Drug Addiction
Recovery Information

Detoxification or withdrawal is the first step on the road back to sanity. It usually involves medical care and supervision. This is a very crucial step, the brain has been affected by the drugs and is not balanced at this point, and rational thinking does not come easily for the addict in this stage of recovery. The addict will need to clear the drugs out of his or her system before they can listen rationally to any counseling or benefit from therapeutic activities. The brain will need to restructure a proper neurobalance.

This restructuring is aided by vitamin supplementation. Deficiencies in specific vitamins, minerals and amino acids are known consequences of alcohol and drug abuse, due either to poor nutrition or to the action of the drugs themselves.

Most chemical dependency programs offer some form of medical supervised detox or work in conjunction with a primary hospital to provide these services. Many detox programs use prescription medication to help with withdrawal symptoms however, there are programs that offer drug-free withdrawal consisting of nutritional supplements. Addicts taking large daily doses of drugs, especially physically addictive drugs like speed, cocaine, heroin, and alcohol will require a detoxification period. This period will also be the time when the addict is least able to think rationally and will crave the drug the most. The withdrawal process can take any where from 3-10 days on an average, after it is complete the addict is then ready to begin rehabilitation in a residential setting.

Residential, or inpatient, treatment is recommended for fully handling any addiction. It is an ideal setting for an addict to address the problem at hand, the addiction. This helps to remove any outside influences that may interfere with the recovery process. Most traditional (12-step) programs last about 30 days. There are also many non-traditional programs that last much longer and take a different approach to recovery. One key point to remember is that addiction has many aspects and when making a decision on a treatment center, one needs to look at how thoroughly the addiction is being addressed by the program.

Information above courtesy of National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The Twelve Step Program Description

These are the Twelve Steps as defined by Alcoholics Anonymous.

• We admitted we were powerless over alcohol--that our lives had become unmanageable.
  
• Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
  
• Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him ourselves.
  
• Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
  
• Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
  
• Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
• Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
  
• Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
  
• When we were wrong promptly admitted it.
  
• Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
  
• Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
  

Other twelve-step groups have modified the twelve steps slightly from those of Alcoholics Anonymous to refer to problems other than alcoholism.