Category: Articles

Opioid Addiction

A Quick Breakdown Of Opioid Addiction

Articles, Australia, Education, International, LGBTQ, Understanding Addiction, United Kingdom, United States
What Are Opioids?

Opioid Addiction – Opioids are powerful, painkilling narcotic drugs that are supposed to be prescribed by a doctor for severe pain. However; many people illegally purchase opioids on the street from drug dealers and use them to catch a buzz.

Opioids are highly addictive substances that wreak havoc on the individual, their families, and society at large. Opioids are a multi-billion-dollar business for pharmaceutical companies and drug cartels internationally. Millions of people around the world are addicted to opioids.

Opiates VS. Opioids? What’s The Difference?

For years, people only used the term “opiates.” Now, people are using the term “opioids.” What’s the difference?

To be clear, opiates are natural substances derived solely from the opium plant, which is grown in tropical climates around the world. Heroin, Codeine, and Morphine are all considered opiates because they are natural derivatives of the opium plant.

Opioids are synthetic substances, which means they are partially derived from opium and partially chemically manufactured. Oxycodone, Fentanyl, and Percocet are all examples of synthetic opioids because they have to made in laboratories.

In the past, people commonly used the word “opiates” to refer to heroin and other all-natural substances that came from opium. In recent times, people around the world have started referring to opiates as opioids. Now, everything that comes from the opium poppy plant is considered an opioid. It may seem confusing, but we hold that clears things up a bit.  

Types of Opioids

Here is a list of the most popular opioids:

  • Hydrocodone (Lorcet, Lortab, Norco, Vicodin)
  • Fentanyl
  • Codeine
  • Oxycontin (Oxycodone)
  • Methadone
  • Hydromorphone (Dilaudid)
  • Percocet
How Opioid Addiction Works  

Opioids create a euphoric and intoxicating effect that causes the user to want more of the stuff. They work by binding to opioid receptor sites in the brain. To put it simply, the brain loves opioids.

When someone takes opioids for an extended period of time, they quickly build up a tolerance. Tolerance is what happens when your body becomes accustomed to processing a certain chemical. When tolerance takes hold, more of the drug is required to get the same effect. Before long, someone who takes opioids will develop a physical dependence.

If someone tries to quit taking opioids, they will go through the process of withdrawal. Withdrawal takes place when your body is used to processing a chemical and you remove that chemical from your body. Opioid addiction is an incredibly difficult addiction to kick because of this excruciating and painful process, which is also known as detox.

Here are the symptoms of opioid withdrawal:

  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Head-to-toe body aches
  • Insomnia
  • Anxiety
  • Loss of appetite
  • Tremors
  • Seizure, Coma, Death (In extreme cases)

Opioid withdrawal is so uncomfortable, users will continue using opioids to avoid the pain of detox.

Medical Detoxification Is Highly Recommended To Anyone Who Wants To Quit Opioids

If you are addicted to opioids, you should not stop using the stuff on your own – and you don’t want to. Opioid withdrawal is extremely unpleasant. People who have quit opioids cold turkey compare the experience to hell on earth.

More importantly, you can have seizures, go into a coma, or die if you attempt to stop using opioids on without medical assistance. Medical detoxification is recommended for anyone who has an addiction to opioids. This involves the use of medication to safely and comfortably remove the opioids from your system. This takes place in the safety and comfort of in-patient rehabilitation center, detox, or medical facility.

CLICK HERE to get a Free Confidential Addiction Rehabilitation Assessment.

Dara Rehab Thailand

What DARA Rehab Thailand Has To Offer Those Who Are Considering Inpatient Treatment

Articles, Australia, Education, International, Malaysia, Treatment, Understanding Addiction, United Kingdom, United States
Congratulations On Taking The First Step Toward Recovery

If you have an addiction problem and you are ready to get help for your situation, we say, “Congratulations! Good for you! YES!!! You are making the right decision.”

By getting out of denial and getting real about your addiction, you have taken your first step on your exciting new recovery journey. You are headed in the right direction and you are on your way toward wholeness and healing.

Chances are, it’s been a long, hard road to arrive at the place where you are now. You have probably wrestled with this decision for quite some time. You have just fought (and lost) an exhausting battle with addiction and you have finally surrendered to the reality that you can’t do this on your own.

At Dara, we are here to help.  

DARA Rehab Thailand Delivers Results In A Resort-Style Setting At A Price You Can Afford

If you are considering checking yourself into a rehabilitation facility to get help for a problem with an addiction of any kind, you want to make an informed choice. There are a lot of rehabs out there that make lofty promises about what they can do for you, but not all of these places are on the up-and-up. They have fancy websites and guarantee results, but they won’t live up to your expectations once you arrive.

At DARA Rehab  Thailand, we deliver on our promises.  

Here are ten amazing reasons why DARA Rehab Thailand is an excellent choice if you are considering in-patient treatment:

  1. We are fully licensed and accredited. Our staff is comprised of the best and brightest professionals in Thailand.
  1. Located on the stunning island of Koh Chang, Thailand, we are nestled just off the Gulf of Thailand. We offer breath-taking views in a resort-style facility where you will have your own private quarters and luxury amenities.
  2. Dara does not promote the 12-Step philosophy and we don’t just treat addictive behaviors. We offer proven, evidence-based methodologies that focus on changing the negative thought patterns and defeating behaviors at the root of the addiction problem.
  1. We incorporate physical exercise into our treatment programs and offer you the services of a physical trainer. Unlike most inpatient treatment centers, we believe in promoting a program that teaches you about the mind-body connection.
  1. We have a highly qualified team of addiction experts here at DARA Rehab Thailand that will educate you about your condition and give you the tools you need to recover.
  1. You will receive one-on-one counseling sessions tailored to meet your unique situation and address your personal needs.
  1. Enjoy gourmet meals prepared by some of Thailand’s finest chefs.
  1. You will participate in activities like elephant trekking and Thai cooking classes to show you how much fun you can have in recovery.
  1. Receive Thai massages that relax the mind and body.
  1. Despite the luxury accommodations we offer, we are a very affordable rehabilitation center. Plus, we accept insurance from some of the world’s most common providers.
Don’t Delay, Call DARA Rehab Thailand And Get The Help You Need

If you are ready to get help for your addiction, call us. We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to take your call and prepare for your arrival. Don’t delay. Addiction never gets better with time – it only gets worse.  

CLICK HERE to get a Free Confidential Addiction Rehabilitation Assessment.

Trust Your Sponsor

Learning To Trust Your Sponsor

Articles
Learning To Trust Your Sponsor

When you first arrive at a recovery meeting, you are filled with guilt, shame, confusion, fear, and anxiety. You are disoriented and you are completely bewildered by your own behavior. You have no idea how to live a life that is not consumed by alcohol. But, you do know one thing – you have a strong desire to quit drinking and stay sober.

You know you are in the right place because, after your first meeting, you realize you are surrounded by people who understand you. They drank like you did. You come to believe that they can help you and you become willing to do what they tell you. And one of the first things they tell you to do is get a sponsor.

Understanding What Sponsorship Is – And What It Isn’t

Sponsorship is a cornerstone of sobriety. You can’t work a recovery program without a sponsor.

A sponsor’s job is to work you through the program and show you how to live a sober lifestyle. They are there to teach the spiritual principles of the program. They are there to share their experience, strength, and hope with you. In time, your sponsor will become your trusted friend and spiritual adviser. They will become your lifeline.

A sponsor is not a counselor or a therapist. They are not there to loan you money or give you financial advice. Sponsors are not a relationship coach or someone who is supposed to help you fix your marriage. A sponsor’s only job is to show you how to stay sober – one day at a time.

How Can You Trust Someone You Barely Know?

One of the most essential ingredients in the sponsor-sponsee relationships is trust. You have to be able to trust your sponsor and become vulnerable with them. You have to share your innermost self with them and tell him or her what’s really going on inside you. Ultimately, you will make a searching and fearless moral inventory of yourself and share it with your sponsor. This takes courage – and a whole lotta trust.

It can be scary to call a stranger on the phone and share your feelings and it isn’t easy to bare your soul to someone you just met. It is uncomfortable to trust someone you hardly know enough to do what they are telling you to do. BUT….if you want to stay sober and experience the gifts of recovery, it is a risk you must be willing to take.

Understand that the establishment of trust between you and your sponsor will come slowly with time. As you take suggestions from your sponsor, and you begin to see that those suggestions produce fruitful results, you will deepen the faith and trust you have in your sponsor.

When learning to trust your sponsor you do not have to rush the relationship you have with them. Like everything else in sobriety, the sponsor-sponsee bond happens one day at a time. Just for today, make the decision that you will trust your sponsor and believe that he or she has your best interest at heart.

CLICK HERE to get a Free Confidential Addiction Rehabilitation Assessment.

emotions in recovery

Emotion as a Life Force

Articles, Australia, Education, International, Malaysia, Understanding Addiction, United Kingdom

Emotions in Recovery – Addiction and drug use are often difficult for those who do not use to understand. It seems odd to give up everything to use a substance that can ultimately end your life. For addicts the drug of choice is often just an answer that became a problem. Many times the addict is dealing with other issues and using is just a way to deal with those issues. While it may not be the best way to deal with problems addiction was at one time a solution that quickly became a problem. This means that addiction is wrought with emotion, even though addicts rarely feel those emotions until the addiction is truly addressed. Your emotions are a life force and without them life becomes unidentifiable.

Emotions in Recovery

Emotions are an invisible life force that drive people. Some people are driven by greed, others by love. Some people may not know what drives them. Addicts, when in active addiction are driven by the need to use. This is something that has to change as part of recovery. The change will take time and work as finding a new drive and purpose is difficult. When first entering recovery it may seem that the lack of resources is a hindrance, but this is actually the time when being resourceful will help you achieve your ultimate goal of long term recovery. The resourcefulness can begin by getting to the right emotion which can help you gain psychological strength. Once you are confident and strong in your own mind, you can move forward in other areas.

Psychological Strength

In order to gain this psychological strength you need to be able to answer the following questions for yourself: What am I going to focus on? What does it mean? And what am I going to do? Answering these questions forces the addict to look inside themselves and figure out what is truly important. Each answer will have an emotional connection for the person discovering the answer. These emotions will provide a catalyst to move further into recovery.

The key to using these emotions in recovery lies within the answers. Once someone decides what the focus of life will be without addiction then goals can be set. The goals offer purpose for the individual in recovery. This is not to say that the goals will not change over time or as they are met, but the first focused goal that is set will get things started. The way in which the goal setting and journey begin are the answer to what does it mean. As measurable and attainable steps are set the final question is answered as well.

Your Purpose

Emotions in Recovery – Now that you have the questions, the answers are up to you. Everyone needs a purpose and this purpose will bring about emotions that you must learn to harness, control, and use to meet the goals. Will you accept the challenge that comes with staying clean and sober? Only you can make this choice for yourself. Even if you have ended up in rehab against your will you have the choice of whether to make it work or not. The lesson to take away is that recovery is an emotional experience that will offer you the chance to grow as a person and change your life or stay stuck in a world of emotionless addiction. What will you choose?

CLICK HERE to get a Free Confidential Addiction Rehabilitation Assessment.

opioid abuse

Donald Trump Proclaims a National Emergency

Articles, Education, International, LGBTQ, Understanding Addiction, United States

Opioid Abuse. Donald Trump Vows to Proclaim a National Emergency as Opioid Abuse Claims the Lives of 142 People on a Daily Basis.

The harrowing scale of the opioid epidemic is out. It has revealed that near 150 people die each day due to opioid abuse. However, President Donald Trump is set to take swift action, declaring a national emergency to control this shocking scenario.

It is perhaps ‘the’ deadliest drug overdose and epidemic recorded in US history. Trump’s panel has urged the Commander-in-Chief to address the situation as quickly as possible.

The recommendation to declare a nationwide emergency stems from a preliminary draft that is a part of the opioid commission report. The report itself comes from the horrifying statistics that went back to the death toll due to opioid overdose in 2016. Shockingly, more Americans lost their lives to this drug than the total US causalities reported in the whole Vietnam War.

In 2015, deaths reported from drug abuse and opioid overdose easily toppled the annual death toll from motor vehicle accidents, gang wars, gun violence and terminal diseases such as HIV/AIDS. You would also be surprised to know that the death toll from an opioid overdose in 2015 was more than the number of people who lost their lives succumbing to the 1995 HIV/AIDS epidemic.

According to a new report on the opioid crisis, approximately 150 people die every day due to drug overdose and the US is enduring a massive death toll each year. To put things into perspective. More people die due to opioid abuse every three weeks than the total number of people who lost their lives in the September, 11 tragedy.

The commission to combat the current tragedy in the US includes the following key members of Congress:
  • Chris Christie (R), governor of New Jersey
  • Charlie Baker (R), governor of Massachusetts
  • Roy Cooper (D), governor of North Carolina
  • Patrick Kennedy (D) (former Republican)
  • Bertha Madras
The commission contains some big recommendations – and mentioned below are some of the more important ones:
  1. Grant Approval for the entire 50 States to Extinguish Federal Barriers Pertaining to the Medicaid Programs. This act approval excludes all Federal Mental Institutes – As per the Social Security Act, government funds for Medicaid cannot fund or reimburse services and facilities from inpatient care that are designed to treat people with mental disabilities and illnesses – this includes addiction, with 16 or more beds.

This is a major barrier the government needs to break, and the Commission seeks to do just that. By eliminating this inhibition, all 50 states will be able to immediately start treating thousands upon thousands of US citizens held up in current facilities.

  1. Setting Up Immediate Funding for Federal Programs to Enhance Access to Patient Care in the Form of Medication-Assisted Programs – This is the highest standard when it comes to treating people with opioid addiction. Research indicates that immediate medical treatments and assistance can cut the death toll from drug addiction in half or maybe more.

However, the problem is inaccessibility. Only ten percent of modern and traditional treatment establishments and treatments offer this sort of drug abuse intervention and medication-assisted programs across the country. The commission seeks to greatly expand this method of treatments. It is even targeting prison systems and various other types of drug treatment institutions.

You or someone you know suffering from Opioid Addiction? CLICK HERE to get a Free Confidential Addiction Rehabilitation Assessment.