Outpatient Alcohol Rehabilitation
May 23, 2010 by Cressida Matthew
Filed under Health Fitness
Outpatient alcohol rehabilitation refers to any non-residential alcohol rehabilitation program which is in use to help the addicts. Most outpatient alcohol rehabilitation programs expect that you have already stabilized physically through a separate alcohol rehabilitation program; they expect that you feel well enough to focus on the psychological, emotional and mental aspect of alcohol addiction.
Whether the time commitment expected of you is a little or a lot, the focus each time you go to outpatient alcohol rehab will be on learning more about your addiction and yourself as well as learning relapse prevention.
The primary benefit of outpatient alcohol rehabilitation is the continued support and structure provided by the program during early recovery. Right after one stops drinking, you’ll notice that there is a lot of extra time on your hands, time you used to spend drinking or recovering after drinking. As you regain your energy and your health, you will need new, positive things to fill your time.
Outpatient alcohol rehabilitation is at first that healthy time filler for you. It also provides you with the support and guidance you need as you rebuild your life. With therapists, psychologists and in peer groups, you will explore the issues that first prompted you to turn to alcohol as well as address the issues that came about as a result of your alcoholism. This can be the basis for a strong support network in 12-step groups and one-on-one therapy that sustains you throughout your life.
Relapse prevention is another positive aspect of outpatient alcohol rehab. As you explore your personal issues and create a network of support, you will also learn the coping skills to fight against relapse and remain alcohol-free.
Through education that addresses the physical mechanisms of alcohol in the brain and the body as well as real life skills you can employ to safely avoid alcohol when you feel tempted, you will be totally prepared to embark on a life of sobriety when you graduate from outpatient alcohol rehabilitation.
Outpatient alcohol rehabilitation also allows you to continue to care for your children or dependent family members. If you are employed, you can manage your schedule around your outpatient alcohol rehabilitation schedule.
This is one of those rehabilitation programs which have helped many people around. This help has been possible not only because of the program and its features, but also because of the determination of the addicts who are willing to quit the habit.
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Gambling Your Life Away
March 16, 2010 by Cressida Matthew
Filed under Health Fitness
The addiction to gambling can strain your relationships; interfere with responsibilities at home and work, and lead to financial catastrophe. You tend to do things you never thought you would, like stealing to get money to gamble or take money meant for your children.
As defined by American Psychiatric Association, pathological gambling is an impulse control disorder that is a chronic and progressive mental illness. Extreme cases of problem gambling may cross over into the realm of mental disorders. Pathological gambling was recognized as a psychiatric disorder in the DSM-III, but the criteria were significantly reworked based on large-scale studies and statistical methods for the DSM-IV.
Gambling addiction, also known as compulsive gambling, even when they know the odds are against them, even when they can’t afford to lose, people with a gambling addiction can’t “stay off the bet. Compulsive gamblers can’t control the impulse to gamble, even when they know their gambling is hurting themselves. Gambling is all they can think about and all they want to do, no matter the consequences.
Gamblers go to great lengths to hide their gambling. Gambling addiction is sometimes referred to as the “hidden illness” and this is because there are no obvious physical signs or symptoms like there are in drug or alcohol addiction. Problem gamblers typically deny or minimize the problem. For example, problem gamblers often withdraw from their loved ones, sneak around, and lie about where they’ve been and what they’ve been up to.
Research have shown that problem gambling is an internal tendency, and that problem gamblers will tend to risk money on whatever game is available.
However, research also indicates that problem gamblers tend to risk money on fast-paced games. Thus a problem gambler is much more likely to lose a lot of money on poker or slot machines, where rounds end quickly and there is a constant temptation to play again or increase bets, as opposed to a state lottery where the gambler must wait until the next drawing to see results.
Unlike other people, gamblers fail to recognize that gambling puts them at risk of losing all of these attributes and that gambling is a random process, where the odds are stacked against them, so they are more likely to lose than to win. Money is central to the experience of gambling. Gambling addicts, as with other people, attach many different positive attributes to money, such as power, comfort, security and freedom. Furthermore, when they do win, people with gambling addictions tend to gamble away their winnings quickly.
The biggest step in treatment is realizing you have a problem with gambling. It takes tremendous strength and courage to own up to this, especially if you have lost a lot of money and strained or broken relationships along the way. Don’t despair, and don’t try to go it alone.
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Getting Through Addiction
March 13, 2010 by Cressida Matthew
Filed under Health Fitness
Addictions come in all shapes and forms. Difficult to define exactly, it has become popular to think of almost any behavior that has a compulsive quality as an “addiction.” But for those who have an addiction, or for those affected by the addiction of a loved one or close friend, it’s clear what an addiction means in “real” terms.
The relationship between mental health issues and substance use is convoluted. According to research gathered at the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health in Ontario, more than half of people with substance use disorders also have mental health issues such as anxiety or depression. Some people with mental health problems use different substances to self-medicate, but end up making things worse.
Common Characteristics of Destructive Addictions: The substance activity or activity that triggers must initially cause feelings of pleasure and changes in emotion or mood. The body develops a physical tolerance to the substance or activity, so people with addictions so people must take larger and larger amounts of a substance to feel the same effects. The removal of the drug or activity causes painful withdrawal symptoms. More than physical tolerance, an addiction develops physical and psychological dependence separate from the need to avoid the pain of withdrawal.
The answer lies in the brain. Repeated drug use alters the brain-causing long-lasting changes to the way it looks and functions. These brain changes interfere with your ability to think clearly, exercise good judgment, control your behavior, and feel normal without drugs. These changes are also responsible, in large part, for the drug cravings and compulsion to use that make addiction so powerful.
So when this flutter of activity increases the creation of dopamine for the negative behaviors and substances like drugs, alcohol, gambling, etc., it neglects the natural survival instinct reaction mechanisms, replacing them with the ecstasy instead. The problem is the brain doesn’t realize what it is that is causing the ecstasy reaction.
Addiction develops after an initial exposure to the addicting substance or activity. That initial exposure must occur for addiction to develop, but addiction does not always develop. Addiction always causes psychological, chemical, and anatomical changes in the brain along with behavior changes. The cycle of quitting the addictive behavior, going through withdrawal, and relapsing may become self-reinforcing.
It’s been argued that in some cases, using substances to self-medicate is a learned behavior to cope with stress. Some people inherit a vulnerability to the addictive properties of drugs. Studies have shown that the risk of substance use disorders is higher for people who have a close relative with addictions. Even if a person has a genetic vulnerability to addiction, it does not necessarily mean he will become an addict.
With support from family members who are non-judgmental, a person with addictions is more likely to stay in treatment and have a successful outcome. There is always a reason why a person develops an addiction. More often than not other factors that are behind addictions include chaos in the family unit, poverty, having physical, emotional or sexual abuse in the past or present to deal with or conflict. Families play a strong role in substance abuse recovery.
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Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund Celebrates 15 Years Of Wealth Creation
January 12, 2010 by Cressida Matthew
Filed under Mutual Funds
Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund (BSLMF) one of the leading Mutual Fund houses in India, is celebrating completion of 15 years of wealth creation. Since its inception, the fund house has offered funds to its investors that have created wealth for them consistently and has registered impressive growth in terms of business (asset under management).
Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company (BSLAMC) was established in 1994 & it is a joint venture between Aditya Birla Group, a well known and trusted name globally amongst Indian conglomerates and Sun Life Financial Inc, leading international financial services organization from Canada.
BSLAMC is amongst the top 5 asset management companies in India with an average asset under management of Rs 68,066 crores as on December 31, 2009. An impressive mix of reach through 106 branches, full range of product offerings across equity, debt, balanced & structured asset classes and strong investment performance has helped the Company enjoy trust of over 2.3 Million investors. Known for its consistent performance, BSLAMC has received recognition from various institutes of international repute like the CRISIL, Asian investor Magazine, The Asset Magazine ICRA and Lipper. It is the only fund house in India to have won the coveted \”Mutual Fund House of the Year\” from CNBC TV 18 Crisil twice in a row.
Aditya Birla Financial Services Group is a broad based and integrated player in the financial services space with a strong presence across verticals viz., life insurance, asset management, retail broking, distribution and wealth management, NBFC, insurance broking & advisory services and private equity. ABFSG is rapidly growing in line with its vision to be a leader and role model in the Indian financial services sector.
The seven companies representing Aditya Birla Financial Services Group are Birla Sun Life Insurance Company, Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company, Aditya Birla Money (erstwhile Apollo Sindhoori Capital Investments), Birla Sun Life Distribution Company, Birla Global Finance Company, Birla Insurance Advisory & Broking Services and Aditya Birla Capital Advisors.
The consolidated revenues from these businesses crossed USD 1 billion mark in 2008-09. ABFSG has its wings spread across more than 500 cities in India through over 1500 branches and over 2 lacs channel partners. Today ABFSG collectively enjoys trust of over 4 million customers, manages assets over USD 16 billion and prides itself for having a talent pool of over 15,000 committed employees.
Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited (ABNL) is a USD 3 billion conglomerate having leadership position across its manufacturing as well as services sector businesses of which ABFSG is a subset of. ABNL is a part of the Aditya Birla Group, a USD 29 billion Indian business house operating in 25 countries across the globe.
Sun Life Financial provides a diverse range of protection and wealth accumulation products and services & is a leading international financial services organization. Chartered in 1865, Sun Life Financial and its partners today have operations in key markets worldwide. As of March 31, 2009, the Sun Life Financial group of companies had total assets under management of $375 billion globally.
Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company today offers a wide range of products to suit the wealth and income creation needs of investors across asset classes including Portfolio Management Services, Offshore Fund and Real Estate Fund. The average AUM of the fund house as of 31st December was Rs 68,066 crores making it the fifth largest fund house in India, while the number of investor folios today stands at over 23 Lakh.
A celebratory event for marking the completion of the 15 years was conducted in which Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman – Aditya Birla Group felicitated some of the first set of investors who are associated with BSLMF even today. These investors have realized multifold gains from their investments, underlining the need of having a long term horizon in case of equity investments.
The fund house has focused on investor needs and launched innovative products in order to provide investment solutions to its investors on an ongoing basis. BSLMF was the first to introduce Birla Cash Plus as a Quasi Money market fund. When stock markets were volatile and investor sentiment weak in the year 2002, the fund house identified the opportunity to invest in high dividend yield companies through Birla Dividend Yield Plus. Birla Sun Life Tax Relief \’96 has secured the 1st rank based on thirteen-year annualized return of 35.33% in Indian Rupee as of 30th September 2009. Further, Birla Sun Life Tax Relief \’96\” (BSLTR\’96\”), has been adjudged \”the World\’s Best-Performing Equity Fund\”, according to Lipper global data.
Mr. A. Balasubramanian, CEO-BSLMF said, \”We have entered into the 15th year of our foundation amidst challenging environment as we move closer to the leadership position in the industry, following strong business growth. We are celebrating the occasion with solemn commitment of continuing to focus on the needs of our investors and serve them better.\” \”Over a decade and half of experience over various market cycles has helped us formulate time tested processes to help us deliver consistent investment performance for our investors\”, said Mr. Balasubramanian thus concluding the event.
Learn more about Birla Sunlife MF\’s 15 years of Wealth Creation. Visit Birla Sunlife Mutual Fund site where you can find out all about their achievements.
