Addiction in Canada

Addiction is a very complex concept which is quite difficult for most people to understand, it is a disease of the brain which is as a result of the continuous practice of an act or a habit.

This act usually becomes difficult to control irrespective of the resulting effect. People who are suffering from addiction, usually ensure none of their family or friends are aware of it.

All countries in the world are currently tackling addiction, and Canada is not an exception. No matter how developed a country is, the citizens and residents are not excluded from addiction.

Addiction is no respecter of persons, it can affect anyone ranging from someone who has the smallest cadre in the society, to someone who has the highest status in a nation.

On a broad basis, there are two types of addiction in Canada, and they are: Behavioral addiction and chemical-based addiction.

Behavioral addiction is a kind of addiction which is shown by act and conduct, and they do not need to be triggered by any external substance like alcohol or drugs.

This is an innate addiction whereby the addict has the consistent urge to provide satisfaction to their addiction, irrespective of the accompanying detrimental effect.

Some addictions in Canada are categorized under the behavioral variety of addiction, which is caused by societal factors like peer group, background and the community. Some of the behavioral addictions in Canada are gambling, partying, sex and the likes.

For the chemical based addiction, it is further broken down to drug and alcohol addiction, and these forms of addiction are the major ones in the world.

These forms of addiction have similar patterns, and they are featured by an uncontrollable craving to take drugs. Drug and alcohol addiction have been found out to be the leading causes of death in the world.

Owing to the fact that, Canada has one of the best medical systems in the world, it is a place where the addiction problem can be effectively tackled. Hence, all you need do is reach out to a health specialist or a counselor who would put you through.

Just like a good number of developed countries, there are a good number of issues which surrounds drug and alcohol addiction in Canada. A good number of these problems continue to become worse. However, the good part is, treatment exists for it.

Taking a look at the Canadian Alcohol and Drug Use Monitoring Survey in 2012, there was an estimated statistic that, around 21% of Canadians attained the criteria for substance use disorder. This suggests that, around 8 million people were victims of addiction in Canada.

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Going to a rehab for substance abuse, is one of the major steps to freedom. Rehab centres are known to give the safest and comfortable ways in being sober, and there is a very high chance that the state of being sober would be maintained. It is necessary that every addicted individual receives specific care, using some factors which comprises the substances they are hooked on.

Being admitted into a rehab facility, is the first step in recovery from substance addiction, as it is the major prior step in life transformation. However, it is a common sight to see that, those people who need the treatment, are usually reluctant to take it.

The next phase is the intake phase, and this is where the addict is admitted into the facility, and goes through the entire administrative stages. This is where the addict is thoroughly searched, in order to ensure that prohibited items are not brought into the rehab centre.

After the intake phase, is the assessment phase. This is where the addict undergoes questioning pertaining to his addiction. From his answers, the medical staff would be able to make their assessments and draw their conclusions. This is one of the most essential phases in the treatment process, and it is advised that patients are truthful when answering questions.

Followed by detoxification, whereby the body is absolved of harmful substances, which could inhibit the patient from being sober. Hence, when detoxification takes place, the patient would commence on a clean slate.

Canada is a North American country that is known for rapid economic boom, and as a result of this, different people from different tiers of the continent as well as other continents have over time taken interest in Canada to enrich their economic statuses and enhance their chances for quick prosperity.

With respect to this reason for migration of citizens of other countries (I.e. non-Canadians) into Canada, a lot of cultures and traditions have also migrated with them, including addictions, which now constitutes a part for the norms and values of the country.

Addiction is a dysfunctional attitude or behavior, that people develop due to different reasons and is characterized by an innate compulsive attraction to an act considering all other factors. Addictions that are commonly discovered among Canadians can be behaviorally or chemical based.

Symptoms Of Addiction

It is essential for people to familiarize themselves with the symptoms and indications of addiction, to enhance quick discovery of any form of addiction and to act fast on the treatment process. Some of such symptoms of addiction are:

1. Spending a lot of time in getting acquainted to a particular problematic act, which is a cure pointer in discovering an addiction.
2. Such conversance with an act, will in no time create a compulsive urge to be practiced irrespective of what it will take to be done.
3. Social and relationship problems resulting from the dysfunctional behavior could develop.
4. Negligence of recently desired hobbies and norms to suit the requirement of the new behavior or use could occur.
5. Compelling tolerance to substance or behavior despite adverse effects will be present

Causes of Addiction Among Canadians

In order to administer treatment for addiction, it is essential that the cause of such addiction is determined first, because treatments for addiction are not one-way-directional. There are a number of happenings that could lead to addiction, some of them are:

1. Family background
2. Psychological disorder
3. Peer group influence
4. Societal disorder

Treatments Available For Addictions In Canada

In treating addictions, an addict needs to realize the fact that he or she needs help. The best help that could be gotten is from a rehabilitation center, where therapeutic treatments are being made available in Canada.

Rehabilitation Centers

These are institutions for incarceration, they could be government owned or privately owned. The aim of the rehabilitation centers is to keep the addict away from the stimuli that triggers the addiction, they are equipped medically to be able to help with the medical conditions that arise from the use of these drugs.

In Canada, there are reports of lack of adequate rehabilitation centers to combat the scourge of addiction that ravages the country, establishment of more of these centers is a step in the right direction.

Addiction is a chronic brain disorder that is characterized by the unusual craving of certain substances or activities which are known as addictive stimuli, these activities are perceived by the brain to be pleasurable and desirable hence the affected personality will repeatedly seek exposure to the stimuli.

The most common addictive stimuli are chemical substances and this is due to the fact that chemical substances alter the chemical framework of the brain, behavioral trends also stimulate addictions in the brain but due to lack of accurate facts and figures about the presence of behavioral addictions, we will focus more on the chemical addictions and the scope of our discussion is the continent North America.

North America is a continent located in the Northern and Western Hemispheres of the world, it is the third largest continent by land area in the world following Asia and Africa.

Introduction to the Addictive Trends

From the 16th century, tobacco smoking had become a widespread tradition and even until today, it is a lifestyle in many parts of the world. Most commonly abused substances in North America include tobacco, alcohol, illicit drugs such as methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin.

Prescription drugs, hallucinogens, pain relievers and inhalants are also commonly abused substances in North America. The economy of many of these nations plays a part in the formative process of addiction trends in society, in particular nations, increase in the poverty level causes people to be more involved with cheaper substances that can be more addictive and also taking examples like the Colombian cartels, the rise of the Colombian cartels in the 90s and the 80s also propelled the addictive use of cocaine in North America and the world at large.

Geographical Breakdown of Addictive Trends

Due to the peculiarities of the culture and geographical landscape of almost nation in North America, trends of addiction ranges from part to part. Panama, for example is a reputed hot spot for the abuse of cocaine due to its geographical location with closeness to Colombia which was reputed to be the cocaine capital of the world, its abuse of cannabis exceeds that of every nation around it.

For a nation like Jamaica, the substances most people become addicted to are alcohol and cannabis also known locally as ‘ganja’. In the United States, most people suffer addiction to marijuana as it is being legalized in certain states of the country. In Canada, prescription opioids are becoming a huge source of addiction to local citizens. Mexico, on one hand is a popular transit point for illegal drugs into the US so substances such as cocaine are on very high demand in this country.

Addictions have become a major setback to the development of the region North America hence the urgent need to minimize the effect of this ravaging scourge. Addictions have triggered rise in societal disorders and breakdown of law and order in various parts of the continent with it propelling the increase in the number of organized criminal associations, crime rate and insecurity in North America.

Addiction of whatever form inhibits the productive nature of its victim who make up society hence treating addictions is an integral part of the corrective measures taken to salvage the decadence in the society.
The measures discussed here that can be used to solve the problem are approached from the different aspects of the causative organisms and the corrective measures include:

Rehabilitation Centers

Rehabilitation centers are medical centers established with an aim of treating addictions by creating an environment where the patient have no access to the substance that triggers the addiction, it is a corrective facility where the patients have restricted access to the society.

Rehabilitation centers are used to solve problems of substance addiction, but now are being adopted as a measure to correct behavioral addictions also. Government and other civil societies that have an aim of correcting the malady of addiction should endeavor the construction of more rehabilitation centers to ensure more accessibility to these facilities.

Regulatory Agencies

The governments in these countries should ensure the creation of law enforcing agencies that are saddled with the responsibility of enforcing government regulations on the use of chemical substances that are commonly abused.
In countries where such agencies exist, necessity is placed on the government to ensure these agencies are properly funded and due to the fact that drug peddling has become a vocation associated with gun running and criminal gangs, hence the need for these agencies to be properly armed with the right intelligence and ammunition so they able to combat the violence that may be associated with drug trafficking.

Establishment of Counseling Centers and Group Support

People will be able to combat the illness of addiction when they can confide in people who may have or are currently battling similar problems.

Counselors also play a huge role because of one of the most assured cure to addictions is therapy and most victims of addictions are regular members of the society who unfortunately just entangled in the shackles of addictions hence they most times require confidantes who they can trust with personal information and ease their mind of the burdens addictions create in their brains.

Countries like United States and Canada have a system of having anonymous meetings for various victims of addictions in almost every street of every state.

Addiction is a complex brain reconfiguration that happens as a result of consistent practice of an act. It is an act that becomes uncontrollable irrespective of the possible aftermath of the act. People often suffer from addiction sometimes and do not make it known to their friends and loved ones, because some addictions could be very terrible and dimming. Consequences of addictions usually vary along their types and causes.

Types of addiction in Canada

These addictions could be widely classified according to the nature of their causes into two, which are:
Chemical based addictions and Behavioral addiction.

Chemical based addiction

These are addictions that are caused by persistent use of drugs and alcohol. Such addiction will be easily eradicated only if such chemical substances could be kept away from the addict. Basically, this type of addiction majorly consists of two sub-classifications: substance addiction and alcohol addiction.

Substance addiction: is a kind of addiction that is characterized by an uncontrollable intake of drugs. It could otherwise be referred to as drug addiction or in the general term, drug abuse. Drug abuse is basically the improper use of drug or the use of drug without a recommended prescription from a medical personnel or the use of illicit or unlawful drugs. The consequences of this kind of addiction can be unbelievably out of place, some of them are in relations to adverse health conditions such as heart attack, mental disorder, liver disease, dizziness, high blood pressure, eye defect etc.

Alcohol addiction: is the type of addiction that is majorly a part of Canadians. In the last 3-4 years, it has been recorded that about 20% of the total population of Canada is relatively obsessed with drinking alcohol. The report was drawn from series of individuals who were reported to being hospitalized due to illnesses caused by excessive drinking. Some of such reported illnesses are kidney failure, mental imbalance, erectile dysfunction, blood diseases etc.

Behavioral addictions

These kinds of addiction are displayed by conduct and act, they do not necessarily need to be propelled by an external substance such as drugs and alcohol. They are innate addictions that an addict has persistent urge to satisfy irrespective of the societal inference or effect.

In Canada, some addictions that are classified under the behavioral type of addiction are causes by societal factors, such as background, peer group and the community. Partying, gambling, having sex are some of the behavioral addictions that are common in Canada.

Addiction is an irregular and abnormal brain defect that affect the neurological system and is majorly caused by repeated practice of any act. It could also be known as a disorder in the brain’s reward system through uncontrolled participation in a particular act, despite the projected end result of such act. Addiction can come in several forms regardless of what the intent or interpretations of the society about its ethical stands can be, either good or bad.

Forms of addictions in Canada

An addiction need not be necessarily be bad in that sense as the society paints it to be, it is simply an act that a person carries out consistently and effortlessly without regret, whilst disregarding the adverse outcome of the act. Some of the acts people do get addicted to may include gambling, drinking alcohol, reading, sex, talking and chatting, taking illicit drugs, taking various substances such as heroin, cocaine, tobacco, marijuana, caffeine etc.

Impacts of the trend on Canadians

According to researches that have been carried out over the years, it has been discovered that the most prominent addiction in Canada is the regular intake of alcohol. However, there are still other addictions that are also found within the confines of the country such as gambling, aggravating sexual desires, drug abuse etc. In 2012, about 18.1% of the total populace of Canada were regarded as being entrenched in alcohol addiction, and in the same wise it grew over the years to about 19% of the total population, in 2016.

Between 2015 and 2016 a number of Canadians were hospitalized, due to the fact that they had defects caused by alcohol. Some of these defects that were reported to be caused by alcohol are heart attack, kidney diseases, and liver malfunction among others.

Other addictions in Canada

In recent times, a large number of illnesses that are being brought to Canadian hospitals for treatments are majorly recorded to be caused by excessive intake of alcohol, which in other words could be called alcohol addiction. However, some other addiction such as substance addiction and gambling are also domicile in Canadians.

Due to the nature of the country, being a nation that is endowed with resources and technological advancement, citizens and other residents of the country who cannot afford to meet up with the financial standards of their peers, are usually engaged in gambling to meet their daily need.

The improper use of pharmaceutical drugs such as pain relievers, syrups, antibiotics and other related drugs is also practiced in the country. This is generally known as drug abuse. It is the use of drugs without paying proper cognizance to the recommended prescription of such drug.

Addiction to drugs in Canada, both prescription and street drugs, is not a small statistic. The availability of drugs in Canada is widespread, and has resulted in steadily increasing numbers of Canadian drug addicts. This trend poses danger to Canadians as more and more street drugs are developed through questionable chemical processes, and the Western mentality of depending on prescription drugs does not seem to be fading any time soon.

Street drugs that are sold on the black market are typically the ones associated with drug addiction. All of North America has access to a wide range of street drugs, but some are particularly prevalent in Canada. Cannabis is the most commonly abused illegal substance in Canada. In fact, Canada is the country most associated with cannabis use in the entire world, primarily because it is located in a region that produces particularly potent cannabis plants. Canada also contains high levels of cocaine, meth and heroin use.

Although street drugs are commonly thought of when discussing Canadian drug addiction, the truth is it is prescription drug abuse that is rising faster in Canadian drug addiction statistics, and through out all of North America. Medical and mental health professionals are unsure why this trend is on the rise. Some parallel the trend to the rising trend of anxiety and claim that the ability to cope with hardship and with pain is drastically declining, therefore making people hyper-dependent on their medications. This is also the most dangerous drug addiction problem in Canada, causing a higher mortality rate than street drugs do.

Understanding Canada’s drug problems requires an understanding of why people abuse drugs in the first place. Psychological problems heavily influence drug abuse problems, and confronting them has proven to be the only permanent way of ridding yourself of drug addiction. Through out Canada are some of North America’s highest rated addiction rehab facilities and substance abuse treatment centers that can lead you through your addiction problems and into the light of recovery. If you are a Canadian who is struggling with a drug addiction, seek out the services of treatment centers in AB, detox centers in QC or drug rehabs in BC.

Canada is often discussed in the global media as one of the best countries in the world to live in, and one of the only countries where residents are still surprised when something goes wrong. Still, despite, how desirable Canadian residency is, its population still has its share of struggles, addiction being one of them. Canada is known as the most marijuana addicted country in the world, as well as a nation that struggles with alcoholism and a number of other addictive tendencies. Fortunately for Canadians, both the private and the public sector provide some of the best addiction treatment services in North America.

Canadian rehabs are taken very seriously. As a country with a reputation for accessible medical and mental health care, Canada’s addiction treatment services are of good quality at every income level. Every province and territory offers government funded rehabilitation services for those who are low income or have minimal recovery needs. Every region of Canada also offers private rehabs, detox centers and treatment facilities for those who are looking for a recovery experience more tailored to their needs. An individual may need a drug rehab in Alberta, a detox center in Quebec or an alcohol treatment center BC.

British Columbia is the province that has been found to have the worst substance abuse problems. This is a trend for all North American countries in the areas along the Pacific coast. Drug problems in particular are more extreme in British Columbia than anywhere else in Canada. In response to this problem, some of Canada’s finest addiction treatment facilities are located in British Columbia, ranging from basic and located within dense cities, to luxurious and found in exclusive, scenic locations.

Canada is a very unified nation compared to many others, with social sensibilities far stronger than those of the United States. Addiction, as difficult as it is too overcome, will not change that. Those who are struggling with addiction in Canada should be made aware of how accessible and reputable its addiction treatment organizations are and receive the help they need to overcome addiction today.

Addiction is not regional to one demographic. Addiction is found in every region of the world at every level of society. Canadian people are susceptible to every kind of addiction, ranging from drugs, to alcohol to a great many more. Although drugs and alcohol are the most common addictions in Canada, there are a few others that are found to be particularly widespread through out Canada and much of North America. These addictions are sex, gambling, cell phones and the internet.

Sex is a very widespread addiction through out the world, and Canada is no exception. A large number of Canadians seek treatment for sex addiction, and many more are in need of it. Sex addiction is when a person compulsively involves themselves in and focuses on a particular sexual fascination. This is not limited to intercourse with other people. Sexual addiction can be to masturbation, pornography or a wide range of sexual fetishes.

Gambling addiction is another common addiction among Canadians and North Americans. Like sex addiction, it is an addiction to a behavior instead of a substance, but unlike sex addiction, it is not as direct a release of the brain chemical dopamine that indicates pleasure. A gambling addiction creates pleasure feelings through a long process of anticipation and suspense. There is a type of addict that is heavily drawn to risk taking, and those who develop a gambling addiction fit into this category.

Canadians and North Americans love their cell phones and internet, apparently a little too much. Addiction to these types of communication devices and digital mediums is increasing along with technological advances. Cell phone addiction is qualified by how heavily a person relies on their phone for communication, information and entertainment. Internet addiction is qualified by how heavily a person is on the internet to use social media sites and browsers by choice.

A number of addictions are found within the Canadian population, but every single one of them is treatable. Addiction is caused by underlying psychological, emotional, behavioral and environmental factors which can be eradicated through cognitive behavioral therapy and counseling. If you or a fellow Canadian in your life is struggling with addiction, reach out to an addiction treatment facility today.