Ohio Faith Based Addiction and Recovery Frequently Asked Questions
PUSH for Recovery answers the most frequently asked questions about addiction, rehab, recovery, and treatment.
Ohio Addiction and Reccovery Frequently Asked Questions
Nearly all addicted individuals believe at the outset that they can stop using drugs on their own, and most try to stop without treatment. Although some people are successful, many attempts result in failure to achieve long-term abstinence. Research has shown that long-term drug abuse results in changes in the brain that persist long after a person stops using drugs. These drug-induced changes in brain function can have many behavioral consequences, including an inability to exert control over the impulse to use drugs despite adverse consequences—the defining characteristic of addiction.
Long-term drug use results in significant changes in brain function that can persist long after the individual stops using drugs.
Understanding that addiction has such a fundamental biological component may help explain the difficulty of achieving and maintaining abstinence without treatment. Stress from work, family problems, untreated mental illness, physical pain associated with medical problems, social triggers (such as meeting individuals from one’s drug-using past), or environmental triggers (such as encountering streets, objects, or even smells associated with drug abuse) can start intense cravings without the individual even being consciously aware of the triggering event. Any one of these factors can make relapse more likely. Nevertheless, research indicates that active participation in treatment is an essential component for good outcomes and can benefit even the most severely addicted individuals.
Addiction is the result of many factors that, when combined, distort normal physiological and psychological functioning. Drugs and alcohol alter the brain’s ability to produce neurotransmitters and send appropriate messages to the body. These neurotransmitters and other cellular communications are responsible for sending vital messages that affect the body’s pain centers, reward centers, feeling centers, and systems centers. When an individual uses substances, the body and the mind grow accustomed to the alteration caused by the drugs or alcohol. Once that happens, both the physical and emotional health of the person is corrupted and addiction sets in.
Addiction science has made tremendous strides over the past 100 years in determining the root causes of addiction. When Alcoholics Anonymous began in the early 20th century, families often attempted to sweep addiction under the rug or blame it on a moral or spiritual failing. Today, we know that people abuse drugs and alcohol for a variety of reasons, and certain themes repeat themselves again and again.
- You have a family history of addiction. Do you have a parent, grandparent, or sibling who is or was once addicted to alcohol or drugs? If so, the chances are higher that you will develop an addiction yourself.
- You have an untreated or undiagnosed mental health disorder. What qualifies as a mental health disorder? Depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, conduct disorder, and others all qualify as contributing factors to addiction. If you believe you are addicted to alcohol or drugs and you suffer from one of these disorders, you have a dual diagnosis. At 12 Keys Rehab, our counselors and therapists have experience treating dual diagnosis clients, which addresses both the addictive behavior and the mental health disorder at the same time.
- You began using drugs or alcohol early in life. If you began using drugs or alcohol in childhood, the chances that you will develop addiction are much higher.
- You suffered from a traumatic event that led to addiction. For some people, taking prescription painkillers after suffering an accident or injury can lead to dependency and addiction. Others might use alcohol or drugs as a crutch to heal from childhood abuse or trauma.
- You modify a drug or change drugs to increase the high. For example, if you began with prescription painkillers and progressed to heroin, or if you modified the method of administration to get high faster — such as changing to snorting or injecting — the time to get help is now.
Scientists say no single factor can predict whether a person might become addicted to drugs. But they think about half of the risk of addiction may come from a person’s biology and the other half from his or her environment. Some of the environmental factors that could make addiction more likely, especially among teens, include a lack of family involvement, the availability of drugs at school or in the home, or spending time with friends or family who use drugs. Smoking or injecting a drug also increases the risk of addiction, possibly because these methods have the quickest impact on the brain and body. The earlier a person begins using a drug, the more likely he or she is to become addicted. People with anxiety, depression or other mental health disorders such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) also have a higher risk of drug addiction.
It’s not uncommon for a person with a drug addiction to have another mental illness, but scientists say it’s difficult to know whether addiction is the cause of the mental illness, or whether people with mental illnesses turn to drug use to “self-medicate.” It’s also likely that some of the same genes and brain regions involved in addiction are also involved in other brain and behavior disorders, such as schizophrenia and depression.
Many times, people will experience a trauma in their life and they will not have the support system to process the experience in a healthy way. People can experience physical trauma, such as being in a car accident, or emotional trauma, such as the sudden loss of a loved one. Witnessing violence against another can be experienced as a trauma as well. Whatever the trauma is, a person may turn to drugs and alcohol to self-medicate physical or emotional pain. As long as the trauma or pain remains untreated, the likelihood of developing an addiction is increased. Once addiction has taken hold of the mind and the body, the addiction will need to be treated as well.
Many recovering alcoholics or addicts never learned how to negotiate feelings or daily stress. For the addict, everything that happens daily can be an excuse to use substances to cope. An addict needs to acquire coping skills to negotiate normal daily stress and feelings without the option of drinking or drugging, and this is one of the major focuses within intensive outpatient program (IOP) individual and group counseling.
Drugs alter the way the brain functions; addiction is a chemical imbalance that interferes with cell-to-cell communication. Like other diseases, such as diabetes, one who suffers from addiction is never completely “cured”. However, the disease of addiction can be successfully managed with therapy, medication (if necessary), and addiction support groups. The relapse rates of addiction are similar to other chronic diseases such as diabetes. Relapse, similar to the flare-up of a condition like diabetes, occurs with stress or if the proper protocol for management is not followed. And, like other diseases, addiction will worsen if treatment and management plans are not followed.
Alcoholism and drug addiction are brain diseases, and they can be a lot like physical diseases. And, like many physical diseases, some people are more likely than others to be affected.
Like many other diseases, addiction is:
- Progressive – It gets worse over time if not properly treated
- Fatal – If not properly treated, it ultimately leads to death
- Predictable – Addiction has predictable results, regardless of who it affects
- Treatable - Many do recover from alcohol or drug addiction and go on to live happy and productive lives.
It’s important to realize that, even though addiction is a disease, people need to take responsibility for their health. As with many physical diseases, there is a clear connection between people’s lifestyles and behaviors and their addiction.
You may have a disease called addiction, but you need to be responsible and do everything you can if you want to get healthy. You need to get proper medical care and follow your doctor’s advice about lifestyle and behavior.
Yes. People who abuse prescription drugs—that is, taking them in a manner or a dose other than prescribed, or taking medications prescribed for another person—risk addiction and other serious health consequences. Such drugs include opioid pain relievers, stimulants used to treat ADHD, and benzodiazepines to treat anxiety or sleep disorders. Indeed, in 2010, an estimated 2.4 million people 12 or older met the criteria for abuse of or dependence on prescription drugs, the second most common illicit drug use after marijuana.
Yes. Addiction, or the compulsive drug use despite harmful consequences, is characterized by an inability to stop using a drug; failure to meet work, social, or family obligations; and, sometimes (depending on the drug), tolerance and withdrawal. The latter reflect physical dependence in which the body adapts to the drug, requiring more of it to achieve a certain effect (tolerance) and eliciting drug-specific physical or mental symptoms if drug use is abruptly ceased (withdrawal). Physical dependence can happen with the chronic use of many drugs, including many prescription drugs, even if taken as instructed. Physical dependence in and of itself does not constitute addiction, but it often accompanies addiction. This distinction can be difficult to discern, particularly with prescribed pain medications, for which the need for increasing dosages can represent tolerance or a worsening underlying problem, as opposed to the beginning of substance use or addiction.
Drug addiction is a disease of the brain that frequently occurs with other mental disorders. In fact, as many as 6 in 10 people with an illicit substance use disorder also suffer from another mental illness; and rates are similar for users of licit drugs—i.e., tobacco and alcohol. For these individuals, one condition becomes more difficult to treat successfully as an additional condition is intertwined. Thus, people entering treatment either for a substance use disorder or for another mental disorder should be assessed for the co-occurrence of the other condition. Research indicates that treating both (or multiple) illnesses simultaneously in an integrated fashion is generally the best treatment approach for these patients.
Yes. Women’s bodies respond differently than men’s to both alcohol and drugs. For example, women become addicted to alcohol faster than men and develop more serious health issues more quickly. This is because women do not have a certain enzyme in the stomach that breaks down alcohol, so it goes directly into their bloodstream. Also, men’s and women’s heart rates are different, fat content is different, and hormone levels and types are different. These factors combined with other physical realities impact the effect that drugs and alcohol have on women and men.
Medical detox involves providing medicines and other professional support to manage withdrawal symptoms during the detox process. Medical detox can keep clients safe and control the level of discomfort experienced during withdrawal, which might otherwise be extreme. In addition, some symptoms of withdrawal, particularly symptoms associated with withdrawal from alcohol or benzodiazepines (benzos), can be dangerous or even deadly. Medical detox can prevent or manage some of these more severe symptoms.
Medical detox is also beneficial because cravings during withdrawal can be so intense that it causes the person to relapse and return to using the substance. With the support and supervision provided with medical detox, relapse is virtually impossible. For this reason, medical detox provides a stronger chance of reaching and maintaining recovery from substance abuse.
Addiction alters the brain’s neurological functions. Once the substances or activities that lead to addiction have ceased, the addict still faces the possibility of cravings. These cravings, or neurological messages, are stimulated by triggers. According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, triggers are intense, urgent, or abnormal desires. Relapse prevention teaches the addict how to negotiate these cravings in life-affirming ways.
It isn’t always easy to know if you are dependent on alcohol or drugs. In fact, many people don’t believe they’re addicted even after it’s clear to those around them, and there is no single factor. Addiction is a combination of factors, and only a trained counselor can determine if someone is alcohol- or drug-dependent.
Addiction counselors look for a pattern of behaviors that point to substance abuse. That pattern usually includes:
- Negative consequences of alcohol or drug use
- An inability to quit or control alcohol or drug use
- Increasing amounts and/or frequency of use of alcohol or drugs
If you can't stop taking a drug even if you want to, or if the urge to use drugs is too strong to control, even if you know the drug is causing harm, you might be addicted. Here are some questions to ask yourself:
- Do you think about drugs a lot?
- Did you ever try to stop or cut down on your drug usage but couldn't?
- Have you ever thought you couldn't fit in or have a good time without the use of drugs?
- Do you ever use drugs because you are upset or angry at other people?
- Have you ever used a drug without knowing what it was or what it would do to you?
- Have you ever taken one drug to get over the effects of another?
- Have you ever made mistakes at a job or at school because you were using drugs?
- Does the thought of running out of drugs really scare you?
- Have you ever stolen drugs or stolen to pay for drugs?
- Have you ever been arrested or in the hospital because of your drug use?
- Have you ever overdosed on drugs?
- Has using drugs hurt your relationships with other people?
If the answer to some or all of these questions is yes, you might have an addiction. Getting a comprehensive assessment is the best way to determine if your drug or alcohol use has developed into a substance use disorder or addiction. Addiction counselors look for a pattern of behaviors that point to substance abuse. That pattern usually includes:
Addiction and Recovery, Rehab, and Treatment Frequently Asked Questions
Drug treatment is intended to help addicted individuals stop compulsive drug seeking and use. Treatment can occur in a variety of settings, take many different forms, and last for different lengths of time. Because drug addiction is typically a chronic disorder characterized by occasional relapses, a short-term, one-time treatment is usually not sufficient. For many, treatment is a long-term process that involves multiple interventions and regular monitoring.
There are a variety of evidence-based approaches to treating addiction. Drug treatment can include behavioral therapy (such as cognitive-behavioral therapy or contingency management), medications, or their combination. The specific type of treatment or combination of treatments will vary depending on the patient’s individual needs and, often, on the types of drugs they use.
Treatment medications, such as methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone (including a new long-acting formulation), are available for individuals addicted to opioids, while nicotine preparations (patches, gum, lozenges, and nasal spray) and the medications varenicline and bupropion are available for individuals addicted to tobacco. Disulfiram, acamprosate, and naltrexone are medications available for treating alcohol dependence,1 which commonly co-occurs with other drug addictions, including addiction to prescription medications.
Many treatment programs employ both individual and group therapies. Group therapy can provide social reinforcement and help enforce behavioral contingencies that promote abstinence and a non-drug-using lifestyle. Some of the more established behavioral treatments, such as contingency management and cognitive-behavioral therapy, are also being adapted for group settings to improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness. However, particularly in adolescents, there can also be a danger of unintended harmful (or iatrogenic) effects of group treatment—sometimes group members (especially groups of highly delinquent youth) can reinforce drug use and thereby derail the purpose of the therapy. Thus, trained counselors should be aware of and monitor for such effects.
Because they work on different aspects of addiction, combinations of behavioral therapies and medications (when available) generally appear to be more effective than either approach used alone.
Finally, people who are addicted to drugs often suffer from other health (e.g., depression, HIV), occupational, legal, familial, and social problems that should be addressed concurrently. The best programs provide a combination of therapies and other services to meet an individual patient’s needs. Psychoactive medications, such as antidepressants, anti-anxiety agents, mood stabilizers, and antipsychotic medications, may be critical for treatment success when patients have co-occurring mental disorders such as depression, anxiety disorders (including post-traumatic stress disorder), bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia. In addition, most people with severe addiction abuse multiple drugs and require treatment for all substances abused.
Absolutely! Medication alone is NOT ADDICTION TREATMENT. In Ohio, addiction treatment is highly regulated and only state-licensed facilities can provide addiction treatment. Taking medication without addressing a person’s addictive tendencies and learning strategies to manage the brain changes associated with addiction has a high failure rate. Medication helps stabilize a person, reduces cravings, reduces the risk of relapse, and increases the chances of maintaining recovery, but it is not a magic pill. The person will still need to work hard at recovery and personal change through individual and group counseling with experienced clinicians who will make a difference in your recovery. While in counseling, individuals gain a host of new healthy coping skills, learn about strategies to prevent relapse, and begin to create new healthy and supportive relationships. Each of these components is critical for long-term recovery from alcohol or drugs.
Individuals progress through addiction treatment at different rates. Your initial treatment level of care will be discussed and agreed upon during your intake assessment. Keep in mind, research has shown unequivocally that good outcomes are contingent on adequate treatment length and intensity. Best practices in medication-assisted treatment (MAT) using tools such as Suboxone is between 18-24 months. Drug-free treatment or MAT occurring for less than 90 days is of limited effectiveness. Treatment lasting significantly longer is recommended for maintaining positive outcomes. Below are some general guidelines regarding the number of days per week for each of our various levels of care.
- Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP): 5 days per week
- Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP): 3-5 days per week
- Outpatient Program (OP): 1-2 days per week
- Aftercare: Every other week
In addition to stopping drug abuse, the goal of treatment is to return people to productive functioning in the family, workplace, and community. According to research that tracks individuals in treatment over extended periods, most people who get into and remain in treatment stop using drugs, decrease their criminal activity and improve their occupational, social, and psychological functioning. For example, methadone treatment has been shown to increase participation in behavioral therapy and decrease both drug use and criminal behavior. However, individual treatment outcomes depend on the extent and nature of the patient’s problems, the appropriateness of treatment and related services used to address those problems, and the quality of interaction between the patient and his or her treatment providers.
Relapse rates for addiction resemble those of other chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and asthma.
Like other chronic diseases, addiction can be managed successfully. Treatment enables people to counteract addiction’s powerful disruptive effects on the brain and behavior and to regain control of their lives. The chronic nature of the disease means that relapsing to drug abuse is not only possible but also likely, with symptom recurrence rates similar to those for other well-characterized chronic medical illnesses, such as diabetes, hypertension, and asthma, that also have both physiological and behavioral components.
Unfortunately, when relapse occurs many deem treatment a failure. This is not the case: Successful treatment for addiction typically requires continual evaluation and modification as appropriate, similar to the approach taken for other chronic diseases. For example, when a patient is receiving active treatment for hypertension and symptoms decrease, treatment is deemed successful, even though symptoms may recur when treatment is discontinued. For the addicted individual, lapses to drug abuse do not indicate failure, rather, they signify that treatment needs to be reinstated or adjusted, or that alternate treatment is needed
No. Suboxone and other medically assisted treatment medications are prescribed or administered under monitored, controlled conditions and are safe and effective for treating opioid addiction when used as directed. T hey are administered orally or sublingually (i.e., under the tongue) in specified doses, and their effects differ from those of heroin and other abused opioids.
Heroin, for example, is often injected, snorted, or smoked, causing an almost immediate "rush," or brief period of intense euphoria, that wears off quickly and ends in a "crash." The individual then experiences an intense craving to use the drug again to stop the crash and reinstate the euphoria.
The cycle of euphoria, crash, and craving—sometimes repeated several times a day—is a hallmark of addiction and results in severe behavioral disruption. These characteristics result from heroin’s rapid onset and short duration of action in the brain.
As used in maintenance treatment, Suboxone and other medically assisted treatment (MAT) medications are not heroin/opioid substitutes.
In contrast, Suboxone and other medically assisted treatment (MAT) medications have gradual onsets of action and produce stable levels of the drug in the brain. As a result, patients maintained on these medications do not experience a rush, while they also markedly reduce their desire to use opioids.
If an individual treated with these medications tries to take an opioid such as heroin, the euphoric effects are usually dampened or suppressed. Patients undergoing maintenance treatment do not experience physiological or behavioral abnormalities from rapid fluctuations in drug levels associated with heroin use. Maintenance treatments save lives by helping to stabilize individuals, allowing treatment of their medical, psychological, and other problems so they can contribute effectively as members of families and of society.
There is a serious misconception among both addicts and family members that detox is alcohol or drug treatment. It is not. The purpose of detox is to rid the body of the drug or alcohol’s toxins. It is a complex process that can be life-threatening depending on a person’s age, amount of substance used, how long use has occurred, physical health, and emotional and psychological health. Detox does not address the underlying reasons for substance abuse or the mental health problems that may accompany substance abuse. Drug rehab addiction treatment is the next phase in the recovery process, but it can only occur after one’s body has been cleansed of drugs and alcohol in detox. Successful long-term recovery can only be achieved through addiction treatment, it cannot be achieved by undergoing detox alone.
Not all rehab facilities provide family members with therapy. Since the 1960s, scientific studies have demonstrated that addiction is a family disease. To change the environment at an addict’s home, everyone in the home must be treated for addiction. Issues of personal responsibility, consequences, and codependent behaviors need to be addressed and tools need to be provided so that the family dynamic can move from dysfunctional to healthy.
In addition, 12-step support is available to family members of addicts or alcoholics. Al‑Anon is a mutual support program for people whose lives have been affected by someone else’s drinking. By sharing common experiences and applying the Al-Anon principles, families and friends of alcoholics can bring positive changes to their individual situations, whether or not the alcoholic admits the existence of a drinking problem or seeks help.
Alateen, a part of the Al-Anon Family Groups, is a fellowship of young people (mostly teenagers) whose lives have been affected by someone else’s drinking whether they are in your life drinking or not. By attending Alateen, teenagers meet other teenagers with similar situations. Alateen is not a religious program and there are no fees or dues to belong to it.
There is always hope for anyone suffering from alcohol and drug addiction. Treatment will work if you are willing to face your addiction with complete honesty, personal responsibility, and willingness to make the changes necessary to grow. Scientific studies have demonstrated time and again that treatment works if the patient uses the tools provided in treatment and aftercare to achieve lasting sobriety.
Quality holistic addiction treatment programs are based upon the concept that the whole person must be treated. While many of these programs employ natural remedies such as yoga, massage, meditation, and natural diets, quality holistic addiction treatment will also provide the patient with formalized addiction treatment protocols and, when needed, medical assistance.
If you have worked for a company for 12 months and meet other criteria, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides you with the opportunity to take an unpaid leave of absence to enter treatment. You will need to find out the rules governing the FMLA and your company’s requirements. Validation of your medical leave needs will be required. The treatment facility should be able to assist with the paperwork. It should also be noted that the use of the FMLA can protect your privacy so that where you are and why you are there is protected.
Treatment can be effective even if an addict enters treatment through the threat of jail, the loss of a job, or the loss of family. Once in treatment, the addict must be open to learning, listening, and being honest. What happens during treatment is not dependent upon how one gets into treatment.
Many people who find themselves in treatment or at 12-step meetings are there because they have no choice. They may have pleaded guilty or been convicted of DUI or drug-related charges and been sent to treatment as part of sentencing. It certainly seems like a better sentence than prison, but does sending someone to treatment involuntarily actually work? According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, or NIDA, involuntary treatment actually works pretty well. They conducted a study of more than 2000 men that found that despite lower internal motivation among involuntary participants at the beginning of treatment, they actually fared about as well after five years as people voluntarily seeking treatment. The study found that rates of abstinence, employment and rearrest were similar whether treatment was mandatory or voluntary. There are likely several reasons for this. First and foremost, legal trouble is often a wake-up call for people with substance use problems. Being arrested and tried is a very clear signal that drinking or drug use is out of hand. What’s more, avoiding or shortening a prison sentence is powerful motivation to get sober. The best results are cases where the justice system is involved but treatment is voluntary. Another factor is that people in the grip of addiction often feel like they don’t want or need help, but after detox and a short time sober, they start to see things differently. With a little time to reflect, they may think about how drugs or drinking landed them in jail, and maybe it’s time to quit. Mandatory treatment also overcomes many common impediments to getting treatment. The number one reason people don’t seek treatment is that they don’t want it. Other reasons include not being able to afford treatment, not knowing where to get treatment, fearing the stigma, and not being able to get treatment because of other responsibilities, like work or kids. Mandated treatment essentially wipes those objections away at a stroke. The outcomes of mandatory treatment are surprisingly good, but there is a caveat: Sobriety rates start out much higher than the others before falling to comparable levels. For example, abstinence rates for people in mandated treatment start out at about 54 percent and at five years fall to 39 percent, whereas people in court-involved voluntary treatment start at 45.3 percent and drop to 44.7 percent–not even a whole percentage point drop compared to 15 percentage points in mandatory cases. And people who voluntarily seek treatment without court involvement actually go up a bit. Clearly, internal motivation is important for retention, but in mandatory treatment, you still have 39 percent of people abstinent after five years. That’s a lot of people who are working and living their lives instead of sitting in prison, which is a pretty good result.
When an individual has a mental health disorder such as depression, anxiety, panic disorder, or suffers from a drug or alcohol addiction, the person is considered to be dually diagnosed. Accurate diagnosis of the mental health disorder is of the utmost importance, as both the addiction and the mental health disorder must be treated simultaneously. Recovery is less likely if only one condition is treated. A quality treatment program will have a credible dual diagnosis program staffed by addiction physicians, nurses, and therapists who have expertise and experience with dual diagnosis treatment.
There is a growing consensus that opioid addiction should be treated with medications along with counseling, and that counseling alone may not be effective in preventing drug overdose and death. Medication treatment uses drugs, such as methadone, buprenorphine (Suboxone, Subutex), and naltrexone (Vivitrol). In essence, these drugs substitute for the opioid and are prescribed to reduce opioid dependency and to prevent death by overdose. The length of the treatment course varies depending on how well a patient tolerates the medication, the type of substitute medication, and whether the patient relapses during treatment, but can run from 90 days to several years.
However, medication alone is NOT ADDICTION TREATMENT. In Ohio, addiction treatment is highly regulated and only state-licensed facilities can provide addiction treatment. Taking medication without addressing a person’s addictive tendencies and learning strategies to manage the brain changes associated with addiction has a high failure rate. Medication helps stabilize a person, reduces cravings, reduces the risk of relapse, and increases the chances of maintaining recovery, but it is not a magic pill. The person will still need to work hard at recovery and personal change through individual and group counseling with experienced clinicians who will make a difference in your recovery. While in counseling, individuals gain a host of new healthy coping skills, learn about strategies to prevent relapse, and begin to create new healthy and supportive relationships. Each of these components is critical for long-term recovery from alcohol or drugs.
Addiction and Recovery Frequently Asked Questions
Self-help groups can complement and extend the effects of professional treatment. The most prominent self-help groups are those affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA), and Cocaine Anonymous (CA), all of which are based on the 12-step model. Most drug addiction treatment programs encourage patients to participate in self-help group therapy during and after formal treatment. These groups can be particularly helpful during recovery, offering an added layer of community-level social support to help people achieve and maintain abstinence and other healthy lifestyle behaviors over the course of a lifetime.
Recovery tends to be viewed, especially by those who believe in the 12-Step principles, as an ongoing process. Putting down the drink or the drug is the first step in the recovery process. Once that occurs, recovery is about learning to live an honest, responsible, accountable life that is drug- and alcohol-free. Mind-altering substances and mind-altering activities such as internet abuse, sex addictions, and gambling can bring a person to a bottom. Learning to manage life in a balanced, emotionally sober manner is a lifelong process. Self-growth is ongoing and never-ending.
Some changes in the brain and body caused by excessive and abusive use of substances are permanent. For example, once you develop cirrhosis of the liver from alcohol abuse, it cannot be reversed. Drugs too can alter the structure and function of the brain. The damage from substance abuse can remain years after the drug abuse has ceased. It is possible that, with years of abstinence, a return to normal function may return. There are no guarantees of either a return to normal functioning or the continuation of damage.
This is a popular recovery question. Relapse prevention is the component of addiction treatment that provides the addict with tools to handle the daily stressors of life outside of the treatment environment. Relapse prevention is crucial to building a strong foundation for long-term abstinence and continued personal growth.
Once a person has stopped using drugs and/or alcohol and is no longer using substances or self-destructive behaviors, he or she is considered to be living in abstinence. Going to meetings and other support groups helps the addict remain abstinent. In other words, abstinence means not using drugs or alcohol or picking up another addiction such as gambling, sex, or internet pornography.
In treatment, the patient has a support network of his or her peers as well as the facility’s medical staff and therapists. When one gets out of treatment, the addict must build a new group of people that will help him or her stay off of drugs and alcohol. This is a support network. The support network can include other addicts in recovery. such as those who attend 12-Step programs, a therapist or other healthcare professional, or a group of people that have a similar spiritual practice. These different groups can help the addict handle stress, cravings, and triggers. Staying clean and sober is difficult, if not impossible, to do alone and in isolation. A multi-level support network that includes addiction support groups and 12-step support groups, gives the addict or alcoholic extra security to help him or her through both difficult and joyful times.
In 1935, Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob met to talk about their drinking problems. What transpired between the two of them led to the foundation of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). After years of meetings and speaking with others about alcoholism and alcohol abuse, the established AA groups wrote the principles upon which their ongoing recovery was based. These principles and steps continue to guide other alcoholics to continued sobriety. The principles are embodied in 12 action steps. Millions of people have maintained sobriety by following these steps in addition to attending meetings. The AA 12 Step program has been so successful that other addicts have developed support groups based upon the 12 Steps of AA.
Sometimes when a person leaves treatment, he or she is not prepared to go back home. To give newly sober individuals more time to learn how to live a clean and sober life, halfway houses opened. Halfway houses can be a blessing if they are reputable, quality houses. In order for a halfway house to be considered of quality, there should be rules and requirements that must be followed by all who live in the house. Halfway houses or sober living homes are not licensed or regulated so it is important to investigate a halfway house before committing to live there. Halfway houses are a way for a newly recovering addict to experience living, working, and being responsible on a daily basis without using substances. The environment of a quality halfway house provides everyone with the same goal of recovery.
Research has shown that the results of exercising regularly are a reduction in stress levels and an increase in a sense of well-being. The release of certain neurotransmitters during exercise provides the brain with chemicals that produce a sense of calm and well-being. Before recovery, the addict tried to get this sense of calm from using drugs or alcohol. Exercise can produce long-lasting benefits, both physical and psychological, and will not alter the natural brain production of neurotransmitters as drugs and alcohol do.
Many addicts have busy minds. Their thought processes spin out of control with negative thoughts, especially during times of stress. Meditation is one method used in the recovery process to quiet the mind, providing the addict’s mind and body with some peace.
Here’s a simple reality about addiction: once you grow addicted to a substance, you are an addict. If you are addicted to opiates, you will quickly become addicted to another drug. The pathways affected by opiates are the same pathways affected by marijuana. The need to use a substance remains activated regardless of the drug being used. If you stop taking opiates and start smoking marijuana, the same neurotransmitter is affected. It never works to substitute one drug for another.
There are a range of personality traits that seem to define those who develop an addiction. The idea that you are a drug addict but can safely drink alcohol may be a distortion of reality. The addict who attempts to substitute one substance for another can awaken addictive behavior and addictive thinking. Whether it happens quickly or slowly, alcohol will become the drug addict’s new drug of choice.
Luckily, as with most conditions or problems, there are some warning signs you can look out for that may be indicators of an impending lapse or relapse. Knowing the warning signs of drug and alcohol relapse can help prevent you or someone you care about from spiraling down the path of self-destruction. Common relapse warning signs include:
- Infrequent attendance of addiction treatment or 12-step support groups
- Romanticizing Past Drug Use
- Believing You Can Use Again Without Falling Back Into Addiction
- Starting to Reconnect With Old Friends From Your Addiction Days
- Becoming Defensive and Beginning the Pattern of Denial You Had While Using
- Sudden Changes in Attitude or Behavior
- Breaking Down of Social Relationships
- Loss of Interest in Hobbies and Activities
- Sudden Appearance of Withdrawal Symptoms
- Loss of Belief in Addiction Recovery Program
- Self Isolating
- Poor Self Care, no longer managing H.A.L.T. (Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired)
- Overwhelming negative emotions such as depression, anger, stress, or loneliness.
- You begin to find yourself feeling triggered more than normal.
The best way to help prevent you, a friend or a family member from relapsing is to focus each day on recovery and why sobriety matters to you. If the warning signs of relapse begin to pop up, get help right away. This may be in the form of:
- Reentering a treatment facility.
- Participating in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or another form of psychotherapy.
- Talking to a sponsor.
- Attending 12-step program meetings.
- Asking for support from friends and family.
Frequently Asked Family Questions about Drug Addiction and Recovery, Rehab, and Treatment
If you think someone has a problem, it’s important to approach that person in a non-confrontational way—at least at first. And it’s always a good idea to get the advice of a qualified professional counselor before talking with someone about their substance use.
We do not recommend talking with a loved one when you are upset as a result of their drinking or drug use. The best approach is to take a step back and wait until the next day.
When discussing the problem, it’s important to be calm. Express your concern without name-calling, blaming, or accusing. Simply say that you care about them and have noticed that their use is affecting their life. Say that you would like them to see if they can stop their use on their own. If they can’t, ask them to consider getting professional help.
It is normal for those who abuse alcohol or drugs to react angrily when they are approached — even when it’s done in a gentle, caring manner. Arguing with them or becoming angry and lashing out at them will cause them to focus on that instead of their own use.
If your first approach doesn’t work, consider asking close friends and family to help you speak to the person about their use. Again, involving a professional counselor can be very helpful.
You cannot force them to stop, but you chelp help them to want to stop. The best way to stop a person from using drugs and alcohol is to allow that person to suffer the consequences of his or her behavior, not to force him or her to do anything. It can take a great deal of strength and courage to allow an addict to reach his or her bottom. There are legal methods to hospitalize a person whose use of drugs and alcohol is out of control and who is a danger to himself or herself, but in the end, the addict is responsible for the choice to use or not use.
Recite the Three Cs.
- I did not cause it.
- I cannot control it.
- I cannot cure it.
The good news for friends and family members of addicts is that their own self-care can lead to real change and help them begin to make better decisions for themselves and start to free themselves from the worried grip of addiction to their loved one. When one family member improves their health others do, too, including the person suffering from addiction.
When one member of a family suffers from an addiction, all other family members suffer as well.
The family unit’s ability to function in healthy ways is altered as everyone adapts to the addict’s behavior. The normal order is destroyed and consequences for individual behaviors are disrupted. As the addict’s condition worsens, so does the physical and psychological health of other family members. Once the addict seeks treatment, it is imperative that the family as a whole receives addiction therapy as well.
Originally, therapists treating alcoholics noticed that family members seemed to suffer along with an alcoholic as the addiction progressed. These family members were called co-alcoholics. Several years later, therapists began to notice that co-alcoholics shared similar behaviors. These symptoms were classified as codependency. Today, mental health professionals understand that codependency is a learned behavior that can be passed down from generation to generation. A person who constantly places others’ needs before his or her own to the detriment of himself is usually known to be suffering from codependency. Today, the term has been expanded to include anyone from a dysfunctional family unit who is addicted to a relationship or who has learned to repress his or her emotions and needs whether or not there is a relationship with an addict.
Co-dependent means unwittingly helping a person continue their addiction. The “rules” we normally use in relationships usually don’t work in these situations.
Becoming co-dependent is often described as “having a normal reaction to an abnormal situation.” Some examples of co-dependent behavior are:
- Making repeated excuses for an addicted person’s behavior
- Questioning whether you are really the “crazy one” when you react to those behaviors
- Trying to remove or buffer the consequences of an addict’s actions, such as:
- Calling in sick to work for them
- Blaming their behaviors on outside factors, like “she’s been under a lot of stress”
- Paying traffic tickets or other expenses caused by the substance use
Counseling with a qualified mental health professional can help stop co-dependency, and it should be part of any plan for dealing with addiction. Help typically involves:
- Learning about addiction and how it affects others
- Recognizing specific co-dependent behaviors
- Changing co-dependent behaviors
- Getting support from others when changes are made
Family and friends can play critical roles in motivating individuals with drug problems to enter and stay in treatment. Family therapy can also be important, especially for adolescents. The involvement of a family member or significant other in an individual's treatment program can strengthen and extend treatment benefits.
If you have a family member with an addiction and they have stopped that behavior, then they are in recovery. Being in recovery means that they:
- Will always be susceptible to alcohol or drugs even though they may not currently drink or use drugs
- Need to make significant lifestyle changes in order to stay in recovery
- Have been so deeply affected that, even when they no longer use or drink, their addiction has left a lasting impact on the way they view themselves and the world around them.
So, while never “cured,” our loved one is in recovery and “no longer active” in alcohol or drug use. What this means for the family members is that they:
- Will always be susceptible the family member possibly relapsing
- Need to make significant lifestyle changes in order to stay mentally sane and healthy
- Have been so deeply affected that, even when the family member no longer uses or drinks, the family member's addiction has left a lasting impact on the way the family members view themselves and the world around them.
Recovery tends to be viewed, especially by those who believe in the 12-Step principles, as an ongoing process. Putting down the drink or the drug is the first step in the recovery process. Once that occurs, recovery is about learning to live an honest, responsible, accountable life that is drug- and alcohol-free. Mind-altering substances and mind-altering activities such as internet abuse, sex addictions, and gambling can bring a person to a bottom. Learning to manage life in a balanced, emotionally sober manner is a lifelong process. Self-growth is ongoing and never-ending.
Some changes in the brain and body caused by excessive and abusive use of substances are permanent. For example, once you develop cirrhosis of the liver from alcohol abuse, it cannot be reversed. Drugs too can alter the structure and function of the brain. The damage from substance abuse can remain years after the drug abuse has ceased. It is possible that, with years of abstinence, a return to normal function may return. There are no guarantees of either a return to normal functioning or the continuation of damage.
Are you ready to start your recovery journey?
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