What is Recovery?

What is Recovery?

Guideline for long lasting recovery from drugs and alcohol

The first step in recovery is learning and deciding that there is a need for a change.

• Learn what treatment options are available
• Find help and support.
• Make your sobriety last by building a purposeful life
• Never loose hope
• If you fall back pick yourself up and start again

To find long lasting recovery it takes a few steps to maintain sobriety 

First you have to realize that there is a problem that needs to change. Are you ready to start your recovery? If you are ready give us a call toll free 1800-513-5423 for immediate help in finding a drug rehab or treatment center for you or a loved one. 

Deciding that addiction recovery is needed and you want to make a change is the crucial step in recovery. No matter what brought you to the decision that you need make a change for the better, making the decision for change is the only thing that really matters. For some of us, it takes us landing in some sort of rock bottom that we feel that is as low as we will allow ourselves to get, in order to feel the need for changing our alcohol or drug habits.

Making lifestyle changes and breaking behavioral habits
Changing your habits can be a lot harder that it seems, we are creatures of habit and making habitual changes has to start with changing the way we think and how we act on the thoughts that we cannot control. Simple changes that you can implement to help your recovery.

Find ways to help you manage stress

Change your friends to those who support your newly found sobriety.

Rediscover what you like to do for fun 

Change how you view yourself

Finding treatment options and support 

Some people will make the decision to enter into treatment for their addictions themselves. There are a few different options available for  the treatment for addictions. Choosing to get help to handle an addiction to drugs or alcohol can be a critical second step in the recovery process.
 

Inpatient treatment centers: This style of treatment can include long term programs,short term programs and many different specialized treatment options. Receiving treatment at an inpatient treatment center allows the individual to recover in a loving and caring environment while receiving treatment for their addictions. 

Outpatient treatment programs: This style of rehabilitation sets treatment scheduled on a regular basis from daily meetings and therapy to once a month depending on the level of care you choose. Some of the other types of outpatient treatment include partial hospitalization programs and intensive outpatient treatment, which is mainly used for people that need medical care and psychiatric treatment while undergoing a substance abuse treatment program. These types of programs are heavily monitored and often times, accompanied by sober living arrangements to offer a better level of support than a traditional outpatient program.

Dual diagnosis Treatment programs: Most dual diagnosis treatment centers are inpatient treatment with a heavy focus on mental health and underlying mental health problems that have not been previously addressed. Treatment at these centers are usually longer than the typical 28 day treatment center. 

Many of the programs that help people recover from drugs or alcohol will incorporate the 12 steps to recovery. Twelve step programs help people who are struggling with addictive behaviors. Twelve step programs like AA, NA, CA  offer support for the individual in the form of meetings and fellowship with people striving to remain drug or alcohol free.

It doesn’t matter what program you choose for you treatment; you are gonna need help in recovery to avoid common pitfalls in early recovery. This is the important third step in recovery; talking to your friends and family about your intentions to change your life. Trying to hide your recovery can make things more difficult for you, your friends, and your family.

It may encourage you to know that people will support you and you should welcome the help in your time of need. You need to take charge of your recovery and be very proud of the fact that you are changing your lifestyle habits for the better. 

Find recovery groups

There may be cases when the family or friends contributed to your addiction problem either directly or even indirectly (enabling you to be addicted). In these cases it is extremely important to find like minded people to help with support and introduce you to new social outlets that support recovery.

Make your sobriety last

 

Getting free from drugs or alcohol through a drug rehabilitation program is a great first step in recovery, but managing your recovery can take planning and execution of the aftercare program you have set up for your return home.

Know your triggers and learn to manage cravings.

One of the biggest parts in early recovery is learning to manage cravings and the thoughts of using again. Being able to identify triggers, environments, and staying away from people that are using drugs or alcohol will help you stay on your path of recovery. 

Make sure to avoid places where drug or alcohol are present.

Avoid people that you used to drink or use drugs with.

Enroll and follow through with your aftercare program. After care programs can include some or all of following groups or programs.

• Support groups

• Halfway or sober-living houses

• 12 step recovery programs

• Continued outpatient care

• Find activities and hobbies that you enjoy and give you a sense of well being.

The final step in recovery is the rebuilding of a new life without the need for drugs,alcohol or any addictive behaviors. This is not a simple as it seems. We are habitual beings that can fall back to what we feel is a safe place. Some people feel the need to give back and volunteer in their community and others take up hobbies and activities for their fulfillment.

Making sure to set reasonable goals and following through until they are completed to your satisfaction fuel us for the next goal and it’s challenges. Life takes a lifetime to complete so do not rush into anything to fast take your time and make sure that the decisions is the best for you and not the best for right now. 
What to do if you relapse after going to treatment 

Relapse can be a part of some peoples recovery but it is not always the case. If you find that you have fallen back to you addictive behaviors you know what to do to pick yourself back up. You have all the tools that you need to get yourself back on the track of recovery. 

Relapse can be caused by many things but the most common cause that we have noticed is boredom. Being an addict can have a great impact on your social life and in some cases, need as much time as a full time job. That is a lot of time to fill, so getting into aftercare and managing your time in order to include some activities that you enjoy on a daily basis, will help you stay the course of recovery. 

If you are ready to start your recovery program give us a call 1-800-513-5423 to find the substance abuse program that is right for your needs while enrolled in a drug rehabilitation program.

Signs You are Enabling An Addict

There is a fine line between helping an addict and enabling them. We cannot stress enough how important it is to the well being of the individual involved, that you do not facilitate their addiction or continue to clean up the messes that they make due to an addiction.

Substance abuse can become a serious problem for many people. NIDA ( National Institute on Drug Abuse) estimates as of 2012 that almost 24 million people in the United States needed to seek treatment for an addiction. Out of almost 24 million people, only about 2.5 million actually seek treatment, leaving almost 20 million people that are in denial about their addictions. 

With the staggering addiction epidemic these numbers suggest that there is a serious problem that has gone unhanded to the point of it being out of control. Many people with addictions are in denial about their addictions. Denial is a complex issue, but for many, if they do not see the consequences of their actions, than there is no reason to change. The common factor that encompasses the denial process is the addict has one or more enablers that bail them out of any problems that arise, due to knowing or not knowing about their addictions. 

Enabling an addict can be extremely dangerous, for the addict and the enabler. For example, if you make someones bed everyday and don’t ever teach the young child to make their own bed, they will never learn that the bed needs to be made up every day. It is the same for addiction enabling,. If the addict does not see the consequences of their own addiction problems, then they do not see there is a problem. If they feel that everything is great and there is no problem, then why would they want to make a change? This can have long lasting mental, physical, and emotional damage to both parties involved.

Signs of Enabling

Below is a list of enabling behaviors and signs that you are helping someone stay addicted.

• Blaming others or situations other than the addict to make excuses for behaviors or actions. The enabler may accuse others that their actions have caused the addiction problem. All this is done to protect the addict from the consequences of their actions and drug abuse.

• Putting the needs of the addict before the needs of the enabler. It is and always will be in the nature of some people to want to help someone in their times of need, but enabling takes this a bit to far. While the addict needs and wants for nothing, the enabler puts their own needs on the back burner. This is done out of love but can have devastating consequences to both the addict and enabler.

• Enablers have difficulty in expressing their emotions. Enablers often times, can start to become seemingly emotionless as they become ever concerned with expressing the wrong emotion. They tend not to express feelings one way or another in hope that they will not perpetuate a negative response from the addict. 

• Ignoring the addicts increasingly negative and dangerous behaviors. This can involve just about anything from denying that a problem even exists to just overlooking behavior changes and actions.

• Lying to friends or family, just to cover the reasons for the poor behavior or actions of the addict. An enabler will cover for the addict to keep the peace and to make sure that there is no confrontation that the addict has to deal with.

All of these enabling signs can lead an enabler with the feeling of resentment towards the addict. it is quite common to resent the addiction and the addict, all the while enabling the addiction to still have a hold on both lives.

Addiction can become a family disease and can have long-lasting emotional, as well as physical effects, to the family, friends, and the person that has become addicted to drugs or alcohol. Breaking the chain of enabling can be very difficult for some, as they tend to see what they are doing is helping. Sometimes it takes an intervention  to understand the scope of the enabling and addictive behaviors. 

How to end the cycle of enabling addiction

Enabling an addict can become a serious problem very fast. Breaking the cycle of enabling behaviors can help the addict see the consequences of their actions, while helping them learn that their actions affect more that their themselves. Here are a few examples of learning how to stop the enabling process. 

• Stop cleaning up after them. While intoxicated addicts can become messy, may even break things depending on their mental state at the time of usage. Let them clean up their messes as they can see what they did while intoxicated. 
• Stop paying their bills. Some addicts have it real good. They can spend their money on drugs or alcohol all the while their bills are being taken care of by friends or family. 
• Follow through with all plans that are made. 
• Do not adjust your schedule or activities, even if they refuse to participate. Do not let the negative behaviors rule your life go without them.
• Look at your options. When enabling someone, we need to look at if the short term anguish that can happen vs the long term effects that letting the addiction continue will produce. 
• Stop putting yourself in danger. You should not let the addict put you in situations that can lead you to harm or legal problems. If they want to continue their unsafe behavior, they need to walk that road without you. 

Take action now stop enabling behaviors get your loved one the help they need.

When you have an addict in your life, it can be difficult to break the habit. For any addict to feel the consequences of their actions, they must feel that there are real consequences they will have to face. Sometime this can be the only way that an addict will feel the need to go get help with their addiction. It is a hard habit to break and can be difficult to discern the difference between helping and enabling. If you are feeling that you may have a problem with enabling an addict, please give us a call and we will help you decide if there is a need for treatment or counseling. 

There are groups available that can help families learn how to stop enabling

Nar-Anon Family Groups (narcotics abuse) http://www.nar-anon.org/

Al-Anon Family Groups (alcohol abuse)  http://www.al-anon.org/

These groups can be found very easy online and in brick and mortar locations. 

SOURCE

Long Term Effects of Xanax Addiction

The long term use of Xanax or any opioid can have very dangerous results. Read more about Opioid abuse here.