Resistance to Alcohol Rehab

For many practicing alcoholics, the last thing on their mind is going to alcohol rehab. The disease tells the alcoholic, "You don't need help! You're not the problem, they are!" They, meaning the significant other, co-worker, employer, children, parents, society, the list goes on and on.

After all who wants to go to alcohol rehab to admit that they are, through their drinking, the main source of the problem? Checking into an alcohol rehab is a BIG step, oftentimes, the hardest step to make. Humility and surrender are key components to recovery, one's that the disease of alcoholism is very resistant to.

Once that BIG step is taken, however, the transformation will begin. Recovery is an inside job and being admitted to an alcohol rehab will assist in healing from within.

At Paradise Recovery, we help the alcoholic in the transformation process to a healthier, spirited soul. Not only do we offer top-notch therapy, we also introduce you to an array of healing techniques, which include Yoga, Acupuncture, Qi Gong (Movement Therapy), Fitness Training, Meditation. We are the New Generation of Rehabs, combining traditional with new age techniques to be able to offer the best an alcohol rehab can offer.

If you or a loved one needs help, please contact us, Paradise Recovery on our 24 hour help line at
1-866-478-9898.

Resistance to Drug Rehab

For many practicing drug addicts, the last thing on their mind is going to drug rehab. The disease tells the drug addict, "You don't need help! You're not the problem, they are!" They, meaning the significant other, co-worker, employer, children, parents, society, the list goes on and on. After all who wants to go to drug rehab to admit that they are, through drugging, the main source of the problem? Checking into a drug rehab is a BIG step, oftentimes, the hardest step to make. Humility and surrender are key components to recovery, one's that the disease of drug addiction is very resistant to.Once that BIG step is taken, however, the transformation will begin. Recovery is an inside job and being admitted to a drug rehab will assist in healing from within. At Paradise Recovery, we help the drug addict in the transformation process to a healthier, spirited soul. Not only do we offer top-notch therapy, we also introduce you to an array of healing techniques, which include Yoga, Acupuncture, Qi Gong (Movement Therapy), Fitness Training, Meditation. We are the New Generation of Rehabs, combining traditional with new age techniques to be able to offer the best a drug rehab can offer.If you or a loved one needs help, please contact us on our 24 hour HelpLine at 1-866-478-9898.

Humility: A great virtue for alcoholics and addicts in treatment

We know from decades of successful recovery work that one key character trait that aids in recovery work, and without it hinders recovery success, is humility. Humility comes from the Latin root "humus" meaning earthy, or without airs. So, to be humble is to be "real".

Being humble requires shifting from a self-centered, addictive existence,to a more other-focused existence. For example, we limit phone calls in rehab precisely because our new clients will call family members and loved ones and harangue about themselves and why they should or should not (more often) be in rehab. They actually may attack and blame others. A humble response would be to consider what my behaviors may have done to affect my loved ones and commit to treatment, and follow the instructions of the rehab staff, since I know I am not an expert in recovery.

Humility is not easy. It is not an innate American trait. You just need to travel a bit and realize the reputation we Americans have throughout large portions of the planet. Often in our country, humble people are seen as weak, vulnerable and inactive. Regarding recovery, humility is the mortar that keeps the foundation alive and strong. It is by far, not an inactive, vulnerable position. Arrogance, pride, self-absorption is what we need to avoid as persons in recovery.

We need to fight the prideful, arrogance that often is associated with addiction and realize that this attitude is going to kill me!

If you, or a loved one needs help with their addiction, please contact us on our 24-Hour HelpLine (866) 478-9898.

The more you lose yourself in something bigger than yourself, the more energy you will have!
Norman Vincent Peale

Recuperatio Primoris! (Recovery above all else!)

Drug Rehab: Healing the Broken Self

One of the definite benefits of an alcohol and drug rehab is the opportunity to examine the parts of yourself that feel disconnected from you and begin to re-construct a cohesive, whole Self!

One of the hallmark signs of addiction is the temptation to compartmentalize yourself due to the extreme conflict that forces you to live in several worlds (e.g. the family person, the good child, the good worker, etc.) while continuing your addictive behaviors.

This lack of cohesion is harmful and will eventually cause you to lose track of yourself and I've heard many clients say, "I've lost myself!"

The good news is that when you enter an excellent drug rehab, you and the staff begin to work on re-claiming your life back! The absence of the substance and the emotional supports in a safe environment, are all key elements that allow for healing and re-integration of the self. You begin to feel less broken and more whole. It is a courageous act, but a necessary one for anyone who chooses to live without major conflicts, self-hatred and personal failure.

Once you begin to be brutally honest with yourself and others, it becomes the "anti-biotic" needed to fight this bug that is killing you! Honesty, integrity, authenticity and mutuality are all key development opportunities while you are in rehab. A program should provide you with daily opportunities to practice all of these, which will assist you in your search for the True Self!

If you, or someone you know needs the assistance of a rehab, please do not hesitate to call our 24-hour HelpLine at (866) 478-9898.

Recuperatio Primoris (Recovery above all else!)

Addiction is Killing Your Loved One. What do you do?

For some reason, addiction is a very cruel disease. It is a disease that often breeds denial with the addict and a refusal to get treatment.

Imagine if your loved one had cancer but it was still treatable. Yet, they denied they had cancer and refused to get treatment. Each day brought them closer to death, yet they continued to deny their illness. In fact, they would get angry at any mention of getting help. The slow descent to death would be so heartbreaking to watch.

This is exactly what thousands of families are experiencing right now. Not with cancer but with another deadly disease: addiction. There is help available. And hope. Paradise Recovery has a HelpLine that is toll-free: 1-866-478-9898. Sometimes
something called an intervention is needed. An intervention is a method in which a professional person, the interventionist, uses special techniques to work with the family and the addicted person to convince them to come into drug rehab or alcohol rehab. They have very high success rates with the most difficult of cases. The HelpLine can refer you to an excellent interventionist. Help is just a phone call away.

Treatment of Prescription Drug Addiction

One of the most common forms of addiction in the United States and Canada is that of prescription drug addiction. This type of addiction can be particularly difficult to treat because the addict will often insist that they are justified in taking their large doses of prescription medications. After all, they were prescribed by their doctor. Or several of their doctors. Denial is king here.

Doctor shopping is a common occurrence with prescription drug addicts. If one doctor does not give them what they want, they go to the next doctor. Usually, if the doctor tries to set limits with the amount or frequency of a medication, or stop it altogether, the patient will become irate. If the doctor gives in, great! If not, it's off to the next doctor's office.

Even though they had to "shop for it", somehow getting the prescription is like a justification for taking the medication. "My doctor told me I need this. It's not that high of a dose". "Obviously I need it or the doctor wouldn't have prescribed it to me". Yet, when you look at the person's life, you see it falling apart at the seams. They are a shadow of the person they once were. Relationships are failing. Their job is faltering. Their marriage is full of strife. They no longer seem like the happy and productive person they once were.

As you can see, one of the first steps in treating prescription drug addiction is to get through the denial aspect. Next, you must begin to detox the person off of the prescription drugs. Drug detox for each individual drug has to be considered. With prescription drug addiction, usually there is more than one drug involved.

Experienced professionals are needed to tackle the difficult issues that occur in the early stages of prescription drug addiction. The best drug rehabs are able to offer a holistic, individualized approach to both the drug detox and the subsequent addiction treatment. Denial might be king with prescription drug addiction. But denial, in this case, will eventually kill you.

The Gift of Alcohol Rehab

I am of a mixed opinion when some people first opt for outpatient treatment for their alcoholism. At some level, it makes sense to try the lowest level of care first, then if that fails go to a higher level of care. Plus, I think it is human nature to want to try the "easiest" or "cheapest" thing first.

On the other hand, I wonder what you would do if you or a loved one were diagnosed with a disease that could kill you. It could also kill others, given the right conditions, and would have the effect of ruining your family. Would you opt for the "cheapest" or "easiest" treatment you could find? Or, would you treat it immediately and as aggressively as you could in order to save your life and, possibly, the lives of others with whom you might come into contact?

When I think of addiction in those terms, it helps provide some clarity. The obvious answer becomes to treat as aggressively as possible. Once the aggressive treatment is finished, then you move to the outpatient arena. However, if for some reason the disease begins to relapse, you return to the aggressive treatment (modifying the treatment approach a bit in order to target the areas that allowed the relapse to occur).

We all know addiction kills. People who are high or drunk are the most common cause of fatal traffic accidents (of course denial for the addict is key here.... the "it won't happen with me because..." syndrome). And, countless people die every day directly from the toxic effects of the substance they are using (denial also works pretty well here, too).

Give yourself or your family member the tremendous gift of alcohol rehab or drug rehab. It is one of the most wonderful gifts that you could give. It might just save your life, the life of a loved one, or the life of someone else. It might save your family, your marriage, your job, your sanity. Getting treatment or not? Which one do you think is the "cheapest", really? Not getting the proper treatment may be the costliest decision you'll ever make.

John Neuhaus, M.D.

Denial of Alcoholism and Drug Addiction - Take the Test

Denial...the part of the alcoholism disease or drug addiction disease that tells them they don't have a disease. How many times have you heard about the alcoholic or drug addict minimizing the effects of their disease, not wanting to see the reality of their addiction to drugs or alcohol.

Here's an easy way to tell if you or a loved one may be in denial of alcoholism or drug addiction, as taken from excerpts in the Narcotics Anonymous step working guide:

1. Have you or the alcoholic or drug addict given plausible but untrue reasons for you or their behavior?

2. Have you or the alcoholic or drug addict compulsively acted on an obsession, and then acted as if you or they had actually planned to act that way?

3. How have you or the alcoholic or drug addict blamed other people for you or their behavior?

4. How have you or the alcoholic or drug addict compared you or their addiction or alcoholism with others' addiction or alcoholism?

5. Are you or the alcoholic or drug addict avoiding action because you or they are afraid to be ashamed when facing the results of alcoholism or drug addiction? Are you or the alcoholic or drug addict avoiding taking action because of what others may think?

The list can go on, however these are the key elements of denial that those with alcoholism and drug addiction contend with. This is both a test for alcoholism and a test for drug addiction, they may be a different substance, however the disease manifests itself the same.

If you or a loved one answers "yes" to more than one question, you may want to look into alcohol treatment or drug treatment, also referred to as alcohol rehab or drug rehab. There, professionals will be helpful in unraveling the disease of alcoholism and drug addiction, starting you on your path of sustained recovery.

Blessings to you.....

Healing Alcoholism...Healing Drug Addiction

The process of healing begins with self, begins from within. Typically for alcoholism or drug addiction, the alcoholic or drug addict tends to find blame in people, places or things outside of themselves, essentially robbing themselves of true healing from within.

Drug addiction and alcoholism are both a cunning and baffling disease, that oftentimes, the drug addict or alcoholic cannot see a way to recover. Well, there is, through healing the self, the drug addict and alcoholic can experience sustained recovery. Drug rehabs and alcohol rehabs offer the drug addict and alcoholic the opportunity to essentially begin treatment with self, to identify core issues that led to their alcoholism or drug addiction. There is hope for recovery when you start from within!

The Blame Game

Personal responsibility. How does it relate to drug rehab or alcohol rehab?

It must be human nature to play the blame game. If your wife asks you why you just lost another job, it is easier to say "those people there just don't know what they are doing. I did good work for them! I'll just go somewhere else and get a better job. F* those people!" Oh, you forgot to mention that you were coming in an hour late for work on most days (of course making sure you left on time) and were often sick on Mondays (not feeling well because of a hangover counts as "sick", right?). You were unreliable and your performance was poor. Those things don't really come to mind when your wife asks you that question....

Imagine saying, "Well, honey, I really made a mess of that job. My drinking is out of control. I am up too late so I can't get out of bed in time in the morning. I go to work hung over all the time. It's a wonder they kept me this long..."

For someone who is coming in for alcohol or drug rehab, which person in those two scenarios do you think is going to have a much higher chance of success?

Most people would say, "Scenario #2". But why? Because the person in scenario number 2 did not play the blame game. They took an honest look at themselves and accepted personal responsibility for what went wrong.

Once you are able to accept personal responsibility for your thoughts and behaviors, you can actually begin to fix them! If you are always blaming others, never yourself, things will never change. "Others" will always be wrong, and you will always be the same. In other words, you will be looking for that next job again, for about the 40th time, 5 years from now. And for the 63rd time 10years from now (if you are still around by that time). The blame game is a vicious cycle. It is an unhappy place to be.

Play the personal responsibility game instead. It's a little harder at first, but a whole lot easier later! Take responsibility for yourself, for your relapse, for your recovery, for your addictive behavior. Once you have done so, you can begin to change. That is the first step of treatment, whether you are in drug or alcohol rehab or not.