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Opioid and Painkiller Addiction

Information to Better Understand Opioid Addiction, Dependency, Reliance, Misuse and Abuse

Opioids are a type of drug that is usually distributed by medical doctors and health professionals to relieve pain and discomfort. Opioids can end up being typically categorized into two main groups, specifically natural opioids and synthetic, artificial opioids. Opium, morphine or morphia, and codeine tend to be types of natural opioids, while heroin narcotic and oxycodone are examples of synthetic opioids. Each one of these compounds, apart from heroin, is legal and legitimate to use; however, they will call for a medical doctor’s prescription before they can be administered. Due to the fact the ability to tolerate opioid is very probable; these substances are hugely controlled and managed in the majority of places throughout the world.

Living with People on Prescription Painkiller Opioids

However not everybody who normally takes opioid drugs for prolonged time periods are at high-risk of developing opioid abuse and addiction, research and analysis has revealed that many people who are on opioid pain and discomfort treatments and therapies will produce a certain degree of physical dependency or reliance towards the substance. It is when this dependence gets unmanageable that opioid addiction develops and shows itself.

The condition known as abuse of opioids does not really occur in just one day. In most all cases, opioid addiction only begins to occur when an individual’s body gets regularly exposed to opioid-based medications and medicines due to an ailment or health problem that triggers continuous and uninterrupted pain. More often than not, anytime an individual gets very much accustomed to prescription drugs pain killers like opioids, they no longer get the same amount of comfort from a lowered dosage of the drug. Due to the fact of the tolerance levels that they develop towards the opioid, the patient and sufferer begins to need an increase or boost in the opioid medication dosage to achieve the relief from the pain and discomfort they are enduring. Adjusting opioid medication dosages to higher amounts makes the affected individual increasingly and progressively more dependent upon the chemical substance as time passes which, subsequently, can result in opioid abuse or even full blown addiction.

Opioid Activity and Treatment in Vancouver

Tolerances as well as dependence are very common and distinctive complications and issues associated with taking these opioid drugs and medicines for extended periods of time. The good news is, they could be prevented under a medical doctor’s or healthcare provider’s proper care and treatment. Opioid abuse, misuse and addiction are not so likely to occur in people who consume the opioid drugs appropriately. Meaning, if a person gets the approved and permitted dosage, they can lower their risk and danger of developing drug addiction despite constant use of these addicting drugs.

As with many other types of substance drug abuses, opioid drug addiction is not quick to treat and deal with. If an individual is experiencing and going through such a problem, they need to understand and comprehend that they cannot treat addiction by themselves. Medical doctors play and perform a crucial and all-important part in rehabilitation as well as recovery in the same way that their family and friends can also help and support. Treatment and rehabilitation facilities and services can help people deal and cope with life issues and difficulties brought about by opioid addiction. To move into a drug-free life, seek help from these professionals in these facilities the second one identifies and recognizes the problem or big red flag of drug addiction .

Opioid and Painkiller Addiction

Opioid Drug Dependence and Addiction – The Silent and Noiseless Epidemic

There is a severe and significant overall health calamity of epidemic proportions in North America which impacts and influences tens of millions of men and women. It is a healthcare and health-related situation and problem known as Opioid Dependency and Addiction . It is expanding and developing exponentially. It impacts and influences all ages and all areas of modern society and culture, and most terrifying, it is increasing quickly and swiftly amid the youth. A lot of individuals, men and women turn out to be victims of this situation and problem from misusing prescription drugs for acute and persistent discomfort and soreness, other people grow to be addicted from recreational usage. Opioid dependence ruins a life, destroys them physically, emotionally, monetarily, economically and socially. It destroys and wrecks households, work, employment, positions in the local community and professions.

Opioid Dependent and Drug-addicted treatment in Vancouver

Individuals and sufferers who turn out to be Opioid Dependent and Drug-addicted encounter serious and significant physical and psychological pain if they do not continue to use these opioids. This discomfort and pain of withdrawal can be so terrible that it can get to psychotic thinking, delusions and behavior. As a result, it is almost impossible to break this cycle of addiction and dependency without having assistance, guidance and support.

Whenever a man or woman is addicted to medications their principal occupation is pursuing drugs, possibly from prescriptions from medical professionals or street drugs. An individual’s family relationships undergo and go through suffering; their performance and efficiency at work is impaired and damaged; their finances are impacted, influenced and destroyed, but they just do not care. An individual is aware and mindful of the results and outcomes of their drug addiction and compulsion, but nothing else matters or is important except getting more and more drugs.

Opioid Addiction is here at Options Vnacouver Treatment Center

The continuous use of these opioids brings about brain changes which triggers an even increased and escalating requirement and necessity for more opiates. The brain can only be content by getting more opiates. If the source of opiates is reduced the man or woman goes into serious and significant, unpleasant, agonizing and distressing withdrawal which can only be offset by getting much more of these medications. This is the cycle of Opioid addiction. Detox and drug treatment therapy are the next stages required and the only answer for this individual to escape their drug addicted dependent lifestyle .

Opioid and Painkiller Addiction

Reducing Pain without Creating an Addiction To and Dependence On Painkillers and Drugs

The process of eliminating and reducing pain and discomfort without creating an addiction to and dependence on painkillers and drugs.

The number of men and women who find themselves addicted and dependent on painkillers is actually reaching epidemic proportions and really dangerous levels in North America and even greater numbers around the world. The painkiller addiction problem and dilemma is not completely new, and is also growing and developing which is a concern amongst healthcare professionals and specialists and their patients who suffer from this addiction. Many individuals know someone who is addicted to or dependent on painkillers or perhaps are hooked on painkillers themselves.

Senior Living with Painkillers and the Abuse of Opioids

Interestingly, painkiller addiction and dependence is not just a problem or an issue amongst a particular or specific age group or demographic. Addiction to Painkillers is an issue, problem and concern that affects and impacts men and women from all walks and areas of life. Adolescents, adults and also seniors or elderly people are susceptible to developing an addiction and dependency to painkiller drugs.

The majority of painkiller addiction problems originate from treating arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis or joint disease, back pain and discomfort or other common ailments and conditions. Having already been legally prescribed and recommended and also approved medications through their healthcare provider or medical doctor, many individuals find themselves developing and acquiring a dependency on the drugs, as well as experiencing painful and agonizing withdrawal signs and symptoms in their absence.

Needless to say no one takes drugs or medications with the particular intention or motive to become addicted; nevertheless, some medications and drugs have a higher likelihood or probability to be habit-forming. More often than not men and women who end up addicted to painkiller drugs basically wanted to help relieve the suffering linked to injuries, diseases, illnesses or surgery.
Painkiller Drug Addiction Treatment in Vancouver
Despite the fact that there are many painkiller drugs with addictive qualities and characteristics, some of the most frequently prescribed drugs are Codeine, Darvon, Demerol, Dilaudid, Oxycodone (OxyContin) and Vicodin.

Probably the most highly addicting and habit forming prescription painkillers or pain relievers consist of chemicals called opioids. Opioids affix to the human brain’s receptors as well as stimulate the actual pleasure center in the brain while at the same time relieving pain and discomfort. With prescription drugs and prescription medications, addiction could be both a psychological along with a biological condition and problem.

As time passes, the body becomes dependent and reliant on these painkillers or pain relievers and cannot function properly without these drugs. Despite the fact that over-the-counter drugs such as ibuprofen usually are not as addictive or habit forming as stronger prescription pills, they could become a problem or issue if over used.

It is not necessarily chronic health issues or medical problems that result in the abuse of painkillers. Numerous painkillers are so powerful and potent that many people become addicted to and dependent on these drugs and medications after simply using them for a short-term. Furthermore, many teenagers are engaging in the recreational abuse of these painkillers – an especially dangerous and risky kind of substance abuse that continues to be on the increase in recent years.

Every year, millions of men and women use doctor prescribed painkillers or pain relievers for non-medical or health-related reasons. Health and Human Service agencies have reported that twice as many men and women are addicted to prescription painkillers than to cocaine. Five million youngsters between the years of twelve and nineteen have supposedly abused doctor prescribed painkillers to get high.

Fortunately, there are healthy choices to coping with chronic pain and discomfort and overcoming addictions to doctor prescribed painkillers and pain relievers.

For instance many individuals who take part in massage therapy or treatments claim that the therapy is an effective and successful technique to lessen pain. In the event the chronic pain is due to inflammation, using heat or cold therapy treatments are a natural approach to deal with the pain without doctor prescribed drugs. A number of natural supplements can also be taken in place of prescription medications and drugs to control pain effectively and successfully.

For individuals with serious and extreme chronic pain, a residential treatment center that focuses primarily on pain might be necessary to assist them to learn to live with this problem and also to manage their chronic pain. However, before taking any prescription painkillers, they need to speak with their doctor concerning issues such as natural remedies and treatments, lifestyle adjustments and the potential risk of addiction.

Opioid and Painkiller Addiction

Heroin an Addictive and Enslaving Opioid Drug

Heroin is a very addictive and enslaving opioid drug , and its usage has repercussions and consequences which extend far beyond the individual user of this opioid. The medical effects as well as social consequences and outcomes of heroin drug use are hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, fetal effects, criminal offenses, physical violence, and disruptions in families, workplace environments and educational environments — have a devastating and disastrous impact on modern society and communities and cost vast amounts of dollars (billions) each and every year.

Opioid and Drug Addictions in the Vancouver Area

Despite the fact that heroin use within the general population is rather low, the numbers of individuals beginning to use the opioid heroin have been gradually increasing since 2006. This may possibly be due in part to a shift from abuse of doctor prescribed painkillers or pain relievers to heroin as a readily available, less expensive alternative, and also the misperception that highly pure heroin is actually safer than much less pure forms simply because it does not have to be injected.

Opioid Drug Activity in Vancouver

Like a number of other chronic diseases and illnesses, addiction and dependence on opioids can be treated. Medications are readily available to treat heroin addiction and dependency while decreasing drug cravings and withdrawal signs and symptoms, bettering the chances of achieving abstinence. There are right now a diverseness of medications that can be tailored to an individual’s recovery requirements while taking into consideration co-occurring health conditions and problems. Medication combined along with behavioral therapy and treatments is especially effective, offering hope and promise to men and women who are afflicted by and suffering from heroin addiction and for all those around them.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) have created information to supply an overview of heroin use and its consequences and outcomes as well as treatment options, choices and possibilities that are available for those struggling with and experiencing heroin addiction. Hopefully the information on heroin addiction will help, guide, assist, and inform readers concerning the harmful and dangerous effects associated with heroin use as well as assist in prevention and avoidance and also treatment and therapy efforts.

Opioid and Painkiller Addiction

The Most Vulnerable to Opioids and Drug Addiction

There are 3 Groups Of People who are The Most Vulnerable to Opioids and Drug Addiction

Adolescents or Teens – Relating to a 2004 Countrywide Survey about Drug Usage and Health and Wellness, 10.4% of teenagers or adolescents aged twelve to seventeen had used doctor prescribed psychotherapeutic drugs for non-medical or health-related reasons or motives in the previous year and also 5.3% have been current drug users. Doctor prescribed opioids really are a particularly serious and major problem in this age grouping.  A nationwide government agency in  2005 overseeing a long-term survey regarding 8th through 12th-graders discovered that 5.3% of 12th-graders had been abusing OxyContin in the previous year, as well as 9.7% who reported abusing Vicodin, making Vicodin just about the most commonly over used or abused prescription drug medication in this particular population. One more troubling and disturbing pattern is the particular recent phenomena referred to as “pharming,” in which young individuals mix prescription medications or prescription drugs and consume some or even  all of these drugs at one time, unaware and ignorant of the potential serious and severe drug interactions.

Senior Living Prescription Painkiller Abuse Opioids;

Elderly or Older Adults – Although individuals 65 years old and over comprise or consist of only about 14% of the population, they are prescribed roughly one-third of almost all medications or prescription drugs in North America. Furthermore, older or elderly individuals are oftentimes prescribed more long-term prescription medications, along with multiple medications, which might result in unintentional abusing these drugs. A huge percentage of elderly adults also utilize over the counter medicines or medications and also dietary and health supplements like vitamins, together with prescription drugs, which can lead to dangerous and grave outcomes. The elderly or seniors also are at risk regarding prescription substance abuse, in which they intentionally take medications or prescription drugs which are not medically required. As a result of high rates of comorbid illnesses and health problems among the elderly or seniors, changes within drug metabolic rate with age, and the likelihood or risk of drug interactions, prescription or doctor prescribed and over the counter drug abuse, misuse or improper usage can have more adverse health consequences and outcomes amongst this age bracket.

Opioid Activity in Vancouver;

Gender Distinctions – Studies and research claim that women are more inclined than men to be prescribed by doctors an abusable prescription drug or  medicine, specifically narcotics and anti-anxiety drugs or medications, in certain cases, 62% much more likely. Overall, men and women have more or less comparable rates of non-medical usage of prescription drugs and medications. An exception is identified involving 12- to 18-year-olds. Within this age group, young females are much more likely than young teenage boys to use psychotherapeutic drugs or medicines non-medically. Furthermore, research and analysis indicate that females are at increased risk and danger for non-medical use of narcotic analgesics, pain killers, medications and tranquilizers (e.g., benzodiazepines, diazepam). However, amongst women as well as men who use a sedative, anti-anxiety drug medication, or hypnotic, women are usually almost 2 times more prone to become addicted to these drugs.

Drug and Alcohol Addiction

Options Vancouver Reveals the Opiate Addiction Therapy Drug Methadone

Options Okanagan Treatment Center Reveals What You Really Are Not Told Concerning the Opiate Addiction Therapy Drug Methadone

Many individuals believe that medicines and drugs like methadone are only for addiction therapy. People may wonder why we with Options Okanagan Treatment Center do not prescribe drugs for your treatments for the obsession with and dependence on opioids like Heroin, Percocet, or OxyContin.

There are tons of things that the average person isn’t shown or will not hear about methadone hydrochloride . We will expose several of these kinds of points here.
Fighting Drug Addiction on Mehadone

What exactly is Methadone?
Methadone is definitely an opioid. This signifies it has the same chemical structure as Heroin, Percocet, OxyContin, Vicodin, as well as other opioids. We think about methadone as one thing used to get men and women off of Heroin, however, it is actually a pain prescription medication or medicinal drug in its own right. Taking addictive drugs to help cure addictions makes no sense.

Methadone is widely used to try to wean men and women away from other opioids. However, very often, this drug is abused simply by those who attempted to get off the streets or prescription medications and prescribed drugs they were addicted on or dependent on – and ended up addicted to the methadone hydrochloride or methadone. There are brands for this medication or prescription medication like Methadose as well as Dolophine. There may also be a number of street names which includes: Amidone, Fizzies, Junk, Wafer, Maria, Juice, and Pastora.

Why is Methadone Prescribed by Physicians, Medical doctors, Medical professionals and Health professionals for Addiction to Heroin or other Narcotics?
The medication, medicine or drug methadone was initially and at first developed and formulated in 1939 in Germany after many years of research and analysis into the topic of synthetic or man-made opiates (medicines, medications, drug developed in the research laboratory to behave like opium – which is really a natural, organic substance or element). Right after World War II, a number of legal activities happened which led to the formula for methadone falling into the hands of Eli Lilly , an American global pharmaceutical company located in the United States. This particular American drug organization marketed methadone as a painkiller in the late 1940s.

By the middle of the 1960’s, there were clearly real issues and problems with diseases spreading amongst heroin addicts as a result of needle usage. The Rockefeller Foundation discovered and identified that dosing drug addicts with methadone hydrochloride or methadone allowed the junkies or addicts to stop using heroin for a period of time. Methadone hydrochloride or Methadone is active inside the human body a lot longer than heroin; therefore theoretically a drug addict can require a dose of methadone hydrochloride in the morning hours and not require anything else to avoid withdrawal symptoms before the next morning.
Russell Brand and Drug Recovery with Methadone Addiction

The issue is that many junkies or addicts taking methadone start to abuse it, and perhaps abuse heroin along with taking the methadone hydrochloride. (ie. The movie Trainspotting is an example of this problem.) Furthermore, methadone hydrochloride is thought to be a long-term maintenance answer, remedy, treatment or solution, not an end-all solution or remedy regarding heroin addiction and dependency. Put simply, if an individual uses heroin and changes to methadone, that person is going to be on methadone for a long period of time. One survey pointed out that the typical long-term methadone hydrochloride treatment period is over two years. Methadone maintenance can be even longer, and a person could be on methadone treatment for upwards of 8 to 12 years.

Options will be releasing additional content materials, articles, information and posts about methadone in the future – and what truly goes on inside drug treatment clinics.

Drug and Alcohol Addiction, spiritual

Giving Al-Anon in BC an Attempt May Open Secret Doorways of Alcoholism and Addiction

There are people who have known many individuals and while making an attempt to help the ones they love with alcohol addiction or alcoholism have acted as some type of amateur counselor, therapist or psychologist for a long time in the hope it would help the problem drinker arrive at his or her senses. Eventually and at some point, they find themselves in a dilemma or crisis or find themselves tired, exhausted and drained of energy and unable or unwilling to assist or help anymore and wonder and ask themselves where all this talk therapies ever got them.

Eventually after many years of beseeching, entreating, praying and pleading with someone to stop their drinking, the crisis they have always feared happens and their own life is damaged or sometimes ruined.

So a key message is for anyone who loves a problem drinker is get help for oneself first or they will not only end up as obsessive and as ill as the individual in addiction, they will also be engaging in actions and behavior which will enable and permit the addicted person they love to go much deeper into his or her drug addiction .

A failure to understand where drug and alcohol addiction comes from, how it works and how individuals with serious alcohol addictions end up prevents people who love a problem drinker from really going for a solution of the problem and issues. That’s the reason Al-Anon is an absolute must for an individual or anyone whose member of the family or loved one has a problem with alcohol or drugs. That is also the main reason Al-Anon is an absolutely essential (particularly in the early days) for anyone whose family member, or loved one has developed an addiction and dependency to alcohol.

Not only is loving someone with an dependence on alcohol all consuming, exhausting and stressful, it is also one of the final social or cultural taboos and acknowledging to someone else that they have got a problem drinker in the family or they are married to an alcoholic, for example, is not really what most people feel they are able to or want to confess to. This is often due to a feeling of perceived failure, weakness or shame or simply because most men and women who do not know or love an addict are extremely unkind and unknowing towards the addiction.

There has been a popular view over the years that it is due to an addict’s insufficient willpower that lay behind the problem. So for people who love the individual with an alcohol addiction it is a double whammy or curse. Their heart is breaking inside because from the negative effects drinking is doing to their loved one and on their own life but they feel an extra attack as they do not feel as free to discuss and focus on their problem and difficulty as they would for example if their family member had an illness like cancer.

Nevertheless, Al-Anon and other family counselling groups have had the experience as a support for many years for those affected by living with, or caring about or for somebody with an alcohol addiction or drug problem. They provide a refuge where problems and issues can be discussed and talked about with individuals who understand and who are compassionate and loving. And that is not the only advantage or benefit as Al-Anon helps and aids families and friends of problem drinkers to understand, accept and acknowledge that it is not their fault or wrong doing that the person they know and love is undoubtedly an alcohol addict and that while they cannot change the mind sets from the drinker they can change their own attitudes and see positives where they only have seen darkness and sorrow before.

Al-Anon also helps and assists families and friends of alcohol addicted loved ones to understand the art of disengagement and separation and to make certain they do not enable and allow the person they love to sink more deeply into their alcohol or drug addiction.

Drug and Alcohol Addiction, spiritual

Seeking Serenity through Al-Anon in British Columbia

At Al-Anon group meetings in Vancouver , family members, close relatives and friends of addicts come with each other to share their knowledge, understanding, experience, strength and hope. Al-Anon’s philosophy is that men and women cannot control or stop another person’s alcohol addiction. In the same way addicts who acknowledge and accept Step One of Alcoholics Anonymous declare that they are powerless over alcohol and drugs, Al-Anon members teach and educate powerlessness over loved ones and family member addictions.

However Al-Anon’s companion philosophy is that an individual is entitled to have a serene life even if a loved one chooses to keep on living in active addiction. By joining hand-in-hand and working together to share experiences and knowledge, members in Al-Anon learn and understand tools and skills for living decently, honestly and serenely whether a loved one is actively using or is within recovery. In Al-Anon, members “take what they should like and leave the rest.” What this means is that in almost every group meeting or assembly, members hear something that gives them understanding of their own behavior and attitudes.

Many people embark on Al-Anon using the outlook, expectation or hope that they will learn and understand the strategies for curing and healing a loved one’s drug or alcohol addiction. People may be disappointed and frustrated to understand and fully grasp that no such secret and technique exist. Nevertheless, a lot of people find that by gaining strength and acquiring serenity, and showing their loved ones that they trust and have confidence in them to make their very own decisions and choices, their family members often gain strength too. Whenever people become less preoccupied with a loved one’s drug addiction or dependency , addiction seems to lose its power of them. It can also be not unusual to discover that once people change their need to control and discover how to create boundaries and look after themselves, the addict also begins to change and transform and sometimes seeks help in drug and alcohol treatment centers to recover from their addictions.

There are numerous slogans people learn in Al-Anon which help them practice Al-Anon principles and guidelines in their daily lives. One favorite and preferred is “don’t just do something, sit there.” So frequently, people who worry about their addicts’ lives want to leap in and “solve” their problems. However in Al-Anon they learn to hold back before acting to make sure that what they THINK they must do is really the correct action. For instance, whenever a father or mother receives a phone call from an addicted child seeking money, shelter or some other favor, the normal reaction is to want to help or assist right away. But in Al-Anon, people learn how to sit still and think first. People learn to “give an addict the dignity of making his or her own mistakes,” for that is how addicts may become decent and responsible persons. This may be difficult, but as people share their experiences in Al-Anon they learn that “taking contrary action” is often the best help they can give their addicted family members.

Another helpful slogan is “zip your lip.” Often, an individual’s natural tendency is to provide advice, tell the addict how to proceed and how to get it done. But unless an opinion or advice is sought, they learn to simply listen and say things to the addict such as “I understand you will figure this out” or “that is very interesting.” The addict doesn’t want to be threatened, cajoled or see someone’s anger. If they know they could be listened to without being judged, communication and conversation with them remain open and, hopefully, the addict will at some point realize and recognize they CAN go to the loved one or family member for help and assistance in healing and recovery and also be accepted for who they are. As a result of Al-Anon people learn that often, the fewer questions they will ask, the greater details and selective information an addict gives them.

Al-Anon has helped many people find solutions that lead to serenity. Regardless of what an individual’s religious beliefs are or even if them lack them entirely, people are sure to find help in Al-Anon. Encircled by caring and compassionate people whose struggles are similar to others battling with addiction problems, they will learn tools and skills for taking care of themselves, setting boundaries, and achieving serenity. Just for today, decide to walk one’s own path towards serenity so that the addict can walk theirs.

Drug and Alcohol Addiction, spiritual

Al-Anon Getting Together with Joe and Being Powerless in Addiction

Prior to Joe coming into Al-Anon the notion of being powerless and helpless was totally strange and foreign to Joe. Joe never ever once admitted, accepted or acknowledged that HE was powerless, helpless, weak, incapable or even feeble, not once, ever. All things considered, Joe thought and believed it was his job to “help, assist, aid and support” everybody or anyone. To make certain and sure that almost everything worked right, and ran smoothly and without problems.

If every person would just do it HIS way, the entire world would work a whole lot better!

There was clearly this one small problem or difficulty — Joe was living with and coping with an alcoholic who was addicted to drugs and alcohol. Joe was sharing his life, his entire world, with somebody that had a disease or illness that caused them to be compelled and forced to do something that was harmful to and unhealthy for them. This made absolutely no sense whatsoever, defied all logic and reasoning, and left Joe baffled, puzzled, perplexed, bewildered and confused.

Absolutely nothing Joe ever did worked or proved help. Joe was defeated and whipped. Angry and Furious. Frustrated and Discouraged. Lonely, Unhappy and Depressed. Then Al-Anon told Joe that none, not one of those things Joe did or did not do mattered or made a difference. Joe was powerless and helpless. Joe was dealing and coping with a disease, illness or sickness that denied and refused it existed and that resisted any drug and alcohol treatment.

Admitting and acknowledging to oneself that they are powerless and helpless may sound like giving up or quitting. Well, that is precisely and exactly where Joe was, Joe surrendered! However the steps did not stop or end with surrender. They go forward and continue with a path of recovery and treatment that gave Joe a new power and strength, a new freedom and liberty, in realizing and knowing that it was NOT his job to decide or determine when someone or anyone else was ready and willing to begin recovery and healing and a new life.

There exists a power greater and higher than oneself who is NOT powerless, helpless, weak, incapable or feeble. A power and mightiness that is in control and much more capable than Joe ever was. All Joe had to do to get that power in his life was to make a simple decision or choice to turn it over to Him (Yahweh better known as God the Creator of Heaven and Earth) and sit back and watch it work in his life and the lives of others. Which, when an individual thinks about it, requires no real effort at all.

Drug and Alcohol Addiction

Questions to Ask Prior to Entering a Drug Rehabilitation Center in BC

Prior to entering a drug rehabilitation program in British Columbia, it is good to look into the rehab facility ahead of time and find what their drug treatment program is all about. What exactly are their (12 steps) principles? What kinds of drug treatments will they offer? These types of things do really make a difference because everything a person learns while in the drug rehab program will affect their process of recovery.

Here are some of the questions an individual should ask before entering the drug rehabilitation program in British Columbia:

Are the drug treatments offered, backed by (scientific, spiritual) any evidence?

The vast majority of successful substance abuse treatment programs utilize behavioral medication and therapy. Or, a mix of both. A person might be squandering their money and time if an individual purchases and enters into a drug rehabilitation program that uses methods that are not shown to be successful.

Following are the type of therapies that good drug rehabs include in their programs:

a) Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: This kind of therapy will show an individual how they can identify the situations that are likely to trigger their drug cravings. In addition, it will help a person find ways to avoid and cope with these situations.

b) Motivational Interviewing: Proven strategies are used to encourage an individual to modify their behavior and enter the treatment program.

c) Motivational Incentives: Positive reinforcement is the key to success for any drug rehabilitation program. Patients are rewarded for keeping themselves drug-free and for being regular in their therapy sessions and a number of other activities that help them in reaching their goal of sobriety.

d) Group Therapy: This is a very effective type of therapy that puts an individual with other patients undergoing the treatment. People involved in the group therapy motivate each other to remain neat and help each other to recognize the patterns in their drug addiction.

The behavioral therapy ultimately aims at keeping an individual motivated, make them learn the skills that help them to stay clean, enhance their problem solving skills, assist a person to build better relationships and replace their drug use with rewarding and productive activities.

Along with behavioral therapy, most programs also use medications. The type of medication used depends mostly on the substance they were hooked on. Different medications can be used at different stages of treatment.

Is the program personalized for their treatment needs?

The best drug rehab treatment programs are tailored to the requirements of an individual. Every individual is different and no two circumstances are alike.

The drug treatment program should, therefore, be unique too. Their ethnicity, cultural background, person’s age, their gender and level and seriousness of their drug addiction should be taken into consideration. Also, there may be other health issues or problems that interferes with the drug treatment and they will need to be addressed before and during the drug treatment program.

How long does the program last?

Additionally, it is important that the program provides a sufficient length of time for the treatment. An Individual stands a larger possibility of relapsing in the event they go back to day to day living too early or without the proper tools.

To be able to stop drug use, research indicates that drug addicts generally have to spend a minimum of 3 months in drug treatment programs. The more time the therapy takes, the greater are the chances of success in the program. Effective drug treatment programs keep an eye on the patient’s progress and help create plans for the maintenance of recovery.

Other important questions a person should ask :

1) Are there drug and alcohol addiction nurses, therapists and physicians available all the time?
2) Does this drug treatment program provide a twenty-four hour nursing staff?
3) Is the drug treatment facility made to treat adults or adolescents?
4) Does this drug treatment program have all the necessary BC licenses?
5) Is there a medicine management program offered?
6) Are the medical doctors full time employees at the rehab? Or, could they be just the consultants?
7) What is the ratio of staff to patients at the drug rehab clinic?
8) What kind of living arrangements is available in the program?
9) Are drug relapse prevention groups available?
10) Will each patient be assigned his or her own case manager at the drug clinic?
11) Is personalized aftercare planning available at the drug treatment clinic?
12) Does this drug rehab program accept insurance or will an individual need to shell money out of their pocket?
13) Is it a government-owned or private drug rehab facility in BC?