S You Can Take To Overcome Addiction
There is a ton of information out there about addiction recovery, and there are always new theories and science that lead to new programs. Recommending the best program or way to recover from addiction is a loaded topic because each individual will respond to something different. Its important to know that there is no right or wrong approach in fact, the only right approach is the one that works for you!
Its also worth mentioning that there are many stories of recovered addicts who quit using without the help of any recovery programs! Some have turned to their churches or have received paid incentives for clean drug tests. Some have received psychiatric help or used cognitive behavioral therapy. And there are even people who simply outgrew their addictions. These people are usually those who used drugs and alcohol in their teens and 20s and then found a life that was more fulfilling, either through meaningful relationships, work, or other interests.
With all that in mind, here are some steps that you can take to help with recovery:
How Can I Tell If My Friend Is Addicted To Drugs
Their behaviour, their physical appearance, and certain stuff in their environment can provide clues as to whether your friend might be addicted to drugs.
Behavioural clues
- sudden changes in behaviour or mood swings
- withdrawal from family members and old friendship groups
- carelessness about personal grooming
- loss of interest in hobbies, sports or other favourite activities
- neglect of responsibilities.
- red, glassy or bloodshot eyes, or pupils that are smaller or larger than normal
- sniffing or a runny nose
- frequent nosebleeds
- shakes, tremors, incoherent or slurred speech, impaired or unstable coordination
- sudden weight loss or weight gain.
Other clues
The following items could also be a sign of addiction:
- spoons and syringes
- small, resealable baggies that could be used to store drugs
- pipes, plastic bottles, or cans that have been pierced or tampered with
- burnt foil
- stuff missing, such as money, valuables or prescription drugs.
Generate A New Behavior
Having gone through the self-evaluation process, you are now ready to create a new empowering behavior that replaces your addiction. And this is of course of paramount importance.
Your addiction is nothing more but a habit you have developed over time. Habits are of course deeply ingrained into our psyche, which makes them very difficult to change.
To eliminate a habit, you need to replace it with something else that satisfies the same needs you were craving while indulging in your addiction.
With this in mind, think back to the previous step where you questioned the benefits you derived from your addiction. These benefits are in essence the needs you seek to satisfy while indulging in your addiction. Your new behavior must fundamentally address these same needs. In other words, it must fulfill the same desires of your addiction, but in healthy and beneficial ways.
If for instance, you have a cigarette addiction, then going cold-turkey will rarely work in the long-run. Your brain needs a new empowering habit that replaces the old pattern of behavior .
With this in mind, some people develop the habit of chewing gum or chewing on a toothpick to interrupt their cigarette craving. This works quite well for a certain percentage of individuals who satisfy their cigarette cravings with this new habit. However, it doesnt work for all people because chewing gum doesnt quite meet the needs they get from smoking cigarettes.
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Understanding Why Your Loved One Doesnt Want To Go To Rehab
Even though Canada suffers from a strong prevalence of drug abuse, only 1 in 10 people suffering from addiction seek out some form of treatment. The stats are unfortunate since there are many resources for individuals to take advantage of. This includes online information, inpatient rehabilitation, and help phone lines.
Many individuals choose not to admit themselves to rehabilitation for a number of personal reasons. Whether these reasons are acceptable or not, they are often the things that stop people from getting the help they so desperately need.
If someone you know requires rehabilitation but refuses to attend, it may be hard to understand. However, the following are 5 reasons people dont go to rehab, to help you get a better grasp on the potential underlying issues.
How To Accomplish Your Goals
After youve set your goals to either stop or cut back your drinking, write down some ideas on how you can help yourself accomplish these goals. For example:
Get rid of temptations. Remove all alcohol, barware, and other alcohol-related paraphernalia from your home and office.
Announce your goal. Let friends, family members, and co-workers know that youre trying to stop or cut back on drinking. If they drink, ask them to support your recovery by not doing so in front of you.
Be upfront about your new limits. Make it clear that drinking will not be allowed in your home and that you may not be able to attend events where alcohol is being served.
Avoid bad influences. Distance yourself from people who dont support your efforts to stop drinking or respect the limits youve set. This may mean giving up certain friends and social connections.
Learn from the past. Reflect on previous attempts to stop or reduce your drinking. What worked? What didnt? What can you do differently this time to avoid pitfalls?
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Your Habit Of Shaming Your Partner
One of the most powerful things you can do to support your loved one in his recovery is to stop shaming him. There is scientific evidence that shaming doesnt work when it comes to changing someones behavior. In fact, shaming causes more harm than good. Your work on ridding yourself of your anger toward your partner will help you to begin to break what may have become a habit to shame him.
Few people are actually changed through shame. Instead, what is created is an angry person who feels terrible about himself and has little motivation to change his behavior. In addition, when we shame someone we alienate and isolate him, which tends to make him feel disconnected from others. This angry person who now hates himself and consequently has little motivation to change and who also feels disconnected from others is far more likely to continue his addictive behavior.
For more than half a century, those in the addiction field used what was considered high-confrontation treatment aimed at breaking through an addicts supposed denial or resistance to treatment. But many in the field now understand, and studies have proventhat this kind of confrontation increases resistance.
There are many reasons why shame is at the core of most addictions and dependencies :
Helping Someone With Drug Abuse
It is not easy to overcome drug addiction. This takes a great deal of patience, consistency, and determination both on your own part and on the part of the individual involved. That does not mean, however, that it is impossible.
If the origin of his or her drug addiction is identified, well studied and understood, the issue can be solved from there. If you have a drug addiction or know someone who is suffering from it, here are a few proven techniques that might help overcome it:
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What Does Heroin Do To A Person
Treating a heroin addiction first requires that users are broken of their physical dependence on the substance. Since heroin has such an immediate neurological and psychological impact, virtually rewriting the brains perceptions of pleasure, reward, and the anticipations thereof, individuals have to be gradually and carefully weaned off their dependence. This entails reducing the amount of heroin they consume, while at the same time controlling for the inevitable withdrawal symptoms that come from the body receiving less of the drug to which it has become so accustomed. Heroin withdrawal symptoms include:
- Anxiety
- Suicidal thoughts
Withdrawing From Alcohol Safely
When you drink heavily and frequently, your body becomes physically dependent on alcohol and goes through withdrawal if you suddenly stop drinking. The symptoms of alcohol withdrawal range from mild to severe, and include:
- Headache
- Trouble sleeping or concentrating
- Elevated heart rate and blood pressure
Alcohol withdrawal symptoms usually start within hours after you stop drinking, peak in a day or two, and improve within five days. But in some alcoholics, withdrawal is not just unpleasantit can be life threatening.
If youre a long-term, heavy drinker, you may need medically supervised detoxification. Detox can be done on an outpatient basis or in a hospital or alcohol treatment facility, where you may be prescribed medication to prevent medical complications and relieve withdrawal symptoms. Talk to your doctor or an addiction specialist to learn more.
Seek emergency medical help if you experience any of the following withdrawal symptoms:
- severe vomiting
- extreme agitation
- seizures or convulsions
The symptoms listed above may be a sign of a severe form of alcohol withdrawal called delirium tremens, or DTs. This rare, emergency condition causes dangerous changes in the way your brain regulates your circulation and breathing, so its important to get to the hospital right away.
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Support Recovery As An Ongoing Process
Once your loved one decides to enter treatment, its essential that you remain involved. Continue supporting their participation in ongoing care, meetings and participate in support groups for families of addicts. Be the support system that they need, and show them that youll be there every step of the way.
What Is Sexual Addiction
Id say the biggest thing that most people dont understand about sexual addiction is that sex addiction isnt about sex. The way that I see it, sexual addiction is more about shame, isolation, adrenaline, and unworthiness than it is about chasing after sexual experiences.
Or, as one SAA member once so eloquently put it in a meeting that I attended, When I act out with sex workers, Im not thinking to myself Oh boy, this is going to be super fun!. But rather, Im thinking I have such a tornado of pain inside of myself that I either have to kill myself or compulsively act out to numb the pain.’
Compulsive sexual behaviour is what sex addicts use to numb out their emotions, just like alcoholics often use staying drunk to avoid feeling their underlying difficult emotions.
Sexual addiction, just like any drug addiction, can have a sliding scale of symptoms ranging in severity. For some people, sex addiction looks like chronic masturbation to porn, where they dont feel like they can function in society without climaxing at least seven times a day. For others, sex addiction could look like occasional flare ups of wanting to use or act out with sex workers only when theyre going through emotionally trying times .
Ive met hundreds of sex addicts and there is no singular unifying theme that connects all addicts at least not in terms of how they like to act out sexually.
If the behaviour has control over you, then it has likely become a problem in your life.
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Get Rid Of Your Triggers
If you continuously surround yourself with items that remind you about sex, it may be impossible to make progress in your treatment for sex addiction. Dispose or recycle your porn magazines, videos, pictures, and everything that may pose a temptation to you.
Furthermore, you should delete porn from your devices and clear your browser history of sites you visited in the past. You should also consider installing software that blocks pornography websites.
American Addiction Centers Can Help
Drugabuse.com is a subsidiary of American Addiction Centers , a leading provider in outpatient programs such as drug and alcohol detox care, and inpatient rehab programs. If you are struggling with addiction and considering detox or rehab, then please call our team to help you find the treatment you need. You can reach us at Who Answers?. You can also use our free and confidential online insurance checker below to see if your health insurance will cover the cost of treatment.
American Addiction Centers accepts many insurance plans and can work with you on a manageable payment plan.
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The Effects Of Drug Abuse And Addiction On Family And Friends
Witnessing someone you care about battle a substance use disorder can be extremely distressing and take a heavy toll on your own mental and emotional well-being. Whether the drug abuser is a close friend, spouse, parent, child, or other family member, its easy for their addiction to take over your life. It can pile stress upon stress, test your patience, strain your bank balance, and leave you racked by feelings of guilt, shame, anger, fear, frustration, and sadness.
You may worry about where your loved one is at any given time, their risk of overdosing, or the damage theyre doing to their health, future, and home life. You may be in debt from paying their living expenses, the cost of legal troubles resulting from their drug abuse, or from failed attempts at rehab and recovery. You may also be worn down by covering for your loved one at home or work, having to shoulder the responsibilities they neglect, or being unable to devote more time to other family, friends, and interests in your life.
As despairing as you may feel, youre not alone in your struggle. A Pew Research Center survey in 2017 found that nearly half of Americans have a family member or close friend whos been addicted to drugs. Across the Western world, the abuse of prescription pain relievers and tranquillizers has skyrocketed in recent years, creating a public health crisis.
Tips To Help Stop Enabling Someones Addiction
Those who are close to someone with a drug or alcohol addiction can often struggle with the question of whether theyre hurting more than helping someone they care about. If youre worried youre enabling someones addiction and want to help them seek treatment, read our five tips below and contact Vertava Health to learn about treatment options today.
Watching someone you care about struggle with a drug or alcohol addiction can be devastating, and place significant stress on both your own wellbeing and your relationship with your loved one.
According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health , there are millions of people across the United States that struggle with some form of substance abuse. Even greater is the number of parents, siblings, partners, and close friends who bear witness to these struggles.
Figuring out how to act or what to say to someone you care whos struggling with a drug or alcohol problem can be confusing. One common observation within families of people who have an addiction is a pattern of enabling which can impede efforts to get a person into treatment.
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Can Addiction Be Cured
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences.7 There is no simple cure for addiction however, effective treatment can help you become and stay sober.7 You will have to manage your addiction throughout your life, the same way a diabetic has to manage their condition with ongoing efforts like a proper diet and exercise.8
While some recovering drug users will experience cravings for months or years, treatment gives you the tools youll need to live a happy and healthy life without substance abuse.
Find Treatment For Substance Abuse And Addiction
Examining your own role in how you may be influencing your loved ones decision to seek treatment can be an important step towards getting them the help they need to overcome their problem.
In this early stage, the most effective form of treatment for drug or alcohol abuse is an inpatient or residential rehab program. This can provide the level of support and structure often required for people to overcome the physical and mental aspects of addiction and help them start on their road towards recovery.
At Vertava Health, we understand how addiction can become both a personal and a family issue with family being anyone who supports the person, financially or otherwise. Within our treatment programs, loved ones have the opportunity to become active participants in their loved ones treatment process by participating in family therapy and being a part of aftercare planning.
To learn more about addiction and how to get someone into rehab for drug or alcohol abuse, contact one of our treatment specialists at Vertava Health today.
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When A Loved One Has An Addiction
If someone you love has a problem with addiction, your top priority is to take care of yourself before you can take care of anybody else. Think about the instructions you get on an airplane: “If the cabin pressure drops, secure your own oxygen mask first, then help others with theirs.” That philosophy applies here, too.
You can turn to support groups like Al-Anon or Alateen for help. These groups are free and open to the public, and they have frequent meetings in most towns .
These fellowship groups can help you better understand your loved one’s problem with addiction. In particular, you can learn you aren’t responsible for it and that you can’t force him or her to stop. These groups also can teach you effective ways to cope as your friend or family member faces the consequences of addiction and, if all goes well, finds his or her way to recovery.
Some groups advocate “tough love” confronting people with addiction and trying to force them to seek help while others recommend the exact opposite approach. For example, the CRAFT intervention encourages family members to avoid confrontation and instead use encouragement and other positive motivational strategies when trying to convince a loved one to seek help for addiction.
You also may want to seek advice and support from a therapist, clergy member, doctor, or social worker who is knowledgeable about addiction.
