Home for the Holidays? Remember the Price

Being with the family can be the best of times and the worst of times.  Same with old friends.  If you are a college student or if you have a college student trying to live a sober life, remember the price that was paid to get sober.  No one will ever fully appreciate the price you paid but you.  Not your mother, not your father, not a boyfriend or girlfriend.  You are the only person that knows the price, to the penny, that you have had to pay to get a life free of alcohol abuse or drug abuse.  Who knows the sacrifices you have made, the obstacles that seemed insurmountable but now achieved, and the countless hours you have spent making little changes to your life to be clean and sober.  A rehab center, an addiction treatment program, or on your own – a sober life comes at a very difficult and painful price.  Protect it with your life.  Old friends, and sometimes still alcohol consuming or drug using family, simply don’t get “it” and never will.  Its up to you, and a small army of other people in recovery that can help, to make smart choices.  Don’t let your guard down when you come home.  Do less (party’s, running around with friends) and accomplish more (still clean and sober).

Question and Answer: Holidays at Home with Addicted College Students

Holidays are difficult for everyone. They are especially difficult for people in recovery. College students coming home face the challenges of being in potentially stressful family situations as well as around old high school friends that use and abuse drugs and alcohol.

There are numerous resources, treatment centers, and drug and alcohol rehab programs to consider and plenty of opinions on how to answer this question, but what is most important is having an honest conversation. Sit and talk through expectations and guidelines you have for them while at home. Keep the list short, but be very clear about expectations and responsibilities. They may be college students, but they’re in your home. It’s ok to have boundaries as long as they’re there. These expectations should include clearly communicated consequences. Be prepared to follow through.

If you have an adult child struggling with addiction, think about having an alcohol-free holiday season. Talk about activities that might be good alternatives and what would make them feel (and be) more comfortable and successful during a substance free holiday. See our Q & A blog:  One Drink?

Sober Living: Life After Rehab

It’s Recovery Month, and there are some great opportunities for the public to learn more about addiction treatment and recovery. One of those meetings in Dallas is being hosted by Caron Residential Treatment:  Caron Cares Breakfast Lecture Series.

The focus of this week’s panel is about living a sober life after rehab. There are some great residential programs, places like Caron Texas, where people can go to start their recovery. The next challenge is when they come back to Ft. Worth, Dallas, or Frisco, and have to learn to build those same healthy relationships, find good meetings, start a lifestyle of healthy living with a lot less structure and support. That’s one of the main reasons we started Innovation360. If you forget everything else in this blog, please remember:  drug or alcohol rehab is the beginning of changing a life, not the end. When people come home, they need additional support and structure, especially the first 90 days.

i360′s goal is to help people translate the insights of therapy into actual behaviors. To go from talking about 12-Step meetings, talking about exercising and eating better, talking about finding a job or going to school- to go from talking to doing. Whether you’re trying to lose weight, trying to start exercising regularly, trying to eat better because of high cholesterol- it’s very difficult to change behaviors, and sometimes we need people to help us along for a season.  As an outpatient drug and alcohol treatment clinic that’s what i360 does with its clients.

Renew

When your loved one is in residential alcohol or drug treatment, they’re spending time learning about addiciton as a disease, preparing for life after treatment. Meanwhile you are going to therapy, filling out the paperwork, and finishing the homework in preparation for them to arrive, but then they do. What happens next?

Renew Everyday magazine’s article, Recovery Comes Home, offers advice on how to receive your loved one after residential: encouraging open communication, believing recovery as a reality, and the importance of community. i360 also believes in the emphasis of community and the continual process of recovery in everyday life.

Whether utilizing our services with medication, individual therapy, group support, or daily support from Life Development or turning to resources such as Renew magazine, there is help available for you and your loved ones on a daily basis.

Question and Answer: One Drink?

We tend to get quite a few questions thrown our way and we’ve decided to start answering some of those through our blog.  Here’s one of the more common questions people early in recovery are asked by family and friends is this one – “Do you mind if I have a drink?  Will that bother you?”  And what almost everyone in early recovery says is – “No, it’s not a problem”.  Since this is a blog, we have to get to the issue at hand pretty quick, so here goes.  The question is stupid and the answer is a lie.  If you want more of the answer, you can keep reading.

First, the question.  I can’t tell you how many of the people that ask this question are the same people that only weeks or months earlier were threatening divorce, unemployment, homelessness, or other punishments – if the person didn’t quit drinking.  They have seen firsthand the wreckage of the clients alcohol abuse and have been puzzled by how challenging sobriety is.  So don’t ask the question.  Just skip the drink; and if you really can’t skip the drink – call me and I’ll do a free assessment to see if you’re alcohol dependent.  Being around alcohol can release an avalanche of feelings and thoughts that often lead to relapse.  We teach clients to be smart, not strong – it’s a good lesson for family and friends to keep in mind.

As for the answer?  People in recovery know how much they have imposed/hurt/inconvenienced their family and friends.  They don’t want to do that in sobriety. Unfortunately they miss a chance to get help from the people that care about them, they miss a chance to let others be part of the healing process, they miss a chance to remind close people that everyday is still a struggle.

And let me answer that other question you’re thinking – no, I’m not trying to remove alcohol from the world.  We tried that once and found out we were the problem, not alcohol.  You can’t control what goes on in a restaurant, but you can control what goes on at your table.  You can’t keep alcohol out of the world, but you can keep it out of your house.  Be smart not strong.

September Recovery Month

According to NIDA, 1 in 4 Americans binge drink. This means that most neighborhoods and communities are affected by excessive drinking and drug use. Innovation360 feels that it’s important to not only educate the professionals about the struggles of addiction but also the general public. That’s why, this month, in honor of National Recovery Month, i360 is collaborating with Caron Texas by participating in the Caron Cares Breakfast Lecture Series occurring every Thursday in September from 8:30-10a. Sessions are complimentary and open to you and your loved ones.

For ways you can help bring awareness to your neighborhood, visit recoverymonth.gov.

Relapse and Addiction Treatment

If you have an interest in alcohol and drug treatment or addictions and recovery, check out the July/August Psychology Today. It contains an article by Kathleen McGowan about the road to recovery. The article presents a helpful discussion of the challenges of sobriety and the dangers people face when they leave drug rehab programs or as they transition back to life or work. McGowan also addresses relapse, cravings and triggers, and ways for addicts and alcoholics to confront these challenges. It’s certainly a worthy read.

The Science of Addiction

Over the past several decades, researchers have explored many avenues of addiction. From the gene level all the way through the impact of the family, the environment, and the effectiveness of treatment. One of the most concise and quick summaries of that research is a pamphlet from the National Institute of Drug Abuse titled “Drugs, Brains, and Behavior -  The Scence of Addiction.” Whether you live in Texas or across the world, gaining the latest research and treatment information about addiciton has never been easier. The challenge is knowing where to find the good information, and this website, this brochure is the good information. If you’re looking for a drug rehab in Dallas, TX or an alcohol rehabilitation facility in Fort Worth, TX, NIDA’s pamphlet provides you the key areas to ask about in seeking help for sober living.

Sober Living

I was doing a joint session with one of our therapists, Joa Braga, and we were discussing the challenges a client was facing as he contemplates returning home.  He had a statement that really resonated with the client, “It’s hard to be a new person in an old place.”  Great summary for the challenges that we face trying to make a new path in life.  The reality for most people in a residential program is that you eventually have to go home – to family, friends, and work.  And its in the transition that we are most vulnerable and need the most support.  There is a natural pull for the old ways, but introducing a new structure and routine will increase success.  Find people trying to accomplish the same things as you, trying to travel the same path.  The buddy system really does work.