Read more about current alcohol and drug addiction news and resources from Gateway Foundation.
Despite the harmful and long-lasting effects of drug use, people struggling with drug addiction have a compulsive and uncontrollable urge to keep using. Stopping can be difficult. In fact, it may even seem impossible, especially because drug withdrawal symptoms can be extremely unpleasant, dangerous, and even lethal. However, with the right drug withdrawal treatment, people can overcome withdrawal and…
Struggling with an alcohol use disorder can be devastating to your health and your life. But if you drink heavily for years, months or even weeks, stopping suddenly can cause alcohol withdrawal symptoms – serious physical and mental side effects that occur due to the body’s dependency on alcohol. Stopping drinking is an important first step to…
The opioid crisis has been staking headlines across national and local media, but another substance has been quietly taking lives by the thousands for years: alcohol. In 2016, more than an estimated 64,000 people died from drug overdose; meanwhile, an average of 88,000 have died from symptoms of alcohol use disorder every year. Symptoms of Alcohol Use…
Stress and Alcohol Your boss wants the project on their desk first thing tomorrow morning. Your rent is due and you’re short, again. You forgot about your anniversary. It’s Monday. When you finally get home, you have a drink or two to wind down, which isn’t necessarily a problem, not yet. According to Gateway Aurora Executive Director…
Empathy Goes a Long Way Today is “Day 4 Empathy” in Chicago as the Ebert Foundation honors late, beloved film critic Roger Ebert on the fifth anniversary of his death. Coincidentally, it is also the 50th anniversary of civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s death. The day is more than an observance; it is…
When people think of addiction, they think of substances like alcohol and drugs. They rarely think of addictive behaviors, but addiction goes well past substance use disorders. It also pertains to process addictions. What is Process Addiction? In 2011, the American Society of Addiction Medicine included behavioral addiction in the broader definition of addiction. Behavioral, or process, addiction is the…
Gender Gap of Addiction One of the biggest issues hurting the world as a whole is substance use disorders, and it is something that is taking the lives of many women. Yet, women are often left out of the conversation when it comes to substance use disorder. Addiction is many times portrayed and framed as…
Avalere Health’s Findings on the State of the Opioid Epidemic Health research firm Avalere Health looked at how the different states across the country have responded to the current state of the opioid epidemic. When conducting its research, Avalere took into consideration the amount of buprenorphine providers in the state compared to the opioid overdoses a state…