If you have severe alcohol and other drug problems, you should know that successful recovery from these problems involves significant changes over time in:

• personal identity and beliefs
• family and social relationships
• daily lifestyle

It is about where you live, how you work and play, who is included and excluded from your life, and how you cope with the stresses of daily life. Recovery is more than just not drinking or using drugs; it is about putting together a new and meaningful life in which alcohol and drugs no longer have a place. Recovery from addiction is not like getting over an infection for which we can rest and take medication for a week or two and then get back to our otherwise unchanged lives. Those who view treatment for addiction in this way make up the group for whom treatment does not work. Recovery from addiction is closer to how someone successfully manages diabetes or heart disease – conditions that require sustained decisions and actions for life.

The Good News

• The positive effects of addiction treatment are substantial, as measured by sustained sobriety (about one-third of those treated) and decreases in substance use and substance-related problems.
• Active participation in treatment aftercare meetings and recovery support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous can significantly improve your chance of permanent recovery, improve your quality of life and prolong your life expectancy.
• Combining professional treatment and attending recovery support meetings improve your chances of recovery better than either activity alone.
• Lifetime recovery rates of people with a substance use disorder approach or exceed 50%. There are millions of individuals and their families in long-term recovery from the effects of severe substance use problems.
• There are multiple pathways and styles (secular, spiritual, religious) of long-term addiction recovery
• Recovering people can go on to lead lives of significant achievement and community service

How Does the Brain Become Addicted?

Typically it happens like this:

• A person takes a drug of abuse, be it marijuana or cocaine or even alcohol, activating the same brain circuits as do behaviors linked to survival, such as eating, bonding and sex. The drug causes a surge in levels of a brain chemical called dopamine, which results in feelings of pleasure. The brain remembers this pleasure and wants it repeated.
• Just as food is linked to survival in day-to-day living, drugs begin to take on the same significance for the addict. The need to obtain and take drugs becomes more important than any other need, including truly vital behaviors like eating. The addict no longer seeks the drug for pleasure, but for relieving distress.
• Eventually, the drive to seek and use the drug is all that matters, despite devastating consequences.
• Finally, control and choice and everything that once held value in a person’s life, such as family, job and community, are lost to the disease of addiction.

What brain changes are responsible for such a dramatic shift?

Research on addiction is helping us find out just how drugs change the way the brain works. These changes include the following:

• Reduced dopamine activity. We depend on our brain’s ability to release dopamine in order to experience pleasure and to motivate our responses to the natural rewards of everyday life, such as the sight or smell of food. Drugs produce very large and rapid dopamine surges and the brain responds by reducing normal dopamine activity. Eventually, the disrupted dopamine system renders the addict incapable of feeling any pleasure even from the drugs they seek to feed their addiction.
• Altered brain regions that control decisionmaking and judgment. Drugs of abuse affect the regions of the brain that help us control our desires and emotions. The resulting lack of control leads addicted people to compulsively pursue drugs, even when the drugs have lost their power to reward.

The disease of addiction can develop in people despite their best intentions or strength of character. Drug addiction is insidious because it affects the very brain areas that people need to “think straight,” apply good judgment and make good decisions for their lives. No one wants to grow up to be a drug addict, after all.

Co-occurring Addictions: Compounding Complexities

It is not unusual for an addicted person to be addicted to alcohol, nicotine and illicit drugs at the same time. Addiction to multiple substances raises the level of individual suffering and magnifies the associated costs to society. No matter what the addictive substance, they all have at least one thing in common – they disrupt the brain’s reward pathway, the route to pleasure.

What is the best way to treat people who are addicted to more than one drug?

• Medications. In some cases, medications developed for one addiction have proven useful for another. For example, naltrexone, which can help former heroin users remain abstinent by blocking the “high” associated with heroin, has been found to be effective in treating alcoholism.
• Behavioral therapy or other psychotherapy. Behavioral therapies do not need to be specific to one drug and can be adapted to address use of multiple or different drugs. It is the disease of addiction that the therapy addresses.
• Combined medications and behavioral therapy. Research shows that this combination, when available, works best.
• Multipronged approach. Treatment for multiple addictions should be delivered at the same time. This is especially true because there are always triggers, such as trauma, depression, or exposure to one drug or another, that can put the recovering addict at risk for relapse. In addition, treatment must consider all aspects of a person – their age, gender, life experiences – in order to best treat their drug addiction. Although the type of treatment may differ, it should always strive to address the entire person through a multipronged approach that tackles all co-occurring conditions at once.

Relapse: Part of Addiction as a Chronic Disease

Despite the availability of many forms of effective treatment for addiction, the problem of relapse remains the major challenge to achieving sustained recovery. People trying to recover from drug abuse and addiction are often doing so with altered brains, strong drug-related memories and diminished impulse control. Accompanied by intense drug cravings, these brain changes can leave people vulnerable to relapse even after years of being abstinent. Relapse happens at rates similar to the relapse rates for other well-known chronic medical illnesses like diabetes, hypertension and asthma.

How is relapse to drug abuse similar to what happens with other chronic diseases?

• Just as an asthma attack can be triggered by smoke, or a person with diabetes can have a reaction if they eat too much sugar, a drug addict can be triggered to return to drug abuse.
• With other chronic diseases, relapse serves as a signal for returning to treatment. The same response is just as necessary with drug addiction.
• As a chronic, recurring illness, addiction may require repeated treatments until abstinence is achieved. Like other diseases, drug addiction can be effectively treated and managed, leading to a healthy and productive life.

To achieve long-term recovery, treatment must address specific, individual patient needs and must take the whole person into account. For it is not enough simply to get a person off drugs; rather, the many changes that have occurred – physical, social, psychological – must also be addressed to help people stay off drugs, for good.

Repeated drug exposure changes brain function. Positron emission tomography (PET) images are illustrated showing similar brain changes in dopamine receptors resulting from addiction to different substances – cocaine, methamphetamine, alcohol, or heroin. The striatum (which contains the reward and motor circuitry) shows up as bright red and yellow in the controls (in the left column), indicating numerous dopamine D2 receptors. Conversely, the brains of addicted individuals (in the right column) show a less intense signal, indicating lower levels of dopamine D2 receptors.

by Nora D. Volkow MD from HBO.com

There is help to deal with cravings. It all begins with you. Here are some tips that may prove useful – as they have for countless others.

• Recognize the feeling – It’s important that you recognize the craving for what it is. Some addicts in recovery refer to the craving as a kind of freebie, something that you get without having to pay for it – in the sense of consequences. That’s not to say that many treatment professionals would refer to it this way, but the fact of the matter is you know what that pleasure feels like, so acknowledge it, recognize it – and then you can deal with it.

• Don’t be afraid of cravings – When cravings occur, don’t allow yourself to feel fear – or guilt or shame or regret. You don’t have any say over when cravings hit, and it certainly isn’t anything that you consciously do that prompts them. Don’t give the craving power by giving into it. By not fearing it, you are less likely to act out and use.

• Understand control – The fact that you recognize the craving for what it doesn’t mean that you can control it. You can’t. Cravings will occur regardless of how you feel about them. Everyone has cravings of one sort or another. It isn’t the existence of the cravings, but what you do about it. So there are two issues of control here. You can’t control when cravings occur, but you can control what you do about them. Always remember that you are the one in control. You are the one who determines what you will do or not do.

• When you’re overwhelmed – Sometimes the cravings are just too much to bear. You feel as if you’re destined to fail, to relapse. It’s as if you’re falling into an abyss and you can see yourself slipping back into your habit. This is a particularly vulnerable time for you – and, don’t you know it – it probably occurs when you are least able to handle it. Now’s the time to activate your coping mechanisms. Get in touch with your 12-step sponsor immediately. Don’t worry that it’s the middle of the night or Easter Sunday or whenever. Your sponsor has pledged to help you through such difficult times – that’s what he’s there for. One day you may be able to help another recovering addict in the same situation, but for now, you need the help. Reach out and take it. If you don’t have a 12-step sponsor, make sure there’s someone else you can trust. This may be your therapist, counselor, parent, spouse, other loved one or trusted friend. It doesn’t matter who it is, just that you have complete trust in the person – and know that they will be there for you when you need them most.

• Learn about craving triggers – Do yourself a big favor and become educated about the triggers that produce cravings. Write down situations, circumstances, events, people, sounds, smells, even thoughts that occur just before you’re aware of the craving. These are your triggers. Rate them on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest or most intense craving. Now, write down next to each type of craving the techniques or things that you have done that seem to minimize the cravings. Do you notice a pattern? Are the coping mechanisms you use for little cravings the same as for the more intense ones? Are there ways that you can modify the effective ones to work on all your cravings? You don’t have to be an expert at this for it to have some benefit. The point is that you are teaching yourself to see the relationship, the cause and effect, of triggers and cravings – and how what you do can help reduce, minimize or eliminate the craving. You will, in effect, be learning how to manage your cravings, and this is a big part of recovery.

• Utilize the 5-minute rule – While cravings are different for each individual, they do have one thing in common. They tend to last only for a short time. One of the most practical ways of dealing with cravings, then, is to get through this brief period. Addiction treatment professionals refer to this as the “5-minute rule” or “5-minute contract” or “anti-craving behavioral strategies.” Basically, you pledge to yourself that you will not act on the desire – the craving or urge – for 5 minutes. In the interim, distract yourself with some activity that requires your complete concentration, or do mind exercises, crossword puzzles, counting, or physical exercise – whatever works to pass the time. Keeping your brain and your body occupied will help you get through this period of craving – without acting on it.

• Get professional help – You may benefit from professional counseling to help you better manage your cravings. If you have aftercare as part of your treatment program, you have access to a counselor or therapist who can help you with behavioral techniques to manage cravings. If aftercare is not part of your treatment program or if you haven’t been through treatment, look for counselors and therapists that may be available through federal, state or community addiction treatment resources. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one technique that has proven very effective in helping addicts to manage cravings – but this is something that you need professional help to learn. There are other behavioral techniques that may also be employed, in conjunction with CBT or separately.

• Anti-craving medication – If your cravings persist, your therapist or physician may recommend anti-craving medication. Some cravings, particularly for certain types of addictions, can occur so rapidly and feel so overwhelming that, without medication, you may not be able to get through them – even with your arsenal of coping strategies and techniques. The point of anti-craving medication is only to get you to the point where you are better able to work through the craving without acting on it. It is not to get you dependent on medication. In fact, anti-craving medication has been the subject of a great deal of recent research. Medications to combat nicotine cravings and those to counter cocaine and methamphetamine cravings are currently in development and show great promise. If your therapist or physician does prescribe anti-craving medication for you, be sure to take it exactly as prescribed. Note any disturbing side-effects and alert your doctor immediately. Your dosing may need to be reduced or another medication substituted. Use medication only as part of multi-faceted therapy, including counseling, and when appropriate, your doctor will gradually wean you off the medication.

• Alternative treatments – You may also wish to consider alternative treatments to help put you in a better mindset to deal with cravings. Some addicts in recovery have found acupuncture or acupressure to help, while others report success with therapeutic massage, hypnotherapy, meditation, or other approaches. Look at it this way: If it makes you feel better, restores your strength, peace of mind, and gets you through the craving, why not make this part of your coping mechanism toolkit?

• Get out and get physical – Many experts in the field of addiction recovery recommend physical exercise to their clients. Why? The reason is simple: When you exercise vigorously, your body produces the natural feel-good chemical that helps elevate mood, reduces anxiety, stress and depression. It’s also great for your physical well-being in that it helps improve cardiovascular systems, tones muscles, helps you sleep better, aids in digestion, even cognitive abilities. In fact, rigorous physical exercise is like a highly-competent utility player – good at any position. Besides, when you’ve engaged in a vigorous bout of physical exercise, you feel a good kind of fatigue – the kind that makes you feel good about yourself. When you feel good about yourself, you’re better able to tackle everyday issues and challenges, including cravings that may pop up uninvited.

• Remember nutrition – In line with taking good care of your body with adequate physical exercise, remember your nutritional needs as well. Eat a well-balanced diet that consists of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meat, good oils such as olive, fatty fish (salmon, mackerel), and reduce your intake of sugar and empty calories. Keep to a regular mealtime schedule. This is important because cravings can occur if you are hungry (or when you are sleep-deprived or stressed out). It’s also important to keep your body fueled with the nutrients it needs in order to ward off illness, maintain strength and vitality.

• Celebrate victories – As you grow more confident in your ability to fight off the urge to use, give yourself the credit you deserve. It’s not easy overcoming cravings, as you well know. Give yourself a reward for your victories. When you have reached milestones (weeks, months, years, etc.) of sobriety, have a little celebration – minus alcohol or drugs, of course. By celebrating your sobriety you are reinforcing your mastery of successful coping techniques – and the fact that you’re getting stronger in recovery.

• About relapse – What happens if you relapse? Well, it happens, and to some in recovery, it happens several times before they develop sufficient coping skills. But it isn’t the end of the world. You just pick yourself up and move on. Don’t beat yourself up over it. That won’t do any good. There’s no shame in relapse – so don’t even let that thought come into your head. Recovery is not a straight-line process for everyone. There are victories and set-backs, some major, some minor. Remember that it isn’t what happens that counts, but what you do about it. Re-double your efforts. Re-examine your strategies. Get help to deal with the problems. And keep moving forward in your recovery. You will have learned from your relapse and will be stronger as a result of the knowledge. Think of it this way: You have accumulated even more wisdom about what triggers affect you the most – and what to do to counter them.

Will Cravings Ever Go Away?

Chances are, no, but they will diminish over time. The key point to keep in mind is that the more knowledge you amass about cravings, what triggers them, what works best to eliminate them or get through them without acting upon the craving, the less they will trouble you when they do occur. Over time, you will find that cues or triggers that used to cause you great distress either no longer bother you with the same intensity, or they don’t bother you at all. You are able to recognize them, distract yourself while they pass, and get on with your life.

Source: Drug Addiction Treatment

Ultimately, you want your loved one back. You want that person you love free from drugs. You want that person to live a healthy and productive life. By asking the right question on each of the following areas when choosing a residential drug treatment center, your chances of making this happen for your loved one will increase.

1.Success Rate –
What is the success rate of the residential drug treatment center? Obviously, the higher the success rate, the more likely your loved one will succeed. Ask to speak with graduates of the drug rehab facility or their families. Get real opinions from real people.

2.Methods –
What method does the drug treatment center use? Ask yourself if they are addressing all aspects of your loved one’s addiction, including what led them to drugs in the first place. Methods that only deal with one aspect of addiction are more likely to fail. Remember addiction results from a combination of many factors, including a lessening of morality and integrity and an increasing burden of guilt and shame. The life of an addict includes bad habits, poor health and difficulty facing problems. After speaking with the facility, ask yourself if they are handling not just the psychological aspects, but also the physical and mental aspects of addiction as well. Are they providing practical skills that will help your loved one succeed once the drug rehabilitation program is completed?

3.Services –
What services does the residential drug treatment center offer? This is not only for your loved one, but for you as well. Will they help with legal issues? Will they assist in an intervention? In other words, to what length will they go to make certain your loved one gets the drug treatment they need?

4.Staff –
Who are the staff members at the residential drug treatment center? The best trained staff will have had experience with drug addiction. They will not have learned about it in a book. Are they qualified for their positions? What real-life knowledge do they have with drug addiction? What is their reason for working in this field?

5.Follow-up Program –
What type of follow-up program does the residential drug treatment center offer? This is important. Sending a newly rehabilitated drug addict back into the world without any follow-up can be disastrous. Make sure that there is a program of this type in place. Good programs keep in touch over the phone regularly after one leaves the program.

6.Location –
Where is the residential drug treatment center located? A residential drug treatment center should be protected. Ask how easy it would be for your loved one to leave. Many addicts when first coming off drugs want to leave. Ensuring that this is difficult, while not seeming like a prison, increases the chances that the person will stay to finish.

7.Length –
How long does the residential drug treatment center take? Although the standard program is 28 days, if the residential drug treatment center offers a longer program, it is more likely your loved one will succeed. However, if the residential drug treatment center allows your loved one to work at his or her own pace, without imposing time constraints, your loved one has an even greater chance of overcoming drug addiction.

8.Price –
How much does the residential drug treatment center cost? Before eliminating any program because of its price, ask yourself this: What are they offering? Look back at the points above and determine what the drug rehab is truly giving to the one you love. Yes, the more it offers, the more likely the price will be higher. However, your loved one will have a greater chance at becoming a healthy productive member of society. How much is that person worth to you?
Choosing a residential drug treatment center can be difficult. Dealing with a loved one suffering from drug addiction is devastating. By breaking the process down into what is important and finding out the answers to the questions above, you will be able to make an informed choice as to which residential drug treatment program can best help you and your loved one. Drug addiction can be dealt with and overcome.
By John Frank

Beyond what you learn in treatment, once you’re back in the real world, it may seem tough at times to remember what it is you’re supposed to do to remain clean and sober. Here are some tips that may help.

1. Have a Plan – for Every Day – You wouldn’t set off on a cross-country journey without a map and an itinerary for how to get there and what to do along the way. The same principle holds true for how you plan to live the next few years of your life in recovery. Hey, it’s a whole new world for you now. The old habits and routines simply won’t cut it anymore. Not only are they dangerous and can quickly land you back in trouble, but it’s just foolhardy not to have a plan. If you have been tardy in drawing up your plan, now’s the time to get going on it.

Where should you begin? Start with today. What are your goals for today? What do you want to achieve? It could be as simple as being on time for all your appointments, your job, seeing that you get all your errands done, make dinner for the family, work on your homework or hobby, whatever. The point is to put it down on paper. Jot everything down you can think of and then start prioritizing according to what’s most important to get done and what would be nice to get done. Go all the way through the list until you’ve assigned a priority to each item.

Next, map out your plan for tomorrow, and then the rest of the week. Don’t worry if you can’t think of everything to put down all at once. This will get easier the more you do it. And you can add items as you think of them. Also, remember to cross things off your list as you complete them. This is important as it builds your self-esteem and self-confidence as you reach your goals, however minor or major.

Now, get to work on doing the things on your list. Time management experts advise that it’s tempting to go for the easiest items, leaving the tougher ones for last. That may work for some people, but most of us waste our time doing the small stuff and never get to the big jobs. Even though we’re talking about recovery here, the point is valid. Try to balance doing easy tasks – cleaning your desk, picking up supplies – with the more challenging ones – assembling materials for tax returns, painting the garage, etc.

2. Acknowledge Relapse Could Happen – There’s no sense hiding behind a wall of denial. You can’t avoid a relapse by refusing to recognize that the potential is there, and it’s real. Experts recommend that you acknowledge that you could falter, give in to a craving or fall in with the wrong crowd again. Just acknowledge that relapse could happen despite your best intentions. Just because you say it aloud (or think it) does not mean that it will happen. Just the contrary. By stating that you know the potential is there gives you the power to be more in control over your actions. Remember, it isn’t the thought that causes relapse, but the action that follows. By expressing the truth – relapse could happen – you deprive the thought of the power to haunt you and make you feel as if you can’t do anything about it. You can, and you will, be able to deal with the pitfalls of relapse.

3. Don’t Dwell on It – After you’ve acknowledged that relapse could happen, don’t dwell on the thought. You need to get on with your life and the business of daily activities. The more you are actively involved in something productive – whether it’s with your hands or your mind – the less likely you are to get caught up in the quagmire of wondering what if, how long, why, and what can I do thinking. A good practice to follow – and this holds true whenever the ugly thought of relapse pops into your head – is to get out and take a walk. Physically get up and go out of the house or office and walk around the block, or parking lot, or on a trail, in the mall, wherever, just walk. The act of walking and breathing fresh air will deflate the blockage of nasty thoughts. It may be a diversion, but it’s a healthy one, and one that will produce a dramatic change of mood.

4. Replace Negative Thoughts with Positive Ones – Here’s another easy and effective strategy. When something bad occurs to you, a negative thought or series of thoughts that plague you and keep you from your tasks, or sleeping, eating, or enjoying any activity, make a conscious effort to replace the negative thought with a positive one. Let’s take an example. Say you begin thinking about all the fun you’re missing by not being with your drinking friends, or you long to be with your buddies smoking a joint and knocking back beer. Turn that negative into a positive by thinking instead about how happy your son or daughter is when you give them a big hug or the joy you feel when something you say or do makes your wife smile. What you’re doing, in effect, is transforming a negative emotion into a positive one. Once you’re in the positive mode, it’s pretty hard to slip back into the negative. You have to really try hard to do that – and who wants to be negative, anyway? So, the next time negative thoughts threaten to derail your sobriety, veer your thinking toward something uplifting, positive, loving and promising. And this time, do allow the positive thinking to remain with you.

5. Find an Outlet – Let’s face it. We all need something we can turn to that occupies our time, and our concentration. You need to find an outlet, something you enjoy or think you may enjoy. It doesn’t matter what it is, either. It could be that you’ve always wanted to learn how to snowboard or parasail or take up golf. Maybe you hanker to create jewelry or paint in oils or water colors. Fancy conquering a foreign language? Becoming a pastry or gourmet chef? Working with your hands in carpentry, woodworking, sculpture, or ceramics? For some in recovery, going back to school is high on their list of priorities. Completing or beginning a degree program, learning a trade, or just taking some classes is certainly well within reach. You don’t have to go full-time. There are part-time, weekend, and evening classes that may work out for you. This applies to learning anything new. If you have the will, there will be a way. Look into what you can work into your schedule and, yes, put this on your list of things to do.

6. Seek Support – No one expects you to be able to figure everything out on your own all the time. You’d have to be superhuman to be able to do that, and none of us is that perfect. In fact, we’re all human beings, and, as such, we need the help of others from time to time. This is not a sign of weakness, but strength. You will find that if you seek the support of others when you encounter a rough patch, or stress builds up and you feel that you are at a breaking point, or you just need someone to talk to that understands, being with others in your support group can make all the difference in the world. In fact, it may very well be the single most important part of your recovery, the needed bit of assistance that allows you to remain clean and sober.
Your support network could be members of your immediate family – your spouse, children, and other adult family members – or your trusted friends, co-workers, member of the clergy, therapist or other counselor. For many in recovery, their support network includes their 12-step group sponsor and members. The beauty of your 12-step alliance is that it is always available to you. Your group asks nothing of you except your uncompromising desire to be clean and sober, and to help others with your support as you are able. Besides, these people have all been in situations like yours. Each of them has struggled with the cravings and urges. Many have relapsed and gotten back on track with the support and encouragement of fellow members.

Whatever your support network consists of, don’t be afraid to use it. Sometimes you just need someone to listen, not talk. The shoe may very well be on the other foot later on in your recovery. At that time, you will be in the position to be able to give back to another in need of assistance. For now, make good use of your support system. It’s one of the best things you can do to conquer your fear of relapse.

7. Be Prepared – The old adage that “The best defense is a good offense” is especially true when it comes to recovery. Another is, “Be prepared for any eventuality.” What do these two sayings have in common? They both involve careful preparation. Here we are talking about the preparedness or readiness list you should have in place just in case you are tempted to relapse.
What does such a list entail? First of all, it should include a list of names and telephone numbers of people whom you trust that you can call for help. If you find yourself tempted to go into a bar or are already there and feel you may not be able to stop yourself from drinking, call your sponsor or friend and have them talk you through it or come get you – whatever it takes, whatever you need. It could also be a series of things that you will do to prevent you from giving in to your cravings. Again, this will be unique to you, and only you know what may work or not. You could discuss this with your therapist or 12-step sponsor or group members, but in the end, it is your personal preparedness list. In fact, when some people find they’re at the end of their rope and are about to pick up a drink or get back into drugs, they head right off to a 12-step meeting. That alone may be enough to sidetrack the temptation and keep them clean and sober.

8. Don’t Beat Yourself Up – It’s important to keep things in perspective when it comes to your recovery. Some days will be up days. Some will be down. That’s not only the nature of being in recovery. It’s the fabric of life. We all have our ups and downs. Being in recovery tends to make us think our lives are more difficult or different than everyone else’s, but that’s only true to the degree that we believe it to be so. It isn’t really that our lives are so unique or that our challenges are any more or less formidable than the next person’s.

Where this sense of perspective is important applies to days when it seems to us as if we’re not accomplishing our goals fast enough, or that we have failed to get where we believe we should be at this time. Again, this is not unlike your neighbor down the street or the guy at work or the student you attend class with. Each of those individuals has times when he or she feels disheartened about progress or lack thereof. Instead of harping on our failures, the better strategy is to look forward to the rest of today and tomorrow, and to devising new and more creative ways of realizing our dreams, coming to grips with our problems, and overcoming our obstacles. Beating yourself up over your shortcomings – real or perceived – won’t accomplish anything other than to make you feel worse than you should. Life in recovery, like life for everyone else, is a series of incremental steps. Not all steps are in a straight line forward. Some are lateral first and then forward. Some backtrack and then move forward. The point is that the journey continues. Keep the horizon in view and take the steps necessary to move forward.

9. Get Back on Track – Okay, some of us will relapse. We’ve acknowledged right at the outset that it could happen. So, if it does happen, then what? You get right back on track, that’s what. Addiction treatment professionals say that the worst mistake those in recovery can make is to give up, to feel that they are failures and are doomed to a life of downhill spiral. If you falter, take a drink, smoke a joint, pop too many pills, you need to resume your regimen of 12-step meetings, counseling, seeking support and redouble your resolve to live clean and sober. It’s as simple as that. You just get back on the schedule that worked for you before. In fact, figure out what worked best to keep you from relapsing and then do more of that. Your support network (sponsor, counselor, therapist, spouse, etc.) may have other suggestions that you can try.

10. Learn From Your Missteps – If you do have a relapse, and many in early recovery do, the best thing you can do for your future is to learn from what went wrong. This goes beyond tips and techniques to keep you from caving in to your cravings and urges. It also applies to your overall strategy, possibly your goals. Perhaps you have been thinking too short-term. Lacking a long-term goal, many in recovery become disillusioned and disheartened when things don’t turn out the way they want or planned in the short haul. You need something to work toward that is far enough off that it requires a series of steps, or mini-goals, to achieve. In other words, you need something of value to work towards. This should involve a meaningful goal, perhaps for you, but also for your family. It could be providing for your child’s or children’s college, or buying your first or new home. It could be finally becoming financially independent, or again being financially stable after a period of debts due to your addiction.

You may also find that you need to cultivate a new group of friends. If part of what went wrong is that you wound up hanging out with friends that use drugs and/or alcohol, you know that you need to stop being around others who will only tempt you back into your old habits. You simply cannot afford to be around alcohol, drugs, or other addictive behaviors. Period.

Bottom line: Relapse does happen. It isn’t the end of the world. With the support of your loved ones, trusted friends, 12-step sponsor, members, counselor or therapist, you will be able to get through it and past it and resume your recovery. So, rather than worry and be afraid of the what if and why and how could this happen, concentrate more on the business of charting your plan for your future. Then go out and make it happen.

Source: Drug Addiction Treatment

Probably the most challenging area for health care providers is diagnosing patients who truly have a dual diagnosis. The reason a dual diagnosis is so difficult to determine is because more cases than not, a mental illness is coupled with a substance abuse and addiction situation. It is for this reason that many of these patients are placed in addiction treatment homes or centers only to discover that they are in fact dealing with a dual diagnosis. The problem is that substance dependence can masquerade as a psychiatric disorder, so many times the mental illness is not discovered or revealed until much later than at the initial evaluation.

It can be a very difficult situation to identify a patient with dual diagnosis. Most times they are in denial about their substance abuse so when the addiction is discovered, they overlook the fact that the mental illness is still exacerbating the substance problem and vice-versa. Therefore only one of the two issues is identified. And with teens it is even more difficult. With kids going through puberty and all of the emotional fluctuations that accompany that, how can you be sure that this young man or woman are actually suffering from a bi-polar disorder or even depression? For that very reason it is imperative that when seeking an addiction treatment center you find one that has an acute awareness of this dual disease. It is only then that you can truly have hope for a full recovery.

by Groshan Fabiola

This is NA Fellowship-approved literature.

Copyright © 1983, 1988 by

Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

Only you can answer this question.

This may not be an easy thing to do. All through our usage, we told ourselves, “I can handle

it.” Even if this was true in the beginning, it is not so now. The drugs handled us. We lived to

use and used to live. Very simply, an addict is a person whose life is controlled by drugs.

Perhaps you admit you have a problem with drugs, but you don’t consider yourself an addict.

All of us have preconceived ideas about what an addict is. There is nothing shameful about being

an addict once you begin to take positive action. If you can identify with our problems, you may

be able to identify with our solution. The following questions were written by recovering addicts

in Narcotics Anonymous. If you have doubts about whether or not you’re an addict, take a few

moments to read the questions below and answer them as honestly as you can.

1. Do you ever use alone? Yes ? No ?

2. Have you ever substituted one drug for another, thinking that

one particular drug was the problem? Yes ? No ?

3. Have you ever manipulated or lied to a doctor

to obtain prescription drugs? Yes ? No ?

4. Have you ever stolen drugs or stolen to obtain drugs? Yes ? No ?

5. Do you regularly use a drug when you wake up or when you go to bed? Yes ? No ?

6. Have you ever taken one drug to overcome the effects of another? Yes ? No ?

7. Do you avoid people or places that do not approve of you using drugs? Yes ? No ?

8. Have you ever used a drug without knowing what it was?

or what it would do to you? Yes ? No ?

9. Has your job or school performance ever suffered

from the effects of your drug use? Yes ? No ?

10. Have you ever been arrested as a result of using drugs? Yes ? No ?

11. Have you ever lied about what or how much you use? Yes ? No ?

12. Do you put the purchase of drugs ahead of

your financial responsibilities? Yes ? No ?

13. Have you ever tried to stop or control your using? Yes ? No ?

14. Have you ever been in a jail, hospital,

or drug rehabilitation center because of your using? Yes ? No ?

15. Does using interfere with your sleeping or eating? Yes ? No ?

16. Does the thought of running out of drugs terrify you? Yes ? No ?

17. Do you feel it is impossible for you to live without drugs? Yes ? No ?

18. Do you ever question your own sanity? Yes ? No ?

19. Is your drug use making life at home unhappy? Yes ? No ?

20. Have you ever thought you couldn’t fit in or have a good time

without drugs? Yes ? No ?

21. Have you ever felt defensive, guilty, or ashamed about your using? Yes ? No ?

22. Do you think a lot about drugs? Yes ? No ?

23. Have you had irrational or indefinable fears? Yes ? No ?

24. Has using affected your sexual relationships? Yes ? No ?

25. Have you ever taken drugs you didn’t prefer? Yes ? No ?

26. Have you ever used drugs because of emotional pain or stress? Yes ? No?

27. Have you ever overdosed on any drugs? Yes ? No ?

28. Do you continue to use despite negative consequences? Yes ? No ?

29. Do you think you might have a drug problem? Yes ? No ?

“Am I an addict?” This is a question only you can answer. We found that we all answered

different numbers of these questions “Yes.” The actual number of “Yes” responses wasn’t as

important as how we felt inside and how addiction had affected our lives.

Some of these questions don’t even mention drugs. This is because addiction is an insidious

disease that affects all areas of our lives—even those areas which seem at first to have little to do

with drugs. The different drugs we used were not as important as why we used them and what

they did to us.

When we first read these questions, it was frightening for us to think we might be addicts.

Some of us tried to dismiss these thoughts by saying:

“Oh, those questions don’t make sense;”

Or,

“I’m different. I know I take drugs, but I’m not an addict. I have real emotional/family/job

problems;”

Or,

“I’m just having a tough time getting it together right now;”

Or,

“I’ll be able to stop when I find the right person/get the right job, etc.”

If you are an addict, you must first admit that you have a problem with drugs before any

progress can be made toward recovery. These questions, when honestly approached, may help

to show you how using drugs has made your life unmanageable. Addiction is a disease which,

without recovery, ends in jails, institutions, and death. Many of us came to Narcotics

Anonymous because drugs had stopped doing what we needed them to do. Addiction takes

our pride, self-esteem, family, loved ones, and even our desire to live. If you have not reached

this point in your addiction, you don’t have to. We have found that our own private hell was

within us. If you want help, you can find it in the Fellowship of Narcotics Anonymous.

“We were searching for an answer when we reached out and found Narcotics Anonymous.

We came to our first NA meeting in defeat and didn’t know what to expect. After sitting in a

meeting, or several meetings, we began to feel that people cared and were willing to help.

Although our minds told us that we would never make it, the people in the fellowship gave us

hope by insisting that we could recover. […] Surrounded by fellow addicts, we realized that we

were not alone anymore. Recovery is what happens in our meetings. Our lives are at stake. We

found that by putting recovery first, the program works. We faced three disturbing realizations:

1. We are powerless over addiction and our lives are unmanageable;

2. Although we are not responsible for our disease, we are responsible for our recovery;

3. We can no longer blame people, places, and things for our addiction. We must face our

problems and our feelings.

The ultimate weapon for recovery is the recovering addict.”

Detox at an addiction center can take days or even weeks, depending on what the person was abusing, how much they were using and for how long. However, just because a person has completed medical detox doesn’t mean that they are through with their rehab program. In fact, detox is just one small step in the larger process of freedom from drug and alcohol dependency.

When a person becomes addicted to drugs or alcohol, they aren’t just addicted to the substance they are abusing – they become addicted to the flood of pleasurable stimuli that the substance provides to them. No drug rehab program can be successful without changing the mindset of a person and helping them to understand how their addiction has changed them and what they need to do to move forward.

In addition to the lessons about moving forward that are taught at a rehab center, addicts also must address the root causes of their addiction. The majority of addicts start abusing drugs or alcohol because of other factors such as genetics, unhappy childhoods or unstable current lives. Without addressing these underlying factors, most people will eventually fall right back into their patterns of addiction and dependence.

For all of these reasons, it’s important to do more than just “get dry” when trying to quit drinking. Long-term abstinence requires a total rehab program that addresses every aspect of the drug or alcohol addiction.

By Sarah Michaels

People looking for treatment for prescription drugs in Florida are basically addicted to three categories of drugs. The first types of drugs are opiates. They are taken to relieve pain. Codeine, Demerol, Dilaudid, Morphine and Vicodine are some of the commonly prescribed drugs under this category. Anyone taking these medicines over a longer period of time can easily get addicted and treatment for addiction is necessary, especially in the initial stage of withdrawal. The second category of drugs is CNS depressants. It can be divided into two sub-categories – barbiturates and benzodiazepines. Nembutal and Mebaral come under barbiturates and are given to people suffering from anxiety and sleep disorder. Halcion, Librium, Valium and Xanax come under benzodiazepines and are taken for panic attacks and anxiety. Stimulants belong to the third category. Ritalin and Dexedrine are examples of the Stimulants that are commonly used today. They are provided to stimulate the brain in order to make a person more agile and active. Treatment for prescription drugs should immediately the initiated once the addiction is detected.

Treatment for prescription drugs in Florida involves inpatient therapy, outpatient therapy and group therapy. The inpatient treatment requires patient to be admitted to a detox treatment facility. The patients are carefully examined by physicians and taken off of their particular drugs safely and securely. The whole procedure may take 7 to 10 days. After the detox treatment is complete patients are referred to counselor who then makes further arrangements for individual and group therapy. They are subjected to number of educational lectures and group discussions in order to make them understand the drug addiction and its consequences. This helps them to rehabilitate successfully. In the outpatient program patients are treated through various interventions that include detox treatment, massage therapy, acupuncture sessions and hydro-therapy. Patients are required to visit the treatment facility from time to time in order to be examined and to determine the extent of their addiction and the progress of their individual treatment plan. Patients are also encouraged to take part in various recreational activities like swimming, running, exercising, playing outdoor games and others that are provided at the treatment facility. In group therapy patients are encouraged to participate in meetings that are designed to educate them about Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) programs. Emphasis is laid on social interaction as most take to drug addiction because of the feeling of loneliness.

Treatment for prescription drugs in Florida is based upon the philosophy that every individual is important and unique and should be treated with distinction and respect. The main purpose of the treatment is to help the individual to become healthier and lead a drug free life.

By Gen Wright