It’s not an easy discussion to have, but talking to your kids about the medical disorder that is drug addiction is something that you will need to do before you head off to drug rehab. You’ll need to let them know where you’ll be going, how long you’ll be gone, that you need to get treatment help in order to get well and – above all else – that you love them and want to get better so that you can be a better parent for them.

Your Kids Know More About Your Drug Addiction Than You Think

Before you talk, listen. You may be surprised by how much your kids know about your relationship with drugs and alcohol. Though you may feel that you’ve kept everything a closely guarded secret, they may have found your drugs, seen you getting high, recognized the changes in you after drinking, and certainly noticed the mood swings that happen when you are on or off your drug of choice.

Start the conversation by explaining that drug addiction and alcoholism is a medical illness. When you say that you have that illness, immediately let them know that you can go to the doctor to get treatment and get better before they get scared. Tone your conversation to suit the age and understanding of your children, and ask them if they know that you have the illness of drug addiction. If they say ‘yes,’ let them talk about how they know and share what they think about the effects of drugs and alcohol on you.

Explain How Drug Rehab Can Help You Get Better

When you let your children know that you are going to drug rehab, remember to phrase it as the medical treatment that it is. Emphasize that you don’t want to leave them and that you will call and see them as much as possible but also let them know that that may not be for a couple days or weeks, depending upon the requirements of the drug rehab program. As soon as you are doing better though – show younger kids how long you will be gone on a calendar – make it clear that you will be coming straight home to them.

Emotional Reactions are Understandable but Keep Them in Check

Remember to keep your emotions in check as much as possible. It’s hard to say good-bye to your kids, but hysterical crying or an overload of sadness will only make it harder on them. If you feel yourself starting to break down, take a moment and get yourself under control before going on. On the other hand, be sure to let your kids know that it’s okay for them to have feelings about your addiction issues – anger and sadness are both perfectly acceptable – and be willing to listen to them talk through their feelings with you.

Contact us at The Canyon today to find out how we can help your family get on the healing path after your drug addiction and how children and significant others can be involved in your rehab and recovery process.

IMPORTANT: If you have found this post because you are trying to help someone you believe is experiencing a heroin overdose RIGHT NOW, call 911 immediately. Do not wait to read the rest of the article.

If you want to be prepared if someone you care about overdoses or if you are concerned about the possibility of overdosing yourself, then read on. Below you will find the information you need to identify a heroin overdose as it is happening and respond quickly so that you or your friend will have the best chance of surviving the experience.

Recognizing a Heroin Overdose

When someone overdoses on an opiate drug like heroin, it’s not sudden or quick like it is in the movies. Heroin slows the heart rate and breathing rate, and a person who is experiencing an overdose will first feel dizzy and confused, then pass out. If they don’t receive help while unconscious, their heart will continue to beat more and more slowly and their breathing will eventually stop. They’ll slip into a coma and eventually die if medical assistance is not provided in time.

If you don’t know the dosage that your friend took and they are still awake and conscious but unable to focus on a conversation, keep a close eye on them. If they lose consciousness, call 911.

If your friend appears to be unconscious but you can’t tell if he or she is sleeping or overdosing, here are a few signs that will signify that a heroin overdose is in effect and he or she needs medical help:

• No response to shaking their shoulders or shouting their name.
• Bluish tint to lips, nails, and/ or skin.
• Slowed pulse.
• Slowed breathing.

What to Do in the Event of a Heroin Overdose

If you recognize the above signs in your friend and you cannot rouse them, call 911 immediately. The 911 operator may ask you to perform emergency breathing or CPR if you can’t find a heart rate or he or she is not breathing. You will be asked to stay on the line until an ambulance arrives, and the operator may ask you questions about your friend in order to get information that he or she can pass along to the EMTs so that they can more quickly provide the necessary treatment: age, weight and height, what drugs were taken and in what amounts. Answer the questions to the best of your ability and try to remain calm. When the ambulance arrives, you will usually be able to accompany your friend to the hospital if you like.

If you or someone you care about is living with an active heroin addiction, call us at The Canyon today. We can provide a comprehensive

One of the most effective ways to address the situation when a loved one is living with crystal meth addiction is to stage an intervention with the goal of getting them crystal meth rehab help immediately. However, no matter how well you prepare or what you do, it doesn’t always in work. In some cases, your loved one will initially refuse crystal meth addiction treatment. What do you do when this happens? Do you give up? Absolutely not. Stand your ground and prepare yourself for the fact that anything can happen.

Either Choose Crystal Meth Rehab or…

Before you stage a crystal meth addiction intervention, you should take some time to come up with something like an ultimatum to give your loved one. Spouses may say, “Either you get crystal meth addiction treatment or I will need a separation.” Bosses may say, “Either you accept the addiction help we’re offering you today or you will need to find another job.” These ultimatums are not designed to control your addicted loved one but to protect you and others who are living with the effects of their addiction. You are offering them help. It is not fair for you to continue to live with all the problems that come with their addiction if they refuse treatment. You are letting them know with this ultimatum that if they say “no,” you will begin prioritizing your own health and wellbeing.

Stand Your Ground if Your Loved One Refuses Crystal Meth Rehab

The provision of consequences can have one of many effects on your loved one: the fear of losing whatever has been put on the table may be enough to spur your addicted family member to choose crystal meth rehab – or it could make them angry and push them instead to say “no” out of spite. In some cases, your loved one may understand your position and need to protect yourself by putting distance between yourself and their continued addiction but still choose not to go to rehab.

If your loved one says “no” to treatment, the most important thing for you to do is follow through on your promise. If you said you’d file for divorce, do it. If you said that your loved one would need to move out, make it so. It won’t be easy for you or for them, but it is absolutely crucial that you stand your ground.

Are you looking for a crystal meth rehab for your loved one? Would you like to be matched with a professional interventionist that can help you help your family member? Contact us at The Canyon today and let us help you get started.

“I’m bored.”

It’s one of the most common complaints that people have a couple of months after drug and alcohol addiction treatment is over. After recovering addicts settle in and find a job, a place to stay, and begin the process of going to 12-step meetings and just staying sober from day to day, they find that the biggest threat to their continued recovery is boredom. Having fun used to be defined by going out to a club or getting high with friends. Without drugs and alcohol, you have to redefine exactly what fun is, get creative, and find new ways to enjoy yourself and relax. If you don’t, you risk the grind of sobriety putting you a position to relapse just so that you can have a good time – and that’s the last thing you want to do.

Fun During Drug and Alcohol Addiction

The irony here is that addicts in recovery readily admit that the life of an active addict is far from fun. It’s hard work to constantly chase a bag or the next high, trying to stay one step ahead of withdrawal symptoms and feeling ill after a long binge. It’s not fun. But faced with the calm and comparatively uneventful days that fill recovery, the down time can be what kills the best intentions.

Finding Fun in a Healthful Way During Drug and Alcohol Addiction Recovery

Fun is a personal thing. Are you a people person who has a good time when surrounded by others? Are you more private, defining fun as enjoying a good book or watching a movie? Are you outdoorsy, interested in hiking, camping, and adventure sports? Do you like travel, preferring to see new cities and towns rather than stay in the same place for very long? Do you have a hobby that interests you, horticulture or cooking or photography or art? Do you like school? Do you like being in charge?

Depending upon what it is that calls you, the activities that pique your interest above all else, you can create your own fun in recovery. Even if there is no organized groups that play your favorite sport, you can start a team or take a class to find others who like to play. If you like travel but don’t have a lot of money, pick a nearby destination and create a budget then work to save what you need and make your trip happen. If there’s a cause you feel strongly about, find a local group that’s fundraising and get involved or start your own.

If you prefer to kick back and enjoy yourself, just try not to isolate. If you like movies, go to viewings in the park during the summer or take a film class at the local community college. If you like to read, join a book club or take an literature or writing class. It’s important to get involved with others and find ways to have fun that include positive relationships with others.

How Do You Have Fun in Recovery?

When you’re having a hard day, what do you do to take your mind off it? How do you fill your down time now that drugs and alcohol aren’t your focus?

Jeff Conaway, famous for his role in the movie Grease, the TV show, Taxi, recently died after remaining in a coma for days. Perhaps due in part to his longstanding addiction to painkillers and his stint on Dr. Drew’s Celebrity Rehab on VH1, the biggest discussion is whether or not his death was due to a drug overdose. Most news reports stated from the outset that a drug overdose put Conaway in the hospital, but Dr. Drew himself visited Conaway in the hospital and offered a different story, saying that the issue was not directly related to drug addiction.

Judging from his family’s behavior, it appears that some in Conaway’s family may have a different theory. Before his passing, Conaway’s ex-wife and sister filed a restraining order against his ex-girlfriend, Vikki Lizzi. She had been visiting him in the hospital since he was admitted but the restraining order put a quick stop to that – even though Lizzi had power of attorney over Conaway’s estate and wanted to continue to visit him. After his death, the two women worked to get an autopsy for Conaway to figure out exactly how and why he died. Was it the power of attorney that had the women in Conaway’s life worried about Lizzi’s motives? Or was it her erratic behavior and her own drug addiction – both chronicled on Celebrity Rehab when she visited Conaway during his drug rehab stay and spoke with Dr. Drew? Perhaps it was the ongoing court battle that Conaway had started against Lizzi, alleging that his ex had injected him with painkillers and planted cocaine in the home they once shared.

For her part, some reports say that Lizzi believes that Conaway was given the drugs that ultimately caused his alleged overdose by a man he was staying with after the relationship between Conaway and Lizzi fell apart.

Still other reports say that Conaway’s coma and eventual death were suicidal in nature, that Conaway had purposely taken more drugs than he could handle in an effort to end his life. He was still on the mend after a near-fatal fall last year and, clearly, his home life was anything but calm and supportive.

No matter the cause of Conaway’s death, his life serves as a caution for those who are struggling with prescription drug addiction due to chronic pain. Treatment that is effective and ongoing is necessary, not only to preserve life but to improve quality of life. It’s not easy, but it is possible. If you would like to learn more about our painkiller addiction treatment program here at The Canyon, contact us today for more information.

Sex, drugs, and rock and roll: the saying is that they go together. Unfortunately, both sex and drugs have taken down some of the biggest bands in rock and roll history. Here we take a look at some of the bands that have lost their front men to drug addiction – and continued to rock.

Iron Maiden Lost Paul Di’Anno to Bad Behavior Under the Influence

British heavy metal band Iron Maiden let go of Paul Di’Anno, their first singer, when his wild behavior under the influence of drugs became too much for his band mates to handle. That’s saying a lot – Di’Anno’s band mates were hardly clean and sober and they were an up and coming heavy metal band, not a religious choir. The fact that he got kicked out says quite a lot about the rate of his drug abuse and the depth of his addiction. But Iron Maiden went on to hire Bruce Dickinson and made one of the best known metal albums around: The Number of the Beast.

Pink Floyd Booted Syd Barrett for Psychedelic Addiction

To be more specific, Pink Floyd let Barrett go when his abuse of psychedelic drugs affected his mind so deeply that the band couldn’t take it anymore. Given the tone and theme of Pink Floyd’s music in their two bestselling later albums, Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall, Barrett must have been pretty far gone to be shunned by these guys.

In the hole left by Barrett, Pink Floyd put no one. Instead bassist Roger Waters and guitarist David Gilmour split the duties of lead singer and became one of the most successful and unique rock bands in the world.

The Temptations Fired David Ruffin Due to Cocaine Addiction

A classic, early rock band, The Temptations, lost their lead singer, David Ruffin, when Ruffin’s cocaine addiction got too out of control for the band to handle. Already topping the charts with hits like “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” and “My Girl,” the band risked plummeting into obscurity by getting rid of their popular front man. They took the chance. Replacing Ruffin with Dennis Edwards turned out to be a smart move, though, and the band went on to even more success with hits like “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)” and “I Can’t Get Next to You.”

What happened to Ruffin? He went on to a sporadic, yet occasionally successful solo career, but ultimately died of an overdose in 1991.

Courts are cracking down more and more on those who enable a patient’s drug addiction by providing them with illicit drugs – especially when the patient takes those drugs and ends up overdosing as a result. A new twist on this legal trend is highlighted by a recent case in which one patient charged with burglary claims that not only are his actions due to his drug addiction, but that his drug addiction isn’t his fault either – it’s the fault of his brother.

Donald Dovenbarger is the man who was charged with six counts of burglary and then sentenced to five years in prison as a result of his crimes. Says Dovenbarger: “I believe he is my biggest relapse trigger. I looked up to Curtis. He was kind of a role model to me. Well, not really a role model, but I just wanted to be like him.”

His point? He shouldn’t have to serve the five years in prison, though he likely won’t argue with the mandatory drug rehab program that the judge ordered for after his release. What Dovenbarger doesn’t see is that, in this case, five years is a blessing; he could have gotten as many as 30 years in prison.

And it’s not like his brother, Curtis, got off scot-free. In fact, Curtis was with Donald on the burglaries and was also charged with six counts of the crime. He too was convicted but his sentence was even stiffer: eight years in prison instead of Donald’s five year sentence.

Donald’s lawyer, Kristen Burkett, agrees that Curtis had a lot to do with Donald’s drug addiction issues, his crimes, and ultimately, his conviction. She said: “That relationship has brought him to where he is today.”

Donald reports that he began using drugs by smoking marijuana, then began drinking, then took prescription drugs, and eventually developed a heroin addiction. He said the real problems began when his brother told him to try Xanax because he would like the high. Hanging out with his brother was what Donald credits with his repeated and unsuccessful attempts to remain clean and sober.

It was perhaps those failed attempts at sobriety that made the judge decide to give him five years – one more than prosecutors asked for. The five-year sentence means that Donald will not be eligible for judicial review and will be required to complete the full sentence, remaining in custody until he completes a drug rehab program – the one thing that will be able to help him from repeating his mistakes in the future, no matter what influences are around him.

If you are living with heroin addiction, alcoholism, marijuana addiction, or addiction to prescription drugs, The Canyon can help. Call now for more information about our different addiction treatment programs.