Recovery from Drug and Alcohol Addiction

A DRUG can be defined as any substance taken to modify, change, or heal something within the body. There are both legal and illegal drugs. Prescription drugs have medicinal value and are legally prescribed by doctors. Street drugs have no medicinal value and can only be purchased illegally. For the purposes of addiction rehabilitation, make no mistake, alcohol is also considered a drug, and one of the most dangerous. Regardless of the type of drug, many are physically addictive and all share the potential to be psychologically addictive. Drugs can be classified and put into groups according to the effects produced on the brain.

Recovery from Drug Addiction and Alcoholism - The 3 Keys to Successful Recovery

Comfortable Withdrawl and Biophysical Detoxification

For many addicts the thought of withdrawl brings fear and anxiety to an already emotional situation. For this reason safe and comfortable medical withdraw is often times the first step in starting a positive program of recovery. First impressions are important and setting a tone of care and comfort is recommended.
Once withdraw is completed the next step of removing the residual effects of long term drug and alcohol abuse is a major factor in reducing relapse tendencies and insuring the maximum benefits are realized from the rest of the treatment. If an addict is still craving drugs and experiencing the "dulling" of their mind and senses the effectiveness of treatment is very much compromised.

Family Support and Relationship Repair

Addiction is a family affliction. Although the addict is solely responsible for his past behavior successful long term recovery is directly dependent on the ability to repair and rebuild the relationships once so dear to all involved. The family is the support group for the future and relationship repair should be a central focus in any treatment. Most addicts haven't the ability to effectively begin this process and will need guidance and methodology to insure lasting success.

Length of Stay

There are direct correlations to length of stay in treatment and long term sobriety. The chances of an addict achieving sobriety and maintaining a lifestyle to support sobriety greatly increase when long term inpatient care is the treatment of choice. Most addictions are not born overnight. They develop over years into patterns of behavior. These patterns must be broken. This coupled with treating the bio-physical aspects of addiction and the emotional aspects of addiction take time.