Addiction and Isolation: The interaction of the two

Suffering from addiction is one of the loneliest feelings you can imagine. There used to be a stigma surrounding substance abuse, addiction, and other mental health disorders, which is why someone can feel alone. There was a false perception that people brought addiction on themselves and no one was brave enough to talk about it. 

Fortunately, the veil has been lifted and the general public is educated enough to know addiction is just as serious as any other illness and affects millions of people. Loneliness and isolation seem to remain common amongst addicts and can make the addiction and any other underlying mental health issues much worse. Therefore, there are a few important points that people who suffer from addiction need to know.

Why Do Addicts Isolate in Addiction?

One of the first questions people often ask when it comes to addiction is why people with this disease isolate in the first place. People who end up addicted to alcohol or drugs are using these substances to cope with other issues that might be unfolding in their lives. People use alcohol and drugs to cope with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, PTSD, and more. They’re using these drugs and other substances to hide from their feelings and escape from reality. Some of the feelings they often experience include fear, guilt, and denial. These emotions can quickly build and lead to a feeling of being overwhelmed.

It’s this feeling of helplessness that’s associated with the actions above that drives people to isolate. If an individual has suffered from verbal, emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, the feelings can be much more intense. Isolation can lead to broken relationships and make the addict feel even more alone. This cycle can have a terrible impact on someone who needs to recover.

Why is This So Bad?

Isolation can lead to serious problems. During isolation, people can feel like they can’t connect with others on an emotion or physical level. They feel disconnected from the outside world. Side effects of this are depression and can worsen the impacts that come with substance abuse. Some people might even feel like there is nobody who cares about them and feel total despair. 

As a result, people won’t feel motivated to reach out and ask for help. People do have the capacity to beat addiction; however, they cannot do this on their own. They need to admit they have a problem and ask for help. 

How Can Someone Get Help?

Trying to get out of the cycle of loneliness and isolation requires work on the addict’s behalf. First, they’ll need to grieve their separation from drugs and alcohol. When someone is struggling with addiction, the only friends they seem to have are drugs and alcohol. Therefore, it’s normal for someone to experience somewhat of a grieving process as long as they know this friendship was toxic and destructive.

Then, they need to reach out and talk to family members and friends. Make amends with them. Generate peace with them. The people who have always been there are going to continue to be there no matter what. These relationships might be damaged and broken but they can be repaired.

Let Us Help You!

If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction, please let us know. We’re proud to serve the greater Los Angeles area and want you to know you are not alone. Contact us today to get on the road to recovery. 

 

Should You Get Sober in Your Hometown?

Historically speaking, society is reluctant to discuss addiction because of the stigma that surrounds it. As time goes on and information is easily accessible, people are starting to understand addiction is in fact a disease and should be treated as such. 

When someone is seeking treatment, it feels comfortable to find a program close to home. Although that is a common mindset, it’s actually a better idea to leave home to assess addiction treatment options. 

Why Getting Sober Close to Home Is Not the Best Idea

There are a few reasons why getting addiction treatment close to home is not the best idea. While an inpatient treatment facility close to home may help someone get sober temporarily, the second the person leaves they step back into the same environment that initially drove their addiction. This is one of the biggest reasons why relapse is such a significant issue for someone once they leave an addiction treatment center.

If someone stays close to home, they are going to be spending time around the same friends who drove and enabled their addiction in the first place post-treatment. This is only going to lead to relapse, more heartbreak, and an endless cycle between an inpatient treatment center and relapse. It’s important for a person in recovery to meet new people who are going to support them and help maintain their sobriety. 

Why Traveling for Addiction Treatment is a Good Idea

By deciding to leave home for addiction treatment, you’re allowing yourself to choose from many different options of treatment programs. While your hometown may have a treatment program that specializes in substance abuse, you may require a treatment program that involves treating mental health and substance abuse.  The personal circumstances of everyone who struggles with drug abuse or alcoholism are different and need to be treated as such. The best way to find the right treatment for yourself is by keeping your options open and look outside of your hometown.

Traveling for addiction treatment gives you the ability to start fresh. You’ll be able to distance yourself from the toxic environment that drove you into the arms of addiction in the first place. You’ll be able to leave your old friends behind and make new friends who are like-minded individuals. A new town or city will help reduce distractions in your life and enable you to enjoy new experiences. One of the best parts about recovery is discovering a new life. A change of scenery will help you forget your old life and getting high.

Commit to the Recovery Process

It can be hard leaving home to seek addiction treatment but removing yourself from your current environment is one of the best things to do to commit to the recovery process. It’s impossible to have a fresh start if you don’t change your surroundings. It’s normal to dwell on the possibility of no longer being able to hang out with your friend group but in recovery, you’ll have endless opportunities to meet new people and form sober relationships. 

Let Us Help You!

At Grace Recovery, we are a brand new, state-of-the-art addiction treatment program located in the heart of Hollywood, CA. We provide luxurious amenities and the latest treatment options substance abuse programming at our detoxification and residential inpatient program. If you are looking for addiction recovery services in the Los Angeles area, contact us today!

 

Going to Rehab with Legal Problems: Will it Help?

It’s unquestionable that the use of drugs and alcohol often plays a role in many people committing a crime. Drug abuse may compel you to act out of character, which leads you to dealings with the legal system. For instance, you may have an upcoming court date because your addiction leads you to drive while intoxicated, which resulted in being pulled over and arrested for a DUI. One of the most common thoughts among people who have legal issues resulting from their addiction is if they can go to rehab instead of jail. If the crime you committed is relatively minor, going to rehab instead of jail may be an option; however, the courts want to be satisfied that your motives for seeking treatment aren’t simply a motivation to stay out of jail. This means you’ll need to show a desire to want to change your life for the better by eliminating your drug addiction.

How to Go to Rehab Instead of Jail

In most situations, there are two ways you can go to rehab instead of serving a court-appointed jail sentence. The options are through drug court and court-ordered rehab:

Drug Court

Drug court is a special court that is designed for non-violent substance-related crimes and/or criminal cases. Drug court is only an option for those who need addiction treatment. The courts will determine if you’re qualified for this option through mandatory, supervised testing for substance use. If so you will then be assigned treatment and rehab based incarceration instead of serving jail time. The process for drug court is much different from a regular court. The process includes:

  • Waiving your due process rights and signing a preemptive confession
  • Commitment to attending drug treatment and rehabilitation
  • Committing to mandatory testing for drugs and alcohol
  • Consenting to be monitored to confirm program effectiveness
  • Committing to the attendance at a court-appointed or approved treatment facility

Court Ordered Rehab

If you have numerous DUI’s or have a history of committing substance-related crimes, the judge may recommend you participate in a rehabilitation program instead of going to jail/prison. The judge will typically only recommend this if you are a multiple offender, have several DUI’s, or otherwise have a proven track record of committing substance-related crimes, your judge may recommend you to a rehabilitation In this situation, you will be given the option of either going to jail or rehab, so you can choose which one you want to do. You may be able to initiate this option by discussing it with your attorney and asking them to recommend court-appointed rehabilitation.

Who Qualifies for Rehab Instead of Jail?

There are many people in the legal system that qualifies for rehab instead of jail, but it’s important that you discuss this option with your attorney. For instance, if you don’t have a physical dependence on drugs or alcohol, refuse to answer the questions about your drug abuse or addiction or do not appear to have a problem that can be corrected with rehab, rehabilitation will not be an option. Also, if you have a history of violent crimes, rehabilitation instead of jail or prison isn’t typically recommended, even if your current situation with the legal system isn’t for a violent crime.

The court will be particularly responsive to your request for rehab if your crime is directly related to your addiction. It is important to keep in mind that if your crime was premeditated, it suggests you would have committed the crime even if you weren’t suffering from addiction. There are a number of reasons why rehab is better than jail, but the most important reason is that it will help you kick your addiction. Research has shown that treatment in a guided rehabilitation facility does a better job of helping you get clean than being locked up in jail, but it must be something you want and not something you are doing simply to avoid incarceration. It is essential to keep in mind that going to rehab with legal problems will only help if you truly want to get clean and sober.

Get Help Today

If you or a loved one are suffering from drug and/or alcohol addiction, don’t be afraid to reach out to us. Contact us today to speak to an addiction professional and see in what ways we can help! At Grace Recovery, we’re all about getting you back on the right track.

How to Talk to Your Family About Your Addiction

Addiction is something that millions of people struggle with every single day. What might have started out as recreational drug or alcohol use can quickly become a driving force in all the things you do. That being said, admitting to those that you love that you have a problem and that you are dealing with addiction can be one of the hardest things that an addict will ever have to do.

Admitting You Have a Problem

The first step to preparing to tell your family about your addiction is to admit to yourself that you have one. It might not seem like much, but taking that first step of admitting to yourself that something is wrong is the best way to start the recovery process. There are some signs of addiction that you can look got in your own behavior to see if you are an addict and to start your road to recovery.

  • Using drugs as a coping mechanism, you use drugs to deal with difficult situations and with things that trouble you.
  • You use a great deal of your income on drugs, alcohol, or both
  • You have lost numerous friends due to your drug use or alcohol use
  • You have missed important events due to drug or alcohol use
  • The thought of going cold turkey makes you nervous or anxious.
  • Legal recourse has not stopped or lessened your drug or alcohol use.
  • You do things you would never do otherwise in an effort to get drugs and alcohol

Accepting that you have an addiction is one of the best ways to make sure that you are on the right track and that you are going to be open enough to speak with your family when the time comes to address your addiction with them.

Seeking Help

The next step is to take the time to consider what type of help you need and to see if you are ready for help as well. It is always best to consider what you might do to help your addiction and what steps you are willing to take to get your addiction under control. Addiction is not the end of the line and seeking help does not make you weak or less than. It is always best to take the time to find out what sort of help might work best for you and what type of help you might want for your addiction. Taking the time to start the process of finding a great rehabilitation program or facility is a wonderful second step to getting your road to recovery started.

Be Forthcoming

One of the best things you can do is to be forthcoming with your addiction and with addressing your family. Many people fear that there is no good way to talk to their family and friends about their addiction, the truth is there really is no perfect way to tell your family. The best thing you can do is admit you have a problem, take the time to be honest and tell it like it is. Sharing this information with your family is one of the best ways to start the healing process and to get your family on board with your recovery process.

Being honest with your family is going to set you on the right path toward recovery and may even gain the sympathy or at the very least the confidence that you are doing the right thing and that you are moving toward getting well. By being honest you are telling your family that you want to change and that you are really ready to get well and to change.

Accept Responsibility for Your Substance Abuse

It is important that you are ready and able to accept responsibility for the things that you have done while you were high, while you were drinking, or while you were otherwise addicted. It is important that you take the time to accept that the addiction was no fault of anyone else, that you were the one that is addicted and that it is the fault of no one else that you are.

Accepting responsibility is one of the first steps toward recovery and toward being able to let go of addiction and finding peace. Finding a great recovery center like Grace Recovery in Hollywood, CA is a fantastic start. The right recovery center will have plenty of ways to get clean, they will have a caring and attentive staff, and they will be able to help addicts from all walks of life and with all different addictions find a way toward being happy and healthy.

Grace Recovery is a state of the art facility with a great set of programs from detox, residential inpatient, and so much more. You can contact us today for more information and to find out what treatment type is going to work best for you in terms of addiction treatment.