Author: Gary Jackson

Treatment and Recovery National Institute on Drug Abuse NIDA

Counselors may select from a menu of services that meet the specific medical, mental, social, occupational, family, and legal needs of their patients to help in their recovery. The chronic nature of addiction means that for some people relapse, or a return to drug use after an attempt to stop, can be part of the process, but newer treatments are designed to help with relapse prevention. Relapse rates for drug use are similar to rates for other chronic medical illnesses. If people stop following their medical treatment plan, they are likely to relapse.

Evidence-based guidelines can assist doctors with choosing the right treatment options. These guidelines help evaluate a patient’s clinical needs and situation to match them with the right level of care, in the most appropriate available setting. For more information on evidence-based guidelines visit Addiction Medicine Primer. An SUD is a treatable, chronic disease, characterized by a problematic pattern of use of a substance leading to noticeable impairment or distress.

Find support for your addiction recovery

A mental health professional can help you cope with some of the challenges you’ll face on your path to sobriety. Research shows that if you maintain these types of toxic relationships, your chances of relapsing are greater. To avoid relapse and remain sober, it’s important to develop healthy relationships.

With effective treatment, recovery is possible for everyone. The 12 steps are challenging for every anyone struggling with a substance use problem, no matter what their addiction. Going through the ways your addiction has taken away from your life and how it has impacted others may be painful.

What Are the 6 Stages of Addiction Recovery?

Others do well on their own making use of available community resources. Addiction doesn’t just affect individuals; addiction is a family affliction. The uncertainty of a person’s behavior tests family bonds, creates considerable shame, and give rise to great amounts of anxiety. Because families are interactive systems, everyone is affected, usually in ways they are not even aware of. When a person goes into treatment, it isn’t just a case of fixing the problem person. The change destabilizes the adaptation the family has made—and while the person in recovery is learning to do things differently, so must the rest of the family learn to do things differently.

• BetterHelp is an online therapy service that matches you to licensed, accredited therapists who can help with depression, anxiety, relationships, and more.
• The shifts in thinking and behavior are critical because they lay the groundwork for changes in brain circuity that gradually help restore self-control and restore the capacity to respond to normal rewards.

In addition, self-care is a vital foundation for a healthy new identity. At the very least, self-care should include sleep hygiene, good nutrition, and physical activity. Sleep is essential for shoring up impulse control and fostering good decision-making. Another vital element of care during recovery is relapse prevention—learning specific strategies for dealing with cravings, stress, setbacks, difficult situations, and other predictable challenges.

Caregiver Stress and Burnout

As those melt, they are replaced with compassion, empathy, curiosity, and a desire for life-long learning, introspection, and a willingness to accept feedback from others. Relapse is a common part of the recovery process from drug addiction. While relapse is frustrating and discouraging, it can be an opportunity to learn from your mistakes, identify additional triggers, and correct your treatment course. You can support your drug treatment and protect yourself from relapse by having activities and interests that provide meaning to your life.

Understanding the dynamic nature of addiction, harm reduction aligns with the idea that relapses may occur and should be viewed as opportunities for learning and adjustment rather than as failures. By adopting harm reduction strategies, individuals gain the tools to make healthier choices, manage risks, and gradually work towards minimizing the impact of substance use on their lives. Addiction recovery is a complex and nuanced process, and recognizing the diversity of individual experiences is crucial in developing effective strategies for sobriety. The concept of harm reduction, along with various modalities, offers a flexible and personalized approach to cater to the unique needs and circumstances of each individual on their journey to recovery.

Shortly after substance use is stopped, people may experience withdrawal, the onset of unpleasant physical and psychological symptoms —from irritability to shakiness to nausea; delirium and seizures in severe cases. Recovery starts immediately with stopping use of a substance. For many of those who are addicted, enduring even that action is unimaginable. What must follow is the process of behavior change, through which the brain gradually rewires and renews itself. Stopping drug use is just one part of a long and complex recovery process.

• Medications are also available to help treat addiction to alcohol and nicotine.
• Research and clinical experience have identified a number of factors that promote recovery.
• Financial troubles and problems finding and keeping employment are major triggers for relapse, but it is possible to take baby steps and get your finances in order.