http://www.captaincynic.com/forum/health-wellness-forum/108/rehab-addiction-drug-alcohol.htm Addiction is a terrible condition that can take it's toll on those who are addicts and their loved ones. Coping with addictions is difficult, but with the right steps and adequate assistance, recovery is possible.
2. The Disease Model Of Addiction
Many of us have a person in our lives that suffers with
addiction. For a long time it was believed that undesirable
behavior such as compulsive gambling, unsafe sex, and
substance abuse was merely caused by a lack of morals.
Doctors these days recognize that addiction is an illness,
and that is good news for those who suffer from addiction.
The disease model of addiction gives hope, rather than
giving those of suffer from addiction an excuse for their
behavior. Those of suffer from addiction can seek methods
to get better through addiction rehab programs and become
normally functioning people, because of the knowledge that
addiction is a disease.
3. The Manifestation Of Addictions
There are many different of ways that the disease of addiction
can appear. The disease at the core is the same, no matter what
behavior a person specifically struggles with. It may seem harder
for the addict participating in prostitution or crime to enable a
habit of street drugs, than it does for those whose disease of
addiction is quieter and easier to hide, and this is part of what
can make addiction difficult for concerned family and friends to
comprehend. The nature of addiction keeps the people who
need help most from asking for it and seeking addiction
treatment and rehab. Instead, those with the disease of addiction
exist in a world of isolation and desperation, cloaking their issues
from society.
4. The Stress Created By Addictions
Loved ones become overly stressed attempting to assist those of
suffer from addiction in their lives, but as much as they love their
family members or friends struggling with addiction, they lack the
understanding of the disease of addiction that would enable
them to make more of a difference. The disease of addiction is a
treatable disease and many addicts recover, but helping the still
sick and suffering addicts is not always easy.
5. Refraining From Addictive Behavior
The very first thing that family members and friends should do to
assist the addicts in their lives is to entirely refrain from enabling
the addict's addictive behaviors. Often it is the addict's spouse or
parents that will feel guilty and helpless, and end up providing
the ways and means for the person to keep using, but it could be
anyone. The disease of addiction makes addicts do things they
don't want to do, to get things that they don't want to get. This
includes manipulating the loved ones they care about the most,
so that they can keep up their harmful behavior.
6. The First Steps Towards Rehab
Once the enablers in an addict's life refuse to be complicit in their
loved one's addiction, the suffering addict has no choice but to
look at the harsh reality of their disease. Now begins an
uncomfortable period for family and friends as they see someone
they love deeply experience pain and can not give help, but it is
crucial for addiction rehab and recovery that they do not interfere
and offer an easier softer way.
7. The Pain Of Withdrawal
This is a time when the people in an addict's life must
understand that they too are powerless over their loved one's
addiction. The friends and family who have been watching and
waiting can step in and help them recover, when an addict has
exhausted ways and means to get more and is willing to get
help. Addiction is an insidious disease and the last person to
realize just how unbearable things are is usually the addicted
person themselves. Addicts are masters of selective memory,
rationalization and justification. Many endure through tens of
years of the disease while believing that it's "not that bad". Any
assistance offered before the addict reaches a point of
desperation and reaches out for help on their own is usually
ineffective. Recovery can begin, however, when this point of
willingness is reached. The most helpful thing that concerned
family and friends can do now is help the person they care about
enroll in an addiction rehab.
8. Addiction Rehab Centers
In addition to helping addicts get through detox, spending time in
an addiction rehabilitation gives addicts many other resources for
their recovery. Becoming a member of a recovery group within
the rehab gives the recovering person a sense of belonging and
shared experience that they most likely haven't felt since their
addiction began. The rehab workers give hope and guidance,
especially in counseling sessions where the addict get a chance
to vent and explore issues that they may have kept hidden
because of fear or feelings of shame. Perhaps most importantly,
time in a rehab can get the addict ready to re-enter society, by
exposing them to supportive groups such as addiction recovery
groups.