Recovery

Recovery from Substance Abuse

jwilliams — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 13:39:29 -0600

Recovery is the process of regaining a healthy balance in the lives of persons adversely affected, directly or indirectly, by drug addiction. The recovery process can affect the social, physical and cultural effects of addiction. The process may take months or years, and often is characterized by frequent relapses. Like people working to recover from other chronic diseases such as diabetes or asthma, people working to recover from addictions often require substantial support from others, including loved ones and professionals.

Additional Resources

jwilliams — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 13:38:28 -0600

All additional resources are listed in alphabetical order, with descriptions.

Alcohol and Drug Abuse
http://www.alcoholanddrugabuse.com
Straightforward information and useful resources related to alcohol & drug abuse, alcoholism, drug addiction, codependency, & (especially) recovery.
read more

Cocaine Recovery

jwilliams — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 13:36:52 -0600

Cocaine addiction treatment includes learning ways to deal with lifestyle changes. The success of recovery from cocaine addiction ultimately depends on the individual.

The following activities can be used to maintain sobriety following treatment:

Inhalant Recovery

jwilliams — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 13:36:12 -0600

Inhalant treatment plans should take into account that relapse is common among people who abuse inhalants. It may be helpful to introduce abusers to safe and healthy forms of recreation. Aftercare and follow-up are particularly important for this group of abusers and may involve multiple community resources (schools, faith-based organizations, recreation programs, community centers, etc.). Finally, people who abuse inhalants often need help developing basic life skills (e.g., in hygiene, nutrition, school attendance, and job skills).

Marijuana Recovery

jwilliams — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 13:34:39 -0600

Marijuana contains THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) which is stored in the fat cells and therefore takes longer to fully clear the body than with other drugs, including alcohol. This means that some parts of the body still retain THC even after a couple of months, rather than just the couple of days or weeks for water soluble drugs.
Marijuana detox can have physical or psychological effects including vivid dreams, irritability, anger, anxiety, headaches or night sweats.

Methamphetamine Recovery

jwilliams — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 13:33:20 -0600

Methamphetamine rehabilitation is a multi-phase, multi-faceted, long term process. Detoxification is only the first step on the road of addiction treatment. Physical detoxification alone is not sufficient to change the patterns of a drug addict. Recovery from addiction involves an extended process which usually requires the help of drug addiction professionals. To make a successful recovery, the addict needs new tools in order to deal with situations and problems which arise.

Other Drug Recovery

jwilliams — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 13:32:10 -0600

No single type of treatment is appropriate for all individuals addicted to a substance. Treatment must take into account the type of drug used and the needs of the individual. Successful treatment may need to incorporate several components, including detoxification, counseling, and in some cases, the use of pharmacological therapies. Multiple courses of treatment may be needed for the patient to make a full recovery.

Tobacco-Alcohol Recovery

jwilliams — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 13:28:10 -0600

Tobacco addiction recovery is a temporary journey of re-adjustment: a period when deeply ingrained psychological nicotine feeding cues caused by the chemical dependency are broken.

It can take up to 72 hours for the blood-serum to become nicotine-free and 90% of nicotine's metabolites to exit the body. During this period the anxieties associated with readjustment normally peak in intensity and begin to gradually decline. Irritability, often anxiety's aftermath, seems to peak at about 48 hours while restlessness peaks at 72 hours.