Emotional Reasoning

Often feelings regarding substance abuse are disconnected from the facts. While one may FEEL like "everyone is mad at me for drinking" there are people in your life who are not mad at you. These people want to see you get help. Even the people who are "mad" at you want to see you get help! Help can be in the form of 12 step meetings such as Alcoholics Anonymous and residential rehabilitation treatment. Thinking that others are going to treat you a certain way, based on your emotions at the time, is called emotional reasoning. You may actually be basing how you imagine people are thinking about you due to thoughts that you are having about yourself! For example, you may think that people are mad at you for your drinking when, in fact, it is you who is mad at yourself for your drinking. It may have nothing to do with how other people personally view you. In any case, you need to get help. There is help for alcoholics out there that is life-changing.

Drug Rehab Fees

If you are looking for a drug rehab or alcohol rehab, be sure to ask what is included in the fees. I know of people who were admitted to drug rehab programs in California, paid very substantial fees, and then were shocked to get a huge doctor bill after they discharged!

Many programs do not want you to know up front that a lot of their costs are not included in the price. They offer a price that you may think is all-inclusive but really it is not.

At Paradise Recovery, we give you an agreement that details exactly what is included in the price. Bills after discharge will not be "sprung" on you. All of the information is supplied ahead of time. With everything except the Akamai Track, the price includes the doctor visits, psychiatric evaluation and psychiatric follow-up costs.

It's just one more reason to choose Paradise Recovery.

Help for Alcoholics

The internet is abundant with self-help articles, recommendations, treatment groups, therapies, etc. for alcoholics and drug addicts.

The truth is, alcoholism and drug addiction are diseases of isolation. Human nature being what it is, we usually try to find the "easiest" solution to our problems. It would be great if we could just stop drinking on our own or if we could just read a book that would make us stop. Maybe there is a pill or something we could take that would make us stop.

Well, unfortunately, it is not that easy. However, there is help for alcoholics and drug addicts out there. Isolation is not the answer. Addiction treatment does work. If you are thinking about inpatient treatment (and you should be.... this is a deadly disease!), the best alcohol rehabs and drug rehabs are those that take a holistic approach to the treatment of the disease. That is to say, they take a treatment approach that hits the disease from multiple angles, but in a carefully coordinated and integrated way.

If you are looking for alcohol or drug treatment, just know that treatment works. It takes time and effort on your part. But it is well worth every single thing that you put into it.

The "doing" part of Drug Rehab

The best drug rehabs are about "doing". When you come to a drug rehab, it is to begin the "doing" of recovery. It is not just the rehab that is "doing". Mostly, it is you. It is an active process for the addict! Recovery is not something that just happens while you passively sit by and wait for the things to be "done" to you so that you can have recovery. The recovery process takes work.

The critical part of a drug or alcohol rehab is the process whereby you are guided in your "doing". The best drug rehabs and best alcohol rehabs privide you with expert guidance and direction so that your work is meaningful and efficient as it leads you on the path to recovery. A recovery "map" is provided to you so that you can quickly get your bearings and move forward in a meaningful way.

Please be careful in selecting a rehab. Most that are out there do not provide a sound recovery map. You don't want to spend time and money gambling with your life, only to find that you are floundering because a sound recovery map was not provided. With great directions, the "doing" part of recovery becomes much easier!

The Symphony of Drug Rehab

Most people try outpatient treatment for their addiction before considering drug rehab or alcohol rehab. Most of those people fail.

The reason is that addiction is extremely resistent to treatment. It takes a supreme, concerted effort to get an addict on the road to a lasting recovery. The best drug rehabs and best alcohol rehabs are those that orchestrate a multi-pronged approach that involves a myriad of individualized and common treatment elements. However, each of these elements do not exist in isolation. They are integrated, much as a conductor would conduct a symphony of many players and instruments. The result is not a conglomeration of noise but, rather, beautiful music.

There are only a few top rehabs out there. Ours is one of the few. Call our HelpLine at 866-478-9898 for more information. Let's get you on the road to recovery.

Binge Drinking: Current Thinking

The definition of binge drinking has shifted in recent years. The previous understanding of binge drinking was high consumption of alcohol over at least a 2-day period. Today, the length of time is not the primary factor, it is the likelihood of high-risk and harm to self or others involved during or after the binge.

The length and amount of the consumption is still considered, but since alcohol tolerance is different in each individual, the focus on related impairment and harm is a smarter way to define "binge drinking". Of course, the beverage industry argues that the threshold for binge consumption should be much higher than medical professionals suggest.

Binge drinking is usually associated with late adolescents or college students. In fact, millions of adult alcoholics binge drink to a point that it is harmful and often engage in high-risk behaviors (e.g. driving while intoxicated, fights, inappropriate and unsafe sexual encounters, gambling, etc.).

The attraction to binge drinking for the alcoholic is similar to the opiate addict who takes several vicodin, more than usual, to achieve a more potent high. However, just like taking more drugs, drinking intense amounts of alcohol will put you in a state where you are more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors and certainly harming your body and maybe harming the loved ones around you as well.

If you feel you have a binge drinking problem, please see an addiction specialist today! You can call our HelpLine at (866) 478-9898 to speak with a counselor.

Recuperatio Primoris!

Alcohol Rehab: Should I choose a Large Program or a Smaller One?

There are a number of alcohol rehabs and drug rehabs out there. Some are excellent. Some are not so great. Some are large. Some are small.

Larger alcohol rehab programs will often have a large compliment of staff with extended facilities. Larger rehabs are often associated with a less individualized approach. They tend to focus more on the group model of treatment and a cookie-cutter approach. This method works for some people. Larger rehabs often have the look and feel of a hospital facility. You eat in a cafeteria. You walk around the "grounds" of the facility. You are one of a large multiple of other clients.

Smaller alcohol rehabs and drug rehabs are generally better able to provide a more intimate and private environment in which individual treatment needs can be recognized and addressed. There is generally less reliance on a sole group therapy type of approach and more of an emphasis on an individual therapy approach. Instead of being in a hospital-like environment, smaller rehabs tend to look more like a home/family environment. The staffing is smaller and more intimate. There is no chance of feeling "lost in the crowd". You eat family-style, usually at a dining room table. You are one of a small number of other clients.

When choosing a drug or alcohol rehab, think about the size of the program. Knowing yourself better than anyone else, ask yourself which environment and treatment approach is going to have the biggest impact on you and give you the best chance at a lasting recovery.

Alcohol Detox (Detoxification) or Social Detox?

Alcohol detox is something most alcohol rehab programs do not offer. If they do offer alcohol detox, it is something that is known as "social detox". Social alcohol detox is basically that you get support from people around you while you are "jonesing". Imagine having full-blown alcohol withdrawal symptoms while people around you are giving you encouragement. That's great! Did you know that alcohol detox can be fatal? What about when you begin to have seizures related to your alcohol withdrawal, or when your blood pressure shoots through the roof? How will your social supports be helpful? Will you be rushed to the hospital? Will it be in time? Will the staff recognize the warning signs that you are in medical trouble?

Obviously, with any serious alcohol detox, a social detox is not safe. It's that simple. Alcohol detox needs to be a medical procedure that is undertaken at the direction and orders of a physician who has experience in this area. Many people die every year when they stop drinking alcohol cold-turkey and do not get the appropriate medically-monitored detox.

Alcohol detox is the beginning step of a lasting recovery. Please do it safely.

John Neuhaus, M.D.

Celebrity Rehab

We all see the news about the number of celebrities who reportedly are entering rehab. The general public looks on with amazement. There has even been a television show recently that has taken a real-life look at celebrities in rehab.

I have seen that show. Even though the people in the show are celebrities, I must say, they have the same issues and problems in drug rehab as everyone else does. Celebrities are no different than anyone else when it comes to addiction.

Even though there is media sensation around celebrities entering rehab, I must say that addiction is a disease that spares no one. No matter who you are. And no one has an easy battle with the disease. Again, it doesn't matter who you are, it is a difficult battle. But it is a battle not to be undertaken alone. There is help out there. Most of the best drug rehabs and alcohol rehabs are located right here in the U.S.

I am thankful for much of the news around celebrities entering rehab. It highlights the disease of addiction and some of the addiction treatment programs that are out there. It also highlights what happens when you are not fully invested in your own treatment: you come back to rehab! Well, hopefully you come back.... with a renewed sense of getting down to serious business and beating the disease.

Alcoholism and Brain Function... or lack thereof!

(This is a continuation of the blogs on the relationship between alcoholism and nutritional deficiencies) Our body is a complex system with many interacting parts. One example is how alcoholism affects the pancreas, which then affects the brain. Let me explain. Chronic alcohol use can cause impaired insulin secretion from the pancreas. Insulin is a hormone that controls our blood sugar, also known as blood glucose. Alcoholism can result in both overly elevated blood sugar (making you look like you might be diabetic) as well as low blood sugar if too much insulin is secreted.

Guess what the "food" is for the brain? Glucose. Remember alcoholism can produce a state of low glucose in the body. The brain uses glucose in order to work properly. It is the fuel of the brain. Let's make this simple: low blood sugar = starving brain = brain does not work well = you don't think straight, you make poor decisions, you don't function like you used to.

Got that? But wait, there is yet another way alcoholism affects the brain. Remember how we talked previously about impaired B-Vitamin and other vitamin absorption as well as poor nutrition with alcoholism? Chronic alcohol use results in a thiamine deficiency. Thiamin is one of those B-Vitamins. Guess what thiamine does? If you guessed that it is involved in glucose metabolism, you guessed correctly!

No big deal, right? A little vitamin deficiency shouldn't be that bad. Well, chronic thiamin deficiency, which is seen time and time again in alcoholics, causes certain areas of the brain to shrink, also called atrophy. These areas of the brain are involved with different things, some of which are memory. The alcoholic begins to develop a condition called Wernicke-Korsakoff's syndrome. Wernicke's encephalopathy, as it is called, rears it's ugly head most commonly with ataxia (trouble walking straight), an eye condition called nystagmus, and confusion. It can lead to coma or death on occassion. Next comes Korsakoff's psychosis. It is a combination of psychosis, amnesia for recent and past events, and confabulation. In other words, you become psychotic, can't remember what you the hell you did today or yesterday (although memories from a long time ago might still be there), and you make up stories when people ask you a question to try to hide the fact that you can't remember (confabulation).

These conditions can all be treated to varying degrees, depending on how progressed the condition is. Success depends on the competent staff at a "best" alcohol rehab. By that I mean an alcohol rehab that takes a holistic approach to you as an individual, looking at your physical needs as well as emotional, psychological and spiritual needs.

Recovery from Drug Addiction and Alcohol Addiction

There are many ways people seek treatment for drug addiction and alcohol addiction. Many seek treatment through drug rehabs and alcohol rehabs, while others may find it helps working with their Psychologist, Psychiatrist or Doctor. Still others may find relief through spirituality or religion to relieve them of their drug abuse and alcohol abuse. All are great ways to get started on your road to recovery. When combined with the knowledge of being powerless over drug addiction and alcohol addiction, as taken from Step One in Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, you then have an even greater chance of sustained recovery.

Step One -

We admitted that we were powerless over our alcohol addiction and/or drug addiction, that our lives had become unmanageable.

The First Step is the start of the recovery process...the freedom from drug addiction and alcohol addiction starts with Step One.