Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Addiction Recovery

     We're going to talk about how to deal with drug addiction, either our own addiction or our loved one's.

What to Do When Addiction Occurs

For The Addict
  1. Stop taking drugs (including drinking and smoking)
    The first step is to get off any kind of drugs to cleanse the brain and body of toxic chemicals, and to break the cycle of intoxication and withdrawal.
    In some cases, we may need to do this under a physician's supervision.
  2. Learn about the disease caused by our addiction.
    We need to have, for example, information about characteristics and symptoms of drug addiction, kinds of abused drugs as well as the effects and the problems they bring, what to do to successfully avoid repeated drug use, what it takes to fully recover, etc. We are the only ones who have to become experts in the treatment of addiction. Who could possibly benefit more than ourselves?
  3. Use the knowledge to self-diagnose.
    Go over our own experience with drugs, in detail. Identify the symptoms of addiction. Self-diagnosis is very important because it motivates recovery (no one will treat a problem until he or she acknowledges its existence). Watch out for our defense mechanisms that can stand in the way of self-diagnosis.
  4. Be involved in recovery groups.
    Most people recover through their involvement in recovery groups or therapy programs held by various hospitals, foundations, or pesantren (Islamic Education Institutions). 
  5. Assume personal responsibility for our own recovery.
    We need to learn that the responsibility for success and failure rests solely on us. No one can do it for us. So it's urgent that we thoroughly watch out for the traps of repeated drug use: a high risk lifestyle, inability to overcome craving, inability to cope with stress, and misjudgement of things or events.

    Here is how to deal with these problems:
    • The problem of our high-risk lifestyle
      We must have the courage to break our dependence on people or environments that aren't conducive to staying sober by eliminating slippery friends and places from our life.
    • The problem of craving
      Normally, the best way to stop a craving is to satisfy it. But a compulsion interrupts this process: giving in to our craving actually causes it to increase. We find ourselves wanting more and more. As the proverb goes: "one is too many, and a thousand is not enough." Therefore, we need  to learn techniques for reducing craving by rearranging our activities to support recovery.
      They are, for example,  getting vigorous exercise, removing ourselves from a situation that reminds us of drug use, distracting ourselvees with some pleasurable activities, using relaxation techniques. Remember that craving goes away by itself, usually in less than half an hour. Over time, cravings become less intense, briefer in duration, and less frequent.
    • The problem of emotions
      Having heightened emotions means we must take special care to avoid certain patterns of thinking that can drive us into a frenzy of anger or depression.
    • The problem of errors in judgment and decision making
      Whenever we come to the decision that it's okay or it won't be that bad to use drugs, we are certainly making errors in our thinking because There's No Such Thing As a Safe Level of Drug Abuse! We need to accept the reality that there's something very wrong with our life and the way to straighten it out is to stay away from drugs, all kinds of drugs. And when we realize that our will power alone is unable overcome our own desire for the drugs, we need  to realize that God, who has the greatest power, can help us restore our sanity. That means we make room for faith in God and don't let our ego take up all the space.   

For Family and Concerned Others
         1. Calmly confront the addict and ask him or her to stop using drugs and to get into treatment.
         2. Learn about the disease and involve ourselves in the treatment procedure.
         3. Identify our ineffective behaviors.
         4. Observe our own emotions and stop ineffective behaviors.
         5. Apply effective behaviors.

Glossary
  • staggering (adj)                       : astonishing ; very difficult to believe
  • nosy (adj)                               : showing great interest and curiosity in other people's affairs
  • grouse about (v)                      : to complain regularly
  • intoxication (n)                        : a state of being under the influence of drugs
  • sober (adj)                              : not affected by drugs
  • slippery (adj)                           : difficult to deal with ; requiring careful thinking
  • a frenzy (n)                              : an extreme and wild activity and behavior
  • crawl under a rock and die (v) : being deeply embarrassed
  • falters (v)                                 : to star to lose strength or stop making progress






3 comments:

v3 said...

Hi, i like your post. It's very useful information for me. keep posting :)

v3 said...

Hi ummi athiya,
if you want to allow any person to post a comment without have a google or open id account, you should change the comment setting in the dashbord.

best regards,
v3.

ummi athiya said...

I've done v3 ^_^
Anyway, I'll write..write..and write... I'm sure many readers will like these articles (including me, of course) :D