How to Find a Rehab Center for Your Loved One

How to Find a Rehab Center for Your Loved One

You don’t have to be a bystander.

There are few things harder than watching a loved one fall deeper and deeper into addiction, it’s crushing in ways that words can adequately capture.

Hope most often comes in the form of treatment and finding a rehab center that caters to the needs of your friend or family member is an important step.

As a side note, you may experience pushback when trying to get them to commit, the classic denialism that can accompany substance use disorders, but having a drug rehab center chosen for when they are ready to commit to changing their life makes a world of difference.

How to Find a Rehab Center

It’s not as simple as picking the first option you see on Google. Each treatment center operates differently, they have different specializations, focus on a different part of the rehab process, utilize different methods of treatment, and more.

Knowing what your loved one truly needs is imperative.

Some rehabs, for instance, are specialized in treating addiction to particular substances like alcohol or opioids.

And if the person in your life is struggling with a substance use disorder and a co-occurring mental illness like depression, PTSD, anxiety disorder or the like you would need to seek dual diagnosis treatment in order to tackle both issues and set them up for success going forward.

Consider what they would respond best to as well. Some rehabs focus more on alternative therapies while others stick more strictly to evidence-based modalities.

It’s worthwhile to reach out to places and have a conversation with an addiction specialist as well, to really dig deep. At the end of the day, research is your friend, and investing the time in finding the right rehab goes a long way in laying the firm foundation on which your loved ones will build the rest of their lives.

Different Types of Rehab Centers

Despite all of the aforementioned variables, rehab breaks down into two types; inpatient and outpatient. Once completing the all-important detox, you can treat the mental aspects of addiction until you’ve broken the physical side of it, every kind of treatment falls under one of those umbrellas.

Inpatient Care

The hallmark of inpatient, or residential inpatient, treatment is that you live at the rehab facility, are removed from all distractions and all triggers, and focus all your energy and attention on the task at hand; recovery.

Every treatment plan is tailored made to suit the needs of your loved one and it’s immersive and regimented by design.

At the core of most programs is psychotherapy or talk therapy, and at Inpatient Drug Rehab that includes, among other therapies:

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
  • Dialectic Behavioral Therapy
  • Individual & Group Sessions
  • Family Program

Inpatient care is meant more for those suffering from more severe and heavy addiction that need supervision, attention, and a rigid schedule.

Outpatient Care

Outpatient care utilizes all the same tools of inpatient care with the key difference that you don’t live at the treatment center. It affords you much more flexibility and allows you to take care of family, school, or work responsibilities and integrating rehab into your schedule.

This type of treatment is either used as a transition from inpatient care or can be started directly after detox for those with a less severe addiction.

Aftercare

Treatment doesn’t end when you no longer have a therapy session on your schedule and participating in aftercare is an important, ongoing part of recovery. It encompasses everything from support groups like AA & NA, to 12-step meetings to sober living homes and more. It’s about creating a supportive community that understands what you’re going through and can be there for you when it counts.

If you’re struggling to find a rehab center for your loved one, reach out to us at All American Detox, and let’s chat.

addiction recovery helpline number

Looking for a Drug Rehab Center in Los Angeles?

Drug rehab center in Los Angeles

Palm trees swaying in the cool sea breeze. Endless, pristine beaches. Perfect temperatures year-round. World-class museums and dining.

Los Angeles is a wonder of a city.

But there’s another reason people come to LA; top-tier addiction treatment.

Drug rehab centers in Los Angeles have been helping people defeat their substance abuse demons for decades and with 30 plus years of experience treating addiction, All American Detox is well equipped to lead you on your journey of recovery.

What Is a Drug Rehab Center?

Stating the obvious, but “rehab” is short for “rehabilitation”, which is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as “the process of returning to a healthy or good way of life, or the process of helping someone to do this after they have been in prison, been very ill, etc.”

A drug rehab center then is a place where a person goes for dedicated and focused treatment for a substance abuse disorder with the aim of getting them back to a healthy way of life.

Not all rehabs are the same either and each facility takes a unique approach to treatment. Some will specialize in targeted treatment for particular groups, offer different therapeutic methods and modalities, others might be gender-specific, etc. 

Additionally, certain rehabs might only offer outpatient care or inpatient care while others extend to cover more of the process by taking you in at the beginning. From detox through to inpatient care and making outpatient care as well as aftercare services available.

Whichever you’re considering, a reputable and quality drug rehab center will always create a program tailored to your particular needs.

What Are the Benefits of Drug Rehab Centers in Los Angeles?

Back to Los Angeles. La La Land.

There are some distinct benefits to drug treatment in the City of Angels.

Access to Experts and Support

With Southern California being the home to so many drug and alcohol treatment centers, you’ll be in close proximity to plenty of caring and expert addiction specialists that bring peace of mind to the process. On top of that, given the sheer number of rehabs and people on a similar journey as you, you’ll find plenty of support in the form of everything from sober living homes to Narcotics Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous, and other groups.

Getting Away from It All

One factor that gives you a better shot at sustained success is being able to remove yourself from the temptations and triggers of your old life. Being able to focus fully on recovery without distraction is huge. 

There’s also a comfort in the anonymity and the sense of truly being able to start fresh.

And even if LA is your home, the city is big enough that you can get away while still being here.

Location, Location, Location

As mentioned at the top, there is just an unrivaled beauty to SoCal.

Our Los Angeles rehab center, for example, is nestled right at the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains, the other side of which is the majestic Pacific Ocean. Gorgeous and rejuvenating scenery abounds in this particularly special and spectacular part of the city (and country).

And the weather, seemingly always pleasantly warm, ain’t bad either.

How All American Detox Helps With Drug Addiction

At All American Detox, we’re dedicated to helping you overcome addiction and it starts from the day you commit to making a sea change in your life.

You can begin your detox with us and transition to our residential inpatient care. Upon finishing that you can move to outpatient and aftercare and finally we can assist with finding a sober living option that’s right for you.

blog call to action

In other words, we’re a treatment center that you can count on every step of the way and that’s with you along with all parts of the journey.

Get in touch with us today by calling our recovery helpline number to learn more.

How To Get Help During the California Opioid Epidemic

How To Get Help During the California Opioid Epidemic

The ongoing opioid crisis is a nationwide dilemma that’s still raging. The coverage may have declined recently, and reasonably, due to the coronavirus pandemic but opioids continue to ravage the country.

With overdose deaths still 4 times higher in 2018 than they were in 1999 – translating to 128 people dying per day from an opioid overdose – it was declared a public health emergency in 2017. While the trends are moving in a positive direction however there is much work that remains to be done and in getting this fully under control.

No state has gone untouched throughout the era, the California opioid epidemic taking 2,400 lives in 2018 with 45% of drug overdose deaths involving an opioid with that number jumping to 3,244 in 2019.

blog call to action

Additionally, in 2019, California had over 17.5 million prescriptions for opioids written and nearly 12,000 emergency department visits for an opioid overdose.

What Are Opioids?

Opioids are a class of drugs that are meant to treat mild to severe pain. They interact with opioid receptors in the body/brain. Due to the euphoria, they produce in addition to the pain relief, even when prescribed by a doctor and used as directed there is a potential for abuse which can lead to dependency and addiction.

The most commonly known opioids are OxyContin®, Vicodin®, and morphine, as well as the synthetic opioid Fentanyl. Heroin, completely illegal and with no medicinal value, is also an opioid.

Why Is There an Opioid Epidemic?

How To Get Help During the California Opioid Epidemic

As per the Department of Health and Human Services, the root cause of the opioid epidemic dates back to the late 1990s when “pharmaceutical companies reassured the medical community that patients would not become addicted to opioid pain relievers and healthcare providers began to prescribe them at greater rates.

Increased prescription of opioid medications led to widespread misuse of both prescription and non-prescription opioids before it became clear that these medications could indeed be highly addictive.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention add that “providers in the highest prescribing state, Alabama, wrote almost three times as many of these prescriptions per person as those in the lowest prescribing state, Hawaii” with studies suggesting that the underlying health status of the population is not an explanation for the regional disparity.

What Is the Best Way To Treat an Opioid Addiction?

There’s no silver bullet in the fight against any addiction, let alone one as serious as opioid use disorder, but among the best ways to treat opioid addiction is through immersive residential inpatient rehab.

For opioids, in particular, medication-assisted therapy incorporating something like methadone or buprenorphine goes a long way towards increasing the odds of a successful and lasting recovery. These drugs help to mitigate cravings and reduce the symptoms of withdrawal without creating those feelings of euphoria that a user desires.

Once the withdrawal symptoms are under control and the body is in the process of detoxing, work on the mental side of addiction can begin.

A dedicated inpatient program works well because it allows a person to focus completely on recovery. All distractions are removed by design so you can be fully engaged and enveloped in treatment. You won’t be going to work or school or dealing with the stresses at home. Many of the triggers that once motivated your using will also be gone.

Through talk therapy, both in group and individual settings, with a trained addiction specialist, you’ll delve deep into the why of your substance abuse.

Reach Out To All American Detox Today 

Recovery doesn’t end with inpatient care though. Treatment for opioid addiction is always a work in progress so having a plan for transitioning back to your daily life is critical, which is where outpatient and aftercare come into play.

Opioids are tough to beat on your own. Fortunately, you don’t have to do it alone.

Get in touch with us at All American Detox for the best drug detox center in Los Angeles and let’s work together towards creating a better and brighter future for you or a loved one. You can just click on the following number to know more +1-844-570-1301.

How Do I Know if I Am Addicted to Xanax?

How Do I Know if I Am Addicted to Xanax?

Xanax, among the most commonly prescribed benzodiazepines, is a potent sedative used to treat things like generalized anxiety disorder, insomnia, seizures, social phobia, and panic disorder. Alprazolam, the generic name for the drug, isn’t just a regularly prescribed benzo, it’s the most prescribed psychotropic drug, period, in the United States. In 2013 alone there were 48 million prescriptions filled. 

As a central nervous system depressant, Xanax works by increasing the activity of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a chemical that inhibits brain activity. This action causes drowsy and calming effects that make the medicine effective for anxiety and sleep disorders.

That’s the basic science, what makes it so addictive though?

blog call to action

Why Xanax Is Addictive

The sedation and calm that washes over a user is a powerful feeling. For someone struggling with panic or anxiety especially, an intense wave of comparative relaxation becomes hard to give up and the same goes for anyone taking Xanax recreationally.

Sedatives extremely swiftly create a sort of “new normal”, to the point that a person will quickly start to feel like they need Xanax to function. 

Aside from the high risk of addiction, Xanax presents other unique hazards. The dangers of mixing it with alcohol are profound as both are depressants and they amplify the effect of the other which means taking them together can have very real and very life-threatening consequences. 

Additionally, over 30% of overdoses involving opioids also involve benzos like Xanax according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

Signs of a Xanax Addiction

For any user, when the use becomes problematic, the question becomes “how do I know if I am addicted to Xanax?”. 

When does using as directed or recreationally turn into something different? When does dependency transform and shift into a full-blown addiction?

The symptoms of an addiction to Xanax, or another benzo for that matter, can manifest in these ways:

  • Developing a tolerance and needing to take ever-larger doses to achieve the same feeling or high
  • Inability to control the amount or how often you take Xanax
  • Visiting multiple doctors to obtain additional prescriptions
  • Spending an inordinate amount of time getting, taking, and recovering from Xanax
  • Purchasing it illegally on the street
  • Financial problems
  • Slurred speech
  • Memory problems
  • Borrowing or stealing Xanax from a friend or loved one
  • Unable to maintain responsibilities at work, home, or school
  • Strained relationships
  • Avoiding or losing interest in activities, events, or people you once enjoyed spending time with in order to take the drug
  • Continuing to use despite clear negative consequences
  • Experiencing withdrawal symptoms when not taking Xanax

The Best Way to Get Help With Addiction

After recognizing that you need help, the first step in overcoming an addiction is safely dealing with the withdrawal symptoms. With respect to Xanax and other central nervous system depressants, they can start within just a few hours after the last dose and as NIDA notes, “people addicted to prescription CNS depressants should not attempt to stop taking them on their own. Withdrawal symptoms from these drugs can be severe and—in the case of certain medications-potentially life-threatening”.

Given that, it’s critical to detox under the watchful supervision of medical professionals who can guide you through the entire process while mitigating discomfort as much as possible. 

After the physical addiction is broken, the important work on the mental side of addiction can truly get underway. Whether residential inpatient treatment or outpatient care is better for you is full dependent on the severity of your personal addiction to Xanax. At All American Detox, we offer both as well aftercare services because support doesn’t end when the rehab does. You can reach out to us by calling us on +1-844-570-1301.

The critical thing to know is that recovery is a process and a journey, not a destination. Reach out to us if you or a loved one is ready to start theirs.

The Health Benefits of Quitting Drinking Alcohol – Physical & Mental

ealth Benefits of Quitting Drinking Alcohol - Physical & Mental

The phrase “game-changer” gets tossed around a lot and often it’s with gross exaggeration or hyperbole. Like guac at Chipotle is great but is it a game-changer? Maybe for your lunch, it is but for your life, not so much. Now quitting alcohol, on the other hand, is something that truly deserves the mantle of game-changer. It’s not always simple to stop drinking, especially if you’ve been abusing alcohol for a long time. However, there are many health benefits of quitting drinking alcohol both mental and physical.

It’s the kind of all-around big deal that makes you look back at the hard and arduous work of getting to the promised land of sobriety and know it was completely worth the effort.

At All American Detox – Detox in California, we know that firsthand. With 30 plus years of treating substance abuse and a team of dedicated staff to motivate you to reach your goals, we understand what it takes to get you free from the hold of alcohol.

There are several ways to relax without alcohol and the benefits of quitting drinking alcohol are downright plentiful and touch everything, both physically and mentally, in your life. After getting through the process of withdrawal and detox and going through treatment, they add up fast. Let’s discuss the Health Benefits of Quitting Drinking Alcohol for mental and physical.

health benefits of quitting drinking alcohol- All American

Benefits of Quitting Drinking Alcohol for Your Physical Health

Honestly, this list could on and on, on benefits of quitting drinking alcohol for your physical health, but we’ll exercise some restraint and share a few of the highlights:

Feeling Better:
Alcohol is essentially a toxin and it’s tough on the body so, on a sort of basic, all-encompassing level, you’ll feel better and have a higher level of energy to work with.

Weight Loss:
Drinking isn’t exactly a calorie-free vice. Depending on what you drink, alcohol is loaded with carbs, sugars, and empty calories that turn to fat. Often eating goes hand in hand with drinking. Without the drinks and the excess food, there’s a good chance you’ll slim down.

Better Skin and a More Youthful Look:
Alcohol ages you. It pulls moisture from the skin and dehydrates the body which causes inflammation, flushed skin, puffiness, wrinkles. Simply put, if you want to look younger, drop the drink. Sobriety, quite literally, looks good on you.

Quality Sleep :
When you pass out from drinking, you’re not actually getting good sleep. Alcohol interferes with your sleep-wake cycle and without it, you’ll get deeper, more restful snoozing.

Benefits of Quitting Drinking Alcohol for Your Mental Health

As with the physical benefits of quitting alcohol, there are plenty of positives to quitting alcohol on your mental well-being as well:

Improved Mental Health:
Alcoholism often co-occurs with other mental illnesses, working through a dual diagnosis in rehab allows you to tackle both substance abuse and the comorbidity which ultimately sets you up with significantly improved mental health and coping strategies.

Better Memory and Cognition:
Blacking out obviously creates gaps in your memory but beyond that, excessive alcohol use can damage the hippocampus, a part of the brain crucial to memory and thinking. Quitting the drink helps restore that.

Emotional Stability:
Alcohol changes your mood. Every night drinking can be a rollercoaster, what starts as a few drinks to lift the spirit or gain some confidence, can easily swing into anger, impulsiveness, violence, and more. Without booze, you can operate on an even keel at all times.

Know Yourself Better:
Without the crutch of alcohol, you’re forced to meet yourself again. Heavy alcohol use is related to all sorts of things, like avoidance of thoughts/feelings, a coping mechanism, something to calm the nerves, etc. What it’s not used for is understanding yourself and healthily dealing with issues. Quitting alcohol means you’re able to finally get comfortable in your own skin and feel like you’re fully in control of your own life again.

How All American Detox Can Help You With an Alcohol Problem

blog call to action

Quitting alcohol drinking problems aren’t easy to overcome on your own. The pull of the drink is just that strong and withdrawal symptoms when you try to stop, are just that overpowering. So, you go back for more.

From alcohol detox to residential inpatient treatment, you can achieve the sobriety you long for at All American Detox. Get in touch with us today, take the weight of alcohol off your shoulders and live all the benefits of an alcohol-free life that you or a loved one so richly deserves. You can reach out to us by clicking on the following number +1-844-570-1301.

You can also read:  Does Alcohol Affect the Bladder?

Seeking Help With a Crystal Meth Addiction in Los Angeles

eeking Help With a Crystal Meth Addiction in Los Angeles

Surrounding yourself with the right support system can make all the difference when you or a loved one is trying to break free from the chokehold of crystal meth.

Unshackling yourself from the grasp of addiction is a tough task even when getting the proper care and attention from licensed professionals and people who have been there before. Going it alone makes an already big hurdle even harder to clear.

Meth rehab centers in Los Angeles could be the gateway you’re looking for to getting clean. The City of Angels, with its warm sun and proximity to the Pacific, might just be the place you need to be to start your journey towards sobriety in earnest and the best place for you to build the groundwork for a lasting recovery.

blog call to action

What Is Crystal Meth?

A form of methamphetamine, crystal meth gets its name because it quite literally looks like crystals. Meth itself was actually used widely during World War II because of its stimulant effect and only became a controlled substance in the 1970s. 

Crystal meth is a powerful and highly addictive stimulant that affects the nervous system and goes by a whole host of street names so you may have heard it referenced as ice, speed, crystal, blue, tina, go-fast and many, many more.

The most frequent way it’s taken is by being smoked but it can also be snorted, swallowed or injected directly into a vein.

The effects on the brain are summed up succinctly by the National Institute on Drug Abuse:

“Methamphetamine increases the amount of the natural chemical dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is involved in body movement, motivation, and reinforcement of rewarding behaviors. The drug’s ability to rapidly release high levels of dopamine in reward areas of the brain strongly reinforces drug-taking behavior, making the user want to repeat the experience.”

That cycle of reinforcement creates bigtime cravings for the user and as long-term use of crystal meth takes hold, the mental and physical consequences get worse. If the injection is the main means of delivery, the longer you’re using the higher the risk of contracting diseases from inadvertently mixing fluids. In addition to that, extreme weight loss, sores, anxiety, confusion, paranoia and more accompany chronic use. Not to mention what is referred to as “meth mouth”, which is rampant tooth decay.

Do Meth Rehab Centers in Los Angeles Actually Help With Addiction?

Meth rehab centers in Los Angeles do help with addiction, yes! It’s all a matter of finding the right treatment center for your particular needs.

There are plenty of options in this city and pinpointing what works best for you is going to give you the best chance of success. In many cases, having a one-stop-shop is particularly beneficial for people. A facility that takes you through the whole process of getting you sober and setting you up for a lasting recovery.

That means starting with drug detoxification under the supervision of professionals to tackle the physical nature of addiction. Then moving into a residential inpatient drug rehab facility where you work through the mental side and the root causes of your reliance on crystal meth through individual and group therapy. And finally transitioning to outpatient/aftercare where you’re back to living on your own or if that’s too overwhelming, into a sober living home first.

Get Help With Crystal Meth at All American Detox

At All American Detox, we’re the type of rehab that can guide you through every step of the recovery process. No need to bounce from detox in one place to inpatient care elsewhere and a whole other facility for aftercare. If that sounds like a comfortable fit for your loved one, reach out to us. We’d be happy to give you more info or advice on the next steps. You can reach out to us by calling our addiction recovery helpline number.

Find A Heroin Rehab in Los Angeles

Find A Heroin Rehab in Los Angeles

Point blank: heroin is among the most potent drugs known to man.

Its highly addictive qualities mean that users can get hooked from just one use and while that may seem far-fetched it’s very much a legitimate fact because heroin is an opioid after all. The plague of which has decimated individuals and families from coast to coast.

As per the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), 128 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids every day. Of course, that’s not just heroin, the deaths include those from prescription meds, synthetic opioids as well as heroin.

For that reason, heroin is classed as a schedule I drug by the DEA, meaning it has “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” In other words, it’s very illegal.

blog call to action

Why Do People Get Addicted to Heroin?

The addictive nature of heroin is well documented and its ability to grab hold of people and not easily let go is part of what makes it so dangerous.

Heroin is processed from morphine, which should already tell you all you need to know about its potency. It’s no joke and can be taken in a myriad of ways; by injection, snorting, sniffing or smoking.

The reason people get addicted to it so easily is that, like other opioids, heroin produces a wildly euphoric sensation.

NIDA notes that it works by binding to opioid receptors and activating “specific receptors in the brain called mu-opioid receptors (MORs). Our bodies contain naturally occurring chemicals called neurotransmitters that bind to these receptors throughout the brain and body to regulate pain, hormone release, and feelings of well-being. When MORs are activated in the reward center of the brain, they stimulate the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine, causing a reinforcement of drug taking behavior”.

The danger of that reinforcement is massive because a user ends up constantly chasing the euphoric highs they felt the previous time which creates a vicious cycle of needing to take ever larger doses.

That leads to a higher and higher likelihood of overdose and we see that manifest itself in the explosion of deaths involving heroin; from 1,960 in 1999 to 14,996 in 2018.

Who Should Go to A Heroin Rehab in Los Angeles?

Heroin rehab in Los Angeles could very well be the game changer and life rearrange you need to break free from the chokehold of heroin addiction. There’s truly no sensible reason to try to be a hero and overcome it on your own.

It’s a powerful drug and having a dedicated team that truly understands what you’re going through, both physically and mentally, will help set you or a loved one up for sustainable sobriety.

Detox is arguably the toughest initial hurdle to clear and going it alone exacerbates the difficulty. The withdrawal symptoms from heroin, in particular, are so strong that it’s not uncommon for people to relapse rather than work through the discomfort. However, drug & alcohol detoxification under the supervision of people who know what you’re going through and have seen it before can help you get through it.

Detox is just the start and tackles the physical side of addiction to heroin. The important work of rehab is really the mental side and digging deep into what led to addiction in the first place. Developing new and healthy coping mechanisms in a safe and warm residential inpatient treatment environment where the process of laying the groundwork for a clean life is your only focus.

How All American Detox Can Help You 

Located in Los Angeles, at All American Detox our focus is on helping you get your life back. With 30 plus years treating substance abuse and over 20 dedicated staff members who all have a connection to recovery helpline number, our individually catered programs are all about your unique needs.

What to Do When Someone Is Addicted to Drugs

What to Do When Someone Is Addicted to Drugs

It’s a helpless place to operate from. The longer addiction holds on to someone you love, that helplessness starts to shift and slide into outright hopelessness.

Helping someone with drug abuse is understandably uncharted territory for most. Sure, there’s some innate level of care that we’re equipped to give as humans but it’s limited in scope and detail. Ultimately, dealing with substance abuse is just not something we learn in school or are naturally prepared to handle.

The questions then become, what to do when someone is addicted to drugs? How can we get them the help they need?

Most importantly, and like with all things in life, the more you know, the more you can help them navigate their way to treatment and sobriety.

Signs My Friend Is Addiction to Drugs

Step 1 is just to be a careful observer and look for the signs of addiction. Drugs affect the whole of a person so the symptoms stretch across the physical, behavioral and psychological.

While signs may start as barely noticeable, they can morph into impossible to miss red flags quickly:

Physical Signs of Drug Addiction

  • Poor coordination
  • Slurring speech
  • Bloodshot eyes
  • Tremors and shakes
  • Significantly changed sleeping patterns, either getting too much or too little
  • A general lack of attention for personal hygiene and a broad worsening of physical appearance
  • Bizarre smells on body and breath
  • A shift in eating habits and sudden weight fluctuation up or down
  • Cravings
  • Experiencing withdrawal symptoms after stopping

Behavioral Signs of Drug Addiction

  • Increasingly absent from responsibilities related to school, family, work, etc.
  • Diminishing performance at work or school
  • Borrowing or even stealing to fund their addiction
  • Financial and legal troubles
  • A complete inability to cut back on using
  • Overly secretive about activities and whereabouts
  • Mysterious absences and withdrawing from society
  • A change in habits/priorities and increasingly riskier behavior
  • Starting to hang with new friends
  • Continuing to use drugs despite the troubles they’re obviously creating

Psychological Signs of Drug Addiction

  • And overall lack of motivation
  • Lethargic
  • More and more irritable
  • Moodiness and outbursts
  • Anxiety
  • A noticeable change in personality
  • Paranoia
  • Depression

On top of all of those warning signs, you’ll start to see a marked increase in their tolerance. As in, they need to take increasingly larger amounts of their substance of choice in order to achieve the highs they once did. Their body has simply gotten used to those previous levels and the drugs don’t pack the same punch. Of course, the longer they use and the more their tolerance grows, the risk for overdose becomes significantly higher.

What to Do When Someone Is Addicted to Drugs

Your friend or family member needs to be guided and lead to treatment and that is certainly something easier said than done. 

As mentioned at the top, knowledge is power in this case. Understanding what recovery is and what the road to sobriety looks like makes it easier to explain. Learning about the various options that are out there also means you can find something best suited to their needs.

You’re eventually going to have to have that “talk” and address the issue. Being equipped with tangible, real solutions is therefore imperative. Additionally, you’ll want to avoid any type of accusing, harsh or blaming type language and instead come from a place of compassion. You’re much more likely to yield positive results that way as opposed to the confrontational approach which often stifles progress.

Reach Out to the All American Detox Team Today

This is a difficult position to be in though, we understand that at All American Detox. We’ve been at this for a long while and have 30+ years of experience in treating substance abuse. If you need help with having that conversation, call us and let us give you the tools necessary to get them to recover and work towards a fulfilling life of sobriety.

Different Types of Addiction Support Groups

Different Types of Addiction Support Groups

Addiction is isolation.

In the moment and in the throes of substance abuse, it may well feel like you’re in the middle of everything. Constantly “in the mix” and surrounded by people, but in reality, that’s something of an illusion.

Everyone is there for the drugs and the drinks. When the drugs end, that camaraderie vanishes and you’re left alone again. The people that truly care about you, your friends and family, end up being pushed further and further away as that cycle of addiction continues. 

You chase a high and, in a very real way, the connection with the people that go after it with you. They support and reinforce the using or the drinking.

Oddly enough, the same is true of getting clean. You actively pursue sobriety and your recovery is bolstered and benefited by a similar support system. The difference is it’s the right kind of support.

Establishing What Addiction Is

We’ll get into the various types of support groups in a second, before that though, let’s identify what addiction exactly is because it’ll help us understand why support groups are so effective.

The American Society of Addiction Medicine defines addiction as “a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual’s life experiences. People with addiction use substances or engage in behaviors that become compulsive and often continue despite harmful consequences.”

There’s a keyword in there, “environment”, that helps explain a big benefit of support groups. If the environment you’re surrounded by is chock full of triggers, drug users and heavy drinkers, it affects you.

To a certain extent, we can become creatures of our environments. Not everyone, but it’s much more likely if that’s your environment and life experience.

Conversely, addiction support groups, full of sober-minded people promote and celebrate your recovery.

Sobriety becomes your environment. Pretty cool, no?

Different Types of Addiction Support Groups

different types of addiction support groups

After finishing up your residential inpatient treatment and/or outpatient care, the next step is aftercare and sober living, of which support groups are a part.

Now, naturally, each person is a unique individual and you don’t have to follow that trajectory at all. Some people require the full scope of treatment while others just need outpatient care or a support group. Your treatment is always catered to what you need.

12-Step Programs

These are the classics so to speak. The 12-step program is a long famous set of guidelines for overcoming addiction. They’re the gospel, and that word is chosen intentionally because the original 12-steps themselves are quite religious in nature. That said there are versions that are less overtly religious and more “spiritual”.

In addition to the steps themselves, what makes these programs work is the meetings. They’re free of charge and happen the world over. The idea is that you create friendships with recovery-minded people and build a system of both support and accountability.

  • Alcoholics Anonymous – By far the most well-known of the 12-step programs is AA and that makes a lot of sense because that’s where the 12-steps themselves came from. Having been around since 1935, the staying power proves its effectiveness.
  • Narcotics Anonymous – The success of AA led to the creation of NA, which for all intents and purposes is the same program but these are exclusively drug addiction support groups.

SMART Recovery – For those that want an entirely different approach to support groups, that has no spiritual or religious component, SMART Recovery is the ticket. SMART, which stands for Self-Management and Recovery Training, describes their support meetings (also free) as for those seeking science-based, self-empowered addiction recovery. 

Let All American Detox Help You Get Sober

Needless to say, support groups play a big role in a sustained and fruitful recovery. Importantly, they’re something you can utilize without having gone to rehab first. If you have questions for yourself or a loved one about finding a group that works for you, reach out to us at All American Detox and we’d be happy to help you find the best option.

Cocaine Addiction Statistics: How Dangerous Is It?

Cocaine Statistics: How Dangerous Is It?

Classed as a schedule II drug by the government, that alone should paint a stark picture of just how hazardous cocaine is. For those not well versed in drug scheduling, II is defined as, “drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with a high potential for abuse, with use potentially leading to severe psychological or physical dependence. These drugs are also considered dangerous”. Cocaine Addiction

While there are medical uses for it, one being as a topical anesthetic, when used as recreational drug cocaine leads to disastrous effects.

It’s a powerfully addictive stimulant that works by flooding the brain with dopamine and providing a fleetingly brief euphoric high. The fact that it lasts a short time leads people to use it again to achieve hit those same levels of dopamine eventually leading to building up a tolerance which can quickly turn into an addiction.

If you’re struggling with cocaine addiction or know someone who is, reach out to us at All American Detox, and let’s get you the help you need.

blog call to action

History of Cocaine

Oddly enough, cocaine has technically been in use for millennia. The indigenous people of South America have been ingesting and chewing on coca leaves, Erythroxylon coca being the source of cocaine, for thousands of years because of their stimulant effects.

It’s essentially one of the oldest known natural stimulants and it wasn’t until the mid-19th century that a German chemist, Albert Nieman, isolated cocaine from those coca leaves.

Famed neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, thought cocaine to be a miracle drug and published a paper on it called “Über Coca”. What he was less aware of at the time were the addictive properties of the drug and thus ended up with addiction.

In that same era, in 1886, a drink invented by John Pemberton was just hitting the soda fountains and eventually the stores. A cocaine-infused beverage known as Coca-Cola with the cocaine itself was removed in 1903.

The 1914 Harrison Narcotics Tax Act heavily regulated cocaine and opiate products and things remained relatively quiet until the explosion of cocaine/crack cocaine in the ’70s and ’80s. From that high watermark, usage has declined quite a bit.

Cocaine Use Statistics in America

While usage is down, it’s by no means under control or at an acceptable level.

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health in 2014, about 913,000 Americans met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria for dependence or abuse of cocaine (in any form) during the past 12 months.

Additionally, over 1 in 3 drug misuse or abuse-related emergency department visits involved cocaine.

A 2018 study showed that by far the highest use prevalence for the drug is among those in the 18 to 25 year old demographic with 5.8% saying they’ve used in the past year.

Disconcertingly, 2.2% of high school seniors say they’ve used cocaine in the last year, and with roughly 3.7 million high school seniors in America, that works out to about 81,400 that have used cocaine.

Read about:  How Long Does Cocaine Addiction Treatment Recovery Take?

How to Get Help with A Cocaine Addiction

Getting help with cocaine addiction is easier now than ever before and will hopefully get even easier as the stigma associated with addiction fades.

All treatment programs start with detox (for the most part), treating the mind and the mental aspects of addiction can’t be done in any robust way until the drug, aka toxin, is out of your body completely. From there you’d either enter an inpatient treatment program where a team of licensed professionals would develop an evidence-based program tailored to your needs.

Inpatient care focuses on counseling and group therapy to help you work through what led you to addiction and also to lay the groundwork for a life of sobriety. To equip you with the tools you need to overcome cravings and distractions and stick with recovery long term.

 After that, you’d be on your way to outpatient care, a stripped-back version of inpatient care that doesn’t require a long stay, and then transitioning back to your day-to-day by way of aftercare or a sober living home. Whichever suits you best.