Support Groups For Women & Men
Some may wonder if there are exclusive support groups for women, or maybe men, that might make them feel safer when being vulnerable during sessions. The good thing is that there are such centers available.
Focusing on women, they cover a wide array of different conditions. Still, many of these tend to focus on those dealing with substance abuse problems, domestic or sexual violence, or mental health conditions such as depression or PTSD. However, there are also groups available for those trying to lose weight or dealing with losing a loved one. Examples of these are the Women for Sobriety or the Womens Peer Support Group.
For men, there are also exclusive groups. Many men may prefer these kinds of groups as they can share their problems without the fear of being judged. It also allows for their treatment to be more focused on the biological and social peculiarities of being a man. Good examples include the Mens Resource Center of West Michigan and ManKind Project USA.
Finding Support Groups Near Me Help For Addiction Recovery
For people who are dealing with specific problems like mental health issues, certain medical conditions, or are the caretakers or relatives of people with these problems, there can be immense emotions going through their minds. It can be pressure, worry, pain, or hopelessness, among many others.Support groups near me exist as a means for people dealing with the same general problem to find support and comfort in one another. It lets them know they are not alone and find useful ways to overcome their struggles.This article will discuss these meetings and many of the aspects around them. Those looking for support groups near me will be able to learn how to find those around them, as well as the pros and cons of such groups.
There Is Hope For You
Change begins with realizing that there is a problem with ones sugar addiction. Modifying ones diet and practicing self-control can help, but going cold turkey isnt ideal. Someone with a sugar addiction, especially if they have another substance abuse disorder or a co-occurring mental health condition, will likely have difficulty in ridding themselves of cravings. If you or someone you know has a sugar addiction, especially if complicating factors are present, please contact a therapist today to find out more about your options.
Related Articles
- Conason, Alexis. . Sugar Addiction. Retrieved on 5th December 2018 from
- Healthline Plus. . Is Sugar an Addictive Drug? Retrieved on 5th December 2018 from
- WebMD. . Sugar Addiction Facts: Cravings, Hidden Sugar, and More in Pictures. Retrieved on 5th December 2018 from
Reviewed by Certified Addiction Professional: November 6, 2019
Deborah Montross Nagel
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Starch Can Equal Sugar
Think you don’t have a sweet tooth, but crave bagels, chips, or french fries? These starchy foods are complex carbs that the body breaks down into simple sugars. Eaten without better foods, starches can make blood sugar surge and crash like sugar. White rice and white flour do this. Highly refined starches like white bread, pretzels, crackers, and pasta are worst.
A Key Difference In Addiction Support Groups
As you can see, these programs offer a lot of the same benefits and are organized in much the same way. Both offer a safe place to share your struggles and find support. Both focus on you .
But there is one key difference between the groups.
The purpose of the Families Anonymous program:
Families Anonymous is a 12-step fellowship for the family and friends of those individuals with drug, alcohol, or related behavioral issues. We are here to help!
The purpose of the Al-Anon program:
Al-Anon is a mutual support program for people whose lives have been affected by someone elses drinking. By sharing common experiences and applying the Al-Anon principles, families and friends of alcoholics can bring positive changes to their individual situations, whether or not the alcoholic admits the existence of a drinking problem or seeks help.
Did you catch it?
Al-Anon is specifically focused on alcohol use disorder. Al-Anons primary goal is to provide support to the friends and families of alcoholics.
Al-Anon completed a member survey and found that 35 percent of members said they joined the program because of a loved ones drug addiction.
Families Anonymous, on the other hand, focuses more generally on addictive behaviors. This includes substance abuse, gambling, sex addictions, and other behavioral addictions.
So, if your loved ones behavior is related to an addiction other than alcohol, Families Anonymous might be a better fit.
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First Steps To Freedom
- Start with eliminating all of the obvious sugars.
- Toss the candy, cakes, cookies, and all items that include high fructose corn syrup. Beginning with these makes sense since processed sugars are the worse offenders.
- Eliminate simple carbohydrates. These are the items that turn into sugar in your body quickly, bread, pasta, sodas, and fruit juices.
- Examine what fruits you are consuming. Just because they are natural sugars does not mean you get an automatic free pass. Our bodies will still react to these natural sugars by raising our insulin levels. Once our insulin is raised it causes our sugar cravings to be magnified.
- Avoid high-carb root vegetables or at the very least reduce them to only occasional indulges.
You can find a complete list of low-carb keto foods here. For vegetarians and vegans, I have this guide to assist you.
Sugar Addiction And Binge Eating
A particularly worrisome aspect of sugar addiction is binge eating. Binge eating is eating too much and too rapidly followed by feelings of guilt, shame, and disgust. This can include a focus on sweets for the same mood-regulating and self-medicating effects of binge eating non-sugary foods. It is critical to remember that food, especially sugar, is a short-term fix for emotional conditions. If you or someone you love is struggling with depression and using food as a crutch, consider therapy or rehab.
Addiction Center is not affiliated with any insurance.
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You Always Crave Sweets
After a sugar binge, your blood sugar will fall because insulin pushes that sugar into the cells to prevent sugar damage, explains Carolyn Dean, MD, ND, a health, diet and nutrition expert and author of Hormone Balance, The Magnesium Miracle and The Complete Natural Medicine Guide to Womens Health. That fall causes low blood sugar and more cravings.
Support Groups For Drug Addiction Improve Recovery Outcomes
Attending a support group meeting alone does not make recovery easier. It also doesnt predict how your recovery journey will go. However, drug addiction support groups are much more than attendance.
Research indicates that certain factors related to support groups for drug addiction can improve their impact on your recovery, including:13
- Beginning a support group while in a higher level of treatment
- Attending frequently in early recovery
- Participating and fulfilling roles at groups that allow peer involvement, such as Narcotics Anonymous meetings and SMART Recovery meetings
- Giving back to the community or volunteer work
- Giving and receiving peer feedback and encouragement
- Following guidelines or steps
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This Is Why I Had Chosen Initially To Try And Deal With It On My Own Quietly Changing What I Ate My Habits And My Rituals
My family was puzzled. They nurtured and loved me, so of course its not like they werent going to notice!
I kept fudging the answers to their questions, hoping that I would come out of this private process transformed like a butterfly from its chrysalis, from a sugar addict to a healthy, productive balanced member of the family – I wanted them to be so proud of me.
Practical Tools To Saying No To Sugar
When I made the decision to try to get my health back after years of battling the effects of fibromyalgia, Epstein-Barr virus, and Guillain-Barré syndrome, I turned to a low-carb keto diet.
In my case, I started my journey to saying no to sugar by saying yes to a diet that was higher in healthy fats.
Something very interesting happened when I made the switch from low-fat to low-carb. All of a sudden my sugar cravings began to diminish.
The more I learned how to give my brain what it needed in the form of healthy fats, the easier it was to pass up the high-carb foods that I would have otherwise never been able to say no to.
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You Try To Quit And Have Unusual Symptoms
Sugar addiction can be both a behavioral addictionyou get used to eating sugar after meals or at certain times of the dayand it can also be a chemical addiction. When you quit or interrupt your normal schedule, your body may show signs of distress or withdrawal. Quitting sugar too abruptly can cause your body to have withdrawal symptoms, says Adam Kadela, founder of Dexafit.
Some of the most common sugar addiction symptoms may include headaches, lethargy or feeling tired, cravings, muscle pain, nausea, bloating and even insomnia. In most cases, these symptoms intensify after 24 hours. The best way to give up sugar is slowly, by cutting back a little at a time. Here is what happens when you try to give up sugar for a month.
E Sugar Withdrawal Upsets Dopamine/acetylcholine Balance In The Accumbens
Behavioral signs of drug withdrawal are usually accompanied by alterations in DA/ACh balance in the NAc. During withdrawal, DA decreases while ACh is increased. This imbalance has been shown during chemically-induced withdrawal with several drugs of abuse, including morphine, nicotine and alcohol . Mere abstinence from an abused substance is also sufficient to elicit neurochemical signs of withdrawal. For example, rats that are forced to abstain from morphine or alcohol have decreased extracellular DA in the NAc and ACh increases during spontaneous morphine withdrawal . While withdrawal from an anxyolitic drug precipitated by a bendodiazepine-receptor antagonist does not lower extracellular DA, it does release accumbens ACh, which may contribute to benzodiazepine dependency
Rats that have intermittent access to sugar and chow show the morphine-like neurochemical imbalance in DA/ACh during withdrawal. This was produced two ways. As shown in Fig. 8, when they are given naloxone to precipitate opioid withdrawal, there is a decrease in accumbens DA release coupled with an increase in ACh release . The same thing occurs after 36 h of food deprivation . One way to interpret deprivation-induced withdrawal is to suggest that without food to release opioids, the animal suffers the same type of withdrawal seen when the up-regulated mu-opioid receptors are blocked with naloxone.
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For Families Of Addicts
Relatives and loved ones of those dealing with addiction have to go through a lot, but there is little spotlight placed on their struggles. These support groups for families of addicts provide a means for them to find strength in their circumstances.
- Nar-Anon: For the loved ones affected by a person dealing with addiction, Nar-Anon is a 12-step program that empowers them to be stronger through shared experiences. Narateen is an offshoot to help teenagers dealing with the same.
- Al-Anon: Al-Anon is the best option for those who have had their lives affected by an alcoholic in it. Alateen is a similar peer support program for teens who suffer from an alcoholic in their lives.
- Families Anonymous: This is a 12-step program targeted toward family members and friends of people with substance use disorders.
- Adult Children of Alcoholics: Growing up in a home with an alcoholic can have immense effects on children, and the effects may persist into adulthood. ACOA is a 12-step program that supports individuals who have experienced such.
Sending an email and contacting support groups for families of addicts provides people with great resources to learn from and get information. However, it is essential to keep in mind that these programs and groups are never a substitute for professional addiction treatment and help.
Online Support Groups: Pros And Cons
Online support groups are very similar to the regular kind, with one of the significant differences being the fact that everything is held from the comfort of ones home. By using video conference calls, the group can be moderated and carried out precisely as it might have been in person.
Online support groups can be a lifesaver for people who may have difficulty leaving their homes to find a physical support group venue. Not only that, but some people may feel safer or less anxious when engaging in a group meeting from a familiar, comfortable location, such as their bedroom. It is also very pertinent in the wake of COVID.
Online groups can be pretty beneficial as those participating dont need to worry about the arrangements for transportation and the stress that comes with that. It also makes it easier to find a support group that works best for you instead of relying on the closest ones.
However, the social setting and contact with others are absent in online groups. Listening to support and advice from other people going through a condition tends to be more impactful when they are there in person. The support shown by other members may come off more flat than intended too. It should also always be kept in mind that technical issues can bring down an entire meeting.
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Sugar Addiction Treatment Information
Sugar addiction is a real and serious problem. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, sugar addiction is a process addiction that can lead to compulsive overeating and other negative health consequences.
The good news is that there are treatment options available for sugar addiction. Many binge eating disorder centers exclusively focus on eating-related disorders, like sugar.
The most effective approach is a comprehensive one that addresses both the physical and psychological aspects of the addiction.
Discussion And Clinical Implications
Food is not ordinarily like a substance of abuse, but intermittent bingeing and deprivation changes that. Based on the observed behavioral and neurochemical similarities between the effects of intermittent sugar access and drugs of abuse, we suggest that sugar, as common as it is, nonetheless meets the criteria for a substance of abuse and may be addictive for some individuals when consumed in a binge-like manner. This conclusion is reinforced by the changes in limbic system neurochemistry that are similar for the drugs and for sugar. The effects we observe are smaller in magnitude than those produced by drug of abuse such as cocaine or morphine however, the fact that these behaviors and neurochemical changes can be elicited with a natural reinforcer is interesting. It is not clear from this animal model if intermittent sugar access can result in neglect of social activities as required by the definition of dependency in the DSM-IV-TR . Nor is it known whether rats will continue to self-administer sugar despite physical obstacles, such as enduring pain to obtain sugar, as some rats do for cocaine . Nonetheless, the extensive series of experiments revealing similarities between sugar-induced and drug-induced behavior and neurochemistry, as chronicled in Sections 4 and 5, lends credence to the concept of sugar addiction, gives precision to its definition, and provides a testable model.
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The Role Of Family Support In Addiction Recovery
Family support can play a key role in a persons Recovery journey. When your loved one is battling addiction, they may feel a range of emotions, such as anger, fear and shame. While many feelings are often universal for those in Recovery, addiction to alcohol or drugs is an individual experience. This can make it difficult for family members to know how to offer support to a loved one who is going through Recovery.
Fortunately, at 7 Summit Pathways, we know how invaluable family support is during Recovery. If you are looking for ways to support your loved one, here is information and tips for offering the best possible family support.
Signs Of A Sugar Addiction
Unlike many other substance use disorders or behavioral compulsions, sugar addiction is often easy to spot. The clearest signs of sugar addiction involve consumption of large amounts of food or drinks laden with sugar. The individual may eat constantly, eat to combat boredom, and become hyper and crash. They may even talk about craving sugar after stressful or irritating life experiences.
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Win The Inner Battle With Sugar
Sugar cravings, as well as cravings for reward, solace and celebration, are natural. Remember its ok to use sugar to deal with lifes problems some of the time most people do. Difficulties occur when sugar becomes the go-to way of dealing with problems it wasnt designed to fix. By figuring out what you are truly craving, and developing a range of ways of dealing with it, you will be in control, not the sugar.
Break The Sugar Addiction
If you’re “hooked” on sugar, don’t try to eliminate all sugary foods at once. If you deny yourself even a single piece of candy or sliver of cake, you’ll only crave sweets more. Instead, eat a healthy diet made up of more satisfying foodswhole grains, fruits, vegetables, healthy oils, and lean protein. “Steer yourself away from sugar and eat these foods, which are digested more slowly. They’ll help to even out your blood sugar and you won’t have spikes and crashes all the time,” Dr. Hauser says.
Here are a few suggestions to help you break the sugar habit:
Keep sugary foods away. Don’t tempt yourself by stocking candy, cookies, and other high-sugar foods in your cupboards and fridge. “As a substitute for these things, keep fruit around,” suggests Dr. Hauser.
Sweeten foods yourself. Start with unsweetened iced tea, plain yogurt, and unflavored oatmeal. Then add your own sweetener. No matter how much sweetener you add, you probably won’t put in as much as the manufacturer would have, according to Dr. Hauser.
Watch for hidden sugars in foods. Be wary of foods where sugar tends to hide, including reduced-fat products. “When companies take out the fat, they add back almost all the calories in sugar,” Dr. Hauser says. Read labels. Avoid products that list sugar as the first ingredient or that contain several different types of sugar it’s one way manufacturers avoid having sugar listed as the first ingredient.
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