American Addiction Centers Blog

September is National Suicide Prevention Month. This is an opportunity to raise awareness about a problem that is consistently facing people in the United States, as there are over 100 suicides per day. As the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) suggests, even though it’s an important issue that we face all year-round, this particular […]

Success tends to be inaccurately equated with perfection. The truth is it comes only after walking a path riddled with countless obstacles and failures by a flawed individual known as the human being. And it doesn’t matter which endeavor one chooses to pursue—engineering, medicine, or professional sports—we all travel along a path and none of […]

Public Services – 6% Working in public services – such as the police force, army, paramedics and air force – can be high-paced and extremely stressful, leading to higher alcohol consumption during the day. Education – 7% Dealing with children is especially tough and might make you want to sip on a glass of vino […]

Based on a survey of 3,000 Americans

Drinking is a socially acceptable activity in which to partake. A beer with friends while watching a game. An occasional glass of wine with dinner and loved ones. Rubbing elbows with colleagues or business associates at “Happy Hour.” Scenarios that are legal and acceptable, contingent there’s no underage drinking. However, an individual facing alcoholism, or […]

For over two decades, the United States has struggled with an opioid epidemic that is continuing to worsen each year. Despite efforts to fight drug abuse, the booming use of fentanyl has only increased the death toll. But overdoses aren’t the only consequence of drug abuse. Many people are living with the physical, mental, and emotional effects of […]

In recent years, America’s addiction treatment industry has been transformed by twin forces: the opioid epidemic and the Affordable Care Act. Overdose deaths have climbed steadily since the early 2000s, creating a crisis of unprecedented proportions. Simultaneously, the ACA extended health coverage to millions of previously uninsured Americans and mandated the coverage of substance abuse treatment. This combination of widespread need […]

We are all aware that illicit and some legal drugs can be harmful to our bodies and can lead to addiction, which in turn, can bring a wide range of long term negative effects on the body including health conditions affecting our quality of life. We are conditioned to think about drug use in a […]

Habitual drug use has been a societal issue for as long as there have been societies, and it’s clear that things need to change. Drugs, like heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine, are getting easier to purchase and consume, which only increases the number of times users are compelled to take them. In fact, it’s not uncommon […]

Substance use disorders and mental health disorders often occur simultaneously. In fact, there are synonymous terms—co-occurring disorder and dual diagnosis—to describe this very condition, which is relatively common. Because of how closely they relate, people are often curious is alcohol and drug addiction is a mental illness or not? According to insights from the 2021 […]

How Substance Abuse Treatment Varies by State: Substances Used, Dropouts, and More Unfortunately, many individuals across the world struggle with substance misuse. It’s no small problem. In fact, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) estimated that 19.7 million American adults dealt with a substance use disorder in 2017. Millions of adolescents struggle as well. […]