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Recovery From Alcohol & Drugs

Recovery from alcohol and drug addiction takes a lifelong commitment. It is very hard to do all alone. You need to learn how to manage the emotional triggers that drive your addiction. The support of friends and family can play a big part in your recovery also. If your friends continue to use alcohol in your presence when you are trying to quit, you may have a difficult time becoming sober.

  1. Residential Treatment

    • Enter a residential substance-abuse treatment program to get sober. Make a clean break from your usual routine and fellow drug or alcohol abusers. Make it impossible to get your hands on alcohol or drugs while you are going through withdrawal. Residential treatment has many advantages. Being isolated from temptation and receiving daily counseling and medical supervision may be what it takes to begin your recovery. The only disadvantage is that this treatment is expensive if you do not have insurance to pay for it.

    Twelve-Step Programs

    • Attend Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings. These organizations have been a lifeline for many people since Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in 1935. Nearly every city has at least one location where twelve-step program meetings are held for addicts. Large cities have multiple meetings in various places, so you can attend almost every day and at any time of day that you need to. These recovery programs are centered around receiving support from fellow addicts and recovering addicts. Today there are twelve-step programs based upon the original Alcoholics Anonymous program for just about every addiction.

    Outpatient Therapy

    • Combine outpatient therapy with a twelve-step program so you can work through the issues that cause you to abuse drugs or alcohol. Outpatient therapy is a good option if residential treatment is not a realistic choice because of expense. You can visit a mental-health professional or substance-abuse counselor daily or once a week and work through the emotional issues that are troubling you. The counselor can teach you techniques to use in your daily life to control your cravings for alcohol by channeling your anger or sadness into more-productive channels. Learning why you abuse drugs or alcohol is important to your recovery.

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