The Struggles of Overcoming Addiction

Drug or alcohol addiction affects about 10% of any population. Even though it is very common, talking about addiction is still taboo for most families. The importance of addressing the issue early on is crucial. The longer the addiction is allowed to continue, the harder it will be to recover. When a person becomes dependent on alcohol or drugs, they are not only a danger to themselves but also to those they love.

 

Helping an Addict

It is not an easy road for an addict to accept that they have a problem and to begin their journey to recovery. This is a sensitive time when friends and family can either serve as their pillars of support, or be the cause of a relapse. It is a joint effort for on both sides to make the recovery a success. Caring for a recovering addict is not an easy task, but here are some suggestions that can help you during their healing period.

• Provide a safe and sober environment, ensuring that there are no triggers for using.

• Do not jump to accusations, judgments, and name calling.

• Do not become an enabler; do not provide excuses of cover up for the recovering addict.

• Recognize and acknowledge that they have potential within themselves.

• Do not expect life to return to the way it was before the addiction. Change is a part of life by accepting their fault; you are lessening the stress on the recovering addict’s life.

Help is Always Available

Understand that you are not alone. Whether you are a recovering addict who fears relapse or a concerned family member, you can turn to others for help. Ranch Creek Recovery offers many programs that will help set realistic recovery goals and individual therapy that is personalized to ensure maximum progress. Speak to someone who understands your struggle, seek help, and start your path into recovery.

Break the Habit for Good: How to Avoid Relapsing

Congratulations on breaking free from the shackles of substance abuse. It isn’t easy to complete rehabilitation for drug addiction, and you should be commended for your commitment and effort.

Unfortunately, drug addiction is a lifelong battle. After all, anyone can have a relapse at any given moment, and find themselves back on the road to addiction. There are, however, steps you can take to significantly reduce your chances of relapsing, including:

How to Convince a Loved One to Seek Drug Rehab

They say that you should never try to change other people and that you can only truly change yourself. However, there are some severe cases which undeniably calls for an intervention. Drug addiction, for example, is a circumstance that may demand the involvement of the addict’s family members, friends, and loved ones to intervene and attempt to convince the individual to seek the necessary treatment.

Swearing Off the Coke

Cocaine can be terribly addictive, with the U.S. tagged as the leading consumer through smuggling efforts from Latin America. It can be consumed under various means such as snorting or heating up crack and inhaling the vapors. When you or a loved one has been tagged as highly dependent on the white powder, you need to break that habit via drug rehab in Los Angeles.

Going Beyond 12 Steps

The 12-Step program is commonly tied to Alcoholics Anonymous or AA where it has been used as a stepping stone in the road to alcohol and substance abuse recovery. The program has been used by organizations like AA and Narcotics Anonymous for over 100 years and it has been a useful guide to the path of sobriety. A serious addiction will almost always cause a relapse and although the 12-Step program might be a step by step guide, it has not been very successful in helping many individuals.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The step by step approach to dealing with serious addiction may work for a few, but the limits it sets on those who are recovering are often times too much. A new approach to overcoming addiction is to see it through a wider perspective. There is no “one size fits all” solution; in fact it is the opposite. Instead of looking at the addiction, the focus should be on the person. Considering their needs, capabilities, and the extent of their addiction means more care and attention can be provided. Once the patient has been properly assessed, then the healing can begin.

Personalized and Holistic Healing

Ranch Creek Recovery has programs which include the 12-Step method, but it is not the only option available. Taking into consideration the limits of each individual, their personal therapy needs, and their recovery, the facility offers progressive treatments and programs. Instead of setting a set of guidelines, what Ranch Creek offers is the opportunity to develop long lasting good habits that will be instilled in each recovering individual. If you are like many who have struggled to stay sober using the 12-Step program, you might benefit from a different type of treatment. .

The road to recovery is not a straight line; there will be bumps in the road, but with the help of uplifting and constructive forms of rehabilitation, you can recover.

Alcoholism and its Effects on your Family

Is your loved one spending more time drinking alcohol than being with your family? Bad drinking habits not only have an effect their husbands or wives, it can also cause long-term problems for everyone else around, especially the ones who are closest to them. It’s best to get them the help they need through effective rehabilitation programs before any of these scenarios occur:

Conflicts

This drinking habit may actually be the cause of the arguments, creating an invisible wall and widening the gap of misunderstanding between the parties involved. These conflicts might then lead to either physical violence or verbal abuse. At times, alcoholics might even bring out his frustrations on their children, causing emotional trauma on their part.

An Overview of Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Does someone you know have a tendency to inflict harm on himself? This is a serious problem that must be corrected immediately. One of the treatments used for such behavior is Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).

DBT is a modification of cognitive behavior therapy, and was originally directed towards patients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). This approach puts emphasis on the treatment’s psychosocial aspects. The supporting theory is that there are people who have the tendency to react more intensely to particular emotional situations.

7 Signs of Cocaine Abuse

Cocaine is a very powerful drug that creates psychological dependence by stimulating the key pleasure areas of the brain. Tolerance is developed quickly so the abuser tends to use more to experience the same high. Below are signs of cocaine abuse.

Powdery residue. Cocaine looks like sugar or laundry powder and is sniffed by the user. Look for traces under the nose or on his belongings.

Eyes. The pupils dilate during the period of the high and turns red and watery due to stimulation or sleep loss.

Sniffing. Abusers may wipe their nose often because cocaine causes runny nose. It also leads to nose bleeds and other internal nose damage.