Why You Need to Make Your Alcohol Recovery a Priority

Alcohol recovery is a lifelong process that will take you to your limits. What many patients make the mistake of is assuming the journey is over when they leave rehab. Drug rehab clinics are only there to start the journey. What they will not do is complete it for you. When you leave rehab, you have to take control of your life and make alcohol recovery a priority.

With the help of www.rehab-clinic.com we will demonstrate how to make alcohol recovery a priority.

What Does It Mean?

Making your recovery a priority means putting yourself before anything and everyone else. It means making it the central focus in your life. If there are other unrelated problems, they should be put to one side whilst you concentrate on beating your addiction. Make time for yourself and get those around you to respect this request.

Why is it Necessary?

In the beginning, you will notice that it is relatively easy to beat your cravings. You have recently left rehab and you are on the high of the treatment you’ve just received. Weeks later you will start to hit a wall. This is something everyone reaches. You will get to this point and you will realise that your cravings are starting to take hold. It is where you’ll need all your mental strength to overcome them.

You cannot do this if you’re not making your recovery a priority. If you are dividing yourself between different focuses, you’re going to find that you don’t have the strength to beat your cravings. By making alcohol recovery a priority, you are giving yourself the best possible chance of success.

How to Do It

Start by talking to those around you. Ask them to respect the fact you will be concentrating on your recovery. If they are respectful, they will keep their problems and stresses away from you during this difficult period. They will do everything they can to respect your wishes and enhance your chances of making a successful recovery.

What you also need to do is keep in touch with your counsellor. All rehab centres will come up with a comprehensive aftercare programme for patients who are leaving for the real world. You should make sure you have these connections ready in case you need them.

It is also good to take the initiative. Many people in rehab find it beneficial to keep in touch with people from their counselling sessions. Mutual support in this way offers an emotional sounding board for when things get tough.

Another way to make alcohol recovery a priority is to renew your commitment every day. It is not like taking an oath or constantly writing down your goals. It’s simply a matter of going out of your way to avoid your triggers. If it means taking a different route to work or declining to go out with your work colleagues, so be it. Everyone will have different needs.

Overall, making recovery a priority does not sound much, but it is one of the first steps on the road to accomplishing great things. Try it and see what you get in return!

The Art of Taking Alcohol Recovery One Day at a Time

People always speak about alcohol recovery in the context that it is going to take a lifetime. This is the truth, but patients who have only recently left alcohol rehab clinics do not find this sort of talk helpful. And why would they? It presents them a massive challenge that they can only overcome with years of hard work. It is overwhelming and it only encourages people to drink again.

This is why we are going to show you the art of taking alcohol recovery one day at a time.

See Recovery in a New Light

To start with, you have to begin looking at alcohol recovery in a different manner. Start seeing it in a new light. Currently, you probably see it as a destination. When you can proclaim yourself as completely sober, you will say that you have recovered. Let us turn this on its head. Recovery is not the destination. Sobriety is the destination. Recovery is the process you go through to get there.

By seeing recovery as a process, you will start to see every successful day as a step towards your ultimate goal. Suddenly, the act of recovery does not feel so intimidating.

Set Smaller Goals

Recovery is extremely grand. What you will learn in drug rehab clinics is every success is celebrated. You need regular reassurance to get through the darkest parts of the process. Rehab centres will teach you to set yourself small yet manageable goals.

It does not have to involve anything major. You do not have to abstain from alcohol for a year to reach your first milestone. Decrease the size of the job by establishing goals like: staying sober for a week, walking past the bar without bowing to temptation, or getting through the day without any negative thoughts.

The chances are you are going to achieve these small goals, but they help to reinforce that you are a strong human being. You do not have to climb a mountain in order to prove your worth.

Write Down Your Daily Schedule

When we say take each day as it comes, we mean it. Ignore what is going to happen or what’s going to happen a week from now. It does not matter because it has not happened. Treat each day as your final day. Write down your daily schedule and focus on that and that alone. It does not matter what you have planned further down the line.

If you are going to take alcohol recovery one day at a time, literally take it one day at a time. Emphasise each day so you can put your best foot forward each and every time.

Learn Something New

Set yourself the goal of learning something new every day. Chart how you improve each day and you will look back on your recovery as something to be proud of. Nobody expects you to saunter through rehab without any problems. Your only priority should be to improve yourself day by day. When you wake up the next day, you want to honestly say that you are a better person than yesterday. That is all you want from this.

What are the Benefits of Starting an Online Alcohol Recovery Blog?

If there is one thing we know, it is that beating an alcohol addiction is tough. The real challenge begins not when you enter the safe walls of alcohol rehab clinics. It begins when you go back into the real world again. The real world is a world of temptation and debauchery. It does not take much to swing someone in recovery into relapse.

This is where starting an online alcohol recovery blog where you talk about your experiences can do a lot of good in your life and the lives of others. Let uslook at some of the benefits of starting an alcohol recovery blog.

Filling the Void

Before you started looking for drug rehab clinics, you focused most of your energy into drinking alcohol and thinking about alcohol. With all that over and done with, you have a lot of spare time. You have to take this spare time and invest it in something useful to both defeat your cravings and begin the rebuilding process.

You can spend hours working on a blog. Many former alcoholics have described it as a labour of love that has taken them through the darkest of times.

Discipline and the Teaching Of

Maintaining a blog does require a certain amount of discipline from you. Moreover,that is what many people describe an addiction as. It is a lack of discipline on your part. By teaching yourself discipline again, you can take these lessons and apply them to your recovery. Discipline in blogging is simply about writing quality post after quality post and doing it on a semi-consistent basis. It is about making a commitment.

Release Your Feelings

Alcoholics have a lot more feelings to deal with than your average person walking the streets. They have a lot of trauma to deal with and a lot of conflicting thoughts about where they are in life. Letting these feelings fester is a toxic practice that can drive a recovering patient back into relapse and back into rehab clinics.

A blog is a positive and healthy outlet for your feelings. Going online to talk about what you are going through is a fantastic way of taking these thoughts from your mind and putting them elsewhere for later.

Helping Others

Believe it or not, blogs like this do help others. If you post about your blog in a chat room or on a prominent forum, the chances are you will begin to gather a small following. The goal is not to become a hit blog that goes viral. It is a place to get support from other people.

Even if you never meet or speak to your readers directly, you will know that your experiences have contributed to their recovery. For someone who does not have high levels of self-worth as a result of years of abuse, the knowledge that you have done good is extremely powerful.

Overall, writing a blog does not have to take much. You have all the tools at your disposal. Use your thoughts to both help others and aid in your recovery!

How Online Addiction Help Supplements Rehab Clinic Inpatient Treatment

Someone who is dealing with an addiction to alcohol may believe their only treatment options involve sitting in a circle and discussing their issues with others suffering from the same issues as them. This is not true. Most drug rehab clinics will always encourage you to look for additional help elsewhere.

It does not matter how you do it. All that matters is you find something that helps you to beat your addiction. With the help of www.rehab-clinic.com, we go through some of the reasons why seeking help online offers you a great way out.

Instant Help

Reading an inspirational blog in the middle of the night can help to turn you away from your addiction. One of the main problems people face is that they do not get the instant help they need. Addiction help services in the UK are stretched. It iswell known that sometimes you could wait for hours before someone is available to help.

Going online gives you an instant nugget of wisdom that can help you to beat your cravings.

It’s Free

Let’s say you have just finished a course of inpatient treatment, but you feel like you need some additional help now. You do have to pay for formal rehabilitation, but you do not have to pay to go online. Find a forum and start speaking to people who have also gone through alcohol rehab. This is the same as sitting in a counselling group and discussing your issues.

The best part is you can gain this sort of friendship entirely free of charge. You do not have to commit to any form of programme.

Passing the Time

An alcoholic’s greatest obstacle is time. When they have nothing to do, the cravings start to take hold. There is usually not a lot they can do about them other than to take a cold shower. This isn’t going to work all of the time, though.

Going online for addiction help will do wonders for passing the time and getting you through the difficult times. Can’t sleep? This is a danger zone because when you cannot sleep you have a lot of time until morning when the day starts again. Fight your addiction by going online and burning the midnight oil away.

All Help is the Right Help?

Understand that whilst reading a blog, visiting a chat room, or having a Skype call with someone you know and trust is a great help, it is not a substitute for proper treatment. Never trade it in for formal rehabilitation. Visiting an alcohol clinic will ultimately give you the tailor-made treatment you need to succeed.

Consider online help a supplement for your treatment and little else.

Speak to your counsellors and they will point you in the right direction of the websites that can help you. Make sure you stay safe online and that what you are doing really is helping, as opposed to enabling you. Do this and you will find it far easier to make it through your cravings and successfully become a clean and sober human being.

How Does Reading Alcohol Rehabilitation Blogs Help You?

The Internet has brought us many great things over the years. We have come from a place where we have to visit a local counsellor for treatment to a place where we can supplement our recovery through going online and speaking to people who have been through the same experiences. What you will find is many online alcohol rehab clinics.

No, they are not certified and they do not have any form of schedule. They are blogs filled with useful advice and real life experiences from people who have dealt with their demons and made it out alive. We recommend learning from the experiences of others and regularly keeping updated on their progress in order to inspire and educate.

So how does reading through blogs online help your treatment outside of drug rehab clinics?

Experience and Knowledge

Look at most rehab centres and you will see they place a great amount of emphasis on making sure you are learning from others. They regularly bring in previous patients to give inspirational talks and to speak about what they went through. Obviously, this sort of knowledge is not always possible to get access to outside of rehab.

A blog where someone speaks of addiction can give you this same level of experience-based knowledge. If you are wondering about how others have dealt with a specific problem, the chances are you can find someone online.

Inspiration

If you are wondering what you’re doing all this for, look to what other people have focused on. The average blog is not designed to act as a substitute for genuine medical advice. It is there to inspire people to recover and defeat their cravings. If you are ever feeling down in the dumps, a great way to inspire yourself again is to read about someone else’s journey.

This is the one area that often cannot be fulfilled by speaking to a counsellor. You need to connect with someone who has gone or is going through what you’re going through.

A Distraction

One of the arts you will learn in rehab will be the art of distraction. For most alcoholics, they will always hit a wall where they are tempted to drink again. This does not make anyone a failure. It is a natural part of the process. The body is rebelling against change and you need to have an immense amount of willpower to put it down and continue your road to recovery.

A distraction is always useful for ignoring cravings. Reading about alcohol recovery online and getting lost in someone else’s story is a distraction that can move you past the darkest of times.

What Should You Read?

There are no limits on what you can and should read. Most people need to find a blog that really speaks to them. This is why we recommend reading as much as possible. Bookmark any blogs that show promise. It does not have to be an active blog. There are plenty of useful blogs from years previously where the author has documented their journey.

In short, find a sweet spot and keep coming back when you feel like you need an inspirational booster shot. You will not regret it!

Do All Alcohol Rehab Clinics Have to Involve Religion?

One of the common stereotypes of alcohol rehab clinics is the position of religion within. If you believe half the things you see on TV shows and in films, you would believe religion-based spirituality plays a key role in the rehabilitation of alcoholics. This is not the case and you should not turn away from rehab because of it.

Let uslook at some drug rehab clinics and the real position of religion inside.

It’s an American Thing

For a start, this stereotype comes all the way from America. The fact of the matter is the majority of UK rehab clinics do not have any sort of faith-based programme. This is because the UK does not have the same level of religious fervour that America does. In America, it is not uncommon to see whole states with an almost complete evangelical population. This is what gives rise to the likes of the so-called ‘Bible Belt’ region.

In the UK, it doesn’t work like this.

So What about Spirituality?

Religion and spirituality are two different things. It is true that spirituality will find a place within counselling sessions. This does not necessarily mean they have anything to do with any form of God or higher power. Counsellors seek to kindle the human spirit towards a state of recovery. For most people, this is a matter of getting in touch with their inner selves.

We cannot really talk about exactly how they do this. It differs from clinic to clinic and from age group to age group. Everyone will have an individual programme tailored towards his or her specific needs.

What about Patients Who have Faith?

It would be easy to read this article and assume all clinics are separate from religion and that it cannot play a part. This could not be further from the truth. Recovering patients are encouraged to bring their personal faith into the clinic if it helps them recover. Counsellors and addiction experts have no intention of suppressing faith for the purposes of creating a secular society within.

In some cases, there are addiction clinics dedicated to people who believe in the role of faith in their recovery.

Ask Your Clinic!

Of course, you need to choose the right addiction help clinic to help you with this. It starts with proper research. Do your research and see if you can found out a bit more about the spiritual and personal advancement aspects of the programme they are running.

In most cases, it is best to get in touch with them directly to ask questions about how religious faith can play a part in your recovery. Most clinics will be happy to speak to you about this. In many cases, they will group people of the same faith together, during both inpatient treatment and outpatient treatment, in order to create a sense of camaraderie.

Overall, whilst religion is welcome within the recovery process, it is in no way forced upon anybody. You have a choice in the matter and you do not have to conform to anyone else’s beliefs in order to get the most out of your treatment.

There Is No Such Thing as a Harmless Addiction

What is addiction? It is a condition in which a person engages compulsively in certain kinds of behaviour despite knowledge that such behaviour is detrimental to himself. Addictions can come by way of alcohol, drugs, or certain types of behaviours. Regardless of the behaviour in question, there is no such thing as a harmless addiction. Just ask any worker at one of the nation's drug and alcohol rehab clinics.

The mistaken belief in a harmless addiction can be observed in a number of ways. For example, consider an individual who regularly abuses alcohol by binge drinking on the weekends. When confronted about his excessive drinking, he might respond by saying his drinking is harmless. He does not engage in drink driving, he does not get violent, and he recovers in time to go to work on Monday.

Alcohol Addiction

Alcohol addiction is also known as alcohol dependence or alcoholism. Like any other drug, alcohol creates an addiction gradually rather than immediately. Unfortunately, alcohol is the most abused drug in the UK by a long shot. Moreover, when abuse is ignored by the abusers, it's only a matter of time before they find themselves checking into rehab centres.

According to the NHS, 9% of adult men and 6% of adult women in the UK show signs of alcohol dependence. When you combine both men and women together, you get an overall rate of 7.5%. Each of these individuals is suffering the harm of alcohol addiction that can include medical problems, lost jobs, marriage breakups, and loss of children. Alcohol is not a harmless drug that can be used with impunity.

Drug Addiction

The nation's drug rehab clinics also find themselves filled with individuals who mistakenly believed they could use prescription medications or illicit drugs without any harm. However, they all found out too late just how harmful drugs can be. What started out as recreational use eventually escalated to the point where drugs were in control.

As you know, some drugs can be even more damaging than alcohol to one's physical health. For example, have you seen the pictures of methamphetamine addicts used in anti-drug campaigns? These are scary pictures indeed. They show addicts before they started using and after addiction was well established. You can clearly see that methamphetamine use is not harmless.

The big lie of drugs and alcohol is that you can use them without losing control. Nevertheless, it is simply not true. Drugs and alcohol are psychoactive substances that alter the way the brain works. And once those brain changes begin, it's nearly impossible to fix them without a complete and total separation from whatever substances are being used. Do not be fooled; there is no harmless addiction. Drug and alcohol rehab clinics are proof of that.

Drug Rehab Clinics: Sometimes Distance Is Good

When an alcoholic or drug addict is considering residential treatment, he is faced with a lot of different choices for drug rehab clinics. Making the right choice involves considering a number of different factors that will affect how well the individual actually responds to rehab. One of those factors is distance. Should the recovering addict seek treatment at a local clinic, or should he put some distance between where he lives and where he recovers?

Believe in it or not, sometimes distance is good. Recovering addicts are normally advised to seek treatment locally so they are still close to family, friends, and other support services. However, there are times when getting away from one's local area is more productive.

Here are two examples of real addicts who chose to use rehab centres located far from home:

Cynthia – Wife and Mother

Cynthia was a twenty-something wife and mother when she was clinically diagnosed as a heroin addict. She had been using opiates since her teens, never considering the damage her behaviour would cause years down the road. Nevertheless, the damage was very real. There came a point when Cynthia was no longer able to safely be in the presence of her children, let alone care for their needs.

When she finally agreed to seek treatment, Cynthia was told by the court that she would no longer be able to see her children until she recovered from her heroin addiction. If you are a mother, you know what this must have done to Cynthia at an emotional level. The desire to be reunited with her children became the driving force in her recovery. To make that drive even stronger, Cynthia chose a rehab centre far away from home. In doing so, she knew she would have absolutely no access to family until her recovery was complete. This was the just incentive she needed to get well.

Gary – Husband and Pensioner

Gary was an American husband and pensioner whose addiction was uncovered when he was in his mid-60s. He began looking at local rehab centers with the help of his family and a few close friends. It was quickly determined that because of Gary's age, his long-time associations within the local community would make it impossible for him to successfully seek treatment without going away. He chose a facility more than 500 miles from home.

For Gary, there were far too many connections in his hometown. He would have faced constant distractions that would have inhibited his recovery. By placing him in an unfamiliar environment, far from home, his family was able to ensure the right surroundings for Gary.

Both Cynthia and Gary successfully completed recovery despite using rehab centres far from home. For them, distance ended up being a very good thing.

Detox and Rehab: Two Separate Treatments

It has been said by many a public speaker that words mean things. The statement is used to express a sentiment that we need to be careful with the words we use. Without proper words and their appropriate definitions, it can be difficult to communicate a message clearly and effectively. A great example of this is in the area of drug and alcohol rehab. More specifically, it is noted in the terms 'detox' and 'rehab'.

The terms are used interchangeably without regard to the differences between them. It is probably a good idea to sort them out, because the two treatments are entirely different. One is a short-term solution while the other is long-term. Moreover, in order for the recovering addict to wisely choose alcohol or drug rehab he or she needs to understand what the two treatments are.

Short-Term Detox

Between the two, the short-term treatment is known as detox. This is a treatment that aims to break a person's physical addiction to drugs or alcohol by way of separation. The idea behind it is to allow the body to naturally repair as much damage as possible by forcing the individual to no longer use addictive substances.

Sometimes detox is offered on an inpatient basis, by the NHS and private clinics you might find by checking with websites like www.rehab-clinic.com. The inpatient model allows detox to be medically supervised so as to help minimise withdrawal symptoms and immediately deal with any potential complications. However, detox is also offered on an outpatient basis as well. Outpatient detox tends to take longer and be more difficult to complete if one has no accountability.

Long-Term Rehab

Drug and alcohol rehab is a long-term treatment approach that seeks to get to the root of the psychological and emotional issues attached to addiction. It starts with detox, but then includes 4 to 12 weeks of psychotherapeutic treatments and 12-step work. The key to rehab is encouraging the recovering addict to personally deal with his or her thoughts and emotions so that relapse can be avoided in the future.

Proponents of rehab insist that recovering from drugs or alcohol is more than just a physical problem. It also involves dealing with the psychological and emotional. As such, they believe a more thorough psychotherapeutic programme, combined with proper support services and counselling, are what is necessary for complete and total recovery.

Whether detox or rehab is the best option for any individual is a decision best left to medical professionals and the addicts they treat. One thing is for sure, some sort of treatment is necessary if the substance abuser is to overcome his or her problems permanently. Substance abuse and addiction are two things that will not simply fade away with the passage of time.

Three Reasons 12-Step Programmes Work

When the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous developed their 12-step programme back in the 1930s they probably had no idea how popular their unique approach to alcoholism would become. Within just a few short years alcohol rehab clinics all over the US began implementing the 12-step strategy. By the 1950s, the programme was being used for drug addiction as well.

Today the 12-step approach is a mainstay of alcohol and drug rehab clinics around the world. Moreover, while the approach does not work for everyone, it does work well for large numbers of recovering addicts. Here are the top three reasons this recovery programme works so well for so many people:

1. It Addresses the Spiritual Component

Whether or not we agree that the spiritual side of man includes the necessity of religion, most of us would agree that man is a being with three parts: body, mind, and spirit. The original Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step strategy was built around the idea that recovering alcoholics need to address spiritual side of man just as much as the physical and mental. Proponents of the 12-step programme still believe that today.

Some rehab centres approach the spiritual component in terms of a specific religious influence. Others are more generic in that they allow recovering addicts to address the spiritual in whatever way they know how. The point here is that addressing the spiritual component facilitates treating the whole individual, not just the mind and body.

2. It Demands Personal Responsibility

The biggest failure of progressive drug and alcohol treatment methodologies is that they do not demand personal responsibility from recovering addicts. That is a mistake. The truth is that no addict can ever fully recover until he is willing to take ownership of his own thoughts, emotions, and actions.

Demanding personal responsibility is one of the strengths of the 12-step strategy. No participant is able to blame external circumstances or other people for the condition he finds himself in. The individual must take responsibility for his choices; he must take responsibility for his recovery.

3. It Takes Advantage of the Group Dynamic

A staple of the 12-step recovery programme is the support group. Decades of alcohol and drug treatment have shown that the group dynamic is a very powerful motivator toward recovery. Support group participation provides mutual encouragement, goal setting and, most importantly, accountability. Even rehab programmes not integrating 12-step work in their recovery strategy still use group counselling and support for treatment purposes.

As previously mentioned, 12-step recovery does not work for everyone. And that's fine. There are other drug and alcohol treatment strategies better suited to those individuals. However, among recovering addicts that do benefit, the 12-step recovery programme might be the key to completely and permanently overcoming substance abuse or addiction.

Legal Highs: the New Face of Drug Addiction

The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) released a report in September 2013 showing that alcohol and drug addiction in the UK costs the country some £36 billion annually. Some believe that legalising certain drugs would help by allowing regulation and taxation to take place. However, that only solves one aspect of the problem. Raising money from the drug trade does not put an end to the human toll of abuse and addiction.

For evidence, one needs look no further than the new face of drug addiction: legal highs. The same CSJ report from last year suggests just over 8% of young people between the ages of 15 and 24 have used legal highs, also known as 'new psychoactive substances'. Rehab clinics are seeing a steady increase in the number of patients they are treating for addiction to these products.

A Shade of Grey

The UK has long had difficulty dealing with the flow of illicit drugs like heroin and crack. The CSJ report claims that the UK has the highest rate of opiate addiction in Europe and the highest rate of lifetime amphetamine use. Legal highs are only making the problem worse by occupying a grey area of the law that makes them much more difficult to control. That grey area can be found in the term ‘legal highs’ itself.

The substances we are talking about here are synthetic drugs that are manufactured to mimic the effects of illicit drugs while still being chemically different. The differences allow them to be legally sold on the open market because they are not classified has controlled substances. Nevertheless, there is a catch: the drugs cannot be sold for human consumption.

Manufacturers get around the restriction by labelling their products as plant food or bath salts. Head shops and other retailers operate the same way. Unfortunately, the nation's drug rehab clinics do not have that luxury. They are dealing first-hand with the effects of the new psychoactive substances on a daily basis.

Manufacturing and Sales

Getting a handle on the legal high problem requires us to address the manufacture and sale of the substances. This includes a robust online market that has made the postal service and unwitting partner in drug trafficking. Once again, the UK leads Europe in the online trade of legal highs. Yet one must ask, where are the financial benefits?

It is all well and good to say we should legalise parts of the drug trade in order to reduce the financial cost of abuse and addiction. However, if new psychoactive substances are any indication, legalisation only stands to make the problem worse. If we are going to legalise some illicit drugs, we should be prepared for drug and alcohol rehab clinics to need more funds for treatment – and that could wipe out any financial gain realised from legalisation.

Why Detox Alone Is Usually Insufficient for Addiction

Every year UK taxpayers fund NHS rehab centres at a rate of millions of pounds. Yet these facilities tend to be equipped with revolving doors, so to speak, as addicts continually come and go in a never-ending cycle of detox, relapse and detox again. Something is clearly not working.

An unbiased study of the evidence shows that one of our biggest problems is our view of detox. For too many policy makers, the belief that a 7 to 10-day detox programme is all that is required to overcome addiction is prevalent. However, reality bites. The truth is that detox alone is usually insufficient for complete recovery from addiction.

It is not enough to simply break a physical addiction through detox. It is even worse to condemn addicts to a lifetime of substitute medications under the guise of providing 'ongoing outpatient detox'. In order to conquer their demons once and for all, recovering addicts need to undergo comprehensive treatment at alcohol and drug rehab clinics specialising in addiction recovery.

Mind and Body

The very real problem of addiction is not just a physical one. It is also mental and emotional. When recovery focuses on detox only, all we are doing is dealing with the physical aspects of the problem. Then the recovering addict returns right back to the same life and circumstances that enabled his addiction to begin with. It is no wonder the rates of relapse among detox-only patients are astronomical.

On the other hand, treatments that also address the psychological aspects of addiction tend to be more successful. Take those private rehab centers that combine detox with psychotherapeutic treatments as an example. They start treatment by breaking the physical addiction, and then follow up by addressing the mental and emotional aspects.

Retraining the Mind

Why is psychotherapeutic treatment necessary? Because abusing drugs and alcohol alters the way the brain works. Addicts tend to have trouble thinking rationally about their substance abuse and the root causes of their misery. Without retraining the mind to think rationally, those incorrect thoughts and attitudes will continue. The first sign of any sort of pressure will likely result in relapse.

Combined detox and psychotherapeutic treatments do not work for everyone, especially among recovering addicts who do not genuinely want to recover completely. However, the combined treatments do far better than detox alone. They are a better option because they address addiction from every angle, rather than treating the problem as just a physical one.

Clearly, spending millions of pounds on programmes that focus only on detox is not accomplishing the results we are looking for. Yet we have been cutting funding for private rehab centers for a number of years. It is time we reverse that trend in the UK.

Addiction Recovery: Conquering the Fear

For someone who has never personally dealt with a serious drug or alcohol problem before, it is hard to understand why an addict cannot simply quit using. Truth be told, it is not as simple as that. The long-term use of mind-altering substances physically affects how the brain works. In turn, this also affects how the addict thinks.

Almost every addict is riddled with fear. Some are terrified they will fail in recovery and find themselves in a worse place than when they started. Others fear disappointing family members and friends. By and large, many of them are terrified of life itself. The reality is that complete recovery requires overcoming fears in a way that prevents them from coming back. Detox alone usually does not suffice in this area.

Psychotherapeutic Treatment

Today's most successful rehab clinics take advantage of a number of effective psychotherapeutic treatments to deal with issues of fear. One of the more common treatments is something known as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). It is a therapy originally designed to help patients coping with certain types of mental illness come to grips with what they are dealing with. However, researchers soon discovered it was effective for drug and alcohol treatment as well.

CBT is different from other counselling therapies inasmuch as it is not open-ended. It is a goal-oriented therapy with a definite conclusion. Goals are set by the therapist during the first session, and then gradually worked through with each successive session. Achieving one goal leads to working on the next. The average CBT programme can be concluded in 12 to 15 weeks.

The goal of the therapist is to help the client identify those things that trigger fear and the individual's response to it. Then the therapist teaches the individual how to deal with those fears in ways that do not involve drugs or alcohol. It is a very effective strategy that helps many of the residents attending drug and alcohol rehab clinics.

Other Treatments

CBT is but one tool at the disposal of addiction recovery therapists. Other tools include group support and counselling, life skills training, and therapies that challenge recovering addicts both physically and mentally. The key for alcohol and drug rehab clinics is to design bespoke treatment plans for each client. Customising treatment increases the chances of permanent success significantly.

If you are living with someone struggling with drugs or alcohol then it is important for you to understand that fear is a big part of what they are dealing with. Overcoming that fear will be necessary for complete recovery. As for how you can help, that is determined by doctors and therapists. Nevertheless, if you are willing to help, you can provide some of the support and assistance your loved one needs to conquer his fears.

Get Complete Knowledge about Addiction and Spread It All Over the World

Addiction is a downward spiral which many people around the world unfortunately find themselves in every year. Whether it’s a legal drug like alcohol or hard illegal drugs like heroin, the effects can be devastating for the individual and his or her family and friends. That’s why it is important to understand what addiction is, how it comes about and what options there are available for the addict in question.

Addiction can usually be divided into 2 main camps, physiological addiction and psychological addiction. Physiological addiction is when the addict’s body feels like it needs the drug to function normally, not having the drug can yield painful symptoms and even death in some cases, this is known as withdrawal symptoms.

Psychological addiction is a little different; this is when the addict thinks they need the drug to continue their everyday life normally, whereas the body will not have any adverse effects from not indulging in the drug. The addict may have gotten so used to something like smoking cannabis every day to feel good that he or she think that they will feel terrible if they stop. Sometimes this is exactly the case, however they have to realise that relying on dangerous substances to feel good is not a healthy lifestyle at all and that they can find happiness in life without the drug.

In the UK, the number of people with a alcohol and/or drug addiction keeps rising every year which is a really big problem that many people don’t realise. With our binge-drinking culture, we’re finding more and more people of all walks of life are the victim of alcohol addiction and are in dire need of professional help. The silver lining however is that there are many, many facilities dotted around the UK and the whole world where a drug and/or alcohol addict can receive treatment and start the journey of recovery, ultimately with the objective of getting them back into enjoying life without dangerous substances.

Rehabilitation and Detox clinics are where the magic happens. An addict who makes the right decision will most likely start off in detox where they will shake off their cravings for the drug they are partial to. With the help and supervision of trained professionals, the individual can leave the detox with no traces of the drug in their system and hopefully no further want for the drug, however rehab usually comes after detox.

The individual will work through their problems with drugs or alcohol in the rehab clinics with a qualified drug counsellor. They’ll learn self-control along with uncovering why they ended up with an addiction in the first place. With the support of friends and family, it is hoped that the addict can then leave rehab with a bright and drug-free future ahead of them.

Addiction is a very real problem in today’s world, but we can overcome it by working together.

Drug Rehab Centers: The Only Way to Make Your Life Perfect

Drug rehab is the best possible place for a drug addict to end up, no matter what dangerous substance they have a problem with. From prescription drugs to hard illegal drugs like heroin, an addict’s life can spiral completely out of control and that comes with many big dangers to both them and their loved ones. The good thing is that there are drug rehab clinics on hand to help these people out.

Drug rehab clinics can be found all over the world and there are particularly many in the UK ready to treat those in need. If you yourself have a drug problem or someone you know needs help, you can easily search for a drug rehab clinic near you through the many addiction helplines on the web. You can find all kinds of drug rehabs that are suitable to you or your loved one’s needs.

The types of drug rehab vary quite a bit in terms of things like whether you can stay there overnight, how much one-on-one time you get and the activities available. It is generally believed that a private residential drug rehab is the best option for any addict. The fact that it is residential means that the drug addict can stay there and fully concentrate on recovery without the worries of the outside world. This also works as a deterrent against trying to procure their drug of choice again. Being a private rehab often means better care as they have the necessary funds to get the best facilities and staff available. Though the price may be higher than some other rehabs, private residential rehab offers the addict the very best chance of recovery and re-entering normal everyday life.

So what kinds of things can you expect at a drug rehab? Well drug rehabs are usually very relaxing and pleasant places to spend your time. If it’s a residential rehab then you’ll usually have a nice and homely room with comfy furniture. You’ll have your food prepared for you and there’ll often be activities for you to take part in, not to mention many drug rehabs have workshops for you to improve yourself in a range of different skills. When it comes to the help the addict will receive, you can be rest assured it is top quality for every patient.

Most drug rehabs will offer both group and individual counselling to help the addict see that they do not need drugs to live a happy and fulfilling life. They will also see that they are not alone in their journey to living a drug-free life. Getting to the root of the problem e.g. finding out and working past the reason the addict decided to take drugs in the first place is what a drug counsellor will help the addict achieve.

Check out some of the drug rehabs around the UK today, no doubt you’ll find many high-quality drug rehabs that suit you or your loved one’s needs.

Identifying the Signs and Symptoms of Addiction

Addiction is something we know destroys individuals and tears families apart. Moreover, like so many other conditions, early identification is the key to successful treatment. The earlier the addict can be treated, the greater the chances of achieving total recovery. The opposite is also true. Waiting too long to begin treatment only makes a full recovery that much more difficult.

The purpose of this post is to help you identify a potential addiction problem, whether you are the person suffering or a family member concerned about a loved one. To that end, we will approach the addiction question from both angles. We hope that by offering you the signs and symptoms of addiction we will be able to help you start down the road to recovery.

For Addicts: Symptoms of Addiction

Perhaps you suspect you might have a real problem with drugs or alcohol. Perhaps you are ready to consider looking into rehab centers if it can be proved to you that you have a problem. If that is the case, consider the following symptoms of addiction:

• you drink or take drugs first thing in the morning
• you plan your entire day around drugs or alcohol
• you find yourself worrying about having enough of your chosen substance
• you're willing to go to great lengths to obtain your substances
• you find drugs and alcohol interfering with routine tasksv
• you are defensive when others talk about your drug or alcohol use
• drug or alcohol use is causing you to push family members away
• you find that you need to increase the amount you use in order to feel the same amount of pleasure.

Any one of these symptoms could indicate you are on the road to addiction. If you notice more than one, you might already be addicted. The fact that you are willing to consider the symptoms of addiction means you have taken the first step toward recovery. Why not take the next step by contacting one of the many drug and alcohol rehab clinics in the UK?

For Families: Signs of Addiction

Families may have a more difficult time recognising addiction due to the fact that addicts become so adept at hiding their problems. However, families do not have to remain clueless. There are certain signs they can look for if they suspect a problem exists. A person addicted to drugs or alcohol will often:

• exhibit unexplained mood swings
• suddenly lose or gain weight inexplicably
• withdraw from family members and friends
• exhibit moderate to severe financial problems
• begin to form new circles of 'undesirable' friends
• disappear from normal life for several days at a time
• be very combative when confronted about drugs or alcohol
• be willing to steal from family members in order to support their habit.

While you may not be able to unequivocally prove a loved one is dealing with an addiction problem, a combination of a few of the signs is a good indication trouble exists. In such a case, the best thing family members can do is contact an addiction recovery referral service, a private clinic, or a doctor.

Alcohol and drug rehab clinics are available to provide treatment to those suffering with addiction issues. Whether you are the person suffering or a family member or friend, please take heed to the symptoms and signs we have listed here. If there is any indication of a problem, get help before it's too late.

Three Ways Drug Rehab and Detox Differ

The issues of drug abuse and addiction are something that touch more families in the UK than many of us know. Unfortunately, the UK has seen a significant rise in drug and alcohol use that has left us scrambling to provide the care people need to overcome addiction issues. Two of the options we offer are detox and rehab. Yet despite what you may think, the two options are different.

In the simplest terms, detox is a standalone treatment option designed to break the physical addiction to a specific substance. In most cases, it can be accomplished in about seven days. Rehab is different in that it deals with the body and the mind. Rehab does include detox as part of an overall programme, but the psychotherapeutic treatments involved go above and beyond physical addiction.

Here are three ways drug rehab and detox is decidedly different:

1. Short-Term Versus Long-Term

The detox process is a very short-term strategy meant to deal with physical addiction. Because it can be completed in about a week, some drug abusers and addicts prefer to go that route in order to minimise the disruption of treatment. They can schedule a week off from work, attend detox, and get back to work the following week.

Rehab is a long-term strategy that requires a greater time commitment. The average programme offered by drug rehab clinics in Europe takes between 4 and 12 weeks to complete. After that, recovering drug abusers will spend anywhere from three to 12 months receiving aftercare support services.

Despite the time commitment involved, comprehensive drug rehab usually achieves better results than detox alone. Complete rehab deals with the individual as a whole person – body, mind, and spirit – rather than just as a physical creature.

2. Long-Term Goals

The differences in long-term goals are significant between the two therapies. Where detox is concerned, no clear long-term goal exists because the point is to simply get the user to stop taking drugs. However, detox does nothing to prevent relapse in the future. That is why so many drug addicts in the UK go through detox numerous times without an actual life change.

The long-term goal of rehab is one of preventing relapse by teaching the drug user how to live life to its fullest without using drugs. A rehab clinic that is successfully doing its job does not ever want to see a client a second time – unless it is because the recovering drug addict has returned to help others.

3. Sources of Treatment

Anyone in need of drug detox in the UK can access it free of charge from the NHS. Detox can be accessed on an inpatient, outpatient, or home basis, depending on individual circumstances. However, the NHS does not offer comprehensive drug rehab programmes of its own.

Drug rehab is provided by private clinics, drug and alcohol charities, and local support group organisations. The NHS can refer individuals to these other programmes, and they often do following the completion of detox. The best source of comprehensive drug rehab is a private clinics specialising in such programmes.

It is true that some people can fully recover from drug abuse and addiction by just attending detox. Nevertheless, they are the exception, not the rule. Most chronic addicts need a comprehensive rehab programme provided by a qualified organisation. That is often the only way to fully recover.

Do all Rehab Clinics Operate the Same Way

You may have noticed that there are a fairly large number of addiction recovery referral services operating online. These services specialise in offering free counselling and referrals to private rehab clinics located throughout the UK. Some of them even have connections with clinics overseas. The reason these services are so vital to addicts and their families comes down to one simple thing: not all rehab clinics operate the same way.

In the old days, drug and alcohol experts believed it was possible to develop a 'one-size-fits-all' treatment applicable to every addiction. And for several decades, clinics operated under that assumption. However, it turns out that there is no treatment solution that works for everyone. Therefore, different clinics operate in different ways. The organisations offering referral services take the time to learn about the various alcohol and drug rehab clinics - how these operate, and what they offer. They can then make referrals based on matching up a client with the most suitable clinic.

Different Rehab Approaches

Looking into rehab clinics reveals how differently they approach the recovery process. For example, there are a number of Christian-based organisations offering drug and alcohol rehab from a Christian perspective. One does not need to be a professing Christian to enrol at one of these clinics, but all of the therapies and treatments used will be from a Christian perspective. Someone attending a Christian clinic would likely be involved in exercises like organised prayer, Bible study, and counselling with a Christian counsellor.

For every religious-based approach, there is also a secular approach. Secular drug and alcohol rehab clinics still approach the issue with the understanding that addiction involves both the body and the mind, but they tend to leave off spiritual component. Their psychotherapeutic treatments include things like cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and interactive group therapy.

It is interesting to note that a large percentage of the clinics in the UK use some form of the popular 12-step approach regardless of their philosophy on religious versus secular recovery. The 12-step programme was developed by Alcoholics Anonymous in the 1930s and focuses on one's responsibility to a higher power, whatever that might be. Various adaptations of the original 12-step programme now exist to serve the needs of organisations with different rehab approaches.

Different Accommodation Levels

One of the other big differences we see in private rehab clinics is a level of accommodations offered by each one. For instance, a budget-sensitive clinic may offer dormitory accommodations and only a few, necessary amenities on site. The other end of the spectrum would be a luxury clinic providing private accommodations and a full range of amenities including swimming pools, fully equipped gyms, and so on.

Some argue that different levels of accommodations separate recovery according to financial class and status. Others say that offering different levels of accommodations is the only way to serve the greatest number of those in need. In the end, it comes down to whether or not a clinic is devoted to helping clients achieve complete recovery.

The differences between drug and alcohol rehab clinics suggest individuals and their families need to look at every available option before deciding on a clinic. However, because there are so many choices, looking around can quickly become overwhelming. Referral services make the job easier by doing all of the legwork ahead of time. Today, an addict or concerned family member can make one phone call to get the necessary help. And that's a good thing.

Government Offers £10 Million in New Funding for Drug Centres

This past January (2014) the government announced a brand-new, £10 million funding package to help drug centres and individual recovery programmes serving clients in England. The funding is expected to go primarily to NHS-based programmes and volunteer organisations who depend on government money to operate.

According to the official government announcement, there is only one catch: service providers must be committed to long-term recovery based on improved patient outcomes. That means an organisation whose main strategy is to put recovering addicts on maintenance medications without any further rehabilitation will likely not convince officials to give them a grant. This money is specifically dedicated to strategies that will help reduce the number of addicts in England.

One look at the current state of government drug rehab centers makes it easy to see why the stipulation has been attached. Take heroin treatment for example. Far too many drug centres are more than willing to put clients on long-term methadone rather than actually putting them through drug rehab clinics. Why would they do this? Because methadone is easy to come by and easy to prescribe. However, long-term methadone therapy is not recovery. It is simply a substitute addiction.

Better Outcomes

The government has devised the new funding as a way to encourage better outcomes among service providers. The financial incentive will hopefully spur them to come up with effective strategies that result in real recovery. However, what if it does not?

There is a real risk that throwing more money at the rehab problem will not solve anything. First of all, there is no guarantee additional funding will follow in the coming years. Any programmes developed in conjunction with the funding will have to be discontinued once the money dries up or continue with an alternate source of funding. This is a big problem, especially where NHS programmes are concerned.

The other danger comes by way of the red tape government programmes are known for. It is very possible that grants could be made with promises of better patient outcomes, yet those outcomes never come to fruition. Such a situation would definitely be money wasted. Let us hope it does not come to that. Let us hope the government plan actually produces real, tangible results.

Private Treatment

Regardless of the outcome of the government funding project, we always have private drug centres we can rely on for effective treatments. Private clinics have been serving drug and alcohol addicts for decades. They generally have higher success rates as well.

Unfortunately, none of the private centres are in line to receive any of the new money. On the one hand that's good; government money often comes with strings attached. However, it is also bad to some extent. Many a good clinic is struggling to survive financially because the cost of care is keeping a portion of their beds empty. A little bit of extra government funding could mean the difference in keeping some of these drug centres open.

What do you think? Will more money really help improve outcomes?

Five Important Facts about Drug Detox

How much do you really know about drug detox? It is surprising how little most of us know about a service that is becoming increasingly necessary in modern society. Between the proliferation of alcohol and all sorts of illicit drugs, we are seeing more and more people in need of rehab services through the NHS, charities, and private clinics.

It is important for you to know everything you can about drug detox just in case you ever find yourself in the position of having need of it. Whether for yourself or a loved one, detox is most successful when it is approached with a complete understanding of what it entails.

Here are five important facts about drug detox every UK adult should know:

1 - Detox Alone Isn't a Cure

Drug rehab clinics addiction is a condition involving both the body and mind. What's more, it usually involves emotional issues as well. Therefore, detox alone is not a cure for most drug addicts. Complete recovery requires participation in rehabilitative therapies that can last for up to 12 weeks.

2 - Detox Is Considered a Medical Emergency

Drug rehab detox is considered a medical emergency requiring supervision by trained personnel. Why? Because drug use results in pretty significant damage to the body's internal organs and systems. When drug use ceases, the damage may prevent the body from operating as it should, leading to medical complications that could result in serious injuries or death.

3 - Detox Can Be Medicated

Many people fear drug detox because of the horror stories they have heard about withdrawal symptoms. Moreover, while withdrawal symptoms are very real, detox from most drugs can be medicated in order to take some of the edge off those withdrawal symptoms. Prescription drugs can make withdrawal more gradual, reduce cravings, and reduce the risks of potential medical complications.

4 - Inpatient and Outpatient Availability

Even though residential rehab is considered the best option for chronic drug addicts, it is not the only option. Outpatient detox through the NHS and some private clinics is also possible. You can even undergo certain forms of detox at home if you are unable to regularly get to a local clinic.

5 - Detox Is Necessary for Complete Recovery

If the drug addict is to recover fully from his or her condition, detox is absolutely necessary. As uncomfortable and dangerous as the process might be, there is no way to change things without it. Drug detox is the first step on that long road to recovery because it breaks the body's physical addiction to drugs.

There are some drug abusers and addicts who manage to completely conquer their demons simply by successfully completing a seven-day detox programme. When detox alone works, it is the fastest and most cost-effective way to overcome addiction. However, it is important to never assume detox will work without any additional therapy.

If you have questions about drug detox, contact your GP or a local clinic. The more you know, the better prepared you will be should you need to make a decision.