If you have been taking drugs for a while and just decide one day you are going to stop on your own, carefully read this. You CANNOT I repeat CANNOT stop abruptly. It is extremely dangerous and could be potentially deadly. You need to ween yourself off of it slowly. In my case, I tried to abruptly stop taking Xanax on my own not knowing exactly what withdrawal was. I honestly felt perfectly fine for the three days I was off of it until I woke up after a seizure that knocked out four teeth and put 12 stitches on my face. Had I know the exact danger of it, I would have at least slowly lowered my dosages until I was ready to be done. But if you seriously have a problem and are aware of it and want to stop, the best thing you can do is go and seek help. If you really are not into the whole treatment deal, there are plenty of 3-7 day detoxes out there that can quickly and safely ween you off of whatever you were using. If you have a problem with drugs or alcohol, your main issue is way deeper. My recommendation would be to get yourself into a treatment center where you are able to uncover the underlying behaviors that bring your addiction to the surface. The best thing, and I will say this an infinite amount of times, the best thing I have ever done for myself is go into treatment.
Even though I went in at a young age (I was only 20), I am so happy that I got the knowledge that I did when I learned it. I have come across many people in their 30's and even 40's that wish they could have gone into treatment at such a young age. They seem to all claim that they have wasted many years of their lives that they can never get back. What many do not realize is that this disease is PROGRESSIVE! Just because you have not gotten to point in which you consider bad does not mean you will not get there if you do not get help.
In my experience, towards the end of my active addiction, things were PROGRESSIVELY getting worse and worse each day. I can share my experience at Phoenix Airport with you. I was waiting for three hours at a layover to fly back to Philadelphia for my Grandfathers 70th birthday party in New Jersey. Might I remind you real quick that I came into this program thinking I only had a problem with drugs and not alcohol (ALCOHOL IS A DRUG!!!!!!!). Well I was sitting at the airport pounding down shots at the bar until I got kicked out and went to another terminal. After getting kicked out of the next bar, three hours had passed and it was time to get on the plane. Well, I was not so successful with that. The stewardess would not allow me on because I was so intoxicated. Therefore, I had to spend the night in Phoenix and pay an extra 400 dollars to fly back in time the next day for my Grandfathers birthday celebration. THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN TO NORMAL PEOPLE! This only happens to alcoholics. Just knowing that this happened towards the end of my active use and that it is a progressive disease helps me to know that I can never drink successfully again. One drink, no matter how long sober, will lead me right back down this terrible path. Thank God for Alcoholics Anonymous and Treatment, or else I would never be able to say this. TODAY I HAVE SEVEN MONTHS SOBER!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
People, Places, and Things
These three words are the three most important things people need to think about when getting sober. It is highly recommended against to hang out with the same people you used to use with or live in the same areas you were using in. In my case, I was attending the University of Arizona getting high every single day. I loved college there but just couldn't manage with my addiction. I would love nothing more than to head back to school there. But coming up on 7 months sober, I still do not feel that even with some time put together I could go back there without using. All I have in my recovery is today. And things could be going real well and I may be able to resist the partying at Arizona for a while. But they say, "if you hang around a barber shop long enough, your gonna get a haircut."
So I decided to relocate myself down to South Florida where there is unbelievable recovery. The Delray Beach/Boca Raton area has amazing people who always welcome you with open arms. I am grateful to say I have multiple people I can call at anytime of the day to turn to for support when a struggle comes up.
So I decided to relocate myself down to South Florida where there is unbelievable recovery. The Delray Beach/Boca Raton area has amazing people who always welcome you with open arms. I am grateful to say I have multiple people I can call at anytime of the day to turn to for support when a struggle comes up.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Drug Addiction Treatment
There are many treatment centers out there that can help you or a loved one get clean and sober. Most importantly, these treatment centers can save your life.
My personal recommendation for anyone looking to get clean and sober is Caron Renaissance.
Caron Renaissance sets itself apart from most treatment centers. Not only does it focus on treating your addiction/alcoholism, it contains a dual-diagnosis treatment that helps to treat underlying behaviors that led to your addiction. It is said that "if nothing changes, nothing changes." With that said, Caron Renaissance makes sure that you get the most out of your treatment. They help guide you to make the changes you need in order to save your life. The family of the patient is heavily involved as well.
Caron Renaissance offers help in many areas.
-Compulsive Gambling
-Grief and Loss
-Trauma
-Anger Resolution
-Body Image
...as well as many other areas you can read about on their website... www.caronrenaissance.org.
My personal recommendation for anyone looking to get clean and sober is Caron Renaissance.
Caron Renaissance sets itself apart from most treatment centers. Not only does it focus on treating your addiction/alcoholism, it contains a dual-diagnosis treatment that helps to treat underlying behaviors that led to your addiction. It is said that "if nothing changes, nothing changes." With that said, Caron Renaissance makes sure that you get the most out of your treatment. They help guide you to make the changes you need in order to save your life. The family of the patient is heavily involved as well.
Caron Renaissance offers help in many areas.
-Compulsive Gambling
-Grief and Loss
-Trauma
-Anger Resolution
-Body Image
...as well as many other areas you can read about on their website... www.caronrenaissance.org.
Going into Treatment
Going into treatment was extremely tough. I was extremely resistant and did not want to hear anything any therapist wanted to say about me. Why would I want to hear it? I have been using drugs for the last four years to avoid taking a truthful look inside myself. But drugs put aside, treatment was able to show me the young child I had been acting life all of my life. It was time for me to face who I have been hiding from, myself, and become a man.
As I said it was really tough. It was even more difficult to realize that I thought I had been doing a good job hiding who I really was when all the people who cared about me got a full spoonful plus more of the real Matt. I am going to be honest, everyone who knew me, knew more about me than I did. I was a chameleon. Meaning I would adjust to certain people and situations, never exposing the true Matt because I was way too scared of what other people thought of me. The therapists in my treatment center were extremely quick to jumping on this and realizing it. I would act different in groups to different therapists. It was absolutely time for a change. I was put on many directives and assigned plenty of treatment work to figure out the root cause of Matt the Chameleon. I was able to take that true look at myself that I never cared to look at. I learned through treatment who I really was and that I can be comfortable exposing who I really am to anyone. What YOU think about ME is not my business.
As I said it was really tough. It was even more difficult to realize that I thought I had been doing a good job hiding who I really was when all the people who cared about me got a full spoonful plus more of the real Matt. I am going to be honest, everyone who knew me, knew more about me than I did. I was a chameleon. Meaning I would adjust to certain people and situations, never exposing the true Matt because I was way too scared of what other people thought of me. The therapists in my treatment center were extremely quick to jumping on this and realizing it. I would act different in groups to different therapists. It was absolutely time for a change. I was put on many directives and assigned plenty of treatment work to figure out the root cause of Matt the Chameleon. I was able to take that true look at myself that I never cared to look at. I learned through treatment who I really was and that I can be comfortable exposing who I really am to anyone. What YOU think about ME is not my business.
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