Vitamins and Detox

It is no secret that the body is severely abused during addiction, no matter what the substance.  Continued alcohol abuse dehydrates the addict, as well as due to lack of proper nutrition during long binges of drinking, there are very little nutrients being put in the body at this time.  If the addiction is a substance, pills or something injected or snorted, again the addict is not in the best physical condition.  The beginnings of detox, those first few days, are rigorous and taxing on the body.  The addict is physically sick for days to weeks, also making the intake of proper nutrition not as likely.

In order for the detox to work, the body must be purged of all the toxins it has taken in, and this is only the first step.  Once the poison is out of the body, the body needs to heal.  The human body, being the wonderful self sufficient machine that it is, will do most of the work itself, as long as the addict can stay clean and sober.  This is such a difficult time in detox because the addict does not feel well.  His body is craving the drug or alcohol and the physical illness is overwhelming.

If you have committed to turning this addiction into lifelong sobriety, you can help your body in the process.  Feed your body what it needs, and do not feed your body what it does not need.  While you will be on a serious emotional program, lots of meetings and counseling, make sure you take care of your body.  Take the vitamins offered.  High doses of vitamins are used in the detox process to help the body find its way back to health.  Putting your body on the plus side health wise will make you feel better, and help you cope with the long fight ahead.

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Don’t Give Up – Even If You Fall

The pull of a drug addiction is so strong that very few addicts stay sober the first time they try.  After going through a rigorous detox, being as sick as sick can be, going through countless sessions of counseling, reconciling differences with family and loved ones, sobriety is within reach.  Going back out into the “real world” where there are no locked rooms and bag searches, is a huge, important and sometimes not so successful step.  You are free of drugs and it feels great.  You have a lot of support and that is so important.  You feel you have a program set up that will keep you on the straight and narrow.

You meet up with someone who is not sober.  This is a huge problem for addicts.  You may not be strong enough, or far enough into your recovery to say no.  You may even actually feel, even though you know better, that just getting high one more time won’t compromise what you have worked so hard for.  All of these lies are a way for the drugs to suck you back in, and you fall.

You certainly do not want to go back to rehab or detox.  That sucked.  You were so sick, there were so many rules, people asking you how you felt all the time.  This is much better.  Stay high, no worries.  Then you remember all the people who love you, all the reasons you wanted to be sober in the first place.  You still want to be sober.  You just messed up.

Run, do not walk, to the nearest detox center or hospital.  You can start all over again.  You may have to be sick again, and be in locked rooms with no privileges.  You may not see your loved ones for a while.  You will never be turned away.  This may just be your time for success.

Filed Under: Addiction, Drugs Tagged With:

Substance Abuse Can Cause Mental Anguish

If you’re abusing a substance – whether it’s an illegal drug, a legal drug (like a prescription, whether for you or for someone else), or alcohol – there is help out there for you. What’s important to realize is that you might need more than just physical help. You may also want to consider your mental and emotional state. If you’ve been involved in substance abuse for a while, or even if you’ve only been using for a short time, it may cause severe feelings of worthlessness and other problems. You can work through these kinds of feelings with some help and support, though.

The first thing to do, once you realize that you have a problem, is to seek help. Don’t put it off, or feel that acknowledging it will be enough to get through it. Instead, you’ll need to put your focus into getting clean and also into getting a better understanding of your value as a person. It can be hard to feel valuable if you’re abusing drugs and alcohol, but once you begin to get clean you should involve yourself with counseling that can help you see that you have worth and importance. Giving back to others is another good way to feel as though you have value.

If you work with people who need to get clean once you’ve gotten clean, you can show them that they can do what you did – get and stay clean, and have value and purpose in their life. You can’t reach everyone, of course, and some people really don’t want to be helped. Some people also respond to help in different ways, so you may have to try different tactics. The bottom line, though, is that you’ll be able to work on your mental and emotional state once you’re free of the drugs and/or alcohol that are trying to control you.

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Inpatient Treatments for Substance Abuse

One of the best ways to conquer an addiction to illegal and dangerous substances is to get set up in an inpatient treatment program. There are outpatient options, of course, but they can be harder to succeed with. If you’re part of an inpatient program, you don’t have to worry about going home to a family or friends who will tempt you. Instead, you’ll just be in a clean, healthy environment, for as long as your treatment takes. Whether that’s a few days, a few weeks, or even a few months is up to you and your counselor.

Unless you’re ordered there by the court, you’ll generally have the option to leave at any time – but it’s very important that you stay until your treatment is complete. If you don’t, you may have a much higher chance of relapsing and ending up back in treatment again. That happens a lot with people in Hollywood and you hear about it in the news, but it happens to ‘normal’ people often, too. The only difference is that the average person’s struggles generally aren’t publicized, so not as many people know about them. Whether you’re a public figure or an average, everyday person, getting clean should still be your top priority.

If you aren’t interested in doing it for you, you should do it for the people who care about you – like your family and friends. Stay as long as you need to, and make sure that you get the help you really need. When you leave the inpatient treatment program, consider staying away from people and places that you associate with drug or alcohol use or abuse. You may even want to move to a new neighborhood or a new town. Take the steps you need to get and stay clean, and you’ll have a bright future.

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Food Can Become an Unhealthy Addiction

When you hear the word ‘addiction,’ you probably think of things like drugs and alcohol. Most people do, but there are many other things that someone can be addicted to. For example, some people are addicted to food. They eat when they’re hungry, just like everyone else, but they also eat when they’re bored, happy, sad, or almost anything else. Food becomes their drug, and they have to have so much of it that they become obese and risk their health. With alcohol or drugs, the substances can be completed avoided. People who are addicted to food have to eat to stay alive, so they can’t just avoid their ‘drug’ of choice.

If you’re facing a food addiction, it’s important that you understand the reasons behind it. You’ll probably need therapy to give you the answers you’re seeking, and you might also want to work with a nutritionist or someone else who’s certified to help you with weight loss. Until you learn to make the right choices, you won’t be able to effectively lose weight. A lot of people have weight loss surgery, but that’s often not the answer. People overeat and become addicted to food for a variety of reasons, and having surgery to reduce stomach size doesn’t address those reasons.

Instead, it’s only a temporary fix. The person often pushes his or her limits, stretches out the new stomach pouch, and gains the weight back over time. When you address an addiction properly, from a mental and emotional standpoint, you are better able to handle it and address it. That can help you determine whether you need to seek more therapy or whether there are other methods that might be more helpful for you. Until you get a handle on your food addiction, though, you’ll continue to struggle with your weight and health issues.

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Food Can Become an Unhealthy Addiction

When you hear the word ‘addiction,’ you probably think of things like drugs and alcohol. Most people do, but there are many other things that someone can be addicted to. For example, some people are addicted to food. They eat when they’re hungry, just like everyone else, but they also eat when they’re bored, happy, sad, or almost anything else. Food becomes their drug, and they have to have so much of it that they become obese and risk their health. With alcohol or drugs, the substances can be completed avoided. People who are addicted to food have to eat to stay alive, so they can’t just avoid their ‘drug’ of choice.

If you’re facing a food addiction, it’s important that you understand the reasons behind it. You’ll probably need therapy to give you the answers you’re seeking, and you might also want to work with a nutritionist or someone else who’s certified to help you with weight loss. Until you learn to make the right choices, you won’t be able to effectively lose weight. A lot of people have weight loss surgery, but that’s often not the answer. People overeat and become addicted to food for a variety of reasons, and having surgery to reduce stomach size doesn’t address those reasons.

Instead, it’s only a temporary fix. The person often pushes his or her limits, stretches out the new stomach pouch, and gains the weight back over time. When you address an addiction properly, from a mental and emotional standpoint, you are better able to handle it and address it. That can help you determine whether you need to seek more therapy or whether there are other methods that might be more helpful for you. Until you get a handle on your food addiction, though, you’ll continue to struggle with your weight and health issues.

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Substance Abuse Doesn’t Have to Control Your Life

People who struggle with addiction problems often find that they don’t know where to turn or what they should be doing in order to get some help. They can assume that they’re just stuck and that there’s nothing more they can do. They’ll always be that way, and they’ll always be addicted. If you’re in that position today, it’s important for you to know that it’s possible for you to get help. You don’t have to live with your addiction for the rest of your life. It doesn’t have to control you and hurt your future and your family’s future anymore.

The hardest thing about getting help for your substance abuse is admitting that you need to. Once you do that, you’ll be better able to move forward and start doing the kinds of things you should do in order to get better. Whether you choose to go to inpatient treatment or you can do well with an outpatient option, it’s important that you make the right decision for you. If you’re unsure, talk with your doctor and/or a counselor at the treatment facility in order to decide what the best choice would be for your particular situation and level of desire to get (and stay) healthy.

You don’t have to let your substance abuse problems get the better of you. They don’t need to ruin your future or harm your family anymore. By taking the important first step of admitting that you need help, you’ll be on your way to finding the treatment program that will work for you. Some people try to get clean and then fail, so they completely give up. You don’t have to do that. Keep trying. Give it your all, and put your best effort toward staying clean. You really can do this, if you’re committed to it.

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Sudden Loss In Family – Addiction And Abuse May Be Used To Escape The Pain

You may find it difficult to protect your child from substance abuse and risk of addiction when you are facing emotional trauma yourself. Sudden and unexpected loss of family member can have a huge impact on the psych of surviving family members. Siblings may be whacked by guilt and may feel that they ought to have done more to protect and save the family member who died.

Such emotions and sentiment are often irrational and do not answer to any specific logic. While adults overcome the trauma because of more experience, youngsters struggle and may often resort to substance abuse and addiction to hide their problem. Further, there have been instances where individuals have changed and end up behaving in ways hitherto considered impossible or unthinkable.

Rather than treating it as a mistake and rather than trying to punish such a person, you should recognize that it is a cry for help. The person is suffering from emotional trauma and is relying on substance abuse and addiction to overcome the same. It is obvious that psychological intervention will make a huge difference.

It is best to anticipate such problems and provide for such risks well in advance. This may be difficult when you are not stable yet. However, opting for joint and group counseling sessions and individual sessions with counselors will make a huge difference. An outlet for grief, more often than not, prevents the individual from resorting to such harmful decisions.

Even if you find that the family member has become an addict and is undertaking substance abuse, you should take remedial action immediately. It is best to involve medical experts in the beginning to reduce the chances of complications arising out of too many emotional traumas and feelings of guilt.

Relying on strong family bonds is a smart option as well. Every family does not resort to addiction to overcome trauma. You can learn from such families and handle trauma better.

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Constant Vigilance Is A Must To Prevent Substance Addiction In Children

It is a well established fact that lack of cohesiveness in the family often leads to mental problems in the child. Although statistics can be misinterpreted in many ways, there is no denying that lack of family support is often a factor for substance abuse and other such problems. However, this does not mean that all substance abuse victims have come from broken families or dysfunctional families.

There are innumerable instances where individuals who were brought up in model families have become victims of substance abuse. Hence, to look at this issue from a class perspective and to conclude that it cannot happen to a family like yours does not make sense.

Substance abuse can start out of innocent acts like consumption of certain stimulants by the child to study better. Excessive stress to perform well in academics and other fields often causes the individual to push beyond physical limits. Popping a few pills or consuming certain drinks may help the individual stay awake longer.

Of course, the effect of such drugs and substances after the high comes down is equally bad. However, shortsighted approach and focus on short term benefits leads to introduction to such substances. Once these substances enter the body, it is just a question of time before the individual becomes a victim of addiction.

Once the mind is set on the belief that consumption of a particular substance leads to better concentration, the individual will find it difficult to concentrate without the same. This is the hallmark of addiction. From control and choice, the individual moves on to compulsion.

Soon, the individual starts showing withdrawal symptoms when he or she is weaned away from the substance. This can happen in perfectly happy families and for no negative reason. Hence, constant vigilance and friendly relations with the child will help you intercede at the right moment and prevent the problem from growing beyond control.

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