Life after drug and alcohol rehab should come with a plan!  Unfortunately, just like drug and alcohol treatment, there is no one size fits all plan for a healthy and successful recovery.  Sober living requires constant support, love and attention.  People in recovery may find some days harder than others, so the best course of action is to create a plan.

Here are some tips for successful sober living after drug and alcohol rehab.

1. Set goals.  Set challenging but attainable goals for your sober life.  Work with your rehab counselors and therapists to determine what your sober life will look like.  Will you set a goal to go back to work in 90 days?  Will your goal be to repair family relationships?  Will you learn how to cook?  Remember that when you walk out the doors of rehab, you are given a new slate – you need to decide how to write the story.
2. Consider Outpatient Therapy.  Drug and alcohol rehab programs generally include counseling during treatment.  Follow up counseling and therapy should be an integral part of life after rehab – a lot happens in the first few weeks and months after treatment, use your support system to help navigate your newly sober life.  If you feel you need the additional support, it might be a good idea to consider an outpatient program as a step down from residential treatment. This would typically involve three hours of therapy three nights per week.
3. Go To Meetings.  Upon graduation from a treatment program you should also be attending 12-step community meetings. The most widely attended are Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, but there are many more that are specific to individual addictions, dual diagnoses, and individual drugs.  What’s important is finding the meeting where you feel most comfortable and finding a sponsor. Meetings will give you an opportunity to share the challenges you are facing, as well as celebrate your success.
4. Make new friends. Unfortunately life after rehab sometimes involves finding a new social group.  That is because old friends directly or indirectly may have contributed to your drug or alcohol addiction.  Old friends may have also suffered from the negative consequences of your addiction, making it difficult for them to trust you right away. Success, as we said above, depends on your support system.  Surround yourself with people who will support your sobriety, not people who will give you a hard time about it.  You will find a support system by attending community 12-step meetings, through your sponsor, and by attending aftercare meetings at your treatment center.  This expanded network of people in recovery will help you tremendously as they have been where you are and will be there for you to help you on your road to long-term recovery.

Drug and alcohol rehab doesn’t stop at the treatment center doors.  It continues for the rest of someone’s life.  Although a former user may not be in a physical treatment facility he or she is always going to be in recovery.  Treatment counselors can help prepare people for sober living with strategies and tips for success, but ultimately the responsibility is on the individual. Even if someone relapses, all is not lost.  Falling off the bandwagon can strengthen someone’s resolve to stay sober and live a clean life. Every drug and alcohol rehab program is an opportunity for a new life.

Drug and alcohol rehab programs are all different. If you or someone you love is dealing with substance abuse issues or you’d like more information on drug and alcohol rehab programs you may be interested in reading about a day in drug and alcohol rehab  or rehab options.

Destination Hope: The Women’s Program is a Florida based full service drug and alcohol rehab facility with a strong aftercare recovery component.  If you’d like to speak with someone about drug and alcohol rehab , treatment programs, or aftercare, please call us today at 1-866-808-7111. 

Photo Credit: This photo, by Flickr user ericepps is licensed by a creative commons attribution license.

Babies born with drug addiction are often underweight, have difficulty eating and gaining weight, and suffer from tremors or seizures.  Birth it seems is the equivalent of going through withdrawal.

Let’s take a look at drug addiction, how it affects families and the link to family therapy.

Drug Addiction: The Impact on Families

Drug addiction has a significant effect on a family.  Parents who suffer from drug abuse may feel deficient as parents, while children may feel abandoned or resent the addiction and disorder.  It is not uncommon for drug addiction to cause a user to withdraw from normal associations and events.  Parents who use alcohol and drugs may be unable to appropriately supervise their children, protect them from harm or be emotionally available to help their children mature.

Drug addiction studies have shown a direct link between parental substance use and use by children.  This research has led to a rise in recovery programs that include family therapy. Young children who are raised in an environment with substance abuse are at higher risk for developing substance abuse issues later in life, perhaps because they are brought up with the understanding that substance abuse is a way to cope with problems.  The same goes for women.  Drug addiction rates in women who suffered early-life family conflict are higher, making it abundantly clear that family therapy is an important step in relapse prevention and initial use.

The negative effects of drug addiction often extend beyond a nuclear family.  Extended family members and even close friends may feel helpless, concerned, guilty, anxious or even embarrassed by the substance abuse.  Unfortunately the unhealthy behaviors that result from substance abuse often have long term effects.  Family therapy is a treatment method to help an individual, in this case perhaps a parent, recover from drug addiction, while helping to heal the negative consequences of drug addiction on the other family members and their relationships.

Family Therapy and Drug Addiction- A Link

Family therapy depends on the individual suffering from substance abuse and the willingness of the family to heal the wounds of drug addiction.  Whether the user is a child, a parent or even a grandparent, family therapy will include multiple generations and sometimes even branches of the family.   The goal of family therapy is to create a familiar net of love and support around the suffering parent to aid in his or her recovery.  This is done by fostering an understanding of the issues and challenges that a user, his or her family and his or her community faces in coping with drug addiction.

The dramatic rise of drug addicted newborns is alarming, but underscores the difficulty in dealing with drug addiction.  Drug addiction is not a personal disease, it is a disease felt by an entire family or community.  If you or someone you love is suffering from drug addiction or could benefit from family therapy to cope with the consequences of drug addiction, please call us today at 1-866-808-7111.  Destination Hope: The Women’s Program is a full service drug addiction treatment facility in Florida for women and their families who are struggling with women’s health and substance abuse issues.

Photo Credits: Photo 1, by Flickr user photon_de is licensed by a creative commons attribution license. Photo 2, by Flickr user keoni101 is licensed by a creative commons attribution license.

Opiate Addiction: The Situation

According to the Wall Street Journal, nearly seven million Americans use prescription drugs, such as Oxycontin, for non-medical reasons.  Research has gone into discovering where the commonly abused prescription drugs come from since they are not commonly manufactured at home or on the street.

What investigations have found is that the commonly abused prescription drugs are widely available in medicine cabinets across the country.  Often prescribed to treat pain after an injury or surgery, the painkillers that can lead to opiate addiction are easily available in many homes, opening the door to substance abuse and the disease of addiction.   Outside the home, pain clinics, some of which have become “pill mills,” help fuel the addiction.

Recognizing that the problem of opiate addiction does not rest on the shoulders of those suffering from addiction, but from many sources within our community, governments, physicians and law enforcement have been searching for a way to limit access to commonly abused prescription drugs.  Proposed legislative changes in many states, including Florida, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, to more closely monitor the prescribing of these drugs, have attracted national attention.  According to the Alliance of States with Prescription Monitoring Programs, 48 states have legislation requiring prescription-drug monitoring programs, up from 16 a decade ago.   Some states require pharmacists to log specific prescriptions, those commonly linked to opiate addiction, into statewide databases in order to find physicians who are abnormally prescribing drugs.

Often, pharmacists are required to log all relevant prescriptions into the databases. The systems are meant to help agencies overseeing them—normally health or medical groups—to single out physicians who prescribe abnormal amounts of painkillers, and those suffering from opiate addiction who visit several doctors for the same medication.

Few have argued over the utility of such databases to help stem the over prescribing of prescription drugs linked to opiate addiction. The controversy exists in what is done with that information. In some states, only physicians and pharmacists have access to the data unless a warrant is given to law enforcement for a specific case.  In other states, physicians and pharmacists are required to review the database before prescribing medication and to notify law enforcement if there’s something unusual.

If you’re interested in more information about what state’s are doing to try and curb access to prescription drugs, read this Wall Street Journal article about an ongoing legislative fight in Kentucky.

Destination Hope: The Women’s Program is the premier drug rehab for women suffering from substance abuse issues, such as opiate addiction.  Our opiate addiction and other treatment programs are Joint Commission accredited and female-only.  Our holistic approach to addiction treatment includes cognitive behavioral therapy to identify and change detrimental thought patterns and subsequent behaviors, solutions focused therapy to help our clients develop a framework of how to be successful in their recovery efforts and finally family of origin therapy, which takes a systemic approach of reaching our clients as a representative of their family rather than the problem.

If you’re ready to take that courageous step to enter treatment, or would like more information for someone you know, please call us immediately at 1-866-808-7111. Treatment is easy for no one, but we at Destination Hope: The Women’s Program are here to support and guide you through it.

Having worked in the Behavioral Health field for 30 years, I have come to appreciate and depend heavily on the professional care provided by nurses.  Nurses often play an understated role in this area.  Usually when one thinks about substance abuse and mental health the professions that come to mind are psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors and substance abuse professionals.  We tend to overlook the important role that nurses play.

Nurses are usually the stabilizing force in an organization.  As the organization grows, changes focus, downsizes the one constant providing comfort and care has always been nurses.  Unlike most professions, nurses have education and training that enable them to assume a variety of roles.  Nurses can provide medical attention and oversight that most other professions can’t.  By virtue of their training they possess great organizational skills, which provide stability and direction to organizations. They make patient, knowledgeable counselors which bring a calming atmosphere.  Nurses are often promoted to administrative/management positions allowing them to utilize the skills and training as stated above.

At Destination Hope: The Women’s Program we have learned to recognize and rely on the skills of our ARNP, Linda Milano.  Linda, who is an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner brings a number of years of education and experience to her role.  We have come to rely very heavily on her ability to assess the needs of our clients and relay that information to our clinical staff in a professional, concise manner that allows us to provide the best care possible.  Linda’s background in the field is evident as she conducts med-education groups with clients or provides suggestions to staff about care.  Linda brings excellence to clinical care at Destination Hope and we want to say Thank You, Linda for making a positive difference in the lives of so many.

Sincerely,

Alton Smith

VP, Destination Hope

Dual Diagnosis: Men vs. Women

Until recently, it was assumed that there were no differences in treating men and women with dual diagnosis, substance abuse or mental health issues.  Gender specific dual diagnosis treatment has become somewhat of a buzz word in the recovery and addiction field, but is it necessary?

Research has shown that women are more likely than men to be targets of physical abuse and rape. Women are also more likely to be supported in their substance abuse by a partner, who may also be addicted to drugs or alcohol.  This may seem to put women with substance abuse problems as higher risk for mental illness and thus dual diagnosis.

The truth is that there is no evidence to support that dual diagnosis is more common in women than in men.  In fact, dual diagnosis treatment programs often see the same number of male and female patient’s diagnosis with both mental illness and substance abuse. What is different is the type of disorders.  Women are more likely to suffer from anxiety disorders while men are more likely to suffer from antisocial personality disorders.

Dual Diagnosis Treatment for Women

Given that there is no difference in the rate of dual diagnosis in women, we come to the issue of treatment.  Dual Diagnosis treatment for men and women may be very different.  That is because mental illness may be caused by a traumatic event.  By defining trauma as a situation that over powers an individual’s ability to cope, we find that the situations and events that create feelings over powerlessness and dependence are different between men and women.

Dual diagnosis treatment programs for women often include steps towards empowerment.  Supporters of recovery programs find that empowering women to become emotionally stronger, economically independent and in control of a positive self-image leads to a more successful and effective recovery.

Because of the cultural context in which mental illness and substance abuse occurs, dual diagnosis treatment programs that are gender specific often carefully control the treatment setting.  For example, individual therapy sessions may take into account the gender of the therapist and client (female therapist/female client), fitting recovery into the context of a woman’s life.

If you or someone you love suffers from mental illness or substance abuse issues, the first step is to recognize that help is available.  Women who suffer from dual diagnosis are not alone and there are successful treatment programs that can help a woman get back on track.  With treatment programs designed specifically for women, to address the unique issues of every woman, Destination Hope: The Women’s Program is a full service drug, alcohol and dual diagnosis treatment facility in Florida for women with substance abuse issues. If you or a loved one is having problems with drugs or alcohol, please call us today at 1-866-808-7111.

Photo Credits: Photo 1, by Flickr user Markles55 is licensed by a creative commons attribution license. Photo 2, by Flickr user _PaulS_ is licensed by a creative commons attribution license.

Every day there’s something that stresses us out as women, from running around to pick up the kids, to an issue at work or a broken dishwasher.  Life is full of these little stressors and if we don’t learn to take care of them, it’s easy for life’s little stressors to become full blown anxiety.

Anxiety Treatment

1. Breathe Deeply.  I know, this sounds very silly, but deep breathing has been shown to be very effective at reducing anxiety in women as well as men. Practice breathing from your diaphragm. You’ll know if you’re doing it right when your belly sticks out as your breathe in.
2. Meditation.  As women, we internalize a lot of messages visually.  The practice of meditation and clearing out your mind will serve as an anxiety treatment.  During your practice, let go of your anger, resentment and those situations in life that you cannot control.  Meditation practice can teach you to control your thought process, helping you recognize when you’re starting to feel out of control and do something about it. Plus you’ll get a few moments to yourself!
3. Yoga.  Yoga works as an anxiety treatment in two ways.  First, it’s exercise and exercise has been shown to be very effective at reducing stress and anxiety, especially in women.  The progressive muscle relaxation techniques practiced in yoga, where you tense and relax certain muscle groups can actually teach your body over time to react to stress by relaxing!  Second, yoga also helps your mind focus on something besides what is causing the anxiety.
4. Get in touch with CBT.  Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT is based on the idea that our thoughts influence our feelings and actions- not other people or the environment we’re in. Think of it like mind over matter.  CBT is scientifically proven to be effective in the treatment of anxiety and other mood disorders.
5. Write it out.   You don’t have to write in Shakespearean prose. Just the act of getting your thoughts and emotions on paper can be an anxiety treatment.  Get yourself a notebook or journal that you love and sneak away five minutes each day to write.  You don’t have to share it with anyone, keep it as private as you wish.

So now for the good news.

Anxiety in women is very treatable. Although other people in your family may suffer from anxiety issues, that doesn’t mean you can’t over come them! Anxiety treatment, like those mentioned above, help empower you.  You will learn to manage your anxiety so that it can never hurt you again!

We may make it sound like a walk in the park to self-treat anxiety, but the truth is that it is very helpful for many women to seek professional help when dealing with anxiety.  Anxiety is a very serious condition, it can get in the way of your life.  Fortunately it is very easy to find treatment to help get you back in control.

Destination Hope: The Women’s Program is a full service treatment facility in Florida for women who are struggling with women’s health and substance abuse issues. If you or a loved one has difficulty dealing with stress or anxiety, please don’t hesitate to contact us today at 1-866-808-7111.

Calling the current policies outdated, Gil Kerlikowsikse, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, suggested that the new approach include significant reforms to the criminal justice system and focus on policy alternatives to support drug rehab treatment and prevention.  The United States has a high rate of drug users in jails, many of whom have no criminal past and would benefit from substance treatment rather than imprisonment.

Trends in Drug Rehab Treatment and Addiction

Drug addiction is a disease of the brain with genetic, physical, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. It is characterized by behaviors that include impaired control over drug use, compulsive use, continued use despite harm, and craving.  In the last decade, addiction to opiates has risen dramatically; leading to what many consider is an opiate addiction epidemic.

Although drug use in the United States has dropped substantially over the past 30 years, prescription drug abuse continues to rise.  Drug rehab treatment centers are addressing the shift in drug use, and many focus on providing holistic substance abuse treatment.

Studies show that drug rehab treatment centers are as likely to see teens as seniors or the middle-aged.  Addiction does not discriminate based on sex, race or economic status and treating substance abuse often requires the support of an entire community.

The latest report from the Office of National Drug Control Policy coincides with the actions of drug rehab treatment facilities across the country.  Focused on breaking the cycle of drug use by concentrating on effective treatments, supporting those recovering from addiction and helping former patients find success in the community, treatment centers  may be the best option for new techniques for addressing the challenge of overcoming addiction.

Drug rehab treatment emphasizes that we are not powerless against substance abuse.  Each year, treatment centers across the country help thousands of women on the road to recovery.  Overwhelming evidence in the scientific community indicates that drug prevention and treatment programs achieve meaningful results.

It is not yet clear what effect the new policy focus will have on drug rehab treatment centers and addiction support centers across the country, but the shift in focus from criminal justice to medical treatment and addiction recovery can only be heralded as an important policy change.

You can read the 2012 National Drug Control Policy here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp.

Destination Hope: The Women’s Program is a full service drug, alcohol and dual diagnosis treatment facility in Florida for women with substance abuse issues. If you or a loved one is having problems with drugs or alcohol, please call us today at 1-866-808-7111.

Hallucinogens have their place in human history as tools for religious rites and rituals.  Only really in the last 100 years has the study of hallucinogens been used to alter our consciousness for something beyond religious or spiritual purposes.  Some argue that it is still mainly used for those purposes today.

The truth is that we do many things to alter our consciousness.  We love watching certain sitcoms because they help us escape our own world into another.  We go to the movies for the same reason and some of us get lost in the fantasy world of Harry Potter or the Hunger Games to escape our day to day consciousness.  Reading, television, the movies, these are safe escapes which pose no apparent risk, except perhaps choosing a bad movie or poorly written book.

Hallucinogens on the other hand, although known to mankind for much longer than the world of Harry Potter, do pose significant risks.  Altered states of being, be it an altered state of cognition, perception or mood can be incredibly addicting and dangerous.  Drugs of incredible power used to create an altered state, like LSD or mushrooms, can be physically well-tolerated and yet are so dangerous to us that they ruin lives every day.

We can tell stories about the effects of hallucinogens on families and communities, but the truth is you probably already know similar stories yourself.

Drug users often argue that hallucinogens offer an altered state that opens the mind to new possibilities.  This simply isn’t true!  In fact, hallucinogens modify the chemistry of the brain- a modification that research is just starting to discover that can be experienced through many other ways, such as contemplative meditation or yoga.  Yes, believe it or not, those possibilities already exist in your mind- and while hallucinogens may be a quick way to unlock those doors, hallucinogens have been likened to using explosives to open the doors instead of a long sail to the shores of possibilities.

The effect of that explosion? You never know what you’re going to get.  While you might feel euphoria after one use, after the other you may be depressed and despondent or even try to hurt yourself.  This makes hallucinogens particularly dangerous and there seems to be no consistency between uses and users.  At high doses and in conjunction with other sedatives, such as alcohol, hallucinogen usage can induce a coma.

Interested in finding another and safer way to reach euphoria?  Hallucinogen treatment programs help patients deal with the physical side effects of hallucinogen usage, and help patients on a path to safer ways to alter their consciousness.  Don’t worry, we won’t make you watch “Dancing with the Stars” every night!

Destination Hope: The Women’s Program is a full service drug, alcohol and dual diagnosis treatment facility in Florida for women with substance abuse issues. If you or a loved one is having problems with drugs or alcohol, please call us today at 1-866-808-7111.

Unintended Consequences of OxyContin

Unfortunately the increased number of OxyContin and Percocet prescriptions has led to one unintended consequence- a dramatic rise in opiate addiction rates. According to Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health, prescriptions for opiate-based painkillers, such as OxyContin, dispensed by retail pharmacies rose from 76 million in 1991 to 219 million in 2011.  The statistics, announced at the nation’s first National Prescription Drug Abuse Summit in April 2012, indicate a 200 percent increase.

New Action in Treating Opiate Addiction

More than 700 participants from across the country, experts in opiate addiction treatment, government healthy and drug policy makers, and members of Congress met at the Summit to discuss a holistic approach to the epidemic of prescription drug and opiate addiction.  The Summit represented the first time health, addiction treatment, advocacy, human resources, and law enforcement sat together on a national level to discuss the epidemic.

An Associated Press “AP” analysis of OxyContin and other opiate based prescription drug sales in Florida indicated a geographic spreading of the epidemic.  According to the AP report, in 2000, Florida’s oxycodone sales were centered around West Palm Beach. By 2010, oxycodone was flowing to nearly every part of the state.

Timed along with the Summit, the Obama Administration unveiled a new strategy to combat opiate addiction and prescription drug abuse that focuses on treatment based response rather than a law enforcement response.

“We are not going to arrest our way out of this problem,” the president said. Guided by an approach that focuses on addiction as a treatable disease, the National Drug Control Policy Office will amend guidelines to focus on treating the cause and the addiction, instead of seeking a resolution in the criminal justice system.

On April 28^th, the Drug Enforcement Agency will host a national “give back” day for prescription drugs, in the hopes of helping Americans address opiate addiction. Anonymous and “no questions asked”, police departments across the country will collect old, unused or unwanted prescription drugs, including OxyContin and Percocet.  Statistics show that 70% of prescription drugs are obtained in the home.  Getting the prescription drugs out of the house may be the first step in addressing an addiction problem.

Holistic Treatment for Opiate Addiction

The increased limelight given to opiate addiction across the country and a more holistic approach to the program opens the door for people seeking treatment. Opiate addiction is difficult to overcome, but can be done with the right tools and a supportive environment.  Those suffering from opiate addiction, including specific addictions to OxyContin and Percocet, should seek holistic treatment that focuses on ending the cycle of abuse and treats the individual as a patient rather than a criminal.

Destination Hope: The Women’s Program is a full service drug, alcohol and dual diagnosis treatment facility in Florida for women with substance abuse issues. If you or a loved one is having problems with drugs or alcohol, please call us today at 1-866-808-7111.

A Day In The Life At Drug Rehab for Women

Every morning, the women at Destination Hope get up between 7:00 and 8:00 am, have breakfast and get ready for the day ahead of them. Our clients are transported to the off-site treatment center before 9:00 am every morning as treatment begins promptly at 9:00 am. Treatment at our drug rehab for women program runs until 5:00 pm, with periodic breaks for lunch and relaxation as well as cigarettes for those who smoke.

At the treatment center, clients receive individual therapy with their primary therapist, and participate in a variety of group therapy sessions. Woman’s group therapy includes focus topics that address the common underlying concerns of women such as: relationships, sex and intimacy issues, trauma and sexual abuse, nutrition, self esteem, healthy relationships and family roles, stress management, family topics, motivation, relapse prevention, mental health, and more.  Destination Hope’s drug rehab for women also includes art and music therapy and equine therapy.   Our clients can participate in weekly yoga classes and meet with a psychiatrist or nurse practitioner as needed.

After our clients leave the treatment center, they can go to the fitness center and exercise before going back to the single sex residences where they get ready for the evening meal. After dinner it’s off to a meeting. The clients at our drug rehab for women program are required to go to either an AA or an NA meeting every single night of the week. After meetings, they come back to their apartment, have some down time to reflect on their day and relax before going to sleep.

Drug Rehab for Women

Destination Hope: The Women’s Program is the premier drug rehab for women suffering from substance abuse issues. We take a 3-prong approach to addiction treatment, including cognitive behavioral therapy to identify and change detrimental thought patterns and subsequent behaviors, solutions focused therapy to help our clients develop a framework of how to be successful in their recovery efforts and finally family of origin therapy, which takes a systemic approach of reaching our clients as a representative of their family rather than the problem.  We have found that this holistic approach to treating substance abuse and the disease of addiction puts our clients on the best path for success.

If you’re ready to take that courageous step to enter treatment, please call us immediately at 1-866-808-7111. Change is easy for no one, but we at Destination Hope: The Women’s Program are here to help ease the burden.