Addiction is not a new phenomenon. It’s happening every day and the effects on our children are just awful.  It’s high time we talk about it. It is the responsibility of every parent or guardian to ensure that they keep track of their children’s health. In this article, we are going to learn more about addiction in children, how it starts, the effects, treatment and everything else you need to know about the topic.

What Is Addiction In Children?

When we talk about addiction, whether in adults or children, we simply refer to the situation where the victim finds it hard to control their alcohol or drug use. Actually, they reach a point where they lack control on whether or not to use the drugs and they feel like the only thing they want is to have the drug.

How Does Addiction Start In Children?

It starts first when a child starts using drugs. This is what we call substance abuse. Children can be addicted to a wide variety of drugs. The more the child uses the drugs, the more they end up losing control over the substance use. Their whole body system gets used to drugs circulation in the blood stream and they reach a point where they can’t do without it.

Are You A Parent Or A Partner Who Is Addicted To Drugs?

If you are a parent or partner struggling with issues of addiction, are you aware of the severe impacts your addiction has on your children?

Not many parents or guardians know how their drugs or alcohol addiction affects their children. According to various research carried out, it is quite evident that children coming from families with drug addiction history become prone to addiction at a very early stage in life.

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, more than 8.3 million children aged 18 years and below live in families where either one or both parents are addicted to drugs or alcohol. Addiction poses a major threat on the child’s emotional and mental health as well as their lifestyle and future developments.

Therefore, parents using drugs ought to be aware of how their choices affect their children since some of these effects are permanent and can mess the life of their children for good.

Addiction hurts everyone around and children are not spared either. The user and the family are all in agony because they all suffer in one way or the other. Little children who depend on their parents for every aspect of their lives –physical, emotional and social support are the ones who are greatly affected. Such children are most likely to indulge in substance abuse at an early stage.

Are You Troubled With Drug Addiction In Your Child?

If you have just found out that your child is addicted to drugs or alcohol, it is quite normal for you to feel devastated and confused, just because you care and you never imagined your child in addiction.

Always know that you are not alone. Millions of parents across the world are also going through the same experience. It is actually not easy for you to help your child out of addiction on your own. The best thing you can do is to find help from medical professionals near you.

Which Substances Are Children Addicted To?

Children can become addicted to a wide variety of things. These includes drugs, whether legal or illegal or alcohol and tobacco smoking. Children can also become addicted to some medications and inhalants such as sniffing glue. All these substance can affects a child’s health badly.

Signs Of Addiction In Children

As a caring parent or guardian, it is good you know the signs to look at for you to tell when your child is addicted to drugs or alcohol. Whether you are addicted to such substances or not, your child can become a drug or alcohol addict without you knowing and the effects might bring some adverse effects on your child.

Remember, it might be a bit tricky for you to notice when your adolescent child is involved in drugs since the child will try the best to make sure that you do not notice their change in behaviors.

This therefore calls for vigilance and patience for you to learn your child’s behavior. The moment you notice that your child is addicted to drugs or alcohol, you need to act with a lot of love and patience and offer the child every support you can afford to help him/her come out of addiction.

The following are some of the common signs to show that your child is suffering from addiction.

• A child loses interest in something that they used to be greatly interested in
• A child shows some unusual ways of getting away from problems or relaxing
• Changes in eating habits – the child eats too much or too little or change eating times
• The child looks sickly or shaky
• Nausea, vomiting
• Slurred / inaudible speech
• Poor balance
• Redness of eyes or face
• The child get anxious, upset or looks greatly depressed
• The child starts isolating himself or herself from family members or friends
• The child starts complaining about workload whether school or home chores and often gets behind workload.
• He/she sells their stuff or steals from you or other members of the family or friends
• Rapid weight gain or weight loss
• The child becomes rude
• The child has problems with sleeping and at times gets out of bed
• The child spends most of the time on computer games to avoid spending time with other people
• Profuse sweating even in a cold season
• Blackouts or Loss of consciousness
• Withdrawal symptoms when the child fails to consume the drugs
• Hallucinations
• Seizures

What Should You Do When You Find Out That Your Child Is Addicted To Drugs?

The way a parent or a guardian reacts when they notice addiction in children greatly determines how fast or easily the child is likely to come out of addiction. It is therefore very important that every caring parent knows the best steps to follow immediately they notice addiction in children.

• Let your child know that you care about him and that his condition is worrying you
• Share your concerns with a person you can trust
• Take your time for personal research on addiction on children and let your child know what you have found out. This will help you become aware of the whole scenario and you can now handle it from a point of understanding.
• Talk to your child and find out if he will open up and tell you about their addiction problems. Be careful to notice any positive changes to tell whether the situation is changing or whether you need to find more help for your child.
• Encourage your child to join other children in play and other social activities.
• Find help from a professional doctor immediately

What You Should Not Do When You Find Out That Your Child Is Addicted To Drugs

As a caring parent or partner, I know you can do everything possible to help your child come out of addiction. True? It is therefore very important to be cautious as you go about this issue for your personal safety and well being. This is especially if you are dealing with a grown up child.

• If the child is smoking, advise him/her not to smoke near you
• Be careful being around an alcohol addicted child because he might not react normally as they used to. The child might become violent and hurt you.
• Do not try whatever drugs your child is taking
• Be in company of another person if you feel unsafe staying along an addicted child
• Ask your other children not to hang out with the addicted child and his friends

Need Help With Addiction In Children?

Drugs and alcohol abuse in children can be treated. If you are struggling with your addicted child, seek intervention from a professional doctor. This is the safest and fastest way to bring your child back to sobriety and live a drug – free life.

How To Help Your Child Come Out Of Addiction

In most cases, children in addiction are in denial and won’t easily give in to the fact that they are in addiction. For your plans to help your child out of addiction to be successful, the child must be willing to be helped. He must admit that he is in a big mess and declare that he needs help to come out of the nasty addiction. With this, the rest part of recovery process becomes far much simpler and faster.

At times, it might be hard for an addicted child to open up to the parents and talk about their addiction story due to fear and shame. You can therefore find a mature friend that you can trust and have him or her talk to your child about the substance abuse concerns you have noticed.

The child needs to be taken through several counseling sessions but in a very loving and understanding manner. Avoid becoming mad about your child’s addiction since the child might become more rebellious and it might be hard for you to get his attention back.

The early you notice of your child’s drug abuse the better. This is because you can help him come out of the mess before the substance abuse reaches extreme levels that might be a bit difficult to recover.

Therefore, parents, teachers and guardians need to be very keen and act with speed immediately they notice unusual change of behaviors in their teenage children.

Drug Addiction Treatment In Children Below 18 Years

Drug addiction in children is a chronic mental illness that calls for immediate treatment. This treatment should only be handled by a professional practitioner who is highly experienced in treating addiction in children.

Drug addiction recovery in children is a medical process that usually involves three medical stages. These are the detoxification, rehabilitation and maintenance.

Detoxification

This is the most difficult drug or alcohol addiction treatment stage due to the serious withdrawal symptoms witnessed. Since the withdrawal symptoms might be life-threatening, the child should be kept under medical supervision throughout the process.

This stage involves flushing out all the toxic drug and alcohol substances in the body. The processes puts the victim in great pain. It is at this stage where most people give up in addiction treatment if they are not put under proper medication or do not get the right support from family and friends.

Rehabilitation

After a successful detoxification process, the child is then taken through the rehabilitation process. This involves scheduled counseling sessions and support group. Depending on the nature and extent of the addiction, the doctor decides whether to put the child into a rehab center or the child to receive treatment while still at home and only see the doctor on scheduled appointment.

Maintenance

Gaining sobriety cannot be achieved in a day or two. It is a process. Upon a successful detoxification and rehabilitation process, the child is then put into a maintenance stage to help him gain sobriety and bring his life back on track.

What Is The Role Of The Parent In Addiction Treatment In Children?

Your child’s health is your number one priority. No matter how worse your child’s addiction case is, just own up the mess and be ready to offer your child all the mental, physical and financial support required in drug recovery. Never mind what your friends talk about your child’s addiction case. Just handle your child with a lot of love and patience, coupled with a lot of understanding.

Stop! Did You Find The Root Cause Of Addiction In Your Child?

There has been some recurring cases whereby a teenager goes through the entire drug recovery process and gets back into addiction again. Why? Nothing was done about the root cause.

It is therefore of great importance that parents and teachers identify the root causes of addiction in children and thoroughly address the situation. Drug and alcohol use and addiction awareness should be done to sensitize the society about the dangers of drug addiction in children. At school, there should be scheduled guidance and counseling sessions to create awareness on substance abuse among students.

Are You A Teenager Fighting Addiction?

If you are a teenager reading this content and you are troubled with your addiction problem and could be you have had several attempts to stop drug abuse with no success, do not give up. There is help for you and know that you are not alone in this.

I know you really want to bring your life back on track. Healing begins with you. First, you must admit that you are in a mess and you need help to get out of the mess. Do not fight this battle alone. Do not feel ashamed about your condition. Speak out and seek help.

Talk to your parent(s) or a close person to whom you can confide in and share your problems with them for you to find help.

Child, drugs are bad. Taking drugs is wrong and drugs will only make you glad for a short while and regret follows soon after. So, if you want a happy life, stay a drugs-free life.

Looking For The Best Rehab Centers For Teens?

For you to get help with your teenager addiction treatment, find a youth friendly rehab center near you. Don’t wait until it’s too late. The best time to find the best rehabilitation center for your child is immediately you notice that your child is on drugs. The more your child stays on drugs, the longer the recovery process and treatment might be a bit expensive for you.

How Long Is Addiction Recovery In Children?

Addiction is a chronic mental disorder where teenagers and adolescents find it difficult to control their substance use. Treatment duration varies depending on the extent of the addiction in children. Parents who notice addiction in early stages in their children and finds immediate treatment helps their children go through a shorter drug recovery process.

How Expensive Is Addiction Recovery Treatment In Teenagers And Adolescents?

It all depends of the addiction recovery facility you take your child to. There is no standard amount that is charged on addiction recovery. If your child has been on drugs for many years, the treatment process might be more expensive. Talk to your insurance providers to find out if they cover addiction treatment to help you cut out on medication cost.

Effects Of Addiction In Children

Every parent wishes that their children grow up in the right manner and enjoy a bright future. On the same note, every child has his/her unique dreams and aspirations in life and they all look forward to living a better life in days to come. The issue of drugs addiction at an early stage in life greatly affects brain development in children, affecting their studies and therefore a child might fail to achieve their career goals.

Addiction in children also exposes teenagers to severe health conditions like heart problems, liver diseases, stroke, stomach disorders and many more. In most severe cases of addiction, death might result.

Drug and alcohol addiction also exposes children to premature sex which might result to sexual assault, unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

Children under drugs influence might engage themselves in violence and this might result to bad injuries. Also, teenagers who drink while driving might cause bad accidents both to themselves and other drivers as well as the pedestrians.

The issue of drug addiction brings a great urge for the child to drink more, since young people who are mostly schooling do not have a stable source of income do not have money to buy enough drugs to sustain their urge, they end up stealing. There have been many reported cases where children steal assets from parents and friends, they sell the items at a throw a way price to get quick money to buy more drugs. This actually destroys a child’s morals and the stealing habit might become uncontrollable putting the child at risk of being put to the juvenile.

How To Deal With Smoking Or Alcohol Addiction In Children

Cigarette, tobacco and marijuana are very common among teenagers. There are many reasons why teenagers get involved in substance abuse. It could be due to family addiction history, peer influence, fun, rebellion or even the fear to face a certain reality in life.

What begins just as a single puff becomes a life’s threatening problem in children and adults alike. The rate of cigarette smoking among high school students is increasing a very alarming rate. Regardless of the continued drug awareness campaigns in schools, the issue of illegal drugs and alcohol use among students still leaves a lot to be deserved.

It is therefore the role of the parents to keep track on their children behaviors and notice when their children start substance abuse at the early stages.

Why Wait Till It’s Too Late? Seek Help Today

Cigarette smoking puts children into serious medical problems like gum diseases, respiratory problems, lung diseases and general poor health and fitness. The early you notice your child’s smoking habits the better. Don’t wait till it’s too late. Call a professional doctor now and talk about your child’s addiction situation for help.

Your Child’s Life Is Important. Guard It!

Addiction in children affects the way your child looks, smells and behaves. Alcohol and cigarette smoking produces bad breath, stains in both teeth and fingers and the general outlook of your teenage child is affected. Friends and members of the family might abandon your child. The child feels rejected and isolated.

Therefore. Your constant assurance of love and care to your child is what brings hope to the child when all others fail. Be patient, it might take longer than you expect to bring your child’s life back on track but don’t lose hope. Your child’s life is important and a caring parent should guard it at all cost.

Need Help?

Addiction in children can be very stressful. You don’t have to walk through it all alone when you can find help. Call a professional doctor now. This could be the beginning of your great relief if you never knew. Someone is waiting to help your child come out of that nasty addiction. Do not feel ashamed about it. Speak up.

Do you indulge in substance abuse? Drug use has negative impacts on your life in very many ways. Anyone is capable of becoming an addict as long as he or she is exposed to a prescribed medication or illegal drugs that are habit-forming. Some people are predisposed to develop addictive behavior when introduced to various drugs.

This read will shed light on all the aspects of life that are negatively affected by drug use.

1. Law
Most of the drugs that are commonly abused are illegal, which means that when a person supplies, cultivates, manufactures, uses, or possesses an illegal drug. This gives rise to a drug offense that will result in a criminal record. Depending on the state you are in, you could be fined, imprisoned, or both. Additionally, this could affect your ability to secure a job, good credit score, or even get a visa to travel out of the country. This will affect your financial well being, which will affect your mental, social, and emotional state due to issues such as depression and anxiety.

The state will order you to undergo a drug test to ascertain the drug you used in order to prove their case. These tests search for small amounts of the substance in the body. The types of tests that you could be subjected to include:

• Saliva test: This testing method is reliable, accurate and quick. It is mainly used to detect the presence of the following rugs in the body MDMA (‘ecstasy’), methyl amphetamine, and THC. It takes about five minutes to carry out this test. If the results come back positive, the person is required to take a confirmatory test. This is usually done on the blood. The second test takes about half an hour to complete.
• Blood test: This detects the recent use of a substance. Recent in this case means a few hours before the test is carried out. This test is expensive. The blood sample is drawn from a prick on the finger or arm vein. The sample is tested in a laboratory that is accredited.
• Urine test: This is the most common form of a drug test. It detects the long-term use of a drug. It is very accurate and easy to do. It entails urinating in a container and having the urine tested using a dipstick. This is common in the workplace.
• Hair test: This test provides drug use history. Most people do not know this but drug substance residues accumulate in the hair. It detects drug use for as far back as more than three months from the date when the test is taken. It is very expensive to carry out because of its accuracy. The history is determined from the length of your hair, which takes about forty to fifty strands of your hair.

2. Driving
Drinking under the influence is very risky. You are likely to cause an accident and even lose your own life. Various rugs have varied effects on the body’s state when a person is driving. Below are some of these common effects.

• Stimulant: This gives the driver a false sense of confidence, which increases the likelihood of the driver to take risks. For example, the driver could driver at an abnormal speed while overtaking. Take note that stimulants do not increase the focus, ability, or coordination of the driver.
• Depressants: This drug slows the reaction rate of the driver, which makes the driver react after the lapse of some time. For example, the driver could delay slowing down the vehicle and hit someone or bump into someone else’s car. This means that the drug increases the possibility of a car crash.
• Hallucinogens: This drug affects the driver’s visual sense. This makes it difficult for the driver to judge perceptions such as distance, which increases the possibility of them crashing into something or hitting someone. Additionally, it reduces the driver’s ability to coordinate the required reaction when they drive.

3. Relationships
Taking drugs heightens and changes our personalities. This is why most introverts and conservative people become more outspoken and active when they are under the influence. For occasional users, this is just fun and games. However, for avid users, they can sometimes turn to become more militant and mean. This makes them directly approach relationship issues in an agitating manner. This is a clear warning sign of addiction. This is because the person is allowing their drug use to get in the way of their relationships and friendships and they keep doing it even though they are aware that they keep hurting their loved ones. They stop being reachable and avoid making plans with their close friends and family. Most of the time, this happens because they know that their close friends and family would be able to tell that they are not okay. They are trying to cover up their new habit.

4. Health
An addict wholly depends on their chosen drug. They rarely eat any food nor drink water. Their diet slowly changes to accommodate drug intake only. Thus, the immunity of such a person is bound to deteriorate with time and so does their health. The person easily contracts diseases and takes longer to heal from them. Their physical well-being also deteriorates with time. Most drug users tend to lose weight and develop skin issues because of the unhealthy nature of their diet. Take note that the state of their health depends on the drug they use. Below are some of the examples of health issues that a person is likely to encounter when they indulge in the use of certain drugs.

• Legal highs: When a person uses this drug, he or she tends to experience the following health issues detachment, amnesia, and extreme relaxation, decreased appetite, prolonged periods of wakefulness, blackouts, feelings of paranoia, aggressive behavior, panic attacks, hallucinations, and feelings of exhilaration. Moreover, they could experience slurred speech, seizures, blood pressure, death, or even coma
• Synthetic hallucinogens: When a person uses this drug, he or she tends to experience the following health issues Gastrointestinal issues, Facial stiffness, Blurred vision, Tremors, Headaches, Seizures and convulsions, Respiratory distress, and Cardiac issues (such as heart rate and increased blood pressure). Additionally, they could experience Hallucinations, Paranoia, panic, and anxiety, impaired decision-making, Motor impairment, Disorientation and confusion, and Death caused by the secondary and primary effects.
• Khat: When a person uses this drug, he or she tends to experience the following health issues irritability, anxiety, anorexia and insomnia, serious damage of the liver, worsening the pre-existing psychiatric conditions, myocardial infarction, irregular heartbeat, stomach inflammation, ulcers, periodontal disease, and tooth decay.
• Amphetamines: When a person uses this drug, he or she tends to experience the following health issues decreased appetite, jaw clamping, dilated pupils, increased blood pressure, and an increased heart rate and breathing rate, Flush or pale skin (Skin disorders), Vitamin deficiency, Mental illness, and Malnutrition. Additionally, the person could experience Repetitive motor activity, unusual tiredness or weakness, Mood or mental change, Physiological and behavioral disorders, and Toxic psychosis. Take note that the following effects also apply blood vessels in the brain might burst, collapse, strokes, heart failure, high fever, seizures, loss of coordination, tremors, chest pain, irregular heartbeat, dizziness, blurred vision, headaches, sweating and even a fever.
• Anabolic steroids: When a person uses this drug, he or she tends to experience the following health issues Signs of agitations such as restlessness, Libido suppression, Insomnia, Irritability, Aggression, Impulsivity, Paranoia, and Nervousness. Apart from this, the person could also suffer from any of the following effects Cysts, Yellow eyes and skin, Acne, Liver disease, Greasy hair, Greasy skin, Shrunken testicles in men, Liver cancer, Breast growth in men, Erectile dysfunction in men. In addition to this the person could go through Decreased breast size in women, heart disease and heart attack, Internal bleeding, Irregular periods in women, Deep voice in women, Facial hair growth in women, hair thinning, premature ageing of bones, male pattern baldness, diseases that are associated with the transmission of needles such as Hepatitis B&C and HIV/AIDS.
• Antidepressants: When a person uses this drug, he or she tends to experience the following health issues mild agitation, mild lethargy, dry mouth and nausea, suicidal thinking, profound lethargy, agitation, stomach upset, tics, rashes, mood swings, and sexual side effects.
• Barbiturates: When a person uses this drug, he or she tends to experience the following health issues drowsiness, lack of inhibition, mild euphoria, irritability, impaired judgment, dilated pupils, and lack of coordination, disorientation, fatigue, sluggishness, slurred speech, breathing disorders (shallow breathing), sexual dysfunction, slowed reflexes, dizziness, vision problems, and chronic tiredness.
• Benzodiazepines: When a person uses this drug, he or she tends to experience the following health issues Aggressive behavior, Mood swings, Memory loss, Difficulty breathing, Lack of coordination, Slurred speech, Poor decision making, Poor judgment, Weakness, Blurred vision, Dizziness, Confusion, Drowsiness, Death caused by respiratory system issues, and Coma.

5. Children
Parents are not aware that such an environment can influence and shape their future of their children forever. These vulnerable beings are affected in the highest degree and it may reflect in their interactions and behavior. The child may exhibit any or all of the following signs:

• A child who has been exposed to a drug use environment from birth may have no recollection of a normal life in terms of family relationships. This makes them unable to differentiate between bad and good role models making their lives doomed from the start.
• Children who are exposed to such environments at a tender age tend to judge themselves severely. They do not feel enough and are likely to suffer from low self-esteem self-worth, and even depression. They develop feelings of inadequacy as they feel like they do not deserve to have anything in life.
• A child who has been bred in a drug use environment tends to be its own worst critic. This often leads to anxiety and depression.
• For one to have a successful intimate relationship, they have to be able to find a partner who fulfills their needs, open to emotional attachment, and interdependent. Since they have harbored self-esteem and trust issues from their childhood, they may not be able to let their guard down.
• After being exposed to a childhood of secrets, lying, and denial, trust-issues are a sure result. All those broken promises and disappointments culminate into a pit of distrust that infects all their relationships.
• Since their parents failed to be available physically and emotionally during their development stage, they tend to be horrified of abandonment when they become adults. This makes them hold onto relationships that do not add value such as abusive ones.
• Since they judge themselves very harshly, they tend to seek approval from the society. This makes them not have an opinion about anything, making them go with the opinion of the majority. It makes them susceptible to peer pressure.
• These children become perfectionists. They strive to be better than their childhood forms and tend to become workaholics and perfectionists as adults.
• A child who has grown up seeing their parent or both their parents engaging in substance abuse tends to view this as normal. They end up indulging in it at their adolescents and this affects their health, development, and school life.
• Children are observant beings. Thus, if a child makes a mistake and their parent seeks the help of their bottle to help calm their nerves, the child will likely perceive that he or she is the cause of their parent(s) drinking.
• When a child is constantly exposed to the negative effects of drug use, they tend to develop anxiety because they are not aware of what their parent(s) will do under the influence.

6. Treatment
The treatment method for drug abuse is very complicated. It touches on both the psychological and mental health of the individual. It aims to help the person in other aspects of their health such as religion, social relationships, emotional health, and physical health. The prolonged treatment strives to make the person disciplined enough to stay sober and not relapse when the opportunity presents itself. Thus, the treatment could last for as long as the person stays dependent on the drug. If the person develops mental issues such as schizophrenia, the treatment process becomes complicated even further.

As you visit a rehabilitation center to help you or your loved one with a drug addiction, make sure that you familiarize yourself with the system of the rehabilitation center. Most rehabilitation centers have varying treatment plans, but this read will provide a standard treatment plan that most rehabilitation centers follow. This will provide some insight. Take note that it is not conclusive and definite. You might miss some steps or have more.

• Physical examination or assessment: At the beginning of the rehab process, you will meet a physician. You will spend some time with him or her to examine your addiction status and map out a detoxification plan. This plan will vary depending on the drugs you were using during the addiction phase. Therefore, it is mandatory that you are very honest at this stage. Giving the wrong information will not help you get through your rehabilitation efficiently. You might also be asked to identify the recent drugs that you ingested. This could be prescribed or not. Thus, you might want to acquaint yourself with the names of those drugs. At this stage, you will be given various legal documents such as consent forms to fill. This stage takes a few hours, but it could spread out through a couple of days.
• Psychological examination/evaluation/assessment: A psychiatrist who has experience and expertise on addiction will examine various issues such as bipolar, depression, anxiety, or any other psychological or emotional issues. The first examination you do will not be conclusive. This is because you are still under the influence of drugs and at the peak of your addiction. This may taint the results significantly. A good example is some people exhibit schizophrenic properties when they are under the influence and after they are done with their rehabilitation, these symptoms end.
• Detoxification: This is the part of the program that addicts hate most. However, if you check in to a high-end rehabilitation center it might be extremely comfortable for you. Withdrawal symptoms are inevitable. They will use medication like valium and suboxone to ease your pain. Since they do not want to create a dependency to this drug, they will only use it when necessary and for a short period. The aim of using them is to make sure that the addict is completely free from mood-altering drugs. The potential side effects include decreased appetite, amnesia, blackouts, and feelings of paranoia, aggressive behavior, panic attacks, tremors, blurred vision, gastrointestinal issues, headaches, seizures, convulsions, respiratory issues, high blood pressure, motor impairment, and even dilated pupils. A doctor will definitely be on standby to help you get through all these side effects. The side effects you experience are dependent on the drugs you used. Thus, make sure you inquire so that you do not go into shock ones the side effects start showing. Mental preparation goes a long way when it comes to this form of treatment.
• Therapy: The most effective form of therapy is done in a group setting. This does not single out individual therapy. It is still effective. Additionally, some people prefer to have individual counseling because of their status or other personal reservations. By talking and connecting with other people who feel the same way you do, you develop techniques that help you stay free from drug consumption.
• Fitness: Drugs make the body system deteriorate. It derails all health aspects making it hard to get through the addiction. Thus, through fitness, you can uplift your mind, soul and body. This is essential for their healing process. Exercise helps the addict get through the withdrawal symptoms since it helps the body produce endorphins that make the body feel good. You might need the help of a trainer to get through this stage. The rehabilitation center could provide one unless you have reservations about a specific one and want to hire your own personal trainer.
• Good nutrition: Dieting goes hand-in-hand with fitness. In order to recover, you have to feel good and eat right. If you eat too much-processed carbohydrates, you will feel sleepy and sluggish. On the other hand, too much sugar will affect your moods. Thus, you will need to consult your nutritionist to plan your balanced diet and help you get in better shape.
• Alternative treatments: Many rehabilitation centers offer numerous alternative treatments. These treatments have been shown to help ease the withdrawal symptoms and make the addicts’ rehabilitation life more comfortable. These include acupuncture, equine therapy, yoga, massage, and meditation among others.
• Planning for aftercare: What is your plan after you leave the rehabilitation center? How are you planning to stay on track with the treatment? How will you plan your home regimen to keep up with the treatment? What will you do if you get the urge to use drugs? All these questions are catered for under this part of the treatment. The plan caters for all the strategies that you need o address to remedy any situation you phase and the various relationships you are likely to phase when you get back home.
• Discharge from treatment: Your treatment is complete and you are at about thirty days free from drug use. This day could be terrifying, joyous, or exciting. Follow the aftercare plan and all the tips and advice that you have received from the specialists. If you stay away from the triggers, you will have a better chance of long-term recovery.

7. Stigma
The society shuns people who use drugs and stigmatizes them even after they have gone through the rehabilitation process. Acceptance back to the society takes some time and people often end up having trust issues and very low expectations towards the person. This could affect the self-esteem and quality of life of the person, which is a great motivator for relapsing.

A normal person is bound to experience stress several times in his or her lifetime, since it is a normal human experience. The American Psychological Association conducted a study on the American people and stress and discovered that about 73% of the American population experiences the psychological symptoms of stress, while another 77% experience physical stress.

Due to such findings, it is important to define stress before venturing into its management during the addiction recovery period.

What Is Stress?

Stress is the normal and natural way that your body responds to certain demanding situations and triggers. Therefore, it is a result of certain internal and external factors. The internal factors may include health, lack of sleep and hunger, while the external factors are such as finances, work and relationships.

This means of response can either be helpful or harmful to you, depending on the reasons for its occurrence. For example, if you are stressed because you are unmotivated or because you might miss to hit a specific deadline, such stress could help you struggle to do as required in the shortest time possible.

Stress is helpful in this case due to the hormones and neurotransmitters that your body will produce, which will boost your emotional motivation and energy, causing you to react in a useful way. On the other hand, stress can also be harmful since it will drive you to seek comfort in all the wrong places while still harming your body.
This explains why it is a trigger for the majority of addictions. Since many people do not know how to deal with stress, they seek an escape through consuming drugs, gambling, abusing alcohol, eating too much and adapting unhealthy sexual behavior, among others. As these habits continue, they become addictions especially if you are not aware of the growing urge to do more of them.

Stress In Recovery

Alcohol and drug abuse and addiction destroy your life to the point of losing what you value most. You may lose a spouse, experience resentment from your family, friends and neighbors, lose your job as well and lack respect among your peers. However, after admission into a rehabilitation center, you tend to have hope that you will regain what you lost.

Therefore, the recovery period entails getting back to your life, to live a better life style through rebuilding you relationships and adopting healthy habits. It takes place after you have gone through the detoxification period and recovered from the withdrawal symptoms that caused you pain and even threatened your life.

Unfortunately, this recovery period is not an easy journey. It is a time whereby you must face the reality of things as a sober person and must acknowledge that whatever substance you abused and got addicted to change you into a bad person. It led to you causing a lot of pain and therefore, you must try to make up for all the harm you caused.

Consequently, it is a period where stress will be common. After all, it is not easy getting people to forgive you or convincing your former boss that you deserve your job again and will actually give good performance. Also, your family could be hurt to the point of no return, which will hurt you since acquiring their forgiveness and rebuilding your relationships matters so much to you in this period.

The frustrations that you experience in this recovery period will cause you stress and how you deal with such stress will determine the rest of your life. The medical specialists at the National Institute on Drug Abuse have reason to believe that stress in the recovery period is the leading cause of relapse into the addiction and substance abuse habits.

They reason that if you have ever abused a drug and actually landed in addiction, your brain is more hypersensitive to stress as compared to other people that have never abused substances. Due to this hypersensitivity, it is highly likely that you will return to abusing drugs just escape or relieve your stress.
However, it does not have to be this way. You need to be strong to avoid relapsing and acquire whatever healthy techniques that you can to manage the stress.

Signs And Symptoms Of Stress In Recovery

Despite that stress is normal in the life of a normal human being, its occurrence may go unnoticed. For you to be in a position to manage stress in recovery, you need to know the signs and symptoms to look out for as you determine the presence of stress.

* Emotional Symptoms

Various emotional symptoms will let you know that you are actually under stress, which then means that your sobriety in recovery could be jeopardized. If you start feeling moody all the time or frustrated and agitated easily, then it is possible that you have stress.

If you often feel the urge to stay alone and avoid others, you should ask yourself why. It could be that you feel worthless, depressed or have a low self-esteem, which all indicate the presence of some stress.
Additionally, if you constantly feel lonely even when around people, it could be that your mind is under stress whereby you feel that nobody understands you.

Also, the difficulty in quieting your mind or relaxing it may also mean that you are under stress. Other emotional symptoms are development of mental health problems and general unhappiness.

* Physical Symptoms

Physically, your body will also display some signs if you are under stress during the recovery period. If you feel that your muscles are tensed or aching for no particular reason such as lifting heavy objects, it is advisable to dig deeper to find the problem. This pain may also be accompanied by a rapid heartbeat and chest pain as well.

Also, if you constantly experience headaches, low energy and insomnia, there is a very high possibility that you are under stress. Other symptoms that you could experience while under stress are such as diarrhea, nausea and constipation, difficulty in swallowing and dry mouth.

You may also suffer from infections and colds on a frequent basis since you are vulnerable to illnesses. Additionally, you may have grinding teeth and clenched jaw, accompanied by sweaty and cold hands, ringing in the ear, shaking and nervousness.

* Cognitive Symptoms

Your cognitive health may also be under attack as the stress levels continue to increase. Consequently, you may have racing thoughts that could cause constant worrying. Additionally, you may be unable to make good judgment.
With racing thoughts, is likely that you will be unable to focus of your duties, activities or studies. You may also experience forgetfulness, since your thoughts are disorganized. Regardless of the good things happening around you, you are likely to only think of the negative side of things.

* Behavioral Symptoms

Due to the above cognitive symptoms that affect your thinking and concentration, your behaviors will change as well since your thoughts tend to create habits and behavior. Lack of focus and disorganization will cause to develop bad habits such as avoiding responsibilities and procrastinating.

You could begin exhibiting nervous behaviors especially around others, which include pacing, fidgeting and nail biting. Due to changes in appetite, you may either eat much more than the usual or even very less.
If you do not confront your stress issues, it is highly likely that you will relapse, or begin abusing other drugs like cigarettes and alcohol.

Stress Effects On Your Body

As soon as you are under stress, your body reacts through producing the hormones like adrenaline and cortisol that are meant to defend your body. This means that stress affects every major organ or system in your body since your brain may not differentiate between physical and emotional threats.

The responses, which are mostly physiological, are helpful if you need to make a fast move to escape danger, such as escaping a dear that is running after you, or pulling somebody from harm’s way as fast as possible.
However, if these stress become chronic or severe, they do go out of control. This means that your body, behavior and mood will suffer dearly due to too much exposure to toxic hormones, which increase you vulnerability to diseases.

Effects On Your Body

Consequently, the stress effects on your body will include frequent episodes of body pains such as chest and muscle pains as well as muscle tension and headaches. Additionally, you could experience fatigue, stomach upset and sleeping problems. In other cases, your sex drive may change.

Effects On Your Mood

Since stress also affects you emotionally, you mood could be affected as well. Consequently, during this recovery period you will experience anxiety whereby you will be anxious most of the times, which could also cause you to feel overwhelmed.

You may become restless, and experience anger since you may become highly irritable. You may end up in depression or severe sadness, since you could feel less worthy if people do not welcome you back to the community with open arms. Consequently, you may lack focus or motivation to continue with the sobriety journey.

Effects On Your Behavior

The above stress effects on your body and mood during recovery will further affect your behavior. Since you are still a normal human being, you are prone to change your behaviors since your inside self is under attack.
You may start having angry outbursts, which will further lead you to withdraw from society since you are unable to handle your emotions and interact with people the way that you should. Overcoming the stresses may also encourage you to eat often, which could be overeating or make you lose your appetite and thus under eat.

If you continuously overeat, there are high chances that you will care less about your body and thus will not exercise. Lack of regular exercises after high consumption of food will result to gaining weight. If you are not careful during this period, you are likely to become obese in the long run. Additionally, your sobriety will be in jeopardy, therefore, you could end up abusing alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.

Long Term Stress Consequences

There is the little stress that you can get over by relaxing, watching a movie or visiting a therapist. This kind of stress does not have long term consequences since it is manageable and not severe. However, there is that other type that becomes chronic and ongoing. It is quite unhealthy since it has multiple long-term consequences that may not heal at all.

* Reproductive System Problems

If you are a lady, your reproductive system may start having issues such as menstrual problems; alongside the change is sexual drive. If you are a man, you are likely to experience premature ejaculation. Whether you are a man or woman, continuous chronic stress may result to sexual dysfunction, which includes issues like impotence and loss of sexual desire.

* Mental Health Challenges

Your mental health could end up experiencing some challenges due to the anxiety and depression. Therefore, the depression may worsen to the point of causing suicidal thoughts. The anxiety as well may also proceed. What is worse is the personality disorders that you may end up developing as the stress continues to be chronic.

* Cardiovascular Diseases

Your heart will hardly survive the high stress levels that you may experience over a lengthy period of time. Therefore, you could begin having high blood pressure, which highly triggers heart disease due to the loads of pressure that your heart will experience. Additionally, you could suffer from a stroke or heart attacks. Also, your heart rhythms may become abnormal as time passes by.

* Obesity

As mentioned earlier, it is possible that you will eat excessive amounts of food as you try to make yourself feel better. What’s more, the foods that you consume will often have high amounts of sugars, and which are known to have high levels of cholesterol and fats.

As soon as these components enter your body, they will settle in your blood vessels and fat storage areas like the lower abdomen. You will begin to gain weight slowly and later end up in obesity. This consumption of food may also result to eating disorders that you can hardly control.

* Gastrointestinal Problems

Other issues that may arise as chronic stress progresses include gastrointestinal problems. Such issues will attack your system in the form of gastritis, irritable colon, GERD or ulcerative colitis.

* Hair And Skin Problems

Your hair and skin are delicate parts of your body as well. Therefore, they are prone to suffer from some long term problems if the chronic stress that you suffer from during the recovery period does not come down. You may begin loosing hair, which will eventually become permanent hair loss. Your skin as well could suffer from eczema, acne and psoriasis.

Managing Stress In Recovery

Since the recovery period is quite important in living a sober lifestyle after the treatment period, it is very important that you learn how to manage your stress. Incorporation of the multiple stress management techniques will not only keep you sober, but also save you from suffering from deeper issues in the future.

By managing your stress effectively in the recovery period, you are in a better position to convince your loved ones that you deserve another chance in their lives. Additionally, you will be able to focus and give good performance at work or in school. Without the angry outbursts you will rebuild your relationships and have better people by your side.

The following are stress management techniques that you can adopt as you strive to live a very sober and healthy lifestyle in recovery, and also achieve self-growth and development.

* Prepare For The Recovery Process

When you have some knowledge about what to expect in the recovery period, you are in a better position to be ready to face it. Being organized and understanding the process can go a long way in helping you reduce your stress levels.

This preparation may include learning the stress symptoms and effects mentioned above, so that you identify the presence of stress as soon as it beings. You may also carry things that motivate you to focus on recovery such as gifts and photos of loved ones, and anything that gives you good memories.

* Healthy Diet

The food substances that you consume will determine the chemical reactions that will take place in your body. Some foods are good at reducing stress, while others will cause more issues like nervousness and agitation. Foods that bust stress include fish, spinach, oranges and oatmeal.

In recovery, fish is highly advised since it contains omega-3 fatty acids that are good at managing stress hormones and suppressing depression. Water and black tea also help since you stay hydrated and feel calmer. You should avoid caffeinated drinks and high sugar liquids.

* Regular Exercise

Exercise causes the release of good endorphins that promote happiness thus suppress stressful thoughts. Therefore, it is advisable to join an exercise program while in recovery, since you will keep your body active. The best exercises include swimming, running, yoga, and weight lifting.

* Keep Positive Company

The people you surround yourself with will affect your thoughts and possibilities of experiencing stress. Therefore, it is good to keep positive company since they will encourage you to have positive thoughts and deal with issues from a positive angle, which hardly entertains stress. You can get this positivity from support groups, friends and multiple types of therapies.

* Keep A Journal

Bottling up your feelings and emotions will only promote stress and frustrations. It is highly advisable that you let them out by writing them down in a journal. As soon as you write down your thoughts, emotions and lessons learned every day, you are likely to go to bed feeling relieved.

A journal will also help you in identifying any unhealthy patterns of behavior that you may be developing. This stress management technique is most effective if you do not have people to talk to or want your experiences to stay private to avoid judgments.

* Proper Time Management

As you begin the recovery period, it is important to keep yourself busy by managing your time appropriately. Ensure that you do not put too many activities in one day, yet some can be postponed to another.
Proper time management will help you in conducting your activities well, and promote success. Otherwise, constant failure due to wrong appropriation of time will increase your chances of becoming stressed.

* Get Ample Sleep

The more sleep you get, they more you stay relaxed and energized as you conduct daily recovery activities. After all, your body takes advantage of that solid slumber to restore itself. Hence, ensure that you sleep for about seven to eight hours.

The more you sleep, the less stress you will have. On the other hand, stress can cause you to lack sleep. Therefore, ensure that you escape stress at all costs.

* Be Increasing Mindful

Being mindful means focusing on the present moment, without worrying about the past or future. It helps you to focus more on your current activities, thus improve your performance. Whenever you are mindful, you tend to create good memories since you ensure that your actions are right.

Therefore, mindfulness reduces the possibilities of having stress, and reduces your cravings since you are able to escape the triggers. In conclusion, stress management during the addiction recovery period is quite helpful in living a better life and avoiding relapse. First you need to acknowledge the occurrence of stress even before you enter the recovery process.

By educating yourself on what happens if stress creeps in, you equip yourself with know-how on how to deal with it. As soon as you notice that you are stressed, you should not ignore it. Discover its source and if you cannot get professional help, from a therapist. Deal with the stress until it disappears. As soon as you are good and stress free again, apply the above techniques of stress management to prevent its occurrence again.