photo credit: Diacritical

Continued Drug Use Despite Clear Potential For Disaster

So if you had bumped into the cops a few times recently, your job was in jeopardy, and you were worried about keeping custody of your child after your divorce, how do you manage drug and alcohol use?  Well, everything just listed could be dramatically (and negatively) affected by drug and alcohol use.  Even casual use might come under close scrutiny with those circumstances.

Someone addicted to drugs may very well express concern about having their life turned upside down by legal problems, a lost job, or problems with child custody.  However, they may also defend their right to continue using to help them relieve stress.  They may complain about how people are getting too much into their business.  They may lay the groundwork for blaming someone else for getting them into trouble. 

Drug and alcohol use is a personal behavior, with the responsibility coming squarely on the shoulders of that individual.  When they seem to use drugs despite their knowledge of huge potential problems, they are likely in denial of their addiction.  A person with better judgment and mental functioning would quickly realize these behaviors need to stop to prevent problems in the future. 

Continued Drug Use Despite History of Life Disaster

When a person has already been to jail, already totalled their car, already experienced a divorce or financial ruin from drug and alcohol use, it can be hard to understand why they might continue using.  Drug and alcohol addiction is a form of emotional coping - unhealthy, but still a form of coping.  When problems get really bad, it may seem like the only way to keep going every day. 

The very cause of a person’s destruction is the thing they keep doing.  Seems strange, doesn’t it?  This is what happens when a person has lost all control of their drinking or drug use.  Their immediate emotional and physical gratification constantly trumps their ability to plan for a different life.  They may even occassionally express a desire for something different, but while addicted they may simply have little capacity to visualize what’s really wrong much less change

Drug Treatment Is Necessary To Restore Judgment and Healthy Perspective

When a person’s general perspective is so distorted that they knowingly put themselves in jeopardy over and over, it’s time for professional help.  An addicted person has impaired judgment and has self-protection habits that keep them from comprehending the truth of their situation.  Thankfully, professional counselors at a drug rehab center can help an addicted person understand these destructive patterns.  At drug rehab, an addict can gradually regain their abilities to judge situations, make good decisions, and look out for their future. 

Check back for another post coming soon about more denial red flags for drug and alcohol addiction.  Knowing these signs of denial could help you or someone you care for get their life on a healthy track.

Alcoholism and Risky Choices Affects Three Lives

In scenario one, the father (lawyer) is the primary bread winner with a family to provide for.  His drunk driving and all-terrain vehicle activity could leave his wife and children with serious financial problems.  He could also leave his children fatherless and make his wife a widow.  When he is drinking, he minimizes the risk and thinks mostly of his own fun and being part of his friend group.

In scenario two, the young mother drinks to make up for lost “fun” time in her teen years.  The young child only has one adult he can depend on, his mother.  Her illegal drinking and recent legal problems could land her in jail, draw a heavy fine, or give cause for removing her son from the home.  When she is drinking, she puts her own emotional needs first.  The possible consequences from a few hours of “fun” could turn her young son’s life upside down in a flash. 

In scenario three, the young professional woman’s unsafe driving and sexual behaviors could do some serious damage to herself and others.  Her choices could put her health at risk, could hurt or kill another person, and could cause serious financial problems.  When she drinks, she tries to forget her past.  She also ignores the potential consequences of her choices in the present moment. 

Alcoholism and Risky Behaviors

A person with a drug or alcohol addiction often overlooks risk.  They tend to minimize and separate realistic risk from how much drinking meets some other need - covering up feelings, keeping up social connections, dealing with emotional pain, releasing stress, etc. 

Even though the drinking could temporarily meet each person’s needs, it could at any time take them directly off the positive path they may want to be on.  Serious injury, financial problems, death, loss of parental custody, jail, and other problems are part of the risk when a person drinks irresponsibly. 

Untreated Mental Illness Increases Risky Behavior

Sometimes, a person drinks to cope with a mental illness such as severe anxiety or depression.  In this case, heavy drinking makes the underlying mental illness even worse.  Depression deepens, anxiety increases, and despair grows.  An untreated mental illness is one of the most alienated and painful things a person can live through.  Drinking to cope with it only makes things worse. 

Normal inhibitions keep a person from being dangerously impulsive.  You tend to pull back and think twice about doing something that could injure you, embarrass you, insult someone, etc.  Alcohol lowers these inhibitions, making impulses easier to follow.  This becomes especially dangerous when a person is depressed.  They may be more likely to hurt themselves or someone else when they feel desperate or trapped.

Alcohol Rehab Can Reduce Risky Behaviors

Alcohol rehab can help a person stop drinking and greatly reduce the risk in their life.  If a person is drinking out of control, it is likely they will need some form of alcohol treatment to help them change their mindset and behavioral patterns.  Do you find yourself or someone you care for in the above scenarios?  If you do, please consider learning about alcohol rehab before the worst case scenario comes true.

Why Hold Back on Drug Rehab

So why would you dismiss the idea of going to drug rehab as anything but that - a nice idea?  Well, you might think it’s too expensive.  Or you may think you could never actually stop using, even if you wanted to.  Drug rehab seems like such a BIG thing to do.  Plus there’s all that time away from home.  No, it’s just way out of your league right now.

Hold on, don’t go too far with those thoughts.  Come back and look at those concerns in a little different light.  Have you noticed since your drug addiction has taken hold you’ve been much more pessimistic than ever before?  Maybe it’s just your emotions doing the talking.  You don’t want to be another failure, and right now you believe something as daunting and overwhelming as getting sober would certainly end in disaster. 

Drug Rehab May Cost Less Than Continuous Addiction

Let’s talk about your first concern - expense.  All you have to do is turn on the news for about 15 seconds and you will certainly hear bad news about the economy.  People losing jobs, savings, and more.  Why would you want to go spend MORE money right now?? 

Instead of the big price tag, think instead of the value of having a clearer mind and more stable emotions in this difficult time.  Do you think you would spend money more wisely while you are sober or while you are constantly out of control with your drinking and drugging?

Drug Rehab Does Not Mean Getting It Perfect

Your other concern might be your ability to “pull it off” and finally get it right by getting sober.  Well, nobody is perfect.  Your perfectionism may try to make you believe that if you can’t get it just right, it’s not worth doing at all.  That is most definitely a lie made big by your addiction. 

Any and all personal growth you gain from drug rehab is something you take with you.  Drug rehab is not a cure, and it is not an impossible mountain to climb.  It is just the first step in a lifelong journey of maintaining sobriety.  It is an experience that introduces you to living a healthy sober life. 

Drug Rehab Can Ring In a Healthy Sober New Year

So now that you are looking at the calendar, seeing the new year about to turn over, what do you think about going to drug rehab.  Can you see it as a beginning step on a journey?  Can you see it as a wise investment during troubling times?  Is it possible for you to quiet your perfectionist voice enough to see drug rehab as a challenging hill rather than Mt Everest?  When you take a fresh look like this, you may be ready to welcome the new year with a stay at drug rehab.

The Lawyer Who Drinks And Drives

You are a successful lawyer, working your way up to being a junior partner in your firm.  You only drink about once a week, but it is always to get drunk.  And when you get together with some old friends once a month, you almost always do dangerous activities while drinking such as driving through the country, using all-terrain vehicles, or driving motor boats. 

You see all this as a very normal way to let loose from your stressful job, but your wife is constantly worried that you will be injured, get arrested, or die from these activities.  She is a stay-at-home mom with your two small children.

The Single Underage Mom Who Parties

You are a twenty year old single mom with an 18 month old son.  You just broke up with your partner (father of your son) because he was very controlling and abusive.  You know this was the right thing to do, but your partying has increased.  You have been through so much and you feel like you need to make up for lost fun time. 

Because of the friends you have been spending time with, you’ve had two contacts with the police and now you are being questioned by Child Welfare about putting your child in harm’s way.  You are worried but still want to be able to go to parties when you want some fun.

The Young Professional Who Drinks The Pain Away

You are in your mid 20’s, with a college degree, and a good job.  Because of your parents’ alcohol problems and divorce, you have had a lot of emotional pain to deal with through your life.  You have also gone back home to care for your younger siblings when your mom ditches her responsibilities.  You feel like you’ve spend a lot of your younger years being like an adult, like you are really in your 40’s now instead of young with your own life ahead of you. 

You frequently drink with your friends at bars and at their homes.  You’ve driven many times while drunk, but you haven’t had anything happen yet.  The economy is bad now and you can’t afford big fines or a big car repair bill.  You also have sexual relations with when you are drunk, often times with no protection.

Alcohol Rehab Can Help Reduce Risky Behaviors

It’s not hard to see how these situations could become trouble in a hurry.  We’ll take a closer look at how a person with alcoholism could continue to take such risks.  Sometimes mental illness gets into the mix, creating a problem with co-occurring disorders.  Alcohol rehab helps to balance a person’s perspective on their life, helping them curb their urge to ignore red flags.  Alcohol rehab may be the only way to help a person who seems bent on living a dangerous life with alcohol.  Sadly, it sometimes takes an unfortunate accident or dramatic problem to get an alcoholic person to alcohol rehab. 

Check in next week for part 2 of this series on alcohol addiction and taking risks. 

Check the Drug Rehab Centers Reputation In The Area

If you are targeting a particular drug rehab centers, it can be helpful to contact a few doctors or outpatient drug and alcohol counselors in the area for a professional opinion. They have likely made referrals or heard local publicity about the drug rehab center and may be able to give you some good information. You may be able to determine whether they have any reservations about the center, if they think very highly of it, or if it seems to match your needs at all.

Learn About The Rehab Centers Professional Credentials

The advertisements may be attractive and the stories compelling, but it really comes down to quality professionals that meet the highest standards. Drug and alcohol counselors go through a rigorous process of training and years of experience before they are licensed.

Drug and alcohol addiction is also a medical condition, meaning that several parts of the drug rehab process may include medical supervision of some kind. Detox often involves prescription medication to reduce withdrawal symptoms. People with co-occurring mental illness often need psychiatric medication during their drug treatment. Also, drug and alcohol addiction increases the chance of other health issues like high blood pressure, digestive disease, and heart problems.

What all of this means is that the drug and alcohol professionals from counselors on up to medical doctors need to have top notch credentials. You’ll want to find out more about the people who will be treating you or your loved one before you make your choice.

Find The Rehab That Fints Your Needs Best

Not all rehabs are built alike. Some have holistic features, others have remote seclusion and exclusivity, and others have proximity to well known medical facilities. Of course, you also need to find out what kinds of problems need to be treated. If you have a mental illness along with an addiction, some places will be better equipped to treat you completely.

Also, if you have a host of medical conditions, you will want to ask questions about how you can stay on track with those issues. Find out about their detox process, their exercise programs, their gender focus, their religious affiliations and accomodations. Find out about the qualifications of their staff, especially if you have some unique needs or preferences.

Although you may find a great deal of information to start you off just by looking at a brochure or website, some in depth questioning can help you match needs and a facility more accurately. Many drug rehabs have someone available to answer questions just about any time.

Drug Rehab Choice Is A Personal One

There may be no single “perfect” drug rehab for you. Just like buying a home or a car, you may need to give up one thing to have a big positive. Or, you may find that you have several choices that would be great. In the end, it’s most important that you make a choice you feel comfortable with and you begin as soon as possible. Even though the process may seem overwhelming, you can get through it to get the help you and your family needs.

Consider The Financial Cost As Compared To Cost Of a Continued Addiction

Financial news has been bad lately, and it is bound to pinch everyone in some way. This can make a person considering residential drug treatment get nervous about their budget. And yes, like many health treatments, cost is an important part of the picture. But before you dismiss any drug rehab center on cost alone, take a serious look at how the addiction has affected your finances over the last several years.

Legal costs, extra money going to pay for drugs or alcohol, property or car damage from DUI or physically distructive outbursts, wages lost from work absenteeism, job loss, injury from drug or alcohol related accident, general budget chaos because of erratic spending or poor planning - it’s all part of the addiction.

If all that was to continue with an untreated addiction for several more years, could that possibly eclipse the cost of a month or two of residential drug treatment? When you consider that, you may find that you can consider high quality programs that seem expensive but fit your needs closely. This kind of investment can actually prevent much greater costs in the long run.

Find Out About Post Rehab Options

If you are seriously impaired enough to need a residential drug treatment program, you are certainly in need of some kind of assistance transitioning into your home environment. A good drug rehab center will have some places for a newly sober drug addict to go besides straight home if needed. It may be one of their official programs or services, or these choices may be places they frequently refer to at discharge. Sober living arrangements can be a good transition step, offering some freedoms along with 24 hour support.

Even for addicts who are preparing to go directly home after drug treatment, support services and recommendations for outpatient drug treatment are valuable. You want to know what they think is helpful so you can get a bigger picture of your drug treatment process (and what to look for in your own area for support when you get home).

Check Out The Drug Rehab Center Website

So many places of business have a professional website now. Even a few years ago it was hit and miss. Now it is almost expected for all kinds of businesses to have an online presence. Drug rehab centers often serve people beyond their immediate area. Because of this, they often provide a comprehensive profile of their services, facility, and staff members. You can usually find email contacts, phone numbers, and sometimes even a live chat option.

More About Choosing a Drug Rehab Center

Be sure to check out another post coming soon covering a few more important pointers. This is an important decision; get well informed before making your commitment.

Residential Drug Rehab

A residential drug rehab center is the most formal and structured types of of drug treatment.  A person is admitted and lives on the campus, usually with very limited or no freedom to come and go off the property.  What a person staying in a drug rehab center gives up in freedoms, they gain in professional and co-resident support and attention.

Some drug rehab centers have features such as a holistic treatment approach, large private grounds, and sometimes luxurious rooms and landscaping.  In addition to top-level drug treatment, some drug rehabs offer nutritional counseling, exercize programs, and yoga classes.

Sober Living Homes

Sober Living is a type of living arrangement for drug addiction recovery.  It has more freedoms than a residential drug treatment but offers more structure and guidance than completely independent living. 

It’s a great choice for a person who has completed a more formal structured drug treatment program but isn’t quite ready for the openness of living back at home.  Sober living allows residents to establish good independent living habits in a home-like environment. 

Outpatient Drug Treatment

Outpatient drug treatment is a good option for someone who is able to live in their home environment while participating in regular treatment.  It can vary from once a week to a more intense schedule of two or three times a week.  Intensive outpatient treatment groups commonly go several weeks with several meetings per week. 

Individual sessions can be done while in the midst of a group treatment series.  Or, they can stand alone for a person who still needs professional support and help but does not have the need for an intense treatment regimen.  Male and female counselors of all ages are available around the United States.  It’s important to find a good fit between you and your drug treatment counselor.

Support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous

Whatever type of addiction you have, there is probably some form of support group that fits you.  Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous are two well known groups across the United States and beyond.  A group for family member of addicts is known as Al Anon.

Over the last few years, the internet has allowed for a tremendous expansion of online support groups.  It’s been appealing to people not living close to an active group, people who haven’t found a helpful group in their neighborhood, or people who simply prefer the online format.  Whatever your preferences, it is simply best that you find a support group that works for you and that you commit yourself to it.

Drug Treatment Options Cover Everyone’s Needs

Whether you need a full drug rehab center experience or you are in the midst of maintaining your sobriety, today’s drug treatment options cover a wide spread of needs.  If you think you are in need of drug treatment, contact The Canyon to find answers to your questions. 

Multiple Failed Attempts To Quit or Cut Back Drug and Alcohol Use

An alcoholic may say they can quit anytime and that they don’t have a problem.  However, a clear sign of alcoholism is the inability to actually quit.  In fact when they say they’ve quit several times before (as proof that they can), it really show shows that they can’t maintain sobriety.

This also holds true for just cutting back to a more healthy social amount.  If they have already gotten out of control with their habits, this is kind of like trying to get the cat back into the bag after it’s been used to being out.  Very difficult to do alone.  Alcoholics drink as a coping mechanism, so really, they don’t have much motivation to quit or reduce their drinking until they understand the full scope of their problem.  In the short term, less drinking means they aren’t able to get as numb as they are used to.

It’s About Impulse Control

Someone says, “Hey, let’s go to the bars,” or “Have another one,” and the alcoholic has little ability to stop themselves.  The impulse wins nearly every time because their skill at delaying gratification or using good judgment about drinking has been disabled. 

It’s partly because one strong effect of alcohol in the body is a loss of impulse control.  A person who normally only has one or two can have this effect for a short time without completely losing their ability to make good choices.  Of course, anyone having even one drink needs to be smart about choosing to drive each and every time.  But if their pattern is controlled social drinking, it is likely to stay that way over time.

Poor Judgement On When To Say When

An earlier post described how alcoholics have great difficulty tracking the amount they drink.  They may say they’ve only had “a few” but they may have actually had several times that amount.  Their tolerance is probably higher, so they may not report as much impairment as a true social drinker.  However, that does not mean they are actually less impaired.

A person drinking socially and safely generally has a good sense about their physical sensations, knowing they should keep track, and understanding how their drinking fits into the bigger picture of their activities for the day.  In other words, they most likely know if they are drinking socially before they get on the road, they will only be able to have a certain amount within a certain amount of time so they can drive safely.  An alcoholic has no ability to do this.

Alcohol Rehab Can Get Life Back In Control

Of course, nobody is ever completely in control of their life.  That’s pretty unrealistic.  However, everyone has a great deal of control about their behaviors and choices.  Losing control of the ability to manage alcohol use is destructive and sometimes deadly.  Alcohol rehab can restore a person’s ability to monitor themselves and make good choices. 

Celebrity Drug Rehab on VH1

The famous Celebrity Drug Rehab show has brought attention to many famous people struggling with addiction.  Some celebrities have made positive change, others seem to demonstrate just how deeply they are tormented. 

The most recent “reunion” is of the 2007 series, reviewed in more detail here in the Meditox blog.  Of the celebrity attendees, Bridgette Nielson (actress), Ricco Rodriguez (fighter), and Seth Binzer (Shifty from Crazytown, musician) all seemed to have the most positive outcomes.   

Unfortunately, some celebrities like Steven Baldwin (actor) and Jessica Sierra (Am Idol) were absent.  Those on “in between” ground included Chyna (wrestler), Jeff Conoway (actor), and Mary Carey (actress).  Unfortunately, one child star appeared to go back to active drug use - Jaimee Foxworth (actress) from the show Family Matters.

Media Articles and Pictures Of Celebrity Drug Rehab and AddictionIt’s been hard to escape footage and photos of Amy Winehouse and her scattered appearance.  Media has even helped expose her drug use.  There’s an infamous shot of her doing drugs outside while appearing half-dressed.  Nick Nolte had an exceptionally unflattering photo from a DUI arrest a few years back - wild hair and an odd facial expression included.

Lindsay Lohan, Robert Downey Jr, Natalie Cole, and Drew Barrymore appear to have maintained sobriety and pulled their lives in good directions.  Of course, anyone with an addiction history is at risk for relapse and should always be proactive about their sobriety.  However, the headlines have not tracked recent drug addiction problems for any of them lately. 

Drew and Natalie have the longest period of sobriety of these four people.  They have established good consistent performing careers and have spoken out about their drug rehab experiences.  Robert Downey, Jr.  spent time in drug rehab and jail several times.  However, he has had a recent surge in his career along with maintaining five years of sobriety. 

Lindsay seems to have held together about 18 months of sobriety to this point.  Her last arrest and drug rehab was in the summer of 2007, and it was reported that in August of 2008 she had hired a sober companion to help her remain sober. 

Celebrities Benefit From Drug Rehab And So Can You

Ultimately, it’s important to realize that celebrities are people with the same kinds of vulnerabilities as anyone.  However, they also have the added pressure of doing it all in front of everyone.  While many people would love the rich lifestyle a lot of celebrities have, not many would want the added scrutiny that celebs go through when they go through drug rehab, get tangled in legal problems, and fall apart in the public eye.

That said, it seems that many celebrities have also found help by going to drug rehab.  Celebrity drug rehab has all the added health and esthetic benefits of a spa, coupled with top-notch drug treatment.  You can experience the privacy of a holistic celebrity drug rehab at The Canyon, but without the paparazzi after you finish.

Addiction Is Empty Shortcut To Happiness

True happiness and content is from doing healthy things.  People are rewarded by their body in the form of positive emotions, pleasant physical sensations, and good thoughts.  Exercise, eating in a healthy way, having fun, being passionate, finding love, they all trigger the body’s reward system.  These actions are perpetuated because of the reward and because they are good for human beings in general. 

Addiction shortcuts around the positive healthy reactions, directly stimulating the reward center of the brain.  Of course, when a person is rewarded, they tend to want to keep doing the thing that produced the reward. Enjoy a good meals every day, enjoy time with friends, spend time doing things you are passionate about.  Or, for a drug addict, keep taking more and more drugs to get the emotional and physical rewards. 

Quick Fix Approach Linked With Addictive Behaviors and Neurochemicals

Eating disorders are similar to addictions in that they also use artificial quick-fixes to get rewards.  Their personality and patterns rely on lots of rewards and instant gratification.  Eating disorders and addictions are compulsions, meaning a person loses control and centers their entire life around their dysfunctional activities.  People with eating disorders and addictions also report a great deal of anxiety.  They also report that their nerves are calmed by drinking, drug use, or misuse of food. 

Both eating disorders and addictions have been linked with changes in neurochemicals in the brain.  Of course, if a person is at risk for one problem they may be at a risk for the other.  People can even have co-occuring eating disorders and addiction.  The neurochemical changes can go both ways - addicted person developing an eating disorder, or a person with an eating disorder developing an addiction. 

A person with either a drug addiction or an eating disorder often go to great lengths to maintain their compulsion.  They can and often do develop increasingly severe behaviors and consequences as a result.  Sadly, addictions and eating disorders are tremendously difficult to give up.  They sometimes damage their body so badly that they put their very life at risk.  Sometimes even this does not keep them from continuing.

Eating Disorder Treatment Has Similarities To Addiction Treatment

From recent research, it appears that eating disorders can be successfully treated if they are approached as an addiction.  Many of the mental and emotional components are similar.  Drug treatment and eating disorder treatments can be done on an outpatient or residential basis.  Relapse happens with both disorders, and management is generally lifelong for both. 

As you can see, both eating disorders and drug addictions are serious health problems.  Both drug rehab and residential eating disorder treatment can turn someone’s life around, maybe save their life.  Specialized treatment for co-occuring issues like an eating disorder and an addiction can be found at The Canyon.  No need to go to a separate eating disorder facility and drug rehab center. 

Drug Rehab and Eating Disorder Treatment In One Place

Your ideal treatment option is the Canyon where co-occuring disorders are treated simultaneously.  Dual disorders are nothing to mess with on your own.  If you know you are at rock bottom and need eating disorder and drug rehab together, contact the Canyon today.