Facing Drug and Alcohol Addiction in California
It’s hard to enjoy the beauty of California when you’re battling alcoholism or drug addiction. Struggling individuals generally tend to see the world around them, through the lens of their addiction. However, there is hope. People are beginning to see that addiction is a disease of the mind and not a moral defect. People who struggle with addiction need extensive treatment, not imprisonment. We’re here and happy to help you, just simply fill in the form below or give us a call. Do not think that you are past the point of help. We have people waiting to take your call, who have been in worse situations than you are in now. If you call, they will not judge you, they will understand. We want to assist you in mapping out the best course of action to recover.
In This Article
- Best California Treatment Centers
- California Drug & Alcohol Detox
- California Drug & Alcohol Rehab
- California & Drug Abuse
- California & Alcoholism
Too many people stay silent in the shadows of their addiction. They feel guilty and ashamed that they are in so deep with drugs and alcohol. There is no need to feel that way. Millions of people have sought the help of a professional treatment center and made a comeback. Sobriety is possible if you are willing to take on the challenge of completing a rehab program. Drugs and alcohol do not need to play a part in your life if you do not want them to any more.
2.1 million people in California abuse Alcohol on a regular basis.
We know you might be scared, upset or confused about enrolling into detox & rehab. But that is why we are here to help. Our substance abuse specialists are waiting by the phone to take your call. They can help you get checked in to the best treatment program possible. There is no reason to keep letting your addiction win. Seek professional help for the disease that is slowly killing you.
Best California Treatment Centers
Cities in California
California Drug & Alcohol Detox
Once you’ve decided it’s time to take a hold of your life again, you’ll need to rid yourself of the toxins in your body. This process is id called detoxing. While your heart and soul may be ready for it, your body will not welcome the abrupt change in the beginning.
For this reason, the treatment facility you choose may encourage your detox to take place under medical supervision. Your doctor will determine if it’s necessary for you to be hospitalized during detox in order to monitor your body’s response to the significant change. This decision relies on your history, what substance was used and the level of abuse.
Once your body has cleansed itsleg of the drugs or alcohol, it will be time to focus on the mental and emotional section of your recovery. Some may refuse to seek help from a treatment center because of the withdrawal symptoms associated with the detox process. Do not let these symptoms keep you from getting the help you need.
California Drug & Alcohol Rehab
After the detox process, the rehab stage commences. Rehabilitation provides you with the opportunity to rebuild your life; to create meaning and find purpose. While this is very important, a change this significant can bring on substantial levels of stress. In the past, you probable dealt with stress by going to a bar or socializing with friends at a common gathering place. Breaking these comfortable habits in a time of stress, may seem difficult, but it isn’t impossible. It is paramount to not lose sight of your ambition.
People often enter their rehab program thinking of it as a cure for their substance abuse problem. Completing treatment gives you the knowledge it requires to turn down intense carvings to abuse drugs or alcohol. In rehab, you can learn how to handle stress and hard times so that harmful substances will not be used to drown out your feelings.
Treatment for your addiction includes a finding support system and learning the tools you need to successfully achieve sobriety. Contact us today to find a treatment center that will best suit your needs.
Finding Treatment in Your Area
In California alone, there are numerous resources available that are dedicated to assisting individuals on their road to recovery. We can help you find a treatment rehab center that can help you work through a personalized plan. Everyone has different needs when entering treatment, so it can be confusing to know which program is the best for you.
In 2013, an estimated 867,000 California citizens abused illegal drugs.
Different treatment modalities will be available to accommodate for the client’s specific needs, such as providing different forms and combinations of therapies, such as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy, Gestalt Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, Existential Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, Equine Therapy, Art Therapy, Music Therapy and other clinically approved practices.
While some individuals may believe that one therapy may treat every issue, that is generally a common. People are encouraged to examine different forms of therapy and see which one works best. In addition, several therapies may even be interwoven in the treatment process to address abuse and addiction on multiple levels.
Should I travel for Treatment?
Changing your routine is a crucial facor of the recovery process. Some believe that by removing themselves completely from the life from before, they have their best chance at changing habits. Addiction is a disease that is consumed by bad habits. When people attend rehab within their area, they have it in the back of their head that they can leave whenever they want. If leaving is always an option, then it will most likely come to that when rehab gets hard.
If you remove yourself from your current living situation, then you might have an easier time realizing that fighting back against an addiction is possible. Traveling to another city or state for rehab can allow you to see how living without drugs and alcohol can work.
People who are struggling with an addiction have a hard time seeing their life go in another direction because they are so enthralled with their substance abuse. If you get away from the people, places and things that encourage your drug and alcohol use, then you will have an easier time finishing your detox and rehab stint.
When is Intervention Needed?
It is not possible to have an unsuccessful intervention. Each intervention plants a seed into the struggling individuals heart that will eventually blossom into them asking for help in seeking treatment. Not only does an intervention help struggling individuals seek treatment, but also helps family and friends understand no one is to blame for the loved one’s addiction.
In this difficult time, your loved one needs your love and support. A properly planned intervention with the help of a professional interventionist can be the turning point for your family and save the life of your loved one.
An intervention is needed as soon as loved ones can get organized. The sooner the intervention takes place, the sooner your love one might be able to get help. The overall goal of an intervention gathering is to convince the addict that they need professional treatment. Do no gang up to attack your loved one, that will only force them to buckle up and not listen to concerns.
Living Your Recovery
Recovery and fun are far from mutually exclusive. It’s important to find activities you can enjoy while minimizing your exposure to temptations that might cause you to relapse. A relapse doesn’t mean the end of your recovery, however, it’s just a stumbling block.
The important thing is to learn from the stumble, what caused it, and how to avoid it in the future so it doesn’t happen again. To prevent a relapse from happening it is a good idea to attend support groups, 12-step meetings, or therapy sessions. These things will not only help one from relapsing but also allow them to grow mentally and spiritually.
By understanding and knowing what will set of temptations an individual will know what to avoid during his or her new life of recovery. Creating a new life might seem like a big task to take on and it is, however, it will be worth it.
Treatment Options in California
Before any changes can be made, the first step to the recovery process is admitting that a change needs to be made. Once you have confided in yourself and the people you trust, you can take effective action. The next step is to choose a treatment method and facility that can accommodate your specific needs.
Some treatment facilities employ the 12-step program, others operate in a holistic capacity, and some rely on other methods. It’s important to find what is most comfortable for you. We are happy to kindly guide you in choosing the recovery regimen that is right for you.
Whether you are seeking outpatient or inpatient care, we can help you find the appropriate care. There is no single care remedy that can alleviate everyone from every substance abuse disorder. It is important to enroll into a program that meets all your personal needs.
Throughout the state, it was reported that 4,659 people died from drug overdoses in 2015.
Aftercare Services in California
In addition, California also provides numerous environments for support groups and other community-centered programs that assist in maintaining sobriety and decreases the probabilities of relapse. Centers in California will more than likely provide treatment in either the 12-step format, groups that closely follow this format for other drugs or process addictions, or notably deviate from the 12-step model.
If you do not consider yourself to be religiously based, there are also options available form support groups people of similar viewpoints on the subject. Regardless of who you are or how you view the world, there is help and support for you, and we can help you find it.
Follow-up programs are detrimental to the recovery process. Because rehab is not a cure to addiction, your drug and alcohol carvings will also be trying to get the best of you. Good aftercare programs can help you remain sober.
“Rehab, prison or death are the only three options you have to cope with an addiction”
When you think long and hard about it there are really only three ways to cope with a substance abuse problem. You can go to rehab where you will learn how to live a happy and sober life. Or you can end up in prison where you are forced to sober up through old-fashioned cold turkey methods. And the last outcome is that your addiction will kill you if given the chance. Let us help you with the most logical choice, enrolling into rehab. Call us now to get more information about inpatient and outpatient rehab treatment centers.
The Moral Model of Addiction and the Disease Model of Addiction
Within the subject of addiction, there are generally two viewpoints; one interprets and acknowledges the causes and contributing factors of addiction. These two models are the Moral Model and the Disease Model; both of which contrast immensely from each other.
One of the older models that has been present in our society for an immeasurable amount of time is the moral model. The moral model generally interprets addiction is deficiency of willpower over the substance. Commonly, people who continually abuse substances are seen as morally weak individuals, and people who are addicted are bad people with little to no character. Unfortunately, this belief often affects people who are addicted and in recovery. Social stigmas regarding moral character in relation to addiction provide difficulties for self-confidence and the belief in oneself to pursue sobriety and remain sober. Oftentimes, when recovering individuals feel a sense of being defective or bad people, their belief in their own ability to make change in their life often decreases. This dangerous underestimation of oneself often leads to hopelessness, depression, thoughts of self-medicating these unpleasant emotions, ultimately fueling the cycle of addiction. For this reason, people in recovery and people who know others in recovery are not encouraged to hold this viewpoint of addiction being a personal choice. However, if it lines up with your belief systems, you are entirely entitled to hold this viewpoint.
The Disease Model
Another philosophy regarding addiction would be the disease model. This belief views addiction on the same capacity as a chronic medical illness within the brain, as opposed to a compromised system of morals. When viewing addiction through the disease model, one can see parallels between addiction and illnesses such as heart disease. Both diseases are chronic, require life changes (such as diet and exercise for heart disease and changes to daily routines and social circles for addiction), can be fatal of left untreated, have genetic propensities for development, and are not entirely cured but sent into remission. Upon further examination of the parallels between addiction and other diseases, there are other ways of viewing and dissecting factors in diseases.
Another philosophy regarding addiction would be the disease model. This belief views addiction on the same capacity as a chronic medical illness within the brain, as opposed to a compromised system of morals. When viewing addiction through the disease model, one can see parallels between addiction and illnesses such as heart disease. Both diseases are chronic, require life changes (such as diet and exercise for heart disease and changes to daily routines and social circles for addiction), can be fatal of left untreated, have genetic propensities for development, and are not entirely cured but sent into remission. Upon further examination of the parallels between addiction and other diseases, there are other ways of viewing and dissecting factors in diseases.
With addiction, the cause would be the administration of mind altering substances that induce a euphoric state of being. The damages because of this administration are a bit more complex. Within the brain, there are several structures that are directly affected by substance abuse; these consist of the prefrontal cortex (which primarily serves as the area which regulates logic, reasoning and other executive functions), the limbic system (which is the main center for the “pleasure and reward” functioning of the brain, and the Midbrain (the survival component which lives for the next fifteen seconds). Once a psychoactive drug is administered into the system, the euphoria-inducing chemicals throw the limbic system out of its usual degree of balance (or homeostasis).
The extreme highs and lows now affecting the limbic system cause it to release significant amounts of two neurotransmitters known as Dopamine, which is generally responsible for the sensations of pleasure, and Glutamate, which seers the memory of the drug use, as well as its euphoric affects into the mind. This intense memory of the drug also affects the midbrain, as it now interprets the need to continue using the drug as more important than the necessities in life, such as food, water, safety and reproduction. As the midbrain is closer to the brain stem than the prefrontal cortex, once the brain is triggered into remembering the use of the drug, the midbrain induces a powerful drive to take another dose of the drug before the prefrontal cortex has a chance to carefully examine the consequences of using. In essence, the midbrain overrides the functioning of the prefrontal cortex in that particular scenario, compromising the individual’s ability to make a beneficial choice. According to the Disease Model, addiction is not a choice, it is a disease of choice.
If you agree with either the Moral Model or the Disease Model, or neither of them, it is perfectly acceptable. However, it would benefit one to understand that one’s philosophy regarding addiction will most likely affect the treatment process, as well as life beyond rehab.
California Can Get Intervention Tips
If someone you know is using drugs or alcohol, there is a possibility that he or she may be in denial about his or her use. If this is the case, an intervention may be necessary. During an intervention, individuals involved with helping the person afflicted by addiction will need to display a delicate balance between sensitivity and assertiveness.
If interventionists are too sensitive to the addicted persons state of being, the individual may still refuse to change if he or she still believes that the addiction is not causing that much of an issue. On the other side of the spectrum, if the interventionists are too overbearing about the situation, the addicted person may shut everyone out, and continue to use.
Most successful interventions consist of individuals approaching the topic in a capacity of genuine concern, rather than anger or shame. This concern can be calmly, but forcefully elaborated upon by having the addict examine the negative consequences of his or her substance use, such as damaged personal relationships, encounters with legal incidences, financial strain due to the cost of the drugs or alcohol and damages to the individual’s personal health.
After carefully illuminating the consequences of use, the interventionists will also voice their own concern for the addicted person to let him or her know all of them are willing to assist the individual in a process of recovery. In most successful cases, the individual sees his or her effects of using drugs and alcohol and pursues treatment. However, not everyone is necessarily well-equipped, on an emotional or mental capacity, to stage an intervention.
California & Drug Abuse
Drug abuse numbers are rising across the country. Addiction does not discriminate, so whether you live in a big city or small town, no one in California is immune from developing a substance abuse problem. Anyone who uses drugs on a regular basis is in addiction’s wheel-house.
People tend to abuse drugs because they feel scared, upset or stress about something that occurred, or might occur, in their life. But using drugs to dumb down feelings can mess with the chemicals in your brain and confuse your body to think that it needs that harmful substance to feel normal.
Most people who use drugs extensively, thing they can stop whenever they want. Those are usually the people who find out the hard way. Do not become another arrest or death statistic, get help now.
California & Alcoholism
Alcoholism is an insidious condition within society. It doesn’t favor any one race, sex, culture or ethnicity. Alcohol is nearly everywhere you look in California, whether it’s at a friend’s home, at a restaurant or grocery store.
In addition, it may be difficult to recognize when it’s time to seek help when social drinking, which is a common way to spend time with friends in California, becomes out of control, progressing to addiction without any warning. When addressing issues of Alcohol use, you should carefully choose the rehab that’s right for you and your family.
If your drinking is reaching a point where you are putting liquor before the things and people you once loved, then it might be time to seek professional help. There is no need to feel guilty in asking for help dealing with a deadly disease.
Sources
- California: Opioid-Involved Deaths and Related Harms: https://www.drugabuse.gov/drug-topics/opioids/opioid-summaries-by-state/california-opioid-involved-deaths-related-harms
- Substance Use in California: https://www.chcf.org/publication/2018-edition-substance-use-california/
- Drug Overdose Deaths – Shasta County: https://www.co.shasta.ca.us/docs/libraries/hhsa-docs/healthandsafety/drug-related-deaths.pdf?sfvrsn=0
- Monitoring and reporting alcohol and drug use trends in California: the California Substance Abuse Research Consortium meetings: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12825754/