Information on Addiction Treatment

Addictions come in many forms. The more common addictions include addictions to alcohol, opiates, sleeping pills, and other drugs.  Other addictions that are lesser known can include other chemicals like caffeine.  These can eventually have similar effects on your life as the other drugs.  Other addictions can include addictions to actions such as sex, gaming and gambling.  Addiction treatment is available for all types of dependency.

Seek Addiction Treatment

Addiction treatments may include group therapy, one on one counseling, prescription drugs and 12 step programs.   Often times, a combination of methods work to fully recover from addiction.  You will need to work with your doctor to find which treatment or multiple treatments will work for you.  Since each person is different and will react differently to each type of treatment, it is important to be patient with yourself and those trying to help you through your recovery.  It is also important that as you are are recovering, you do not participate in activities that may leave you more susceptible to relapse.  This may mean that you have to decline party invites with your friends so you can focus on your recovery.  Your true friends will understand.

It is important to recover from addictions for the sake of yourself and others that care for you.  See SoberRecovery.com for ways to recover from many different dependencies before it is too late.

It is important for you seek addiction treatment.  Uncontrolled addictions can lead to long term health problems and possibly death.  Addiction will also negatively affect your loved ones around you and can even cost you your career.

Form 1C

Quit Agreement

I, ____________________________, am quitting marijuana because (fill in reasons for quitting)

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

As of ________________________________, I intend to stop smoking marijuana and to refrain

from use in the future by (fill in strategies to be used)

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

Signatures: ___________________________ _____________________________

You’ve decided you’ve had enough and are tired of living a life of substance abuse and addiction. You want to learn how to break free and want to get yourself some good addiction treatment. But you’re nervous because you don’t know what to expect.

It’s okay to be nervous when you’re considering addiction treatment. It’s new and you’re embarking on what could be a great life adventure. I know, that sounds goofy, but it’s true. If you’ve been addicted for a long time, maybe you’ve forgotten what an addiction-free life feels like. Choosing a quality addiction treatment center will definitely be a new and exciting adventure.

But, what can you expect in rehab?

It does depend on the program. Most addiction treatment programs like to work in conjunction with a medical doctor to monitor your health. Many addictions have withdrawal side effects and there are medicines to help you get through it without damaging yourself, or that can minimize the withdrawal discomfort. After that, you can expect to receive counseling – both individual and in groups. While you may find that you prefer one form of therapy over another, don’t neglect trying them both. Individual therapy can help with your and your unique issues. But group therapy is great to keep you from feeling so alone as you battle your addiction – and win.

Let People Help You in Your Addiction Treatment Program

If you’re offered the chance to have a sponsor to talk to, take it! You’ll find the support system goes a long way to help you not only break your addiction but develop the healthy habits that will keep you sober. It helps if you can talk to someone who has been through it, and in group therapy, and other forms of addiction treatment, you’ll find the support you need from the people who have been there.

Alcoholism and drug addiction is a family disease. It’s estimated that for every person suffering from alcoholism or drug addiction, another seven people are affected.

Trying to help a loved one get sober can be emotionally draining and lead to issues of co-dependency and control. Attempting to regulate drinking or drug usage can end up consuming large amounts of time and money with little result. Negative consequences that pull the family into continuing chaos can include tremendous emotional stress, economic strain, poor health and run-ins with the law that result in legal fees and complications. It can be a confusing and extremely disruptive environment if you live with an alcoholic or drug addict.

Family dynamics can be a major contributing factor in both addiction and recovery. For the individual to be successful in transitioning from addiction to recovery, it’s necessary for family dynamics to change as well. Drug addiction treatment centers helps to educate and assist families in making this transition. Some of the questions to consider include:

1.    What is the family history? Is there a history of alcohol or drug abuse? Is there emotional trauma or issues of abuse that may have occurred? Choose a treatment center who work with clients that have underlying issues associated with alcohol or drug abuse. Uncovering these issues and addressing them with family members will help repair issues that may be contributing to alcohol or drug abuse as well as unhealthy patterns.

2.    Denial is a major symptom of alcohol and drug abuse not only for the individual, but also family members. Sweeping it under the rug or downplaying the amount of alcohol or drugs consumed and the consequences involved can be a result of fear, an inability to want to face reality. But denial only postpones the inevitable – things can and will get worse.

3.    Denial is also a form of enabling. Enabling a family member to continue using alcohol or drugs in spite of negative consequences can sometimes look like love. Calling in sick to work for a loved one, making excuses for his or her behavior or going to the store for more alcohol to minimize withdrawal symptoms are all forms of enabling. This is a trait of co-dependent behavior and a very normal coping mechanism that family members engage. The fear that your child or loved one will die if you don’t cover for them or keep them at home where you can watch them is a valid one but nonetheless can assist in helping the alcoholic or addict continue to engage in destructive behavior. Your loved one may be safe momentarily, but until alcoholism or drug addiction has been arrested it’s only a matter of time before the bottom falls out.

Addiction treatment is not uniform across different drug rehabs, yet the basic foundation of all drug rehabs is virtually the same.  Addiction treatment has become a big industry and more addiction treatment facilities are surfacing every day across the United States.  One thing all dug rehabs have in common is that their primary purpose is to help alcoholics and addicts recover from their addiction.  The manner in which each treatment facility accomplishes this task varies from one treatment facility to the next.

The basic elements of addiction treatment, whether the drug rehab is a primary inpatient addiction treatment facility or a residential addiction treatment facility, are the same.  Almost all addiction treatment facilities rely on the 12-Step philosophy to treat their patients.  While there have been many philosophies and therapies developed since the creation of the 12-Step philosophy (DBT, CBT, Motivational Interviewing, etc.) to treat drug addiction and alcoholism, no one to date has been able to develop a treatment method more successful in helping an addict or alcoholic recover from their addiction.

What has transpired over the years is that the more sophisticated and progressive addiction treatment centers have incorporated Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), and the more popular and recent Motivational Enhancement Therapy, into their program matrix.  Many dual diagnosis addiction treatment facilities rely heavily on these therapeutic philosophies to help treat co-occurring mood and personality disorders.  But, the most successful addiction treatment facilities in the nation will continue to focus on the 12-Step Philosophy as their core curriculum when it comes to treating drug addiction and alcoholism.

The primary difference between the 12-Step philosophy and other psychologies is its focus on a higher power and the inability of the individual to control his or her addiction on their own.  Other therapies attempt to help a person control their behavior, whereas the 12-Step philosophy emphasizes the lack of control the individual has in controlling their drinking and drug use and helps them rely on a “power greater than themselves” to help them overcome their malady.  So, the primary difference between 12-Step philosophy and other psychologies is its spiritual dimension.  Psychology is PSYCHOLOGY, because it has purposely discarded the spiritual element of human behavior and thought.  In fact the development of psychology began as a purposeful exclusion of spirituality and religion.  Since then, many therapists and psychologists have utilized spiritual elements in their practice and both psychology and spirituality have melded quite nicely over the years, but the 12-Step philosophy, developed by a bankrupt stockbroker and proctologist, remains the best and most effective combination of spirituality and psychology ever developed to treat addiction and alcoholism.

By Brendan Bickley, Doctoral Candidate