Aging and Addiction


Book Description

The authors, both experts in the field of addiction treatment and intervention, provide a respectful, definitive guide for recognizing and addressing substance abuse among older adults. Addiction among older adults is a hidden and hushed problem. Signs and symptoms of alcohol or medication abuse can easily be mistaken for conditions related to aging. And even when friends or family members recognize signs of addiction, they often discount the need for intervention or treatment. With an estimated three million older Americans struggling with alcohol and drug misuse and abuse, Aging and Addiction is a much-needed resource. The authors, both experts in the field of addiction treatment and intervention, provide a respectful, definitive guide for recognizing and addressing substance abuse among older adults. Key topics include: understanding the relationship between aging and addiction, finding help for a loved one, and recognizing the treatment needs of older adults.Key features and benefitsauthors are widely recognized experts in the field of addictionaddresses one of the nation's most underestimated, under treated health problemsprovides how-to-help information for family members and friends




Alcohol and Aging


Book Description

U.S. census figures forecast that the percentage of U.S. citizens over the age of 65 will double between 1980 and 2030. Estimates that between 3 and 10% of this group are prone to alcohol abuse points to the potential for an increasingly ominous health care problem. Alcohol and Aging, the first comprehensive treatment of the topic written for clinicians, covers a wide range of issues unique to elderly alcoholics, from diagnosis and treatment to alcohol-related medical and cognitive disorders, from problems arising from interactions between alcohol and medication to the biochemistry of intoxication. Throughout, the book focuses on clinical, practical problems and stays away from jargon, making it accessible to a wide range of readers. Featuring contributions a diverse group of specialists, the book will be an invaluable aid to physicians, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and social workers who treat alcoholism in the aging population.




Substance Use and Older People


Book Description

Substance use and addiction is an increasing problem amongst older people. The identification of this problem is often more difficult in older patients and is frequently missed, particularly in the primary care context and in emergency departments, but also in a range of medical and psychiatric specialties. Substance Use and Older People shows how to recognise and treat substance problems in older patients. However, it goes well beyond assessment and diagnosis by incorporating up-to-date evidence on the management of those older people who are presenting with chronic complex disorders, which result from the problematic use of alcohol, inappropriate prescribed or over the counter medications, tobacco, or other drugs. It also examines a variety of biological and psychosocial approaches to the understanding of these issues in the older population and offers recommendations for policy. Substance Use and Older People is a valuable resource for geriatricians, old age psychiatrists, addiction psychiatrists, primary care physicians, and gerontologists as well as policy makers, researchers, and educators. It is also relevant for residents and fellows training in geriatrics or geri-psychiatry, general practitioners and nursing home physicians.







Reducing Underage Drinking


Book Description

Alcohol use by young people is extremely dangerous - both to themselves and society at large. Underage alcohol use is associated with traffic fatalities, violence, unsafe sex, suicide, educational failure, and other problem behaviors that diminish the prospects of future success, as well as health risks â€" and the earlier teens start drinking, the greater the danger. Despite these serious concerns, the media continues to make drinking look attractive to youth, and it remains possible and even easy for teenagers to get access to alcohol. Why is this dangerous behavior so pervasive? What can be done to prevent it? What will work and who is responsible for making sure it happens? Reducing Underage Drinking addresses these questions and proposes a new way to combat underage alcohol use. It explores the ways in which may different individuals and groups contribute to the problem and how they can be enlisted to prevent it. Reducing Underage Drinking will serve as both a game plan and a call to arms for anyone with an investment in youth health and safety.




Alcohol and Aging


Book Description

This book provides a current perspective on alcohol and aging to better understand the trends, costs, benefits, and clinical and community evidenced-based strategies. This book embraces not only the physical, cognitive, psychological, and social health benefits of moderate drinking in the elderly, it also delves into the risks of excessive drinking, including physical and psychiatric morbidity, neurodegeneration, medication complications, and accidents and injuries, and loss of independence. Written by experts in the field, this book is the only current text that includes the most current scientific, research, empirical, and practice information alongside a comprehensive review of the status of the field that will help guide alcohol use management and stimulate future research. Alcohol and Aging is the ultimate resource for all researchers, educators, clinicians, and professionals working with older adults who drink.




Love First


Book Description

This revised and expanded third edition of the gold-standard for intervention provides clear steps for harnessing the power of family, friends, and professionals to create a better future with loved ones suffering from addiction. Over the course of the last twenty years, Love First has become the go-to intervention guide for tens of thousands of families. This trailblazing book empowers and equips families and friends to use the power of love and honesty to give their addicted loved ones a chance to reach for help. Updated with the latest addiction science as well as insights gained from decades of front-line experience in family interventions, this revised and expanded edition contains practical tools for taking the next step together: transforming the intervention team into an ongoing community of loving support, lasting accountability, and lifelong recovery.




Alcohol and Public Policy


Book Description




Not As Prescribed


Book Description

The leading clinical expert on substance misuse and abuse, Dr. Harry Haroutunian of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, provides caregivers and loved ones with vital information needed to understand and address addiction issues in older adults. Drug and alcohol problems are booming in older adults. Dramatic lifestyle changes, along with growing health problems, have led many to turn to alcohol, prescription painkillers, and marijuana to medicate their physical and psychological pain. You may think, Dad is just enjoying cocktails and retirement, or Mom still has pain and needs her pills. Maybe so, but consider that an estimated 17 percent of people age sixty and older struggle with misuse of alcohol and prescription drugs alone. Older adults are now hospitalized as often for alcohol-related problems as they are for heart attacks. In this book, Dr. Haroutunian, physician director of the Professionals Program at the Betty Ford Center, provides you with the information needed to understand the dynamics of addiction in older adults. You’ll learn to; clearly distinguish between the signs of aging and the signs of addiction, many of which overlap; identify the indications of drug misuse and its progression to addiction; understand the unique treatment needs of older adults; and get the help you—as a caregiver or loved one—need to cope with your loved one’s addiction. This essential guide can help you transform stress and chaos into understanding and compassion.




Alcohol in America


Book Description

Alcohol is a killerâ€"1 of every 13 deaths in the United States is alcohol-related. In addition, 5 percent of the population consumes 50 percent of the alcohol. The authors take a close look at the problem in a "classy little study," as The Washington Post called this book. The Library Journal states, "...[T]his is one book that addresses solutions....And it's enjoyably readable....This is an excellent review for anyone in the alcoholism prevention business, and good background reading for the interested layperson." The Washington Post agrees: the book "...likely will wind up on the bookshelves of counselors, politicians, judges, medical professionals, and law enforcement officials throughout the country."