Casual Use Can Lead to Drug and Alcohol Abuse

For many people, what starts as casual use can lead to drug and alcohol abuse. It may seem unfair -- as others may be able to casually use drugs or alcohol without the loss of control. And while the causes of addiction are not entirely known, what we can recognize are the habits that lead you to abuse drugs or alcohol.

Stages of Alcohol & Drug Addiction

According to the National Institutes of Health, there are several stages of drug use that may lead to dependence.

Change is a very personal journey that naturally encounters resistance along the way. We really are creatures of habit, so when we decide to make major changes in our behavior, there is a part of us that wants to cling to the familiar routines and habits of daily life, even if those routines and habits are not good for us. For individuals that suffer from drug and alcohol addiction, change can be particularly frightening. On one hand, getting clean and sober means a better quality of life. But, the journey to get there that can be muddled with fear and confusion. Major life changes that impact one’s working and social relationships are often necessary.

Let’s take a look at the most common fears of rehab.

One of the most difficult things to do, especially for a loved one, is to watch them battle addiction. For many of us, our first instinct when seeing someone in trouble, especially for parents, is to help. But many times this “help” is actually hurting – and you could be enabling addictive behavior.

How do you know? Like many issues dealing with drug or alcohol abuse, there are no easy answers. What’s worse, realizing that you are enabling addictive behavior is a difficult emotion to deal with – and many enablers make excuses for their own -- and their addicted loved one’s behavior.

Pushing against an immovable object is an exercise in frustration, and a big waste of time and energy. Yet for many of us, we do just that when we refuse to fully accept ourselves as we are, warts and all. There are just some things that have to be accepted for what they are. For example, a person may be born with a set of genes that could make them prone to certain diseases. There is nothing an individual can do about their genetic inheritance; all they can do is try to work with what they have. This is acceptance – the ability to effectively “be okay” with things beyond your control.

Self-acceptance can be defined as an unconditional affirmation or acceptance of self, in spite of weaknesses or deficiencies. True self-acceptance is attained when an individual is able to accept those realities, and does not feel the need to protest or change it. Self-acceptance is also liberating, since the individual who has truly accepted themselves has nothing to hide. At 12 Palms Recovery Center, we believe that In order to find happiness in recovery, it is important that an individual develops at least a certain degree of self-acceptance, because living a successful life is as much about recognizing individual limitations as it is about taking positive action. This philosophy allows individuals to focus on those areas where their efforts will be most fruitful.

In Part One of this blog, we investigated how the ego can be a major roadblock to recovery by making it harder for an addict to realize that they need help, and how it can increase their resistance to seeking help as well. However, even if an addict overcomes this block to recovery and undergoes rehab treatment, they must remain vigiliant to ego- driven emotions that can undermine treatment and lead to a relapse of self-defeating behaviors, including:

1. Overconfidence: many addicts emerge from rehab feeling powerful from what they have accomplished. This often leads to an overconfidence that may cause them to associate with people with access to drugs or alcohol. Some recovering addicts may even believe that their addictions are cured, and they can now handle a small amount of the substance they are addicted to.


2. Hopelessness: sometimes addicts feel hopeless during recovery due to persistent obsession and anxiety. This can quickly lead to feelings of fatalism – and potentially a relapse into substance use. Depression can remove the emotional reasons for continued diligence and discipline during recovery. Establishing a healthy balance between overconfidence and hopelessness is one of the most important steps in recovery and achieving it usually requires help.


3. Pride: it is common for recovering addicts to allow their pride to prevent them from admitting to their ongoing struggle. In moments of temptation, it’s crucial for recovering addicts to reach out for help when they need it. Humility is of the utmost importance.


4. Shame: can be one of the worst enemies of recovery. It can lead an addict to secrecy and despondency. Having a healthy awareness of personal failure and vulnerability is important, but shame can be toxic.


5. Impatience: since addiction revolves around instant gratification, the ability to be patient and allow for delayed gratification must be cultivated over time. Unfortunately, that is a quality most addicts lack. Recovering addicts who place themselves in the care of professionals and submit to their treatment will cultivate patience over time.

At 12 Palms Recovery Center, we understand how powerful ego-driven emotions are, and we know how to help you control them to ensure a lasting recovery. If you are tired of self-defeating behaviors, open yourself up to the advice and guidance of qualified and compassionate experts with personal addiction experience and the knowledge to beat it. Don’t waste another day stuck in a pattern of self-destruction. Let us help you find a future free from addiction.

Your Life is Like a Country Song, Only Worse

The rent money has been spent. The power is fixin’ to get cut off. Your hacking cough won’t quit. Only bill collectors call you. Reprimands at work happen almost daily, if you even show up. Your family has stopped talking to you. And you wake up dope sick or hung over, again. Sound familiar? If so, you might have a problem.

Addiction and Alcoholism are the only diseases that we can self-diagnose. The problem is, we have a disease that tells us that we don’t have a disease. The disease is cunning, baffling, powerful and deadly. Most importantly, it is a disease and can and should be treated at a substance abuse facility.

Working against the resistance to change

Watching a loved one destroy their own life with alcohol or drugs is heartbreaking. And while the destruction caused by substance abuse is usually obvious to those close to an addict, the addict himself can be completely oblivious to what is going on; they will try to blame their problems in life on other people, or just bad luck. If friends and family try to convince them otherwise, they become defensive, even aggressive. An addict’s resistance to giving up substance abuse can lead loved ones to conclude that they are a hopeless case, but this is seldom the case. There is always a way to get beyond resistance to recovery. And while it’s not possible to force the person to want recovery, but they can be encouraged to reach this point.

There are many reasons for resistance to recovery: denial, fear of change, fear of withdrawal symptoms, fear that recovery will be boring, low self-esteem, an unsuccessful previous recovery attempt, and more. Additionally, if an addict is highly-functioning – outwardly successful, respected by co-workers, friends and family – they may feel that they have far too much to lose by admitting to their problem.

By some estimates, as many as 60% of people attending drug rehab programs have legal problems as a result of their drug and alcohol use. Many may actually be in court-ordered treatment – when a judge rules that a substance abuser may lack the internal motivation necessary to stop using drugs. Court-ordered treatment may be the only way to help someone to stop using and start recovery. If the substance abuser can get the help he or she needs, the thought is that the drug-related activity will decrease, or even cease to exist. One of the main goals of court ordered treatment is to get people to remain drug-free and reduce drug crimes.

Substance abusers view being forced into rehab in different ways; some fight it with everything they have just because they didn’t choose it. Others learn to embrace the opportunity early on, realizing that full participation is crucial to get the most out of the treatment program. Court-ordered treatment may be the answer they have been waiting for.

All too often, addicts are recycled through drug rehab treatment facilities across the country, where they are given the basics of recovery, but little else. Sent back out into the world, they lack the foundation in sobriety necessary to sustain long-term recovery, and find themselves back in drug rehab once again, only to receive the same exact treatment they had previously undergone.

At 12 Palms Recovery Center, their goal is to make sure that each and every client not only receives quality care and treatment, but is also given a blueprint for life.

Why Meetings are an Important Part of Recovery

“Meetings makers make it” we are told when we first arrive in the rooms of recovery. “Make what?”, you ask? Addicts and alcoholics that go to meetings are more likely to stay clean and sober. Another old saying, “People who don’t go to meetings, don’t get to hear about what happens to people who don’t go meetings,” is also true. So, we go to meetings.

At first, we’re told to do “90 meetings in 90 days,” or a meeting a day for 90 days. It takes the human brain about 90 days to learn a new habit. When we’re new to recovery, a new habit is exactly what we need. And many of us don’t realize that we get to go meetings. We go to a meeting every night, so that we can hear the message. The NA message is “An addict, any addict, can stop using drugs, lose the desire to use and find a new way to live.” We go to meetings to find a sponsor, make new friends and build a support group. It is around this time it is suggested we get a homegroup.