The Canyon

You feel like you always have a rough time dating, always fighting and cheating on you.  You’ve been addicted to drugs for a long time, but you always thought you’d have to go through a lot before you found someone worth dating.  You’re right, and it might be drug treatment. 

You Only Pick A Someone As Healthy As You Are

People are attracted and well matched with someone who is as emotionally healthy as they themselves are.  Of course, there are some random exceptions to every situation.  But consider the dynamics at work here.  Would a confident successful woman with good self worth spend much time with a guy who spends most of his free time getting drunk and changing jobs?  By the same time, would a drug addicted woman consistently pursue a well-grounded man with a good job and dependable friends? 

The answer to both is “no”.  Once the healthy person spent a short amount of time with the unhealthy person, they would quickly realize it was a waste of their time.  Or perhaps it would be fun to run into them at social gatherings, but never to date.  No way.  Also, the drug addicted woman wouldn’t know what to do with the confident grounded guy whose main life drama was debating about college football teams with his buddies.  She wouldn’t know how to handle his honesty and emotional balance.  And once he knew she used cocaine - he’d be out the door anyway.

What Happens When Someone Decides to Get Sober and Healthy

According to the paragraphs above, you are only a well-matched pair (by emotional health) as long as you are both fairly unhealthy.  If one of you has an addiction, the other is likely to also have an addiction or some other deep emotional needs.  When one of you decides to get healthy, you may have a deal-breaker. 

This may be a tough idea to accept, but think about it.  If you are no longer getting drunk or high every day, your mate’s personal problems will be much more obvious, such as a whiny “poor me” attitude, neediness, or switching between emotional extremes.  You may realize you really can’t tolerate their personality or behaviors now that you are making positive changes for yourself.  Likewise, if your mate decides to improve their personal accountability while you remain addicted to drugs, they may be the one to walk away. 

Drug Rehab Can Open the Door To Healthy Relationships

If you have a serious drug addiction problem, you may need to look into drug rehab.  As long as you remain in your unhealthy habits, mindset, and surroundings, you are very unlikely to get better on your own.  Drug rehab is an investment in yourself and your future relationships.  That sounds kind of corny, but this is what it boils down to.  The healthier you are as a person, the better you’ll be at wisely picking a mate, treating that person well, and keeping things going during difficult times.  You may have to put off dating for a while, but the wait will be worth it.

Drug Addiction Out of Control

Everyone knows about it, so why won’t somebody do something about it? Saying anything to an addict about their behavior is risky – you’ll be labeled the “bad guy” for accusing them of having a problem, or family members might reject you for attempting to get involved and rocking the boat.

In America’s DIY culture of the twenty-first century, needing help from outside sources can be viewed as a weakness. But knowing there’s a problem that needs fixing and knowing how to fix it are two different things entirely. When your conscience keeps pushing you to speak up, there’s probably a good reason.

When to Get Involved When Drug Use is Out of Control

The best time to get involved is anytime – tomorrow may be too late: violence, accidents, incarceration, and suicide are all very real risks for someone struggling with an addiction. You never know where their quest for drugs might take them or if they’ll steer clear of getting buzzed before getting behind the wheel of a car. Simply possessing an illegal substance can lead to an arrest (not to mention the costly legal proceedings involved) and because drugs alter the fundamental chemistry in the brain, mental illnesses are fairly common in long-term users.

Children in the care of an addict are especially vulnerable to bizarre, unpredictable treatment. Small and powerless, children are often the mute recipients of an addict’s attempts to control their environment. They are on the front lines and in the trenches, and the sooner you step in and speak up can make all the difference in whether they escape a nightmare.

How to Approach An Addict When Drug Use is Out of Control

Off-the-cuff confrontations are a disservice to everyone involved. Verbally attacking an individual (even when they’ve done something wrong) won’t get you heard. If you truly want to help, start by reaching out with an olive branch. Focus on emphasizing your love and commitment to your spouse/child/friend/family member. Remind them of all the tough times you’ve been through together and all the good times you’ve shared. Reiterate that you want to share more of those good times and get through the bad stuff – together.

Having done your homework will help things run smoother. Research the addiction by reading books and websites, visiting forums and chat rooms, and participating in AlAnon or NarcAnon meetings. Make a list of the specific points that you want to discuss with your loved one and ask for feedback from a professional. Rehearse what you want to say along with responses to potential rebuttals as many times as it takes until you feel comfortable with the material.

What to Do for an Addict When Words Don’t Work

Keeping your composure doesn’t always guarantee success in convincing someone they need help. Here are a few suggestions in case talking about it doesn’t illicit the response you were hoping for:

• Present information from local health clinics
• Accompany them to AA or NA meetings
• Make an appointment with a physician for them to discuss medical concerns
• Seek out professional counseling and/or drug treatment centers
• Consider contacting children’s services if neglect or abuse is suspected

Tell Us: What are some other ways you can think of to motivate a loved one to get help for their drug addiction?

Nutrition and Drug Rehab

Think of your brain as the Internet. Every brain cell is a different PC that needs a modem (or, in this case, a synapse) to connect to all the other cells on the neurologic network. But as any IT expert can tell you, plugging in the right wires is only half the battle. Power has to be turned on for the machine to be able to function.

Chemical messengers called neurotransmitters must be running at peak performance for information in the brain to be processed correctly. Four specific neurotransmitters handle all communications relating to our emotional well being and tranquility: serotonin, endorphins, GABA, and dopamine.

Genetic Mutations Set the Stage for Drug and Alcohol Addiction

When the synapses or neurotransmitters fail to function like they should, transmission gets garbled and we begin to feel intense loneliness, stress, anxiety, and depression. Most often this malfunction happens because of genetics. In fact, an estimated 33 percent of people have some type of genetic predisposition to addiction.

Drugs and alcohol make us feel good because they stimulate neurotransmitter functioning, which is why we keep going back for more. It is a false sense of euphoria, however, because addictive substances eventually deplete the neurotransmitters necessary for healthy functioning.

What’s more, drug and alcohol addiction impedes on the uptake of vital nutrients our body needs to stay alive. When drugs take over, changes in appetite bring malnutrition which exacerbates the awful symptoms we try to avoid. We can’t get enough because we never actually feel good anymore.

Prime the Mind for Successful Drug Addiction Recovery

If you could jump-start your body into feeling good again without the need for addictive substances, you could essentially erase all cravings and free the mind to focus on behavioral and cognitive improvements.

Amino acids have been found to be the stuff neurotransmitters are made of. Supplying the body with an abundance of specific amino acids can help restore their functioning, reduce cravings, increase sensations of wellbeing, and minimize relapse.

Brain Food for Drug Addiction Recovery

Amino acids are found in foods high in protein. Below is a list of specific amino acids that have been shown to alleviate symptoms of addiction, and the most commonly available food sources from which they come:

• L-tryptophan – Egg whites, spirulina, atlantic cod, raw soybeans, parmesan cheese
• L-5 hydroxytryptophan chromium salts – Minute traces in turkey and cheese, supplements derived from the seeds of Griffonia simplicifolia
• L-Glutamine – Meat and dairy products, beans, beats, spinach, parsley, and cabbage
• L-phenylalanine – Cow milk, goat milk, aspartame sugar substitutes
• L-tyrosine – Cheeses, spirulina, soy protein, egg whites, salmon
• Phenylalanine – Meat, poultry, fish, soybeans, dairy products, nuts and seeds

The body is a sucker for sweets and carbohydrates when it’s lacking other vital nutrients. Replacing sugar and refined starches with just some of the foods listed here can help restore balance and emotional integrity to an otherwise stressful situation.

Along with psychological and spiritual therapies for overcoming addiction, nutritional support and dietary supplements are quite literally the food our brain needs for enhanced recovery.

Tell Us: What’s your favorite recipe using some of the foods mentioned above?