Overcoming addiction can be extremely difficult. It is essential to have a care team that understands your individualized needs and can create an addiction treatment plan for you. At Lakehouse Recovery Center, we are dedicated to providing you with the utmost care and support during recovery.
There are many defining factors of addiction, including an uncontrollable desire to use a substance even when doing so creates negative consequences in your life. Addiction refers to the inability to stop using or cut back, even when you try. Also, you participate in risky behaviors to obtain and use your drug of choice, like stealing, and you cannot control how much you use.
Addiction is treatable. Millions of people have overcome addiction. You can too.
For successful addiction recovery, following a model that has been proven to work is essential. You cannot wing it or create a plan of recovery as you go. Fortunately, you don’t have to because experts have established evidence-based programs for you.
Below is a brief guide to overcoming addiction.
Overcoming Addiction: Assessing the Problem
Do you have an addiction? A self-assessment of your substance use behaviors can provide powerful insight if you are open to admitting the truth and ready for change. There are stages of readiness for change that most people move through when getting help for an addiction.
Stages range from being in denial to being ready to enter detox and long-term inpatient treatment. Even if you’re not ready for change, you can seek a professional to provide screening or assessment. Treatment specialists are trained to properly evaluate the level of care you need for overcoming addiction, based on the information you provide.
If the expert determines you have an addiction and recommends treatment at an addiction recovery center, you can agree to give it a try no matter where you are on the readiness for change scale. Understanding the various types of treatments available can help you choose the right level of care.
Types of Treatments
Depending on your drug of choice, you may need to start with a higher level of care and step down through lower levels of care as you progress in recovery. Common treatment types include medical detox. You may need medically supervised detox treatment to avoid severe withdrawal symptoms.
After detox, although drugs or alcohol are no longer in your system, you can still have withdrawal symptoms that make it hard to avoid a relapse. Creating a relapse prevention plan and learning such skills is a necessary part of recovery. This can be done in an inpatient rehab center or through intensive outpatient programs.
Outpatient Programs are a great option for those who cannot leave their life for weeks or months but need help overcoming addiction. Medication management and therapy are offered on an outpatient basis. You live at home but attend ten or more hours each week of therapeutic services.
Outpatient programs vary in length and time spent in therapy.
Types of Outpatient Treatments
At the beginning of your recovery journey, it is better to have more therapeutic support to help you cope with intense cravings, relapse triggers, and co-occurring disorders. Then, you can begin to move through less intensive services. Your treatment plan for overcoming addiction may include the following:
- Partial hospitalization programs typically meet between three and seven days a week, six hours each day.
- Intensive outpatient programs that offer a specified number of hours a day of treatment. People can attend between three and six days a week.
- Outpatient programs provide 1.5 hours of therapy provided between one and three days every week.
Each outpatient program uses a multi-layered approach to help you overcome addiction.
Therapy Approaches for Overcoming Addiction
At every level of treatment for overcoming addiction, you can expect to receive the following:
1. Individual and Group Counseling
Each person who enters treatment for a substance use disorder receives one-on-one counseling with a treatment specialist. Because you have special needs that differ from other participants, you need individual counseling. Here you can focus on past traumas, mental health disorders, relationship problems, and much more.
Group counseling is facilitated by a therapist but allows feedback and support from peers. Topics will be more general, recovery-focused.
Attending support groups is encouraged. While therapists don’t run them, they give you a place to be with your peers, discussing your recovery journey and listening to others, and helping each other stay on track. The 12 Step groups are well-known and accessible, but you can also attend more specific support groups, like co-occurring disorders or trauma-based.
2. Educational Classes
There are specific skills that you need for overcoming addiction which is taught through educational courses. Examples include early recovery skills, relapse prevention skills, communication skills, and conflict resolution skills. You can also learn more about the disease model of addiction, how it affects your brain and body, and how the body needs to heal.
Life skills are also a focus. It’s essential to learn how to live and function as a sober person. You’ve gotten used to doing everything under the influence of substances. You now must relearn how to do them sober.
3. Family Therapy
Family members play a role in the disease of addiction, and they also play a role in overcoming addiction. Addiction affects the whole family. Whether it has broken relationships or turned well-meaning loved ones into enablers, everyone must change and heal.
Working with a family therapist, your family can work on role modification, communication, setting healthy boundaries, and more.
4. Holistic Therapies
Many treatment programs are now recognizing the importance of treating the whole body. Mindfulness practices are important help you connect your mind, body, and spirit. Meditation and yoga are becoming part of recovery treatment for their benefits. Other holistic treatments include acupuncture or acupressure, Tai Chi, breathwork, and guided imagery.
Aftercare Planning
Before you complete treatment, it’s crucial to plan how you will continue to move forward in overcoming addiction. To be successful in recovery, you may need help in overcoming some past challenges. Examples of aftercare assistance include vocational counseling if you need help finding a job and educational assistance if you need help completing a degree. If you need help addressing medical problems, you can get assistance in making those appointments.
At the Lakehouse Recovery Center, you can get sober and maintain sobriety with the right help from our programs that offer traditional and non-traditional treatments, confidential and safe environments and makes you and your recovery a priority.
