Drug Rehab: Do You Need It?

Do you have an addiction? The question shouldn’t be hard to
answer There are fairly clear lines between an addiction and a
casual behavior
According to substance abuse experts Chris and Pax Prentiss,
founders of Passages Malibu, a drug program with residential
treatment, addiction is caused by underlying problems in a
person’s life that they are unable to cope with When someone is
unable to cope with their circumstances they sometimes turn
towards drugs and alcohol for relief In essence it is not the
drugs that are the problem it is rather the underlying problems
that need to be addressed and healed in order to cure the
addiction When the underlying problems are no longer present
the person will no longer need the drug
People who don’t have the individual therapy it takes to become
healed will most likely continue taking the drugs
Tolerance When you take a habit-forming substance regularly,
your body eventually accommodates the substance You don’t get
the same feeling you originally got, or at least not the same
strength of feeling This does not mean that you are getting
stronger and can handle the drug Instead, your body is becoming
dependent on the drug Some people addicted to certain drugs may
even die if they stop taking the drug suddenly Withdrawal
symptoms Different addictions have different withdrawal
symptoms The list of possible withdrawal symptoms is very long,
stretching from watery eyes to delirium and even death,
depending on the substance, the length of the addiction, and the
user
In short, if you’re not sure if you’re addicted your best bet
may be to ask yourself these three questions:
-Do I get the same experience from the substance I got when I
first started on it? -When I stop taking the substance on a
regular basis, do I feel worse, emotionally or physically? -Is
there anything in my life that is causing me pain that I might
be self medicating? -If you can answer yes to any of those
questions, you are probably addicted
So, you’re addicted Now what?
Abstention and the Risk of Relapse According to Chris and Pax
Prentiss, one of the biggest misconceptions about addictions is
that they’re a disease Through years of research they have
figured out that addiction is definitely caused by underlying
problems in a person’s life that they are self-medicating The
addiction will usually continue if the underlying problems are
still present In order to get sober and stay sober it is of
utmost importance that the underlying problems be treated
Every day, addicts everywhere decide to stop That is, they
abstain But unfortunately, most of those people will relapse
Why is relapse so common? The Prentisses have a few insights:
Habit Without realizing, you worked your addiction into the
everyday rituals of life Dependence The physical and emotional
withdrawal symptoms can be brutal In some cases of addiction,
simply abstaining from a substance suddenly, without medical
supervision, may cause the individual serious harm, even death
Yet many addicts who abstain are able to get past the withdrawal
symptoms–and still end up relapsing Why? Underlying causes
Addictions usually have an underlying cause There was a reason
you took the substance in the first place Once you are done
fighting withdrawal symptoms, you will be back fighting whatever
problem led you to addiction in the first place Finding the
underlying cause of your addiction will be the most important
step in ending it forever Ultimately, then, the hardest part of
overcoming an addiction may not be stopping, but not starting
again To do that, you need to find and resolve the underlying
problems in your life
Residential Rehab: Do You Need It? According to the Prentisses,
some people can get over an addiction without a drug program
with residential treatment But given the challenges of
overcoming an addiction, the support of a residential rehab
program is invaluable Have you tried to end your addiction
without residential rehab? It might be what makes the difference
this time
Why Do So Many People Fail after Residential Rehab? You’ve heard
of all the people who went to residential rehab and then
relapsed–even went and relapsed several times According to
Chris and Pax Prentiss, there are some common causes of
residential rehab failure, causes you can avoid
-Quality of the program If your rehab program wasn’t great to
begin with, you won’t be in good stead to avoid relapse Before
signing up, find out the success rates of past participants
-Group rather than individualized therapy Post-rehab relapse is
so common largely because most rehabs don’t have offer any
individual counseling When someone sits in group meetings all
day they don’t get the therapy they need in order to get better
When they check out of a rehab like that they usually still have
the underlying problems that they checked in with -Lack of
aftercare services When you leave residential rehab, the whole
web of support that kept you out of addiction suddenly falls
away Only choose a residential rehab that provides aftercare
support to make the transition easier -Need to change
everything Without realizing it, you wove your addiction into
the fabric of your life You need to pluck the threads of
addiction out of your life, or reweave the fabric completely If
you can’t transform your everyday life, you will likely relapse
Regardless of the difficulties present in the rehab process, the
experience can absolutely be a success unlike any other Please
consider the rehab option if you think you or your loved one may
be in need There is always someone there to help

Tags | alcohol, circumstances, drugs, eyes, habit, passages, prentiss, residential, result, substance, symptoms, tolerance, treatment, watery