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Staying in the Boat—How to Avoid Drug Relapse

Been trying to overcome a drug problem? Keep relapsing into old behaviors? Find yourself struggling to stay on top of the waves?

You’re not alone. Many drug abusers find themselves in the same boat—without a paddle. But what if you had one, a paddle, I mean? What if there was some help to keep you in the water, and in the boat?

Good news.

There is.

Make new friends. I know, I know, it’s hard to get rid of the old ones, but do it. Find someone with a similar hobby (other than drinking), take a class, and make room in your life for your family.
Go out to family restaurants—forgo the bars. Take along friends that will help you stay sober.
Attend AA Meetings. Get involved with others who are struggling and wanting to make a change in their life.
Try counseling, even if the counselor is someone who wants you to heal and isn’t a professional. One on one time with a motivating person will help you to continue your newfound journey. Perhaps the counselor is God. Call on this person when you are feeling the need to relapse.
Keep a journal or diary. Record your thoughts. Get it out on paper so that you aren’t tempted to live it in person.
Watch your stress level. Do some meditation when you feel your stress going high. Give yourself a candy bar instead of a drug.
No more secrets. Share what you are feeling and doing with those who understand.
Take care of yourself. Eat right, get enough sleep, and make time in your day to enjoy nature.
Keep positive. Forgo listening to those voices that bring you down. If a negative voice is your mother, take a break. Make phone calls and visits only when necessary.

Be honest with yourself. The best way to avoid another drug lapse is to make sure you are doing all you can do to prevent it—and that means no secrets from yourself either.

Seeking Medical Coverage, Finding Relief

Life is defined by the unexpected. Accidents are all too frequent; complications can arise. There are challenges to face each day — and insurance is needed to counter them.

Affording coverage can prove to be difficult, however, when individuals are uncertain of the steps to take. Consider these methods to reduce expenses and gain relief:

Finding the perfect insurance company can often prove to be challenging. Online directories like canada 411 help to make the quest easier, though. They offer instant comparisons of local and national providers, allowing you to secure the one that reflects your life. Cost is a deterrent with all things, especially insurance. Those struggling to meet their monthly needs will often refuse coverage, thinking the expense simply too great. Hospitalization would be a far greater total, however, and all families must be protected. And they must therefore create a budget. Understand weekly tallies. Note all chances to save, decreasing spending by becoming aware of any unnecessary costs – even some that will be missed – that can be removed. This will free dollars for insurance.
No decision is to be quick. Impulses may offer (brief) satisfaction but they rarely succeed. Insurance must instead be chosen with care. All rates must be compared; all prices must be weighed against the limitations of a budget. Never simply accept the first quote that’s offered. Choose instead to seek out as many as needed. The effort may be time-consuming but the savings will be considerable. Recognize which rate would be best, such as family packages or singular insurance.
Insurance is a necessity but saving money is a right. Claim it.

Curb Your Addiction

If it’s time for you to give up your daily cigarettes, you’re in for a pretty rough road. There are many people who have accomplished this goal, and you can too. There are lots of different products out there designed to help you kick the habit, but which ones will work the best? Here’s a list of a few to try out.

Electronic Cigarettes

First off, electronic cigarettes are one of the newest ways to kick your smoking habit. It’s basically a small cartridge that looks just like a regular cigarette, but it produces a nicotine/water vapor that you inhale just like smoke. This allows you to take in the addictive nicotine (which you will slowly wean yourself off of), but you won’t be taking in all the tar and other chemicals that are in regular cigarettes. Electronic cigarette starter kits are also very affordable, and sometimes even cheaper than buy normal cigarettes.

Hypnosis

Hypnosis is another fairly new method to curb your smoking needs. You are basically put under hypnosis by a trained professional, and by the power of suggestion, your need for cigarettes is reduced. The trials on this haven’t been completely conclusive, but there are thousands of people out there that have used this method to successfully quit smoking.

Patches and Gums

Lastly, there are the different nicotine patches and gums sold over the counter. These, like electronic cigarettes, deliver the addictive nicotine to your system without all the other harmful chemicals from the actual cigarette smoke. Gradually you lower the level of nicotine you consume, and you eventually stop completely. This method has again worked for thousands of people.

Just Do It!

Whatever method you decide to go with is a step in the right direction. You will never know which method will work for you unless you try some of them out. Who knows, your experiences may be able to help friends and loved ones down the road.

Picking A Support Group

: Image by drurydrama (Len Radin) via Flickr

So you have just gotten back from a rehab facility. Well, congrats on taking the all important first steps to living the rest of your life on a happy and healthy path. You are back at home now but you know all too well that the real work begins. Your life is going to get more challenging from here on out. Dealing with the problem head on was one thing but dealing with the problem in the face of day to day struggles is an entirely separate matter. You want to be the best you but you know it is going to take more than a few good days at home. It’s going to take the support of your family and friends. Here is the problem with that, not every member of your family support and encourage the same way.

Many family members will practice tough love or even enable. It is your primary goal to build a support group that cares about you and your progress. It is important to make sure that your support group will be looking out for your best interest. If they are not then it will only spell doom and gloom for you and your recovery process.

Select people to support you that you care about the most. Pick people that you loved the most prior to getting involved in the world of abuse. If you cared that much for them then you will care that much now. Make sure they are people you consider real friends and ones that will put your well being ahead of their desire to make you happy. Anyone who would even think of allowing you to use isn’t someone who you want to be a part of your sober life. These people need to go. You have worked too hard to throw it away.

Are You An Enabler?

: Image by Getty Images via @daylife

So you have a loved one coming home from the hospital. They are coming back from a difficult battle with drugs and alcohol. You are happy to see them coming home but you are also worried about their progress once they get home. As an outside observer you can understand that many problems they face trying to get sober from inside there own life. You see the pitfalls and you are worried they will do something that they end up regretting. Could it be that you are part of the problem?

It’s a tough thing to think of. It’s tough to think that you could even be thought to be part of the problem but the truth of it is that there are more than a few enablers in an addicts life. Many assume that the enablers are those that will do drugs with them or go buy drugs for them. While these are certainly tell tale signs of an enabler it doesn’t make it the only kind of enabler in the world.

Any enabler is anyone who will do anything that might impede someones quest to remain free and sober. While the ultimate blame does and will always fall on the addicts themselves that doesn’t mean at all that there isn’t blame to be passed around to the rest of the family, or those that would make it easier for a loved one to do drugs.

The biggest sign of an enabler is they are too willing to listen to an addicts reasoning. They will accept the reasons why an addict has a relapse or is caught using regularly again. They mistake unconditional love and figure that undying support equals unconditional love when it is often the vehicle to enable. Watch these signs in yourself and figure out if you are part of the problem.

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