Drug addiction recovery isn’t perfect. It’s not a straight line that gradually and steadily goes upward over time. There are lots of bumps in the road, and sometimes a complete wipe out with addiction relapse. Drug treatment professionals know this and are ready to help you whether it’s your first time or you have been through drug treatment before.

Drug Treatment Often Starts Because Of Dramatic Consequence

Often, a drug addict or alcoholic begins going to drug treatment because something shocks their system. There’s a death, an accident, a big legal charge – something that makes them really stop and see what has happened to them. For a while, that is often enough to keep them on the path of drug rehab and outpatient drug treatment. They don’t want to go through that hell ever again.

For humans, time usually rubs some of the hard edges off our experiences. Some memories can remain as strong as the day that the event happened. Other activities seem to blend together with few distinct qualities. It’s not just the mental recollection of a shocking event that matters. It’s the impact and the effort it takes to keep the lesson in the present moment.

Do You Need A New Or Better Reason To Stay Sober

A near-miss car accident can have a hold on you for a while, but what about a few years later? Do you still have that strong commitment to stay sober because you might not get so lucky next time? Has the power of that first experience worn off enough that you begin to think you could still drink now and then?

When this happens, it is probably time to check in with people who help you with your relapse prevention plan. Perhaps your motivations have shifted for staying sober. You may have raised many questions during your drug treatment program, giving you new perspectives. Maybe those can be tapped into now to give you a more purposeful reason for staying on your sobriety plan.

No matter when or how it happens, relapse is normal and almost expected at some point in a drug addicted person’s life. Nobody wants it to happen, but it is not uncommon. It is an opportunity to learn more about yourself and your sobriety plan. Somewhere, there is a hole or gap that isn’t being covered well enough. New feelings or thoughts have emerged and you need some adjustments to deal with them and stay sober.

Drug Addiction Relapse Does Not Mean Recovery Is Over

Although it can result in some pain and feelings of self-defeat, relapse is still an opportunity that can be used for your good. You just need support from those you can count on, and possibly drug treatment professionals to help you through it. Just because you stumble doesn’t mean you are kicked off the road.

Last month we talked about methadone maintenance and how it works to treat heroin addiction and opiate addiction. To round out the conversation on opiate detox and opiate addiction treatment, it’s important that we also talk about buprenorphine and Suboxone and how they work.

What is Buprenorphine and Suboxone?

Buprenorphine is the generic term for the drug, but it is marketed as Subutex and Suboxone. Subutex is just buprenorphine. Suboxone is a combination of buprenorphine and Naloxone, an agent that prevents abuse of the drug. The biggest benefit of buprenorphine is that it is the first opiate addiction medication that can be dispensed from a doctor at a doctor’s office rather than other opiate addiction medications like methadone, which require that you come into a methadone clinic or drug rehab facility each day to receive your dose. Buprenorphine, as Subutex or Suboxone, can be prescribed by any doctor licensed to do so and, like other prescriptions, you can get up to a month’s worth of the drug from your local pharmacy, which means that you can avoid the hassle and stigma often associated with methadone clinics.

Avoiding Opiate Overdose With Buprenorphine

According to Joanne Huist Smith at the Dayton Daily News, this is how buprenorphine works to treat opiate addiction and opiate detox:

“Addicts first take one Subutex pill each day for five days to eliminate the cravings and withdrawal symptoms. After that, they go on Suboxone, a maintenance drug, that contains the ingredient Naloxone, which provides a sort of fail-safe against abuse. Those who try to inject Suboxone suffer withdrawal.”

Basically, you really can’t overdose on buprenorphine like you can on medications like methadone. The only way to overdose on the drug is to combine it with other opiates or benzodiazepines.

Which is Better: Buprenorphine or Methadone?

Both buprenorphine and methadone are viable treatment options when it comes to opiate detox. For some, methadone is a better option. For others, buprenorphine is optimum. It depends upon the circumstance. For example, if your opiate addiction requires you to take more than 30 to 35 milligrams of methadone, then buprenorphine is not for you. Since about half of all addicts on methadone maintenance take more than 70 milligrams of methadone, this precludes a large number of people from the treatment. However, if you are required to travel for your job or do not have transportation to a methadone clinic on a daily basis, then methadone won’t work for you, either. Which treatment you choose depends entirely upon your personal circumstances, and it’s something you shouldn’t decide until you speak with your doctor.

If you are addicted to opiates like heroin, Vicodin, OxyContin, oxycodone, hydrocodone, Percocet and Percodan, Lorcet and Lortab and/ or Fentanyl, then you will need an opiate detox in order to safely break your physical opiate addiction. DO NOT attempt to do this alone. Contact The Canyon for more information on the different options you have for opiate detox and opiate addiction treatment.

If you are addicted to drugs, you may have started to help escape your problems or to relax your mind. A person with anxiety or depression may have extra difficulty getting their mind to settle down. The mental confusion from so much “mental traffic” can make a person feel like they are losing their mind. It’s no wonder so many people with mental illness turn to drugs and alcohol. Fortunately, dual diagnosis drug rehab knows how to help people with depression and anxiety.

Too Much Worrying Can Lead to Anxiety Problems

Worrying is focused on potential problems in the future. When you worry, you may feel like your heart is beating a little faster, your palms are a little sweaty, and your nerves are a little shaky. Worrying also involves a great deal of negative self talk and “what ifs”. What if I really have cancer and the doctor doesn’t know yet? What if I can’t work because I get too sick? How will I pay my bills? What if I lose my house?

Mild worry is pretty normal and even helpful. It can remind you of possible consequences from your actions – “What if I don’t pay that bill? My electricity could get turned off. Better get that bill in today.” Excessive worrying can paralyze you, making you unable to take any action. You can’t get that worry about cancer out of your mind but you are too afraid to go find out or even tell anyone. When you are paralyzed with worry, you can develop serious anxiety problems that interfere with your life.

Ruminating Can Lead To Clinical Depression

Ruminating is a lot like worrying with the negative self talk and judgmental thinking. You stew over possible reasons that things are going badly for you now. You look to the past, run things over and over in your mind, and compare them to your current problems. This is more common in people who already have a more negative outlook on life and who tend to experience more negative emotions.

Ruminating tends to build on itself after a while. More ruminating makes it easier for the brain to keep doing it now and in the future. This becomes a bad “brain habit” over time and can increase the risk for depression. When someone has depression, they are not well equipped to break this cycle, so it generally continues to wear the person down mentally. Eventually, the person often feels more and more despair, creating a situation is heavy and oppressive.

Drug Treatment Helps Anxiety and Depression

As you could imagine, a person experiencing either one or both of these problems might find that drugs and alcohol give some much needed relief. Drugs and alcohol actually make this problem worse, but for a person in pain even temporary relief is better than none. A dual diagnosis drug rehab can help uncover these worrying and ruminating problems.

Drug treatment will help the person with their drug or alcohol addiction. But they will also treat the mental illness problems. When an addicted person can learn how to manage their worrying and ruminating, they can stay healthy without turning to their addiction. Does this mean that drug treatment cures their addiction? No, there is no such thing as an addiction cure. But healthy management of anxiety and depression symptoms can be the key to long-term sobriety.

Some people think drug treatment is unnecessary and that going cold turkey will be good enough. You can see that a person with excessive worrying and rumination would not do well with that plan. Drug treatment can give hope for a healthy life.

Prescription drug addiction is a rising concern across the country, and with a new administration in the White House, some are hoping that the new administration will mean new changes in healthcare legislation concerning drug prescription and prescription painkiller treatment.

One of these people is a member of Advocates for Opioid Prescription Reform, Steven L. Hayes. He says, “Our group is composed of determined individuals from all walks of life who have become aware of the problem. We are convinced that when people understand this problem it will not be allowed to continue.”

The Power of the Written Word

Another proponent of prescription drug reform is Dr. Kirk Van Rooyan, a plastic surgeon. Having lost his stepson to one dose of OxyContin, Van Rooyan is hyper aware of the problems surrounding prescription drug addiction and abuse. With a letter, he hopes to help other families avoid the trauma that his own family suffered. An awareness letter meant to raise understanding and visibility surrounding the problem, Van Rooyan’s hope that the addressee will be inspired by the information to make changes. The addressee is Dr. Joshua Sharfstein is currently the Baltimore Health Commissioner but is a frontrunner for the appointment to head the FDA.

Rise in Prescription Opiate Marketing Parallels Rise in Opiate Overdose

The crux of Van Rooyan’s letter to Sharfstein is the fact that the rise in marketing for prescription opiates has paralleled the rise in prescriptions for opiate painkillers which in turn has caused a rise in deaths due to opiate overdose. He points out that the problem is obvious and harmful, that no attempts have been made by the FDA to do anything constructive about the problem or support those who are making good faith efforts to change how opiates are marketed or prescribed.

Says Van Rooyan in his letter: “As a group sharing the bond of the loss–to addiction or death from opioids–of a family member or loved one, it is our sincere hope that the Obama Administration, particularly those agencies most involved in drug and public health issues and safety, will respond to the challenge posed by the prescription opioid crisis, bringing to bear its already demonstrated passion, innovation, and competence.”

The Power of Opiate Detox and Opiate Addiction Treatment

If you or someone you love is addicted to their opiate painkiller prescription—drugs that include Vicodin, OxyContin, Lortab, Percocet, Percodan, Lorcet, Fentanyl, codeine, morphine, oxycodone, hydrocodone and others—opiate detox and opiate addiction treatment can help. The Canyon offers a comprehensive opiate rehab that is holistic in nature, addressing the physical and psychological effects of opiate addiction. Contact The Canyon today for more information.

Tara Reid is well know as a Hollywood “party girl”. She’s been caught many times by the paparazzi slinging a drink around and acting silly. She’s been in some of the biggest films of the late 1990′s and early 2000′s. But now, it appears her reputation has gotten the better of her. However, reports say that she has been to alcohol rehab and come out sober in early 2009. Maybe Tara’s story could have a happy ending.

A Rising Star Does Some Hard Partying

At the height of her career, Tara Reid was in some huge box office successes. The Big Lebowski, American Pie, and National Lampoon’s Van Wilder were popular films of the last ten years. Tara Reid was widely recognized and sought after for public appearances. She had a spunky spirit and good enough acting chops to stand up next to some big stars.

However, along with fame and youth often comes intoxication. It’s a way to let loose, have fun, and “be young.” Certainly, even her paid public appearances in bars and at parties were the perfect excuse to drink the night away. She was young, beautiful, and most likely did not buy a single drink for herself. It may have appeared to everyone that she had the world on a string.

Alcohol Addiction Turns Into Denial of Any Problem

In the early 2000′s, Tara’s star began to fade a bit. She was in a few box office bombs in between some hits. She had also established a solid reputation as a drinker and party girl. Gossip magazines had a picture of her drunk on a regular basis. Unfortunately, this reputation was apparently becoming stronger than her presence as a bankable actress.

In the mid 2000′s, she was getting fewer and fewer good movie roles. She appeared on the hit TV show Scrubs for several episodes, but her character was eventually written out. Some speculate that her partying lifestyle was the reason she was getting shut off from roles on TV and in movies. In 2008, Tara went public to deny that she was a “party girl” or had a problem with alcohol. Taken with the rest of her history, this seems odd. Perhaps an attempt to distance herself from the problems in her past? Maybe some denial of the depth of her need for alcohol treatment?

Tara Volunatarily Enters An Alcohol Rehab Facility

In December of 2008, Tara voluntarily entered a rehab facility for alcohol treatment. She described some of her alcohol addiction experience for In Touch Weekly magazine. Tara stated that she was in denial of her alcohol problems, and that going to alcohol rehab was definitely worth it. Instead of dreading the next day, she was looking forward to the future because she was sober.

It’s even possible she is ready to revive her movie career after her newly found sobriety. That would certainly be great news for her. Tara’s career has been dwindling to an afterthought for such a long time. She is young and talented, and one would hope she could use her journey to flesh out some challenging acting roles. Tara has traveled a long of addiction to get to alcohol treatment. Time will tell if her sober reputation can overcome her partying days.

Best wishes to you for your continued sobriety, Tara. Your time in alcohol rehab will be worth it for years to come.

Because state budgets are pressed to the limit under the constraints of an economy on a downward trajectory, they are demanding that every organization receiving state funds stand up and declare how well they are using the funds they are requesting. Drug and alcohol rehabs are no exception. In an effort to determine how much they’ll invest in drug addiction treatment programs next year, states are demanding more evidence that treatment works.

Does Drug Treatment Work?

We’ve all heard the personal testimony of those who have undergone drug treatment. And in the absence of any other option in terms of breaking drug and alcohol addiction and moving forward in life as clean and sober individuals, those who have opted for drug rehab and succeeded will tell you that it works… if you’re ready to quit. However, if it worked for everyone, there wouldn’t be anyone who needed drug rehab more than once, and that is not the case. Drug and alcohol addiction are chronic in nature, and while we have medical treatments that can break physical addiction, there are a number of variables that will come into play when a person enters drug rehab in the hope of changing their life purposely.

Easier Said Than Done

It makes sense to ask for proof when annual spending on drug and alcohol addiction treatment is more than $20 billion. Unfortunately, it’s easier said than done. Because drug addiction is a chronic disease, it would take following people for a lifetime to get accurate data on how long they stay clean after rehab; if they relapse, how long that relapse lasts; the number of relapses thereafter and how long those last, as well as how many people returned to addiction.

Though there are studies that point to the effectiveness of drug and alcohol treatment for the first year or so after rehab, there aren’t too many long-term studies. Why not? Because funds are tight everywhere and no one has been spending the money on the research. Another reason is that there are no standards for this research. There are so many different types of treatment facilities—detox only, addiction treatment only, traditional rehab, alternative therapies, combinations—that it’s like comparing apples or oranges.

Is There Any Such Thing as Evidence-Based Practice?

Yes. Though it is hard to find studies that address drug rehabs across the board, some drug rehabs have research to show that some of the techniques and therapies they utilize are effective. The Canyon is one such example. Each of the therapies and treatments they employ have been proven effective on multiple levels in the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction as well as certain psychological dual diagnosis disorders like anxiety or depression. If you have any questions about the efficacy of these programs, contact The Canyon today.

Drug addiction is really a long haul. It’s more than just going to a 90 day drug treatment facility or doing four months in an intense group. Drug treatment is just the beginning, and can continue in various forms for quite some time depending on the person. The Canyon has different levels of drug treatment to get you well on your way.

Residential Drug Rehab

The first few days of drug rehab often involved drug detox. For someone using a highly physically addictive drug like opiates or meth, detox can be a very unpleasant experience. The Canyon has the professional staff and proper medications to help you ease out of your intoxication with privacy and comfort.

Once you have been through detox, the Canyon has a variety of programs to meet your needs. Your physical health is addressed with nutrition education, yoga, aerobic exercise classes, and other physical activities. There are individual counseling sessions and group sessions to help you deal with your mental illness issues. The physical environment is soothing and refreshing, letting you focus on the first steps of your recovery.

Sober Living Homes

Once you complete the 24 hour residential program, going straight home can feel like too much at once. Some drug addicts need more time to adjust to their individual living skills and sobriety all at once. That’s where sober living homes come in. There is structure and guidance for independent living, but some freedoms and resemblence to everyday living situations. You can learn or regain your skills while having the help of professionals close at hand.

Aftercare With The Canyon Drug Rehab

When you are ready to go home, you may not be at the end of your drug treatment. The Canyon offers outpatient counseling for however long you need it to continue healthy sober living. The daily challenges of life can cause relapse risk when you least expect it. The ongoing drug treatment support from the Canyon is there to help get you through those times.

Canyon Alumni Gatherings

Social support is a large part of drug addiction recovery. The Canyon holds special events on a regular basis for their alumni. These are social occasions with an eye toward continued education about sobriety. Speakers, holiday events, anniversary celebrations, and other gatherings give Canyon alumni the chance to reconnect and carry on with their sobriety.

The Canyon Drug Rehab Is There For You

The professional staff at The Canyon know that drug addiction recovery is a process with ups and downs. They are there to support you every step of the way. Once you make connections at The Canyon Drug Rehab Center, you are part of their community.

There is a common question asked by those considering drug and/ or alcohol rehab: which is more effective, inpatient drug treatment or outpatient drug treatment? The answer is one that is subjective. The type of treatment that will be most effective for you will vary based on a number of things. However, there is also some research that has been done that sheds some light on what, in general, works in terms of longevity of effect in treatment. In other words, there are statistics on who stays clean and sober longer: those who attend inpatient drug treatment or those who attend outpatient drug treatment.

First Things First

There are no guarantees with medical treatment. The best you’ll get in terms of guarantees as far as medical effectiveness for any treatment is 99.9%. For chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes and drug addiction, the numbers are far less encouraging. But the fact remains that medical treatment is the only chance at recovery and this is undisputed.

Also, remember that there are exceptions to every rule. Certain drugs of addiction lend themselves to a longer, more intense treatment while others may not require as intense attention. Also, a readiness to adopt a clean and sober lifestyle choices is of huge importance when it comes to outcome of treatment. Though research has shown that a desire to enter treatment does not necessarily have a direct effect on outcome, if a desire to change is present, then the scales begin to tilt a bit in favor of longer sobriety with fewer incidents of relapse.

Lastly, there’s no such thing as a magic pill when it comes to drug addiction treatment. Drugs of addiction affect us on too many levels for there to be some quick, neat solution to wrap it all up in a neat package in a finite period. Rather, drug addiction is a lifelong disease and as such requires a lifelong solution. Drug rehab is the first step.

After the Disclaimers

Now that we’ve cleared up any misconceptions that simply signing up for a certain program will or won’t change your life, let’s look at the research on the effectiveness of short-term drug addiction treatment versus long-term drug addiction treatment:

Studies show that the longer you spend in treatment, the longer you will remain sober when you return home and the shorter the relapse if and when you use your drug of choice again. In an effort to balance cost effectiveness with outcome, drug rehabs across the country are now offering the option of longer treatment.

Additionally, those who undergo residential inpatient drug addiction treatment tend to fare better than those who opt instead for outpatient day treatment programs. It’s a simple investment of time and focus: the more you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it. The more ready you are to make real and lasting change in your life, the more likely that your recovery will last when you return home.

If you have questions about whether inpatient or outpatient treatment, long-term or short-term rehab is right for you, contact The Canyon today.

The drug addiction recovery process can feel like a long haul. Lots of work, but it might seem like you are only making baby steps of progress. This can get frustrating, making you wonder if the whole drug rehab and recovery efforts are even worth your time.

You and Drugs Vs Emotion

The battle that wages inside is you vs emotion. Only one can win, and you choose to defeat the emotions every time they up. Unfortunately, that’s also the problem. Humanity and emotions go together; they are inseparable. Just as black and white thinking is too extreme for a healthy lifestyle, a win/lose approach with emotion is also too extreme. By trying to win you will actually lose. The more palatable goal is coexistence.

It takes a lot to shift this way of thinking. When you agree to go to drug rehab, it can seem like you are losing, giving up, giving in. This can be painful in and of itself, making you want to reach out yet again to drugs and alcohol to comfort you. But learning to endure difficult emotions and embrace unfamiliar but positive things is what drug rehab is all about.

Will You Choose Continued Drug Addiction or Drug Rehab

When you are tired enough, overwhelmed enough, broken down enough, then the long haul of recovery can be the choice you would rather endure. Though drug rehab may be tough, living any longer with an active drug addiction would be worse. The peace and work of drug rehab may at once be frightening and relieving. Hard to face, but worth the price for a longer healthier life.

But don’t you give up some things when you go to drug rehab? Yes, you do. Here’s a list of some things you would surely give up if you went to drug rehabfocused on recovery. Excuses, a lifestyle focused on your selfish side, the ability to blame others for your problems, relationships that are not in your best interests, being blindsided by problems that could be avoided or caught early, unemployment due to your actions, drugrelated jail time, possibly living in squalor, dying from a drug overdose.

Drug Rehab Experience You Didn’t Expect

Of course, your opinion is your opinion. If drug rehab didn’t seem worth the effort, then post your comments here. Maybe you didn’t have a good fit, or perhaps there were important issues that didn’t get fully addressed. Keep in mind that a fair number of people end up going through drug rehab more than once. Were you really ready to go and face the changes?

If you didn’t have the drug rehab experience you expected, it’s worth another look. No drug rehab is perfect, but it’s challenging even under the best of circumstances. Whether you are considering drug treatment for the first time or the fourth time, it’s just one part of your long journey with a drug or alcohol addiction.

This is a continuation of a post from a few days ago about the A&E program called Intervention. It’s a dramatic show about real drug and alcohol addicts trying their hardest to feel nothing, to be in control, to simple cope with immense pain the only way they know how. And their family fights to get them to drug rehab.

Drug Addicts Family Members Have Part In Drug Addiction Patterns

During the intervention of the young woman, her parents both admitted what they did and stated pretty clearly what they would now be doing to provide boundaries. Dad said she wasn’t allowed on the property and wouldn’t be giving her any money. He had been providing this because he thought it was better than not knowing where she was. However, he realized that he was allowing her to continue with no natural consequences.

Mom was the main person to talk to her about jail. Her younger sister brought it up, and Mom continued to explain it to her. She had moved far away from the dad, but was here for the intervention. No one had called the police before because they had just hoped the young woman would get better on her own.

Her sister checked in and brought her food at times, only to be greeted with hostility and confrontation. The younger sister’s reactions included bitter words and physical fights. Though this became an outlet for the younger sister’s pain, it only continued to give the young woman emotional fuel to stand her ground against any form of drug treatment.

Drug Addicts Who Havent Hit Bottom Not Likely To Try Drug Treatment

The young woman responded to the family members’ comments several times during intervention part of the show. In her opinion, she was a god/angel and she had already reached highs that her family would never be able to. She said she felt sorry for them, and she had already saved herself long ago. Of course, she is giving a great deal of positive credit to her addiction for “saving” her (from emotional pain), and giving her enlightenment (from meth-induced hallucinations).

She had no reason to give up her addiction because she hadn’t hit bottom, hadn’t found it too be more painful than living without it. With two parents caught up in their own emotional bubbles and a world of temptations, she found her own way and was fiercely protective of it. To this young, her addiction was her salvation. No drug rehab for her.

Drug Addiction Is A Family Illness

The interventionist made it clear to the family that it was all their illness, not just the drug addicts. As the show unfolded, it became more clear how each person played their part. And to their credit, each person that was highlighted seemed to accept that.

They all agreed to go to weekly support groups and change their behaviors. The show had no time to follow up on all that, but the interventionist said repeatedly that the family’s behavior had to be different. At one point, the young woman even said, “Why are you all being so weird? This isn’t you.” So if for only a short while, even she knew that something was changing.

Drug Rehab Intervention Show Leaves Questions Unanswered

The images and feelings from that show have left a strong impression on me, and I noticed that the show was made in 2005. Makes me wonder in the last four years what has become of this young woman, if she ever gave drug rehab another try, if she continues to do drugs, or a worse outcome.