Detox Recovery

Drug or alcohol addiction meets two criteria:

1. You have difficulty controlling how much you use or how long you use. For example, one painkiller leads to more pills, or one line of cocaine leads to more.
2. You continue to use even though it has negative consequences to your life. For example, you continue to drink even though it has hurt your relationships.

Those two criteria define all addictions. They are true for alcohol and drug addiction, but they’re also true for gambling addiction, eating disorders, and sexual addiction.

There are different levels of addictions. At one end of the spectrum is the non-functioning addict. They’ve lost their job and have to use everyday. It’s what people think addiction is like, but that stereotype is rare.

At the other end of the spectrum is the functioning addict. They still have a job and their relationships are relatively intact, but their life is suffering because of their addiction. That is the most common scenario. You don’t have to suffer major losses to have an addiction.

The consequences of addiction get worse over time. Addiction is a progressive disease. It’s never easy to quit. But if you’ve already suffered negative consequences and don’t want them to get worse, there’s never a better time to quit than now.

The Role of Family History

Addiction is due 50 percent to genetic predisposition and 50 percent to poor coping skills. This has been confirmed by numerous studies. One study looked at 861 identical twin pairs and 653 fraternal (non-identical) twin pairs. When one identical twin was addicted to alcohol, the other twin had a high probability of being addicted. But when one non-identical twin was addicted to alcohol, the other twin did not necessarily have an addiction. Based on the differences between the identical and non-identical twins, the study showed 50-60% of addiction is due to genetic factors. Those numbers have been confirmed by other studies.

The children of addicts are 8 times more likely to develop an addiction. One study looked at 231 people who were diagnosed with drug or alcohol addiction, and compared them to 61 people who did not have an addiction. Then it looked at the first-degree relatives (parents, siblings, or children) of those people. It discovered that if a parent has a drug or alcohol addiction, the child had an 8 times greater chance of developing an addiction.

Why are there genes for addiction? We all have the genetic predisposition for addiction because there is an evolutionary advantage to that. When an animal eats a certain food that it likes, there is an advantage to associating pleasure with that food so that the animal will look for that food in the future. In other words the potential for addiction is hardwired into our brain. Everyone has eaten too much of their favorite food even though they knew it wasn’t good for them.

Although everyone has the potential for addiction, some people are more predisposed to addiction than others. Some people drink alcoholically from the beginning. Other people start out as a moderate drinker and then become alcoholics later on. How does that happen?

Repeatedly abusing pain medicine or alcohol permanently rewires your brain. If you start out with a low genetic predisposition for addiction, you can still end up with an addiction. If you repeatedly abuse drugs or alcohol because of poor coping skills, then you’ll permanently rewire your brain. Every time you abuse alcohol, you’ll strengthen the wiring associated with drinking, and you’ll chase that buzz even more. The more you chase the effect of alcohol, the greater your chance of eventually developing an addiction.

Your genes are not your destiny. The 50% of addiction that is caused by poor coping skills is where you can make a difference. Lots of people have come from addicted families but managed to overcome their family history and live happy lives. You can use this opportunity to change your life. (Reference: www.AddictionsAndRecovery.org)

If you think that you have a problem with drugs or alcohol visit www.sunrisedetox.com for medical detox services.  Sunrise Detox offers the highest quality care with a compassionate and understanding staff that will treat you with respect.  They offer a comfortable home like atmosphere in which you can begin the road to recovery.  Detox is the first step to recovery from drug addiction so act now and take control of your life.

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