Recent news has broken about Nicole Bobek, former Olympic figure skater and US champion from the 1990′s. In 2009, she was arrested for her alleged involvement in a crystal meth distribution ring. Just recently, she was sentenced with five years of probation and community service. However, she greeted the news with optimism for the future and a desire to help others. It sounds like she might even start training on the ice again.

Sheltered And Protected From Regular Life

Nicole Bobek captured the hearts of figure skating fans fifteen years ago with her beauty and spirit. Today she faces her personal demons and tries to start anew. The never-give-up spirit that endeared her to so many fans will serve her well in her current situation. Despite her fame and success, it seems she more strikes against her than the public realized.

As a professional skater, she was removed from much of the organic social support many girls her age would have developed. She apparently did not attend regular school classes of any kind in order to focus on her career. Her mother raised her alone with no involvement from her absent father. Nicole’s life was set up for athletic success, but maybe not for personal satisfaction and well being.

Isolation And Celebrity Status

Imagine the isolation from doing just one thing for most of your day. Imagine the hyper-focus that allowed Nicole to excel upwards but did not permit her to experience the more relatable ups and downs of her peers. It seems she and her mother have been close, but it’s hard to tell about friendships. How much time could she have had to develop them with such an intense schedule?

Also, consider the price many celebrities have to pay every day for their fame. Private events become publicly scrutinized in a heartbeat. Personal struggles become public struggles. Celebrities are misquoted, second-guessed, glorified, and manipulated to serve other people’s needs. For some people, fame is intentionally self-serving. For others, it is extremely isolating.

Drug Scene Started After Career Faded

One of the first things that NFL rookies do is meet with people to help them figure out what they are going to do after the NFL. Their careers are typically only a few years, so it makes sense for them to plan for life after athletics. Nicole had been constantly competing and working single-mindedly for years. Once her career started to fade, reports say she was ultimately not prepared. Perhaps she didn’t have the type of career transition guidance that NFL rookies receive.

Nicole’s drug use history is unclear. It has been said that she liked to party, but there’s been no direct mention of an addiction to crystal meth or any other drug. It may take more time for the facts to come out about her situation. If she is planning to help people, she may reveal more about her journey in the future.

Nicole Bobek’s Future Without Meth

As Nicole professes, maybe some very good things can come from this. It may be somewhat delayed, but maybe now she can find her way to a peaceful satisfying lifestyle. Maybe she can speak out to others about getting trapped in the dead-end world of drugs. Hopefully, the spotlight on Nicole Bobek will show her on the rise once again.

Most people would expect to find some kind of counseling therapy at drug But what really happens in group and individual therapy? And what do you know about holistic treatments? If you aren’t sure how these all work together to promote sobriety, take a few minutes here to find out.

Group Therapy At Drug Rehab

Group therapy is a staple in nearly all drug rehab programs. There’s nothing like the group dynamic to get people talking, changing, and feeling. It’s a very powerful way of working with people, especially with addiction problems. Recovering addicts need accountability, perspective, and support as they explore their situation. Group therapy can provide all of those things simultaneously.

The group dynamic can take a life of its own, which means no two groups are exactly alike. People may even behave differently in groups than they do one-on-one. This makes group therapy a unique and ever-changing experience.

Everyone is equally considered part of the group no matter how much or little they participate. This choice honors both sharing and listening as valued behaviors. With guidance from the therapist leaders, group therapy can support profound change and growth in each participant.

How Individual Therapy Works At Drug Rehab

Individual therapy is much more private and personalized than group sessions. A counselor privately works with each person on their treatment plan to guide them through treatment and after discharge.

Each person’s unique needs are reflected in their plan.

These private sessions also provide an opportunity to discuss very painful secrets. Many people with addictions have experienced severe mental anguish or abuse. When they can bring these issues out in a safe private environment, the counselor shows compassion and steady support. For a person who may not have ever felt emotionally safe, individual sessions can be very meaningful.

Drug Rehab With Alternative Therapies

Therapy in drug rehab isn’t limited to just traditional methods. Many alternative therapies are now being included in drug rehab programs. The holistic perspective on health has strongly influenced the drug treatment community over the last few decades. Take a look at some of the holistic treatments offered in many drug rehab programs.

Yoga can help a person become more comfortable and accepting of their own body. Meditation sessions can teach a person how to quiet their mind and let go of unhealthy thoughts. Nutritional counseling can introduce a person to healthier ways of eating. Outdoor experiences can help people get back in touch with nature. These treatments can support sobriety and healthy coping in very personal ways.

Types Of Therapy In Drug Rehab

Today’s comprehensive drug rehab program offers a variety of therapies. Each type is valuable in different ways. They work together to form an effective recovery plan for each individual. If you need drug rehab now, contact us today to learn more.

Meth is a hard-hitting drug. It takes your body on a wild ride every time you use it. Over time, the chemical influences can really harm your body. Drug rehab is essential with a drug as powerful as crystal meth. But the challenges don’t stop once you get sober. With a lot of support and persistence, you can start feeling better and rebuilding your life. Take a moment to better understand how and why your body may take a while to recover from crystal meth addiction.

Possible Brain Damage From Meth

Your brain is a very flexible and resilient organ, but it can’t always bounce back when it’s been damaged. Meth can significantly harm your brain over time. In some cases, normal functioning can return after a few years of sobriety. But the longer you have used meth, the more likely you are to suffer some level of permenant damage.

One of the biggest problems with meth addiction is its powerful effect on the body’s dopamine reward system. Dopamine is neurotransmitter that allows you to feel pleasure naturally. Eating, sex, or an happy event causes dopamine to flow through your body. It keeps you motivated to do things that are essential to your survival.

Meth overstimulates the dopamine system, causing an intense rush sensation in the early stages of use. Over time, your dopamine system shuts down. Excessive meth use can even kill nerve endings that use dopamine. When you get sober, the dopamine system doesn’t quite know what to do for a while. As a result, you may find that fatigue and depression challenge you in your first year or two of recovery.

Feeling Fatigue After Sobriety

Many crystal meth users have a lot of trouble feeling energetic shortly after becoming sober. Meth is a powerful stimulant, giving you an unnaturally high feeling of energy during your first several uses. As time progresses and your body adjusts to the presence of meth, you need the drug just to feel normal.

Your body dramatically alters the production of dopamine and other chemicals that help you regulate your cycles of energy and rest. Also, the addiction lifestyle will cause you to neglect your nutrition and physical health. This can also be part of the fatigue experienced in early recovery.

Feelings Of Depression

The lack of dopamine moving through your body also affects your mood. Without the natural ebb and flow of dopamine, you will likely feel many symptoms of depression. You may lack motivation or interest in doing things, feel hopeless, and feel unhappy much of the time.

Exercise, good nutrition, and healthy social connections can gradually retrain your brain and body to enjoy naturally positive things. It may take some time and patience, but recovering meth addicts can and do get through this period. If you are newly sober from meth, you can do it, too.

Meth Addiction – Adjusting To Sobriety

When you get sober from meth, you go through stimulant withdrawal. You experience the exact opposite of what you felt when you were using meth. Fatigue, depression, and lack of motivation are common hurdles in your first year or two of sobriety. When meth use is stopped early enough, you may eventually feel more like you did before your addiction. But you’ll need drug rehab to get you started. Don’t hesitate to call us for more information today.

People in addiction recovery always need to be mindful of relapse. It can be just around the corner if someone doesn’t follow their recovery plan closely. Have you been to drug rehab or alcohol treatment at some point in your life? Even if you have been sober for years, it’s a good idea to review important ways to reduce your risk of addiction relapse.

Who Is In Your Social Network?

Your social connections make a big difference with your relapse risk. Do you hang out with people who truly respect your sobriety, or do some have lifestyles that include plenty of drinking or drug use? It’s a good idea to evaluate this from time to time.

Human beings often adjust to whoever they spend a lot of time with. They may not think about how their social connections affect their lives. If you are a recovering addict or alcoholic, this oversight can be risky. Because someone is familiar to you, you might dismiss them drinking in front of you or using drugs. You can start making excuses for people who maybe aren’t the best influence.

This can be a slippery slope because the boundary between sobriety and relapse becomes fuzzy. If you can make excuses for one or two people, how about a whole group of old drinking friends? It becomes too easy to gradually drift away from a sober mindset.

So when you make plans with friends or run into people you know, take a step back in your mind for a moment. Am I better off with this person in my life, or do their choices put me at risk? If you think someone puts you at risk, then you do need to keep some distance. If you can’t avoid them completely, be sure you stay on your toes and keep your direct contact very limited. Also, make an extra effort to boost your relationships with positive people. The reduced contact with the negative people will make less difference to you.

Keep Your Body and Mind Healthy

When you were in drug rehab, you probably learned about many different ways to keep your mind and body healthy. That’s still important to keep up long after your rehab program has finished. Your state of well-being can protect you against some stressors that could trigger potential relapse.

When you keep your mind calm and positive, you reduce the chance that your addiction thinking will return. The more you use your healthy coping skills to manage your emotions, the less likely you are to drink your pain away. The healthier your body feels, the more you are inclined to feel naturally good each day.

Healthy habits keep your sober lifestyle rolling forward with positive energy. Negativity and unhealthy habits pull you away from sobriety, making you less concerned about your overall well-being. If you think you need to improve your health habits, now is a good time to get started. See your doctor, talk to other people in recovery, or just start reviewing your original recovery plan to get you back on track.

Staying Away From The Addiction Relapse Trap

For anyone who’s battled addiction, relapse is a genuine risk. If you have been through drug rehab, you have lots of ways to support your sobriety and avoid the traps. Stay on top of your health and keep good people around you to make sure every day is a sober day.

If you have lived with a drug addiction for some time, you know how upsetting cravings can be.  You are distracted, you don’t know how you can make it, and time seems to creep by.  But cravings are a part of reality for a recovering drug addict.  If you had a way to reduce your chances of having cravings, would you make a few adjustments to your lifestyle?  Find out more about how stress and support are related to your experience with drug cravings.

Minor Daily Stresses Related To Drug Cravings

People with an addiction often use their drug of choice to help them deal with stress.  It should be no surprise that added stress may make a recovering addict have the occasional drug craving.  When drug use has been a primary coping skill in the past, the body and mind are likely to have some lingering memory about it.

But you don’t have to let stress sideline your sobriety.  It’s nearly impossible to avoid all stress.  In fact, we all need a little to keep us motivated and active in our day.  When you get a little overwhelmed with minor stress during your recovery, you may feel the familiar twinge of a drug craving.  Good support from family and friends can help you see those cravings as more manageable and less disruptive.

Reduce Excess Stress To Prevent Cravings

When you are proactive about reducing your daily stress, you can do more to keep cravings at bay.  Stressful situations may be somewhat unavoidable, but you can maintain plenty of coping skills to keep yourself calm.

Do everything possible to get plenty of sleep at night.  Lack of quality sleep can really affect your mood and make you more sensitive to stress.  Exercise is also a great stress reliever.  You get a rush of endorphins as you finish up, and your mood stays lifted for a while afterwords.  Plus, exercise relieves tension that builds up in your muscles during the day.

Your body responds to stress better when you feed it well.  Caffeine, junk food, and random eating will leave you ill-equipped to handle the ups and downs of your day.  Stick with regular meals, eat healthy snacks to keep your blood sugars even, and get good nutrition throughout the day.  You will have lasting energy all day long.  Whatever comes your way, you will be able to think through it clearly.

Keep Yourself Healthy And Socially Connected

Your life rolls on every day, and some days are a little better than others.  Your stress has a direct connection with your potential for having drug cravings.  Staying healthy and socially connected can help you fight the effects of minor stress.  And when you have stress under control, drug cravings won’t bring you down.

A drug addiction can make you feel broken and disconnected. Your mind can’t think clearly anymore. Your body feels abused and exhausted. And your spirit feels dejected and hopeless. How will you get every part of you working together again? Find out how drug rehab can help you make the connection once again.

Your Body And Drug Addiction

Drugs affect your body in so many different ways. Whether it’s alcohol, heroin, or marijuana, drugs put your nervous system into overdrive. The natural chemicals that move between your nerve endings communicate messages within your body. When drugs interfere with this process, symptoms of intoxication develop.

When you become physically or psychologically addicted to one or more drugs, you must use them regularly just to feel normal. Many drugs have uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms such as nausea, muscle pain, depression, fatigue, and anxiety. These powerful symptoms could keep you trapped in your addiction for years.

Drug detox and rehab can help you get through the worse of your withdrawal symptoms safely and with support. Drug rehab also provides you with the opportunity to learn about good nutrition, exercise, and keeping your body healthy.

Your Mind And Drug Addiction

Drug addiction changes the way you think about everything. Negative thoughts become more abundant. Excuses and lies become normal to you. You change the way you see the world and how it has treated you. Maintaining your addiction becomes the most important priority of your life.

Some of this change is a result of physical effects from the drugs. Many drugs make you feel more bold and distort your judgement. After many close calls, you may truly believe you are not impaired when you drink and drive. When you have a blackout and get into trouble, you may disbelieve any report about what you may have done. This type of thinking can eventually get you in jail, in serious debt, in a homeless shelter, or even in the hospital.

Drug rehab helps you clear your mind and realign your priorities. You reestablish the important things you pushed aside during your active addiction.

Your Spirit And Drug Addiction

Your spirit is what sets you apart from everyone else. Your emotions, your outlook on life, and your personality all combine to make you unique. Many people with drug addictions have had their spirits wounded in some way. Emotional abuse, sexual trauma, and tragic events can make a person hopeless about their future.

If you have these problems and use drugs or alcohol to soothe your pain, you only do more damage to your spirit. Drug rehab surrounds you with positive supportive people. Fellow addicts support and encourage each other to keep making progress with sobriety. Self worth, hope, and determination grow in this healing environment.

Mind, Body, And Spirit In Drug Rehab

Drug rehab is the place to reconnect with every part of yourself. The treatments and therapy at drug rehab can help you feel whole again. Your sobriety is more than just a lack of drug use. It is the harmony of your mind, body, and spirit as you live a healthy life. Call today and talk to someone about starting drug rehab.

Drug and alcohol addiction in the workplace costs businesses and consumers millions of dollars each year. The lost productivity due to mistakes made under the influence, missed days at work, and missed deadlines costs everyone money. Learning how to handle drug addiction in the workplace and addressing the issue with the addict as well as other employees is imperative to stopping the addict from hurting your company and themselves any further.

Handling Drug Addiction in the Workplace

While firing the offending party may seem like the most straightforward solution, it won’t save you any money. Depending upon the position that the addict currently fills, finding, training and acclimating a new employee will cost more than rehabilitating the person who previously did good work for you and knows the company well. While you cannot sit idly by and watch your employee or co-worker hurt themselves and damage the company, you can address the situation proactively, mitigating the damage and helping both yourself and them at the same time.

Prepare Yourself For Confronting Your Employee or Co-Worker About Drug Addiction

If a co-worker or employee is struggling with drug and alcohol addiction at your workplace, you first have to confront them with the situation. You should go into this knowing that even though you recognize that your employee or co-worker is an addict, he or she may not. Also, even though you are being more than generous by offering drug addiction treatment—especially if your company pays for that treatment and takes the time to confront them on the issue—they may not accept your proposal. They may, in fact, respond with hostility.

Know That Your Employee is a Drug Addict

If you are higher up on the totem pole and are working off of rumors and stories that have all happened when you were not present, you need to ascertain the truthfulness to these tales before proceeding. Spend a little time in the office or on the floor. If there are security or surveillance tapes, watch them. Look into specific incidents and watch to see if these behaviors continue. Look into missed deadlines and missed days at work. Ask the employee about these incidents before mentioning the rumors or addiction and get their side of the story. If you are certain that drug addiction is a contributing factor, then it’s time to move forward.

How to Get Your Employee or Co-Worker Into Drug Rehab

Staging a drug addiction intervention is generally the first line of defense when it comes to approaching the sensitive subject of drug addiction in the workplace. You may opt to take the employee or co-worker aside personally and have a one-on-one conversation first to better gauge the situation and handle it more covertly. If this doesn’t work because your employee denies the presence of drug addiction or if you are a co-worker and they simply blow you off because you aren’t an authority figure, then it’s time to take it to the next level. A drug addiction intervention will allow you and others in the office who have been affected by the employee’s addictive behavior to be included in the process, vent their feelings and know that their productivity and contribution are valid and essential.

If you would like assistance staging an intervention at your workplace, The Canyon can help. Call us today for more information.

When we talk about drug addiction and why it is a problem, we usually focus on the personal effects: health problems, financial problems, issues with family and relationships, lost jobs and opportunities. We don’t often talk about how others connected or only briefly connected to us suffer when we are a victim of drug and alcohol addiction. Today, we’ll talk about our actions under the influence and why they alone are enough to add up to a need for drug addiction treatment.

Drug Addiction Treatment and DUI

Most people associate a Driving Under the Influence, or DUI, charge with drinking and driving. Though this is one of the more common DUI issues since many don’t realize they are impaired when they get behind the wheel, it is just as common to get pulled over due to impairment by prescription drugs, marijuana and other common drugs. The accidents that occur due to bad choices made by a driver under the influence are exceedingly common and the victims, though they may often include the driver as well, also includes others who did nothing but end up in the wrong place at the wrong time: pedestrians, small children, mothers, fathers, grandparents…. The stories of loss due to DUI are endless and heartbreaking, and when the perpetrators aren’t killed in the accident, new and harsh laws are making sure that they spend plenty of time in prison suffering for their crime.

A Personal Story of the Effects of Drug Addiction

Linda was married for over a decade before her husband’s cocaine addiction affected their children. Though their marriage had suffered due to his infidelity under the influence and abusive behavior, they had both managed to keep the problem away from their children… or so they thought. When Linda’s husband cleaned out their savings while gambling on cocaine and lost his job a week later due to his erratic behavior, the addiction was still there and so, too, was his physical abuse. It was impossible for them to hide it from the kids when they moved, changed schools, and their father was around the house all the time. Though he didn’t technically use the drug in front of them, they still recognized the change in his behavior and, primarily, his anger that was amplified by the cocaine.

When Linda left him, he told her that all the behaviors she hated—the abuse, the cheating, the lying, the stealing from the family, yelling at the kids, the late nights, losing his job—all of it was because of his cocaine addiction and that it would all go away if he could stop. She agreed that all that was true, but having heard the promises of quitting before, she simply told him: “Go to a cocaine rehab. If you don’t, you can add us to the list of things you lost when you finally do get clean.”

Drug Treatment Now

If you are struggling with cocaine addiction or addiction to another drug, no one expects you to go through it alone. Contact a drug rehab today that can help you with your personal needs and proved treatment that will help you to get back on track before you hurt yourself or anyone else.

Prescription pain killer addiction is a growing problem in our world today. These drugs are so easy to get and they are legal. People keep taking their medication too long or to help them “get through the day”, and they may find themselves addicted to a strong narcotic.

Cycle Of Prescription Drug Addiction and Withdrawal Symptoms

Oxycontin, Vicodin, and Percocet are just a few examples of commonly prescribed narcotic pain medication. They are so addictive that a person trying to wean themselves may become trapped in a cycle of taking pills to avoid very uncomfortable symptoms. So then they are faced with two choices – do they try to endure pain and emotional distress from not taking the pills or do they keep taking them and create a monster?

Just admitting you need professional help for an addiction is a huge step. And many people addicted to prescription medication had begun with a fully legitimate reason to take the medication. It can be embarassing and humbling to ask for help, especially for someone who never expected to end up with an addiction.

Prescription drug detox is a necessary part of drug rehab. Thankfully, many rehabs already have a drug detox set-up in their facility. However long it takes for a person to endure the symptoms, the detox staff is there to see it through with the addict.

Prescription Drug Detox Medications Have Controversy

Sometimes, substitution drugs like methadone or Suboxone are used to make withdrawal easier. This can be tricky since a person may be in recovery but still technically not sober from all drugs. The benefit of these medication is there chemical similarity to the addictive drugs and their relative lack of withdrawal side effects. So instead of coming right off Vicodin, a person may be prescribed Suboxone in gradually reduced amounts.

Some controversy has developed over the use of these medications. Despite their usefulness for many people, some recovering addicts have developed addictions to these medications. Buprenorphine is a fairly new drug being developed as an effective but safer alternative to Methadone and Suboxone. Time will tell if science can come up with a completely non-addictive detox medication for prescription pain killers.

Prescription Drug Detox and Drug Rehab Combination

Prescription drug detox is the first step towards addiction recovery. It may be hard for a person to even believe they are truly addicted to painkillers. They may have even thought they could stop taking the drugs on their own with no guidance. The excruciating symptoms make it so difficult for anyone taking a narcotic pain killer to stop on their own. A professional drug detox and drug rehab can get you or someone you love on the road to sobriety.

The trips that Lindsay Lohan has taken to “rest” at drug rehab or the idea that she might potentially return to drug addiction treatment is the subject of more than a few tabloid covers. Recently, the big story on Lindsay and drug addiction has had more to do with her father, Michael Lohan, and a handful of phone messages left for him by Lindsay herself and by Lindsay’s mother, Dina, all discussing Lindsay’s issues with drug abuse and addiction and her need for drug addiction help.

The word “exploitation” leaps to mind, as “Access Hollywood: reports that Michael Lohan, in an attempt to shop around a reality show, has leaked the taped messages left by his ex-wife and daughter. In an unprecedented show of restraint, the tabloid show refused to play the tapes on the air, but Access Hollywood reporter Billy Bush reported that he had listened to them and ‘it was clear Lindsay was troubled.’

For his part, Lindsay’s father describes this decision to go public with the tapes as an effort to help his daughter. He says: “I’ve been doing what I’m doing against everyone’s will and getting slammed for it, but you hear here what’s going on. … You can see why I’m so concerned, I’m literally shaking right now and I can’t do it anymore.

“First, I tried to do it the right way … privately. I tried to deal with Lindsay.”

Later, he said: “I admit, I’m being a bit selfish in releasing the tapes, but I’m tired of being lied about. I’m tired of Dina and others making me out to be someone I’m not, so now I’m going to prove to the world who the real liars are.”

Included among the calls was a message left by Lindsay after her house was broken into this past summer described as ‘hysterical’ and another message after a call made from her stay in a Utah drug rehab last year begging her father to help her get out of counseling.

There was also a message left by his ex-wife, Lindsay’s mother, Dina, that reveals her upset over being unable to get Lindsay into rehab in the fall of last year. This message was posted on RadarOnline.com and Dina tells her ex: “You don’t even know what I’d go through trying to get her into, like, rehab and stuff. She’d, like, punch me in the face, kick me out of the car. … You don’t know the [bleep] I went through trying to get her an intervention by myself. It was very difficult.

“She’s really sad and really hurt and really … despondent.”

Dina apparently also has expressed concern that Lindsay will end up overdosing like Heath Ledger last year. Michael Lohan recently released yet another tape of Dina talking about Lindsay’s drug addiction and her relationship with Heath, saying that Lindsay “was dating Heath when he died . . . I don’t know if you know that, but I know cause I would drop her off and they were friends, very, very close.”

Her ultimate concern is that, “when she’s drunk or takes an Adderall with it she will do something like Heath Ledger did in a second without thinking.”

Lindsay’s response? Get the lawyers involved. There are considerations of legal action against her father for his decision to leak the tapes.