Drug Addiction Rehab Treatment
Perhaps one of the most effective ways to treat a drug addiction is to seek rehab treatment in a licensed rehab facility. Drug addiction is no laughing matter and can be very serious when a person begins to go through the recovery process. A rehab treatment center can provide so much when it comes to successfully beating drug addiction.
When a person has become addicted to drugs, their body has become used to having drugs in its system. Taking the drug away produces often severe withdrawal symptoms that can be medically problematic. Rehab treatment centers have medical staff that can help ease the often excruciating pain of detoxification, and they can monitor the condition of the person so that the withdrawal doesnt cause other serious health problems.
There was a reason that the addict began to use drugs in the first place. You see, drug addiction is more than a physical attachment to a drug it is an emotional attachment as well. The mind tells the addict constantly that the only way to face problems and life is to use the drug. This emotional dependence can be even more difficult to beat than the physical part.
Licensed and reputable rehab treatment centers will treat both the body and mind for the person with a drug addiction. They will provide group counseling so a support system is built and the addict does not feel alone in their problem. They will also provide one-on-one counseling that will address the specific reasons why drug use began in the first place.
Family therapy is also a big part of most treatment facilities. Once the patient is released from the treatment center, their family will play a big role in keeping them clean and sober. Family therapy is designed to address any issues that may have arisen in the past and get everyone on the same page when it comes to the persons recovery.
Reputable rehab treatment centers will also give the patient tools they can take with them once they re-enter the real world in order to help keep them off drugs for good. The temptations and stressors that led them to drug use in the first place will still be out there. Learning how to resist the temptation and deal with the stressors in a healthy way is very important to successful long-term recovery.
Drug addiction rehab treatment may seem like a drastic measure to take for some people, and for some people it might be. However, the truth is that when addiction has taken hold of a persons life, beating that addiction is an uphill battle. Rehab treatment centers make overcoming the addiction just a little bit easier to bear.
A Recovery Alternative to Current Drug and Alcohol Addiction Treatment
Some would argue that those who were able to stop using alcohol or drugs on their own are not the true “addicts” of life. That true “addicts” would need meetings, therapy and endless reminders about the cunning disease of addiction. That these people who consider themselves cured and no longer attend meetings or group therapy are just around the corner from a relapse and are in denial about the truth of addiction. I disagree. Just because some people can quit drinking and drugging and others can’t does not indicate that those who can’t must have a disease. Just because one is still struggling with alcohol or drug use does not mean that the same ability to stop is not present for them as it was for those that have already quit.
The majority of people who have had problems with alcohol or drug addiction in the past quit on their own. Think about yourself growing up and those you knew who may have battled sporadically with drinking or drug use. If everyone was doomed to the disease of addiction who once used excessively, there would be a lot more “addicts” today. But this is not the case. People “mature out” of negative behaviors they once had. They get a new job, get married, have a kid or experience some life change that becomes more important than their drinking or drugging. Values, focus and life purpose change. Even those currently struggling with drug or alcohol addiction will tell you that they have often refrained from drug or alcohol use for a period of time when they have to.
There is no mysterious disease here; it is a matter of choice. You are in complete control right now! No one is stopping you from cracking that beer, or sniffing that powder. If you want to use alcohol or drugs, you will. Addicts always find a way.
So why is the alternative to using alcohol or drugs, not using, so difficult to comprehend? We can choose to pick up a beer whenever we fancy. But if we want to put that beer down, all of a sudden there are diseases, character defects, meetings, and counseling treatment sessions to contend with! Most who have had problems with alcohol or drugs have quit on their own, without treatment and all the drama and struggle.
But what about those who really have a desire to stop using drugs or alcohol but just can’t seem to quit with the current treatment practices? These people seem to abstain for a while only to fall prey to the inevitable “relapse”. After much hard work in AA or treatment with many broken promises, they prove the point once again that addiction is a disease. Instead of labeling the failure to remain sober as “the disease” we should be looking at the messages we are sending those who are seeking help. The messages these people get when they enter treatment “You are powerless”, “You will always have the disease”, “Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic”; lends itself to the endless struggle and failure.
Can alcohol or drugs negatively affect the body? Absolutely. Are some people more prone to abuse alcohol or drugs than others? Yes. Just as some people drink too much coffee, exercise too much or eat too much. Almost anything taken or done in excess can cause adverse reactions in the body and there are many things people do in excess.
The argument that alcohol and drug abuse negatively affect the body is not at debate here. But rather, the belief that ones choice and free will are compromised in such a way that we have no ability to change unless we “follow the program” or become powerless and continuously struggle.
Do some struggle more than others? Absolutely. Do some experience symptoms of withdrawal when they cease using alcohol or drugs? Absolutely. The harsh reality is that drugs and alcohol can create such a deep despair and helplessness. But freedom is not affected. Choices don’t leave. And just because something is unpleasant or hard does not make it a disease. It simply means your choice to drink or use drugs produced certain consequences. To own your choices and consequences is to maintain your freedom to choose. To take the responsibility away from the person and put it on the “disease of addiction” is to further feed into the helpless victim image the person may already feel.
For some it may be beneficial to believe in the disease of addiction, attend AA meetings or treatment programs. However, for others it just won’t work. The key is finding what works for you.
Alcohol or drugs help buffer you from unwanted emotions. You able to re-assert your will and regain a sense of what you think is normalcy.
This is the trap. Alcohol and drugs do not enable you to regain control. They further diminish your ability to resolve life conflicts and create a void between yourself and the world. While you are struggling to escape the helplessness you feel, you are neglecting healthy responsibilities to issues that arise which could have been resolved or dealt with instead of being exasperated by your addictive behavior.
You might be thinking, “This is obvious and common sense stuff!” But why do so many fall for the illusion of control trap? This is because we have been led to believe that alcohol and drugs help us escape. But, even worse, we have been told by the treatment professionals that addiction is not under our control, that it is a disease! What a perfect “out” for someone who does not want to cope with life responsibilities! “Hey, look, it is just my disease. I can’t help it.”
Those who struggle with alcohol or drug addiction are finding that often the “treatment professionals” or mainstream thinking isn’t helping, but making things worse. The success rate for traditional substance abuse treatment is not that high which indicates that the majority of those who enter treatment will not succeed. Along with this, those who do not enter treatment have as high or higher success rate in eliminating their addictive behavior! They tell you relapse is a part of treatment! What? Then why go? If something does not produce acceptable results, why continue in it? Because we have been led to believe by the treatment professionals that it is the only way!
You do not have a disease! And there are recovery alternatives to current drug and alcohol addiction treatment. Your will to survive is strong, and your own path unique. I find that people who overcome a drug or alcohol addiction do so through a willingness and a desire to redirect their lives.
