The compulsion to perform a certain action is extremely strong? We are dominated by the belief that we have no choice: do we need to reach for another bottle, tablet or dose of the drug to feel better? We forget about the whole world to feel better for a moment thanks to a stimulant? This condition is called addiction, which affects all areas of life. And one, despite the fact that the knowledge about the adverse impact of addiction on the psyche and body is well known to us, we still go in the wrong direction, becoming even more addicted to a given substance or a specific state.
Getting out of addiction costs a lot, but it is worth the price – anyone who has managed to get straight will confirm this. How can this be done?
What does recovery from addiction look like?
Specialists agree that this fight is a long-term process. You can’t kick an addiction just like that in an instant. There are probably people who have achieved the effect thanks to willpower – but they are few and should not be taken as an example. Most addicts take months (or even years) to break away from drugs, going through each stage in their own time. To do this, therapy is necessary.
Admitting to addiction – the first stage of therapy
Meetings with a specialist allow the patient to look at addiction from a completely different perspective. It also turns out that he is not alone with his problem: around him there are other, equally lost people who want to successfully end the fight against addiction. The first step in helping an addict understand their condition is to become aware of their illness and then admit to it. Coming to terms with your own helplessness in the face of addiction is not easy – that’s what therapy is for. It allows you to rethink your previous behavior and look deeper into the problem. Only after passing this stage can you think about treatment in a rehab center.
Acceptance – the next step towards recovery
When the patient realizes that his problem is a strong addiction, he should accept it. This means both a certain admission of guilt, as well as handing over to specialists and resignation from the current lifestyle – i.e. abstinence. This stage lasts a lifetime: the addicted person must be constantly aware of his weakness and voluntarily submit to abstinence, every day taking care not to return to the addiction.
Acceptance also means readiness to undertake treatment, which consists in restoring the patient’s health and mitigating the effects of addiction on the body, but not only. An addicted person learns to see the bright side of life again and to appreciate the positive aspects of sobriety. This is an important stage of therapy, which shows that the patient is also able to cope with everyday problems without stimulants.
At the same time, the patient begins to notice the mistakes he makes, which he tries to fix: he cares about the quality of sleep, consciously talks about his addiction, tries to mend relations with his family. He strives to repair what he has damaged because of his addiction.
Resources: Cornerstone of Southern California