Key Steps To Drug Addiction Recovery
There are certain things that need to be considered as far as the war on drugs is concerned. Here are the five key steps that will lead your loved one to an effective and successful drug recovery:
Is Marijuana Really A Gateway Drug
This is the most commonly used and abused drug in the United States. It does have medicinal value, which is clear considering how many states have legalized it for medical purposes. It has shown to be very good at treating seizures and for pain associated with cancer. Even though these are appropriate uses, they do not make marijuana safe across the board.
Seek Professional To Learn How To Stop Smoking Weed Forever
If you cant manage to stop or quit weed on your own naturally, your best and fail-proof option is to seek professional help:
- A doctor or psychiatrist will be able to prescribe you medications that can help you to stop taking marijuana. Although this doesnt help for the long term.
- A therapist or group counselling sessions can help you find support by talking through your issues and meeting like-minded people. This helps in small portions but still requires you to constantly bring yourself to commit.
- Your final option is inpatient rehab. Its a 24 hour treatment for you where youre surrounded by doctors and therapists working round the clock to help you put this behind you. You will no longer look to find answers on how to stop smoking weed because you will be living it. We at Canadian Centre for Addictions specialize in these types of treatment programs.
If you or someone you care about is struggling with weed addiction, get in touch with us. Our team of addiction experts have over a 100 years of combined experience.
If you want to know the methods for dealing with weed specifically, we are a rehab that can provide you with the help and support you need and take you through this process.
Take a look at one of our own clients who experienced the depths of addiction all because he started with weed:
For more information of marijuana addiction, please visit our Understanding Addiction resources.
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Inability To Cope With Stress:
For my partner there was no such thing as maintaining a relationship whilst something was going wrong or being difficult in other areas of his life. He was in between jobs at one point and this caused him to cancel more dates, act more distant, become completely incapable of dealing with any concern I might have brought up as well as become even more irritable and moody. The stress absorbed him and ate away at him it was incredibly challenging to try to be supportive as in context of what he had been through and what people go through all the time in life his behavior and approach to the problems made little sense. Everything seemed to get so blown out of proportion. As the sober partner youre left wondering what will happen when children come along? Sickness? Death of parents?
What Is Samhsas National Helpline
SAMHSAs National Helpline, , or TTY: is a confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disorders. This service provides referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups, and community-based organizations. Callers can also order free publications and other information.
Also visit the online treatment locators.
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Why Do People Smoke Weed Is It Habit
Alcohol or cocaine addiction is more common, but a person can get hooked on marijuana. This means that the person cannot stop using it .
People use weed for various reasons. These include:
Social Use
For some, using weed is a rational option to improve the quality of their lives. Others use the drug recreationally. For teenagers and young adults, its a way to fit in with the crowd. People of this age are easily known to give in to peer pressure.
Adults typically use weed for stress relief. The results of a study backed this up. It says that stress relief can be achieved as long as cannabis is used in low and monitored doses.
Medical Use
There are medical benefits associated with the use of weed. For example, it has been linked to the management of mental and physical problems and in preserving health.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of marijuana for two rare and severe forms of epilepsy: Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome.
Research is ongoing on marijuanas possible benefits in treating the following conditions:
- Alzheimers disease
Cancellation Of Dates Etc:
Again, early in the relationship I got stood up. The reasons were various, some understandable some I had less sympathy for . Please note that I am talking about a partner who does this very early on in the relationship, and with slightly too much frequency. Again, the sober person is left wondering if her/his partner is really as into the relationship as them, but in my own case there were many fantastic and loving moments between us and so again I ignored my gut and went with it
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Learn From Your Mistakes Try Again
Create a set plan for how you will cope with a desire to relapse.
As we mentioned in the previous section, learn from your mistakes and identify what caused you to relapse.
And according to these triggers and conditions, make a safety plan that you can use instead of returning to weed the next time.
Prepare some answers or action plans for specific situations.
For example:
- Practice some polite refusal sentences in case a marijuana user offers you a joint.
- If your friends decide to smoke, plan to take a walk and come back after they finish.
- If you happen to find yourself in a situation that you didnt think of before, have a supportive friend you can call to help distract you.
Simply engaging a phone call in a social environment would help your mind be absent from the current situation, thus increase your chances not to relapse.
Predetermining different verbal and behavioural responses to different situations strengthen your hand in your recovery journey from marijuana.
Getting High Becomes Priority
How you spend your time is indicative of your possible dependence on the drug. If you spend a lot of your time getting high or waiting for the time when youll smoke another joint or looking for your drug of choice, that is a clear and obvious sign that you are addicted to it.
When your drug use becomes your priority and it begins to eat up a big chunk of your time, its vital to seek help and start marijuana addiction treatment.
You may also notice youve stopped doing the activities you once enjoyed. This may include recreational outings, playing sports or spending time with your loved ones. Instead, you spend your time with people who are also using marijuana so that you can get high together and feel that youre having a good time.
Work or school can also become affected. Since using marijuana has become your priority, you no longer give importance to other things in your life such as your job or attending your classes. This can have very serious consequences down the line such as failing your courses or getting fired from your job.
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Let People Know Make Yourself Accountable
While you might think that you can handle this on your own, its much better to involve other people in your struggle against cannabis dependency.
Make use of your support network, whether its family, friends, partners or colleagues. The people that you surround yourself with this time can play a significant role in helping you overcome your dependency and progress towards your goals.
You may want to just stop smoking and tell everyone later but this is often hard.
By telling people, it will keep you accountable.
It will let people know not to offer you a joint or a reefer and you can get social support with your goal.
If you feel intimidated to tell everyone before you are successful, there is another option.
Find a reliable and trusted accountability buddy. This friend, family member or partner can check in on you and help you stay on track when you seem to be forgetful of your goals.
Its vital to realize that ultimately, giving up your drug disorder is down to you. Nobody else can achieve this for you.
Approach : Quitting Weed Cold Turkey
You may not want to quit smoking weed on a gradual basis because:
You may need to quit immediately for many reasons .
You may be the type of person who does things all or nothing and it may work best for you to cut it out completely.
The approach of going cold turkey has a history of being associated with drug addiction. It simply means you completely cut out marijuana consumption.
It certainly has the clear advantage of a quick impact. Youll see results straight away. However, its much more complicated than it appears. You have to have a strategy to deal with the withdrawal symptoms that youll inevitably experience.
You cant simply put dont your spliff and say goodbye to weed forever without looking back. This is because even if you are mentally prepared for the challenge of giving up weed. Your body probably isnt ready.
After all, your body has developed a tolerance for marijuana. While the body stores THC for up to a month at a time, this simply wont be enough to prevent you from craving cannabis.
Although going cold turkey might be worth a try, its rarely successful on its own without a solid strategy. Its difficult to fight against your own biology.
In this part of our guide, we will talk about useful strategies for quitting cold turkey.
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Taking Care Of Yourself
Your loved ones recovery from drug addiction can be a long process and the negative impact on your own health, outlook, and well-being can multiply over time. Its important you maintain a balance in your life to avoid burnout from all the stress and frustration that comes from helping someone get clean.
Find support. Expressing what youre going through can be very cathartic, so look for support from trusted friends and family, or a peer support group for family members of drug addicts. Talking to others who are facing similar challenges can help you find comfort, reassurance, and new ways of coping.
Manage stress. The stress of witnessing someone you love battle addiction can take a heavy toll. You can reduce your stress levels by eating right, exercising regularly, sleeping well, and practicing a relaxation technique such as yoga, deep breathing, or meditation. Since stress levels can escalate when quitting drugs, you can even encourage your loved one to do the same.
Helplines and support
Support for sufferers of substance use disorders
In the U.S.: Call the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-4357.
UK: Find NHS drug addictions support services or call the Frank helpline at 0800 776600.
Canada: Download the PDF Finding Quality Addiction Care from the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction.
Australia: Find support or call the Alcohol and Drug Foundation helpline at 1800 250 015.
Support for families and loved ones
Group and 12-step programs for your loved one
How Do I Stop Smoking Marijuana
SMART provides our members with tools and skills that they can use to help them recover from marijuana addiction as well as alcohol, or other drugs or negative behaviors. SMART Recovery, which can be used as a support group alternative to Marijuana Anonymous , uses a 4-Point Program®, with each element designed to help you overcome your problems with abusing marijuana:
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Getting Professional Help To Quit Smoking Weed
Another method that can be useful for people trying to quit weed is enrolling into a professional addiction treatment program for marijuana addiction, or heading to a treatment facility and detoxing there . These programs help you go through the detox period and provide users with support groups like Marijuana Anonymous which will make the transition period easier.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
This treatment approach requires marijuana users to identify the distressing thoughts and emotions, as well as develop proper skills to address and manage those thoughts. CBT teaches users to recognize the stress that triggers substance abuse and replace that habit with a positive one like going out in nature, calling a friend, or doing a creative project.
Contingency Management
The contingency management approach involves rewarding yourself for being consistent and not smoking marijuana. For example, people who are doing contingency management treatment will give themselves vouchers, gift cards, movie tickets, or other rewards for each negative drug test result.
Motivational Enhancement Therapy
The MET approach is focused on examining the reason for giving up weed. This helps users to figure out what underlying factors may affect the use of weed, and how they can prioritize their other goals instead of smoking weed.
Suggestions To Family Members And Friends Of Marijuana Addicts
We addicts in recovery have found, through the Twelve Steps, that we are each responsible for ourselves and our actions. If a loved one helps divert a crisis for the addict, they take away the addicts opportunity to work it out, or fail. This will make is harder for the addict to perceive the problem and begin to seek the solution.
As the addict approaches their bottom and their disease worsens, family members and friends have a tendency to enable the addict, allowing them to postpone the ultimate repercussions of their using. Understandably, loved ones try to ease the suffering the addict may be feeling because of the loyalty, love, caring, and a sense of responsibility. Family and friends may give money , buy food, pay rent and bills, bail them out of jail, etc. By trying to save the addict from him or herself, you are doing both yourself and the addict a disservice.
Addicts often try to manipulate loved ones though the use of guilt, fear, and anger. This is a very common tactic used by the addict to get what he or she wants by taking advantage of the emotions of those closest to him or her.
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Quitting Weed Cold Turkey
This is the harsh way to quit its harder, but quitting cold turkey can be achieved as long as you have the support of your friends and family, and an iron will. Here are 4 steps to quitting weed cold turkey:
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How Long Does It Take Cannabis To Leave The System
Like alcohol, there are several factors that affect how long it takes for cannabis to leave a persons body. Some of the most common factors include:
- How often someone smokes cannabis
- How sensitive the drug test is
- The amount of fat on a person
Unlike alcohol, cannabis stays in the system for a very long time. Traces of THC can be detected in hair, blood, or urine samples for up to several days after initial use if its someones first time smoking.
If the person uses cannabis a few times a week, it can take up to a week to leave the system. If someone smokes every day, it could take as long as a month or more.
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Once The Addict Begins Recovery We Suggest You Avoid:
- Trying to appease or patronize the addict.
- Checking up to see if the addict is stoned or in possession of drugs or alcohol. Yet, try not to let the addict take advantage of you.
- Scolding, nagging or blaming the addict about former use or newfound sobriety.
- Making threats, especially if you arent prepared to carry them out.
Help Yourself And Help Your Friend
Helping a friend quit smoking weed is not going to be easy. You have to remember that you are not responsible for his or her choices. You can only guide your friend, offering support until he or she makes the right choice.
Your helping hand, constant support, communication, support groups, and activities all work together to show your friend that sobriety is not only possible, but also enjoyable. If, however, you find that your friend relapses and backslides a bit, its important to stay positive and keep moving forward. Help your friend maintain his or her goals, even if they were goals that were already accomplished.
This could easily mean that your friend might climb the ladder of recovery a few times before completely finding his or her lifelong path to sobriety. Stick with your friend no matter how long it takes.
When you achieve recovery together, the reward is monumental. Youll be able to look at your friend and watch him or her live a fulfilling life in sobriety, accomplishing goals and changing the world the way you knew he or she could.
If you have a friend that smokes weed and may be developing an addiction, call 12 Keys Rehab today to learn how we can help. As a team, we can battle addiction and give your friend the support he or she needs to recover and live life in sobriety.
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