It’s a new year, a new decade and it could be a new phase of your life if you are currently living with drug and alcohol addiction and you’re ready to get clean and sober. Drug and alcohol addiction treatment can provide you with medical treatment for physical and emotional drug dependence. There’s no better time than the present to make the change you’ve been wanting to make for years.

Drug and Alcohol Addiction Treatment: The Opportunity of a New Start

You open up a world of opportunities for yourself when you choose to enroll in a drug and alcohol addiction treatment center. Holistic addiction treatment especially provides more than just medical detox. You also get a number of different therapies and treatments that provide recreation and exercise. From hiking and beach walks to swimming and equine assisted therapy, you will have the opportunity to create new habits, get involved in new hobbies and build a life for yourself outside of drug and alcohol addiction.

Drug and Alcohol Addiction Treatment Options

The number of drug and alcohol addiction treatment options available means that no one need walk away without the help they need this year. There inpatient crystal meth rehabs, outpatient heroin detox, short-term alcohol detox, methadone clinics, sober living homes, long-term cocaine addiction treatment… the options and combinations are almost endless.

Your options are increased by the fact that for every type of drug and alcohol addiction treatment services available, there are different styles of providing that service. You can find high end or luxury drug rehabs or public, basic options. You can find religion-affiliated detox and addiction treatment programs for almost any religion or non-religious rehabs. You can find non-profit organizations offering treatment or private companies offering more of a resort-style option. From seven-day detox programs to year-long inpatient treatment, you can find a drug and alcohol addiction treatment center to suit your needs.

Drug and Alcohol Addiction Treatment: Take Back the New Year

New year’s resolutions are usually great intentions and nothing more. At best, they’re promises that are kept for a week or even a month before they are broken. Don’t be one of the masses. If you are living with heroin addiction, prescription drug addiction, cocaine addiction, crystal meth addiction or addiction to a combination of drugs and alcohol, then resolve to get clean at a drug and alcohol addiction treatment center this year and make it happen right now. Call The Canyon to get started.

Depression and drug addiction are both complicated issues. The complexity goes up dramatically when both occur at the same time. Naturally, people have lots of questions when they find out they or someone they care about has these diagnosed together. The following is a list of a few questions you may or may not have thought about when considering drug addiction and depression.

Psychotropic Medication and Drug Addiction

If I have a drug addiction, aren’t I supposed to be completely drug free all the time? Won’t medication for depression be against that recommendation? Medications for depression are usually non-addictive. As you do with anything, be sure you check with your doctor to be sure they know you also have a drug or alcohol addiction. There are many choices for depression medication, so as long as you doctor is aware of the whole situation, you should have very few problems with this form of treatment.

Depression and Addiction Together

When you are treating depression and addiction, does it matter which came first? No, it doesn’t matter which came first. Up through the 1990′s, a person with both disorders were usually made sober for a while before their depression (or other mental illness) was ever addressed. The theory was that a person needed to be sober before they worked on their mental illness. Now, research supports better results when these two problems are treated at the same time, no matter what order they occur in.

Depression and Together Throughout Life

If I get through this depression and addiction now, could I have these problems again in the future? Yes, once you have been through an episode of depression, you are generally more vulnerable to it in your lifetime. Maybe not for a few years, ten years, twenty years, or ever. But so many changes can occur over a person’s lifetime, so it’s best if they are aware of this risk. They can develop good self-care habits and awareness of any symptoms coming on.

Likewise, once someone has become addicted to a substance, they must make lifestyle changes for their entire life. They are at risk for relapse unless they stay on top of it. Depression is very treatable, so the outlook for someone who’s had depression once is still good. Also, drug treatment centers and support groups are in practically every community around the world. Having depression and an addiction may seem like a dismal lifetime risk. But with proper drug treatment and support, a person’s outlook can still be very good.

More Questions About Drug Addiction and Depression

What are your questions about drug addiction and depression? Did this list have one or two that were new to you, or did you think of a couple of questions that still need answers? Put your questions here at the end of this post, or call your local drug rehab center for more personalized answers.

When you are physically dependent upon any drug, including alcohol, detox can be an extremely difficult experience. More than just a physiological response to the lack of drugs in your system, drug detox is emotionally and psychologically exhausting as well.

If you are about to enter drug detox or if you are currently detoxing off of your drug of choice, here are a few safety tips to help you make sure you are detoxing healthfully and effectively.

Drug Detox Safety Tip #1: Medical Supervision

Of primary importance is your health as you go through drug detox. The only way to ensure this is to begin and end your drug detox under medical supervision. At inpatient drug detox or drug rehab facilities, you will have onsite medical supervision as you begin your drug detox all the way through until your withdrawal symptoms are gone. Should you experience any complications due to underlying or co-occurring medical disorders, you will be protected.

Drug Detox Safety Tip #2: Don’t Binge

Many are tempted to overindulge in their drug of choice right before entering a drug detox program. They view it as a “last hurrah” before getting clean and sober. Unfortunately, this will only make your detox experience worse. It also increases your chance of drug overdose, which may ultimately mean that you never make it to drug detox at all. It’s just not a good idea.

Drug Detox Safety Tip #3: Don’t Relapse

One of the biggest risks during drug detox is relapse, yet another reason why it is important that you enroll in a medically supervised drug detox program before you begin. The risk of relapse is highest during detox due to the intensity of withdrawal symptoms. Unfortunately, the largest percentage of drug overdoses occur after a period of sobriety and relapsing during detox is significantly more dangerous than regular drug use. The chances of death or coma due to overdose after abstinence is much higher.

Drug Detox Safety Tip #4: Positive Support

The support of people who love you and want the best for you as well as from people who have been through what you’re going through is invaluable. For many, this is the only thing that keeps them involved in the program and fighting through the hard parts of each day. If you feel like relapsing or if you find yourself wondering why you started this in the first place, if you can’t seem to remember what it is that you’re getting clean and sober for, then calling a supportive friend, counselor, a 1-800 hotline or a sponsor will help you get back on track.

Drug Detox

If you’re ready to get started on building a new life without drugs and alcohol, then The Canyon can help. Give us a call or contact us by email for more information about our drug detox program today.

If there were a pill that abolished addiction of any kind—heroin addiction, crystal meth addiction, alcoholism, sex addiction, gambling addiction—then everyone would know about it instantly and it would be available everywhere. There is too much lost to addictions every year for everyone to keep a medication like that a secret. Could this really be real?

Research and Addiction Medication

Researchers are always on the lookout for this magical medication, but failing an all-powerful pill, they occasionally come up with something that seems to work for certain aspects of specific addiction in some people under some circumstances.

Here’s the latest:

According to USAPlayers.com http://www.usaplayers.com/news/2009/gambling/december/study-reveals-that-gambling-addiction-may-be-treated-with-medicine-12364.html, it’s the medications designed to raise inhibitions and combat the urge to act impulsively that have been developed to fight drug addiction that recently have been shown to have an effect on those struggling with a pathological gambling addiction.

Drugs and Their Effect on Gambling Addiction

Says USAPlayers.com:

“The study, which was so extensive as to break down problem gamblers into two classes, had examined three different medication studies. Each study held between seventy and one hundred participants, and was led by Dr. Jon Grant. Grant and his team, at the University of Minnesota, studied the ‘cognition to identify what motivates extreme types of gambling behavior.’

“The two classes of gamblers included first those that were driven by urge. The urge driven gamblers were those that had stated that they gamble when they lose control of their desires. The other type, which is arguably more extreme, are those that cannot contain their habit even when they do not feel the urge to do so.

“The first class, those driven by the urge, responded well to the treatments that block certain receptors in the brain. These receptors are those for the neurotransmitter glutamate. Family history was also shown to be significant with helping this group of people. Opioid blockers were also effective in decreasing the urge to use substances, particularly when there was a family history for those with addiction.

“Those who have trouble controlling their habits, even with a lack of desire, responded well to a drug that would affect the enzyme catechol-O-methyl-transferase, or COMT. This enzyme played a significant role in certain brain functions. Decreasing this function can make a problem gambler’s desire less severe.”

Gambling Addiction Treatment

Gambling addiction is said to affect about 5 percent of the population, but its effects reach out into the community, affecting families of addicts and taxpayers alike, just as every addiction does. And just like drug and alcohol addiction, gambling addiction can be treated in an addiction treatment program. Since many gambling addicts also struggle with addiction to alcohol, cocaine, crystal meth and/ or amphetamines, it is often helpful to attend a dual diagnosis addiction treatment center that can provide treatment for both disorders simultaneously.

If you need drug and alcohol addiction treatment, gambling addiction treatment, or dual diagnosis treatment, don’t wait to get started. Every day you let go by without getting the help you need is a day lost to addiction.

The holidays are saturated with alcohol commercials, opportunities to drink, and even alcoholic gifts. For a person trying to live or create a sober lifestyle, just getting through the holiday season can be challenging.

Christmas And Addiction Recovery

Drinks Offered at Holiday Gatherings

You can put alcohol in fruit juice, coffee, eggnog, soda, or just on ice. It’s hard to think of a time when more types of alcoholic drinks are available. So many of them are made to taste like delicious desserts. Having a drink on a cold night is a cozy image for many adults. But for an alcoholic or drug addict, alcohol will bring anything but Christmas cheer. In fact, some alcoholic families give bottles of alcohol to each other for Christmas. They excuse and accept excessive drinking as a way of life. When someone breaks the mold or bucks the pattern, they are the one that stands out and often end up being isolated from everyone.

Emotional Ups and Downs

Christmas is a time when people get heightened emotions and expanded expectations about family gatherings, presents, their looks, money, and various other things. In most cases, people manage these emotions and fluctuations with minimal problems. A recovering alcoholic may find their emotions tweaked and tested during this period. Memories of a difficult past, recent troubles and challenges, adjusting to a new way of living – this can all be enough to test their coping skills. If the addict or alcoholic doesn’t have a solid support system or has gotten off their healthy sober habits somewhat, they could face a possible relapse. This could be just as challenging for a person just freshly discharged from a drug treatment outpatient program or drug rehab center.

Friends Coming Back To Town Wanting To Party

People often visit their home towns during the Christmas holiday season. Old friends from high school, college, or from previous jobs like to go out or have parties. A person living a sober lifestyle may have old temptations to fight when these friends come calling. “Come on, let’s go out like the old times. We had so much fun then.” Saying no can be so hard, hard enough that the recovering person may be tempted to take their chances and go along with them.

Drug and Alcohol Treatment Recovery Plans

So how does an alcoholic or recovering drug addict get through this festive yet challenging time? They get and stick to their drug treatment recovery plan. The holidays require self awareness and commitment, perhaps more than other times of the year. Even though this is supposed to be a time of wonder and happiness, many people (especially the newly sober) struggle to stay on track. With support and a good plan, a person in recovery can still enjoy this time of celebration.

When Jemima Phillips was appointed Royal Harpist by the Prince of Wales, it would have appeared that her life couldn’t have been more perfect. Behind the scenes, however, an out of control heroin addiction had her struggling to hold it all together.

Recently, Phillips was convicted for theft and the arrest revealed a life full of secrets kept from the public, including violent relationships and family tragedy that likely contributed to her abuse of heroin, according to the Daily Mail.

The Appearance of Perfection

As Royal Harpist, Phillips found herself playing at amazing venues. She even played at the wedding of the Prince of Wales to Camilla Parker Bowles. To anyone viewing her life from the outside, it appeared as if she had it all: 28 years old, a graduate of the Royal School of Music, master of her £18,000 harp, and a position as the Royal Harpist.

After being convicted for handling stolen goods, Phillips confessed to a heroin addiction. Even without the conviction, the admission of heroin addiction pretty well secured the loss of her position of Royal Harpist and left her with a destroyed reputation. The long story of losing her brother during childhood, developing her musical gift to soothe her siblings (one of who suffered brain damaged, the other severely autistic), emotional alienation from her father, abusive boyfriends, abortions, and burglary only served to solidify her fate.

Heroin Rehab for Heroin Addiction

If she recognized that she was struggling with heroin addiction, why didn’t Phillips seek medical help at a heroin rehab? Simple: she was trying to keep the secret and if it got out, she feared the loss of her job and the possibility of being denied the ability to work in the United States. She attempted to get clean on her own and, occasionally, was successful for a few months until something would happen to trigger her and start it all again. She was trapped by the cycle of relapse in addiction and couldn’t break free before her choices under the influence revealed her to everyone far more dramatically than a stay in heroin rehab ever would have.

Heroin Addiction Treatment: Get Help Now

If you are struggling with heroin addiction, going through the cycle of attempting to get clean every few months only to relapse as soon as something stressful comes your way, then you need heroin addiction treatment. For those who are lucky enough to be completely free of withdrawal symptoms, an outpatient heroin addiction treatment program that focuses on the emotional and mental aspects of heroin addiction will assist you in learning how to make better choices and avoid relapse. Many will provide therapies that allow you to explore your drug history for clues as to why heroin addiction became an issue for you.

For those who are currently experiencing withdrawal symptoms, a heroin detox will need to precede heroin addiction treatment either at an inpatient heroin rehab or separate from outpatient treatment.

Whichever style of heroin rehab you choose, don’t wait. Call Canyon for more information.

Drug detox is something no drug addict or alcoholic looks forward to. A person needing drug detox goes through an uncomfortable, sometimes painful withdrawal from the drug as it leaves their body. The withdrawal process can be so difficult that many people end up staying on drugs because they can’t tolerate the symptoms well enough to stay clean for long. Unfortunately, a person does have to go through this if they decide to get sober. Fortunately, there are many great drug detox services available today, both as independent facilities and as part of drug rehab centers. Here are some of the things you need to know about drug detox.

Difference Between Drug Detox and Drug Rehab

Drug detox is not drug rehab. Detox is simply detoxifying the body from the chemicals, nothing more. Drug rehab is a more long-term therapeutic service done by trained drug addiction therapists. Drug rehab involves individual talk therapy, group therapy sessions, twelve step principles, sometimes holistic therapies like yoga and meditation, and is often done in a 30-90 day residential setting.

Drug detox services will be much shorter, usually just a few days. Some drugs create withdrawal symptoms for several days to a few weeks after the majority of the drugs have left the body. However, the addict may still stay only through the worst couple of days at the beginning until the symptoms are more manageable.

Drug detox services have caring professionals that offer medical and emotional support. However, they do not provide the important personal therapy work done at a drug rehab center. Drug detox is an important part of getting sober, but it is only a small part of the big picture. Drug rehab is usually necessary to create a foundation for lasting sobriety.

Drug Detox More Comfortable But Not Perfect

Drug detox, however well done, can still be uncomfortable. The ultimate goal with drug detox is to make withdrawal symptom-free. But no medicine can take the place of good rest, good nutrition, and a healthy body. Medicine and a comfortable location will certainly make the detox process more tolerable, but it does not guarantee that an addict won’t feel some discomfort from the process. Drug detox still makes much more sense than a cold turkey approach. The emotional and medical support can make the withdrawal step successful rather than another frustrating cycle.

Use Drug Detox And Start A Sober Life

If you know you are facing drug withdrawal at some point, do it in a professional drug detox setting. What once may have been a roadblock can be a point of inspiration and courage in your life. You can overcome an important hurdle to your sobriety. For best and longest lasting results, do your drug detox as part of a comprehensive drug rehab stay. Contact your local drug rehab or drug detox center to see what your options are and to ask questions.