Resources
Addiction Terminology
Below are the 100 most common addiction terms:
Abstain or Abstinence: To not use alcohol, drugs
or any mood-altering substances. The term is also used in
reference to non-engagement in other addictive or compulsive
behaviors.
ACA/ACOA: Adult Child(ren) of Alcoholics/Addicts; First
and foremost, they are just that: individuals who grew up
with an addicted parent(s). As such, they also may be the
spouse or former spouse of an alcoholic/addict, they may
be addicted themselves, or they could be any combination
of the three.
Activities Therapy: This particular type of therapy
includes recreational and occupational therapy (such as planning a
picnic, menu planning, food preparation and playing softball) and
has been part of inpatient psychiatric treatment for a long time.
Addiction: A chronic, relapsing disease, characterized by
compulsive drug-seeking and use, continued use despite negative
consequences, and by neurochemical and molecular changes in the
brain.
Adrenal glands: Glands located above each kidney that
secrete hormones, e.g., adrenaline.
Agonist: A chemical compound that mimics the action of a
natural neuro-transmitter.
Al-Anon: A 12-Step program designed specifically for
affected friends or family members of alcoholics, including Adult
Children of Alcoholics
Alateen: A 12 Step program designed specifically for
affected children and teenagers with an alcoholic or chemically
dependent parent(s) since their problems are different from those of
the partner of the alcoholic.
Alcoholism: is a primary, chronic disease with genetic,
psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development
and manifestation. The disease is often progressive and
fatal. It is characterized by continuous or periodic: impaired
control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of
alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking,
most notably denial.
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA): A 12 Step organization,
founded in 1935. A fellowship of men and women who share
their experience, strength, and hope with each other, that they
may solve their common problem and help others to recover from
alcoholism.
Analog: A chemical compound that is similar to another
drug in its effects but differs slightly in its chemical structure.
Anesthetic: An agent that causes insensitivity to pain.
Anonymity: The Twelfth Tradition in the 12 Step programs
reads as follows: "Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our
traditions ever reminding us to place principles before
personalities." In practice, anonymity takes the form of first names
only during the meeting, not identifying oneself through the media
as a member of AA and being wary not to reveal anyone else's
attendance at meetings.
Antagonist: A drug that counteracts or blocks the effects
of another drug.
Antidepressants: A group of drugs used in treating
depressive disorders.
Assessment: Refers to the process of gathering information
and evaluating something (e.g., a condition)
Behavioral therapy: A specific field of psychology that
developed in the early 1950's. Its goal is to eliminate
maladaptive behaviors, replacing them with new and more effective
behavioral patterns.
Benzodiazepines: Drugs that relieve anxiety or are
prescribed as sedatives; among the most widely prescribed
medications, including valium and Librium.
Binge eating: Rapid consumption of large amounts of food
during a short period of time. A binge is usually defined as the
consumption of 2,000 calories or more within one or two hours.
Blending: Mixing different drugs.
Bolt: Street name for butyl nitrite which is packaged in
small bottles.
Bulking up: Increasing muscle mass through steroids.
Bullet: Street name for butyl nitrite which is packaged in
small bottles.
Buprenorphine: A mixed agonist/antagonist medication being
studied for the treatment of heroin addiction.
Central Nervous System (CNS): the brain and spinal cord.
Chemical Dependency: Another term for alcohol or other
drug addiction.
Climax: Street name for butyl nitrite which is packaged in
small bottles.
Coca: The plant, Erythroxylon, from which cocaine is
derived. Also refers to the leaves of this plant.
Cognitive Behavioral therapy: A specific field of
psychology that focuses on looking at ways in which the patient can
change their thoughts, perceptions and behavior.
Compulsion: An overwhelming urge to take a certain action
despite possible bad consequences.
Core addictive issues: Problems resulting from the period
of addictive use that cause problems in recovery. These
include the inability to separate from friends who use, and a lack
of acceptance of the need to abstain.
Core psychological issues: Problems resulting from beliefs
formed in childhood that continue even though they are no longer
true. These beliefs cause a person to act in a self-defeating
manner.
Counseling: The process of helping a person understand his
or her patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting, and helping that
person to make conscious choices to change.
Covert: Hidden, indirect, not obvious.
Crack: Slang term for a smokable form of cocaine.
Craving: A powerful, often uncontrollable desire for
drugs. A powerful physical desire that demands satisfaction.
Cycling: Taking multiple doses of steroids over a
specified period of time, stopping for a time and then starting
again.
Delusion: Believing something even though facts state
otherwise. A persistent false psychotic belief regarding the self or
persons or objects outside the self.
Denial: The self-deception that prevents addicts from
admitting to themselves or to others the destructive nature of their
drug use. The inability to recognize a situation or reality
for what it really is. "A narrowing of perceptions"
Designer drug: An analog of a restricted drug that has
psychoactive properties.
Detoxification: A process of allowing the body to rid
itself of a drug(s) and it's effects while managing the physical and
psychological symptoms of withdrawal.
Disease: Disease means an involuntary disability.
Dissociation: A process of separating the psychological
self from the body. This is often a defense/coping mechanism that
survivors of abuse use.
Disulfiram (Antabuse): Antabuse is the trade name for
disulfiram and has been widely used in alcoholism treatment.
Disulfiram interferes with the metabolism of alcohol, causing
unpleasant reactions or physical side effects when alcohol is
ingested.
Dopamine: A neurotransmitter present in regions of the
brain that regulate movement, emotion, motivation, and the feeling
of pleasure.
Diuretics: Can be a specific type of drug or can also be
found in common substances like coffee and tea that help remove
water from the body by stimulating the flow of urine. Diuretic drugs
interfere with normal kidney action by changing the amount of water,
potassium, sodium and waste products removed from the bloodstream.
Diuretics are dangerous drugs that are often abused and used as a
way to quickly loose weight.
Doping: Using drugs and other nonfood substances to
improve athletic performance and prowess.
Dysfunctional: Unable to function in a normal manner.
Enabling: to assist, accommodate, aide, befriend,
encourage, support, help take care of an alcoholic, substance abuser
or other addict by taking responsibility for the addict's actions or
shielding the addict from the consequences of his or her behavior.
Enabler: someone who takes responsibility for an addict's
behavior, to assist or support the addict; the result of the
attempt(s) to assist the addict in this manner generally enable the
addiction to persist. Anyone in the addict's life can be an enabler.
Emphysema: A lung disease in which tissue deterioration
results in increased air retention and reduced exchange of gases.
The result is difficult breathing and shortness of breath. It is
often caused by smoking.
Employment Assistance Programs (EAP's): Programs that are
developed by larger companies to deal with problems adversely
affecting the work of employees (such as child care, elder care,
single parenting, financial problems). However, smaller employers
sometimes sign up with a group program that services several firms.
The programs are clearly not limited to substance abuse. In most
cases, people can utilize insurance benefits for their alcoholism or
addiction only if they go through the EAP. The EAP also helps the
person in recovery arrange their work schedule to enhance their
recovery.
Enabler: A person close to an addict who unknowingly
enables the addictive behavior by rescuing, protecting, or taking
over the responsibilities of the user thus leaving the addict with
little incentive to get well. Enabling behavior includes
covering up, making excuses for, giving money to, or otherwise
"helping" the person.
Enabling: Any behavior, direct or indirect, regardless of
the intention, that allows the addict to continue using.
Ergogenic drugs: Performance enhancing substances.
Euphoric Recall: The memories of using drugs that are
associated with pleasant experiences, even if these happened a long
time.
Families Anonymous: A 12 Step program for friends and
family members of addicts.
Fentanyl: A medically useful opioid analog that is 50
times more potent than heroin.
Fire Breathing: Igniting exhaled volatile gas, such as
propane or butane.
Injunction: A mistaken belief in the form of a negative
statement to oneself. Injunctions are often not
conscious. Example: I can't let myself cry or show my feelings
because men don't cry.
Intervention: Literally means to go between. A carefully
planned meeting in which an addict is confronted by family members,
friends, and professionals in an effort to break through denial and
start the user and the participating friends and family on the road
to recovery.
Levo-alpha-acetyl-methadl (LAAM): An FDA approved
medication for heroin addiction that patients need to take only
three to four times a week.
Locker Room: Street name for butyl nitrite which is
packaged in small bottles.
Megadosing: Taking massive amounts of steroids by
injection or pill.
Meperidine: A medically approved opioid available under
various band names (e.g., Demerol).
Methadone: A long-acting synthetic medication shown to be
effective in treating heroin addiction.
Minimization: Diminishing or making something (an
experience) seem less serious and important.
Mistaken belief: An incorrect belief learned in childhood
or because of a particular situation that a person continues to
believe even though it is not true. This causes the person to feel
and act in a way that is inappropriate to the current situation.
Narcotics Anonymous (NA): A 12 Step organization
founded in 1953. A fellowship of men and women who share
their experience, strength, and hope with each other, that they
may solve their common problem and help others to recover from
addiction.
NarAnon: A 12 Step program for friends and family members
of addicts.
Neuron: A nerve cell in the brain.
Nicotine: An alkaloid derived from the tobacco plant that
is responsible for smoking's psychoactive and addictive effects; it
is toxic at high doses but can be safe and effective as medicine at
lower doses.
Obsession: A thought that a person has over and over again
despite efforts to stop it.
Overt: Obvious, out in the open.
Pharmacokinetics: The pattern of absorption, distribution
and excretion of a drug over time.
Physical dependence: An adaptive physiological state that
occurs with regular drug use and results in a withdrawal syndrome
when dug use is stopped.
Plateauing: When a drug becomes ineffective at a certain
level.
Poly-drug user: An individual who uses more than one drug.
Poppers: Street name for ampules of amyl nitrite.
Psychosis: A mental disorder characterized by symptoms
such as delusions or hallucinations that indicate an impaired
conception of reality.
Purging: A term used to cover the forced expulsion of
ingested foods. Purging is often considered a purification rite for
bulimics and a means of overcoming self-loathing by gaining
self-control. Forced vomiting is the most common method, however,
other methods of purging include laxative abuse and diuretic abuse.
Recovery: The process of rehabilitation that begins with
abstinence and continues with changing thoughts, feelings, and
actions, which results in major lifestyle and value changes.
The state of being where the person has entered a healing and
actively pursues a healthy life style. A process or state that
happens over time and not all at once so that the individual becomes
better able to manage his or her life.
Relapse: All chronic diseases are subject to
relapse. A series of internal and external events (after
starting a recovery program) that cause a person to collapse
physically and/or mentally, and return to the use of alcohol or
drugs or other addictive behavior.
Relapse prevention: The counseling process that helps a
person to identify and change thoughts, feelings and actions that
could lead him or her back to active addiction.
Repression: An automatic and unconscious process of
forgetting memories or experiences that are too painful to remember.
Reverse Tolerance: Rather than being able to drink more,
heavy, chronic drinkers often experience a sharp drop in tolerance
and often become intoxicated after one or two drinks.
Roid rages: Uncontrolled outbursts of anger, frustration
or a combativeness that may result from anabolic steroids.
Rumination Disorder: A less common eating disorder that is
typically found in young children, mentally retarded children and
some bulimics. The voluntary regurgitation of partially digested
food into the mouth, where it is rechewed and reswallowed. This
syndrome is named after a digestive process carried out by ruminant
animals like cattle and sheep.
Rush: A surge of pleasure that rapidly follows
administration of some drugs.
Self-control therapy: A psychological treatment method in
which clinicians help patients control their own behavior without
the aid of drugs or other outside controls.
Self-defeating behavior: A behavior that a person uses
that causes him or her to be worse off than before. Even
though the person doesn't like the result, he or she continues the
behavior.
Self-help groups: Groups that rely on their members to
supply one another with support.
Serotonin: A neurotransmitter that has been implicated in
states of consciousness, mood, depression, and anxiety.
Shotgunning: Taking steroids on a hit-or-miss basis.
Snappers: Street name for ampules of amyl nitrite.
Sniffing: Term for inhaling substance(s).
Snorting: Term for inhaling substance(s).
Sponsor: An individual in a Twelve Step program who serves
as a mentor to another group member, guiding him or her through the
Steps and application of the principles of the program.
Stacking: Using a combination of anabolic steroids, often
in combination with other drugs.
Substance Dependency/Substance Dependence
Disorder: Another term for alcohol or other drug addiction.
Sudden Sniffing Deaths: Death, usually due to heart
failure, within minutes of using an inhalant.
Suppression: Consciously choosing to forget things that
are too painful to remember.
Tapering: Slowly decreasing steroid intake.
Texas Shoe Shine: Spray paint containing toluene.
Tobacco: A plant widely cultivated for its leaves, which
are used primarily smoking; the tabacum species is the major source
of tobacco products.
Tolerance: A condition in which higher doses of a drug are
required to produce the same effect as experienced initially; often
leads to physical dependence.
Torch: Igniting exhaled volatile gas, such as propane or
butane.
Toxic: Temporary or permanent drug effects that are
detrimental to the functioning of an organ or group of organs.
Treatment: There are many different components and ways to
offer treatment or to help someone achieve recovery. We define
treatment in terms of the various ways for a person to heal and
repair their lives whether it's through individual counseling,
family therapy, family education, client education, group therapy,
medical care, 12 Step groups, vocational counseling, activities
therapy, or alternative counseling.
Twelve Steps or 12 Steps: The Twelve Steps function as the
therapeutic framework of Alcoholics Anonymous and all other 12 Step
fellowships. The 12 Steps of AA grew out of the practical experience
of the earliest members, based on what they had done to gain
sobriety.
Vertigo: The sensation of dizziness.
Whippits: Balloons or plastic bags filled with nitrous
oxide.
Withdrawal: A variety of symptoms that occur after use of
an addictive drug is reduced or stopped. Withdrawal symptoms
for any drug are generally the reverse of the effects induced by the
drug itself.
Working the program: Following the twelve step program,
including attending meetings, sponsorship and living the twelve
steps.
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