Substance abuse recovery is a life-long journey that requires self-determination, mental wellness education, and ongoing support from medical professionals and sober communities. If you’re struggling with substance use disorder, don’t hesitate to get help.
At Clear Behavioral Health, we offer a range of substance use disorder treatments, including outpatient addiction treatment, inpatient rehab treatment, inpatient drug and detox programs, and personalized drug treatment options. Recovery is a long and complex journey, and we are here to provide the tools and support you need to recover safely.
What Is Substance Use Disorder?
Substance use disorder (SUD) is a complex and treatable mental health disorder in which you over-use substances despite harmful consequences. There are several signs that you may have a SUD, including using a substance for longer than prescribed, being unable to cut back or stop using a substance, spending excessive amounts of time and money using and recovering from use, being unable to quit despite the danger and health risks, suffering from impaired interpersonal connections, being unable to tend to personal responsibilities, developing a tolerance, and experiencing cravings and withdrawal symptoms [1].
Related: What is Drug Addiction — and How Can it be Treated?
Importance of Recovery
When you recover from an addiction, you often experience numerous benefits, including an increased ability to focus on your mental health and work through past trauma, improved physical well-being, healthier interpersonal relationships, increased self-esteem, and a better ability to set and achieve goals.
What Does the Recovery Process Look Like?
Recovery is a nuanced and non-linear process that includes various stages. In the beginning, you may search for hope, increase your self-awareness, and gain acceptance of your addiction. From there, you become open-minded about forming a new identity and mentally prepare to rebuild your life. You will then take responsibility for your life and participate in your careers, relationships, and self-care to foster sustained well-being [2].
Understanding Substance Use
While there are a variety of substance use disorders and types of addiction, all types of disorders can lead to severe symptoms and side effects that can significantly impair your quality of life.
Common Types of Substance Abuse
According to the 2020 National Survey on Drug Abuse and Mental Health, the most abused substances in the U.S. are alcohol, nicotine, marijuana, opioids, inhalants, cocaine, heroin, stimulants, benzodiazepines, and barbiturates [3].
Signs and Symptoms of a Substance Use Disorder
The most common signs and symptoms associated with SUD are bloodshot eyes, decreased appetite, weight loss, diminished energy, difficulties performing at school or work, impaired physical hygiene, conflicts in interpersonal relationships, dangerous or risky behavior, and defensiveness surrounding substance use [4].
Short-Term and Long-Term Effects of Substance Use Disorder
Some short-term effects of SUD include hangovers, cravings, withdrawals, anxiety, paranoia, irritability, and increased sadness or depression. Possible long-term effects of SUD include heart problems, brain changes, neurological issues, gastrointestinal issues, and organ disease [4].
Deciding to Seek Help with Your Addiction Recovery
The first step in addiction recovery is seeking help. To do so, recognize the reality that you are struggling with the problem, unlearn the stigma associated with substance abuse, and seek support systems.
Recognizing the Problem
Recognizing the signs and symptoms of alcohol abuse and drug addiction is the first and often most difficult step toward recovery.
Overcoming Denial and Breaking the Stigma
Denial is a common defense mechanism in which you postpone the shame, guilt, and pain that may come from facing the reality of your addiction [5]. Oftentimes, you deny your addiction because of the intense stigma around substance use disorders. Stigmas are derogatory beliefs about a subject that are perpetuated by cultural misunderstandings. Stigmas around SUD include viewing addiction as a lack of willpower, a personal choice, and a moral failing [6]. Denial and stigma are major barriers to seeking help, and overcoming these obstacles will allow you the freedom and acceptance to succeed throughout the recovery process.
Find Your Support System
Addiction can be isolating, and recovery is difficult when attempted alone. Building a recovery support system with trusted family members, close friends, counselors, doctors, and self-help groups is a great way to achieve sustained well-being [7].
Substance Abuse Treatment
There are a variety of substance use disorder treatments that support every step of your path to recovery. While you may start with detox, or simply attending a support group, there is a level of care available at every level of treatment to meet you where you are in your healing journey, including:
Detoxification
Medical detoxification is a common first step in drug addiction treatment. To assist with the challenges and complications of drug abuse and alcohol withdrawal, you will undergo detoxification from the substance in a safe, monitored environment such as a hospital or residential treatment center. These specialized environments provide experienced professionals to help safely facilitate detoxification with medication assistance if necessary.
Inpatient Rehabilitation
After detoxification, you will transition to an inpatient rehabilitation program. These residential addiction treatment programs differ depending on which program you will benefit the best from which offer individual and group therapy, life-skills building, and relapse prevention methods while providing around-the-clock medical supervision and support.
Outpatient Treatment Programs
Following rehabilitation, you may participate in outpatient substance abuse treatment programs. These addiction treatment programs vary in length and intensity depending on the level of support you require. While enrolled in outpatient programs, you engage in structured comprehensive treatment while living at home and balancing other personal and professional responsibilities in your daily life.
Therapy and Counseling
When you have reached a sense of stability in your sobriety and no longer require intensive alcohol or drug addiction treatment programs, you may maintain your progress by attending ongoing individual therapy, family therapy, group counseling, and support groups.
The Stages of Recovery
While recovery is a life-long journey, there are common stages of recovery you may reach at any time during your path to sobriety, including:
Early Recovery and Abstinence
In early recovery, you will focus on abstinence. During this stage, you accept that you have an addiction and work towards sobriety. This process often includes managing acute withdrawal symptoms, developing coping skills, implementing self-care routines, participating in self-help groups, practicing honesty, removing friends who are in active addiction, and understanding the risks of relapse [8].
Repair and Maintenance
The second stage of recovery focuses on maintaining sobriety and repairing the damage caused by substance use. During this stage, you will build your ability to handle uncomfortable situations, seek to repair damaged relationships, understand dynamics and triggers that lead to substance use, and continue to develop a healthy lifestyle by engaging in self-care and participating in self-help groups [8].
Growth and Relapse Prevention
The last stage of substance abuse recovery focuses on developing new life skills while maintaining sobriety and a healthy lifestyle. Tasks of this stage include understanding the role of family dynamics in addiction, identifying and repairing destructive patterns, setting healthy boundaries, overcoming fears, challenging negative thoughts, giving back to others, and periodically reevaluating lifestyle and life trajectory [8].
Coping Strategies and Life Skills
When embarking on the recovery journey, you will learn healthy coping mechanisms to deal with triggers and gain essential life skills such as:
Stress Management Techniques
Relaxation and stress management are important parts of recovery. Common methods to induce relaxation include breathing exercises, muscle relaxation, mindfulness meditations, guided visualizations, and time-outs during stressful situations.
Build Healthy Relationships
To maintain balance and fulfillment while in recovery, you will learn how to improve existing relationships and build healthy, supportive communities. To avoid triggers, it’s helpful to foster friendships that exist outside of the context of drug abuse or alcohol use and, instead, focus on friendships that encourage joyful activities and hobbies.
Nourish Hobbies and Interests
In recovery, it’s important to discover and nourish interests outside of substance use and develop new hobbies that create a sense of joy and fulfillment.
Nutrition and Exercise
Creating and maintaining a healthy self-care routine is another essential component of recovery. Developing an exercise regimen and eating balanced meals is a great way to start the self-care process and build your mental health and well-being.
The Benefits of Support Groups
Healing from drug abuse or alcohol addiction is rarely done in a vacuum; support groups are proven to be an integral part of achieving long-term recovery.
12-Step Programs and Support Groups (e.g., AA, NA)
Self-help groups are a great resource in the recovery process. Research indicates that combining self-help groups with substance abuse programs increases the likelihood of long-term sobriety [9].
There are many self-help groups and recovery community centers available. Traditional 12-step programs include Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA), Marijuana Anonymous (MA), Cocaine Anonymous (CA), Gamblers Anonymous (GA), and Adult Children Anonymous (ACA). Other types of self-help groups include Women for Sobriety, Secular Organizations for Sobriety, and Smart Recovery [7].
Self-Help Groups for Addiction Recovery
In addition to increasing the likelihood of sobriety, self-help groups help to create a sense of belonging, teach recovery strategies, and provide a safe space to share struggles or hopes without judgment [7].
The Reality of Relapse
While relapse is dangerous, it’s a common phase of the recovery journey. When you seek sobriety, you must accept the possibility of relapse and develop skills to help prevent it.
Understanding Relapse as Part of the Process
Unfortunately, relapse is a common stage of the recovery journey. To minimize the chance and severity of relapse, you need to identify warning signs of relapse, create a relapse prevention plan, and pursue sobriety with a sense of urgency and commitment.
Warning Signs of Relapse
You will often experience a mental and/or emotional relapse before you physically relapse. During an emotional relapse, you may begin to feel increasingly irritable, angry, and moody. These emotions may lead to destructive behaviors, such as becoming defensive, seeking isolation, skipping meetings, eating poorly, and not sleeping enough.
During a mental relapse, you may spend an increasing amount of time thinking about past substance use. As more mental energy is directed toward substance use, you may engage in behaviors, such as fantasizing about past use, lying about using, minimizing negative consequences, hanging out with friends still active in their addiction, and planning a relapse. To prevent a physical relapse, be aware of the signs of emotional and mental relapses and take early action to overcome the urge to use [11].
Create a Relapse Prevention Plan
Creating and utilizing a relapse prevention plan is a helpful tool in the recovery process. With a plan in place, you can refer to coping strategies, relaxation techniques, self-care routines, enjoyable activities, and reliable people to turn to when cravings increase and warning signs surface.
Recover Today
While starting on your recovery journey might seem daunting, the right medical care and consistent support from friends and family make it possible. No matter where you are in your recovery journey, Clear Behavioral Health has a place for you. Our outpatient addiction treatment, inpatient rehab treatment, and inpatient drug and detox programs provide safe spaces for you to learn about your addiction, receive peer support, and learn valuable skills to achieve life-long, sustained recovery.
Call us today to learn more about our substance abuse recovery programs. We have peaceful and comfortable, inpatient, residential substance abuse treatment facilities in the South Bay of Los Angeles located in Gardena and Redondo Beach, California. Our dedicated staff looks forward to helping you along your road to recovery.
References:
- American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: Fifth Edition.
- Ventosa-Ruiz A, Moreno-Poyato AR, Lluch-Canut T, Feria-Raposo I, Puig-Llobet M (2024, Feb). The meaning of the recovery process and its stages for people attending a mental health day hospital: A qualitative study. Health Expect. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10771802/.
- Samhsa (2020). 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) Releases. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/data/release/2020-national-survey-drug-use-and-health-nsduh-releases
- Crane, Marissa (2024, June 21). Signs of Drug Use & Addiction: How to Tell if Someone is on Drugs. American Addiction Centers. Retrieved from https://americanaddictioncenters.org/adult-addiction-treatment-programs/know-is-someone-on-drugs
- Ayesha Zafar, Sheeba Farhan (2020). Effectiveness of Denial Management Counselling for Individuals with Substance Abuse. Pakistan Journal of Psychology, 51(2). Retrieved from http://www.pjpku.com/index.php/pjp/article/view/9
- Johns Hopkins Medicine. Reducing the Stigma of Addiction. Retrieved fromhttps://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/stigma-of-addiction
- Addictions and Recovery (2021, July 12). Addiction Self-Help Groups and 12 Step Groups. Retrieved from https://addictionsandrecovery.org/addiction-self-help-and-12-step-groups.htm
- Melemis, Steven M. (2015, Sep 3). Relapse Prevention and the Five Rules of Recovery. Yale J Biol Med. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4553654/
- Kelly JF., Stout R, Zywiak W, Schneider R (2006, Aug). A 3-year study of addiction mutual-help group participation following intensive outpatient treatment. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16899041/
- Guenzel N, McChargue D (2023, July 21). Addiction Relapse Prevention. StatPearls. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK551500/
- Gorski T, Miller M (1986). Staying Sober: A Guide for Relapse Prevention. Independence, MO: Independence Press.
