Welcome back to Dara. Today we will continue our previous article about the differences between an inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation centers. You can catch up with the previous article here.
Mind over matter
Let’s just begin with acknowledgment, that it’s impossible to simply “wish” your addiction away. It is a hard process. Becoming sober will mean long nights in cold sweat and self-doubt. Before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s refresh what was the difference between an inpatient and outpatient rehabs.
Simply put an inpatient rehab is where the addict is admitted to the facility and is not allowed to leave the property of the rehab until checked out.
An outpatient rehab is a place the addict visits a few times a week, depending on their rehabilitation course. The biggest difference here is that the patient does not remain in the rehabilitation facilities and comes only for their therapy and counseling sessions.
Re-learning to live
Admitting yourself to a rehab is no easy decision. It is never the beginning of the fight, first, the battle of attrition with your own mind must be won. People rarely wish to make drastic changes in their life due to being scared of the unknown is a very strong pillar in human nature.
It is hard enough to tackle your fears and commit to becoming sober, then one must decide to go for an inpatient or outpatient rehab. Fundamentally they are very similar, but it is important to understand that an addict’s mind and reasoning has been impaired by years of substance abuse so one must ask themselves before making this decision – how much do you trust yourself? How easy will it be for you to avoid the temptation of your favorite drug? How long can you go without, until you MUST have some, no matter the cost, effort or ruined relationships?
An inpatient rehabilitation center has quite a lot better track record when it comes to successful cases of becoming sober. The reason being, that inpatient rehabs offer protection from the influence of outside world. It addresses the physical need for using by simply cutting off all supply and any chance of finding some. These first days or weeks, in some cases, can be very difficult to cope with. Many people break and demand to be discharged immediately. If the addict is able to withstand this tough period, the body no longer has physical need to use the drug, from there on out, it is all a mental battle.
Outpatient rehabs rely on you to keep yourself in check whenever you are not in their facilities. They expect you to stay strong despite being in the same environment that resulted in you becoming an addict in the first place. That is the main drawback with outpatient rehabilitation programs. They do work, but people are much weaker than they think they are. A large portion of inpatient rehab residents are people who tried to quit all by themselves at first, failed and then turned to outpatient rehab, but ultimately failed that as well.
Whichever treatment type you choose, they both provide you with support throughout your course. They provide much-needed structure to your life, discipline, and comfort of other like-minded individuals who are going through the same hardships that they are. A sort of camaraderie and mutual understanding is developed, usually reserved for those who experience high-stress environments or situations – people like soldiers, policemen or firefighters just to name a few. These people become your best chance at remaining sociable and engaged with people around you because for best chances at recovery the addict must avoid contact with people that affect him negatively. The dealer, the friends you used with and people that indirectly made you turn to substance use as a means of escape.
Whatever your choice, no better to make that choice than today. Seek help, because an addicts battle, is seldom won by themselves and without supportive people. We, as humans are social beings, being lonely and addicted is the worst kind of combination. You are never alone and there are professionals and other addicts who will do everything they can to make sure you become clean and complete your path to recovery.
If you were to ask bunch of people on the street the following question,
“What sort of stuff do clients talk to their psychologist about?”
You would probably get a list of things like:
-Feelings of depression,
– Problems with their marriage,
– Worries and anxieties,
To name but a few.
The common consensus would probably be that the only reason you go to a psychologist, a psychiatrist (or any kind a therapist for that matter), is to talk exclusively about,
Negative stuff.
GLASS HALF FULL
In the 1990s a researcher and psychologist by the name of martin Seligman believed that there was a problem with this. He believed there was a disproportionate focus on these perceived ‘negative’ aspects of human thought and emotion. He believed that focusing solely on the mental disorders a client presented with could only ever result in an incomplete understanding of how that person ‘ticked’ so to speak, and therefore could never fully show them how to live a full and meaningful life.
The work of Seligman (and his like-minded peers), started to gain serious traction in the nineties, and their writings, applied practices and research gave rise to a burgeoning field of psychology, now known as ‘positive psychology’.
Martin Seligman defines positive psychology as:
“The scientific study of positive human functioning and flourishing on multiple levels that include the biological, personal, relational, institutional, cultural, and global dimensions of life.”
The exponents of positive psychology argued that after decades of the psychological focus being on mental illness and conditions like depression, anxiety and trauma, it was time to ‘take the blinkers off’ and get people engaging with (and more fully appreciating), their strengths and notjust highlighting their perceived mental weaknesses.
THE TREND OF HAPPINESS
This new way of thinking about well being and mental health really caught on.
Ivy league universities like Harvard started to offer ‘happiness courses’ which were quickly oversubscribed. More and more psychologists started to recalibrate their therapeutic focus, to include more emphasis on personal growth (as oppose to exclusively talking with their clients about psychopathology and mental illness).
There was also a rise in the cultural appetite for all things ‘happy. Movies like ‘eat pray love’ and ‘the pursuit of happiness’ did well at the box office, books like ‘the art of happiness’ were cult hits, and retreat centres with mission statements oriented around happiness started popping everywhere, even in the smallest little one-horse towns.
Nowadays if someone mentions that they care more about their level of happiness than the amount of money in their bank account, there is a decent chance people will nod approvingly as opposed to being shocked or maybe even appalled!
With increasing frequency, people are choosing positive experiences over more cash.
This trend towards quantifying and validating happiness as an almost tangible thing, a commodity worth measuring, has been picked up at a national scale too.
HAPPY COUNTRIES
In 1972 Bhutan started to measure on a yearly basis the Gross National Happiness (GNH) of their population, instead of focusing solely on their Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is of course, a completely financial measurement of how well a country is doing. In the wake of Bhutan’s example many countries and cities have now created and instigated their own happiness measurements. In 2007, Thailand launched the, ‘Green and Happiness Index’ (GHI). In 2012, the city of Seattle in Washington launched its own happiness index initiative, (emphasizing measures similar to the GNH index), and in 2014, the United Kingdom launched its initiative to assess the well-being and happiness of its citizens.
HAPPINESS – THE ENDLESS PURSUIT
Like a lot of ways of thinking in psychology, this current focus on happiness is not exactly new. A lot of ancient cultures and religions gave lofty credence to the concept of happiness. The early Hebrews believed that you could achieve earthly and heavenly happiness by living in accordance with strict rules laid down by a divine being. The ancient Greeks developed schools of thought based around the concept of attainable happiness, whilst other philosophers were of the opinion that you could reach happiness through logic and rational analysis. Christianity teaches the only path to true happiness (in this life or the next) is if you let Jesus into your heart, whilst Buddhism expounds mindfulness, meditation and freedom from unhealthy attachments as a method of achieving a happier and more balanced life. But what exactly is ‘happiness’ – and how should we define this ethereal thing that we all seem to want more of?
WHAT IS HAPPINESS?
Is partying all night long in the throes of an ecstasy high or alcohol buzz happiness? Does the surge of adrenaline resulting from stealing something (and getting away with it) constitute being happy? Is happiness to be found between the sheets of multiple sexual partners?
There are of course countless and often conflicting views on what happiness ‘is’ and it’s often thought to be defined by the individual, but Sonja Lyubomirsky, professor of psychology at the university of California, riverside (and long time advocate of positive psychology), offers a definition which is fairly comprehensive and accessible to a broad range of people, regardless how they individually get their kicks.
She defines happiness as,
“The experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.”
According to this definition true happiness can only really be said to be created through a synergy of the two components of
Superficial pleasure,
and
Deeper meaning.
So whilst someone doing drugs is very likely experiencing superficial emotions of joy, contentment or positive well being whilst they are drunk or high, there is no guarantee that such feelings are associated with deeper thoughts of ones’ life being good, meaningful and worthwhile.
This is especially true during the comedown or hangover phase!
These short-lived pleasure highs (afforded by substance or behavioral addictions) often have an ambivalent or negative effect in the long run, as a lot of our valued clients at DARA can attest to.
Both pleasure and meaning need to be in the mix to make the ‘secret sauce’ of happiness.
True happiness therefore (as expounded by advocates of positive psychology), is all about experiencing pleasure in the context of the things that connect deeply with your core values.
So now we have a definition to work with, and we have some concept of the difference between pleasure and happiness,
But we still don’t know what can contribute to our level of happiness. So how can we better cultivate it?
CULTIVATING HAPPINESS
According to Lyubomirsky,
50% of our experience of true happiness is the result of our genetic makeup,
10% is due to our life circumstances,
and
40% depends on our daily activities. So that means we can influence a huge chunk of our happiness – almost – just by behaving in a positive way!
But what should you do to move the needle on this 40 percent?
According to the ‘greater good science center’ research institute at the Berkeley university of California, there are 7 key steps you can use right now to kick-start your happiness
1 – Pay attention – studies show that mindful people have stronger immune systems and are less likely to be hostile or anxious.
2 – Keep friends close – social connections are key to happiness. Research indicates its quality more than quantity: make time for the closest to you.
3 – Give thanks – research reveals the enormous power of simply counting our blessings. Regular expressions of gratitude promote optimism, better health and greater satisfaction with life.
4 – Drop grudges – when we forgive those who have wronged us we feel better about ourselves, experience more positive emotions, and feel closer to others.
5 – Get moving – regular exercise increases self-esteem, reduces anxiety and stress, and may well be the most effective instant happiness booster of all.
6 – Practice kindness – being kind to others makes us feel good. Altruistic acts light up the same pleasure centers in the brain as food and sex.
An interesting study by Nobel prize-winning psychologist Daniel kahneman, found that getting just one more hour of sleep might have a greater effect on happiness than a $60,000 raise.
Like everything we tell our clients here at DARA, don’t take our word for it, or even the words of the researchers and scientific experts! We are all individuals, so try it out for yourself and see if positive psychology and the practices listed above work for you!
We can’t guarantee that this advice will definitely bring happiness,
But the pursuit of happiness?
That is after all,
your unalienable right!
(based on: http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/pdfs/happycircle-ggsc.pdf)
A drug rehab or rather a drug rehabilitation center is a medical facility that caters to those who find themselves addicted to various substances like heroin, alcohol, cocaine or even prescription drugs. These facilities vary greatly around the world, both in their location and specializations. There are rehabs out there that provide nothing more than a locked room with a bucket and a mattress, for the addict to go “cold turkey” in it. Hardly a professional and caring environment for an addict to learn his way to control the addiction and be able to re-integrate into society with ease. Then there are real rehabs, those that provide care in all its forms – medical care, psychological care, physical care, social care and much more.
Let’s look into what benefits can be found in a rehabilitation center and why anyone with an addiction problem should seek help in one as soon as possible.
Who are rehabs for?
Short answer – for people who believe they don’t need it. The real answer is a bit more complex. Practically every rehab center patient at some point denied their addiction problem and laughed or felt offended when someone recommended he should seek professional help in one. It is that same “it only happens to people in movies” mentality, that they are normal and can stop at any time or don’t see the consumption rate and frequency of the drug as a problem. Surely only weak people get addicted and need rehab help and they are not weak. Sadly this is not true and even the mentally and physically strong people get addicted to various substances. Falling for addiction is not something that can be placed in a neat frame and quantified in specific terms. We are all different as human beings, we all have our very own personalities and as such addictions are also “custom made” and rarely can be called identical to an addiction of another patient. Being addicted is an odd combination of physical dependence and mental addiction. Rehabilitation centers are for people who understand they need help, check in willingly and with determination to get clean.
What kind of help do I need?
There are many types and specializations of rehab centers. There are those that have gender, age, and type of addiction limitations. These rehabs go above and beyond to ensure a safe, pleasurable and like-minded rehabilitation course. That said, such strict limitations are not always necessary and many even believe that insights from addicts of other types can be beneficial to the addict and his recovery. Specialized rehabs aside, most offer two types of rehabilitation approach.
Outpatient
This type of rehab course provides many different courses and therapy types for a busy individual. Usually, the course lasts two to three weeks and consists of regular meetings in private therapy sessions at first and then get introduced to group therapy. In this kind of rehab course, the addict is provided with information, both about themselves and their addiction. This type of rehabilitation is great for addicts who have already gotten clean at some point and feel themselves slipping and need a touch-up on their resolve. For first time addicts, this type of rehab can prove underwhelming and unsuccessful since nothing really changes in the addict’s life, he is still among peers and temptations that put him on the path to addiction in the first place.
Inpatient
This type of rehab is much more “hands on” and require the addict to check in and live for a period of time in the rehab facility. Many believe this is the only real way to achieve sobriety as it places you in a safe and relaxing environment, away from drug suppliers and in direct contact with like-minded individuals who are also struggling with similar demons. Rehab centers like DARA Rehab specialize in this type of rehabilitation by providing luxury rehab environment and combining it with professional counselors, physicians, dietitians, and psychologists. The most important thing that this type of rehab brings to the table is structure, discipline, and order to the lives of patients. That is something they desperately need in order to regain control and become fully functional members of our society once more.
Whichever rehabilitation path you choose it will be littered with obstacles, doubts, and self-questioning. In either case, professionals will accompany you on this path, offering tools to overcome your obstacles, suppressing doubts and shining a light on the roots of your problems.
Join us again in our next post where we will discuss the benefits a rehab can provide and things that an addict will learn throughout their course, both inpatient and outpatient.
We continue our overview of alcohol, its effects on the human body in varying stages of inebriation and the science behind measuring it accurately.
Blood Alcohol
No, it is not an alcoholic drink made from some type of blood. Blood Alcohol or rather its levels are how we and the scientific world quantify levels of alcohol and inebriation effects on human body. It is specifically, a numerical percentage of ethanol concentration in blood. This is to date the most accurate way to measure levels of alcoholic intoxication as it provides values people can understand and have heard about since they were kids. Alcohol has been around for millennia and this specific way to measure it has also been around for a good while, albeit only in the recent decades we have developed technology to determine and test it reliably outside of laboratory environment and most importantly – fast, as lab results could take months to come back. Law enforcement worldwide has jumped at the chance to reliably determine a person intoxication levels in the form of a “breathalyzer”, which is, in fact, a brand name product of the device, much like Xerox for copiers and Kellog’s for breakfast cereal. When the user exhales into a breath analyzer, any ethanol present in their breath is oxidized to acetic acid at the anode while at the cathode, atmospheric oxygen is reduced. The overall reaction is the oxidation of ethanol to acetic acid and water. In turn, the electric current produced by this reaction is measured by a microprocessor and displayed as an approximation of overall blood alcohol content (BAC) by the alcohol sensor.
There are a lot of variables when it comes to being under the alcoholic influence. As mentioned in the previous article something as simple as your age, gender and build can play a large role in how many drinks you can handle before making a complete fool of yourself. Or worse. Same goes for whether or not alcohol was consumed on an empty stomach or did the person have a full meal beforehand as food absorbs alcohol, slows down and makes the same amount of alcohol to be released in the bloodstream a lot slower, acting as a buffer.
Addiction
If a person maintains above normal amount of alcohol consumption on a regular basis, he runs the risk of becoming addicted to alcohol. Since alcohol affects our brain, using it too much and too often re-writes the normal coping mechanisms and brain functions, becoming dependent on the external stimulus of the alcohol and eventually as a result needing it in the system just to function. While generally accepted and even idolized, alcohol consumption has a great chance to spiral out of control into a full-blown addiction which is one of the hardest to treat due to the fact that if done improperly could result in the patient’s death. Detox period especially is very critical as stopping alcohol intake outright after years of abuse can result in respiratory arrest, stroke or heart-attack. This is why alcohol addiction and its treatment should not be treated lightly.
Alcoholism and its dependence only get worse over time. Once the “hook is in the lip” most people find it extremely difficult to come to terms with their addiction. Mostly due to how people have made alcohol into a socially acceptable way to relax in a recreational way and the fact that the addict has made such a seemingly innocent substance the crutch of their lives can be a hard truth to swallow for most. The truth is, alcohol is anything but innocent and destroys lives in more ways than we would like to admit. When used in moderation and by an adult and responsible people alcohol can be enjoyed, but that slope is steep and slick with false expectations and overestimated personal resistance.
If you or anyone you care about show signs of alcohol abuse, do not hesitate to seek out help. Alcohol has been considered a harmless substance for so long that only recently have we stopped to look around and face the truth – alcohol destroys and you don’t have to fight its devastating effects alone.
Alcohol is quite a unique substance. It is one of the few rare drinks that our digestion system can absorb almost immediately. Unlike food, it requires practically no digestion and processing before it can be absorbed into the bloodstream. We all know that the more you drink the drunker you get, yet so many people have no idea of their own limits. Since the level of inebriation depends highly on many external aspects, such as whether or not the drinker has eaten anything before or during the drinking, their metabolism, body build and even gender most people seemingly refuse to accept their limits. Let us go over what are the stages of inebriation when it comes to alcohol and what could be the potential outcome should the drinker continue to drink. Also keep in mind, that we are talking about stages of inebriation and not the stages of alcoholism, as in – this refers to alcohol consumed in one sitting and does not delve into the depths of long-term alcohol abuse.
Euphoria
In this stage, the drinker is getting a bit “tipsy” as people affectionately call it. Often described as slight dizziness similar to when a person stands up too fast. A mild euphoria floods the body, inner barriers shrink and inhibitions decrease making the person more talkative and seemingly more self-confident resulting in countless youtube videos that start with “hold my beer, check this out”.
Excitement
Fine motor skills and coordination becomes questionable at this point. Time seems to flow slower and reaction times delayed. Impaired cognitive and decision-making processes. All of these combined usually result in spontaneous, dangerous, illegal or socially unacceptable behavior as the drinker is flooded with various “genius” ideas.
Confusion
At this point, the drinker is no longer experiencing fun and is definitely not fun to be around. At this point, the person also becomes extremely emotional and can become easily offended and even aggressive. Inability to string together coherent sentences and impaired vision further puts the person at physical risk. Nerve sensitivity is reduced and results in dulled touch and pain responses. Relaxed muscles, mostly due to delayed body response to external stimuli. There have been countless accounts of drunk people surviving an accident of some type just because they did not or rather, were unable to tense up and thus minimized injuries like broken bones, pulled tendons and ripped muscle tissue. That said, the alcohol inebriation that saved you from those injuries also placed you in the position to be injured in the first place, so getting drunk before you hit the slopes on your snowboard is definitely NOT a good idea.
Stupor
This is the stage where your body is actively fighting the alcohol poisoning that it is experiencing, albeit with reduced effectiveness. This is the “end of the night out” stage with your friends. The drinker usually is so inebriated that their motor skills are shot to pieces and they are barely able to crawl, let alone walk. Vomiting and passing out on the curb is a normal bodily response at this stage. Likewise, if the constitution of the person allows for their bodily functions to persevere despite the intense intoxication, very few people actually remember anything after this point.
Coma
Should the drinker continue drinking despite his body actively protesting, very grim things happen indeed. At this point, he is so drunk that your body is beginning to fail. Heart rate, pressure, and body temperature falls, resulting in shallow breathing that results in passing out completely and slipping into a coma.
Death
A human stomach can hold a very large amount of liquid. If the person drank large amounts of alcohol and filled it up right before stupor and coma stages, there is a great risk of respiratory system arrest and consequently – death. Most people survive this by getting their stomachs pumped at the ER, should they be found unconscious and still alive, then delivered to the emergency room. If a person reaches this stage of inebriation alone and is not found in time, he will die as it is impossible for him to seek out help himself, since being in a coma puts you at quite a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to that.
That concludes our overview of how alcohol affects your body during ever-increasing alcoholic inebriation. Come back for our next part of this article which will delve a little bit deeper into how alcoholic inebriation can be measured and what affects its levels in your blood.
Contact Dara
Contact one of our therapists today for a free confidential assessment. We are here to help. +66 8 7140 7788
Unbelievable location, unbeatable value
Due to the philanthropic subsidy and gratitude of key alumni members, DARA is able to offer one of the worlds’ most affordable and cost-effective luxury rehabilitation solutions. The treatment center has been re-appropriated from a former luxury tropical resort, and so a comparable level of care elsewhere in the world can cost anywhere from three to six times more. DARA provides a range of luxury accommodation options including sea view, garden view and private pool villas. Our villas are surrounded by beautifully landscaped tropical gardens and command elevated sunset views over the Western Pacific.
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The first Drug and Alcohol Recovery Center in Asia with world-class care and treatment. DARA Drug & Alcohol Rehab Asia is a full licensed bu Thailand's Ministry of Public Health, Located on the exotic island of Koh Chang.
DARA Rehab has been changing lives for more than 10 years and has been trusted by international clients around the world.
Owned and ran by Australian Operators, our English-speaking facility offers privacy, luxury and comfort, all necessary for effective recovery from substance abuse.
