Author: Alex Thompson

Recovery National Institute on Drug Abuse NIDA

In fact, there is growing support for what is called harm reduction, which values any moves toward reducing the destructive consequences of substance abuse. Researchers find that taking incremental steps to change behavior often motivates people to eventually choose abstinence. Nevertheless, many treatment programs, including Alcoholics Anonymous, require a commitment to complete abstinence as a condition of admission. Relapse is a common part of the recovery process from drug addiction. While relapse is frustrating and discouraging, it can be an opportunity to learn from your mistakes, identify additional triggers, and correct your treatment course. No matter which pathway of recovery a person chooses, a common process of change underlies them all.

Whether you have a problem with illegal or prescription drugs, addiction treatment should be customized to your unique situation. It’s also important to find a program that feels right for you. Read Choosing Drug Rehab and Addiction Treatment to learn more. Stopping drug use is just one part of a long and complex recovery process. When people enter treatment, addiction has often caused serious consequences in their lives, possibly disrupting their health and how they function in their family lives, at work, and in the community. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) avoids the terms addiction and recovery.

Saying a mantra, substituting thoughts of recovery goals, praying, reading something recovery-related, reaching out to someone supportive—all are useful tactics. Medications for opioid use disorder are safe, effective, and save lives. Think of a sandy beach, or a fond memory, such as your child’s first steps or time spent with friends. Different quick stress relief strategies work better for some people than others.

If a person uses as much of the drug as they did before quitting, they can easily overdose because their bodies are no longer adapted to their previous level of drug exposure. An overdose happens when the person uses enough of a drug to produce uncomfortable feelings, life-threatening symptoms, or death. The chronic nature of addiction means that for some people relapse, or a return to drug use after an attempt to stop, can be part of the process, but newer treatments are designed to help with relapse prevention.

The three basic steps of urge surfing:

Not surprisingly, life stress is one of the main reasons people give for relapsing into prescription drug misuse. For all these reasons, learning methods to better cope with stress is an essential part of recovery. Seek treatment for any mental health problems simultaneously.

Nothing can replace the healing properties of time spent together with loved ones. For many with an alcohol problem, drinking a different kind of beverage can keep recovery on track. Such a simple maneuver maintains all the behavioral actions of drinking—while eliminating the active drug (ethyl alcohol)—and that can be enough to at least partially mollify the brain’s reward pathway. New meaning and purpose compose another active ingredient of recovery.

You can choose to get back on the path to recovery and use the experience to strengthen your commitment. Not everybody requires medically supervised detox or an extended stint in rehab. The care you need depends on a variety of factors, including your age, drug-use history, medical or psychiatric conditions. In addition to doctors and psychologists, many clergy members, social workers, and counselors offer addiction treatment services. Drug addiction treatment is not a quick and easy process.

More than 58,000 NA meetings take place every week worldwide. Treatment should address more than just your drug abuse. Addiction affects your whole life, including your relationships, career, health, and psychological well-being. Treatment success depends on developing a new way of living and addressing the reasons why you turned to drugs in the first place.

Like many other chronic conditions, treatment is available for substance use disorders. While no single treatment method is right for everyone, recovery is possible, and help is available for patients with SUDs. Employment is virtually essential for having a stable and meaningful life.

Maintaining Hope and Health During Addiction Recovery

Sometimes the renewed sense of purpose is framed as spirituality. In my own research, investigating a nationally representative sample of recovering persons, I have found that the sense of spiritual connection is particularly true among African-American and Hispanic individuals. The principle of equifinality states that there can be many different pathways to a common developmental endpoint. While our cultural psyche tends to default to a clinical recovery pathway involving some kind of mix of rehab and/or AA—which can be lifesaving—in fact, many recover without using any external services. Others make use of medications, and still others recover with religious or spiritual guidance.

Even people with severe and chronic substance use disorders can, with help, overcome their illness and regain health and social function. Being in recovery is when those positive changes and values become part of a voluntarily adopted lifestyle. Other research pinpoints the values of cognitive behavioral therapy for relapse prevention, as it helps people change negative thinking patterns and develop good coping skills. Millions of people do, whether they were once compulsive users of opiates, alcohol, or gambling. There is enduring resolution of what once was problem behavior.

1. Recovery community centers have emerged around the country, and through the employment linkages they offer, they can facilitate future orientation and new enthusiasm for life.
2. No matter the pathway to recovery, the mechanisms by which people change are the same.
3. In one study, two-thirds of the adults relapsed in social situations in which they experienced urges and temptations to drink or use.
4. Inpatient rehabilitation – A full-time facility provides a supportive environment to help people recover without distractions or temptations.

It is possible to overcome shame—by driving right through it. Neuroscientist Adi Jaffe, Ph.D., who himself recovered from addiction, outlines five steps. • Connection—being in touch with others who believe in and support recovery, and actively seeking help from others who have experienced similar difficulties. Intensive support is often needed for recovery from addiction. Family members often have their own emotional problems that come from coping with their loved one’s addiction.

NA and Other Peer Support Groups for Drug Addiction

They also value having role models of recovery and someone to call on when the recovering self is an unsteady newborn. Data show that the programs are helpful for some but not for everyone. Sustaining behavior change until new patterns become ingrained is difficult under the best of circumstances. In leaving addiction behind, most people have to restructure their everyday life, from what they think about and who they spend time with and where, to how they use their time, to developing and pursuing new goals. The shifts in thinking and behavior are critical because they lay the groundwork for changes in brain circuity that gradually help restore self-control and restore the capacity to respond to normal rewards.

Other NIDA Sites

But a history of addiction can be an impediment to getting a job. A lack of positive references and having a criminal record typically pose challenges. Too, there may be long gaps in a resume that are hard to explain away. Insufficient experience or skill deficits are other common hurdles. But attention to the addiction is only one facet of recovery.

Does relapse to drug use mean treatment has failed?

There are companies large and small that have recovery-friendly hiring practices. In addition, there are nonprofit organizations such as American in Recovery and the National HIRE Network that specifically help those with addiction or criminal history to find work. Usually for a substantial fee, career transition services help executive and higher-up employees define career goals and help with job searches. Many treatment programs have partnerships with area businesses to hire those in recovery. And one measure of a comprehensive substance abuse treatment program is the help it offers to enrollees to identify their interests and find and build a meaningful career path. Individuals with experience and expertise may find a route to full employment by first being willing to offer their skills pro bono or as a volunteer to businesses or nonprofit organizations in their field.