My Name Is Fiona, and I’m an Addict It took me far too long to say those words. It took me even longer to mean them. My road to recovery from substance abuse began the first time I made myself vomit. See, before I could imagine getting better, I had to get worse. Growing up, […]
The recovery journey is an incredibly emotional time. While in active addiction, people often numb themselves or dilute their emotions with alcohol and drugs; therefore, early recovery often involves a flood of emotions that may take a while to stabilize. In fact, it can take months or even years to find one’s emotional equilibrium. However, […]
Nobody ever intends to become an addict. In fact, many substance abusers continue to believe they’ll be able to stop their consumption behavior before they become fully addicted. However, the point of no return quickly comes and goes as substance abusers become full-blown addicts. Fortunately, addiction is a treatable illness with addicts having a number […]
Addiction is a unique disease. While it’s not a curable condition, addiction is treatable. Those who suffer from chemical dependency can overcome most of the effects of addiction to live a normal, healthy life. To help treatment providers and therapists to better help patients suffering from addiction, alcoholism researchers Carlo C. DiClemente and J. O. Prochaska […]
There are many different substances to which a person can become addicted. When one thinks of addiction, alcoholism and common drug addictions like cocaine and heroin addiction are usually what come to mind. With these types of addiction, an individual develops a tolerance, then a physical dependency, and then he or she is simply unable […]
We’re fortunate today to have the benefit of hindsight and decades of research. With our knowledge comes more effective treatments and the saving of hundreds, thousands, and even millions of lives. However, there are still many miles left to go. We may have a thorough understanding of the disease of addiction, but we’ve still barely […]
Denial is a major component of addiction. Either because they’re unable or unwilling to accept the reality of a substance use problem, the majority of addicts deny whether they’re actually even addicted. Unfortunately, this means that a number of individuals in need of help are unable to receive it because they continue to believe they […]
The journey of addiction various substantially for every addict, but some of the fears of people in addiction are similar or the same. Here are five common drug rehab fears that addicts give for avoiding or rejecting the recovery process. Fear: Rehabilitation Is Like Imprisonment Most addicts equate substance abuse with their freedom and independence. Although […]
Addiction recovery can be a long, intensive process. Until somewhat recently, addicts were often forced into abstinence through punishment, but we’ve come to see overcoming addiction as more of a therapeutic process that requires mental and physical treatments. However, this therapeutic model of addiction recovery isn’t the only model available. In fact, the twelve-step model […]
Recovery is a very in-depth, individualized process. What works for one addict will not necessarily work for the next addict. Luckily, there are a multitude of rehab services that may be better suited to treat some addicts more effectively than others. Thanks to these different rehab services, rest assured that you’ll find that one will […]
