Addiction is currently one of the most widely talked about topics in both the news and the medical and psychology fields of professionals, as is evidenced here by so many people looking for services from south Florida drug rehab centers. The Research Recovery Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, an affiliate of the Harvard Medical School, is a non-profit research group dedicated to the advancement of addiction treatment and recovery, recently published what is called ‘The Addictionary’. It features terminology and definitions that surround the condition and acts as an introductory resource for both the general public and physicians interested in finding out more about the chronic illness of substance use disorder.

The following are some small excerpts from The Addictionary, which can be found in full at https://www.recoveryanswers.org/addiction-ary/:

• ADDICTION – According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, addiction is a primary, chronic neurobiologic disease with genetic, psychosocial and environmental factors influence its development and manifestations. Addiction is characterized by behaviors that include: impaired control over drug use, compulsive use, continued use despite harm, cravings.
• BEHAVIORAL HEALTH – The health care field concerned with substance use and other mental health disorders.
• CODEPENDENCY – Emotional or psychological over-reliance on a partner, especially in relation to an illness or disease such as substance use disorder.
• COERCION – The practice of compelling a victim to act against his or her will by using psychological pressure, physical force or threats or by withholding drugs.
• COLD TURKEY – Slang term for the abrupt and complete cessation of addictive substance use. It stems from the goosebumps often observable on the skin of individuals in physiological withdrawal.
• DEPENDENCE – The state in which metabolic status and functioning is maintained through the sustained presence of a drug and it’s removal results in a mental or physical disturbance or withdrawal.
• DETOX – Short for ‘detoxification’, the medical process focused on treating the physical effects of withdrawal from substance use and comfortably achieving metabolic stabilization is a prelude to longer-term treatment and recovery.
• LAPSE – A nontechnical term, also referred to as a ‘slip’. It implies a short-term resumption of substance use, usually for a night or day, that is followed by a return to the original goal of moderate use or abstinence.
• MAINTENANCE DOSE – The amount of a medication administered to preserve it’s desired level in the bloodstream.
• NEONATAL ABSTINENCE SYNDROME – A postnatal withdrawal syndrome inherited by children exposed to substances, most often opioids, during pregnancy. Babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome are more likely to suffer from low birth weight, breathing problems, feeding problems, seizures or birth defects.
• NIMBY – Short for ‘Not In My Back Yard’. A characterization of opposition by residents to proposed development within their local area, such as for addiction treatment centers or harm-reduction programs. It often correlates with strong fears of increased crime, poverty, drug use or community degradation. The term tends to carry the connotation that residence would tolerate or even support the new development if it were not proposed in such close proximity to themselves.

Finding drug rehab in Ft. Lauderdale is as simple as calling First Step Behavioral Health at (855) 425-4846 which offers many treatment options include residential detox.