficient digestion of carbohydrates, protein and fat. Digestive enzymes are vitally important for good health, but unfortunately many people (including myself) don’t produce enough of them. As we get older, the production of digestive enzymes by the stomach, pancreas and small intestine declines. This reduction begins around the age of 35 years. Many people in their 60s and beyond are extremely deficient in digestive enzymes and this contributes to nutritional deficiencies because they can’t get all the goodness from the food they eat. Another product designed to support optimal bowel function is Fibertone. This product is helpful for those with: irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, chronic diarrhoea, bloating, embarrassing gas and flatulence, excess acidity in the stomach, hemorrhoids and diverticulitis (bowel pockets). This product  is gluten free and doesn’t have any GMO additive.   The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.