When someone you care about has an addiction, it’s very easy to fall into unhealthy patterns of communication and behaviour with them. This is nobody’s fault. Addiction is a thoroughly difficult disease to manage.
As a family, there are tools you can use to help the situation. Speaking with OK Rehab on 0800 326 5559 and contacting local 12 Step groups which support the family provides a wealth of tips, advice, and knowledge for you to use.
When families are able to communicate better around the person who is ill, there is more likelihood for long-term change. Even where family members love each other deeply and would do anything for the person who has the addiction, there are things to be learned.
The family might be the expert on how the person is in relation to the addiction, but what is usually needed is guidance around setting boundaries and how to interact in a positive way.
With these skills in hand, recovery can be easier to approach. There are many rehabilitation options in the Havant area.
Find out more about them when you call OK Rehab on 0800 326 5559.
What is addiction?
Addiction is caused by how a psychoactive substance directly impacts the brain and how the person is affected. People seek out substances because they have perceived desirable effects, such as to relax, energise, alleviate pain, or take thoughts away.
Basic psychology reveals that when you do something and it gives you something positive in return, then you’re likely to repeat the behaviour. For instance, if you eat chocolate, your brain releases endorphins. This makes you feel good, so you eat the chocolate again.
After a while, you need more and more chocolate to feel the same happy feeling. You might not even get the feeling of happiness anymore.
Some people might start to gain weight if they eat too much, but continue to eat it because they associate the happy feeling with eating the chocolate.
This is basically how addiction to psychoactive substances develops. Now, some people develop addictions, while others don’t. Why is that?
There are many factors but the more of the following factors that exist, the more likely the person is to develop an addiction:
- Low self-esteem.
- History of addiction in the family.
- Mental health problems.
- History of trauma.
- Associating with others who use substances.
- Genetic predisposition to developing an addiction.
What is withdrawal?
Withdrawal is what kicks in when a person stops drinking or taking drugs. They will experience mental and sometimes physical symptoms that are uncomfortable and sometimes really horrific to feel.
Depending on the substance, symptoms can include the following:
- Mood swings, including, tearfulness and aggression.
- Insomnia, sleeping a lot, sleep disturbances.
- Loss of appetite or binge eating.
- Shaking.
- Sweating.
- Nausea, sickness, and diarrhoea.
- Aches and pains.
- Discharge from the eyes and nose.
- Seizures.
How do you know what’s the best treatment for addiction in the Havant area?
It’s unlikely you’re going to know the answer to this. You might be an expert on your addiction, but recovery is a new ball game. It introduces an entirely new perspective on how to look at substances.
This is part of the reason that speaking with professionals is important. Being “stuck in your own head” doesn’t reveal anything new. It’s important that to achieve new and different things, you open up to other people and learn new things.
In order to understand what’s going to be most suitable in treating your addiction, it’s likely that the six dimensions of ASAM will be considered. These include:
- Substance use and withdrawal.
- A person’s physical health in the past and present.
- Thoughts, feelings, and mental health of a person.
- A person’s willingness to quit and begin recovery.
- The nature of the person in relation to relapse and continued substance use.
- The environment a person lives in.
When you enter rehabilitation services, you’ll meet with a psychiatrist who will hold an assessment with you. It will include questions in the above-mentioned areas. In order to gain the best rehab programme, you need to answer as honestly as possible.
What rehabilitation treatments are available at rehab?
When you go to a private clinic, there are many options available to you. Clinics have to cover every aspect of the addiction in terms of treatment.
The following treatments are available in the private clinics we refer to in the Havant area:
- A detox overseen by clinical staff. This is essential for people who are dependent on heroin, benzodiazepines, and alcohol.
- Cognitive behavioural therapy. This is really important as it addresses thought processes and how to change them.
- Motivational Interviewing. These conversations build your resolve through developing your self-belief and confidence in your ability to recover.
- Alternative therapies to provide comfort in terms of the emotional and in the sense of being in your body calmly. These include mindfulness, yoga, music therapy, and reiki.
- 12 Step groups where you can draw on the experiences of others to develop yourself.
Find out more about them when you call OK Rehab on 0800 326 5559.
Is rehab helpful for people who have mental problems as well as an addiction?
Indeed, it is. It’s commonly accepted in the addiction field that substance abuse and mental health problems often exist alongside each other. This is why professionals at rehab treat people in both areas.
It’s essential you’re open about the issues you’re facing in order to access the best treatments for your needs.
People with the following conditions can be treated at rehab alongside addictions:
Contact OK Rehab to take the next step towards a life of recovery
Whether you want a light conversation to investigate a few things, or if you’re ready to enter rehab as soon as possible, call OK Rehab on 0800 326 5559.
You’ll be put through to a call handler who can answer all your questions about treatments and what rehab clinics there are in the Havant area.
We can also find you a place at rehab and handle your referral if you’re ready to make the move towards a life of sobriety.
