How To Get Help For A Drug Addiction
- September 18, 2023
- Prosperity Haven
- Addiction Treatment
On the journey to recovery, the first step is always the hardest. You might know that you need help, and you may even be desperate for it, but you don’t know if you have the strength to stop. Fortunately, no one is beyond hope. If you’re struggling with drug addiction and you need a way to bring peace back to your life, you can always reach out to the experts at Prosperity Haven.
But we know how difficult it can be to get help, even when you need it desperately. That’s why you’re here, reading this now. You want to learn how to get help for drug addiction, even when your mind and body are actively fighting the decision. In this guide, we’ll offer actionable advice to help get you on the path to recovery as soon as possible, as well as strategies to overcome some of the most difficult aspects of talking to others about your addiction.
5 Important Steps For Overcoming Drug Addiction
The path to sobriety looks a little different for everybody. No two people are exactly alike, and neither are two addictions. This means that, even if you know someone who has had success with a certain treatment plan, you may need to follow a slightly different path. That said, there is a great deal of commonality between people who find themselves addicted to drugs. As a result, there are a few important steps that you can follow to start the process of recovery:
- Recognize Your Addiction – In order to fix a problem, you have to recognize and admit that the problem exists. Denial is common among people who are afraid to face their own addiction, and it is a crucial barrier to overcome in the early stages of recovery. Once you can admit to yourself that you have an addiction problem, you can begin the steps needed to get clean.
- Contemplate What You Want to Change – It may sound obvious, but identifying specific goals related to your drug addiction can help make the recovery path that much clearer. You need to sit down and think about what you want to change in your life, and just as importantly, why you want to change it. This way, you can consider the ways in which drugs are hurting you and those around you, which can help you move on to the third important step.
- Initiate the Conversation – Drug addiction can be extremely lonely. You might feel like you have to recover on your own, but this is not the case. In fact, it’s nearly impossible to truly recover without the help of others, and that often starts with friends and family. Talking about your addiction can be difficult and painful, and we will go into greater detail about how to start the conversation a little later on.
- Prepare For Recovery – Gaining emotional support from others can be incredibly beneficial, but you shouldn’t assume that those in your life will be ready to go on the recovery journey with you. This means you’ll have to put in the work to prepare yourself for recovery. There may be various steps you need to take, including removing possible triggers from your life and researching effective treatment options. Checking into a detox or rehab clinic takes a great deal of fortitude, so you’ll also need to mentally prepare yourself for the difficult road ahead.
- Reach Out For Professional Help – Finally, you need to take the vital step of reaching out to professionals for help. Whether it’s your primary care physician or an inpatient rehab, you need to find trained professionals who can help you get through withdrawals and learn strategies to avoid relapse.
How to Ask For Help
Everybody’s network looks different, and you may not have people close to you that you can trust. If you have surrounded yourself with people who also abuse drugs, you should consider asking for help directly from a trained substance abuse professional. Alternatively, if you have loved ones in your life whom you can trust, you should start the addiction conversation with them.
In either case, you may not even know where to begin. But to make it simple, you should just stick to 1) what you know and 2) what you want to do. So, if you know you have a drug addiction, start there. Tell your friend, family member, or trusted physician that you are addicted to drugs.
If you’re speaking to friends or family, they will likely have a lot of questions. You may feel embarrassed to answer or even compelled to lie, but telling the truth can actually be incredibly liberating, especially if you’ve been keeping your addiction a secret. So, be honest. Talk about what you’ve been through and discuss your recovery goals.
If you are talking with a doctor, you should first ask them if they are comfortable speaking about substance abuse at all. Some doctors may feel ill-equipped to offer advice or treat addiction, in which case you can ask to be referred to a specialist. Once you can speak to a doctor who is comfortable with substance abuse, you can treat it like any other visit to the doctor and go through the same steps you would go through with friends and family. Be honest about your addiction and tell them that you want to recover.
How to Know If You Need Drug Rehab
Inpatient rehab is one of the most effective treatments for drug addiction. But knowing whether or not you have a clinical substance abuse disorder may not be cut and dry, especially if drugs are changing the way your brain interprets reality. From a clinical standpoint, you generally need to seek out treatment at a drug rehabilitation clinic if you experience any of the following:
- Increased tolerance of addictive substances
- Withdrawal symptoms when you lack access to drugs
- Dangerous or unhealthy behaviors related to drug use (sharing needles, driving while high, etc.)
- Social problems as a direct or indirect result of drug use
- Inability to meet work or family obligations due to drug use
- Binges involving large quantities of drugs or drug consumption over an extended period of time
- Repeated unsuccessful attempts to stop using drugs
- Significant amounts of time spent thinking about, acquiring, and/or using drugs
- Physical or psychological problems related to drug use
- Using drugs in place of hobbies or activities that you used to enjoy
Get the Addiction Treatment You Need At Prosperity Haven
Are you struggling with drug addiction and don’t know where to turn? Do you feel like drugs have begun to control your life? Do you meet one or more of the criteria outlined for a substance use disorder? If so, Prosperity Haven is the solution.
At Prosperity Haven, we have the facilities and expertise to see you through the first days, weeks, and even months of your recovery. Whether you start the conversation with us or someone else, we can help guide you on the path to sobriety and keep you safe while you detox. As you continue through rehabilitation at Prosperity Haven, you will learn the skills you need to put drugs behind you and leave them there for good.
Located in Chardon, Ohio, Prosperity Haven offers advanced inpatient rehab and detox managed by trained professionals. Reach out today to learn more.
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