When the true factors that underlay addiction are addressed and handled, then addiction recovery can be long lasting. When these factors are covered up with medication or psychiatric diagnoses, the recovery may not be so durable.
Only uncovering and addressing the reasons a person began to abuse drugs and repairing the damage done by addiction can enable a person to stand strong and stable on his own two feet and create a long-lasting, drug-free life for himself.
What are these factors? Very simply, they are cravings, depression and guilt. It has been found that these three factors are present in every person who suffers from addiction and that they form bonds that tie a person to the addiction. When the bonds are broken, the person is free from the compulsion to abuse drugs, alcohol and other substances. The result is sobriety.
How to Overcome Cravings, Depression and Guilt
Naturally, the complete picture on how to overcome cravings, depression and guilt is extensive, but here is a brief summary of the approach, as experienced by every recovering addict at a Narconon drug rehab center anywhere in the world.
As soon as an addict seeking recovery arrives in the Withdrawal Unit of a Narconon center, he or she is given generous nutritional support. Vitamin C, B Complex, calcium, magnesium and other supplements have been proven to provide relief from some of the worst of withdrawal sickness plus they support a person’s mood.
Depression is a common reaction to withdrawal from many drugs, including cocaine, heroin and alcohol. Addicts are typically in terrible physical condition due to neglect of their own personal needs, but continued drug use keeps them from sensing the depletion and exhaustion of physical resources. When the drugs wear off, the full impact of the neglect is going to be felt. The nutritional support along with continuous assistance by the staff in the form of gentle relaxation and re-orientation exercises eases the withdrawing person through this time.
A person finishing withdrawal at a Narconon center, rather than suffering from depression, frequently looks forward to the remainder of the program with a positive and optimistic viewpoint.
Cravings are primarily addressed through a remarkable and innovative phase of the program called the Narconon New Life Detoxification. This phase consists of moderate exercise, generous nutritional supplementation and time spent in a low-heat sauna. This combination has been proven to enable the body to flush out stored drug and alcohol toxins. Because intoxicating ingredients are fat soluble rather than water soluble, remnants of these drugs tend to be stored in the fat tissues of the body. These stored residues have been found to be involved in the triggering of cravings, even years after drug use has ceased. When they are flushed out, those completing this step normally state that their cravings are considerably reduced — some even state that they are gone.
Guilt is like a steel bond surrounding a person, never letting him or her forget the harm done to self or others during the addiction. Perhaps it was mostly neglect of spouse, children and other family that haunts a person. Maybe it is crimes like theft, sales of drugs to other people who were harmed by them, or just standing by and watching someone die of an overdose that won’t let a person go. Whatever the situation, every addict feels guilt — if only for the damage she has done to herself — when she enters the rehabilitation process.
The life skills portion of the Narconon drug rehabilitation has several features that help eliminate guilt as a factor of continuing addiction. This improvement is achieved by learning the tools to enable a person to turn a difficult situation into a positive one, and gaining an understanding of which people are likely to be associates that lead to a drug-free life and which ones will lead to problems. Each recovering person also learns the mechanics by which past actions can prevent present and future happiness and learns also the procedure that can lead to relief. Guided by the experienced Narconon staff, each person uses this procedure to better their own situation. The result is often referred to as “the feeling of a great weight lifting off my shoulders” and similar descriptions. This relief further lifts each person’s mood and eliminates a major cause of depression.
The result of effectively addressing cravings, depression and guilt is a much greater ability to be free from drug and alcohol abuse in the future. They are simply not needed to cover up the pain of physical or mental damage from addiction any longer.
While they may or may not talk about it, anyone you are trying to help recover from addiction is suffering these damaging effects. The Narconon program can provide the life-saving relief that also means lasting sobriety. Get all the details on how these changes are achieved by talking with a Narconon intake counselors today. Discover how this conversation can change the future for yourself or someone you love who struggles with addiction.