Addiction Recovery is never out of reach for anyone. No matter how hopeless or bleak your situation may seem. With the right treatment and support change is possible for you.
Even if you’ve tried and failed many times before - please don’t give up on yourself. The road to recovery often comes with its fair amount of bumps and challenges. However, by examining the situation and thinking about the changes that need to be made, you’re on your way to a better healthier and happier life.
It is important for you to commit to life changes, find the best treatment option for you and get the support you need from others.
Commit to Make Life Changes
For those struggling with an addiction, the first step towards recovery is the most challenging step.
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By committing to your recovery, you can overcome your addiction, take control of your life again, and start a fresh chapter in your life. Committing to these life changes can be a challenging, so it is important for you to remember why you want to do this for yourself and to have a supportive people around you.
Explore Treatment Options Available
Once you’ve committed to your recovery journey it’s time to explore treatment options that are available to you. Here are different types of treatments available. Read more about them to see which one would be a good fit for you. The following information was gathered from the Help Guide website:
Residential Treatment – Typically involves living at a facility while undergoing intensive treatment. Residential treatment can last from a few days to several months.
Day Treatment or Partial Hospitalization – This is for people who require ongoing medical monitoring. People will usually meet at a treatment center for 7- 8 hours during the day and they have the option to return home at night.
Outpatient treatment – Typically have the flexibility to be scheduled around work or school. You’re treated during the day or evening but aren’t required to stay overnight. The major focus of outpatient treatment is relapse
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You live with others in a safe, supportive, and completely drug-free environment. Sober living facilities are helpful if you have no place to go or you’re worried that returning home too soon will lead to relapse.
As you consider treatment options that are available it’s important to keep in mind the following:
Some treatment options don't work for everyone.
Treatment should address more than just your addiction.
Commitment and follow-through are essential to your recovery.
As you seek help for your addiction, it’s also important to get treatment for all medical conditions. To improve your chances of recovery get a comprehensive treatment plan. By getting combined mental health and addiction treatment from the same treatment provider it would be the option for you.
Find the Support You Need
Don’t try to get sober alone. Reach out to others for support. Whatever treatment option you choose, it is important to have positive and supportive influences and a solid support system. The more people you can turn to for encouragement and guidance will improve your chances for a successful recovery. Create a network with people who support your recovery and with others who are going through the same things as
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Show MoreSheff (2008) found that "Addict's family walks an unhappy path that is strewn with many pitfalls and false starts. Mistakes are inevitable. Pain is inevitable. But so are growth and wisdom and serenity if families approach addiction with an open mind, a willingness to learn, and the acceptance that recovery, like addiction itself, is a long and complex process. Families should never give up hope for recovery-for recovery can and does happen every day. Nor should they stop living their own lives while they wait for that miracle of recovery to occur" (Sheff, 2008, pg. 230).
You have to reintegrate yourself into society and deal with the obstacles to rebuild your life in the ‘real world’. And without a healthy and supportive community post-rehab, it can be more challenging to sustain long-term recovery.
In research collaborated by Laudet, Morgan and White, there are three stages of recovery for those with the disease of addiction: early recovery, middle recovery and late recovery (2006, p. 36). In early recovery, staying clean is the main focus. Every day thoughts revolve around simply making it through the day without using. This stage, lasting one to three years, can be the most difficult, and is most likely the area when relapse is most frequent as clients find it easier to simply use than to fight the urge.
McGovern, M. P., Xie, H., Segal, S. R., Siembab, L., & Drake, R. E. (2006). Addiction treatment
Substance abuse treatments are offered in a variety of ways. Some treatments can be done on an outpatient basis, while others may require a stay in a hospital or other facility. The two types of treatments are similar in nature. The main difference is that outpatient treatment is offered to those addicts that have circumstances or situations that will not allow them to get treatment in an inpatient rehabilitation program. Outpatient programs provide patients with more freedom of movement which allows them to maintain a regular commitment to family, work, and educational responsibilities. (Gifford, 2015). This service is also used for those that have already been a part of an inpatient rehabilitation program, yet still require some further support so they do not relapse. Both treatment types first seek to help the individual with their physical addiction and get them rehabilitated, and then focuses on the underlying causes of their addiction and help them deal with it to help prevent and avoid any relapse. Choosing which type of treatment is needed and which would best benefit the individual would need to be decided between the addict and their doctor or counselor. It is not a decision to be made lightly especially for those that need the extra care that an inpatient facility would
In conclusion, the problem of addiction may seem impossible to overcome at first, however; there are steps that can be taken in order to obtain recovery.
Hope tells you that healing and good lie ahead, it is possible to rise from the pain. But it is hard to hold to hope while pain is present so it is important to address possible sources like if you also have a mental illness, which is "estimated one out of every two people who struggle with addiction also have a mental illness disorder."(Shumway.pg 24) or if you are still recovering from trauma. Whatever source or combination sources of pain must be dealt with now or it will end up badly in the end. Hope is the key for early recovery and is the starting point to a long lasting recovery. At this stage you will also begin to create a relationship with a higher power, giving yourself to something greater so that it may help you along the
...g the extent to which addiction affected the brain system resulting into changes and adaptations that the addict has no control. In addition to this, I learnt of the innate struggle that they experience with every attempt made towards becoming “clean” again; a struggle which almost always ends in defeat. A situation that can be described as “baffling”, an expression used by one of Dr, Volkow’s interviewees. Learning the involuntary nature of addiction and relapse that occur during recovery and the immense efforts required from the recovering addicts greatly changed the way I perceived the recovery process. Now I know it takes intervention from others, in addition to the effort made by the affected individual desiring to recover. Indeed, one cannot easily recover from drug addiction and avoid relapsing without help from family, friends and the society at large.
Overcoming an addiction to alcohol can be a long and bumpy road. Many people feel that it is impossible to overcome an alcohol addiction. Many people feel that is it easier to be an addict than to be a recovering addict. However, recovering from alcoholism is possible if one is ready to seek the help and support they need on their road to recovery. Recovery is taking the time to regain one’s normal mind, health and strength. Recovery is process. It takes time to stop the alcohol cravings and pressure to drink. For most, rehab and professional help is needed, while others can stop drinking on their own. Recovery never ends. After rehab, professional help or quitting on your own, many people still need help staying sober. A lot of time, recovering
.... One such step would be going into a rehabilitation program. Here you would learn how to get over your addictions and how to deal with the other spiraled effects of it.
I think the first way to help beat your addiction is to create a vision of your ideal life. (What makes you excited when you simply think about it?)
...ther methods of treatment that may be used as part of rehabilitative process include: hospitalization, therapeutic communities (highly controlled, drug-free environments), and outpatient programs.
Initially, individuals can also choose between inpatient and outpatient rehab. With inpatient treatment, the client remains at the site. They get around-the-clock supervision and 24/7 support. Clients who need flexibility for work or family responsibilities often choose outpatient treatment. With outpatient rehab, the client spends several hours at the treatment center each day. At night, they return home to sleep with their families.
Sober living accommodations – After completing a residential treatment program, patients may not feel ready to re-enter his or her former community right away. Sober living houses, also known as transitional housing or halfway houses, provide an environment where they can benefit from a higher level of structure and stability while taking part in aftercare
In conclusion drug addiction is a very terrible and challenging problem. It affects individuals, families, and the people around them. It is important that drug addicts realize that they must want to stop and seek help for the problem. The drug addict needs the support of friends and family, so they can make it through this process. The process to recover from drug addiction can take a lifetime. There is hope for a drug addict who wants to change their life for the better.