The sixties were a wild time. The psychedelic effects of drugs like LSD are reflected in the art, music and clothes of the time. Not only was drug experimentation acceptable, it was extremely popular.
The baby boomers that grew up surrounded by such a drug culture have been swept away again–so much so that the National Institutes of Health have, for the first time, issued a consumer alert on its website, NIHSeniorHealth.gov. This time their poison is cocaine, heroin and marijuana. Emergency Room visits for accidents related to these drugs are at a record high for baby boomers. The dangers of substance abuse at this age are clear–age-related chronic conditions are worsened by long-term illicit drug use, and combining illicit drugs with medication for cholesterol or high blood pressure can be fatal.
Not only that, a new evil has raised its ugly head. A growing number of seniors are finding themselves in the clutches of prescription opiates, inadvertently going from medication to mania in almost no time at all.
The Dangers of Prescription Drugs for Seniors
This powerful medication poses a number of problems for the baby boomers. First of all, age brings on a number of painful ailments, from osteoporosis (leading to easily-broken bones) to arthritis. As a result, most American men above age fifty are on an average of four prescription drugs per day. They are not only affected by physical difficulties, but personal troubles as well, such as loss of a loved one, anxiety, job loss and divorce, to name a few. Not only does this lead to a cornucopia of prescriptions such as anti-anxiety pills and anti-depressants, it can be a major factor in the choice to turn to addiction. The idea of drowning ones sorrows can be very appealing to someone going through a difficult time.
Another risk involved in seniors’ reliance on prescription drugs is that an older body has a much more sluggish metabolism, making it harder to burn off the effects of the drugs. Therefore, medication that might easily be used by people in their twenties and thirties can actually pose a threat of addiction and even overdose in someone above fifty.
Why The Baby Boomer Generation
Growing up in a drug culture may have something to do with baby boomers’ inclination toward drug addiction. Being surrounded by people who are of the mind that drug use is the norm can lead to a bit of blindness on the effects of these dangerous substances. However, there is another, physical factor at play here.
Drugs stay in the body for years after the user stops taking them, embedded in the fatty tissues. Even after decades of lying dormant, they can become dislodged and re-create the effects of the drug, even causing a person to become high again. With this can come strong cravings and even relapse whether the prior use was weeks, months or years in the past.
The Narconon program uses a precise technology designed to completely remove all traces of drugs from the body so that a person can live drug-free for the rest of his life. This is through the New Life Detoxification Program. The remainder of the program focuses on giving those addicted ‘Life Skills’ to get and remain permanently drug free.
Seven out of ten Narconon graduates permanently recover from substance abuse. The treatment is residential and lasts an average of 90 days. It is also completely drug free.
If you know of a loved one who is struggling with addiction get information from Narconon rehab reviews and get them help now.
Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolynrosenblatt/2012/10/29/the-scary-trend-of-boomer-addiction/