Treatment Offers An Education On Addiction
The formation of an addiction is one that takes its time, maybe over the span of a few years, and moves quietly in the shadows of someones life, at least at first. Problems start small, like the occasional occurrence of bad behavior from time to time, maybe a little bit of isolation, or they seem to be high more often than usual. Then the problems start to grow and grow.
The person is barely seen, maybe only at parties where they can drink and/or use drugs with friends because it makes them feel like they fit in. They seem to be high or drunk more than they are not now. Maybe a DUI happens. Their grades are slipping badly and friends are getting alienated due to the bad behavior that the person displays when they are on something.
It finally gets to the point where it is plainly obvious to other people that there is something seriously wrong. The health of the sickened addict is starting to slip. Maybe they dropped out of school, crashed their car, got kicked out of the house… something extreme like that. And not just only one- maybe all of the above have happened, and more.
Getting Off The Ride
When it comes time for the ride to be over, for the viscous cycle to end, it is time to get into the care of a treatment facility. When most people think of treatment facilities, they imagine places for people who have drinking or drug issues, typically.
While this is truly the majority of what treatment centers across the country (and the world, for that matter) deal with, there are also treatment centers for things like eating disorders such as bulimia, anorexia and binge eating, for gamblers, sex addicts, and so on.
The World Of Treatment
Once someone gets into a treatment center for help, the isolation that addictions bring on will start to get broken. They will realize that they are not alone in their problem, that there are others there who also have the same kinds of issues and struggles, and there are people there who want to help, specifically counselors.
The recovering addict will start to learn that they have a disease, one that is not specific to them, but to many others as well. The disease is beyond their control and has it’s own will, and acts much like a parasite. This means that the disease of addiction leeches life and energy off of the person, it’s host, for it’s own benefit, but ultimately to both of their demise.
Care In Treatment
As the care in treatment continues, the recovering addict will start to learn tools to use against their addiction. They will learn to manage the cravings and urges that one gets as an addict, both still out there and in recovery.
They will learn to identify sick thinking and how to feel about it. Unhealthy trends and behavior will start to be revealed and worked on, for when it comes to getting sober, it takes more than just putting an addiction down and moving on. A new way of life, of living, thinking and behaving must happen as well.
Have Patience
This sounds like a tall order to most, but it is not given all at once. Recovery is a life-long process, something that all recovering addicts must come to grips with, and that means that the learning and changing that takes place takes a lifetime as well. If we had to change everything about ourselves over night to stay sober, than no one would be sober at all.
And finally, the recovering addict will learn how to survive and live a useful, whole life outside of treatment. They are not just kicked out once their time is up, at least ideally. Some treatment centers do that and should be avoided.
Importance Of Recovery
A good treatment center would have introduced the recovering addict to 12-step meetings ahead of time so they know where to go for more recovery once they leave. Sometimes, skills that pertain to finances and healthy eating are also taught, because the destruction of an addiction is so strong that people tend to forget such basic things.
After all this is over and the addict is let go back into the real world, they will be able to live a life free of addiction, a life that is filled with good, healthy things, and most importantly, recovery.