Archive for the ‘Experts on Addiction’ Category

A cycle is a process that returns to its beginning and repeats itself in the same sequence until it is broken by an outside force or a circumstance.  So how does a cycle of addiction happen? Let us remember that drugs or substances that a person gets addicted to are painkillers ñ that is the drug kills the unhappiness, the sense of hopelessness, or physical pain that the addict is experiencing.

The Cycle of Addiction can be illustrated as follows:

•    A person experiences a problem, a sense of unhappiness or hopelessness ñ it can happen to anyone regardless of gender or age. It can be a teenager not knowing what do once he is rejected by his object of affection and love or a grandmother not having any connection with family and is unhappy and isolated or a person whose career is has felt the affects of the economy and going nowhere despite hard work or past glories.

•    This person seeks alternative ways to solve the problem by turning to alcohol or drugs. The alcohol or drug makes the person feel better and because the person seems to cope with life better, the drug or alcohol becomes the constant relieving companion.

•    The person eventually increases the intake of drug or alcohol and is finally trapped into the habit. At this point, the initial point of solving the problem is taken over by the want to take drug or alcohol. Addiction sets in and the person loses the control on the use of the drug or alcohol and disregards the negative consequences of the addiction.

•    The addict will by all means try to keep his addiction to himself and will become withdrawn from friends and family suffering the consequences of his dishonesty and guilt. The more he drinks or uses the drug, the more depressed and guilty he becomes. The strain of addiction will surface losing personal integrity, severing relationships with friends and family, and job or school performance will drastically go down the hill.

•    In this stage, the drug or alcohol is the most important thing in the life of the addict. They takes more and more as his body gets used to the high feeling and their body adapts to the chemical presence in his system. The person now takes drug or alcohol to be able to function at all.

•    The cravings for drug or alcohol set in and the addict will experience an overwhelming obsession to taking and getting the stuff at all cost to avoid the pain of withdrawing.

•    As the addiction to drug or alcohol progresses, the addict increasingly becomes haggard and ill-tempered. They will experience mood swings that can be mistaken for mental illness. The addict may have drug-induced or alcohol-related depression.

•    At this point, the addict is at dismal downward trend that he finds themselves in a heap of problems but would like to appear normal to his friends and family. They could not figure out whether they wants to stop or not. They know they have a problem but can’t figure out how to cope with it. The drug or alcohol he becomes dependent to have changed him physically and mentally. Addictive think has kicked in.

In order to break the cycle of addiction, the addict must admit that there is indeed a problem and he is willing to get support and tackle the recovery process. Opening up to a qualified medical practitioner for advice and getting a support group. And realizing that the recovery program entails a lot of sacrifices and cooperation before the end result will be achieved. The addict must understand that it takes time to completely return to the normal life that he lost due to alcohol or drug abuse. Even then life will normal be normal. The addict will have to learn to manage their addiction through therapy.

People can break the cycle of addiction. Recovering addicts may attempt to break the cycle of addiction on their own, that is great but if you find it hard to do it on your own, which is very hard and potentially dangerous. There are caring and compassionate health care professionals, addiction treatment centers and sober living houses where specially trained individuals can safely handle your specific case. The human touch and the human connection is very essential to recovery.

There are several treatments that lead to the achievement of breaking the cycle of addiction such as residential treatment programs. The process usually includes a safe medical detox. Sudden triggers and withdrawal at times produce serious consequences. Being in a safe environment helps you tremendously to break the cycle of addiction.  Once detoxed, specifically designed rehabilitation therapy programs such as the Big Island of Hawaii Rehab at Hawaii Island Recovery can help you learn about addictive thinking and addiction management.

Hawaii Island Recovery’s Big Island Recovery center will offer the client a support group that promises to deliver the human caring and understanding that an addict on the road to recovery desperately seeks. Always remember that the cycle of addiction can be broken by hard work and discipline. Also sacrifices and vigilance are required, too. It is sometimes a steep climb and yet some days become easier to bear. Remember…One day at a time.

Recognition that the cycle of addiction must be broken is a big topic of all recovery programs. Being true and honest and leaving people, places and things that got you into the cycle of addiction in the first place is sometimes hard, especially if the recovering addict must go back to the community. But helping another recovering addict is sometimes the best way to help yourself!

So start on your recovery or to help a friend or a family member start a fruitful recovery in breaking the cycle of addiction, call Hawaii Island Recovery at 866-906-6911. Hawaii Island Recovery will more than welcome you on your road to a meaningful recovery. They will give you your life back.

Experts on addiction understand that for a rehab program to work, the treatment modalities for addiction need to be tailored to the needs and particular circumstances of an individual. There are a wide variety of substances that people abuse and there are many kinds of people with different attitudes, backgrounds, and reasons for abusing drugs. An effective and efficient drug rehabilitation plan should be a balance between an established method and individualized treatment. Hawaii Island Recovery offers a Big Island rehab program with a variety of therapy options.

Addiction is a complex and complicated disorder. It is not simply an indication of a person’s failure to exercise moral or ethical judgment, or the absence of willpower to resist abusing substances. Rather, it is a debilitating disorder wherein an individual’s brain and body no longer function the same way as it did before the addiction has set in. When drugs and substances are abused, there are certain physical functions that have changed and have become dependent on the effects of the drugs. These substances also affect the way an individual’s brain functions, most especially the brain’s reward center, making it really difficult for abusers to resist any cravings and urges for those addictive substances. Because the brain and body has been altered by these substances, it may take a long time for people to control these cravings and urges. Even after several years of being off the addicting substances, these cravings and urges hardly ever completely disappear.

Experts on addiction say that the power of choice is taken away from substance abusers. The substances they abuse are put on a pedestal and everything else is of secondary importance to their drug of choice. There is no complete cure for addiction. Rather, there is only rehabilitation and the consistent practice of healthy habits and the ability to resist any stimuli or cravings, which may arise. Relapse is a fairly common thing among substance abusers. Treatment and constant support is necessary to prevent addicts from relapsing to their addictions.

Challenges Drug Addicts Face That May Cause Relapse

1.    For addicts, drugs are the basic necessities of life. They are needed for survival and living without drugs is a nigh impossible undertaking.

2.    For a lot of drug addicts, abusing substances is a better option than facing the realities of life. This is especially true if the life they are living now is full of stress and challenges.

3.    Addiction changes the brain’s chemistry. Majority of drug abusers experience Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome at the start of their treatment. They are so used to the “pleasurable’ effects of the drug that being sober feels not “normal” for them.
4.    When addicts begin to crave and seek for drugs, their thoughts become focused on acquiring and using the drugs. They tend to resent people and things that are not related to drug usage, forget any unpleasant experiences resulting from drug usage, and concentrate solely on using the drugs again.

There are several types of substances that people abuse. They range from simple organic substances to prescribed medications.

Alcohol Addiction
Alcohol is a substance commonly abused by a lot of people. This is most likely because alcohol is a legal substance that can be easily bought and consumed by adults. Alcohol depresses the central nervous system and lowers people’s social inhibitions. Regular and high amounts of alcohol ingestion may lead to cognitive impairment, vitamin deficiency, and liver cirrhosis.

Marijuana Addiction
In the United States, there are more than three million people who smoke marijuana almost on a daily basis. It is the most popular illegal substance in the US. Marijuana has several medical benefits. However, most people use it to feel relax or to make sensations more intense.

Cocaine Addiction
Cocaine is a stimulant made from the coca plant that is highly addictive. It gives users a short and very intense high. It also stimulates blood pressure and heart rate, which is potentially very dangerous as it may lead to a stroke or a heart attack.

Opiate Addiction
Codeine, heroin, and morphine are strong analgesics. Not only do these substances lessen pain, they also give the users a feeling of pleasure and euphoria. When people begin to depend on drug-induced euphoria, they run the risk of being addicted to these drugs.

Meth Addiction
Meth is a type of amphetamine. A lot of people use meth so they can stay up and active while some use it to suppress their appetites. This substance is also highly addictive.

Prescription Drug Addiction
Long term usage of prescription drugs or taking more than the prescribed dose could lead to addiction. A responsible physician needs to limit the amount prescribed to a patient and check if a particular patient has been prescribed the same drug by other doctors. Painkillers are the most abused among the prescribed medications.

Persons who have abused drugs tend to have changes in their appearances due to either poor hygiene or failing health. They may also show changes in their relationships and may abandon friends not involved in their addiction for those that share the addiction. Sometimes they may even prefer being alone. They may also have frequent legal and financial troubles.

Treatment for substance abuse not only requires support from the family and friend of an addict. It also needs a comprehensive and well-planned recovery program. In treating drug addiction, the method used must be evidence based and has a well documented success rate. Treatment also needs to be suited to each individual’s unique needs and situation. At Hawaii Island Recovery’s Big Island rehab, an ideal environment is created and designed by experts on addiction to complement the treatment modalities used for an addict. While for some people, the setting for the treatment may not be as important as preliminary detoxification and actual controlled treatment, the importance of a good setting cannot be denied.

In treating substance abuse, experts on addiction need to possess extensive experience in the field of addiction. They also need to be able to communicate and work well together as a team as well as having the needed credentials to perform the job. Lastly, they need to have a thorough understanding of addiction and insight on the various factors leading to addiction, relapse, and individualized care.

If you or a loved one is suffering from addiction please call Hawaii Island Recovery at 866-906-6911.