Recovery Is for Everyone: Understanding Treatment of Substance Use Disorders Feature Topics Drug Overdose

If someone close to you is a victim of this perceived stigma, it’s crucial to remind them that seeking help is a sign of incredible strength. The choice they made to begin the recovery process is a huge step forward toward overcoming addiction. Rather than focusing solely on how substance abuse has negatively impacted their life, it’s important for individuals in recovery to look forward to the addiction-free life they can achieve. Diagnosing drug addiction (substance use disorder) requires a thorough evaluation and often includes an assessment by a psychiatrist, a psychologist, or a licensed alcohol and drug counselor. Blood, urine or other lab tests are used to assess drug use, but they’re not a diagnostic test for addiction. However, these tests may be used for monitoring treatment and recovery.

For diagnosis of a substance use disorder, most mental health professionals use criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), published by the American Psychiatric Association. Participants stressed the importance of avoiding high risk situations, triggers and staying safe. Strategies to achieve this included keeping busy and being meaningfully engaged to sustain recovery. In the process of learning more about themselves, they improved their self-esteem and it provided them with additional coping strategies to deal with stress factors in their lives.

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It can help fill your free time with group activities, volunteer work, job hunting, and other essential life activities. Understanding the five stages of addiction recovery can be useful for addicted people and their family members. Each stage clearly describes the process of recognizing and admitting the problem, preparing for addiction treatment, and dealing with life after treatment of alcohol and drug abuse. It’s an integrated theory that’s compatible with most evidence-based and holistic treatments, like the 12-step program and behavior therapy. Making the transition from a life of addiction into an independent life of sobriety is another challenge you will face after rehab.

• You can choose to get back on the path to recovery and use the experience to strengthen your commitment.
• Stress is a major stimulus for drug craving, according to people with opioid addiction.
• The value of this research is to inform and amend current programs in South Africa to make provision for the findings of the research.
• For diagnosis of a substance use disorder, most mental health professionals use criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), published by the American Psychiatric Association.
• It’s important to be involved in things that you enjoy, that make you feel needed, and add meaning to your life.
• “Many people think they can stop using and stay sober by themselves,” Hyde says.

Insight is a powerful tool for change because it makes it easier to be mindful of decisions you’re making in the moment. The goal of this challenge is to identify innovations developed by peer-run or community-based organizations that advance recovery. Having goals to work toward and something to look forward to can be powerful antidotes to drug addiction.

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This lacuna appears to be caused by a lack of representative epidemiological surveys focusing on rates of recovery and relapse [15, 16]. Treatment in South Africa is regulated by the Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse Act (Act no 70 of 2008). It makes provision for governmental, non-governmental and community treatment centres. Most treatment centres are privately owned and are not accessible to the majority of persons caught up in SUDs.

• However, depending on your circumstances with addiction, your program may last longer.
• There are many ways to describe an addiction, but no single definition captures each individual’s experience with this disease.
• However, it is still recommended that individuals continue attending support groups and meetings.
• Others may need admission to a hospital or a residential treatment center.
• MS conducted field work, interviews, analysis and initial manuscript.
• A patient is often at the highest risk of relapse while undergoing recovery.

In any case, using drugs over time may cause changes in a person’s brain, leading to intense cravings and continued use. During the maintenance stage, the individual is working hard to prevent addiction recovery relapse. They’re also keeping up the lifestyle changes they made, like getting regular exercise, recreational activities, staying sober, paying attention to sleep hygiene and attending support groups. They don’t feel the urge to relapse as frequently as people in the action stage, so their confidence grows and they truly believe in their ability to maintain sobriety long term.

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Trained addiction experts know how to help patients manage their symptoms in a safe environment while offering medication or counseling as needed. This exploratory and descriptive strategy enabled researchers to gather and describe the information-rich https://stylevanity.com/2023/07/top-5-questions-to-ask-yourself-when-choosing-sober-house.html data from participants [21]. The central principle of all forms of meditation is to focus attention on the present moment, the “now.” Some experts believe addictions result in part from an attempt to escape psychological pain.

Pathways to Recovery outlines myriad ways (clinical, non-clinical, and self-management) in which individuals with substance use disorders can engage in a process of recovery-related change. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports that 10% of all adults in the U.S. have had a drug use disorder at some point in their lives. With addiction affecting many Americans, access to substance abuse treatment is imperative. Far too many individuals with a substance use disorder do not receive the lifesaving treatment they need. According to a sobering report released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 94% of individuals struggling with addiction… It’s important not to ignore the mental obstacles that may appear on the path to sobriety.

Anyone wanting to get sober and stay sober needs to have the drive to do it and have a long-term addiction recovery plan. If someone is feeling forced or unmotivated, they might not stay sober. However, there is always a risk of relapse as substance use disorder is a chronic disease. When a person has realized they have a problem, they have reached this stage. They may want to make a change, but they feel like they cannot fully commit. It is a complete lifestyle stage that occurs gradually over the course of months and even years.

Lincoln and Guba’s model of data verification was used to ensure the trustworthiness of the data obtained [17, 26, 27]. The specific concerns in qualitative research are credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability. With the permission of the participants, interviews were audio recorded.

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Fortunately, with consistent treatment and compassionate support, it’s possible – and common – for people to recover from addiction and get back on track with their health, relationships and goals. My Peer Recovery Specialist immediately helped me to get into a sober house, where I still am today. I am currently six months sober, and he helped me give my life the organization and direction that I needed to start my journey into sobriety.

• However the main aim of the research was to look at sustained recovery and not how different employment affects sustained recovery.
• Americans often see the more destructive side of addiction, drug crime, people slumped in doorways and family members who are spiraling downward.