Category Archives: Detoxification

Food addiction

February 26, 2014

Food addiction-Fighting food addiction

food addiction

food especially sugar is becoming the biggest luring substance to food addiction

There is one common addiction for all mankind, we are all in one way or the other addicted to food. Visualize how it feels like when you aren’t able to eat. You will probably start to crave for food, and become more physically and emotionally uncomfortable. The longer the cravings go on for, until eating becomes the most important thing for you to do. This is the constant experience of people struggling with food addiction, even if they have plenty to eat.

However food is essential to survival, and unlike other addictive behaviors, it is normal to eat repeatedly every day, and to look forward to eating for pleasure. But several characteristics separate normal or occasional binge eating from a food addiction.

The first point, food addiction is maladaptive, so although people overeat to feel better, it often ends up making them feel worse, and gives those more to feel back about. Food addiction can threaten health, causing obesity, malnutrition, and other problems.

The second point, the overeating that people with food addiction do is persistent, so a person addicted to food eats too much food and most of the time it’s the wrong kinds of food taken repeatedly. Everybody overeat from time to time, but people with food addiction often overeat daily, and they eat not because they are hungry, but as their main way of coping with stress.

The Controversy of Food Addiction

As behavioral addictions, the concept of food addiction is a controversial one. Opinions differs between those who think that overeating can be a type of addiction, and those who think that true addictions are limited to psychoactive substances which produces symptoms such as physical and withdrawal. Although this has been demonstrated in research with sugar and fat (the two most common obesity-causing constituents of food), and other studies show that food produces opiates in the body, many think that this does not necessarily constitute an addiction.

However, the growing epidemic of obesity over the past years has raised public health concern. In almost all US states, one in five adults are obese. Childhood obesity was ranked as the top health concern for children in 2008, higher than either drug abuse, rated second, or smoking rated third, both of which were ahead of obesity in 2007.

This concern, along with effective treatments for addictions, which are being successfully applied to more and more problematic behaviors, is contributing to a movement towards understanding over-eating, and the consequences of obesity and related health problems, in terms of addiction.

Food addiction is now included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), named as Binge Eating Disorder, and categorized with the Eating Disorders. Excessive eating is also a characteristic of another eating disorders outlined in the DSM, known as Bulimia Nervosa. Some controversy remains over whether eating disorders are actually addictions, but many experts believe that they are.

Food Addiction like Other Addictions

There are several similarities between food addiction and drug addiction, including effects on mood, external cues to eat or use drugs, expectancies, restraint, ambivalence, and attribution.

Neurotransmitters and the brain’s reward system have been implicated in food and other addictions. In animal studies, for example, dopamine has been found to play an important role in overall reward systems, and binging on sugar has been shown to influence dopamine activity.

Food, drugs and other addictive substances and behaviors are all associated with pleasure, hedonism, and social, cultural or sub-cultural desirability. When advertising or the people around us tell us that a food, drug or activity will feel good, it sets up a self-fulfilling prophecy. We are more likely to seek it out, and we are more likely to experience pleasure when we indulge.

Food addiction and Mental Health

Similarities between food addiction and other addictions suggest a universal process underlying food and other addictions. Some experts go further, theorizing that overlaps, similarities, and co-occurrences of mental health problems, including addictions, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and eating disorders, and the phenomenon of a new addiction or mental health problem developing when an old addiction is treated, indicate that they are expressions of related underlying pathologies. It has been argued that viewing these conditions separately hinders the development of a comprehensive view of addictions.

In the study involving 39 healthy women with different weights from lean to overweight or obese, the participants were asked to complete the Yale Food Addiction Scale, which tests for signs of food addiction. Women with full-fledged eating disorders of any type were not included in the study.

Then, using fMRI, researchers led by Yale’s Ashley Gearhardt and Kelly Brownell looked at the women’s brain activity in response to food. In one task, the women were asked to look at pictures of either a luscious chocolate shake or a bland, no-calorie solution. For another brain-scan task, women actually drank the shake made with four scoops of vanilla Häagen-Dazs ice cream, 2% milk and 2 tablespoons of Hershey’s chocolate syrup or the no-calorie control solution, which was designed to be as flavorless as possible (water couldn’t be used because it actually activates taste receptors).

The scientists found that when viewing images of ice cream, the women who had three or more symptoms of food addiction things like frequently worrying about overeating, eating to the point of feeling sick and difficulty functioning due to attempts to control overeating or overeating itself showed more brain activity in regions involved with pleasure and craving than women who had one or no such symptoms.

These areas included the amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex and medial orbitofrontal cortex — the same regions that light up in drug addicts who are shown images of drug paraphernalia or drugs.

Similar to people suffering from substance abuse, the food-addicted participants also showed reduced activity in brain regions involved with self-control (the lateral orbitofrontal cortex), when they actually ate the ice cream.

In other words, women with symptoms of food addiction had higher expectations that a chocolate shake would be yummy and pleasurable when they anticipated eating it, and they were less able to stop eating it once they started.

Interestingly, however, unlike drug addicts, the participants with more signs of food addiction did not show a decrease in activity in pleasure-related regions of the brain when they actually ate the ice cream. People with drug addictions tend to derive less and less pleasure from drug use over time — they want drugs more but enjoy them less, creating compulsive behavior. But it’s possible that this tolerance may be seen only in serious addictions, not in people with just a few symptoms.

Notably, the study also found that food addiction symptoms and brain responses to food were not associated with weight: there were some overweight women who showed no food addiction symptoms, and some normal-weight women who did.

That’s why addictions aren’t simple: they involve variations not only in levels of desire, but also in levels of ability to control that desire. And these factors may change in relation to social situations and stress.

Neither heroin nor Häagen-Dazs leads to addiction in the majority of users, and yet there are certain situations that may prompt binges in people who otherwise have high levels of self-control. So the answers to addiction may lie not in the substances themselves, but in the relationship people have with them and the settings in which they are consumed.

Food addiction-Fighting food addiction

 

 

 

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Healthy Mitochondria and addiction Recovery

February 25, 2014

Healthy Mitochondria and addiction Recovery-The understanding

mitochondrial

mitochondrial abnormalities are associated with opiate addiction

Addiction is a disease in the body and the mind and successful therapy depends on treating both.  Mind Body medicine is based on the unity of mind and body and focuses on promoting health and balance in the mind body, thereby providing highly effective therapy for addiction.  If you detoxify, or withdraw, from alcohol or a drug, but do not address the conditions in the body that create fatigue, depression, and anxiety, then relapse is more likely and therapy has been incomplete. Similarly, if you withdraw from a substance and do not understand the psychological and spiritual issues that promoted the need for it, then relapse is likely and the “lessons of disease” have not been learned.

Healthy Mitochondria and addiction Recovery-The body

Integrative, or, functional medicine provides the tools to assess and treat the conditions in the body that contribute to fatigue, depression, and anxiety, thereby increasing the likelihood of chemical dependency.  These include:

  • Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) deficiency
  • Metabolic cofactor deficiency
  • Pyroluria
  • Hypothyroidism
  • Adrenal fatigue
  • And more

These “terrain issues” in the body need to be properly treated in order to make detoxification easier and to prevent relapse.

Healthy Mitochondria and addiction Recovery-Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) deficiency

NAD stands for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, which is the chemical term for a molecule that reacts with oxygen in the mitochondria in every cell of your body in order to create energy so you can move, breathe, pump blood, digest food, think, and generally, live your life.  Lack of this essential cellular fuel is now recognized as a key feature of chronic fatigue, apathy, depression, anxiety, alcohol and drug addiction, weak immune system (infections and cancer), muscle pain and weakness, headaches, memory disturbance, sleep problems, focus and concentration defects and other chronic diseases. NAD deficiency may be an unrecognized epidemic of cellular disease.

Since NAD is so fundamental to good health, how is it that we can become deficient in this powerful molecule? First of all, the vitamins, minerals, complex carbohydrates, proteins and fats come from our diet and provide the building blocks to citric acid cycle energy production.  If any one of the nutritional factors is low, energy production is weakened.  Since oxygen is just as important as hydrogen in cellular energetics, lack of exercise and shallow breathing due to stress are common factors that can reduce the amount of oxygen at the cell level. And finally the enzymes that catalyze the citric acid cycle are often inhibited or destroyed by chemical or physical toxins that create oxidative, or free radical, damage.  Free radical damage comes from cigarette smoke, drugs, radio waves from cell phones and wi-fi, and the myriad chemicals found in all humans at this time on earth, including phalates, parabens, pesticides, styrene, benzene, toluene, and thousands more.  For example, medical scientists now widely believe that Alzheimer’s dementia and Parkinson’s disease share the common feature of nerve cell degeneration due to impairment of the ATP producing enzymes with the citric acid cycle and mitochondria.

Genetic NAD deficiency may be present at birth and appear in children as poor sleeping, behavioral problems, hyperactivity, impaired concentration, academic stress and underachievement. Some people have been tired and depressed for as long as they can remember.  For these people there is a greater tendency to try drugs and alcohol in order to improve energy and mood, and simply feel better, but the risk for addiction is high.

Healthy Mitochondria and addiction Recovery-Genetics and addiction

A word of caution is necessary as we discuss genetics and addiction, or, any other disease.  Inherited variations in genes do not invariably lead to disease.  Lifestyle and mind style factors often override, so to speak, a genetic tendency.  Basically the DNA is the hardware in the computer and the epigenome is the software, which is influenced by our lifestyle and the choices we make in our lives.  The epigenome responds to our thoughts, emotions, beliefs and overall stress levels, as well as our diet, exercise levels and other features of our daily lives.  Basically, the genes put the bullet in the gun, but it is our lifestyle and mind style that pulls the trigger.

NAD deficiency:

There may be a genetic polymorphism that reduces a gene coding for a mitochondrial protein which regulates NAD production.  Since mitochondrial DNA is all received from the mother through the egg (no mitochondria are found in sperm) we can look to the maternal side for clues to energy production in the family history.

Dopamine D2 receptor impairment:

Since the primary neurotransmitter of the reward pathway is dopamine, genes for dopamine synthesis, degradation, receptors, and transporters are areas of research. Also, serotonin, norepinephrine, GABA, opioid, and cannabinoid neurons all modify dopamine metabolism and dopamine neurons. Therefore, defects in various combinations of the genes for these neurotransmitters may result in a Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS).

The brain

The brain is composed of billions of nerve cells, called neurons. Brain activity is the interaction of neurons as they communicate with one another. Neurons do not actually touch one another; instead, they are separated by a small gap called a synapse. Activity within a neuron is electrical; however electrical activity cannot cross the synapse. When one neuron wants to signal another, it releases a number of neurotransmitter chemical molecules into the synapse. For each type of neurotransmitter, the receiving neuron has specific receptor sites on the surface. As neurotransmitter molecules bind to a receptor site, the process causes electrical activity in the receptor neuron. The receiving neuron then releases the neurotransmitter molecules so that the sending neuron can absorb them from the synapse in a process called re-uptake, stopping the communication.

Feeling the pleasure

The presence of dopamine, a neurotransmitter, in the synapses of the reward center of the brain is directly related to every feeling of pleasure we experience, from eating good food to falling in love. Other neurotransmitters mediate other emotions and attitudes.

Avenues of addiction

As people continue to use addictive substances, receptor function decreases, which requires the increased use of substances for pleasure or just a sense of well-being. In the absence of external substances, the body experiences a neurotransmission deficit. Some people begin by taking drugs to feel high while others begin by innocently increasing their prescription use to achieve the original effect. There are as many reasons to become addicted as there are people who become addicted. In most cases, NO ONE begins by believing they will become a slave to an external power which completely consumes and controls their life.

Understanding withdrawal

When a chemically dependent person is denied access to a substance to which s/he is addicted, the addicted brain goes into a frenzy that manifests itself in the physical symptoms of withdrawal. The symptoms may be life threatening and may induce agitation, hallucinations, intestinal upsets, severe muscular aches, etc. After withdrawal, the body may be completely free of the addicting substance, yet neurotransmitters of the brain are still not in balance. This may lead to physical feelings of craving, an almost overwhelming desire to use the substance again.

Treatment process

The first step is a comprehensive functional medical evaluation which reviews all systems in the body, including digestion, nutrient absorption, hormone balance, immunity and the like.  After that dietary recommendations are provided, along with nutritional supplements. Then the 10 day intravenous program is started. The IV infusion varies from day to day and is individualized for each patient. Each day of the treatment, a nurse inserts an IV line. The patient relaxes in a lounge chair while the intravenous formulation is slowly infused through the vein. The uncomfortable feelings of withdrawal and cravings subside and remain at bay surprisingly quickly. Between the fourth and eighth day patients typically report feelings of amazing mental clarity. Infusions are tolerated well and any mild side effects disappear at the cessation of infusion. The severe physical symptoms of withdrawal vanish; however, the full protocol is required to complete the treatment and minimize or eliminate physical cravings. Note that following treatment the psychological aspects of addiction still need to be addressed. During the day the patient may watch television, read, eat, and even doze. At the end of the day, the IV is disconnected and the patient leaves the outpatient clinic.

Healthy Mitochondria and addiction Recovery-Life after treatment

After treatment the patient is no longer physically addicted and may certainly resume a normal life; however, an addicted person will typically not have been leading a normal life for some time. In order to rejoin the world successfully, a variety of aftercare coping strategies can be helpful. The patient upon receiving treatment needs to continue engaging with the different support groups and commit to:

  • Individual psychotherapy
  • Group psychotherapy
  • Family psychotherapy
  • Exercise programs
  • Affinity and other social groups
  • Residential and/or Intensive Outpatient Programs

Healthy Mitochondria and addiction Recovery-The understanding

 

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Outpatient addiction treatment naturally

February 23, 2014

Outpatient addiction treatment naturally

Outpatient Addiction Treatment

Outpatient addiction Treatment

addiction must be fought hard and addiction outpatient treatment in one way

There are many types of addiction treatments available in the market, outpatient addiction treatment being one of them. It must be noted that for one to realize positive recovery the problem of addiction must be fought as hard as is practically, some type of treatment are absolutely crucial. There are certain people of whom outpatient treatment can be the best choice, but there are others who run the risk of relapsing if they try this type of treatment.  I will therefore throughout this article, take a keen look not only just at the fundamentals of outpatient treatment, but also the kinds of people who will be the most successful with this particular method of treatment.

Outpatient Addiction Treatment-Natural treatments

Users who are thinking about an outpatient course of treatment absolutely should have a strong sense of absolute commitment. There are levels of freedom and independence attached to this type of treatment, and it requires a certain amount of self-discipline. However, any person thinking about outpatient care has to be able to remain abstinent for an absolute minimum of seventy two hours, or three days. Having a lot of support from friends, family members, and so on, is also necessary. If you have a lot of responsibilities in your day to day life, this type of treatment may also be the best choice for you.

Patients who are considering this type of treatment will have to be extensively evaluated. Their condition must be studied to make sure that this treatment will help them and that they will be able to be successful at it. No matter how much you might want to take advantage of outpatient care, it may not be right to you. An evaluation might determine that you will do better with inpatient care, which is often more intense and offers less independence. However, depending on your circumstances, that might be a good thing.

Naturally, when you are an outpatient, you get to stay at home. However, you have to realize that a lot of things will still be expected of you. Outpatients still have to go to rehabilitation programs, meetings, and so on, and they have to do some of their treatments within a facility. Not everything can be done at home, and even outpatients will be required to do some things at a facility. Also – it’s sometimes extra tough to fight your addiction at home. Can you imagine an alcohol addict looking for alcohol rehab treatment, staying at home, alone, with beer in the fridge? Outpatient treatment means surrounding the patient with people, and making sure he’s in a position where he can FIGHT his temptations.

Outpatient Addiction Treatment

There are many advantages associated with outpatient addiction treatment centers. For one thing, no break from work or schooling will be required. As well, outpatient care tends to be significantly less expensive than inpatient care. As well, patients will be surrounded by their support network of supportive friends and family members, which can make all the difference during treatment.

As mentioned, however, not every patient will be able to benefit from this type of care. If you need more than counseling, then this might not be the right kind of care. It really all depends on personal needs, addictions, will power, and so on. That is why an examination and evaluation is so important, to make sure that the right patients go to the right places. This increases every patient’s chances of success.

Outpatient Addiction Treatment-Drug Addiction

Drug addiction is a scourge which has taken hold of the entire world and certainly something that a lot of people are dealing with right here and now. It affects millions upon millions of people and it might come as a surprise that teenagers are typically the ones that fall into drug addiction. There are many questions about treatment options when someone is dealing with someone they know who is addicted to drugs or even if they are addicted to drugs themselves. That is what we are to explore and discuss in this article.

Firstly, understanding exactly what triggered the drug addiction is a very important step in the treatment process and it is something that a lot of treatment centers actually focus on.

What causes someone to get hooked on drugs, why would they choose that path versus another? These are just a few questions that doctors ask in treatment centers.

Speaking of treatment centers, there are many different options to choose from in the way of a treatment center.

There are inpatient treatment centers as well as outpatient and it all depends on how severely the addiction runs and what types of drugs the patient might have been addicted to.

The outpatient addiction treatment centers

In outpatient treatment centers, both adult drug treatment and teen drugs rehabilitation is administered. This is where addicts can go to gain support, however they do not live there. Typically, these types of treatment centers are designed to give the addict support in the form of meetings and a support buddy.

Recovering from an addiction is a very long process especially for someone who has never been through it, this can be very difficult to understand, however there are many ways through which you can support someone suffering from addiction. Being there for the addict and certainly allowing them to talk about their experience is just a milestone and will make a great difference in their treatment process. These patients’ needs to be full accommodated and feel the sense of belonging to the society during and after the treatment period.
Curing an addict is something that is never going to happen, as the old saying goes, ‘Once an addict, always an addict’, however with the many different treatment options out there to assist you in managing your addiction. It takes more than just support; it takes a complete overhaul of your mind and body. Going through addiction treatment is going to be difficult in the beginning, as there are many different withdraws which their  bodies will goes through when they are in treatment for drugs. However, once the withdraws are finished, the therapy starts and the support system is in place, the addiction will slowly but surely decrease and life will take its place.

Outpatient addiction treatment naturally

 

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No Withdrawal Addiction Recovery, Without Withdrawal Seriously

February 23, 2014

 Withdrawal

you can seek specialist opinion on addiction and from that you may start the recovery journey

 

 

Addiction recovery without withdrawal

 

Addiction recovery without withdrawal-The Chance to Change Your Life

Your addiction has given you the opportunity to change your life. Changing your life is what makes recovery both difficult and rewarding. Recovery is difficult because you have to change your life, and all change is difficult, even good change. Recovery without Withdrawal is rewarding because you get the chance to change your life. Most people sleepwalk through life. They don’t think about who they are or what they want to be, and then one day they wake up and wonder why they aren’t happy.

If you use this opportunity for change, you’ll look back and think of your addiction as one of the best things that ever happened to you. People in recovery often describe themselves as grateful addicts. Why would someone be grateful to have an addiction? Because their addiction helped them find an inner peace and tranquility that most people crave. Recovery can help you change your life. You may need to adopt the following:

Addiction recovery without withdrawal-The first rule of recovery

One does not recover from an addiction by stopping using the substance or drug. You recover without withdrawal by creating a new life where it is easier to not use. If you don’t create a new life, then all the factors that brought you to your addiction will eventually catch up with you again.

You don’t have to change everything in your life. But there are a few things and behaviors that have been getting you into trouble, and they will continue to get you into trouble until you let them go. The more you try to hold onto your old life in recovery, the less well you will do.

Here are the three most common things that people need to change in order to achieve recovery.

Addiction recovery without withdrawal-Avoid High-Risk Situations

Some common high-risk situations are described by the acronym, HALT:

  • Hungry
  • Angry
  • Lonely
    Withdrawal
  • Tired

How do you feel at the end of the day? You’re probably hungry because you haven’t eaten well. You’re probably angry because you’ve had a tough day at work or a tough commute home. You may feel lonely because you’re isolated. You don’t have to be physically alone to feel lonely. And you’re tired. That’s why your strongest cravings usually occur at the end of the day. Here’s another way of looking at high-risk situations:

  • People. (People who you use with or who are related to your use. People who you have conflicts with, and who make you want to use. People who you celebrate with by using. People who encourage you to use either directly or indirectly.)
  • Places. (Places where you use or where you get your drugs or alcohol.)
  • Things. (Things that remind you of your using.)

How can you avoid high-risk situations? Of course, you can’t always avoid these situations. But if you’re aware of them, they won’t catch you off guard, and you can prevent little craving from turning into major urges.

Take better care of yourself. Eat a healthier lunch so you’re not as hungry at the end of the day. Join a 12 step group so that you don’t feel isolated. Learn how to relax so that you can let go of your anger and resentments. Develop better sleep habits so that you’re less tired.

Avoid your drinking friends, your favorite bar, and having alcohol in the house. Avoid people who you used cocaine with, driving by your dealer’s neighborhood, and cocaine paraphernalia.

Recovery without Withdrawal isn’t about one big change. It’s about lots of little changes. Avoiding those high-risk situations helps you create a new life where it’s easier to not use.

Make a list of your high-risk situations. Addiction is sneaky. Sometimes you won’t see your high-risk situations until you’re right in the middle of one. That’s why it’s important that you learn to look for them. Make a list of your high-risk situations and to keep it with you. Go over the list with someone in recovery so that can spot any situations that you might have missed. Make the list and keep it with you. Some day that list may save your life.

Addiction recovery without withdrawal–Learn to Relax

There are only a few reasons why people use drugs and alcohol. They use to escape, relax, and reward themselves. In other words, people use drugs and alcohol to relieve tension.

The first rule of recovery without withdrawal is that you must change your life. What do you need to change? If you understood the previous paragraph, then you need to change the way you relieve tension. Everyone needs to escape, relax, and reward themselves. Those are essential coping skills for a happy life. But addicts don’t know how to do those things without using.

If you manage to stop using for a while, but don’t learn how to relax, your tension will build until you’ll have to relapse just to escape again. Tension and the inability to relax are the most common causes of relapse.

I know relaxation will help. I have treated thousands of patients. Many of them have told me that relaxation has changed their life. There is only one reason why people don’t relax – because they think they’re too busy to relax. It goes something like this, “I know it makes sense, but I’ve got so many other things I have to do.”

Ask yourself how much time you spend on your addiction. If you add up all the time it takes to get your drug, use it, deal with its consequences, and plan your next relapse, you’ll realize that relaxing for twenty to forty minutes a day is a bargain.

Relaxation is not an optional part of recovery. It’s essential to recovery. There are many ways to relax. They range from simple techniques like going for a walk, to more structured techniques like meditation. Meditation is an important part of that mix because the simple techniques don’t always work. If you’re under a lot of stress, you may need something more reliable like meditation. Use any of these techniques, or any combination. But do something every day to relax, escape, reward yourself, and turn off the chatter in your mind.

Numerous studies have proven that relaxation reduces the use of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana and help the recovery without Withdrawal.

Addiction recovery without withdrawal-Be Honest

An addiction requires lying. You have to lie about getting your drug, using it, hiding its consequences, and planning your next relapse. An addiction is full of lying. By the time you’ve developed an addiction, lying comes easily to you. After a while you get so good at lying that you end up lying to yourself. That’s why addicts don’t know who they are or what they believe in.

The other problem with lying is that you can’t like yourself when you lie. You can’t look yourself in the mirror. Lying traps you in your addiction. The more you lie, the less you like yourself, which makes you want to escape, which leads to more using and more lying. Recovery without Withdrawal is a reality, you can do it!

Nothing changes, if nothing changes. Ask yourself this: will more lying, more isolating, and more of the same make you feel better? The expression in AA is – nothing changes if nothing changes. If you don’t change your life, then why would this time be any different? You need to create a new life where it’s easier to not use.

Recovery without Withdrawal requires complete honesty. You must be one-hundred percent completely honest with the people who are your supports: your family, your doctor, your therapist, the people in your 12 step group, and your sponsor. If you can’t be completely honest with them, you won’t do well in recovery.

When you’re completely honest you don’t give your addiction room to hide. When you lie you leave the door open to relapse.

One mistake people make in the early stages of recovery is they think that honesty means being honest about other people. They think they should share what’s “wrong” with other people. But recovery isn’t about fixing other people. It’s about fixing yourself. Stick with your own recovery. Focusing on what you don’t like about others is easy because it deflects attention from yourself.

Honesty won’t come naturally in the beginning. You’ve spent so much time learning how to lie that telling the truth, no matter how good it is for you, won’t feel natural. You’ll have to practice telling the truth a few hundred times before it comes a little easier. In the beginning, you’ll have to stop yourself as you’re telling a story, and say, “now that I think about it, it was more like this…”

Show common sense. Not everybody is your best friend. And not everybody will be glad to know that you have an addiction or that you’re doing something about it. There may be some people who you don’t want to tell about your recovery. But don’t be reluctant to tell the people close to you about your recovery. You should never feel ashamed that you’re doing something about your addiction specially when Recovery without withdrawal is an option.

Addiction recovery without withdrawal

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Addiction Recovery, Painless Drugless Addiction Recovery is Possible!

February 23, 2014

Addiction recovery-It’s possible?

Recovery

people suffering from addiction are struggling with the decision to make the first step to recovery.

When you’re struggling with drug addiction, sobriety can seem like an impossible goal. But recovery is never out of reach, no matter how hopeless your situation seems. Change is possible with the right treatment and support, and by addressing the root cause of your addiction. Don’t give up—even if you’ve tried and failed before. The road to recovery often involves bumps, pitfalls, and setbacks. But by examining the problem and thinking about change, you’re already on your way.

Addiction recovery-Decide to make a change

For many people struggling with addiction, the biggest and toughest step toward recovery is the very first one: deciding to make a change. It’s normal to feel conflicted about giving up your drug of choice, even when you realize it’s causing problems in your life. Change is never easy and committing to sobriety involves changing many things, including:

  • the way you deal with stress
  • who you allow in your life
  • what you do in your free time
  • how you think about yourself

You may wonder if you’re really ready for all that change or if you have what it takes to quit. It’s okay if you’re torn. Recovering from addiction is a long process, one that requires time, commitment, motivation, and support. As you contemplate your situation, the following tips can help you make the decision.

Thinking about change

  • Keep track of your drug use, including when and how much you use. This will give you a better sense of the role the addiction is playing in your life.
  • List the pros and cons of quitting, as well as the costs and benefits of continuing your drug abuse.
  • Consider the things that are important to you, such as your spouse, children, career and health. How does your drug use affect those things?
  • Talk it over with someone you trust. Ask the person how he or she feels about your drug use.
  • Ask yourself if there’s anything preventing you from changing. What are some things that could help you make the change?

Addiction recovery-Explore your treatment options

Once you’ve made the decision to challenge your drug addiction, it’s time to explore your treatment choices. As you consider the options, keep the following in mind:

  • There’s no magic bullet or single treatment that works for everyone. When considering a program, remember that everyone’s needs are different. Drug addiction treatment should be customized to your unique problems and situation. It’s important that you find a program that feels right.
  • Treatment should address more than just your drug abuse. Addiction affects your whole life, including relationships, career, health, and psychological well-being. Treatment success depends on developing a new way of living and addressing the reasons why you turned to drugs in the first place. It may have been because of an inability to manage stress, in which case you’ll need to find healthy ways to handle stressful situations.
  • Commitment and follow through. Drug addiction treatment is not a quick and easy process. In general, the longer and more intense the drug use, the longer and more intense the treatment you’ll need. But regardless of the treatment program’s length in weeks or months, long-term follow-up care is crucial to recovery.
  • There are many places to turn for help. Not everybody requires medically supervised detox or an extended stint in rehab. The level of care you need depends on your age, drug use history, and other medical or psychiatric conditions. In addition to doctors and psychologists, many clergy members, social workers, and counselors offer addiction treatment services.

As you seek help for drug addiction, it’s also important to get treatment for any other medical or psychological issues you’re experiencing. Your best chance of recovery is through integrated treatment for both the substance abuse problem and the mental health problem. This means getting combined mental health and addiction treatment from the same treatment provider or team.

Addiction recovery-Reach out for support

Don’t try to go it alone. Whatever treatment approach you choose, having a solid support system is essential. The more positive influences you have in your life, the better your chances for recovery. Recovering from drug addiction isn’t easy, but with people you can turn to for encouragement, guidance, and a listening ear, it’s a little less tough.

  • Lean on close friends and family – Having the support of friends and family members is an invaluable asset in recovery. If you’re reluctant to turn to your loved ones because you’ve let them down before, consider going to couples counseling or family therapy.
  • Build a sober social network – If your previous social life revolved around drugs, you may need to make some new connections. It’s important to have sober friends who will support your recovery. Try taking a class, joining a church or a civic group, volunteering, or attending events in your community.
  • Consider moving in to a sober living home – Sober living homes provide a safe, supportive place to live while you’re recovering from drug addiction. They are a good option if you don’t have a stable home or a drug-free living environment to go to.
  • Make meetings a priority – Join a recovery support group and attend meetings regularly. Spending time with people who understand exactly what you’re going through can be very healing. You can also benefit from the shared experiences of the group members and learn what others have done to stay sober.
Addiction recovery-Learn healthy ways to cope with stress

Even once you’ve recovered from drug addiction, you’ll still have to face the problems that led to your drug problems in the first place. Did you start using drugs to numb painful emotions, calm yourself down after an argument, unwind after a bad day, or forget about your problems? After you become sober, the negative feelings that you used to dampen with drugs will resurface. For treatment to be successful, and to remain sober in the long term, you’ll need to resolve these underlying issues as well.

Conditions such as stress, loneliness, frustration, anger, shame, anxiety, and hopelessness will remain in your life even when you’re no longer using drugs to cover them up. But you will be in a healthier position to finally address them and seek the help you need.

Addiction recovery-Build a meaningful drug free life

You can support your drug treatment and protect yourself from relapse by having activities and interests that provide meaning to your life. It’s important to be involved in things that you enjoy and make you feel needed. When your life is filled with rewarding activities and a sense of purpose, your addiction will lose its appeal.

  • Pick up a new hobby. Do things that challenge your creativity and spark your imagination, something you’ve always wanted to try.
  • Adopt a pet. Yes, pets are a responsibility, but caring for an animal makes you feel loved and needed. Pets can also get you out of the house for exercise.
  • Get involved in your community. Replace your addiction with drug-free groups and activities. Volunteer, become active in your church or faith community, or join a local club or neighborhood group.
  • Set meaningful goals. Having goals to work toward and something to look forward to can be powerful antidotes to drug addiction. It doesn’t matter what the goals are whether they involve your career, your personal life, or your health, just ensure that they are important to you.
  • Look after your health. Regular exercise, adequate sleep, and healthy eating habits help you keep your energy levels up and your stress levels down. When you feel good, drugs are much less of a temptation. The more you can do to stay healthy, the easier it will be to stay sober.

Addiction recovery-It’s possible?

 

 

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