Holiday Trigger Take Down

Triggers. Temptations. Pitfalls. They exist in copious amounts during the holidays. And they run the gamut! Diets are destroyed, political barriers are blown away, norms are tossed out the window, and a lot of that is accepted – even joked about – during this time of year. This sort of attitude toward temptation can be doubly horrid for someone who is on their sobriety or recovery journey. Addicts run into all manner of additional temptations during the holiday season, made worse by the fact that traveling, socializing, sleeping in guest rooms, etc. can all have a detrimental effect on the body and mind. We’ve put together a few tips to help you ensure that a Thanksgiving and Christmas season entered sober can be gone through and exited sober as well.

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alcohol addiction

I Have a Drinking Problem. Now What?

You’ve taken the first step towards recovery: admitting you have a problem. Now what? Get ready for the long, challenging, but very rewarding journey that you are embarking on.

Seek Alcohol Addiction Treatment

You do not have to be alone on this journey to recovery. Call an addiction hotline or reach out directly to an alcohol detox and recovery program. Trained professionals can help you have the best chance of getting and staying sober. The recovery process can include a variety of treatment methods including detox, medication, inpatient rehab, outpatient treatment, therapy, and continuing care. You and your loved ones most likely have a lot of questions about what to expect once you start this journey.

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What to Consider When Selecting a Drug and Alcohol Detox Center

Whether it is for yourself or a loved one, selecting the best drug and alcohol detox center is critical to ensuring a successful recovery for the addict. For first those entering recovery for the first time, you may be wondering what there is to consider that you aren’t thinking about. For an addict who has relapsed and is entering detox again, you may want to consider factors that you did not think about before.

Whatever the case, below is a comprehensive list of factors to consider and questions that the addict or the addict’s loved one should ask when contacting a detox facility.

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people at desk work

Addiction at Work

There’s a stigma with addiction – that of the addict passing out in an alley somewhere, unable to move, barely able to function at all. While that image of addiction does come from a real place, there’s a far more prevalent face of addiction out in the world – that of the highly functioning professional. Drug & alcohol addiction knows no bounds. It is not a poor person’s disease, it does not care about race, religion, social status, or career. Addiction affects every tier of society. That fact can be very surprising to people on the fringes of the addiction disease. Below are the career fields that rank highest for addiction among the workforce. You’ll see that addiction really does run the gamut, and permeates some unexpected places.

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heroin addict

The Heroin Journey

“What’s going to happen to me?” It’s one of the most common questions we hear when the heroin addiction treatment process is in its beginning moments. And that makes perfect sense! Something that your body depends on to feel “good” and “normal” isn’t going to be available anymore. What does that mean for you? What will your body and mind go through? And what does a treatment facility do to help in that process?

While everyone’s treatment journey is unique, a few generalities exist. These include things that can be highlighted to help answer some of those burning questions about your journey from addiction to recovery, and what happens in between.

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drug addict

5 Ways Drug Addicts Play the Victim Role

By the time addiction has become truly problematic, a person will come up with a bunch sophisticated defense mechanisms to continue feeding his/her addiction. One of these defense mechanisms is playing the victim role.

Why do addicts play the victim?

Knowingly playing the victim role helps an addict to control and influence the thoughts and feelings of others, most commonly parents and spouses. An addict hardly copes with their actions — they’re ashamed or afraid to acknowledge this and seek help — so they justifies their actions as a way of controlling the situation.

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family

Why Does Family Play Such an Important Role In Every Addict’s Journey?

Getting sober is an ongoing process which requires not only strong will power and a professional help, but also help from closed family.

One way to help your loved ones is finding good detox facility. Start by learning about their addiction and the different treatments available. If they’re open to it, offer to visit the place with them. Offer your help with anything that gets in the way of sobriety. Just don’t push anything! There’s no good in forcing an individual to seek treatment, one has to decide this alone.

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alcohol addiction

You Are Not Addicted to Alcohol. Unless…

Alcohol is the most commonly consumed addictive substance around the globe, and it’s becoming a bigger problem every day. Estimates are that more than 17 million people suffer from alcohol addiction globally. Several million people engage in binge drinking almost daily.

It’s hard to recognize the exact point when drinking alcohol becomes an addiction, but here are a few signs to help figure out whether you or someone you love have a drinking problem.

Physical signs of alcoholism

Are you (or someone close to you) shaking, sweating and feeling nauseous when you don’t drink alcohol? Are you unable to fall asleep without drinking? Persistent insomnia is a real sign of alcohol addiction. Do you need more and more alcohol to get that buzzing feeling that you’d get after two drinks just a while ago? Having high tolerance to alcohol is another common sign of addiction.

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addiction relapse

Relapse Rates (or: How to Avoid Becoming A Statistic)

Over the past years, relapses have taken the lives of addicts and alcoholisms all around the world — people who have been struggling to live another day. Unfortunately, too many succumb to chemical dependency, despite measures taken by local and federal government against the opioid epidemic in the United States.

No one person or organization can be blamed solely for this rise in relapse rates. For many, getting clean is a long and messy process, and failure points are in abundance. Admitting is one thing, but accepting is what can prevent a relapse and lower relapse rates over time.

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Signs of Drug Abuse Dependency and Addiction

Signs of Drug Abuse, Dependency and Addiction

How to recognize signs of drug abuse and addiction

The answer is not a simple one, especially in the initial phase of drug consumption when neither the psychological nor the physical health of a person haven’t been disrupted, and they’re still trying to keep old habits and leave the impression that everything is fine. If you suspect that you or someone you love is having a problem with substance abuse, there’s a list of universally accepted symptoms.

According to the World Drug Report, 29.5 million people worldwide suffer from drug use disorders. Even the first use of an illicit drug qualifies as drug abuse. It usually starts willfully, and most commonly due to curiosity, boredom, stress or depression. Addiction is a strong urge to obtain the use of illicit drugs regardless of the consequences, and it’s a product of prolonged drug abuse.

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