Would like to take a moment and talk about how someone in active addiction can get help. Please remember that some of what I post is my own experience and some comes from research on the internet. Because of questions that have been asked of me, I would like to post my take on different treatment options and take a look at what 'addiction' is or means.
First, addiction, it is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use despite harmful consequences to the addicted individual and those around them. Addiction has been defined as being abnormally tolerant to and dependent on something that is psychologically or physically habit- forming (especially alcohol or narcotic drugs). The body is affected in several ways. Mentally an addict becomes obsessed with thoughts of using. Physically they develop a compulsion to continue use regardless of the consequences. Spiritually they become totally self-centered in the course of their addiction. Addiction is progressive, incurable and can be fatal unless the person receives treatment. The reaction to drugs is what makes an addict, not how much or what is used. It is a disease, not a moral problem. Much more than drug use, it is a part of who we are; an illness that involves every area of an addicts life, with or without the use of drugs. (Remember people are addicted to other things like shopping, eating, sex and the list goes on, it is the same disease just different substances.) Biology - genes that people are born with - in combination with environmental influences - account for about half of someone's addiction vulnerability. Environment factors such as peer pressure, physical and/or sexual abuse, stress. Many different influences from family and friends to quality of life in general. Development - genetic and environmental factors interact with critical developmental stages in a person's life to affect addiction vulnerability. Taking drugs at any age can lead to addiction, but the younger a person is the more likely addiction will happen. The disease of addiction is a preventable disease. Prevention programs involving families, schools, communities and media are effective in reducing drug abuse in addiction.
Each drug of abuse produces different physical affects, but all abused substances have one thing in common: They all 'hijack' the brain's normal "reward" pathways and alter the areas of the brain responsible for self-control, judgment, emotional regulation, motivation, memory and learning. Our brains can not tell one drug from another. Taking the drug use away and the underlying problem is still there, like low self-esteem, anxiety, loneliness, or unhappy family life. Denial is one of the most dangerous effects of addiction. Addicts cannot just simply stop using drugs for a few days and be cured. Addiction is similar to other chronic, relapsing diseases such as diabetes, asthma, or heart disease, drug addiction can be managed successfully.
Treatment is different for each addict. No one single treatment is appropriate for every addict. As there are different treatment for different addicts, there is also different ways to get an addict to agree to treatment. I have been a part of and seen intervention work with success of getting an addict to agree to treatment and they were able to arrest their disease, stop using and live a productive life without a relapse. My own experience of voluntarily entering treatment, so far, has been a success. I have been able to stop using, learn to live life on life's terms and be a productive and responsible member of society without relapse. Not bragging, that is just my story. Then there are addicts that are court ordered for one reason or another to enter treatment. They come out of treatment clean and are able to maintain their sobriety without relapse. And there are those addicts that enter into a 12 step program and are able to quit using and maintain their sobriety without relapse. We have to remember that relapse is a part of recovery for some. There are many people that are successful with their treatment and maintaining sobriety and there are people that fail. They don't stay in treatment or once they are out they return to their old ways and behaviors. One thing that I have learned and witnessed is, that an addict, any addict can stop using, lose the desire to use and live a productive life "IF" they want it. Recovery is possible for any addict that wants it. An addict that enters treatment after an intervention just to get family and friends off their backs, most likely will not stay the entire amount of treatment required and returns to active addiction. Someone who enters treatment voluntarily may not stay for the entire amount of treatment required and return to active addiction. Just as the addict that was court ordered, they will remain in treatment just because it was court ordered, but upon release they are more than likely to return to active addiction.
Even with the best of treatments, a fully successful recovery is far from certain. Statistics vary from drug to drug and depend also on the addict and their circumstances. The one sure fact is that no one recovers without first quitting. Quitting is easier and more likely to succeed with medical and counseling support. No matter how an addict tries to quit, all addicts deserve recovery. We all deserve a chance to relearn behavior skills and principles in order to lead a productive life. To be able to live life on life's terms. We all deserve to be who we want to be, what we want to be and be successful in life.
One last note or two, the level of surrender can be the deciding factor of the level of recovery. Recovery is not just stopping the using, it is a way to live life with the support you may need. As far as treatment facilities, they also vary from region to region, state to state and city to city. Some can be totally free (your taxes pay for these) to a cost of $100K for a month of treatment at some facilities. You can find information on my resource page to find out about treatment in your area.
Again, I want this to be a place of useful information for everyone to just the general public all the way to the addict themselves. Please do not hesitate if you have questions or if you have information that may need to be added to the resource page. I welcome all comments, good, bad and indifferent.
Resources for this post: www.allaboutcounseling.com, www.drug-rehabs.org, The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA - www.drugabuse.gov)
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