Tag Archives: warning signs

Drug Abuse, Drug Addiction, Drug Rehab, Drug Treatment, General Issues

Drug Addiction: “You Don’t Understand Me”

Addiction is influenced by your specific body, biology and brain chemistry. It is a result of your past experiences and your current environment. It reflects your personality and that of the people around you. It is the accumulation of an infinite number of factors that can never be duplicated or replicated.

Knowing this, how could anyone ever understand you? How could they understand the and why of your addiction? How could they help? They can, because although addiction is a unique and individual experience, it is also a universal and shared one.

The Guardian[1] shares, “One in seven Americans will experience a problem with alcohol or other drug misuse in their lifetimes, and some 20 million have current substance use disorders.”

No one faces your specific circumstances, but many can and do understand. As with any disease, there are treatment paths and outlines. As with any disease, addiction’s expression and your experience of it are influenced by past and present factors. Treatment outlines adjust to fit your unique circumstances. Professionals and programs recognize and provide for your personal recovery needs.

Understanding Addiction on a Biological Level

Brain retro xrayAddiction is a biological disease. As the American Society of Addiction Medicine[2] (ASAM) explains, “Genetic factors account for about half of the likelihood that an individual will develop addiction.” The body and brain you are born with shape your future drug use trajectory. This doesn’t mean addiction is inevitable or inescapable. It means you need to be aware of your genetic risk and how it impacts your thoughts, behaviors, and recovery. Treatment professionals understand addiction on a biological level. They help you explore how your genes and your physical health have interacted with your drug use. They understand how some factors leading to addiction were beyond your control. Michael’s House helps you develop coping mechanisms for managing your health. We provide the experienced medical support that is a necessary part of full understanding and recovery.

Understanding Addiction on a Social Level

Addiction is a social disease. Friends, family, peers and community members have influenced and continue to influence your drug use. A lack thereof can be just as detrimental. You may think no one understands your addiction, but your addiction may be the result not understanding others.

The Huffington Post[3] explains, “Human beings have a deep need to bond and form connections. It’s how we get our satisfaction. If we can’t connect with each other, we will connect with anything we can find — the whirr of a roulette wheel or the prick of a syringe…A heroin addict has bonded with heroin because she couldn’t bond as fully with anything else.”

Before you retreat further into addiction with the excuse that no one understands, consider how reaching out could lead to discovering much-needed social support. Recovering from addiction involves more than knowing how people influenced your drug use. It involves knowing how they can help you heal. You can and will find others in recovery who understand you. Open up to others. Share your story and listen to theirs. No one perfectly fits the stereotypical “addict” mold. You may not find understanding from everyone, but you will find understanding from someone. You will find people who have had similar life experiences, face similar challenges, and feel and think similarly about certain issues or concerns. Doing so begins with knowing that others understand you, and you can understand them. Make yourself open to the possibility of friendship and support.

Supportive friendsRecovery involves finding a community of like-minded, supportive peers. Negate social risk factors by finding the people who understand your desire for a better, healthier life. ASAM explains, “As in other health conditions, self-management, with mutual support, is very important in recovery from addiction. Peer support such as that found in various ‘self-help’ activities is beneficial in optimizing health status and functional outcomes in recovery. Recovery from addiction is best achieved through a combination of self-management, mutual support, and professional care provided by trained and certified professionals.” Michael’s House teaches self-management skills. We teach you how to find personal strength and the strength to find additional help when you need it. We connect you to professionals who understand addiction and recovery. We connect you to peers who may just become lifelong, sober friends.

How Can Treatment Help Me, Specifically?

You may think you don’t need treatment. You may think other patients won’t have a similar story to yours. You may think professionals can’t help you with your personal challenges. None of this is true. No matter how “mild” your substance abuse or addiction seems, treatment helps. No matter how alone you feel, understanding exists. Call Michael’s House and speak with our caring, compassionate staff. We want to get to know and understand you. We can create a personalized treatment path that reflects your unique situation and recovery needs.

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/18/us-drug-alcohol-addiction-statistics-treatment-reform. “US addiction statistics are dire. Small changes won’t solve the problem.” The Guardian. 18 Nov 2016. Web. 23 Mar 2017.

[2] http://www.asam.org/quality-practice/definition-of-addiction/. “Definition of Addiction.” American Society of Addiction Medicine. 19 Apr 2011. Web. 23 Mar 2017.

[3] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/johann-hari/the-real-cause-of-addicti_b_6506936.html. “The Likely Cause of Addiction Has Been Discovered, and It Is Not What You Think.” Huffington Post. 25 Jan 2016. Web. 24 Mar 2017.

Drug Addiction, Drug Treatment, General Issues

Blind Spots With Drug Addiction Keep You Trapped

You’re on the freeway heading toward your destination. You go to switch lanes, and you suddenly hear the blast of a car horn. Another vehicle was there in your blind spot. It feels like the other vehicle came out of nowhere.You just narrowly avoided having an accident. Drug addiction recovery has a lot in common with this example. You may think you are safe and everything is fine, but you may be putting your sobriety at risk. Please read on and see if you are ignoring any blind spots in your recovery.

You Hang Out With Old Friends Sometimes

Young men having lunchYou may think it doesn’t matter if you still see your old drinking buddy from high school on the weekends.The truth is, you are putting yourself in harm’s way. Old friends with addictions or substance abuse problems do not have your best interest at heart.

Your emotional ties will make you think you can make the relationship work. Unfortunately, you are likely to be proven wrong. Someone may say, “just one drink,” or you may start having cravings when you go to an old hangout. Before you know it, you may find yourself relapse right in the face.

You Don’t Go To Meetings Or Counseling Anymore

You may think that going to support meetings is pointless or that counseling doesn’t work anymore. Perhaps you need to take a slightly different perspective on this. You may be slipping into some typical addiction all-or-nothing thinking. This form of thinking is when seeing things as all good or all bad and allowing for no middle ground.[1]

If you aren’t in a meeting that feels like a good fit, you are less likely to stick with it. And if you felt like counseling wasn’t doing anything for you, take a look at why you stopped going. Was it really time for you to stop? Maybe your counselor was not a good fit and that lead to feelings of boredom.

Keep in mind that counseling and support groups aren’t really there to do things for you. They are opportunities for you to do things differently and learn about yourself. Getting isolated socially and mentally can take you right down the path of relapse. Contact someone you trust about this.Look into getting reconnected with the services and support you need.

You Have Quit Doing All Those Healthy Things From Rehab

In drug rehab, you learned different ways to help you stay sober. Some of these may have been foreign to you from the onset. Lifestyle changes include things like yoga, eating new foods, and getting active outdoors.

Now if you find yourself being pretty sedentary, eating plenty of junk food, and not getting good sleep, you are likely setting yourself up for trouble. Your drug addiction was at least partly based on your body’s physical sensations from taking drugs. When your body doesn’t feel that great, you may be tempted to get a zing from something you know will work – drugs and alcohol. Your physical health is closely tied to your mental health. Poor physical health brings an increased risk of depression and other mental health issues.[2] When you are depressed, you are more likely to turn to substance abuse as a way to cope.

Staying On Top Of Addiction Recovery Blind Spots

Nobody likes to admit they have blind spots. When problems trip you up, it can be tough to acknowledge that you should have known better. Pay attention to any potential blind spots so they won’t take your sobriety off track. If you are struggling, please feel free to reach out to one of our admission’s coordinators at Michael’s House. We are here to help you live a life of sobriety.

[1] http://www.mayo.edu/pmts/mc6000-mc6099/mc6064-12.pdf The Disease of Addiction: Changing Addictive Thought Patterns

[2] https://psychcentral.com/lib/the-relationship-between-mental-and-physical-health/ The Relationship Between Mental and Physical Health. Collingwood, Jane.

Crystal Meth Addiction, Drug Abuse, Drug Addiction, General Issues

Important FAQs about Crystal Meth Addiction

Do you have questions about crystal meth addiction? It’s one of the most dangerously addictive drugs out there today. Take a look at these FAQ’s to brush up on your knowledge about crystal meth.

crystal-meth

Why Do People Start Using Meth

Methamphetamine is a type of stimulant drug. It can make people feel invincible and full of endless energy. Construction workers, students, over-the-road truckers, and others might try crystal meth as a way to stay awake and get things done.

Stimulants also have appetite-reducing qualities. Some young women use meth as a way to keep their weight down. It’s also used as a recreational drug at parties, just for the sake of getting high. Also, people experiencing depression may use it to escape their feelings of despair. People who keep using it want to experience the euphoria they felt during their first use.

Why Is Crystal Meth Addiction So Addictive

Crystal meth is highly addictive, which makes it dangerous and difficult to experiment with. Regardless of why a person may start using it, they may quickly start needing it just to have any energy for the day. While the high may be very pleasurable, it’s the ugly rebound effect that gets a person hooked. They start taking more to get rid of the rebound, also hoping to catch that high again.

They use the drug frequently to manage this balance, but also need much more of the drug than before to just feel OK much less get a high. This chemical cycling of highs and lows throws off the natural chemicals in the body.

Dopamine is one of many neurotransmitter chemicals the body uses to communicate pleasure, pain, and other sensations. When an addictive drug like crystal meth is introduced, the body shuts down production of dopamine. This contributes to the awful rebound feeling and the need for more drugs. Meth literally takes over the body’s chemical messaging function, locking the person into a fierce addiction.

What Are The Health Risks of Crystal Meth

The biggest health risk is death from overdose. Meth affects the circulatory and the nervous systems. Any kind of excessive stimulation of these systems can put a person’s life at risk, especially if use is frequent and prolonged. Heart failure, brain damage, increased suicide risk, and stroke are common reasons for crystal meth fataliities.

Can You Get Over Meth Addiction On Your Own?

Not much chance of that. As stated before, crystal meth takes over the body’s chemical messaging system. When the drug isn’t taken frequently enough, withdrawal symptoms can be very uncomfortable. The psychological addiction to meth is also very strong. People hoping to get sober from meth are in a state of physical and mental vulnerability, and meth is simply too strong. Drug rehab is the only effective way to get free from a meth addiction. It takes a lot of support, learning, and time to get back to a sober lifestyle. Doing it alone is unlikely to work.

Crystal Meth FAQ’s

There’s a lot more you can learn about crystal meth. But these hopefully these questions have covered the most important points for you. Call today to ask more questions about crystal meth addiction.