drug addiction treatment and recovery 3

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REDUCE Drug addiction treatment and recovery 3: Reach out for support Don’t try to go it alone. Whatever treatment approach you choose, having a solid support system is essential. The more positive influences you have in your life, the better your chances for recovery. Recovering from drug addiction isn’t easy, but with people you can turn to for encouragement, guidance, and a listening ear, it’s a little less tough. Lean on close friends and family – Having the support of friends and family members is an invaluable asset in recovery. If you’re reluctant to turn to your loved ones because you’ve let them down before, consider going to couples counseling or family therapy. Build a sober social network – If your previous social life revolved around drugs, you may need to make some new connections. It’s important to have sober friends who will support your recovery. Try taking a class, joining a church or a civic group, volunteering, or attending events in your community. Consider moving in to a sober living home – Sober living homes provide a safe, supportive place to live while you’re recovering from drug addiction. They are a good option if you don’t have a stable home or a drug-free living environment to go to. Make meetings a priority Join a recovery support group and attend meetings regularly. Spending time with people who understand exactly what you’re going through can be very healing. You can also benefit from the shared experiences of the group members and learn what others have done to stay sober. Drug addiction treatment and recovery 5: Keep triggers and cravings in check While getting sober from drugs is an important first step, it’s only the beginning of the recovery process. Once sober, the brain needs time to recover and rebuild connections that have changed while addicted. During this time, drug cravings can be intense. You can support your continued sobriety by making a conscious effort to avoid people, places, and situations that trigger the urge to use: Make a break from old drug buddies. Don’t make the mistake of hanging out with old friends who are still doing drugs. Surround yourself with people who support your sobriety, not those who tempt you to slip back into old, destructive habits.

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Page 1: Drug addiction treatment and recovery 3

REDUCEDrug addiction treatment and recovery 3: Reach out for support

Don’t try to go it alone. Whatever treatment approach you choose, having a solid support system is

essential. The more positive influences you have in your life, the better your chances for recovery.

Recovering from drug addiction isn’t easy, but with people you can turn to for encouragement,

guidance, and a listening ear, it’s a little less tough.

Lean on close friends and family – Having the support of friends and family members is an

invaluable asset in recovery. If you’re reluctant to turn to your loved ones because you’ve let

them down before, consider going to couples counseling or family therapy.

Build a sober social network – If your previous social life revolved around drugs, you may

need to make some new connections. It’s important to have sober friends who will support

your recovery. Try taking a class, joining a church or a civic group, volunteering, or attending

events in your community.

Consider moving in to a sober living home – Sober living homes provide a safe, supportive

place to live while you’re recovering from drug addiction. They are a good option if you don’t

have a stable home or a drug-free living environment to go to.

Make meetings a priority – Join a recovery support group and attend meetings regularly.

Spending time with people who understand exactly what you’re going through can be very

healing. You can also benefit from the shared experiences of the group members and learn

what others have done to stay sober.

Drug addiction treatment and recovery 5: Keep triggers and cravings in check

While getting sober from drugs is an important first step, it’s only the beginning of the recovery

process. Once sober, the brain needs time to recover and rebuild connections that have changed while

addicted. During this time, drug cravings can be intense. You can support your continued sobriety by

making a conscious effort to avoid people, places, and situations that trigger the urge to use:

Make a break from old drug buddies. Don’t make the mistake of hanging out with old

friends who are still doing drugs. Surround yourself with people who support your sobriety, not

those who tempt you to slip back into old, destructive habits.

Avoid bars and clubs, even if you don’t have a problem with alcohol. Drinking lowers

inhibitions and impairs judgment, which can easily lead to relapse. Drugs are often readily

available and the temptation to use can be overpowering. Also avoid any other environments

and situations that you associate with drug use.

Be up front about your history of drug use when seeking medical treatment. If you

need a medical or dental procedure done, be up front about your history and find a provider

who will work with you in either prescribing alternatives or the absolute minimum medication

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necessary. You should never feel ashamed or humiliated about previous drug use or be denied

medication for pain; if that happens, find another provider.

Use caution with prescription drugs. Stay away from prescription drugs with the potential

for abuse or use only when necessary and with extreme caution. Drugs with a high abuse

potential include painkillers, sleeping pills, and anti-anxiety medication.

Drug addiction treatment and recovery 6: Build a meaningful drug-free life

You can support your drug treatment and protect yourself from relapse by having activities and

interests that provide meaning to your life. It’s important to be involved in things that you enjoy and

make you feel needed. When your life is filled with rewarding activities and a sense of purpose, your

addiction will lose its appeal.

Pick up a new hobby. Do things that challenge your creativity and spark your imagination—

something you’ve always wanted to try.

Adopt a pet. Yes, pets are a responsibility, but caring for an animal makes you feel loved and

needed. Pets can also get you out of the house for exercise.

Get involved in your community. Replace your addiction with drug-free groups and

activities. Volunteer, become active in your church or faith community, or join a local club or

neighborhood group.

Set meaningful goals. Having goals to work toward and something to look forward to can be

powerful antidotes to drug addiction. It doesn’t matter what the goals are—whether they

involve your career, your personal life, or your health—just that they are important to you.

Look after your health. Regular exercise, adequate sleep, and healthy eating habits help

you keep your energy levels up and your stress levels down. When you feel good, drugs are

much less of a temptation. The more you can do to stay healthy, the easier it will be to stay

sober.

Jennifer AnistonWhile filming the hit show “Friends”, Jennifer struggled with chain smoking. However, in 2007 she decided to give up her vice by taking an intense detox and now uses exercise to stay free

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from nicotine.

Jon Stewart

wall.alphacoders.com

From the age of 15, the famous host of The Daily Show struggled with a smoking addiction. He

was encouraged to finally kick the habit by the CGL Foundation and since 2000, Stewart has

been smoke free.

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How Parents Can Prevent Drug AbuseEstablish and maintain good communication with your children.

Why? The better you know your children, the easier it will be to guide them towards positive activities and friendships.

How?

Talk to your children every day. Share what happened to you and ask what happened to them during the day.

Ask questions that kids can’t answer with “yes” or “no,” such as “what was your favorite part of the day.” Ask

your children their opinions and include them in making decisions. Show your children that you value their

thoughts and input.

Be ready to talk to your children as early as the fourth grade, when they may first feel peer pressure to

experiment with alcohol, drugs, or cigarettes

Listen to your child’s or teen’s concerns nonjudgmentally. Repeat them to make clear that you understand.

Don’t preach.

Make clear rules and enforce them consistently.

Why? Research shows that when parents set harsh rules or no rules, kids are more likely to try drugs.

How?

Discuss rules, expectations, and consequences in advance.

If a rule is broken, be sure to enforce the consequences. This teaches children to take responsibility for their

actions.

Give praise when your children follow rules and meet expectations.

Talk to your children about drugs.

Why? When parents talk to their kids’ early and often about substance abuse, kids are less likely to try drugs.

How?

Short discussions go a long way. Engage your children in a conversation. Ask what they know, how they feel,

and what they think about the issue.

Talk to your children one-on-one and together.

Educate yourself about alcohol, tobacco, and drug use before talking to your children. You will lose credibility if

you don’t have your facts right.

Set some time aside for you and your child to act out scenarios in which one person tries to pressure another to

drink alcohol, smoke, or use a drug. Figure out two or three ways to handle each situation and talk about which

works best.

Explain the effects of drugs on the body and the legal consequences of using drugs.

Make it clear that you don’t want your kids to use drugs and that you will be disappointed if they do.

Discuss why using drugs isn’t okay. Explain that it’s against the law for a child or teen to use alcohol or

cigarettes and that using drugs is always illegal—for good reason.

Explain how drug use can hurt people in several ways—for example, the transmission of AIDS through

shared needles, slowed growth, impaired coordination, accidents.

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Discuss the legal issues. A conviction for a drug offense can lead to time in prison or cost someone a job,

driver’s license, or college loan.

If any of your children have tried drugs, be honest about your disappointment, but emphasize that you still

love them.

Preventing drug abuse in children and teenagersTake these steps to help prevent drug abuse in your children and teenagers:

Communicate. Talk to your children about the risks of drug use and abuse.

Listen. Be a good listener when your children talk about peer pressure, and be supportive

of their efforts to resist it.

Set a good example. Don't abuse alcohol or addictive drugs. Children of parents who

abuse drugs are at greater risk of drug addiction.

Strengthen the bond. Work on your relationship with your children. A strong, stable bond

between you and your child will reduce your child's risk of using or abusing drugs.

Holistic Treatment for Drug Addiction

A relatively new method for treating individuals with drug addiction is to use a holistic approach. This type of

treatment focuses on the entire individual - body, mind, and spirit - in order to heal all aspects of their life in a

natural way. Holistic treatment helps individuals take control of their lives and develop a balanced existence

that does not rely on drugs or any harmful substances to function.

Drug Free Treatment

Holistic rehab does not rely on medication or artificial methods to remove drugs from the body or to lessen

withdrawal symptoms. Instead, vitamins, good nutrition, exercise, acupuncture, and sauna therapy are used to

cleanse the body. Because holistic treatment focuses on the entire individual, this treatment will purge drugs

from the entire body and allow the patient to begin with a clean slate.

Once an individual has cleansed their body of drugs and other toxins, treatment for the mind and spirit can

begin. In holistic rehab this happens in a number of ways, including traditional therapy, meditation, and prayer.

By removing toxins from the body and also healing the mind and spirit, holistic rehab helps patients avoid

relapse and a craving for their drug.

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13 Valuable Alternative Treatments for Addiction

1) NAD

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is a coenzyme derivative of vitamin B3

- otherwise known as niacin—found in all living cells. NAD is a key agent in

metabolism, as well as many other basic cellular processes. Because it is

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essential to the production of energy in our bodies, it has become a valuable

resource for helping addicts, especially when used in mega-doses, for rapid

detox. The mega-dose treatment is in IV form. It is thought to reduce cravings

and withdrawal symptoms in patients without using replacement therapies.

According to reports, it has been used successfully to treat addictions to

prescription drugs including opiates, benzodiazepines, and stimulants, alcohol,

cocaine, marijuana, suboxone, and methadone. Results may include improved

mental clarity, increase in cognitive function, returned focus and concentration,

more energy, better mood, and more positive outlook.

2) Neurofeedback

Neurofeedback is a process by which electroencephalography (EEG) sensors

are attached to one’s head which allows the brain’s activity to be fed back into a

computer that displays brain waves in real time. The subject can then interact

with her brain waves in order to alter them, directly impacting their frequency.

 “It can help keep [addicts] from leaving treatment early,” says Matt Morgan, a

neurofeedback treatment specialist

Neurofeedback has been gaining traction as a form of alternative treatment at

leading recovery and rehab centers.

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3) Ibogaine

Ibogaine is an alternative treatment for opiate addiction. The product of the root

bark of an African rainforest shrub, Tabernanthe iboga, and ibogaine is used

ceremonially by the Bwiti tribe of Western and Central Africa to induce visions

and shamanic experience. 

 It is used to treat addiction to methadone, heroin, alcohol, cocaine, methamphetamine, anabolic steroids, and other drugs. Ibogaine is also used to treat depression and PTSD. Derivatives of ibogaine that lack the substance’s psychedelic properties are under development.

4) Meditation/Mindfulness Practices

Meditation is the art of practicing mindfulness, and 12-step programs and

counselors alike recommend it as a method to prevent relapse. Gaining

mindfulness helps substance abusers become aware of their thoughts and

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feelings, good and bad, but not react to the negative ones—a key step forward in

preventing relapse. An increasing number of studies indicate that mindfulness-

based relapse prevention techniques do reduce cravings and prevent relapse as

well as, if not better than, traditional treatment.

5) Biochemical Restoration and Nutrition 

A new type of treatment, biochemical restoration, aims to repair the biochemical

imbalances that cause cravings, depression, anxiety, and the unstable moods

that lead to—and perpetuate—addiction.

Recovering addicts tend toward highly palatable foods that can provide a

temporary reprieve from negative feelings. These are almost invariably

processed foods with added sugar, salt and vegetable oil fats; refined

carbohydrates, and caffeine—rather than high-nutrient foods.

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6) Yoga

Yoga, which means “union” in Sanskrit, combines three aspects: physical

postures breathe work, and meditation. The philosophy of yoga is to bring the

mind, body, and spirit together in a united alignment. This can promote a state of

inner peace that might assist recovering addicts in preventing relapse. By

becoming less influenced by the world around them, addicts can learn to shrug

off cravings and embrace their inner strength without the need for external

validation through substances. Through practicing the physical “asanas,”

recovering addicts can become aware of their outdated behavioral patterns and

make the conscious decision to change. 

8) Animal Contact / Pet Therapy

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 animal/pet therapy works by helping recovering addicts focus outside of themselves in the care of someone else—or “something” else, in this case. Its advocates in the rehab community believe that by caring for a dependent creature, a person in recovery discovers the nurturing side of him and thereby cultivates a deeper sense of what it means to be nurtured.

 Many recovering addicts (and their therapists) claim to have benefited from interactions and bonding with horses—which appear to build confidence, trust, patience and self-esteem. Horses are naturally responsive and have some similar interactive communication styles to humans, such as nuzzling.

9) Virtual Reality Therapy

Virtual reality therapy or VRT (sometimes called “immersive multimedia”), is a form of exposure therapy that uses virtual reality technology to simulate real-life experiences. The treatment can be likened to exposure therapy, in which addicts are deliberately triggered while being guided by a counselor. VRT is considered by its adherents, with some supporting evidence—to be more effective than encouraging addicts to avoid the people, places, or things that can trigger a desire to use.

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REPRODUCEPerformance-Enhancing DrugsWhat is a Performance-Enhancing Drug? 

A performance-enhancing drug is any substance taken by athletes to improve performance.

This term is referenced often and typically refers to anabolic steroid use in sports by

professional and amateur athletes

It may be an advantage to know that a man can travel 520 miles in 138 hours, and manage to live through a week with an infinitesimal amount of rest, though we fail to perceive that anyone could possibly be placed in a position where his ability in this respect would be of any use to him [and] what is to be gained by a constant repetition of the fact.

More recently, a participant in an endurance walking race in Britain, Abraham Wood, said in 1807 that he had used laudanum (which contains opiates) to keep him awake for 24 hours while competing against Robert Barclay Allardyce.

Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) used therapeutically in medicine to induce bone growth,

stimulate appetite, induce male puberty, and treat chronic wasting conditions, such as cancer and AIDS. Anabolic steroids also increase muscle mass and physical strength, and are therefore used in sports and bodybuilding to enhance strength or physique

Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs

Various medications can lower blood cholesterol levels. Statins are drugs that can lower your cholesterol. They work by blocking a substance your body needs to make cholesterol. This class of drugs works in the liver to prevent the formation of cholesterol, thus lowering the amount of cholesterol circulating in the blood. Statins are most effective at lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol, but also have modest effects on lowering triglycerides (blood fats) and raising HDL (good) cholesterol. Statins may also help your body reabsorb cholesterol that has built up in

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plaques on your artery walls, preventing further blockage in your blood vessels and heart attacks .They have been directly associated with reduced risk for heart attack and stroke.