Battling Addiction

Just as almost everyone has their favorite alcoholic drink, many people also have their favorite hangover preventatives and cures. Here are some easy before and after remedies that you can try to prevent a hangover.

1. One idea is to eat a medium bag or two small bags of potato chips before going out drinking.

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Smoking is pleasurable, up to a point. That, after all, is why so many do it. If there were no gain, the practice would quickly die out. But a lot of meaning is stuffed into that innocent phrase ‘up to a point’. While the short term benefits of smoking cigarettes is real, the harm is equally real - and it’s potentially much more serious and long lasting.

There are several common factors that tend to lead someone to smoke. Stress, peer pressure and other psychological factors are present for virtually everyone. Substituting a toxic chemical for a healthier means of dealing with them is often viewed as simpler. But the long range consequences can be dire.

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By Sandee Foxten

We were high school sweethearts. Reunited after nearly 20 years, he was the one my heart had always belonged to. Love at first site is real. That is how we fell in love. The first time we saw each other, our eyes met and from that moment on, my life has never been the same. My first marriage ended in divorce and my second marriage left me as a young widowed mother of two. About a year after my husband’s death, I got a very shocking email. He was looking for me! My high school sweetie was trying to find me and I just broke down and cried in disbelief. At the time, I thought it was fate. I was on top of the world thinking that I would finally be with that one special person I never seemed to be able to put out of my mind. After talking for awhile and getting up to date on each others lives, I learned that his life was far from joyous. At the time, he was in a place in another state that helps drug addicts. He had a job and seemed pretty stable. He told me he had been clean for two years. Not knowing anything about drugs myself, I thought that all he needed was me. I thought that as long as he had my love and knew it was true, he would never feel the need for drugs again. My entire world was fixing to be turned upside down.

After driving to another state to be reunited with my old flame, we decided that he would move to my city so we could be together. He found a job really quick, but couldn’t find a decent place to stay. So I allowed him to stay with me. That is a move that didn’t take me long to regret. Once he stayed and I was in his arms, I didn’t want to let go of him again. So my home became his home. It didn’t take long to learn that he hadn’t given up cocaine. He started staying out all night. The first time, it wasn’t just all night, he was gone for several days. The truth started becoming reality not long after that. We had went out to a bar with some friends and after a few drinks, he wanted me to take him to buy drugs. I refused and told him we were going home. On the way home, we got into a heated argument and he tried to hit me. I was driving and I pulled over on the side of the at 4am and told him to get out. I wasn’t sure who this man was, but it wasn’t somebody I loved. I felt bad and went back to pick him up. We agreed that he would leave that night. He was going to pack his clothes and I would take him to the bus station. But when we got home, he took off in one of my vehicles. After we cooled down and he got his drugs out of his system, we agreed to work it out. But things only got worse. On payday, he wouldn’t bother coming home. He was gone for the weekend, getting high. Eventually, he started stealing from me. He stole items from my home to trade for drugs or money to get drugs. He stole my credit cards and drained my bank accounts. I had to take leave from my job because the situation was so stressful.

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