After recovery, it is important to take precautions to prevent potential relapse into your old lifestyle. With the right approaches, you can maintain a healthy new lifestyle free from addiction. How can you identify any of your potential triggers that may cause you to use?
1. Talk through What Has Triggered You in the Past
This can be done with a therapist in order to assess what may be potential risks to you. NIDA acknowledges that this can be an overwhelming process, especially if you have many triggers, so to begin you can start by addressing the triggers that have been the most problematic recently.
Once you accumulate a list of known triggers, you can begin to recognize where they might present themselves in your life and how to avoid that or deal with them.
2. Assess Future Situations
Make a list of specific holidays or anniversaries where you think you’ll be tempted to use.
It’s important to figure out what specific days you may be more susceptible to using, and these high-risk days could be anniversaries of loss, holidays where there is a lot to do, or other similar situations. SAMHSA suggests that you list the days that are possible or sure to occur, as these are the most likely scenarios you will have to face.
Anniversaries and holidays are yearly things, so you know that it is important to develop a plan for these. Other scenarios such as catastrophes or natural disasters are less likely to occur, and if they do then you can use the same plan that you developed for other scenarios.
3. Identify your Moods
There may be specific moods that you slip into that can lead you to use, and it is important to be able to recognize when you are in such a mood and address it. If you tend to use while feeling lonely or sad, then you should learn to recognize any signs of these feelings and find other ways to cope.
You can call a friend or contact your support group so that they can help talk you out of the mood or keep you focused.
4. Move on from People and Places
One of the aspects to recovering from an unhealthy lifestyle is making changes in where you go and who you spend your time with. In order to change your habits and promote overall well-being, this may call for an end to some relationships with people who would just pressure you to use.
It may also mean that you don’t visit your old favorite places, as they can take you back to the state of mind that believes it is okay to use. A new you means new places, and often new friends as well.
If you or a loved one are facing the struggles of addiction and are seeking a path of recovery, simply call 800-487-1890 (Who Answers?) to speak with a caring specialist who can answer any of your questions.
Recovery can be a long and daunting process, but you can turn your life around and give yourself a brighter future with the right support and advice along the way!
When an addict takes responsibility for their lives and overcomes addiction, it can be the best decision he/she will ever make. When an individual makes the choice to take responsibility for their behavior, he/she is making the conscious choice to be held accountable for their addiction.
This responsibility allows the addict to accept the consequences and results that are associated with it. According to SAMHSA, the use of drugs in Americans aged 12 or older increased from 8.3% in 2002 to 10.2% in 2014, which equals 27 million people who were using illicit drugs.
There are few areas of addiction where the individual should take responsibility for their actions to begin the recovery process.
A Substance Dependency
A substance dependency creates a chronic medical condition that causes big chemical changes in the brain. Personality, cognitive ability, behavior, motor skills, and reasoning are all effected by this change and has a significant impact on a person’s health.
It can cause many severe consequences such as liver disease, hepatitis, heart disease, brain damage, infections, and injuries. Many addicts begin to neglect their personal obligations, show a lack of interest in their job or schooling, and have poor hygiene due to the use of their substance.
Some addicts when under the influence become violent, participate in dangerous activities and in worst-case scenarios, may become homeless. When an addict chooses to take responsibility for the results of his/her decisions, it can be one of the largest steps in the recovery process.
It is Not Just You
Taking responsibility involves accepting the consequences of your actions.
When an addiction begins, it is most commonly a decision that the individual chooses to engage in. What begins as an initial decision in the moment can develop into a repeated action that becomes more of an addiction and less of a choice.
It is a voluntary choice that many addicts made before they became addicts with the knowledge that the drug is addictive and harmful. Despite the environmental, social, behavioral, psychological, or genetic vulnerability, the person uses the occasion to use a substance with the full awareness of the consequences.
Assigning the Blame
Many addicts will find a way to blame others for their substance abuse to push the responsibility off themselves because it is the easier choice. This allows him or her to avoid their feelings of guilt and responsibility, as well as hold onto a list of excuses as to why they should continue with their addiction.
While this commonly draws pity and understanding from others, it does nothing to help the addict to overcome their addiction. It is important for the addict to accept that while they would not have caused the issues in their lives if they were not under the influence, they are responsible for their actions regardless.
When the addict takes responsibility for their own actions, it can allow them to begin their journey toward recovery and freedom from their addiction.
Accepting Responsibility
In order to begin the process toward recovery, the addict needs to acknowledge that he or she is solely responsible for the choices they made in their lives. Taking responsibility can also allow the individual to open communication with their loved ones to create a support system that will help them to overcome their addiction through treatment facilities that can cater to their specific needs.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, treatments for an addict can vary according to the type of substance abuse they have endured and their unique situations in order to help them reach success. This specialized treatment will help them to function productively with their family, co-workers, and friends.
It can be hard to accept the responsibility, but only the individual can decide where they want their lives to go and can only blame themselves when things go wrong. With the use of addictive substances, the addict needs to be willing to accept the consequences of their actions.
Whether it is an injury, illness, loss of employment, discrimination or broken relationships, it all began with the first decision to use an addictive substance with the knowledge of the costs.
Accepting responsibility can be a vital part in the recovery process, as it can help the addict make the decision to turn their lives around and seek professional help. If you or a loved one is suffering from addiction and needs help, call 800-487-1890 (Who Answers?) to speak with a caring specialist that can assist you.
The struggles of addiction affects everyone involved, not just the addict specifically. One person’s addiction may have numerous second-hand effects on immediate family, extended family, coworkers, friends, and anybody else who is a part of that person’s life. If you or a loved one are going through recovery, why is it important that you seek forgiveness from those people?
Admitting Your Faults
The first step to making progress in healing any relationships that were broken during the period of addiction is to admit your faults and ask for their forgiveness. Once your friends and family know that you are genuinely making an effort to recover and that you are truly sorry for the addiction affected them, most should be willing to help keep you encouraged and motivated throughout the recovery process.
Recovery isn’t just about getting away from drugs or alcohol, but also repairing the holes that the substance abuse left in your life. Reconnecting with friends and family members who you may have pushed away during this time is a huge step towards putting your life back together after addiction.
Personal Growth
Gaining forgiveness and support from loved ones will motivate you to continue the recovery journey.
Not only will forgiveness help with your relationships, it will also help you personally. One study by Adler Graduate School showed that forgiveness is a critical factor to long-term recovery from alcohol addiction, and these results can extend to other forms of addiction as well.
The guilt and shame that many addicts feel about their addiction can prevent them from seeking help or making changes long-term, but once they know that they have the forgiveness and support of their loved ones, they may be more willing to embark on this journey of long-term recovery.
Forgiving Yourself
There is one more person whose forgiveness you should seek, and that is yourself. There may have been things that you did or said during your period of addiction that you feel ashamed of, but now you are on the path to recovery.
That means it is time to put those things behind you, because there’s nothing else you can do but seek forgiveness of those impacted, as well as forgive yourself. It is extremely important for an addict in recovery to forgive themselves for their past, knowing that they are on the path to a better future, because this allows them to let go of the hold that the substance has on them.
Forgiving yourself does not mean believing that everything you did was fine, but instead knowing that it wasn’t good and you would like to never repeat that time in your life. According to NIDA, during the recovery process you should be honest with yourself and give yourself time to heal.
Forgiving yourself for the past is one step to a better future.
If you or a loved one are suffering from addiction and seeking recovery, simply call 800-487-1890 (Who Answers?) to speak with a caring specialist who can answer any of your questions or concerns. Forgiveness is such a big part of the whole process, and it’s never too early to start seeking the forgiveness of your loved ones.
Chronic pain is something many people deal with on a regular basis. Getting medical drugs to help ease the pain and live a normal, happy life is something that has been provided in the medical field for many years.
A worry that can occur to people taking drugs for their medical needs is the concern that they will get addicted to the substance they are taking. There are several steps that can be taken in order to help balance medical needs and fight addiction and that is understanding personal biology and understanding the drug, in order to help you to regulate how much you consume.
Is Family History a Potential Issue?
Biology can play a role in how easy it is to become addicted. If you have a family history of being easily addicted to drugs, talking to your doctor about alternatives or the ways they can help you stay off the path to addiction is necessary.
If drug addiction runs in your family, discuss your concerns with your doctor.
According to Harvard Health Publications, about 40% to 60% of susceptibility to addiction is hereditary, but behavior can play a large factor in reinforcing the habit. Do not think that just because you might be susceptible to drug abuse, does not mean that you give up.
In fact, knowing that you have a susceptibility to drug abuse is even more reason to monitor yourself and regulate what you are doing with your body. While biology can play a roll, your attitude can go a long way.
Be Informed about the Drugs You are Prescribed
Understanding the drug you are taking and how it affects your brain is another way to stay informed and alert on your battle to stay addiction free. According to NIH, most drugs flood the system with dopamine, a chemical in the brain that stimulates pleasure.
As your brain receives this overstimulated pleasure repeatedly, it develops a conditioned response to the drugs stimuli, making it easy to change the feeling of wanting to take the drug to feeling as you need to take it in order to feel pleasure.
If you stay aware of this difference, it is more likely you will be able to realize if you are going too far with your medical drug. If you end up continuing you will develop a tolerance to the drug, and it will be no use to you at all. Tolerance occurs as the body shuts down natural dopamine receptors.
Be Mindful of Behavioral Changes
Drugs trick your body into thinking you no longer need natural dopamine as you are already supplying it to your body. When your brain shuts these receptors down it can be difficult to quite your drug, because, not only are you not receiving your artificial dopamine from the drug, but also you aren’t receiving your natural levels either.
Keeping an eye out for your changed behavior toward a drug can help you stay away from reaching this point.
If you feel the need to receive help to stay addiction free or if you are having trouble balancing your medical drug call Substance Abuse.gov at 800-487-1890 (Who Answers?) to receive assistance.
Quitting drugs can seem like an impossible feat. Getting addicted can be detrimental and seem like something you can never escape. Addiction can hold you in its vice like grip and no matter how many times you attempt to quit, it seems like you keep coming back.
Whether this is your first time quitting, your second, or more, it is important that a way that can greatly increase your odds of not relapsing is going to substance abuse counseling. Substance abuse counseling can help with relapse prevention, a strong sense of support, and educate you on how your body is reacting to the drug, and the way you can fight it.
Relapse Prevention
One of the main purposes of Substance Abuse Counseling is to, not only get you out of your addiction, and help you avoid possible relapse. Many times when people try to quit alone they only make it for so long before they go back.
Substance abuse counseling teaches you the skills to replace bad habits with healthy ones.
Substance Abuse Counselling wants to provide you with the tools you will need to stay out of your addiction for years to come. It can provide you with skills, replacing your bad habits with good ones, how to find positive support that will cheer your progress on, and much more.
According to SAMHSA, a continuing treatment program is integral to sticking to a sober lifestyle. It’s important to know that you don’t have to do this alone.
Support
Having people there to help you stay away from drugs and to help you develop ways and tricks to avoid drugs can be a great way to battle your addiction. When you have a group of people wanting you to succeed, it makes it easier to stay on the path you want.
They can also help provide you with different treatments and pinpoint the right steps to take for you. Every individual is different and your treatment program is there to help outline the best solution to your addiction.
Education
Many people who are addicted to drugs do not understand the science behind addiction and their drug. Simply realizing why the drug is affecting you the way it is, is something Substance Abuse Counseling can do for you. It can be hard to fight your enemy when you don’t understand it and Substance Abuse Counseling makes sure you remain educated.
According to Center on Addiction, most drugs cause dopamine to flood your body, which creates a feeling of pleasure. As you keep using artificial dopamine, your body will stop creating its own. When you quit, you are getting very low levels of dopamine as your natural dopamine receptors have shut down.
This is why quitting can be so difficult for many. Understanding things like this can help you learn the ins and outs of your drug abuse and, in turn, help you fight it.
If you need help with your addiction or are afraid of relapse call Substance Abuse at 800-487-1890 (Who Answers?) as the first step to getting the help that you need. Don’t fight your addiction alone. Get Substance Abuse Counseling today.
Getting past substance abuse can be difficult, not only because of physical and mental addiction, but also because it can seem like if you stop using your substances, your social life is going to take a nosedive.
Thankfully, that is simply not true. Living in recovery and having a social life is not only possible, but it is something that millions of people do daily. Your life can still be full and fun while in recovery. If you want to make your social life easier while in recovery, explaining your situation to your friends, finding new places to hang out at, and meeting new people can make sure that your social life remains strong.
Explain to Your Friends
You don’t need to hide your recovery from your friends. Explain things to them so they can understand and be willing to help you move past your addiction. If they really care about you, they won’t care that you are fighting your addiction.
Explain your recovery to your friends so they can help support your new lifestyle.
In fact, friends can be a strong support system that can be there to help you avoid situations that could lead to relapse. Make sure they understand where you are at with your life so that they don’t accidentally inhibit your progression through recovery.
Samhsa.gov describes how substance abuse can cause huge effects on individuals, their families, friends, and communities. It is likely your friends will be happy you are attempting to recover from your addiction.
According to CASA, nine out of ten people that have problems with substance abuse starting using before the age of 18. This figure alone makes it evident how having the right friends can make a marked difference.
Find New Places to Hang Out
Don’t go around the same old areas that caused you fall into your addiction or that fueled it to continue. You will want to form new habits so as not to relapse. This doesn’t mean your social life is dead. Simply find new things to do. Finding new things to do, new places to eat, and new hobbies to have can make your friendships even stronger than they were before.
Experiencing new things can be a great way to have fun and avoid relapsing at the same time. According to Harvard Health, drugs can take over your brain and your way of thinking. It is important to make sure you focus on things that are good for your new sober lifestyle.
Meet New People
If you feel like your friends still aren’t helping you after you have explained to them your situation, you can always meet new people. Sometimes getting a new friend group can make your social life even more interesting than it was before.
New people can introduce you to new things, new habits, new places, and more. Simply because you are recovering doesn’t mean you have to be a recluse and stay ostracized from society. Changing up your habits a bit is all it takes and you can still have a fun social life.
Don’t let your recovery stop you from having fun. If you are concerned about your addiction, recovery, or relapse, you can call 800-487-1890 (Who Answers?) to be connected to a real life professional that is there to help and assist you.
Getting past addiction is difficult, trying, and takes an extensive amount of time and dedication. The last thing you want is to go through all that work only to relapse back to your addiction. If you want to not relapse, getting rid of temptations, developing a new routine, staying positive, and going to Substance Abuse Counseling can be a great way to make sure you remain healthy and drug free.
Get Rid of Temptations
Having friends or habits that lead to drugs is a huge cause for relapse. You don’t want to be near situations and people that make it easy to get to your drug or influence you to go back to your addiction.
Staying away from people, habits, and places that could get you close to your drug is necessary if you want to stay addiction free. CASA talks about the disease model of addiction and following steps to conquer your addiction.
New Routine
Planning your day with healthy activities will prevent boredom and urges to use substances.
Scheduling your days can be a good way to stay busy so as not to fall into a lull. If you are bored or have little to do, it can make it easy to start thinking about your previous addiction and, thus, making it difficult to stay clean.
Having activities and things planned means you can stay on a path that is free of your addiction. It keeps you busy and occupied with better, healthier habits instead of letting you dwell on your past activities. The last thing you want is to fall back into the routine of your old life.
Stay Positive
Having an attitude where you believe you will not relapse can help you immensely. If you have good energy and ideals toward your recovery, it will make you want to keep staying free of drugs. NIH encourages practicing being positive and happy during your recovery.
Positivity can go a long way toward a drug free life. If you feel sad and like you are going to relapse, you are manifesting your own demise. Thinking negatively lets you accept the possibility of relapsing whereas staying positive makes you feel as though you can prevail in this trying point in your life.
Go to Substance Abuse Counseling
Experiencing difficulty staying clean is common. Do not be ashamed or feel like you can’t ask for help to stay drug free. Go to Substance Abuse Counseling to find a strong support system and learn tips and tricks to make sure you don’t relapse.
They are there to be a nonjudgmental system that will do what they need to in order to make sure you receive the treatment, care, and advice that you need to conquer your addiction nonce and for all.
Relapsing is not something you want to experience. Take the steps necessary for you to remain in a happy, healthy, drug free life. Don’t waste your work toward getting clean. If you need assistance in your drug addiction, call the number 800-487-1890 (Who Answers?) for help from a trained professional at Substance Abuse.org. Get help today.
Addiction can be like being enslaved. It is a chronic disease that many feel is impossible to overcome, but there are ways to help you or loved ones avoid the cold grasp of addiction. Having a strong, steady support system, and seeking well rounded treatments can help you find the fight you have been looking for to crush addiction into the dust.
According to CASA, addiction is a disease, and just like any disease, you need treatment.
Family and Friends
Having a group of people that are supportive and non-judgmental can be some of the most help a person with addiction can have. Moving on from friends and family that help fuel the habit of addiction is essential.
Keeping yourself busy with activities you enjoy will distract you from any urges of addiction.
Having people weighing you down and impeding on your progress isn’t going to help you get anywhere. It will be hard enough to move on from addiction without having real life devils on your shoulder, tempting you to keep indulging in the addiction you want to eradicate.
Having friends and family that want to be there for you and help you quit your addiction will just keep influencing you to do better yourself. It is much easier to fight when you have your own crowd of personal supporters cheering you on. It is also important to surround yourself with like-minded people, such as those who are on recovery as well.
Treatment
Getting a treatment is one of the best ways to fight your addiction. Talking to a professional to help you find a scientifically supported treatment is essential. You don’t want to invest yourself in a treatment that doesn’t work well.
One thing to look for when you are investing into a treatment is to make sure this treatment helps you build skills for you to help yourself. There is no magic button you can push or pill you can take that will stop your addiction.
You are going to need to commit to yourself and be willing to work hard. Having a treatment that helps you build these skills means you will be able to stay out of relapsing when your treatment is over. Another thing to look for in your treatment is that it addresses way to replace drug use with other constructive activities.
NIH specifies that you should have an activity that will replace the time, energy, and pleasure, you originally had from your drug addiction. It gives you something to turn to and do when you are craving your drug.
If you are occupied with something else you enjoy, it will make it easier to not go back to your drug. Your treatment should also heavily focus on why you wanted to quit. Make sure it uses your reasons to motivate you to change.
If you need help getting clean or if you are having trouble maintaining your sobriety, call SubstanceAbuse.org at 800-487-1890 (Who Answers?) if you feel as though your need help with your addiction. You have the ability to fight your drug addiction, simply finding help can help you go a long way. Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance.
How Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Works in Addiction Treatment
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, stress triggers substance abuse and relapse. Chronic stress can easily trigger drug addiction. When someone uses a drug, it gives him or her relief from stress. This relief is temporary and is often causes the stress to get worse over time. Unfortunately, this temporary relief is what later becomes an addiction to drugs or alcohol. It is important to understand what stress is and how it triggers substance abuse.
What is Stress?
Stress is a reaction to adverse events, circumstances, or issues. It is a state of tension or an emotional reaction to things that are difficult. Many people have difficulty defining exactly what stress is because it is different for each person. One person may be stressed by driving in traffic while another might find traffic fine but be stressed by school or work. Everyone has different stressors in their life. How they deal with those stressors becomes an important question when those stressors become too much for their normal coping mechanisms to handle.
What are the Primary Causes of Stress?
Expectations and pressures at work are one of the main causes of stress.
There are hundreds of causes of stress. Stress is nothing new for most people but it affects each person differently. The most common things that trigger stress or stressful reactions are:
- Employment or the workplace
- Death of someone you care about
- Marriage or divorce
- Children or pregnancy
- Conflict at home, at work, or in general
- Relationships
- Drastic world events
- Family issue or events
- Anything that causes anger or a fight or flight response
These are not all of the stressors, just some very common ones. Stress is not just about unhappy experiences, happy experiences can trigger stress as well. The birth of a child or a marriage are two happy but stressful events.
How Stress Triggers Substance Abuse and Relapse
Stress triggers substance abuse and relapse by giving people a way to cope with the situation. Most drugs make you feel good, calm, relaxed, confident, or happy. This is the reason why people use them. When you start to use drugs or alcohol to cope with stress, the reward is almost immediate. This programs your brain to crave the drug or alcohol when you become stressed.
Soon your brain learns to turn to the drugs or alcohol every time you encounter a stressful situation. Most people who know how to cope with stress turn to healthy stress relieving mechanisms. A few of these mechanisms are:
- Hobbies
- Therapy
- Meditation
- Relaxation
- Yoga
When you use drugs and alcohol, the only thing that your brain learns to turn to is the drugs and alcohol. You cannot stop using them because stopping causes withdrawal and adds to the stress.
Dual Diagnosis and the Importance of Treating Co-existing Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders
Finding a Treatment Center that Helps you Deal with Addiction, Relapse, and Stress
Fortunately, there are treatment centers that can teach you good coping mechanisms and treat your drug addiction at the same time. To find one all you have to do is call 1-800-487-1890 (Who Answers?) .
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, treatment for drug addiction is not a simple matter. Scientists and doctors have been studying drug addiction since addiction was first noticed. One of the newer theories on treating addiction is known as social recovery. Before deciding on social recovery as a treatment method, it is important that you understand what it is and how it works.
The History of Social Recovery
Social recovery addresses the underlying issues of addiction such as depression and anxiety.
In the 1960s when drug addiction was a popular topic of study, scientists began using what was known as a skinner box for testing the addictive properties of different drugs. Skinner boxes kept the rats enclosed and isolated from other rats. Rats are extremely social creatures. In the 1970s several scientists realized that the original skinner box studies were flawed in that they did not take into account social isolation, depression, and what the conditions did to the rats they tested. Rats were placed alone in a box and offered the choice between drugged water and normal water.
The Rat Park experiment involved finding out whether rats would become drug addicts when they were in a less isolated and more comfortable environment or not. The rats were given stimulating activities, company of other rats, and a good comfortable environment. The rats in the Rat Park for the most part did not become drug addicts. Only a small percentage of them continued to return to the drugged water bottle.
What is Social Recovery?
Social recovery is the theory based on the Rat Park experiments. Although many do not realize it, social recovery was in practice long before the Rat Park experiments. It is a more holistic approach to recovery. Social recovery is the practice of treating the addict’s whole life rather than just the addiction. It is not enough for someone to just stop using drugs, you have to discover and treat the cause of the addiction as well.
Drug addicts usually are:
- Socially isolated
- Stressed beyond normal tolerances
- Suffering from a mental illness or mood disorder such as depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder
- Under extreme conditions
- Impoverished
- Suffering from an untreated physical illness
If these conditions are corrected, the drug addiction and chance of relapse is dramatically reduced.
How Does Social Recovery Help Addicts Recover?
Social recovery helps addicts recover by correcting the conditions in which they became addicts in the first place. A happy well adjusted person may try drugs, but does not become addicted. A person that is suffering is much more likely to become addicted to a substance that makes them feel better. The drug does not correct what is wrong but makes them feel better for even a short time.
A person that is suffering will take any relief that they get even if it is through damaging drugs. By correcting the reason they are suffering, they no longer need the drugs. The drugs stop being important because the change in situation causes the body to produce chemicals that stop the need for drugs.
To find out more about social and holistic recovery or to find a treatment center that uses the social recovery method and holistic recovery method, call 1-800-487-1890 (Who Answers?) .