Addiction Archives - Page 7 of 8

Physical Addiction vs. Psychological Addiction: Is There A Real Difference?

Posted on April 17, 2017September 11, 2017 by JohnAdmin

Addiction is an issue that faces roughly 23.5 million Americans. It’s an issue that’s faced this country since its founding, and just as we’ve changed, so has addiction and our understanding of what it is evolved.

But to many Americans, drug addiction is far too simple. Drugs are bad, drug addicts are people to be avoided, and you’re doing good if you stay away from the illegal stuff.

What we need instead is a more comprehensive, expansive explanation of drug use – including the roles alcohol and tobacco play in drug addiction, and how addiction is something we need to fight together, overcome together, and treat with more compassion and less prejudice.

The way forward, however, isn’t through overcomplication. So, let’s try and simply some of the uncertainty around addiction encountered when one looks beneath the surface of the mainstream.

Defining Addiction

After an hour of simple research, the topic of addiction can become a little headache inducing. There are contradictions abound – especially regarding whether one should describe addiction as physical or psychological, and whether to regard addiction as your brain’s forced burden, or a choice people make.

Addiction, at its core, is defined by any substance that you develop a need for through constant use. We define addiction not by the need for something, but by the context of that need. If you’re human, you obviously need oxygen, water, basic sustenance. You’ll also need social contact and mental stimulation. Exercise would be nice as well, and then we get into more complex needs like the need for passion and purpose and stress relief.

If you’re chronically ill, you need medication. If you’re deficient in something, you’ll need more of it than the average person. If you’re suffering an open wound, you’ll need a disinfectant and, at times, an antibiotic.

None of these things are addictive, even though you suffer harsh consequences for not relying on them. Cocaine, on the other hand, doesn’t serve a purpose as a necessity when you first take it. After a while, if you develop a dependency on it, then parting with it will lead to intense feelings of withdrawal – and you’ll need it again. That’s when it’s classified an addiction.

The same goes for other drugs, including nicotine, alcohol, marijuana, heroin and other opioids. No drug is immediately addictive, but all addictive drugs are called such because they have the capacity to go from being a substance you don’t need at all, to becoming something you can’t function without – or with, for that matter.

Is Addiction Mental or Physical?

That brings us to the question – is addiction a mental or physical affliction? Simplifying this is as easy as saying: it depends. But that’s also just a tad bit too simple, so let’s get a little more serious.

We’ve defined addiction – it usually begins when your mind and body have developed a need for it. It’s different from being a want, in that there are actual consequences for not getting your necessary hit. This is called a dependence, and it’s both a physical and a mental phenomenon. However, the exact relationship between drug use and individuals depends on the individual and the drug in question.

Physical Addiction

Let’s put it this way: heroin, methamphetamine, and nicotine have some of the highest potential to become physically addictive, and the former two are also some of the most dangerous drugs available because of how they’re taken (injection and inhalation), their common impurity as a street drug, and how they affect the body.

However, that doesn’t mean they’re the most addictive drugs on a mental level. A mental addiction is a bit different from a physical one in that it’s not only a matter of changing brain chemistry and making the body physically crave a substance to the point that it protests its absence, but it’s also a matter of what the drug does to the user’s state of mind, their emotions and thoughts.

Mental Addiction

Take addicts who suffer from mental illness on top of addiction. They sometimes use their drugs to escape from the symptoms of their illness, making sobriety that much harder to achieve. For them, they face the added challenge of not just forcing their brains to adapt to sobriety, but also forcing themselves to face all the issues they had buried deep within through drug use.

Sometimes, people attach a specific emotion to a drug and thus become mentally hooked on it. Marijuana, for example, isn’t addictive in the traditional sense – it doesn’t have much of an addictive compound in it. It can, however, lead to a behavioral or mental addiction whereby you associate being relaxed with being high to such a degree that you need weed to stay calm and take off the edge. This can turn into a more powerful addiction with increased potency, especially as today’s strains happen to be much more potent than the marijuana your parents used to smoke.

For some, addiction is more physical than mental. For others, it’s vice versa. The best treatment for addiction does, in fact, differ depending on how strong one person falls in either direction. Say you’re addicted to alcohol, less due to how it affects your body and more due to how you use it as a form of medication. Overcoming that and replacing alcohol with a much more effective, wholesome and healthy coping tool is the key to achieving and maintaining long-term sobriety.

For someone who simply fell into the wrong crowd in their youth and got hooked on heroin without the need to compensate for mental issues, the biggest challenge may be escaping the powerful clutches of an opioid addiction without relapsing.

Undoing Addiction

Mental or physical, the long-term goal for any addict is sobriety. But the road to sobriety very much depends on the addict, their drug or drugs of choice, and the relationship they have between themselves and their substance(s), including any related issues that may tie into that relationship.

That’s where it gets complicated because it becomes an individual case. Sobriety is the general goal, but how one goes about best achieving it depends on them. It’s best not to generalize too much, but sober living is an effective way of figuring out how to cope with life without the drugs, regardless of how the addiction came about or what role it played in life.

Talking A Teen Into Rehab

Posted on April 12, 2017April 11, 2017 by JohnAdmin

For a parent, finding out that your teen has used drugs can come as either a huge shock, a huge disappointment, or both. However, too often, parents fly off the handle when they realize that their teenager has dabbled in something other than alcohol or cigarettes. It’s understandable why – we’ve all been teens, and we all know what we’ve done. Most of us either cringe, shudder, or entirely black out the worst stuff.

The truth is that about one in two adults have tried marijuana at some point in their life, typically in their teens because that’s the period when they’re most open to suggestion and experimentation as part of the inner self-discovery drive every teenager has. And over 15 percent of Americans are currently smokers, while over half the population over the age of 12 has had alcohol rather recently. The US alone is also in charge of most of the world’s prescription medication misuse, so really, we’re no strangers to drug use outside of the more illicit variants (cocaine, meth, heroin and so on). Chances are pretty good that if you’re reading this, you’ve tried weed or any other illicit drugs that aren’t legally sold at the corner store.

It’s important to not panic, and realize the simple truth that experimentation isn’t addiction. Aside from highly addictive substances such as certain benzodiazepines, methamphetamine and heroin, most drugs don’t guarantee addiction at first usage. Some drugs like marijuana aren’t even addictive in the traditional sense, and their addiction potential is tied to the potency; the plant’s THC content.

Of course, that doesn’t mean your teenager shouldn’t get a good talking-to – but the conversation needs to be one about frank, realistic adult consequences, and not vilification or drama. Good, bad, or morally grey, illicit drugs are illegal and any illegal behavior isn’t a good idea, regardless of whether or not it should be illegal, simply because no parent wants to see their child land in prison. Secondly, addictive drugs may not be instantaneously addictive, but the danger is still there – and it’s too much of a risk for anyone at any age to carelessly dabble in.

But what if it isn’t experimentation? What if the scenario in question involves a more serious issue, regarding illicit drugs or alcohol? What if it comes to an intervention, and the need to get professional help? Talking to a teen then can be quite difficult – they’re snarky, defensive, and evolutionarily driven to defy their parents as a way to define themselves. Add in a mix of additional rebelliousness, hormones and addiction, and you have the perfect storm of potential problematic personality issues. So first things first – keep a cool head.

Be a Parent

Your first priority is obvious – you’re the parent. You love your child. You want what is best for them. Conveying that to them in a way that doesn’t come off as condescending or lacking in perspective can be a bit difficult, as teens like to come off as cynical and superior. So you have to first and foremost establish your role as a parent by being firm.

In being firm, you have to insist beyond anything else that your child gets better and fixes their addiction.

Treat Them Like an Adult

Yes, teens make bad choices. And yes, your child will always be your child. But as we’re talking about late teens here, you’re not just dealing with a child but also a young adult. Volatile as they may be, young adults deserve to be spoken to as adults – with the premium perk that they deserve a big taste of the consequences of adulthood.

That means being frank and honest with your teen about their addiction, their future, and their prospects. An addiction is an affliction, both physical and mental, and one that will severely stunt someone’s ability to function in life. The fact that you’re showing enough concern to help your child set things right is already a huge benefit to their chances of getting better – they have to realize that as well.

Start by listing the realistic consequences of their addiction, without embellishing or fear mongering. Tell them what they already know – if they’re denying that they have a problem, being frank with them will kill off any excuses they have without giving them ammunition from which to attack your credibility.

Then, make it clear that you want them to get better – because you love them. Tell them what you already know. That this doesn’t change anything, because a parent is there for their child.

Figure Out What Caused the Addiction

Addiction has many possible causes. On one hand, it could be coincidence – some people are predisposed towards physical dependence of a specific substance like alcohol, and it doesn’t take much to get hooked. In other cases, the physical might not have as much to do with it as a mental – perhaps your teen has been using drugs as a way to hide the symptoms of another, deeper problem, such as a severe depression or a powerful social anxiety they can only shut off with drugs.

Whatever it is, you need to get to the bottom of it and work with your teenager – not behind their back – to get them the help and treatment they need. They are your child, but it’s their mind and their life – suggest every treatment and rehab option possible, but give them the final choice.

Make Them Choose

Teenagers like choice. They like the ability to choose how to go about their life. If you remain firm about getting treatment but give them the freedom on how to go about it, then you’re much more likely to get a cooperative teen.

Remember, if they choose their treatment and rehab, they’ll have much better chances of making it through without a relapse.

No matter what happens, you must be understanding and compassionate above all else. Your child is your child, and addiction is a part of their life – and yours. It isn’t to be embraced, but it cannot be vilified either. Treat it as a symptom of something else, a sign something has gone wrong in their life and your relationship, and treat it as an opportunity to set things right.

Be Firm

There will come a time, and a case, when compassion and understanding doesn’t cut it. There are always cases where teens refuse to get treatment, and refuse to curb their behavior or their addiction. That’s when you have to be much more firm.

Threaten or take legal action in order to coerce your teen into treatment. Incarceration or juvenile detention is a bad idea simply because it does absolutely nothing to help your teen get onto the right track, but rehab and a harsh summer may help instill within them the sense of discipline they seem to have lost as of late.

If you’ve been too soft on your child, then instill in them the power of accountability, and remind them that respect between a child and their parents is a given. If they cannot be responsible for their own actions at their age, then treat them as they act – take away their privileges and control their life until they understand why it’s important to take charge. Be firm – if you will not give them a kick up their backside, then life will stomp them to the curb.

Loving (Without Enabling) An Addict

Posted on March 30, 2017 by JohnAdmin

This is a post that is relevant to recovering addicts looking to start dating, people who have fallen in love with recovering addicts and need advice, and steady relationships between addicts or an addict and a non-addict looking to learn more on how to help each other.

Addiction can take a toll on a person – and when you love that person, it will take a toll on you as well. That, right off the bat, is what everyone needs to know when getting into a relationship with an addict: there’s baggage involved.

But when you really get down to it, that’s true for most relationships. How often have you fallen in love with someone who was emotionally distant, or unavailable? Carried deep secrets and childhood traumas? Suffered from depressive symptoms? Happened to be in-love with someone else?

The list of things that could possibly go wrong in relationships that absolutely have nothing to do with addiction is a very extensive list indeed – so don’t presume that being in love with an addict will automatically make the relationship discouraging, or unrewarding. Loving a recovering addict may very well be the best decision you’ll ever make for your happiness.

But just like every other relationship, it comes with a heavy burden and a significant risk – and since we’re involving addiction here, there’s a little bit of work cut out for the both of you.

Understand the Possibilities

It may be strange to hear this, but there’s a silver lining – an actual shred of positivity – exclusively available to someone dating a recovering addict.

Someone who has achieved sobriety for long periods of time is most definitely disciplined, strong-willed and capable of doing whatever it is they truly want to do. If you want a leader in a relationship, someone who does what they say they will, then a very promising characteristic is the ability to overcome addiction.

However, while that’s something to keep in mind, you also have to realize that being with a recovering addict means that if the relationship ends, you may inadvertently cause a relapse, and be the reason for the failed sobriety of someone working so very hard to get it – something not many can do without the resulting guilt trip.

There are pros and cons to everything – falling in love has the con of falling out of love. When a person’s sobriety feels like it might be at stake, that’s something you have to take into account before you go on this adventure.

Help Replace the Addiction, Don’t Become It

Being with someone can be an amazing opportunity to learn new things, and grow as a person – both through sharing past experiences and pooling together years of life knowledge, but also through making new experiences together and trying out different things to discover a joint passion.

Sometimes, addiction is best beat by replacing it altogether with passion – sports, art, or some other form of release or coping can be a great way to get rid of the mental addiction many drugs leave after they’ve completely gone from your system.

However, be sure not to let that newfound passion be you. Don’t become the new object of fixation for your loved one – make sure that everything you do together can be continued alone, to further individual growth. You are trying to grow together, but the consequences of becoming a new obsession for a recovering addict are far too serious to ignore.

Never Let It Be an Excuse

Addiction recovery is hard business. There’s no denying that alone or even with others, dealing with long-term sobriety isn’t a walk in the park. But you must never let that become an excuse for any inequality or abuse of power between you and your new partner.

Never simply chalk up abusive behavior to crankiness or addiction. Be sure to be very, very clear, that you will not tolerate a single insult or any form of abuse in the relationship – one sign, and you’re gone.

The consequences of utilizing addiction as an excuse for inexcusable behavior in a relationship have to be severe if you want to make things work.

Thrive Together

Being in a relationship with an addict can sometimes make things a little one-sided – as though everything is about making them better. Turn the tables around, and focus instead on the “we” – grow better together.

Yes, make sure to do things together that can be continued alone, but do them together nonetheless – and learn together. Do things they want to do, and do things you want to do. Never accept inequality in the relationship.

When It’s Time to Let Go

No one wants to talk about breakups while a relationship is blooming and blossoming, and that’s entirely understandable. Breakups are sad. They’re depressing. They cut out the joy in life and love and make us cynical and hard in the heart. They contradict every idea of romance.

But they’re a reality most people must face at some point or another. Only the rarest among us have the strange privilege of falling in love once, and never falling out of it. For the rest of us mere mortals, heartbreak is part of being human.

Only when you’re in a relationship where you’re helping someone battle their addiction, the prospect of ending the relationship on anything less than a stellar note can be a bit daunting, because of the fear that all you’ve done together will be undone by the pain of heartbreak, perhaps even leading to a horrifying relapse.

In some ways, it’s similar to a situation wherein you may have fallen in love with someone in a deep depression, and leaving them may cause them to spiral back down.

We are going to tell you that the sensible thing to do is leave as soon as possible. The longer you draw out a relationship that both you know won’t work, the more painful the parting will be – and the longer it’ll take for someone to actually recover and find themselves. If you tear off the band aid now, and right away, then yes – there’s a possibility of relapse due to heartbreak – but after that, you’ll have done the relationship a favor by giving your ex the fastest opportunity to work their way toward sobriety.

Ultimately, the best reason to leave is that the relationship is far too taxing on you – to the point that it’s affecting your ability to think, focus and function due to worries, negativity, and in the worst cases, a fear of your new partner and their unpredictable or angry nature.

Addiction recovery isn’t a kind or flowery process. It can induce a lot of rage and release deep-seated issues, and for someone who isn’t used to prolonged sobriety, it can be a little painful as well. We understand the need to look out for someone you’ve fallen in love with, but don’t do so at the cost of your own sanity and health.

Defining, Understanding: Tolerance, Dependence, Abuse

Posted on March 27, 2017October 12, 2018 by JohnAdmin

When tackling addiction, it’s important to understand that there is no such thing as black and white. Addicts aren’t automatically bad people, and people aren’t all addicted to the same degree.

After all that, it’s still important to take into account personal circumstance, economic status, emotional state and any prior mental illnesses to get a more accurate picture how addiction develops and manifests in any given case.

The last thing addiction needs is stigmatization and misunderstanding. The point of addiction treatment is to offer help, not condemnation – and while there’s a valid argument as to whether addiction is an entirely involuntary brain disease or a choice, vilifying addicts does nothing but drive them further into their rabbit hole.

So, let’s tackle addiction maturely – through inclusivity, and thorough explanation. Today, the topic is how addiction manifests physically, and how the body develops a tolerance and dependence on drugs. Better understanding these functions can help us see how addiction can cascade from an initial high to a serious issue.

What Is Drug Tolerance?

The human body is an extremely capable biological organism. We’re composed of countless well-functioning systems, meant to keep us alive in this world. We have several senses to help us absorb and interpret information on our surroundings, and our bodies react accordingly – often without us noticing.

When it comes to drug use, you have to realize that drugs are for all intents and purposes, poison. More clearly, the body identifies drugs as either toxins or natural chemicals introduced at far too dangerous levels. Alcohol and nicotine, as an example, are toxins to the human body. Opioids and amphetamine manipulate the way the body releases certain neurotransmitters like endorphins. With time, the body figures that the constant endorphin release means it needs to adapt – so it diminishes the effect a drug has.

Too much of any of this at once, though, and we die – alcohol, for example, is a depressant, opposite in nature to cocaine or methamphetamine. It slows the body down severely instead of speeding it up – in the case of alcohol poisoning, it can “turn off” your gag reflex and cause you to choke to death, slow your heartbeat, dehydrate you severely, or even lower your temperature until you go into shock.

To prevent this, increased amounts of moderate alcohol and nicotine ingestion/inhalation lead to faster and more efficient metabolizing of alcohol and nicotine in the body, diminishing their effect (toxicity). Nicotine toxicity through cigarettes doesn’t really occur – it’s like trying to overdose on caffeine through coffee, or theobromine through Hershey’s. But the body still creates a tolerance to it.

On top of diminished toxicity, the body also diminishes the substance’s effects on our brain. Alcohol no longer makes us quite as tipsy the more tolerant we get, and we need more nicotine to hit that “sweet spot” where the stress and anxiety goes away.

Developing a Dependence

And so we satisfy that sudden lack of buzz by upping the dosage. This process of increasing the dosage of a drug as the tolerance increases is what leads to physical dependence – at a certain point, our brain has embedded this feeling of mild euphoria from having a drink or going out for a smoke so thoroughly that if we simply decide to stop – or if we’re coerced to stop – we undergo what is called withdrawal.

On a physical level, what happens is that the body’s functions – the way it relaxes under alcohol or nicotine, or the way it releases euphoria under heroin – only activate in the presence of this drug. When tolerance fails to protect you from the effects of the drug, the body decides to adapt instead and it makes the high its natural state. In other words, once you achieve physical dependence, you’ve reached a point where you’ve trained your body to get used to living within a constant high.

Ending the high for any prolonged amount of time obviously isn’t rewarded by the body at that point. It needs the drug – you taught it to love the drug.

Some drug users understand the neurochemistry and manipulate it by carefully tracking the way they use drugs and develop a tolerance, so they never hit that phase of dependence. But not all drug users have that kind of knowledge – and some are unlucky enough to be born with a natural affinity towards a certain drug due to prior history or sheer misfortune, developing an addiction on the first high.

In either case, attempting to break dependence can lead to a potentially deadly withdrawal.

Improper Detoxification & Withdrawal Can Kill

Withdrawal is no joke. It’s typically non-fatal but extremely unpleasant, including symptoms like severe nausea, migraines, fatigue, fever, and muscle weakness. You basically get an extremely bad flu.

In more severe cases, the sudden absence of alcohol can put you in shock. You can die through a seizure, brain damage, heart palpitations or a heart attack. Withdrawal from benzodiazepines like valium or Xanax (also depressants) can similarly cause your body to stop functioning.

That’s where detoxification comes into play – rehab facilities often perform emergency detoxification in cases of severe addiction, where the body needs to slowly rehabilitate and get “clean”, flushing itself of the influence of the drug in question and slowly weaning off the tolerance.

Drug Abuse on a Brain Level

While the brain becomes used to functioning under a specific high, it can similarly undo the influence of drug use – the same way it developed its tolerance to begin with.

It’s theorized that part of what allowed us to become the apex predator on Earth is our ability to learn. We developed technology as a way to evolve without actual biological evolution, using our brains to adapt to our surroundings and survive – and thrive – at all costs. This same ingenious capacity to learn and adapt is what drugs manipulate, hijacking our ability to feel pleasure through the artificial inducing of pleasure chemicals like morphine.

Unraveling the Brain

Undoing the process is difficult because of how the addiction is based on our very understanding of pleasure, but it’s possible nonetheless. Prolonged sobriety, adaptive coping mechanisms and a healthy lifestyle can help us revert to a healthy physical state and undo the psychological damage through reintroducing new, long-term healthy ways to stay sane and happy.

It’s not a question of magic, spirituality, or willpower – it’s science. If you trust in the science, then rehab and sober living can, with time, revert most cases of addiction. We say most cases, because we mentioned that addiction isn’t black and white. There are no absolutes, and always exceptions.

Cases where people overcome heroin singlehandedly, and cases where rehab and sober living isn’t enough to break the hold of alcohol. Biological factors and psychological factors come together to play a part in the how and why, but that ultimately depends on each individual person.

The Effectiveness Of Yoga In Addiction Recovery

Posted on January 10, 2017January 11, 2017 by JohnAdmin

Stop whatever you’re doing, just for a moment; take a moment just for you. Just enjoy a few soothing breaths in, and if it’s possible, stand up and stretch your body. If you’ve been working for several hours or even just having a rough day, that small yet simple action could help to comfort and revitalize you, if only just a little bit. In just seconds, you’ve improved your circulation and increased the amount of oxygen going to your heart, muscles, and brain. You may feel more grounded, more in-tune, and less frazzled, too.

This is the very same principle found in yoga, an ancient art form that’s quickly becoming a steadfast hobby for thousands of recovering addicts all over the world. The main difference? Yoga has significantly more emotional and spiritual health benefits than just stretching and breathing alone. It encourages you to get in touch with your inner self and feelings while increasing physical health.

What Is Yoga?

Considered by many to be an art form, yoga dates back thousands of years in human culture. The most commonly accepted theory states that originated in Northern India, where the Indus-Sarasvati people used it as a form of sacred practice. In fact, an ancient text called the Rig Veda contains the first references to a yoga-like ritual; the writings date back at least 5,000 years. The oldest form was thought to teach laymen and spiritualists self-sacrifice, wisdom, and knowledge through movement of the body.

As the centuries passed, the teachings of yoga spread throughout the world and adapted to suit various needs. This is why we have multiple forms of yoga even today. The practice most people enjoy at the local gym today didn’t come to be until around the late 1800s, when yogi Swami Vivekananda spoke to a gathering of individuals in Chicago about its benefits.

Today, this Hindu spiritual practice is available to everyone, not just those who seek enlightenment through the Hindu religion. Surprisingly, the practice has managed to connect two very different groups of people (scientists and spiritualists) in a manner that isn’t often seen: both sides agree that yoga has significant benefits for the healing mind and body.

Science and Research Points

What exactly do we know about yoga and its benefits? The astonishing answer is quite a lot. Unlike other forms of spiritual practice and alternative medicine, the art of yoga has been studied extensively with very positive results, both physical and mental.

Emotional and Mental Health

Most specifically, studies have shown a link between better emotional and mental health and regular yoga practice. For people in recovery, that’s one potential drug-free way to soothe feelings of anxiety, anger, and depression.

Harvard University’s Health Department mentions that it has the potential to decrease negative physiological changes in the body. This includes elevated heart rate, high blood pressure, and elevated breathing rates, each of which is frequently associated with anxiety or panic attacks. The review mentions that much of the benefit occurs because yoga is a self-soothing activity that’s also slightly meditative. It requires focus and inward attention, both of which can help you to recognize your symptoms without drowning in them – so you can develop ways to self-soothe without your drug of choice.

Physical Health

Physically, there are plenty of benefits to go around, too. Most importantly, beginner’s yoga is extremely gentle; it meets you where you are, regardless of where you’re coming from. And that’s exactly the sort of thing someone who’s in recovery needs. Jumping into a running routine may be too much, especially if your body is still in detox or healing mode, but taking 15 minutes to do a few yoga poses may be okay.

Yoga Journal mentions that regular yoga practice can increase cardiovascular health, improve muscle strength, and increase flexibility. While it’s not a guarantee, all three of these benefits together should mean that you experience fewer aches and pains, better endurance, and less stiffness after everyday activities. The only caveat is that these benefits seem to come on slowly over time and only with regular practice, so you may not notice them right away.

Immune Benefits

Finding you come down with colds a lot in recovery, especially in the early months? There’s a good reason for that. Whenever your body is healing from damage, it takes resources away from your immune system to do so. That can make you more susceptible to communicable diseases like colds and influenza.

Can’t stomach the thought of another flu? Here’s the great news: there’s evidence that regular yoga practice may boost your immune system. Mind Body Green mentions that four specific poses seem to improve the immune system the most:

Legs up the wall.
Cobra pose.
Supported fish pose.
Downward dog with block.

Exactly how these poses benefit the immune system is complex. For the most part, they encourage lymphatic drainage and better circulation, which can boost the immune system all on its own. Some, like the downward dog with block, also help the sinuses to drain – perfect if you’re fighting that awful summer cold.

Integrating Yoga Practice into Your Recovery

Now that you’re more familiar with the benefits of yoga and how it can benefit you, let’s get to the most important question of the day: how exactly do you go about integrating practice into your recovery? Where do you start?

First and foremost, understand that you should never go into any new exercise routine (even yoga) without clearance from your physician. This is especially important if you’re new to recovery or if you have other physical health struggles.

Secondly, it’s important that you work with an instructor for at least the first time you try yoga. Practicing yoga poses incorrectly is risky. Much like working out at the gym, there is at least some potential for harm. If you’re staying in a recovery center, most will offer this in-house or at least have connections to instructors who can help. Otherwise, your local gym or yoga house should be able to point you in the right direction. If these aren’t an option for you, this beginner’s yoga video may help.

Finally, one of the best ways to experience yoga in terms of recovery is to engage in it within the recovery community. Some areas may offer yoga groups specifically for those in recovery. These groups generally focus on poses that have the most benefit to those healing from addictions and may offer the opportunity to forge new connections with other people in recovery, too.

Yoga, like any other self-soothing activity, offers immense benefits, especially for those who are healing in recovery. It’s a wonderful way to soothe frazzled emotions, reduce the stress associated with cravings, and stay on track. Best of all, it’s drug-free and encourages you to focus on self-care! Try practicing two to three times a week for 15 to 30 minutes in the beginning. Or, try taking a few minutes each morning to focus on yourself, your breathing, and your center as you do a few poses in the morning sun.

Fighting Against The Stigma Of Addiction

Posted on December 20, 2016December 21, 2016 by JohnAdmin

Addiction is a chronic brain disease, which is often defined by its pathological inability to stop consuming drugs or alcohol. Even with certain dangers or health risks, people with a substance addiction continue to use. Numerous elements like psychological, social, and chemical components make addiction very difficult to permanently break.

Addiction and Shame

Substance abuse is often hidden in secrecy and shame and can become further enmeshed in denial, when a person is confronted. However, addiction becomes more severe the longer a person has it and the longer they deny it.

Cultural and societal factors often exacerbate addiction due to the shame surrounding it. According to psychologist Mary Lamias, Ph.D.:

“Shame informs you of an internal state of inadequacy, unworthiness, dishonor, or regret about which others may or may not be aware.”

Shame is a powerful emotion. And its influence matters a great deal, though most people won’t admit it. An individual’s sense of self can often be regulated (or harmed) by shame. The more culture creates a sense of shame and negativity about addiction, the more people will look at themselves as being unworthy or broken. They may hide their addiction and their need for help even more.

As the inner workings around addiction continue to be misunderstood, shame becomes stronger and buried deeper. The majority of addiction is rooted in shame, which is why many individuals fear to be vulnerable and ask for help. This is a major roadblock to recovery.

Typically, when addicts are at the cusp of seeking and starting treatment several things have happened. They have had huge conflicts with family and friends, they have been terminated from their job, or (on the more severe end) they have been caught committing a crime to support their habit. At this point, an intervention occurs – which is conducted by a licensed drug and alcohol counselor, and the individual often has no choice but to commit to treatment.

Even in the face of an intervention, addicts may have trouble admitting their addiction because of how they will be viewed or because they may feel ashamed of what they did while they were under the influence.

Understanding the Origins of Addiction

The origins of an addiction are based in toxic shame. Whether it is neglect, abandonment, or abuse of any kind, if it occurred for a prolonged period of time there are definite correlations between that trauma and addiction. Addicts need to understand those past factors as a way to understand the complete picture. For so long, they probably avoided or suppressed that pain. But in order to move on, they must face it head on.

The Stigma of Addiction

People who do not have experience with knowing someone with an addiction problem, have negative stereotypes of what addiction looks like. Sometimes people connect it with homelessness or abusive homes. While this may be true in certain instances, there is no definitive portrait for what a recovering substance abuser looks like or what their circumstances might be. Research shows that addiction may develop because of a combination of reasons like DNA, environmental factors, past history, and chemical imbalances to name a few. Addiction can affect anyone.

However, the stigma around people who turn to drugs or alcohol is negative and damaging. Most people don’t seek help because they are afraid of the stigma of being defined and labeled. It’s summarized best in the snippet below from this article by the The Fix:

“Stigma is what says your drug and alcohol use is a character flaw. It’s why you would rather lie than tell someone that you are not doing okay. It was why I would rather steal than let people know I needed help.”

People who do not any idea about what addiction entails may think that addicts have no self-control. Sometimes they are thought of as selfish or weak. For instance, if a celebrity appears in the news for entering a rehabilitation program, the public consensus is rarely, I wonder if he or she is okay?

The negativity around addiction is pervasive in today’s culture. One of the ways to fight that stigma is to talk frequently, openly, and honestly about personal struggles and stories about addiction and recovery. Non-profit outlets like Stigma Fighters, provide an outlet for people write it all down, either anonymously, with a pen name, or with your real name. They provide a safe place to release shame and fight stigma about mental illness. Writing or journaling has also been shown to have powerful healing effects.

People create a strong sense of understanding when they are forthcoming with their struggles. Discussing reasons for turning to substance abuse may shed light on interpersonal relationships and the origins of a serious mental illness.

Pushing Back Against Shame and Stigma

Addicts who feel shame from the stigma of addiction can do a lot to become more resilient in recovery. Connect with others. Create a circle of support. No one will understand your journey more than fellow peers in sober living. Growing a network of healthy and sober individuals will help you develop strength not only for when you leave recovery, but also for your work as an independently recovering addict in the future.

Your strength lies in your story and understanding. Empathy is an important lesson often learned in therapy and 12 Steps meetings. There you have the opportunity to listen, be heard, and share. Compassion and empathy from these experiences help eliminate personal shame and fight the stigma you may have buried beneath about what it means to be an addict. There should be no shame surrounding your experiences. Mistakes are part of being human, but so is the chance to rectify things and look towards the future.

Sharing Your Story

Confronting trauma is a way to heal from the inside out. In doing so, you get to the root cause of your disorder and you face the very origins that made you feel like you couldn’t handle it, when instead you had to turn to something else to numb the pain.

But that is in the past. Fight for your sobriety by sharing your story with others. Don’t waste a second in therapy. Speak openly and honestly with your therapist and in group sessions. By releasing your past pain, you fight the stigma of addiction by showing the resiliency of recovery. Fearlessly telling your story without hesitation, frees you and empowers others to do the same.

9 Ways To Avoid Relapse

Posted on December 1, 2016 by JohnAdmin

Relapse is a moment of decline during the process of overcoming substance addiction. Because substance addiction is a serious chemical dependency, even with the success of a completing a treatment program, addiction urges can return, resulting in relapse.

Addiction Is a Disease

Drug and alcohol addiction is a disease. And like any other disease with biological and chemical components, it can be hard to recover without help. Ways to avoid relapse can include many elements, like medication, therapy, and holistic techniques. Drug and alcohol addiction is serious and should be handled in ways that address its severity.

Ways to Avoid Relapse

#1 Change Locations

Healing from drug and alcohol addiction begins when you enter primary treatment. In this beginning step, you are leaving the environment where your addiction was born in and starting a new life.

After primary treatment and detox, a change of location is strongly encouraged by mental health professionals and physicians. Studies indicate that a, “lack of a stable, alcohol and drug free living environment can be a serious obstacle to sustained abstinence.” Transitional living, like a sober living house, will provide a new living environment with professional support and freedom from old influences.

#2 Separate from Toxic Sources

It is never too early to start thinking about separating from toxic sources. When you make the decision to stop using and enter treatment, distancing yourself from old friends (who may have been part of your drug or alcohol use) will be a necessary step. After completing primary treatment, the recovery process necessitates sobriety. Removing toxic sources like stress, former friends, and even family members (in certain cases), will be part of the process to starting over.

#3 Find a Therapist You Connect With

Therapy is an essential element of the recovery process. They will help identify and understand reasons for drug abuse, work through shame and residual feelings, and work through steps in recovery.

Sober living often provides assistance in working with a therapist in a group setting or individually. Regardless, if you don’t feel comfortable with the therapist, it is important to bring it up. They will not get offended. Therapists understand different personalities result in different connections. Staff members at sober living facilities (including therapists, sponsors, or mentors) are there to help and support you to remain clean and sober. And if you do not feel comfortable talking with a certain therapist, they will point you in the right direction towards someone who can help you achieve the goal of sobriety.

#4 Distance Yourself from Stressful Situations

Stress is responsible for a lot. It can cause physical symptoms in any person. If left unmanaged it can cause long-term diseases like heart problems, cancer, and other life-threatening illnesses. However, for a recovering addict, stressful situations or people can trigger something just as dangerous. It can trigger a relapse.

One way to avoid relapse is to work with your therapist and to talk to your recovering peers often. Share your experiences. Begin to analyze what situations have led you to drugs or alcohol or which people have left you with unmanageable feelings.

If there is even a sliver of hesitation, anxiety, nervousness, or fear in your gut, distance yourself from those stressful situations, immediately. You do not have to go anywhere that you are not ready for.

If you must go for some reason, have an exit strategy, have somebody that you can call (example: a sponsor), and have a rehearsed reason for why you have to leave. Stressful sources can be powerful triggers that can cause drug and alcohol relapse. Take care of yourself first.

#5 Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a helpful tool in preventing relapse because many who get hooked on drugs or alcohol, do it for the escape. And throughout the addiction, they are always looking forward to the next temporary escape from their present pain. Practicing mindfulness teaches recovering drug and alcohol abusers how to live in the present. Research studies show, “Mindfulness intervention programs reduce psychological symptoms and distress.” It nurtures positivity, growth, purpose, and emotional regulation.

#6 Build a Trusted Support System

Building a trusted support system in recovery can help a recovering substance abuser prevent a relapse. Studies show that having a support system increases chances for long-term sobriety. Members of a trusted support system include your physician, a sober living staff member, a therapist, a 12-Steps sponsor, a peer who is also in recovery, or a mentor who is familiar with addiction.

#7 Actively Listen and Share in Recovery Programs

Recovery programs only work if you do. Actively listen to each person’s story and try to find common ground in others’ histories and motivations for turning to drugs or alcohol. In doing so, you may find a similar idea or reoccurring theme that you connect with. Understanding origins can further help eradicate drug and alcohol usage.

You also have to actively participate. Sharing your experiences, pain, and trauma may be intimidating, but by doing so, you may be helping someone understand their own pain. They may realize that they are not alone in what they have endured by hearing someone with a similar story.

#8 Have a Full Schedule

Sober living facilities help with creating rules, structure, and guidelines for how to live a healthy, drug-free life. Once you leave sober living it is important to continue with that tradition and keep a full schedule complete with therapy, group meetings, wellness activities, and work. This will keep life free from unhealthy distractions or lures.

#9 Develop a Plan

Looking toward the future is incredibly beneficial in preventing relapse. With the help of a therapist, sponsor, or friend, make a plan for the future. Write it down. Creating concrete incremental goals helps keep hope and optimism at the forefront of recovery.

What Happens If You Relapse?

Relapse is a persistent problem for many recovering addicts everywhere. If you relapse, you have not failed. It is an obstacle on the road to sobriety. Discuss your options honestly with a mental health professional, psychiatrist, or physician, and take action on your next step.

Focus on Your Future

While recovering and trying to prevent relapse, it is important not focus on past mistakes or shame. Looking towards the future at your health and sobriety is what will help prevent relapse.

Houston’s Deadly Heroin-To-Fentanyl Drug Use Trend

Posted on November 1, 2016August 30, 2017 by JohnAdmin

Over the last decade, America has been struggling with a heroin epidemic. And Houston was no exception. In fact, like other major cities, Houston also witnessed that those who were overdosing were not the homeless in back alleys, but instead young 20 year olds who died in the wealthy golf homes of their parents (as this Free Press Houston article suggests).

And just like the rest of the country, Houston is also following another trend when it comes to heroin – that is, the choice of fentanyl over heroin. Acetyl fentanyl is an opiate that is mixed into street drugs and marketed as heroin. It was approved for medical use in the United States, but has been abused and now sold on the streets.

Acetyl fentanyl can be up to 50 times more powerful than heroin and up to 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the National Institute for Drug Abuse. In fact, just a small amount can be fatal. Users typically use it intravenously as a direct substitute for heroin or painkillers. And, in some cases, users are seeking out fentanyl directly. They want the strongest and best high they can find.

In other cases, someone who is illegally buying heroin might later discover that the drug was laced with fentanyl. When fentanyl is used as a lace with heroin, it often happens without the user’s knowledge. And if that person later needs treatment, the presence of fentanyl in a person’s system requires larger or additional emergency treatment to keep the person alive.

As John Stogner, Ph.D. of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at the University of North Carolina pointed out, ” It’s never good to lose time between overdose and treatment.” And the presence of fentanyl without the user’s knowledge can create delays in treating an overdose.

Yet, more and more addicts are seeking out fentanyl directly. And this is true in Houston as well. Fentanyl has been used in medical settings since the 1960’s as a way to treat extreme pain. However, it has seeped into the United States from Mexico illicitly and has been becoming the next opiate trend. According to this Houston Chronicle article, those bringing the drug into the country have found a way to make fentanyl more cheaply and easily than heroin. And because the demand is growing in the United States, they are manufacturing it at high speeds.

Public health officials did not connect opiate overdoses with the presence of fentanyl at first. However, as they examine spikes of emergency room visits and overdoses in recent years, they recognize that many of those overdoses may be due to the use of fentanyl – or least due to the fact that the heroin was spiked with fentanyl. It was in 2006 that public health officials began to notice that fentanyl was becoming more and more responsible for the deaths of patients.

The challenge right now is that there are more and more opiate overdoses that appear to be because of fentanyl but it’s unclear whether there’s a rise of the amount of fentanyl in the country or because medical professionals are doing more testing and reporting when finding the drug in a person’s system. When a person dies of fentanyl, a special toxicology test is required to detect fentanyl. Prior to recent years, most coroners and crime labs did not have a reason to request the test that detects fentanyl.

It’s important that anyone using opiates illegally understand the danger of acetyl fentanyl innocuously being mixed into their drug purchase. Those addicted to opiates may need some education on the types of illicit forms of opiates and which are fatal and why. Because those suffering from this epidemic do not match the stereotypical image of someone addicted to heroin, educating addicts can take place via the radio, television, and even on college campuses. In this way, family members might also be exposed to the education.

If you or someone you know is using an opiate of any kind illicitly, you may be at risk for losing your life or the life of a loved one or family member. Fentanyl is a dangerous substitute for heroin. To avoid the loss of life, addiction, and physical harm, contact our confidential intake specialists today.

Russell Brand On Addiction & Recovery

Posted on October 24, 2016December 2, 2016 by JohnAdmin

You might know Russell Brand as a voice actor in the animated films Despicable Me in 2010, Hop in 2011, and Despicable Me 2 in 2013. He’s an actor, radio host, author, and now activist. Brand was born in England but is well known throughout the world.

Brand began his career as a comedian and later a presenter on MTV. His career began to develop further when he played his first major film role in St Trinian’s, and the following year he landed a major role in the romantic comedy-drama Forgetting Sarah Marshall. You might have also seen him in the 2004 show Big Brother’s Big Mouth.

What you might not know about Russell Brand is that he’s also a strong activist for recovery addicts. Take a look at a documentary about his life and you’ll hear him say that “we need to start treating addiction as a health issue and not a criminal one.” He also supported recovering addicts for a short time through the Give It Up Fund. Although he’s no longer supporting those in recovery financially, he continues to do so through his writing and his documentary.

Brand admits that he became addicted to drugs and alcohol at an early age. He finally gave it up at the age of 27, which he explains was the same age Amy Winehouse was when she died. But Brand admits that even at the age of 41, he’s continues to work hard at sobriety. It’s not easy. He admits in his documentary, “If I didn’t have my program, I’d be a drug addict today.”

And you can understand why Brand might have a hard time resisting drugs and alcohol day after day when you read about his experiences with heroin, for instance:

I cannot accurately convey to you the efficiency of heroin in neutralizing pain. It transforms a tight, white fist into a gentle, brown wave. From my first inhalation fifteen years ago it fumigated my private hell and lay me down in its hazy pastures and a bathroom floor in Hackney embraced me like a womb.

At the same time, he also knows the pleasures of remaining sober:

It is ten years since I used drugs or drank alcohol and my life has immeasurably improved. I have a job, a house, a cat, good friendships and generally a bright outlook.

Since getting sober, Brand has had the opportunity to act, host a radio show, and display his political activism. For instance, The Russell Brand Show began airing in April 2006 on BBC and later Brand co-hosted the radio show TalkSport with Noel Gallagher. In addition to hosting, Brand also produced a twice weekly podcast titled The Russell Brand Podcast in 2015. And he released his first autobiography in November of 2007 which received favorable reviews.

Although there have been some controversies in his public life, Brand’s life is a good example of the struggle men and women go through as they enter and remain committed to recovery. Certainly, it’s not easy. But it appears that Brand uses his enthusiasm and passion for the causes he cares about, including his own sobriety and the sobriety of others in recovery.

Blackout: One Woman’s Story About Drinking & Self-Destruction

Posted on October 13, 2016September 5, 2017 by JohnAdmin

If you have a history of drinking, you might be familiar with the ridiculous and even shameful things you end up doing when drunk. Maybe you’ve woken up next to someone you didn’t know or perhaps you committed a crime while inebriated.

There are many embarrassing moments that can come out of being under the influence of alcohol. And Sara Hepola should know. She is the author of Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget. This book discusses many heartbreaking and self-destructive moments Hepola had while she was addicted to alcohol. Ironically, however, she describes in her book that she felt a sense of power while drinking. She not only felt less inhibited but she also felt stronger on the inside. In an NPR interview, Hepola describes how she felt she had the power to say what she meant in a voice that was firm and forceful, which is different than how she is when sober. The book also describes Hepola’s promiscuity, frequent blackouts, and painful attempts to cover up her shame through more drinking.

Exploring the past in recovery is meant to be an exercise of healing and inspiration – just as it was for Sarah Hepola to write her book. She had to revisit the many painful moments of her past when she wrote about the 25 years she spent drinking alcohol. But certainly doing so brought insight, healing, and inspiration.

Sarah shares more about her past with alcohol in this interview with The Morning Show. In this interview she also talks about her life after addiction. She is 50 pounds lighter and taking good care of herself. Sarah also explains that she was a functioning alcohol. As a long-time editor of Salon Magazine, Sarah learned to tolerate her alcohol. She worked long hours and she also drank for long periods of time. Binge drinking was her usual drinking pattern. And among her friends, Sarah was known for being able to hold her liquor more than anyone else.

Sarah’s book, Blackout, also discusses the phenomena of experiencing amnesia as a result of drinking too much alcohol. Sarah writes about you can feel as though you’re wide awake, but in fact, once sober again you don’t remember an iota of what happened while drunk. This author hopes to shed light on the dangers of alcohol and how it can subtly lead to a downward spiral, such as developing poor health, unhealthy relationships, and loss of family and friends.

Sarah lives near Dallas, Texas where she continues to focus on her sobriety while spreading the message that there’s life after addiction. In her interviews, she talks about the fear that most people have that sobriety is boring. Or that they won’t be able to maintain their friendships once sober. Sarah emphasizes that life after addiction can be just as exciting. She explains that you’re more available to life and you no longer need to carry the pain you were always trying to push away.

You can find more about Sarah and her book here: SarahHepola.com