Help for Parents of Addicts: Alarming Trends from The NIDA

Looking for help for Parents of Addicts? You are not alone. According to the most recent findings from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, drug use among teens in the United States is on the rise – especially in young teens. The Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey has measured drug, alcohol, and cigarette use and related attitudes among adolescent students in the U.S. since 1975.  At its inception, the survey included high school seniors only, but in 1991 it was expanded to include 8th- and 10th-graders as well.

One major factor thought to be impacting the current statistics is the overall lowering in perceived risk, perceived social approval, and perceived availability for several drugs. The more risky or less accepted a drug is thought to be, the less likely it will be used by teens. Perceived availability often correlates with social approval – meaning that a drug that’s readily available is considered socially acceptable and will be more commonly used.

Teens don’t just consider the physical risks when using drugs, but also emotional, social/relational, and aspirational factors. Physical risks include may include addiction, and social risks include disappointing friends or family, entry into long term addiction program and losing friends. Aspirational risks include losing a job, or getting in trouble with the law. All of these perceived risks – physical, emotional, social, and aspirational – are different with each drug, and contributing factors include things like anti-drug campaigns, family counseling and discussion.

The following information was gleaned from the most recent study may be frightening to parents, but you will do well to be armed with this information and be aware of behavioral changes in children. If you suspect your young teen is using drugs or alcohol, please contact our addiction counselors for information on affordable rehab.

Daily Marijuana use is on the rise in all age groups. Among 12th graders included in the study, use is now at its highest point since the early 1980s. The study also found that perceived risk of regular marijuana use is definitely on the decline, which may predict a future upward trend in use.

Second to marijuana, prescription and over the counter medications account for the drugs most often abused by 12th graders. While non-medical use of Vicodin has decreased slightly, OxyContin use remains steady across the 9th and 12 graders, and actually increased in 10th graders over the past 5 years. Non-medical use of Adderall and over-the-counter cough and cold medicines among 12th graders remains high.

After declining for several years, use of the dangerous party drug Ecstasy has risen among 8th and 10th graders. From 2009 to 2010, lifetime use of ecstasy among 8th graders increased from 2.2% to 3.3% which also demonstrates a marked drop in perceived risk in using the drug.

The challenge in curtailing teen drug use is that the so-called “benefits” of using a given drug spread faster than perceived risks. The “benefits” of a drug are immediately evident, and electronic forms of communication like chats and text messages allow these “positive” experiences spread quickly among groups of young people.  Gathering information about the drug’s risks takes time, but when aggressively distributed through discussion with friends and family, the results are dramatic and positive.

Healing Relationships and Support for Family of Addicts

Many times previous to our getting sober, we have done damage to the relationships with our families.  In the midst of drinking and/or using we set fire to the bridges that brought us here.  The relationships we have sacrificed, many times, are the people closest to us and that usually means our families and closest of friends.

When we begin the process of our journey to living a sober life, perhaps our families of origin and/or our families of choice, i.e. close friends, don’t have any semblance of trust nor are they immediately inclined to rekindle what was broken and, subsequently, lost.  They are skeptical at best.  There are times when, the pain and betrayal we may have caused them supersedes their wanting anything to do with us after such personal attacks, be they direct or inadvertent.

In the throes of our alcoholism and/or addiction we may not only haves set fire to said bridges but, perhaps, we insured our separation by pouring gasoline on the stick of dynamite we threw into the burning flames.  We cannot expect that just because we are in early sobriety that everything that came before is immediately wiped away and our slate is instantly clean.  We have to recognize and take stock of where we have done wrong and what we can do to amend and rectify the situation(s) at hand.

To rebuild the trust and love in our families can become extremely important as we develop our support network.  Support for family of addicts is one of the major benefits of many residential treatment centers in California. Time, however begrudgingly we may find this idea, is often the healer of circumstance and can offer us and the people with whom we injured the opportunity to begin anew.

As trust was whittled away over a period of time, even if that time was mere minutes, it takes far longer to return however, fear not, the possibilities of repairing our relationships can happen.  The California rehab centers give us a firsthand view of how to begin reweaving our threadbare fabric of understanding and trust with our families.  It is not impossible; however, it simply does not occur overnight.  The road is long but through our actions, not just our words, will yield the signposts that lead the way for our friends and family to return.

Discarding Old Ideas and Starting a New Life in an Addiction Program in Los Angeles

“Is not our age characterized by the ease with which we discard old ideas for new, by the complete readiness with which we throw away the theory or gadget which does not work for something new which does?”  – The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 52

How many times have we changed our minds about a situation, a person, an idea?  Our beliefs may have fluctuated throughout our lives depending on what we’ve learned, seen, heard and/or come to understand regarding a situation where initially we may have thought differently.  So, in this, we can look back and realize that perhaps our initial ideas weren’t always correct or as informed as we may have thought.

As we approach sobriety and enter an addiction program in Los Angeles, we may need to reevaluate our belief systems, recognizing that the ones we have relied upon have not always led us to make the best choices and/or place ourselves in the optimum situations.  Perhaps it is time to rely on a different source for direction.  In this, we begin to realize our own concepts haven’t been as reliable.  Maybe, in our initial belief systems we were sure there was nothing greater than ourselves, that there wasn’t a greater Intelligent Power to guide us.

If we are as inclined to discard old ideas for new based on what we’ve learned through our lives, doesn’t it stand to reason that, perhaps, we may want to reevaluate our idea of relying on a Power greater than ourselves?  Just as we once could not imagine a sober life and are now learning a new life in an affordable rehab, we can see where perhaps our new life may have room for a power greater than ourselves. Even if we are still unable to fully grasp that idea, an idea which is constructed as we move forward by our own respective understanding, it could be conceivable that we function under the premise that there is a Power greater than us, whether we are ready to accept that in full or not.  When we live through the idea of something bigger than merely ourselves, we begin to live in a way that allows us to extend past our own designs and schemes and we bring the better part of ourselves into the world.

Newcomers in 12 Step Programs for Addiction

As you begin to attending 12 step program, addiction addressing AA/NA meetings, you may hear the statement “The newcomer is the most important person in the room.”

Perhaps you wonder how that could possibly be the case?  When was the last time you were welcome with open arms anywhere?

Upon your arrival to this Los Angeles rehab, the staff will welcome you and will treat you accordingly.  Maybe it’s the first time in a long, long time we are being welcome anywhere.  It can be a foreign feeling, perhaps one that even elicits a suspicion of sorts.  It’s as if it’s in the staff doing that for us, it opens the door to others who may approach us with phone numbers, offering rides to meetings, sit down & extend themselves accordingly.  We may not feel so put off by those people and may even, depending, take them up on their generous offers.

Here’s why the response to their offerings may shed some light on the first idea.  When someone new presents themselves to us, we may need to forgo some of our upcoming plans.  In order for us to keep what we have so freely been given, we must extend ourselves to others.  As we do that, we are given the chance to reinforce our sober time.  We need the newcomer in order to survive.  With said newcomer, we get to go through the steps again ourselves while we are guiding them.  With that connection, they have the ability to inadvertently ground us in the reality of what happens when we are on a run or are coming into the program for the first time. They reinforce for us how that unmanageability exists and/or returns ever-so-shortly and what the state of their internal life is like, which, more often that not, reeks of misery & discomfort.

The connection we forge while working together is like no other and the gratitude that emerges from that very sharing with one another solidifies our spiritual connection.   Without the newcomer, we may not be able to treat our spiritual malady.  If we can’t do that, we may default to the physical craving.  After introducing the first drug or drink into the body, we may then be caught by the mental obsession keeping us bound to the prison of our minds and the substance(s).  In that, it leads us right back to that spiritual malady.  Subsequently the unmanageability that returns internally gets reflected externally and we reach for whatever’s going to, we hope, wipe away the pain and shame from our actions..  Working with one another acknowledges our need for the connections of our human spirit, whether we like it or not.  That newcomer’s desperation is our fuel by which we light the lamps of the roadway of sobriety, guiding us toward serenity.

Hitting Bottom and Getting Help at a Drug Rehab in California

We may hear the phrase “hit bottom” more than once as we begin our journey into the world of sobriety.  What does “hit bottom” mean?  Maybe we have a preconceived notion about what hitting bottom looks like.  Is it someone clutching a bottle of the cheapest booze, half propped up on yellowed newspapers against a rusted out dumpster in a rat infested alleyway using a cardboard box for shelter?  There are bottoms that do, in fact, look like that however many more bottoms do not resemble that particular image.

The fact of the matter is that our “bottom” isn’t really about how awful our life may or may not look outside of us.  There are bottoms that people have hit where they did not lose their jobs, their places to live, their cars, had their children taken away, divorced or split from their partners, lost their businesses, etc.

What “hitting bottom” actually means is that we get to that place where we feel ever-so-lost, writhing in agonizing emotional pain, empty, and very, very alone.  What we may have done, be it drank, took drugs, numbed ourselves out in some way, no longer keeps that soul-suffering at bay.  We are wholly and totally broken, from the inside out.

In this drug rehab in California, there are 30 day rehab programs and 12 step program addiction sufferers can use to start fresh. The staff is able to help us see how our outside differences are not the defining factor when it comes to measuring our respective bottoms.  Instead, they show us it’s that misery which we can tolerate no longer that is the binding factor between us.  We are now at a place where we can no longer ease our way by drinking alcohol and/or using drugs.  Our stories may differ about how we arrived but our sense of utter hopeless desperation is the same.  This is hitting bottom.

Alcohol Addiction Help from People Who Understand

“But the ex-problem drinker who has found this solution, who is properly armed with facts about himself, can generally win the entire confidence of another alcoholic in a few hours.  Until such an understanding is reached, little or nothing can be accomplished.” – The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 18

This Los Angeles rehab is primed to help those who are looking for alcohol addiction help to move forward, out of the alcoholic addict lifestyle and into a healthier way of living.  The staff is not only trained in the clinical aspect of recovery-related therapy, many of them have had drug and/or alcohol-related issues and are now in the process of their very own recovery as well.  This is a boon for those who might feel uncomfortable with the idea of having to pursue their venture into sobriety thinking there will be no one with whom, staff-wise, they can genuinely lock into.  The staff at this alcohol rehab has the ability to be present and available in a way that, no matter how empathetic a non-addict can be; only another alcoholic can connect.  They are able to truly recognize and can share from a place of intrinsic understanding.

As our path to sobriety continues and we are now out and active in the world of recovery, we will be able to become the very same people who, as we once relied on the truth of others who were in our position, are now capable of being the ones with whom newer alcoholic addicts can identify.  This is the opportunity where we now start being able to give back and feel a sense of purpose in the world.  We become the bridge to sobriety for others by offering that which we had received; the ability to really “get” it like no one else can.

Acceptance in Early Recovery

“And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today.  When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing or situation-some fact of my life-unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment.”  – The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 417 in the 4th edition.

Within the scope of acceptance, our biggest challenge, especially in early Recovery after drug addiction detox, can be the acceptance of ourselves.  While in our addiction, we’ve lost ourselves and when we begin to get sober, often barely know where we are much less who we are and how to accept our current situation.  Our confusion and remorse for the things we think we’ve done, whether the action was actually enacted or a mis-perceived idea on our end, may, in fact, keep us at a great distance from accepting what actually is.  When we can’t accept the truth of our situation, we can have difficult times accepting people and situations around us. Even the satellite players in our sphere may be an irritant to us and/or leave us with a disconcerting sense of discontentment.

Many times it seems that accepting others becomes easier the more we accept who we are, how we act and where, in the scope of our lives, we live.  From that perspective, where we are isn’t our actual geographic location, though once in a while that can seem that way. Comfort and an internally serene state of being, it is more about our station in life at this time.

The staff at this drug rehab in California can be an example of how to live in acceptance.  With their knowledge of early Recovery and 12 step program addiction becomes easier to understand. They are able to relate and, many times from their own experiences, they provide a living portrayal as well as a way to learn to achieve this invaluable trait.  Of course, most people cannot maintain a perpetual sense of acceptance but the more this life lesson permeates our existence, the greater chance we have of maintaining a sense of serenity and, therefore, our sobriety.

How do 12-step programs fit into drug addiction treatment?

Self-help groups can complement and extend the effects of professional treatment.  The most well-known programs are Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA), and Cocaine Anonymous (CA), all of which are based on the 12-step model. This group therapy model draws on the social support offered by peer discussion to help promote and sustain drug-free lifestyles.

Twelve Step Programs are one of the most sustainable forms of wellness that I know of. They are self-supporting, free, non-hierarchical, open to the public, available all over the world, (and now available by teleconference call for people in remote areas) and enormously successful at treating addictions, codependency, and more.

Most drug addiction treatment programs encourage patients to participate in group therapy during and after formal treatment. These groups offer an added layer of community-level social support to help people in recovery with abstinence and other healthy lifestyle goals.

The 12 steps of these programs are:

  1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable.
  2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
  3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
  4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
  5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
  6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
  7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
  8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
  9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
  10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
  11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
  12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

If you find yourself in need of help with an addiction of any kind, please give us a call at Above It All Treatment Center at 1-888-971-2816 so we can set up a treatment plan to start you on the road to a drug free life.

Alcoholism as an Illness and Alcohol Addiction Help

“An illness of this sort – and we have come to believe it an illness – involves those about us in a way no other human sickness can.  If a person has cancer all are sorry for him and no on is angry or hurt.  But not so with the alcoholic illness, for with it there goes annihilation of all the things worth while in life.  It engulfs all whose lives touch the sufferer’s.” – The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 18

Many times, when we are drinking and/or using, our behavior does not inspire empathy and compassion though we are, without question, sick.  Our illness does not resemble the diseases we are aware of, the ones that allow us to feel sympathy for the one who is ill.  Our illness, the illness of alcoholism and addiction, has a tendency to inspire frustration, anger, hurt feelings and, more often that not, disappointment by anyone with whom we come in contact.  Our close friends and family, our loved ones, our partners, our children, may not feel sorry for us; they may, in fact, be angry and have had experience after experience that leaves them feeling let down once again.

So, what has to be done to treat this illness?  Essentially, it is a sickness of spirit.  What must we do to treat our condition and invigorate our spiritual health? There is alcohol addiction help available for everyone.

This drug rehab in California, just outside of Los Angeles, is surrounded by an abundance of beauty.  What might this have to do with our spirits you ask?  When we are immersed in sunshine, fresh air, mountains, beautiful views, sunsets and starry nights, the beauty of the world, we are given the opportunity to reconnect with nature.  In and through nature is one way to reconnect with the spirit of the world, which in turn helps us connect to the essence of our own spirits and then we are able to connect to the spirits of others.  And, it is in this last connection, the one between us and others, which is where we really begin to move away from sickness and disease and move toward living a healthy life, recovering from the illness of alcoholism and addiction.

Education for Addicts, Alcoholics and their Families

The friends and family of alcoholics and addicts have long wondered just what they could do to make the addict or alcoholic stop their harmful and destructive behavior. Once, the primary school of thought was that the alcoholic or addict had to hit rock bottom by themselves before they were ready for one of the 30 day rehab programs, then we began seeing more and more interventions performed as families sought the help of professionals and interventionists to communicate with the alcoholic or addict the things that they didn’t seem to be able to get across on their own.

More and more, families are arming themselves with education about alcoholism, drug rehab treatment programs, 12 step program addiction specialists and addiction and alcoholism in general. There is so much information on drug rehab blogs around the internet and through books and educational programs on television that addiction has gone from being a mysterious affliction where sufferers and their families are alienated and suffer in silence to one that is recognizably common and with which most people are at least a little familiar. One of the complications of this is that it can create an environment where everyone thinks themselves an expert. Thankfully, there are many reliable drug rehab blogs that provide insight and information to alcoholism, addiction, its affect on the sufferers and their families and the action required to make a change and enter a new life of recovery and freedom.

What we seek to offer here are insights into each side of addiction; both the addict or alcoholic and support for family of addicts. We hope that you are able to find those things and we invite you to post any questions. We will get to each of them!