Drug Addiction Help – Where to Turn

Let’s face it sometimes when you are in throes of an active addiction you need help. There is absolutely no shame in that as drugs can (should that be will) take just about anyone down. So, if you find yourself struggling and are looking for a place to turn I’m going to share some of my own personal experiences about where to get help.

Doing drugs is a tough business. Sure, it’s all fun and games at first. But, in time, it becomes a lot less fun and a lot more of a nightmare. There were times towards the end of my using days that I would actively hope that the cops would bust in arrest me. I was that miserable. I just needed something to happen, an event, that would allow me to break out of the lifestyle that was destroying me. I’ve been there. I get it.

So, there are a couple of options for those seeking drug addiction help. There is the most pressing, immediate need to get you off of drugs safely and then the more long term goal to provide you with an environment that supports your recovery. In my opinion, the best option to accomplish both goals is to check yourself into a drug rehab center. The reason that I can recommend rehab so wholeheartedly is because rehab will both get you off of drugs safely and with minimal discomfort and provide you some sort of framework to help ensure that you don’t wind up back on drugs when you get out.

If you are searching for drug rehab information, a good site to check out is drugfree.org which can provide you with a lot of baseline information about what type of services are available in your area. Drugfree.org can start to give you a glimmer of hope back. And rehab will really come through in this department. When I was in the midst of my active addiction, life seemed hopeless and meaningless. One of the great virtues of rehab is that, in very nearly every case, you are able to re-discover your hope and begin to think that life is worth living again.

I recognize that at this moment, if you are just beginning to look for addiction help, that life is probably not very rosy. I just want to remind you that your current feelings are not facts. No matter how bleak the situation looks right now, you will find that if you give yourself a chance to get some distance from it, gain some perspective, that you will start to see why life is worth living. I don’t suggest that this is likely to happen. Regardless of your present circumstances, life will surely get better if you take the steps to better yourself. Again, this is a guarantee.

But, there are those for whom rehab is simply not an option. Sometimes the cost of treatment is prohibitive and, for whatever reason, they don’t want to head off to a state subsidized rehab. First, of all, I want to reassert that even if you have to go to a free rehab center you chances are better than if you simply try to combat the beast on your own. Rehab separates you from the environment and circumstances that are killing you presently. If it has to be a free rehab, so be it.

Now, for those who simply refuse to enter rehab, I have a couple of suggestions. The first thing I would advise is that, regardless of the consequences, that you separate yourself from the present environment that you find yourself in. The fact of the matter is that your present environment contributes to your addiction. As they say is NA, you need to find new playgrounds and playmates. Therefore, if you can move in with your parents, sibling or sober friend, you should, by all means, do so.

Once you are out of the poisonous environment, you need to start inserting yourself into the solution. You need to attend as many twelve step meetings as possible. Go to AA, NA, CA… whatever. Just start to immerse yourself into the solution and the best way to do that is to surround yourself with people who are not drinking or using. You need to move in to the club. Go to at least three meetings a day. Hit a morning, an evening and a late night. Whatever. Just drink the fellowship like it’s water to a thirsty man. Find a sponsor, go to the coffee shop after the meeting, get as many phone numbers as possible. In time, you can return to your life and start to tie up the many loose ends that you have left behind.

But it will take time. You don’t want to ever return to your old, poisonous environment. You are not going to want to go back anyway. There may be a few friends or a girlfriend that you feel you can just not live without. However, I want to remind you, that you cannot only live without them, you must live without them. It may be a tough pill to swallow, but I know that if you continue to put one foot in front of the other, you will come to agree with me that a new life is the best solution.

If you find yourself in this desperate situation today I would advise you to pack a bag immediately and start looking for a rehab. Don’t worry about finding the perfect treatment center, you can almost just pick the first one that you see online. In many respects, most rehabs are the same anyway. So, don’t spend days or weeks doing research. Pick one. Call them. Drive there. End of story. You will be happy that you did.