Welcome to our weekly roundup of the best addiction, recovery and wellness related links, compiled from various sources across the web.
Six Tips for Staying Sober on Memorial Day
Does addiction run in your family? How to talk to your kids about their risk
Where to Draw the Line on Mind-Altering Substances
Workforce Woes: Drugs only one issue in unemployment
Russel Brand on heroin, abstinence and addiction
In many areas of the country, Memorial Day represents the beginning of summer. Memorial Day launches a season of warm weather, summer vacations, barbecues and trips to the beach.
However, the holiday can be a stressful time for a person in recovery. Listed below are some tips that can help you stay sober on Memorial Day.
Being in recovery doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy Memorial Day; it just means that you have to change your old habits.
After a patient leaves an addiction treatment center, it is imperative that they live in a safe and sober environment. For many patients, returning to their previous home is not in their best interest. A recovery residence, also referred to as a sober living home, is sometimes the best option for a person in early recovery.
Listed below are some of the benefits of recovery residences:
Individuals can choose from different types of recovery residences. Typically, recovery residences are designed for a specific population (e.g., gender, age, co-occurring problems). For people of faith, they can also choose to live in a Christian-based recovery residence.
If you live in an environment that is detrimental to your sobriety, we urge you to consider a recovery residence. It may be the solution that you are looking for.
Welcome to our weekly roundup of the best addiction, recovery and wellness related links, compiled from various sources across the web.
Everything You Think You Know About Addiction is Wrong
Seven Questions You Should Ask Before Choosing a Rehab Facility
Where Everybody Knows Your Name–But There’s No Booze
In 12 step programs, group members are urged to help those that are still suffering from addiction. Recovering addicts will often encourage their friends and loved ones in active addiction to enter treatment.
For a number of reasons, your loved one may not be able to attend the same treatment center as you. So, how do you help them find a rehab facility? There are seven questions that you should ask an addiction treatment center before your friend or family member is admitted.
1). Is the treatment center licensed?
This may seem like a no-brainer, but there are treatment centers across the nation that operating without a license. In Oklahoma, the governor just signed Stacy’s bill into law that would ensure that only certified rehab facilities can treat substance abuse and would file criminal charges against those that are not certified. The law came about after an Oklahoma woman died of a drug overdose at facility that allegedly had unlicensed medical staff.
Licensing requirements vary from state to state; make sure that the rehab facility has the appropriate license.
Drug and alcohol rehab facilities can also be accredited by national organizations. In order to receive accreditation, the treatment center must meet certain standards of care.
2.) What types of credentials does the staff have?
Check to make sure that the medical staff is licensed or certified in their specific field. Also, ask if the medical staff has experience in the field of addiction.
3) Does the rehab facility perform background checks on their staff?
Ask the addiction treatment center if they do background checks on their employees. You may think that a treatment center has done a thorough background check, but that is not always the case. A recent report by the California Senate found that felons and sex offenders were being hired as addiction counselors throughout the state. Surprisingly, California does not require addiction counselors to go through a criminal background check.
4.) Do the therapists customize the patient’s treatment plans?
Addiction affects every person differently and one size fits all approach is not effective. A patient’s treatment plan should be tailored to their addiction, needs and goals.
5.) Does the rehab facility offer dual diagnosis treatment?
According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, 37 percent of alcoholics and 53 percent of drug addicts had at least one mental health illness. Dual diagnosis treatment allows patients to be treated for their psychiatric illness and their addiction at the same time.
6.) Does the treatment center offer a medically supervised detox?
Quitting drugs or alcohol “cold turkey” can put a person’s life in jeopardy. It is important that an addict goes through a medically assisted drug detox.
7.) Does the rehab facility offer aftercare?
Aftercare is essential to lasting recovery. People in early recovery should receive continuing care after they leave a substance abuse treatment center. Ask the facility what types of aftercare services they offer.
These seven questions should help your loved one find a treatment center that fits their needs. Recovery is a lifelong journey and it starts with choosing the right rehab facility.
Welcome to our weekly roundup of the best addiction, recovery and wellness related links, compiled from various sources across the web.
Senators receiving video postcards seeking more funds for drug abuse treatment.
Two Congressmen Talk Addiction with The Fix
This post comes from one of our well-known blog contributors, Tim Powers. To learn more about Tim, check out his “Meet Tim Powers” blog post here.
I recently celebrated ten years clean and sober. I look back on this milestone and I am so humbled and filled with gratitude for how far I have come as a person and as a soul. People ask me how I do it, you know, “be sober and stuff.” This is some of what I tell them…
Willpower is like a wet paper bag. Conviction is much stronger and it is like a muscle…you need to use it.
You will have using thoughts, dreams, and urges…I still do. When those moments come, you need to step back, take a breath, and understand those impulses for what they are. Those feelings will pass…trust me.
If you fall down, pick yourself back up. If you are weak, ask for help. You aren’t weak for admitting you have a problem and asking for help, especially if it is something that is destroying you.
Recovery is up to you and you need to do the work. No one can “get you sober.” The knowledge and advice you get from those in recovery are the tools in your tool belt…you need to use those tools in the right way.
Recovery is a journey and not a destination.
Recovery is not an event; it is a series of events that will unfold in your lifetime, much like life.
Love yourself and give yourself a break. You aren’t a machine, you are a human being.
When patients arrive at The Treatment Center they often have a variety of issues such as substance abuse, legal problems and mental health issues. In order to effectively treat the ravishing effects of addiction, you must treat the whole person. We are continually looking for the latest therapies to ensure the most effective results for our patients. We have found that integrative medicine allows us to treat the mind, body and spirit simultaneously.
Integrative medicine is a relatively new approach to treating all types of medical conditions by incorporating conventional and alternative treatments. We treat addiction with conventional methods such as group and individual therapy along with alternative therapies like meditation, acupuncture and massage therapy. By combining conventional and alternative treatment options, our medical professionals can treat the physical, physiological, social and spiritual aspects of addiction. Due to the success that we have experienced, we are now using integrative medicine at our outpatient facility.
Patients in our outpatient program receive alternative treatments at Restore Wellness. Restore Wellness is our new facility that offers alternative therapies such as laser therapy, hot stone massage, acupuncture, chiropractic services and vibro acoustic therapy. These complementary therapies can also be used to treat chronic pain, anxiety and depression.
We are excited about the new services that we are offering our patients. In the future, we will continue to look for new therapies that will restore balance and healing to those suffering from addiction.
Last week, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed the Overdose Protection Act. The new law will protect individuals that are trying to help those that are overdosing on drugs
With its two-prong approach, the legislation hopes to prevent overdose deaths in New Jersey. The law will provide legal protection to people who are violating the law while they are attempting to help an overdose victim. Through the Overdose Protection Act, neither the overdose victim nor the person seeking medical assistance can be arrested, charged or prosecuted for possessing, obtaining or being under the influence of a controlled substance. The second part of the law provides legal protection from criminal or civil liability to healthcare professionals or bystanders that administer overdose antidotes in life-threatening situations.
One of these overdose antidotes is naloxone hydrochloride, often referred to as naloxone. The drug can reverse the effects of opioids. Naloxone works by blocking the brain’s opioid receptors which prevents respiratory failure. A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 50 naloxone programs across the country reversed more than 10,000 overdoses from 1996-2010.
Drug overdoses are on the rise in the U.S. In 2010, more than 38,000 people died from overdoses, according to the CDC.
Several other states have Good Samaritan overdose laws including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Washington, as well as the District of Columbia.
In the past, Gov. Christie had been opposed to similar legislation, worried that the law would protect drug dealers. However, current Good Samaritan laws don’t protect a person from selling or trafficking drugs or driving under the influence. The Overdose Protection Act specifically states that the above actions will not be protected by the law.
Do you think the Overdose Protection Act will be effective? Or will people still be hesitant to call 911? Let us know what you think.
Welcome to our weekly roundup of the best addiction, recovery and wellness related links, compiled from various sources across the web.
Jamie Lee Curtis’ Sobriety Is Her #1 Accomplishment
ER visits tied to Ambien, other insomnia drugs up 220% in recent years
Prescription Drug Abuse: Top 10 Things CDC Says You Should Know
Deadly Batch of Heroin Circulating in New Jersey
Demi Lovato: Most of my friends abandoned me when I went to drug rehab
