Have you ever felt out of control, like you just can't get enough food, gambling, sex, or alcohol? Have you ever been diagnosed with or suspected that you might suffer from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder? If so, AD/HD could be fueling your addiction. Even more serious, undiagnosed or untreated AD/HD might be undermining your recovery efforts. Family therapist and addiction specialist Wendy Richardson explains the explosive link between AD/HD and addiction and offers tips on how to combat its devastating effects. Length: 45 minutes

Drug addiction is a disease of the brain, and teens are at highest risk for acquiring this disease. That is the startling conclusion recently arrived at by brain experts, based on the latest research findings. This program illustrates the amazingly complicated structure and function of the brain using colorful and compelling visuals and computer animations. It explains the changes to the brain caused by prolonged use of drugs such as cocaine, heroin, nicotine, alcohol and methamphetamine, and shows why voluntary drug use eventually becomes involuntary and compulsive. Studies indicate that drugs affect the developing brain more than the brain of someone more mature, thus putting teens at a higher risk of addiction. Interviews with recovering teen addicts, an addiction counselor, and brain experts and researchers give the program realism and intensity, and provide sobering thoughts to viewers.

Many people who are mentally ill are also addicted to drugs and alcohol. These are separate problems that require separate treatments, yet few people have been diagnosed correctly for both conditions. This program from The Doctor Is In profiles a woman who is manic-depressive and alcoholic, and a man with schizophrenia who is also alcoholic. Dr. Fred Goodwin, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, explains ongoing research that may help identify and treat adolescents before they begin to experience problems. A Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center production. (28 minutes, color)

Addiction is a serious and very real problem for many people. It can come in the forms of caffeine, heroin, food or love. Find out what makes one person more likely to develop an addiction than someone else. Learn about the different types of addiction, the signs of addiction and the consequences of it. Discover what you can do if you or someone you know has an addiction. Learning Objectives: 1) Students will learn the definition of addictive behavior and characteristics of an addict. 2) Students will learn about drug addiction, food addiction, and relationship addiction 3) Students will learn the consequences of addictive behavior, how to overcome addiction, and how to find help

In this program, famous adult children of alcoholics speak out about childhood nightmares and adult behavior that continues to reflect the problem of a parent’s alcoholism: some chose alcoholic partners, others developed drug, gambling, or other addictions. All speak of the difficulties of coping with the damage inflicted by an alcohol- centered childhood. (52 minutes, color)

The hallmarks of adolescence that the alcohol industry uses to lure young people into drinking – their spirit of rebellion, need for social acceptance and desire to appear sophisticated -- are used in this video to drive home the opposing argument. Teen narrators use clips from liquor industry TV spots to show the degree to which teens are targeted, and the duplicity of the claim implicit in the advertising that drinking is a harmless, sophisticated, “fun” behavior. The essence of the video’s message is “here’s an adult institution of the sort you’re just itching to rebel against. It’s telling you a lot of lies just to get your money. You’re being duped – and being duped isn’t cool!” That argument is extended to the more difficult problem of rejecting pressure from peers to drink. Interviews with a multi-cultural panel of teens elicits their perceptions of teens who drink and pressure others to do so as misguided and somewhat contemptible individuals who push liquor on others to justify their own bad judgment. All the health and social hazards of drinking are explored. However, recognizing the inability of young viewers to identify with the long-term effects of alcohol abuse, the emphasis is on the effects of alcohol on appearance, physical development and the risk drinking could pose to a teen’s most longed-for privilege – driving. The length, pacing, graphics and music of the video are designed for maximum appeal to its target audience of those in grades 5 through 10.

Alcoholism affects not only the person suffering from the disease but the alcoholic’s family as well. This program takes an in-depth look at the effects of alcoholism on both the individual and the family, contrasting an urban and a rural home linked by the common problem of alcoholism. From the alcoholic to his or her spouse and their children, everyone is affected. As other family members seek to cope and prevent the destruction of the family, unhealthy behavioral patterns often emerge: spouses face frustration, shame, and a feeling of helplessness, and children try to hide the problem, creating stresses they can carry with them for the rest of their lives. The program provides a broad insight into alcoholism and how it affects those on its periphery. (24 minutes, color)

The severe price amphetamine abusers pay for the burst of energy they receive from taking these prescription drugs is set forth in detail in this pamphlet. The proper medical application of amphetamines, the street names of the drugs, and their short- and long-term effects on the body and brain, including strokes, heart attacks, irreversible brain damage and dangerously elevated body temperature are set forth. The addictive nature of amphetamines are underscored by a description of the extremely unpleasant effects of withdrawal. Readers are encouraged to further research the hazards of amphetamine misuse at In the Know Zone, Syndistar's free drug abuse prevention website.

Teens tempted to use anabolic-androgenic steroids as a shortcut to improving their sports performance learn that these are extremely powerful drugs with some very dangerous side effects. Readers discover that steroids are synthetic male sex hormones, which promote the growth of skeletal muscle and the development of male sexual characteristics. They are warned that other substances, such as DHEA taken for the same purposes as steroids, are just as dangerous and have no beneficial effect. The potential harm from steroid use is detailed, including high blood pressure, heart palpitations, liver damage, cancer and hepatitis, aggressive violent behavior, depression and paranoia. They are also warned that, with modern drug testing, users are almost certain to be caught and suspended or banned from their sport, and that if they do take steroids and quit, they will suffer terrible withdrawal effects and end up weaker than when they started!

According to Dr. Nuckols anger and how it affects us is based on our life experiences and the way we look at the world. He explains how anger has many causes and has become a learned coping and survival skill for many who are in treatment programs or in a criminal justice setting. Dr. Nuckols addresses how angry people can be compared to the alcoholic or addict new to treatment, most are in denial about their anger. He also explains how many people withdraw or use alcohol and drugs, attack others or abuse themselves to try to make their anger go away. He emphasizes the importance of taking responsibility for your anger in order to eliminate problems with relationships, getting and keep a job and staying out of trouble with the law. Dr. Nuckols addresses why it is important to understand the consequences of your anger because relapse is often associated with anger and frustration. Anger: The Bottom Line provides strategies that will help the viewer change their behavior and take control of their life and provides proven techniques that will help them control inappropriate anger.

Using sophisticated 3-D animation, this program, divided into two parts, takes viewers on a journey deep into the brain to study the effects of the three substances. The first part illustrates the major functions of the brain and shows how its principal cells, the neurons, communicate with each other through electrical and chemical signals. In the second part, animated molecules of nicotine, cocaine, and marijuana travel a route from the external environment through the body to the brain, where viewers learn about the cellular targets of these drugs, and how each drug interacts with them and subsequently affects the body. Images of actual neurons used in the animations create a realistic effect that helps viewers understand the concepts presented. (25 minutes, color)

Winner - Silver Apple, National Educational Media Network Winner - New York International Film Festival The First RELAPSE PREVENTION videos urban recovering addicts can relate to! * Real people - credible role models * Engaging visuals and music * Realistic reenactments * Narrated by recovering inner-city addicts * High quality production Funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, this cutting-edge series imparts the latest research on urban relapse prevention strategies. Part 1: STREET SMARTS imparts 8 specific skills vital to urban relapse prevention, including dealing with frustration and chronic stress, and resisting the lure of “easy money” and the street life. Part 2: BACK ON THE BLOCK focuses on early recovery, the first weeks home, dealing with housing, old friends, triggers, and how to handle running into “get-high buddies.” Part 3: RECOVERING RELATIONSHIPS explores relationship challenges that come up in early recovery including dealing with dysfunctional families, sexual triggers, the stress of parenting, etc. Part 4: CATCHIN’ FEELINGS identifies realistic ways to cope with emotional “danger zones” in early recovery, including anger, shame, guilt and self-pity--without picking up. Part 5: MAKING IT HAPPEN imparts hope about long-term recovery, showing that it’s possible to “take back your dreams” and achieve goals related to work, money, school and fun. Free 170 page Counselor’s Guide with every order makes it a complete CURRICULUM. BEAT THE STREET COUNSELOR’S GUIDE Provides counselors with the complete curriculum needed to implement an effective relapse prevention component within their facility. It includes 43 activities with reproducible client worksheets helps clients take what they have learned from the videos and apply it to their own lives. The guide also offers 98 discussion questions providing counselors a format for leading discussion following the viewing of each tape. Questions are designed to help viewers clarify the relapse traps shown in the tapes.

This up-to-date video clearly identifies the major medical quitting methods that are currently available to anyone who wants to stop smoking or chewing tobacco. Two teen presenters offer an overview of nicotine and its addictive properties, as well as an explanation of the withdrawal process. The program looks at five FDA approved methods that are commonly used today: the anti-smoking pill (Zyban™), nicotine gum, the nicotine inhaler, nicotine nasal spray and the nicotine patch. Quitting “cold turkey” is also explained. The pluses and minuses of each method are reviewed by the presenters, with additional commentary from a prominent physician who specializes in smoking cessation. Proper usage and side effects for each method are explained in a simple, concise manner. The importance of joining a cessation support group is also discussed. Teens learn that smokers who use nicotine replacement therapy together with a behavioral change program double their chances of successfully quitting. Activities in the Teacher’s Resource Book aid students as they expand their knowledge. This video is sure to offer helpful information to any student who is struggling to break free of tobacco addiction. Running Time: 18 minutes

This information-packed pamphlet speaks to teens through hip graphics and conversational language. The pamphlet includes references to the In the Know Zone the website, with in-depth information, interesting images and an interactive quiz. Readers will learn crucial information including the definition of binge drinking (which they may be surprised to learn is five drinks in a row), the effects of being "drunk," the serious risks and dangers inherent to alcohol use, impressive statistics and more.

Nothing makes the hazards of underage drinking more real than the first-hand accounts of people who have suffered them. This video examines the life- threatening nature of teen alcohol use from medical and personal perspectives. It presents interviews with the mother of a girl who died from an alcohol overdose, the family of another girl who received serious head injuries in a drunk-driving car accident, and an ER doctor who is dodging gurneys as traumatized bodies fly past him.

With a group of young adults of the Hip Hop Generation, Delbert Boone discusses the influencing factors of their generation and how they have relied on clothes and music to define their culture. He addresses their values and morals, rites of passage, social norms and the mixed messages they have received from the media and their peers. He discusses why most of them got their education off the street and they felt that school was not going to do them any good. Boone also addresses interpersonal relationships and why most young people of their generation don’t want people in their business and often isolate and start using drugs. Boone addresses why this generation does not believe a job can get them the things they want in life and explains why drug trafficking appeals to them.