F.A.Q

If you’re concerned about your loved one’s drug use, you should try talking to him/her first. How you approach your loved one is extremely important.  If you are confrontational, it may cause him/her to become defensive and less receptive to treatment.

Instead, try approaching the situation from a caring and compassionate perspective, avoiding blame. Those suffering from an addiction already experience a lot of shame and guilt associated with their substance use.

Chances are good that you will receive a more positive response if you take a collaborative and empathetic approach towards getting help.

Once he/she acknowledged the addiction and is willing to seek treatment, you can move forward quickly to get him/her into a program. Ideally, you’ll want to have a place in mind for him/her to go.

A drug is any substance that, when inhaled, injected, smoked, consumed, absorbed via a patch on the skin, or dissolved under the tongue causes a temporary physiological change in the body.

These questions, may help to show you how using drugs has made your life unmanageable.

*  Try answering the following questions as honestly as you can.

1. Do you ever use drugs alone?
2. Have you ever switched drugs, thinking one was the problem?
3. Have you ever lied to a doctor to obtain prescription drugs?
4. Have you stolen drugs or stolen to buy drugs?
5. Have you ever used one drug to relieve the effects of another drug?
6. Do you avoid people who would disapprove of your drug use?
7. Have you ever used a drug without knowing what it was?
8. Has your job or school performance suffered from your drug use?
9. Have you ever been arrested as a result of using drugs?
10. Have you ever lied about what or how much you use?
11. Does the purchase of drugs affect your financial stability?
12. Have you ever tried to stop or control your drug use
13. Have you ever been in a jail, hospital, or treatment center due to using?
14. Does drug use interfere with your sleeping or eating?
15. Does the thought of running out of drugs terrify you?
16. Does it seem impossible to live without drugs?
17. Is your drug use disrupting your family life or relationships?
18. Do drugs seem necessary to have a good time and fit in?
19. Have you ever felt guilty or ashamed about your using?
20. Do you think a lot about drugs?
21. Have you ever used drugs to mask your emotional pain?
22. Have you ever overdosed on any drugs?
23. Do you continue to use drugs despite negative consequences?
24. Do you feel that you may have a drug problem?

Drug addiction is a disease which, without recovery, ends in going to jail for a crime, mental institutions, and even death.

When considering various rehabilitation centres, you should do your research on the services that each one provides. Below are the qualities that the best substance abuse treatment facilities will possess:

• Qualifications: It’s pertinent that the addiction treatment centre you choose requires all staff members to be certified mental health professionals with relevant education.

• Psychiatric and medical care: Addiction often co-occurs with mental or physical health issues and it’s imperative that you receive integrated treatment to fully address the scope of the problem.

• Family involvement: You will want to ask the treatment centre you’re considering if they offer family therapy and counseling in order to strengthen family relationships and improve communication. Fostering a healthy family dynamic is a key element in sustaining recovery from addiction.

• Individualized treatment plans: Quality treatment facilities will do an intake evaluation in order to diagnose any underlying psychiatric problems. This will allow them to customize a treatment plan catered specifically to your needs.

• Location: You will want to decide if you want to travel far away for your rehabilitation or if you would like to remain close to home so your friends and family can visit.

Do your own research and don’t just stop at the above. Ask the centre for more detailed questions about their care.

• Has quality therapeutic relationships: This means that the members of the treatment team can form a trusting and beneficial relationship with you as the patient. This is vital to achieving long-term recovery.

• Produces a high level of client engagement: A treatment centre that makes engaging a client a priority is more likely to retain patients in a recovery program and thus, increase positive outcomes. Client engagement, which often utilizes Motivational Interviewing, includes goal-setting and developing a long-term plan.

• Constantly evaluates the treatment plan: It’s important that a recovery center make any necessary changes to a patient’s treatment plan, based on the level of success each intervention has.

• Establishes an aftercare plan: A quality rehab’s treatment team will actively create a discharge plan, which may include family members, sober peers, or other long-term support.

You may be considering entering an inpatient treatment program but feel unsure what to expect when you go. The treatment process is outlined below:

• Intake evaluation: This assessment occurs upon entering the program. A therapist will evaluate your mental health status and any physical issues you may have. This is done in order to create an individualized treatment program for you.

• Detoxification: Depending on the substance to which you’re addicted, the facility can provide you with medically managed detoxification and comfort care.

• Medication: If you’re addicted to opioids or alcohol, then the treatment team may prescribe you with medication to help alleviate cravings and prevent relapse while receiving treatment (e.g. methadone for opiates or acamprosate for alcohol).

• Therapy and counseling: Therapy and group counseling will aid you in developing healthy coping strategies along with social skills necessary to utilize on your road to recovery.

• Family Involvement: Some treatment centres offer family and group therapy and counseling in order to improve the addict’s support system.

When the end of your recovery program is near, your treatment team will devise a plan for you to follow once your stay is complete. Attending continued care will decrease the risk of relapse and allow you to continue developing positive coping skills you learned in treatment.

Examples of aftercare include:

• 12-Step programs like NA and AA.
• Individual therapy.
• Group counseling.
• Sober living homes.
• Regular follow up with Doctors

Aftercare is extremely important for a recovering addict to prevent relapse. It’s easy to fall back into your old habits once you leave rehabilitation if you don’t continue to attend treatment.

Rehabilitation is intended to lay the foundation you need in order to maintain a healthy and sober life down the line. You learn positive coping and social skills throughout your recovery program, but it’s vital that you follow your aftercare plan very carefully, as your follow-up treatment will help you to continue honing your skills.

A few other tips to help prevent relapse include the following:

• Find a group of sober friends: This can be achieved by attending 12-step meetings, support groups, or alternative approach meetings.

• Change your phone number: This will assist in severing connections with those who tempt you to use and establish new healthy connections and supports.

• Focus on proper nutrition and exercise: Being in good physical health can help you to feel good about yourself and improve mental health, which will help you to fight cravings and avoid relapse.

• Keep yourself busy: Try new things and discover new hobbies, which will help you avoid being idle or bored, which can be a trigger for falling back into old habits.

• Utilize meditation: Mindfulness can be beneficial for anyone who suffers from anxiety or depression and can even help to manage everyday stress and unwanted negative emotions, which are all triggers for relapse.

Yes, Addiction is a complex disease of the brain and body that involves compulsive use of one or more substances despite serious health and social consequences.

Addiction disrupts regions of the brain that are responsible for reward, motivation, learning, judgment and memory. It damages various body systems as well as families, relationships, schools, workplaces and neighbourhoods.

People with addiction should not be blamed for suffering from the disease. All people make choices about whether to use substances. However, people do not choose how their brain and body respond to drugs and alcohol, which is why people with addiction cannot control their use while others can. People with addiction can still stop using – it’s just much harder than it is for someone who has not become addicted.

People with addiction are responsible for seeking treatment and maintaining recovery. Often they need the help and support of family, friends and peers to stay in treatment and increase their chances of survival and recovery.