The Alcoholic and Watching Others Recover in Alcohol Rehab

Life will take on new meaning .To watch people recover, to see them help others, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow up about you. To have a host of friends- this is an experience you must not miss. We know you will not want to miss it. Frequent contact with new comers and with each other is the bright spot of our lives.- Working with others pg 89 big book of AA.

There is nothing quite like seeing the light come on for others, and knowing the amazing life they are about to live. Often times when it comes to alcoholism it can be difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Many might wonder how it would be possible that something so amazing could come from such a devastating disease. When we get sober most of us are hoping for manageability and a solution to our drinking problem, at best. As it describes in the excerpt from working with others we get so much more than that. We begin to be able to cherish our relationships with others. We are whole where we were once empty. We know a new freedom and a new happiness. We are complete as well as content with our lives, ourselves, and others. We begin to have a purpose and we can find joy and paying it forward. How does this happen? In many ways. Perhaps we decide to get sober, find a 30 day rehab program, and get to work on cleaning our lives up. We may reach out to loves ones for alcohol addiction help, or we might end up in an addiction program in Los Angeles. Regardless of how we start our sobriety we can all end up with the life previously described. We can start cleaning up our side of the street and helping others do the same by showing them exactly how we recovered.

Life After Drug Addiction Detox

Many individuals suffering from drug and alcohol addiction have a desire to complete a drug addiction detox without rehabilitation treatment following it. While many people confuse the two processes, the difference between them is actually rather great.

The majority of medical detox programs take between 3 – 10 days depending on the type of drug, use history physician recommendations. The purpose of this process is to work the body through the initial withdrawal symptoms in a safe and healthy manner.

Individual who complete a medical detox program are not cured of their addictions, and are likely unable to deal with the underlying issues that have caused them. Though some patients would like to believe that a successful recovery is possible directly following detox, the evidence proves otherwise… countless have tried; most have failed.

Choosing to enter a 30 or 90 day rehab program following detoxification is key to ensuring a happy, long-lasting recovery. Unlike some diseases, addiction has no cure-all treatment, as many patients struggle for years to maintain their sobriety. Rather than cure the addiction, detox works as a foundation from which to build a recovery. By clearing the addict of the addictive substances, they will be best able to absorb, learn and move forward with their lives following treatment.

Once a patient has enrolled in a rehabilitation program, a team of counselors, therapists and addiction specialists will work with the patient through individual and group therapy sessions. These sessions will allow the addict to share their experiences with others, while confronting their issues in a safe and healthy manner. Patients are often encouraged to keep a daily journal to better track their emotions, by which they can reflect on down the road.

Addiction can only occur in instances where the individual was unable to notice the trap. By making the effort to educate oneself, an individual will be better prepared to recognize and avoid similar traps down the road. Life is full of mistakes – Learning from these mistakes is what makes the journey worth while.

Rehabilitation procedures and treatments vary depending on the type of facility selected. Different programs commonly cater towards patients with different issues. As such, it is important for patients to locate a treatment facility that is able to properly assess and address their needs and behaviors to ensure the best possible results.

Those who are truly intent on a drug-free existence must make a true commitment in order to achieve the desired results. Without the tools and resources provided within an addiction program, many addicts place themselves at high risk for failure and relapse within the addiction cycle. Help and happiness is available to those who seek them. Make a choice and make it count!

The Relapsed Alcoholic and Starting Over in a California Rehab

“Now and then a serious drinker being dry at the moment says “I don’t miss it at all, feel better, and work better, having a better time”.  As ex problem drinkers we smile at such a folly.  We know our friend is like a boy whistling in the dark to keep up his spirits.  He fools himself.  Inwardly he would give anything to take half a dozen drinks and get away with them. He presently will try the old game again for he isn’t happy about his sobriety” – pg 154 big book of Alcoholics Anonymous

When it comes to alcoholics many of us at one point and time are like the boy whistling in the dark. We fool ourselves and others into believing we are done drinking for good.  We might preach about it to our friends and family.  We might go around telling everyone how well we are doing or how happy we are yet we are still spiritually bankrupt on the inside and before long we end up drinking and wondering how this happened again.  We are baffled and cannot understand why our resolution was a failure like it says in the big book ‘I do not hold with those who believe that alcoholism is entirely a problem of mental control.  These men were not drinking to escape.  They were drinking to overcome a craving beyond their mental control. There are many situations which arise out of the phenomenon of craving which cause men to make the supreme sacrifice rather than continue to fight.

So even though we meant it with all of our heart that we would quit drinking and or using we returned not because we are weak but because we had a craving beyond our mental control.  A craving that we would surrender to time and time again until we used the tools.

If you relate to any of this and are looking for help, you are not alone. You can start today. You can research alcohol and drug rehab blogs like this one and find a California Alcohol rehab and you don’t need to worry too much about cost. Today, there are many affordable rehabs and rehabs that take insurance.

May you truly find a new freedom and a new happiness!

Finding The Best Addiction Treatment California Has To Offer

Locating a quality drug rehab in California can be accomplished in a number of ways. Whether you decide to seek the advice of a physician or visit a directory support group, the options available are vast in number. In this entry, we will offer up a few tips to help you determine the best facility to best suit your individual needs.

Step 1 – Educate yourself in regard to addiction and recovery. Though many people associate addiction with alcohol and drug dependency, the subject matter stretches across a wide array of topics, including depression, sex addiction, self-mutilation and eating disorders. Some patients are required to attend 90 or 30 day drug rehab programs via family physician or court order, while others are persuaded to seek help through the process of intervention. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding treatment, the basics of recovery are largely the same.

Step 2 – Learn about in-patient treatment programs. Within an in-patient program, patients are required to live at a specified facility under the supervision of a team of physicians, counselors and specialists until the patient is deemed fit to re-enter society. Individual programs will differ, though the majority offer both group and individual therapy, detox programs alongside after-care and sober living resources.

Step 3 – Determine which treatment facility best suits the needs of the individual in question. Some facilities cater specifically to alcoholics, whereas others employ holistic treatments to treat eating disorders in women. Programs run from specific to general depending on the type of care you are hoping to locate. Choosing a program that is able to properly address the addict’s individual needs and goals is vital in ensuring the best possible outcome during and post treatment.

Step 4 – Locate and visit a local support group. There you can communicate with recovering addicts to obtain a better perspective on your available options. Do your best to speak with individuals who possess a minimum of 3 years of sobriety and inquire as to whether they were satisfied with the care provided to them. If you like what you hear, obtain contact information for the facility and call them up to schedule a tour. This will afford you the opportunity to ask questions pertaining to sober living programs, in-patient living arrangements, facility procedures and anything else you feel is pertinent to our decision-making.

Step 5 – If you require treatment for yourself or a dependent; call up your insurance provider to obtain a list of California alcohol rehab facilities. Be sure to provide your representative with information pertaining to the type of rehab facility you are interested in, as well as a brief statement regarding the situation at hand. This will help ease the financial burden associated with treatment, while narrowing your options into a pool to choose from.

The Alcoholics Prayer

For normal folks drinking means companionship and colorful imagination. It means release from care boredom and worry. It is joyous and intimacy with friends and a feeling that life is good, but not so feeling that life is good but not so with us in those last says of heavy drinking – pg 151 “A Vision for You” from the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous

When we first start drinking most of us find what we’ve been searching for for years. A sense of ease and comfort. We feel smarter, stronger, carefree, and find the relief most of us have been craving our whole lives. We become masters of fun and partying. Over time whether it be months or years that feeling usually fades. We are no longer able to escape and the consequences begin. Some of us lose our family, jobs, and houses while others get DUI’s, lose friends or have a string of nights that went just a little too far. Whatever bottom it is that we hit there is no such thing as a bottom that is too high or too low. We hit our bottom when we stop digging. It can always get worse. We find ourselves going to any lengths to defend our right to drink and use to the death until we can’t lie to ourselves and others anymore or until we stop pretending it’s still working for us .When we realize we no longer have it in us to continue living like this we say what is known in A.A. as the alcoholic prayer –PLEASE HELP ME!

If you are tired, rundown, or if this thing has you licked and you don’t know how to stop drinking here are a few options you can check out…30 day rehab programs, California rehab centers, AA, and rehab programs in California.

Whatever route you decide to take may you find recovery and life you seek and may you be surrounded by love and success on this new path

Building a Firm Spiritual Foundation in Recovery

Recovery seeking to build and maintain a firm spiritual foundation one day at a time -Daily reflections: A Book of reflections by A.A. members

When we were little most of us dreamed of being nurses, teachers queens, kings, cops, astronauts, doctors, a prince/ princess or maybe even lawyers. Whatever it was we all at one point in our lives had a dream of being something. Some may have honed in on and fulfilled these dreams but it is highly unlikely that any little girl or boy ever said “when I grow up I want to be an alcoholic”.  If anything, we found ourselves wrapped up in a disease we could not get away from.  We might have asked ourselves “how did this happen, how could this happen?” The answer is simple . . . one day at a time!

One day at a time we succumbed to this alcoholic life because maybe there didn’t seem to be any other options until now.  If you are new to recovery or have been sober for awhile then you probably know now that there are other options.  One might still be wondering how it is possible to get or stay sober.  That answer is also easy.  One day at a time!  Through the help of AA, sober livings, California rehab centers, 30 rehab programs, and alcohol addiction help anybody has a great shot at recovering from this seemingly hopeless state of mind and body…to live an amazingly fulfilling life… One Day at a Time!

Alcoholism and the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde Effect

“He does absurd, incredible, tragic things while drinking. He is a real Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”-pg 21 from the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous

This is usually the sad truth behind alcoholism. Alcoholism robs people of pretty much everything good in their lives such as their jobs, families, friends, homes, and happiness and it doesn’t end until the alcoholic either surrenders and gets sober or until there are jails, institutions or death involved.

There’s no reason for alcoholism to have to end in jails, institution or death when there are rehab programs in California as well as Los Angeles rehabs that can help.

There is also support for family of addicts. There’s Al-Anon, and plenty of treatment centers willing and able to work with families to rebuild a broken relationship. When were in the midst of our disease it can seem nearly impossible to find a way out especially when the life of an alcoholic seems to become the only normal one to them. However many people have recovered from this thing that holds us hostage. There are several tools to aid us in our recovery. Through them we can be freed from the bondage of self. We can mend our broken relationships, make right what was once wrong, learn to forgive, love ourselves, our lives, and trudge the road of happy destiny.

Regardless of what we have done or how powerless we think we are there is hope for all of us if we reach out and ask for help and take it one day at a time.

Changing the Alcoholic Double Life in a 30 Day Rehab Program

“More than most people, the alcoholic leads a double life. He is very much the actor.” page 73 the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous

If you are at a point in your life where you are deciding or have decided that you are an alcoholic or an addict this quote might hit home for you. By the time we hit our bottoms there has often been many years of living two different lives just to be able to maintain our habits. Like a chameleon an addicted person will change in every situation as a means to protect themselves from losing things that they consider important to them i.e. family, jobs, ability to drink the way they want, houses etc this all stems from fear…fear of not getting what they want, losing what they have, or not getting what they “deserve”. This can continue on into sobriety if one does not have tools to cope or if they are doing it alone,  many people refer to this as “white knuckling it”. It’s not a pleasant or necessary experience there is plenty of help available that can be found in places such as 30 day rehab programs, drug addiction detox, and dual diagnosis recovery center Los Angeles. Whatever the path one may choose there is no wrong way as long as the destination is the same. Once we get sober we can stop living like actors, chameleons, or addicts and start living healthy, honest, and open lives. We can begin to allow people and ourselves to see who we truly are as well as opening ourselves up to be loved.

Alcohol Drug Rehab Before a Holiday?

With St Patrick’s Day right around the corner getting sober might seem like a lost cause. There are so many times when someone thinks about getting sober yet that thought is followed by a million reasons why the timing just isn’t right….thoughts such as “I’ll get sober  tomorrow,”  “I’m just so stressed out right now maybe when things calm down a bit,”  “I’m dealing with x y and z I just can’t deal with all of that and get sober,” or what seems to be the most common justification of all  “(insert holiday here) is coming up and its unrealistic to think that I can stay sober through it and I want to have fun so I’ll get sober after (insert holiday here)…”

Regardless of the date or the circumstances anyone can attain sobriety at anytime. Here are a few suggestions and places available to you …

1. Check out rehabs that take insurance

2. Check out some local drug rehab blogs .they are here to provide information on rehab programs in California.

3. For alcohol addiction help you can check out California rehab centers or perhaps a 12 step centered recovery house

There is all sorts of information available via internet. Getting sober isn’t easy but well worth it. If you decide to get help you don’t need to go through anything alone ever again. It doesn’t matter if it’s just another day or your favorite holiday today can be the first day of the rest of your sober life…may it be full of joy and peace!

 

Dual Diagnosis Treatment Centers in California : What is it, and what makes it Beneficial?

Dual diagnosis is the process by which a treatment center finds 2 of the following: drug addiction problems, alcoholism, and mental illness. Up to 70% of drug and alcohol addicts are estimated to suffer from an undiagnosed and untreated secondary condition.  Because symptoms of drug abuse and mental illness are similar, diagnosis can be easily confused.  Drug treatment facilities are often ill-equip to deal with mental illness and visa versa. Luckily, Above It All treatment center is equipped for such a problem.

With any type of addiction problem there is often a dual diagnosis with depression; so even after the treatment for addiction the depression will remain. Without treatment for depression as well as the addiction the likelihood of relapse increases tenfold.  Several other mental illnesses are often self-medicated with drug and alcohol addictions, like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Most of these problems can be managed with therapy and prescriptions thereby ensuring a mostly normal life, as opposed to having a higher propensity towards suicide. Alcoholics are about 7 times more likely to commit suicide even after treatment without proper therapy.  50 % of all people who commit suicide were not in therapy beforehand. Having a drug and alcohol treatment center that can support a dual diagnosis paradigm is very beneficial to sober living for the rest of your life.

There are three main benefits of dual diagnosis: you get two treatments at the same time, you learn coping skills, and you are able to plan to try for the future. Dual treatment ensures that both would be far more successful than either would be alone. With the coping skills, you no longer become a slave to your addiction and psychological issues.  And by planning for the future, it becomes possible to do stuff that an addiction makes impossible. A certified drug rehab center, such as Above It All treatment center is such a place where treatment such as dual diagnosis is possible.