Category: Treatment

When You’re Struggling With An Addiction, Your Health Takes a Backseat

Let’s be honest – when you were in your addiction, you probably weren’t too focused on maintaining good health. When you are struggling with a compulsive habit; you simply don’t have the desire, motivation, or focus required to make healthy choices.

When addiction is running the show, nothing else matters. The only thing that is important is feeding your compulsion – whether it’s substance use, gambling, or sex. This is the nature of an addictive habit.

However; when you get into recovery and you stop engaging the destructive cycle that has been driving your life for the last few months or years, you simply MUST make your health a priority. Mental and physical well-being are critical to the recovery process, which reduces the likelihood of a relapse. It’s easy to slip into old patterns if you’re not careful. This is especially true if you aren’t taking care of yourself.  

Poor Health Can Make It Feel Challenging For You To Get Well

By the time you get help for an addiction problem, you can be in pretty bad shape. Your physical, mental and emotional health may have deteriorated significantly. After being unhealthy for so long, there is a lot of work to be done in the area of wellness. This can feel overwhelming.

Chances are; you have been eating poorly, getting little (if any) exercise, not getting enough restful sleep, not maintaining healthy social relationships, and not pursuing healthy activities that bring you joy. As a result, when you get into recovery, you can be malnourished, have health problems, be exhausted, feel isolated, and experience depression.  

When you feel bad, it can be difficult to muster up the energy or desire to do the things you know you need to do to boost your health. You might feel like you don’t want to do anything but sleep, watch TV, or lay around by yourself. This makes you feel unmotivated to eat right, exercise, or establish a strong social support system. It can be a vicious cycle.

Putting Good Health At Top Of Your List

When you first get into recovery, remaining abstinent from your addictive behaviors should be your number one priority. It requires incredible discipline, commitment, and a whole lot of energy to endure the first few months of withdrawal and reorient yourself to a place of stability.

Nevertheless, after you overcome those first challenging months of your new life, you have to step up your efforts to get better and be well. Recovery is not just about maintaining abstinence from substances and unhealthy behaviors. It’s about finding a new way to live and establishing new habits – healthy, positive habits.

When you feel ready, make the decision to start working on putting good health at the top of your priority list. Once you do this, you will automatically start to gravitate toward healthy behaviors and habits. Start slow so you don’t feel overwhelmed. Maybe start by getting on a sleep schedule where you go to bed at a reasonable hour and get 8-10 hours of restful sleep. Then, cut out the sodas and drink more water. Then, start walking 20 minutes a day. Slowly, with time, you will restore your good health and feel physically, mentally, and emotionally energized.

CLICK HERE to get a Free Confidential Addiction Rehabilitation Assessment.

No One Wants To Get Addicted

People start using drugs for different reasons. People end up with a Drug Habit for no good reason.

Some choose to try them because they are curious about the way they will make them feel. They have seen other people taking drugs like heroin, cocaine, or ice and they feel left out. People want to feel what their friends are feeling. They want to know what it’s like to be a part of what they think is the “in crowd.” Or, maybe they are at a club or party and someone asks them if they want to get high. They say, “sure – why not!?”

Others start using drugs because they are in pain. It could be physical or emotional pain. Many people become hooked on prescription opioids, for example, because they have sustained an injury or undergone surgery. They are prescribed narcotic pain medication from a doctor and they take it for legitimate reasons. After awhile, though, they may become physically addicted. Others take drugs because they are hurting inside, depressed, or feel lonely and they want to change the way they feel.

Whatever someone’s reasons might be for taking drugs in the first place, no one chooses to get hooked. No one sets out to become to have a drug habit or become and addict. Not one single person in the history of the world said to themselves when they were little, “When I grow up, I want to be an addict!” Not one.

Addiction Has a Way of Creeping Up On You

The thing about drug addiction is that it’s tricky. It kind of just happens when you aren’t looking. First, it’s fun to use drugs. You like the way they make you feel and you think life is one big party. Laughing and hanging out with your friends and you have a good time. You do them every once and awhile and it’s all good.

Soon, you start doing drugs on the weekdays. It starts to take more of your time and money to sustain the supposed good time that you are having. You find that you think about drugs a lot when you’re not doing them. You want to do more and more – so you start doing more and more. Maybe you really don’t notice that anything is wrong, though you still convince yourself that everything is okay.

Before long, you are doing the stuff every single day. If you don’t do it, you feel irritable and discontent. Angry and hostile. You have to do drugs when you wake up and you need them to fall asleep. Sometimes you go on binges that last days at a time. You spend all of your money on it. Now, you are hooked. And you have no idea how it happened.  

If The Party Has Ended & You Have A Drug Habit, You Need Help

When addiction finally takes complete control, there is nothing fun about using drugs. The party is over. Your drug use has spiraled out of control and your life is going downhill – FAST! You are alone and isolated and you no longer feel you can function with or without drugs. You have a drug habit.

If you’re not having a good time anymore and you think you might need help for your drug habit, contact us. We can get you into treatment right away so you can get your life back and start having fun again. Sober fun.

CNS depressants are central nervous system depressants and include barbiturates and benzodiazepines (benzos). This drug class has a calming or tranquilizing effect that is typically given as a sedative or even general anesthetic. These medications can be given in low doses to help with anxiety, but unfortunately can become highly addictive very quickly. The issue with CNS medications, especially for sleep issues or anxiety is that the lack of this medication can mean the issue is still present. Additionally, the body can build up a tolerance to this type medication that requires higher doses over time which can lead to addiction. Having an addiction to a prescribed medication, though not often discussed, is relatively common. This does not mean the individual is weak or that they were just meant to be an addict. But a real need led to a real addiction that must be dealt with as such.

Common CNS Medications

Some of the most common CNS medications include Xanax, Klonopin, and Valium. These are commonly prescribed by a physician or psychiatrist for anxiety related issues. While the medications do have and can be used for their intended purpose the abuse of such medications is pretty common. The signs of abuse are drowsiness, confusion, memory problems, vision changes, and even personality or behavior changes. Though a mild effect as described does not necessarily mean abuse, long term effects do signify abuse. Just to clarify, some of these medications are meant to cause drowsiness or limit anxiety so lethargy or slight behavior changes may be noticeable. But this should not be for extended periods of time. Each of the three common types of CNS medications will be described below. As well as withdrawal effects associated with this medication class.

Though highly regulated and not as likely to be prescribed, Xanax was once a popular medication used for the treatment of anxiety and panic disorders. The use of Xanax is being limited in places such as the U.S. as the addictive properties are well documented. Xanax is given in a pill form and when taken correctly can be a short term solution for anxiety and related behaviors. Unfortunately Xanax is often taken in excess or crushed and snorted when abused.

Klonopin and Valium

Klonopin and Valium are also benzos that are used to treat panic and anxiety disorders. Additionally, these medications can be used for the treatment of seizure disorders. When used incorrectly these medications can be used to get ‘high’ much like excessive alcohol use. If used incorrectly these medications can cause constipation, paranoia, and hallucinations.

Prescription CNS Withdrawal

When withdrawing from CNS depressants the person have extreme anxiety and panic, sweat excessively, have muscle pain, nausea, and trouble sleeping. These effects will make the person likely to seek more medication. Withdraw can occur even when the medication is used appropriately, just not in such extreme ways. If you are using these types of medications inappropriately then seek help to end the addiction. Panic and anxiety can be treated in many different ways and if addiction is an issue than other methods may be more appropriate. Never be afraid to ask for help.

CLICK HERE to get a Free Confidential Addiction Rehabilitation Assessment.

The topic of support groups carries a lot of baggage. For starters, a recovery support group immediately conjures the image of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. This is something that many people contemplating recovery are keen to avoid. Another reason this topic can be difficult is that many people consider their recovery a distinctly private matter, one they do not wish to discuss with anyone much less total strangers. However, there are tremendous benefits of support groups in recovery and there are many of these groups that have nothing to do with 12 step programs.

Recovery Support

Spending regular time with people who are dealing with the same or similar struggles as one makes their way through recovery is important. The isolation that comes with addiction can continue into the recovery process and this is potentially dangerous. Part of what fuels addiction is the feeling of hopelessness that comes from extreme isolation. If perpetuated into recovery, people are in danger of returning to the same feelings of hopelessness. They eventually return to the one thing they know makes them feel better in the short term. Having a group of people to check in with from time to time can prevent this. Others who are struggling with similar issues can lend reassurance at the very least. And they can offer perspectives that are not obvious to a single individual.

Support Groups

Support groups are also a good source of appraisal. They offer insight on how individuals are doing in recovery. We all can be our own worst critics in many instances. Where we see ourselves as coming up short in recovery, an outside appraisal can show us we are in better shape than we realize. This type of outside validation and encouragement can be priceless in addiction recovery.

More minds are better than one when it comes to finding information. Having more people looking for resources to help with the recovery process allows us access to more information than we would find on our own. Becoming aware of new methods for coping skills and relaxation techniques. Even financial help can all come in the form of a recovery support group.

Speaking of financial resources, a support group can often be the helping hand one needs during a time of material need. That we have a group of people dedicated to offering help with a common struggle can mean people are available to help if one needs real and tangible help with a crisis.

Support groups also keep us honest. As much as we are our own worst critics, we are also often capable of lying to ourselves at times. One of the real dangers in recovery is convincing ourselves that we are doing better than we really are. A good support group will offer not just criticism but also constructive opinions. Opinions on where we may be going astray in the recovery process.

DARA Can Help

Far from the old smoky rooms of AA meeting, support groups now consist of a variety of meetings of all kinds of people. It is a matter of consulting with treatment professionals and agencies to find the group that speaks to you. Support groups can make all the difference in successful and healthy recovery.   
CLICK HERE to get a Free Confidential Addiction Rehabilitation Assessment.