Archive for the ‘Health And Healthcare’ Category
How to Recover from Drug Addiction without Rehab
How to Recover from Drug Addiction without Rehab
Unfortunately, most counselors, specialists, psychologists, and recovery groups still believe that addiction is not only a disease, but it is also incurable! Well, as an addiction recovery coach, I have proven both of those hypothetical presumptions to be dead wrong! Disease is defined as an affliction that can be pathologically diagnosed. To date, there is no such pathology to diagnose addiction because it is plainly a behavior and not a disease. Therefore, addiction is not a disease but rather a choice! But, before I reveal the direct fundamental issue that drives that choice, let’s examine the current traditional rehabilitation treatment options.
Outpatient Therapy Outpatient therapy is usually conducted by holding weekly meetings with a counselor substance abuse therapist. Typically, the therapist employs Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and/or a 12-Step Program as the primary treatment modalities. However, in some cases a more intensive day treatment protocol is used, which more closely resembles residential treatment.
Inpatient Therapy Inpatient therapy provides an intensive but brief residential treatment model based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and/or a 12-step program. This treatment model requires inpatient admission to a treatment center or hospital based facility for a specified period of time, which is usually 3 to 6 weeks. The inpatient treatment phase is generally followed by extended outpatient therapy and participation in a self-help group.
Residential treatment programs Residential treatment provides care 24 hours per day, generally in a non-hospital setting. In many cases this type of treatment model utilizes the therapeutic community model but also may employ other protocols such as the cognitive behavioral therapy model. Therapeutic Communities are residential programs with planned lengths of stay of 6 to 12 months. The goal is to re-socialize the individual to a drug free lifestyle. Many of the programs offer some type of employment training service to assist the patient with their transition back in to society.
In short, the majority of these programs employ Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and/or the Alcohol Anonymous 12-Step program. These treatment modalities not only fail in excess of ninety percent of the time, but in my opinion, they are also counterproductive and dangerous!
First, let’s examine the nuts and bolts of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. CBT) is based on the assumption that most emotional and behavioral reactions are learned. Therefore, from a (CBT) perspective addiction is learned behavior that evolves into a disease. The goal of (CBT) therapy is to help clients unlearn their problematic behavior (addiction) by learning new patterns of more appropriate behavior. CBT employs stoicism or passive approach that attempts to teach the client patience in the face of adversity by disconnecting from their emotional issues. In my opinion, this is not only ineffective, but it is also dangerous since it can exacerbate depression. This model is an exact contradiction to the components required to overcome addiction and flies in the face of common sense. But, before I reveal the two components required for addiction recovery lets examine the 12-step philosophy.
The 12-Step Program originated in the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous. The principles of the program place a great deal of emphasis on spirituality, powerlessness, and the emergence of a person’s sense of soul. The goal of the program is a spiritual awakening although most find it difficult to accomplish because they feel victimized. Many of the steps are presented as being paradoxical, claiming that you are powerless, but like magic, you suddenly become more powerful by admitting that you possess shortcomings and defects of character. In my opinion, not only are many of the 12 steps counterproductive, but they have also contributed to the rise in antidepressant usage.
In conclusion, the primary modalities of addiction treatment fail in excess of ninety percent of the time. I believe this to be directly attributed to their passive, stoic, self-incriminating, and powerlessness components. Addiction recovery requires liberation and empowerment. Therefore, (CBT) and the 12-step program is a blatant contrast to successful addiction recovery.
Ok, now that you understand why traditional treatment fails in excess of ninety percent of the time, let’s talk about how to recover from addiction. First, let me say that depending on the severity of your drug addiction, you may or may not experience symptoms of withdrawal. If you’ve attempted abstinence in the past, you may have a firm understanding of the degree of withdrawal symptoms you will face in this subsequent process. If you are questioning the severity of the symptoms, it would be wise to seek medical assistance with this withdrawal prior to embarking on the recovery path.
To begin the recovery process you must first uncover the root cause of your addiction. I believe that there is a common denominator or root cause of every addiction. Plain and simple, the root cause of addiction is the emotional scars caused by family dysfunction. Take a moment to examine the source of your emotional pain! Were you physically, verbally, or sexual abused as a child? Did your parents control or manipulate you? Did your parents put forth a part time effort towards a job that required full time parenting? Did your parents abuse alcohol or drugs? How have these negative patterns crushed your self-esteem? Are you angry at your self for failing to face these issues? Do you blame yourself for your self-destructive behavior and for losing your self-respect? Like most, you may not realize how much these family dysfunctions have destroyed your self-esteem or why they are the root cause of your addiction.
There are two components to successful addiction recovery liberation and empowerment. Liberation is used to describe the process of liberating yourself from the binding emotional constraints of family dysfunction. Empowerment is used to describe the restoration of ones self-esteem. In essence, addiction is a self-esteem issue. So, can you begin to understand why the traditional methods of (CBT) and 12-Step Programs fail? How can you liberate yourself from your emotional baggage by passively disconnecting from it and sweeping it under the rug? Furthermore, how can you restore your self-respect and self-esteem by admitting you have shortcomings, defects of character, and that you’re powerless? You can’t! And, if you can’t the traditional treatment methods are equivalent to putting on a band-aid when you need surgery!
If you would like more information on how to beat your addiction without rehab, subscribe to my free-e guide below or you may contact me at 724-203-4575 to inquire about addiction recovery coaching.
Best wishes,
David Roppo The Addiction Freedom Coach
About the Author
As a life coach, Roppo has helped addicted clients learn the secrets to overcoming addiction, and he has established his unique five-step process as a potential benchmark for recovery. His success has overwhelmingly convinced him that the mainstream approach to addiction is fundamentally amiss because formal treatment programs attempt to defeat the symptoms rather than address the core issue.
Tag: addiction recovery, addiction rehab, addiction treatment, alcohol addiction treatment, alcohol addiction, cocaine addiction, drug addiction recovery, drug addiction rehab, drug addiction treatment, heroin addiction, marijuana addiction, opiate addiction
How to Recover from Drug Addiction without Rehab by The Addiction Freedom Coach
Stop Drinking Now ..Alcoholism As a Disease
Stop Drinking Now ..Alcoholism As a Disease
One of the difficulties in recognizing alcoholism as a disease is it just plain doesn’t seem like one. It doesn’t look, sound, smell and it certainly doesn’t act like a disease. To make matters worse, generally it denies it exists and resists treatment.
Alcoholism has been recognized by professional medical organizations for many years as a major, constant, progressive and at times deadly disease. The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence offers a detailed and complete definition of alcoholism, but perhaps the simplest way to describe it is “a mental obsession that causes a physical compulsion to drink.”
What is a mental obsession? Have you ever had a song playing continuously in your head? It might be a song from the radio or a commercial you heard on television, but it keeps on playing … and playing and playing.
Mental Obsession Remember what that was like? No matter what you did, that silly tune kept on playing. You could try to whistle or sing another song or turn on the radio and listen to another tune, but the one in your head just kept on playing. Think about it. There was something going on in your mind that you didn’t put there and, no matter how hard you tried, couldn’t get out!
Above is a basic example of what a mental obsession is — a mental thought process over which you have no power over. If you comprehend the music scenario, you might understand more about the nature of the disease of alcoholism. In the mind of an alcoholic, when the drinking “song” starts playing, he becomes powerless to resist the noise. The song wasn’t consciously put there and the only obvious way to get it to stop playing, for the alcoholic, is to take a drink.
The problem is the alcoholic’s mental obsession with alcohol is much more subtle than a song playing in his mind. In fact, he may not even know it’s there. All he knows is he suddenly has an urge to take a drink — a physical compulsion to drink.
Progressive Disease What aggravates the problem is the progressive nature of the disease. In the early stages of the “mental obsession” having one or two drinks may be all that is needed to get the “song” to stop. Soon it will take six or seven drinks and then later possibly ten or twelve. It comes to a point when the only time the song stops is when he passes out.
The development of the disease is so understated and generally occurs over such an extended period of time, that even the alcoholic himself can fail to recognize the point at which he loses control and alcohol takes over his life.
It’s no wonder denial is a common indication of the illness. For those who realize that they do have a problem help is as close as the white pages of the telephone directory. Unfortunately there are those who need help however do all they can to resist it, for these people intervention may be the only alternative.
Discover how to Stop Drinking Alcohol found at http://www.stopdrinkingadvice.org/guide written by Ed Philips and get free advice to help you Quit Alcohol Today.
About the Author
Drinking Alcohol is a serious health issue and affects almost everyone in one way or another, so this article will help guide you towards a guaranteed method of quitting this forsaken addiction. If you feel that this subject may affect you or somebody you know, then please read on with an open mind as you could be one step away from changing your or somebody else’s life.
Stop Drinking Now ..Alcoholism As a Disease by Ed Philips
Reasons Not To Swear and Take the Lord’s Name in Vain
Reasons Not To Swear and Take the Lord’s Name in Vain
Exodus 20:7. Below are some reasons not swear and not to take the Lord’s name in vain.
Lazy Thinking. Swearing is not uncommon to include taking the Lord’s name in vain. I use to swear, but stopped even before I became a Christian. While I was in the Army, I heard an audio recording of myself where every other word was a swear word to include taking the Lord’s name in vain. After hearing that audio recording of myself, I stopped swearing. I saw that swearing was my way of getting attention instead of having to think through how to effectively get my point across to people.
One of the Ten Commandments. Now besides breaking the habit of lazy thinking, why not take the Lord’s name in vain? From a Christian perspective, we are trivializing God as well as upsurging God’s authority by making judgments in God’s name when we take the Lord’s name in vain. Taking the Lord’s name in vain is an insult to God. This is why God, our Creator, has made it one of the Ten Commandments. God desires all of mankind to worship Him and have a relationship with Him. If we take the Lord’s name in vain, God will judge us (Exodus 20:7, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God n vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain”).
Thinking God is Irrelevant. If you just throw around God’s name in casual and coarse conversation, this is evidence to God that you have no respect or reverence for Him. Using the Lord’s name in vain is evidence that you think God is irrelevant.
Upsurging God’s Authority. God has not given us the authority to condemn people or things. God is the ultimate judge and Creator of the world. When we condemn people or things in the name of God, we are upsurging God’s authority. In our arrogance we are telling people what God thinks in a given situation, or worst, we are putting words into God’s mouth on how He should judge someone or something. We do not know all of God’s judgments and truths. Our job is to seek God’s truth and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. We are not here to condemn people to Hell.
EXODUS 20 BIBLE SCRIPTURE Exodus 20:7, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God n vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain”
About the Author
Randall McClure Sr. is author and publisher of http://www.access-jesus.com. Access-Jesus.com helps people learn about, love, and promote Jesus as well as provide practical truths for living.
Reasons Not To Swear and Take the Lord’s Name in Vain by Randall McClure Sr.