Affect’s telehealth treatment program for alcohol and drug addiction has helped thousands of people gain control over their lives and manage substance use disorders through our smartphone app. Now the program has expanded to provide intensive outpatient (IOP) rehab services in Ohio and Kentucky, with Florida and other states coming soon. This higher level of…
Mental Health is the Number One Crisis in America, and Addiction is the Number One Cause
Mayors from all over the country addressed Congress this week about the mental health crisis they’re facing, the surge in demand for services, and the challenges in resources. Addiction is at the top of the list: in 85% of the cities, substance abuse is identified as the main cause for increased need. Hillary Schieve, mayor…
Meth, Cocaine and Fentanyl are a Killer Combination, Literally.
The Center for Disease Controls recently shared data and findings around increasing use of stimulants like meth and cocaine with the synthetic opioid Fentanyl. The overdose trend is not getting better. 110,000 million people died from overdoses in 2022. Stimulants are widely and easily available. Incredibly potent and cheap meth is flowing across the US…
Motivation and Rewards Help College Students with Marijuana Addiction
Are you starting to feel negative consequences because you’re using too much marijuana? Are you unable to cut back? You may have Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD) and need real help to get control back over your life. You’re not alone. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, nearly 6 percent of adults…
Addiction Treatment Works Better with Rewards and Technology
If you’re interested in decreasing your substance use and living a healthier life, Contingency Management (CM) is a novel, evidence-based approach that you should know about. CM has been shown to be highly effective in helping individuals reduce substance use, make positive lifestyle changes, and maintain abstinence. Until recently, CM has largely been limited to…
Fentanyl and Meth: What you need to know
May 9th is National Fentanyl Awareness Day in the United States. The use of illegally-made fentanyl is driving a national health crisis as people use it unintentionally and die from overdoses. Fentanyl is now involved in more deaths of people under age 50 than any other cause in the country, including even heart disease, cancer,…
Gaslighting and Addiction
Every year, the Merriam-Webster dictionary selects a word of the year. For 2022, it’s “gaslighting.” The dictionary publisher noted that look ups for the word increased by 1,740% over the course of the year. Gaslighting and addiction are intertwined. Read on to learn more about how addicts gaslight others as well as themselves, and what…
Virtual, Online, and Telephone AA & NA Meetings
Twelve-step meetings online give you a recovery community, Affect puts a licensed addiction treatment program in your pocket. It’s an unbeatable combination for beating addictions to alcohol and drugs, and you don’t have to go to a clinic or a meeting. It all comes right to you. Alcoholics Anonymous is the original twelve-step recovery program.…
Helping American Indians Get Treatment for Drug and Alcohol Addiction
Alcohol and drug addiction hit American Indians much harder than the general population. Methamphetamine in particular has reached epidemic proportions. But there’s hope through partnership and better means of treatment to help those in need, including digital treatment programs that can be accessed from anywhere and health plans that cover the costs of treatment entirely.…
Candy, cash, gifts: How rewards help recovery from addiction – AP article on Contingency Management
Carla Johnson covers how the contingency management approach to treating substance use disorders is more effective in this article. She quotes Harold Lewis, who had been struggling with an addiction for years and started getting better when he got into a program where he earned rewards for staying in treatment: “Recovery should be fun because…