Category: International

Chore. A word we describe doing something we don’t particularly enjoy. Taking out the trash, mowing the lawn, washing the dishes. These are things that must be done, but since we don’t enjoy them and do them with clenched teeth and visions of various activities you will do once said chores are done. So how do you describe something, that needs to be done, you don’t really enjoy in any way and it has the potential to destroy your life and even kill you, if not done correctly or in time?

To call an addiction a chore is like referring to a healthy male adult Bengal tiger as “kitty”. How do you call the need to do something so hard and utterly energy draining as battling an addiction?

A duty for those pressured, blackmailed or forced to sign up. When battling an addiction is a duty, it is done for someone else, to have it over and done with so this part of the addict’s life can be put in the rear-view mirror as soon as possible.

A responsibility for others. Mostly parents who understand, that having an addiction and raising a child is something that is very hard to combine. Even if a high-functioning addict is able to maintain this duality, the quality of life and attention the child receives will never be comparable to that of children who grow up in functional and clean families.

There are those who simply look at it as a burden. For them, the battle with their own need to use an addictive substance is something that has to be done sooner or later so they accept it for what it is and simply get on with their lives.

A challenge. Very limited few view it this way, but the ones that do, dive in their fight head on and do not shy away from the mental hardships and the physiological drain. They almost welcome it and plow through the rehab course as if it is nothing. This type of person is very rare and could be called a myth.

So how do you keep people in rehab when they really do not wish to be there?

Engage the addict

There are three main ways to ensure an addict remains in treatment and does not throw in the towel. There are many ways to motivate an addict, everyone is a separate case and there are different things that work for each of them.

Rehab

One of the main reasons why so many addicts choose to leave the course is because they do not feel that they are getting enough help or guidance. While any self-respecting rehab center will help, plan and facilitate growth and healing, sobriety is not something a person can spoon-feed to an addict. Regardless, here are some important facets of rehab support that must be met so the addict remains in the rehab and is motivated to finish his path to sobriety.

• Understandable course expectations
• Positive influence from the rehab staff
• Opportunities to forge bonds with other addicts in group activities
• 24/7 access to support from physiologists, social workers, medical staff, and counselors
• Comfortable, safe and temptation-free environment

Individual focus

While people can be forced to be free of their dependence on drugs, no-one can force sobriety on an addict. It needs to be a goal that is both wanted and believed in. To boost and maintain that belief, the person must be motivated in a variety of ways, that remind him who all this hardship is for. Some of the ways to motivate the addict as an individual are listed below.

• Constant reminders, that this change is for the better of the addict.
• Family and friend support is of paramount importance and one of the main pillars of support in the addict’s fight for sobriety.
• Addicts workplace exerting equal amounts of pressure and support, by giving time for recovery while reminding of the possible outcomes in case of failure.
• A constant reminder of health benefits that come with a life that is dedicated to the purity of both body and mind.

Active intervention

As one of the most drastic ways to support an addict, active intervention is a last resort technique. In a lot of ways, this type of support involves many aspects of both individual focus and rehab engagement. This type of support is usually applied when it is time to make or break the addict. It will either push him further away or snap him out of drug promised illusions.

A rehabilitation institution is unable to detain anyone. By law, the patient has the choice to just walk out at any time. Many are eager to remind the rehab about this fact when they simply announce that they are packing their bags and intend to leave. When reasoning with the patient has failed, active intervention is set in motion. It can vary from case to case greatly. In most of them though, the family and friends of the addict are contacted in hopes that they will be able to talk some sense in the agitated and in many cases even aggressive patient.

 

It is very easy to throw all addicts in the same bag and diagnose them all at once in some obscure blanket statement. It is counter-productive, however, as each addiction is different from the one before and as such, they are treated with a tailored approach.

Do not hesitate to seek help from loved ones and professional rehab counselors. The hardest part is the wish to get clean, to make that first step. It is a fight that will last many years, decades even, but no addict is hopeless. There are prospects, future, and potential in every single one of us.

To quit a hardship is a decision made in haste in the majority of cases. A moment of weakness and doubt. Doubt in the treatment, doubt in future, doubt in themselves. A human being is a comfort creature, through and through, so no wonder that when subjected to some hardship, the majority turns to two possible mentalities – fight or flight. Continue reading “Supporting Addict Who Wants to Quit : The Reasons” →

When asked most people think they know what addiction is. People who have never encountered it themselves generally just think back to Hollywood movies. While most people understand what withdrawal effects are and how they affect an addict, they don’t quite differentiate between drug dependence and actual addiction. Sadly, the “good old cold turkey” method just does not cut it. For starters, it is extremely dangerous and should not be attempted as it can cause your organism to go into shock, lose consciousness or even coma and death, caused by a stroke or respiratory arrest. Continue reading “Supporting Addict Who Wants to Quit” →

Addiction is a destructive force. Be it in the life of the addict himself or those that care for him. It has the tendency to take while conjuring an elaborate illusion of giving. An addiction is a double edged sword no matter which way you turn it. The drugs give you pleasure while destroying the very brain cells and receptors that govern the feeling of pleasure. They give you the confidence to interact with people while pushing everyone that ever wanted to talk with you further away. A vicious cycle with no end if left to its own devices. In the end, there is very little left of the person the addict once was. Continue reading “Rehab – Refurbishing Body & Mind” →

Abuse is not a pleasant word. It is often associated with physical abuse but in this context, we will be talking about abuse on a whole new level – multiple drug abuse.

Various types of drugs and substances when abused and used incorrectly and/or irresponsibly, can bring grief, pain and bodily harm in many ways. The dangers of abusing them are multiplied exponentially the more of them you use at the same time. Today, we look at one of the most dangerous and deadliest of drug mixing habits – alcohol and opiates.

Everyone knows what alcohol is, it is legal after all. Most people consume it in some way and when used responsibly it can be even beneficial – a glass of wine a day can keep blood pressure in check and provides many essentials for a healthy immune system. Why is it such a source of hardship and pain for so many people worldwide?

It is legal.

Everyone knows drugs are illegal and bad, right? Yet why are the same people proclaiming the dangers of cocaine while holding a beer in their hand? Because it is legal and sadly highly addictive. People have been placed at a false sense of security when interacting with alcohol. They believe that since it is legal and in some cases even beneficial, that it is ok to consume it and be under its influence every waking minute of the day. A lot more people die of alcoholism complications than overdosing on heroin and that is a fact perpetuated by the carefree attitude today’s society has towards alcohol.

Speaking of heroin.

It falls under a specific class of drugs – opiates. Derived from the beautifully red poppy flower seed pod, these drugs are classified as opiates and cover a wide range of prescription drugs as well as heroin and opium itself. This amazing plant has given us countless painkillers and pain relief therapies. As much of a saving grace these drugs are for people who truly need them, they are a double-edged sword and prove to be one of the most addictive types of drugs in the world. Most heroin addicts today started with prescription opiates, meant to alleviate pain caused by a sports injury or some other type of accident that calls for pain control for the patient to be able to lead a comfortable and fulfilling life. When the medication course is over and the doctor deems painkillers unnecessary, the patient has already been hooked. Usually due to misuse and abuse of said drugs. The patient is in pain, so he takes more than allocated dose thinking that double dose will kick in twice as fast. What it does though, is signing him up for a fast-lane to addiction.

A cocktail of death.

Now, combine the two. As blatantly obvious as it may be, combining two highly addictive substances is a terribly bad idea in general. Even more so if we are talking about opiates and alcohol specifically because they amplify each other, bolstering and intensifying many times over.

Opiates play a trick on your body and make it absorb alcohol at a much faster rate making its effects set in faster and with multiplied force. Meanwhile, alcohol boosts the depressant effect opiates, makes forgetting that your addiction will kill you sooner or later that much easier to forget. Double attack to central nervous system, both actively depressing it and making the addict even more disconnected with the world.

This focused attack on two fronts is often too much for normal human nervous system to handle for a prolonged period of time. This deadly cocktail will make your breathing irregular while making you suffer from heart rate decrease, which in turn lowers your body temperature. The brain is slowly starved of sufficient oxygen supply and may induce nausea, vomiting and even full-body seizures. This often leads to the addict falling unconscious or in a coma. Death is also a very real threat in this case.

Since opioids make your body absorb more alcohol, severe alcohol poisoning is just a matter of time. Since alcohol in return boosts the effectiveness of opioids, the chances of overdose are extremely high. This is a case where separately a certain dose of these two substances would not kill you, but together they very well might because of the mutually increasing properties of these potent drugs.

 

Fighting an addiction is hard. Fighting two addictions at the same time is exponentially harder, especially if your liver is failing and your heart can’t keep up with the opioids. It is never a time to give up, however. Every addict has a chance to get a new lease on life, turn a new page. It will take all you have, both physically and mentally, but it is better than the ugly alternative.