Rehab And Recovery From An Addicts Perspective

February 13,2013

Have you ever wanted something so badly you would do anything to get it? Many of us have had a burning desire to acquire something we want”but few of us would steal, lie, and cheat to get it....

Rehab And Recovery From An Addicts Perspective

Have you ever wanted something so badly you would do anything to get it? Many of us have had a burning desire to acquire something we want”but few of us would steal, lie, and cheat to get it. Few of us would place every relationship we have, every nickel we've earned, or the roof over our head, at risk to get it. But when you're an addict that is exactly what you do, not once, but every day. You risk your life, you'll lie to a friend or loved one while looking straight into their eyes, and place a level of fear in your loved ones' head that only a person with serious problems would even think of doing.

But that explains what substance abuse does to a person's mind, doesn't it?

œI like to drink. I like the way it makes me feel, I like the fact that I'm less inhibited. I have œgame when I drink, and girls like it. I like everything except waking up the next morning. So says one man addicted to alcohol.

A woman with a cocaine addiction said, œI was clean. I had stopped everything, and I felt great. But this voice kept talking to me, telling me to do it just once more. Just once more, and then I would stop hearing the voice. Over and over and over. It got to the point that I couldn't take it anymore, and I screamed at it, œOKAY! Just once more! So I did it once more; but it wasn't once, because after that time, I couldn't stop. I tried and tried, and finally I quit, again. It's been almost two weeks, and I am clean and sober now. I'm just praying I don't hear that voice again, because I don't know if I can shut it up. I'm so scared. I feel like a failure.

At times, the most terrible place on Earth is in your own head. Knowing what is right and wrong isn't the problem. People think addicts do the wrong thing because they don't know better. They do. They even know the consequences of their actions. The difference is that the force of the alcohol or drug is so strong, that they place those values lower than the drugs, which allows them to do whatever it takes to get their drugs.

Drug addicts live in one of three places: denial, regret, or recovery. Either they deny that the problem exists, they regret their addiction but can't find the way to stop it, or they have accepted their illness and are moving toward a level of recovery that permits them to live a sober lifestyle.

An addict rarely finds recovery without support. But all the support in the world won't change an addict that doesn't want to change, or that denies their addictions.

And there's one more thing: understanding that addiction is an illness, a disease, and there isn't a cure for it (yet), makes it easier to understand that just because you're an addict doesn't mean you're a loser. It means you're ill and need help.

Rehab is something that is often misunderstood. People think that if you go to rehab, you get œfixed. The truth, sadly, is that rehab doesn't œfix you, it gives you the tools to work with to help you get to a better place. Short-term rehabs may actually do more harm than good, because they serve to reduce the tolerance to drugs and alcohol, so the addict will have a œcheaper high as a result. Always look at the real objective when examining the solutions offered.

For many years, I've said that discontent is the root of all change. It's no different with addiction. When you're sick and tired of being sick and tired, change begins. You Gotta Want It.

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Family and Friends of Addicts”please remember”you can't force an individual deal with an addiction problem. But you can offer support and arrange an intervention for addiction treatment. Reach out to us. Recovery from addiction is just a click or a phone call away. For more information on how to arrange an intervention for your loved one, contact us at:

Center for Addiction Recovery “ Addiction Treatment Center: 1-800-570-4562

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A Center for Addiction Recovery

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MARK KILLAR

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