Addiction is a chronic mental disorder characterized by compulsive drug or substance seeking, consistent and frequent use despite harmful consequences, and long-term changes to the brain/nervous system. Addiction is a complex brain disorder, medical and mental illness. This mental disorder is the most severe form of substance use disorder. It is caused by repeated misuse of a particular substance or group of substances. It is important to monitor addiction and get on the path to recovery as soon as possible. An addiction recovery app such as CareClinic can assist one in adhering to their treatment plans and help users consistently check in with their care team. Those who are trying to quit smoking or drinking may find an addiction recovery app to be useful for staying on track with their recovery plan.
Alcohol addiction
An alcohol app is a useful tool to help ensure responsible drinking. Increased alcohol intake and alcoholism can have a negative impact on our overall health and withdrawal symptoms can be severe when trying to quit. Moreover, alcoholism can affect professional or academic performance, and increase the risk of accidents or injuries. Amid the constant hustles of daily life, modern technology becomes a key tool in helping us learn more about our alcohol intake habits.
Approximately 88,000 people die each year from a cause related to alcohol consumption. Alcohol is the fourth most preventable cause of death in the United States. Over 85% of adults in the US have had at least one drink in their life. The standard recommendation for moderate alcohol consumption is one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men. Alcohol abuse and binge drinking have a strong association with chronic health issues, such as liver cancer.
Heavy alcohol use also has a strong association with higher incidences of car accidents, violence and falls. People who abuse alcohol present higher risks for contracting STDs, suffering from cognitive impairment and addiction. The risk of unintended pregnancies also becomes considerably higher with increased alcohol use.
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a disorder in which physical and psychological problems arise from drinking alcohol. The CareClinic health app becomes a useful tool to support one’s journey towards sobriety. You may use the app to track days clean or sober, by using the Reports section as a sobriety counter.
Users are then able to lead a healthier and clean lifestyle. You can add your recovery program to the application and ensure that you stick to it. Users may enter the last time that they consumed alcohol, allowing them to keep track of how long they have been sober. Moreover, users can add recovery milestones to celebrate each achievement and foster motivation in order to stick to one’s recovery plan.
Using an addiction tracker app to monitor drinking
Using an addiction recovery app to track your behaviours, habits, mood and thoughts can be very helpful. Users are able to recognize patterns in their behaviours and thoughts, learn more about their health and take the necessary actions to recover. For instance, using smartphone apps like CareClinic to track your daily alcohol consumption can help one identify any issues and dependence on alcohol. CareClinic’s ability to serve as an alcohol consumption app makes keeping you accountable for a simple daily task.
You can use the application to record your daily intake of alcohol and set a limit. The app will remind users to not exceed this limit. You can also measure your alcohol consumption and compare it to current drinking guidelines established by health organizations.
After taking a moment to record your intake each time you consume alcohol, this free alcohol tracker app allows you to view your alcohol consumption over time. The calendar view allows you to identify the days on which you have consumed more alcohol than usual. This feature allows users to easily identify potential triggers for drinking. Such triggers may include social gatherings, peer pressure, work deadlines, stress and other life events.
Identify patterns in your drinking using tools
Using an app to monitor addiction can help one identify drinking patterns according to AA. Along with viewing intake levels in the calendar, you may also choose to keep a journal. You can record details regarding your alcohol intake. Journal entries may include emotions that you experienced any issues or events that might have led to your drinking episode.
CareClinic also allows you to record the type of alcohol you prefer and other drinking pattern specifics. For instance, many individuals drink heavily when stressed or dealing with a tough situation. Alcoholism also has a strong association with depression and anxiety disorders. Individuals who require support during the recovery process often utilize therapy.
Managing alcohol addiction using Apps
If you are battling alcoholism, there are a number of therapies and recovery methods. It is important to discuss with your healthcare professional with regards to which method works best for you. You can keep track of your therapy sessions in the CareClinic app and share your progress with your care team.
- Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) – developing coping strategies for difficult life moments, addressing issues such as anxiety and depression
- Other forms of psychotherapy to address underlying psychological issues for alcohol abuse & develop relapse prevention skills
- Attending AA meetings & working with a sponsor (an experienced fellow alcoholic)
- Identifying the factors contributing to alcohol abuse and working towards solving them in order to prevent relapse
- Taking part in group therapy (group counselling)
- Opting for a program specialized in recovery from alcohol dependence
- Medication to alter brain chemistry (only at the recommendation of a specialized physician).
CareClinic supports one to take action and improve psychological well-being. The app helps users to keep track of their emotions. Mindfulness and cognitive behavioural therapy have helped many people struggling with alcoholism to obtain positive and sustainable results.
Smoking Addiction
Smoking increases the risk of circulatory problems and can lead to lung cancer. Worldwide, there are approximately 18 billion cigarettes being sold every day, or 6.5 trillion per year. It is vital to start the process of quitting smoking and the first step is tracking how many you consume daily.
A no-smoking tracker app can help one decrease the amount of tobacco consumed. CareClinic can help you track your consumption of not just tobacco cigarettes but marijuana cigarettes as well. The app keeps you on track to lower your daily consumption.
Quitting smoking is associated with reduced health risks and improved respiratory capacity. It increases your lifespan and protects you from potentially life-threatening chronic conditions, such as heart disease and or cancer. It is also one of the hardest habits to let go of and the chances of relapse are considerably high.
Vaping Addiction Tracker
Vaping involves ENDS (electronic nicotine delivery systems), which use solvents to heat and aerosolize flavourants (also known as “juices”). In recent years, people commonly engage in vaping in order to deliver cannabis oils and concentrates. The mixing and aerosolization of these aldehyde and alcohol flavourants can create new compounds that are sent to the lungs during the inhalation process.
The production of these new compounds is linked to a number of health issues. These issues include acute eosinophilic pneumonia, diffuse alveolar damage, and lipoid pneumonia. Lipoid pneumonia is an inflammatory response to the presence of lipids within the alveolar space. This condition typically results from the inspiration of hydrocarbons or oil-based products.
The first reported case of vaping-related illness in Canada occurred in September 2019. A young person in London, Ontario went on life support due to suspected respiratory illness caused by vaping. Dr. Chris Mackle, medical officer and CEO of the Middlesex-London Health Unit stated at a press conference that the individual was using an e-cigarette at least once daily.
Approximately two weeks earlier, Health Canada issued a warning that vaping products can carry a risk of respiratory illness but there have been no reported vaping-related illnesses in Canada prior to this case.
Why should you monitor addiction and quit smoking?
As you give up smoking, your heart rate will improve and the blood pressure will go back to normal. The level of carbon monoxide in the blood will decrease and the functioning of the lungs will improve. Your risk for heart attacks will be also be reduced. As a non-smoker, you will be able to breathe better and experience less frequent coughing boughs. You will present a reduced risk of cancer (mouth, throat, and esophagus) and stroke.
Chronic smokers often present a higher risk of premature death. This risk is not necessarily associated to smoking itself but rather to the conditions that can occur as a result. Smoking can also lead to an increased risk of autoimmune conditions. Maternal smoking also has a strong association with sudden infant death syndrome.
Using a cigarette tracker app to monitor smoking
CareClinic is a health app that can be used as a smoking log. The app allows uses to see how much they are smoking, therefore making it easier to give up this habit and become smoke-free. The application comes with an integrated health journal, which can make the whole process of quitting smoking easier.
You can record how smoking makes you feel, and also the circumstances during which you were tempted to smoke (for example, was your smoking session associated with stress or a particular event, etc?). Tracking your smoking habits can help you better understand your addiction and its potential triggers. Within the application, you can note the date, time and circumstances associated with smoking. You can describe your feelings, or mood in general, as many smokers engage in this habit as a way of coping with negative emotions, stress, anxiety, depression.
You can view your smoking log at a later time or view charts to see how often you smoke. The reports functionality is available in the CareClinic app free of charge. Many smokers complain of cough, breathing difficulties and halitosis. You can even make a parallel and describe how you felt before and after quitting this habit in the diary part of your check-ins in the app. As you will notice your health improving, you will also feel more motivated to stay away from cigarettes. Using CareClinic’s health app can help you manage your cravings and identify both triggers, and patterns of behaviour.
How to use CareClinic to monitor addiction and quit smoking
In the app, you can decide and record your goal for the maximum number of cigarettes that you will smoke every day until you give them up altogether.
You can record daily symptoms from reducing your consumption initially such as headaches, insomnia, boredom or increased irritability. With the help of the app, you can plan your cigarette intake, setting average time intervals between cigarettes and creating alerts. Using the app, you can increase the time intervals between your smoking sessions every day. Some patients also do this for opioid addictions as well.
Once you have reached a milestone and managed to smoke less, it is important to celebrate these milestones. You can enter the progress you have made within the CareClinic app and also the health improvements you have noticed. It is essential to celebrate each small success, as this is the just the kind of motivation you need to keep going.
Apart from your smoking-related information, you can use CareClinic to record various measurements. For example, you can enter your blood pressure, oxygen levels, weight loss progress, blood glucose and any other biometric you want to track and manage as part of your health goal. By entering these on a regular basis, you will be able to see if these have changed throughout your recovery journey.
The application offers a complete and comprehensive view of your health with regards to smoking. As you give up smoking and change your mindset, you will also reset your behavioural and cognitive patterns. CareClinic’s addiction recovery app can help one better engage in self-management and monitor their addiction.
Managing cigarette addiction
Nicotine replacement therapy can help you keep your cravings under control, therefore reducing withdrawal symptoms. One can use a variety of products for nicotine replacement therapy, including skin patches, chewing gum, lozenges, nasal spray and inhaler. Ensure that you consult your healthcare professional, who can guide one towards the right nicotine replacement therapy for you.
Your healthcare professional may prescribe medications for more severe cases, such as bupropion and varenicline. These influence the brain neurotransmitters, reducing the risk of cravings and making the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal easier to handle. The second medication will reduce the pleasure derived from smoking, helping you forget all about this desire.
Cognitive behavioural therapy is one of the most effective solutions for giving up smoking, changing the mindset and increasing the success rates of quitting. Additional solutions include hypnosis, acupuncture, magnet therapy, herbs and supplements, yoga, meditation and mindfulness. The CareClinic app may be used for tracking CBT and helping you to keep on track with your recovery journey.
CareClinic, a free app to monitor addiction
CareClinic is a free addiction recovery app that one can download on Android and iOS (iPhones) to help monitor addiction. It can draw information from other applications such as Apple Health and vice versa. The app serves as an easy-to-use alcohol consumption app, quit smoking app and a tracker app to monitor addiction. Users are able to track their substance intake and treatment progress. This allows individuals to identify patterns in their drinking and set limits on their consumption of a particular substance.
The app provides beneficial information for those experiencing issues with drinking alcohol, smoking, vaping or other types of addictions. CareClinic is a useful quit drinking app and quit smoking app. The app empowers users to take charge of their own health on a daily basis. The application allows you to create a personalized intervention plan, making it easier for users to stick to their recovery journey long term. CareClinic can help users see their progress, celebrate milestones and thus, keep users on the right track.
The application is available for free and can be used on various smartphones and even computers. It complies with the current privacy laws and safeguards your medication information. Moreover, the app seamlessly performs through a sleek and innovative user-friendly interface. CareClinic can assist both patients and physicians in improving addiction management and adherence to complex treatment plans.
