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Addiction Help For Myself

Dealing with alcohol or drug addiction can be one of the biggest struggles in your life. You know that regularly taking drugs or drinking too much is bad for you, but this knowledge alone isn’t enough to help you stop. Lots of people kick their addictions every single day, so it can be done.

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However, you have to realise that this will be a process – it’s not going to happen overnight, or even over a couple of nights. It can take weeks, sometimes even months for you to kick a drug or alcohol addiction. But, the important thing is that it can be done, and you can get your life back on track. 

 

Some people can get over their addiction all on their own – or with support from friends & family. Similarly, the majority of addicts struggle to fully get over their addiction without professional assistance. By going to a rehab clinic and receiving different treatment options, it can provide a better long-term solution. 

 

Before you consider any treatment options, the first step is standing up and saying to yourself; I am an addict, and I need help. By doing this, you can come to terms with this revelation and go down the road to recovery. 

 

How do I know I’m addicted to drugs?

Before you scream help, I’m addicted to drugs, you need to know if you’re actually suffering from addiction. If you have a glass of wine or a bottle of beer every night, then does that mean you suffer from alcohol addiction? This may be a bad habit, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re an addict. 

 

Bearing that in mind, here are some signs that tell you you’ve got a serious problem on your hands: 

 

Behavioural changes

Do you notice a remarkable change in your behaviour – and not for the better? If mood swings are a standard part of your life, then it could point to drug addiction. Also, if you no longer feel like doing anything or socialising with your friends, then that’s another warning sign. You might start to feel closed off from society and want to spend time on your own. Again, if this is accompanied by alcohol or drug use, then it’s a telltale sign of addiction. 

 

Physical changes

Alongside any behavioural changes, addictions cause physical alterations as well. A common sign is a change in your weight. Drug abuse can lead to rapid weight loss, while alcohol addiction sometimes leads to excessive weight gain. If you feel like your body is changing, and you don’t know why, then it might be because of an addiction.

 

Similarly, look at your appearance; have you stopped caring for yourself? Has your hair grown out? Have you stopped shaving? These are all signs that an addiction has taken over you. 

 

Mental changes

Drugs and alcohol affect your mind. As a result, you will experience significant mental changes. Often, drug addiction can increase feelings of depression or mental anxiety. Not only that, but you start to feel dependent on these substances. Do you feel like you’re going crazy when you haven’t had a drink for more than a few hours? Is your brain telling your body that you need to take drugs to feel a release? These mental changes are often accompanied by other physical changes, such as persistent shaking, tremors, sweating, and headaches. 

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If you experience any of these signs, and you know you’re regularly using drugs, then you most probably have an addiction. Now, it’s time to work on kicking it. 

 

Addiction and your mental health

We briefly touched upon mental health and addiction in the section above. However, it’s a vital topic, so we need to go over it in more detail. 

 

There’s a strong link between addiction and mental health, and it usually stems from the cause of your addiction. A lot of people turn to drugs and alcohol as a way of combatting mental health problems. If you’re depressed or anxious, then you want to soothe your symptoms and find a way to remove yourself from regular situations. By taking drugs and getting high, this helps you do just that. 

 

The same goes for alcohol addiction; you turn to alcohol to get drunk and forget about your mental health issues. 

 

In turn, this sends you down a very slippery slope. Mental health issues are no joke, and you should seek help for them. This can be challenging, and many people look for the ‘easy’ option in drugs or alcohol. The problem is that you start associating the effects of these substances with the feeling of relief. You start thinking to yourself; the only way I can feel better is if I get drunk or get high. As such, you see substances as a cure – which is a dangerous way to view them. 

 

To compound matters, being addicted to drugs will make your mental health problems even worse. Your symptoms of depression, anxiety – or any other mental health issue – will be exacerbated when you’re not on drugs. It can get to the point where you almost can’t live without them, and that’s when the addiction really takes hold of your life. 

 

How can I cure my drug addiction?

Curing a drug or alcohol addiction is no easy feat – but it is possible. Like we said earlier, the first step is acceptance. Accept that you are an addict, and that you need to do something about it. 

 

The main thing holding people back from curing an addiction is a denial of the fact that they have one. After all, how can you kick an addiction if you don’t believe you have one? Look at the telltale signs listed above, and use them to come to terms with the fact that you have a drug addiction. 

 

From here, there are some actionable steps you can take: 

 

Talk to your friends & family

After admitting to yourself that you have an addiction, you should admit it to other people. There’s a chance some of your friends or family members have approached you about this before, and you shut them down. So, now’s the time to apologise to them and let them know that you’re an addict. 

 

This can be a very emotional and tough thing to do, but you will benefit from it. Just saying it out loud and letting people know will make you feel a great release. Plus, you now have a sense of accountability; there are people you love and care about who know you have a problem, so you owe it to them to get clean. 

 

Also, by speaking to your friends & family, they can offer some much-needed emotional support, which will help you get through some tough patches. 

 

Gradually wean yourself off the substances

Of course, you can’t quit drinking alcohol or taking drugs if you continue to do so. As such, you have to wean yourself off the substances. This is definitely the hardest part. You can try and go cold turkey and just cut them out completely, but this won’t always work. 

 

If you’ve only been addicted for a short time, or are starting to show signs of addiction, then going cold turkey can work for you. But, if your addiction is long-term, then the consequences of going cold turkey are too much for you to handle, and you’ll likely slip back into your bad habits. 

 

So, you can attempt a gradual process instead. Again, this will be hard, but try and limit your alcohol consumption or drug usage day by day, week by week. Slowly but surely, your body will adjust to the lack of substances, until you stop taking them altogether. 

 

Focus on the cause and avoid triggers

Addiction is just like any other health problem in that it’s caused by something. There was an event, or something happened to you, which made you start taking drugs and developing this dependence. For some, it might have happened when you went out with your friends. You were looking to have a fun time, so you started taking drugs or getting really drunk. You loved how it felt, and your friends found it cool, so you carried on. 

 

In this instance, you should avoid going out with your friends until you’ve kicked the addiction. Being out in a club may trigger thoughts that want you to start taking drugs or getting blackout drunk. 

 

The same goes for addiction caused by mental health problems. In this situation, you should seek help for your mental health issues if you truly want to kick your drug habit. 

 

Think about the damage you cause to others

A significant problem with drug addiction is that you think it only affects yourself. There’s a typical response when people might confront you about your habits; why do you care? It’s my body, I can do what I want. 

 

The issue with this is that it doesn’t just affect you. When you’re an addict, you impact other people’s lives as well. Your family and friends suffer because of you. Many people have torn their family apart and become estranged parents to their children due to their addictive habits. 

 

So, stop thinking about the damage you cause yourself, and start thinking about how your addiction harms others. When you put other people at the centre of this, then it gives you more encouragement to seek help and beat your addiction. 

 

Getting professional help for addiction

If you follow the steps laid out above, then you might get over your addiction. However, this isn’t always the case, and it can sometimes be inadvisable to kick an addiction without proper addiction treatment. 

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Consequently, it’s much safer and more effective if you explore other treatment options, such as rehab. By doing to a rehab centre, you will end up with various solutions to help you – like the following: 

 

  • Detoxes – Most residential rehab centres provide detoxes for people suffering from drugs and alcohol addiction. The aim of a detox is to get rid of the harmful substances lingering in your body. It cleanses your system, which helps to stop your body from craving the effects of drugs or alcohol. 

 

  • Cognitive behavioural therapy – This is a type of therapy that focuses on training your mind to think about drugs differently. It addresses your main triggers and teaches you how to stop falling victim to them. You learn how to control your feelings and avoid being tempted into taking drugs. 

 

  • Counselling – Counselling sessions are available at both residential rehab centres and outpatient rehab clinics. These can be one-on-one sessions with a professional, talking about your problems, and giving you advice on how to stay clean. Group sessions are also common, and you can discuss issues with people in similar situations to you, gaining a sense of accountability. 

 

Certain rehab clinics offer different treatments, and they sometimes come together to form part of a 28-day rehab program. Here, you move into the rehab centre for 28 days, freeing yourself from all your main temptations. By doing this, it’s easier to learn how to live without alcohol and drugs by avoiding your bad habits. After the 28-day period, you’ll still go back to a rehab clinic now and then to continue counselling and ensure you stay on the path to recovery. 

 

What are the benefits of professional addiction treatment?

The benefits are mainly that you get a longer list of treatment options – and help is provided by experienced professionals. Some of the things provided in rehab centres can’t be obtained on your own. 

 

Furthermore, it’s a safer option for you as well. When you stop taking drugs, your body won’t respond positively. It can shutdown, make you feel sick, and lead to lots of different health problems.

This is why people find it hard to go cold turkey and quit for good. At a rehab clinic, you’re provided with medication to help calm the negative symptoms of drug detox. When you’re in a controlled environment, the effects are more positive, and you can get through it without relapsing. (See what happens in rehab?)

 

Call us today for drug addiction help

If you’ve been searching for addiction help in my area, then we can assist you. Give us a call on 0203 955 7700, and we’ll help provide free consultation on the steps you need to take next. We work with various rehab centres and clinics around the UK, and we can help you find the best options to take care of your addiction.

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Detoxification (detox) is the medical intervention required for someone who is physically dependent to drugs or alcohol. If required, medical detoxification would be the first step taken in residential rehab. Detox is used to prevent uncomfortable and dangerous (even fatal) withdrawals symptoms resulting in suddenly becoming abstinent from alcohol/certain drugs.

The goal of a medical detox is to aid in the physical healing required following long term addiction and rid the body of all together of substance whilst providing a cushion for unpleasant symptoms of withdrawals. Detox is not considered the whole treatment for drug/alcohol addiction and it is always recommended that a comprehensive rehabilitation program is used along side to help maintain long term abstinence.

Medication is often required for alcohol detox. If you are dependent on alcohol and experiencing withdrawal symptoms it is vitally important to seek medical advice prior to stopping. There is a long list of medications used when treating alcohol addiction and the exact medication given to an individual will depend on their needs/medical history. Some of these include;

  • Chlordiazepoxide (Librium)
  • Lorazepam (Ativan)
  • Diazapam (vailium)


Librium and Valium are the most commonly used detox medication in the UK. All medication used to help with alcohol detox have been proven to help reduce the effects of withdrawal symptoms.

There are also a number of drugs recombined by the NHS to help treat alcohol misuse. Some of these include:

  • Naltrexone
  • Disulfiram (Antabuse)
  • Nalmefene
  • Acamprosate (campral)

Medication is always required for heroin detox. For someone suffering from heroin addiction, the thought of detoxification (detox) can be exceptionally daunting. Withdrawal symptoms from opiates, such as heroin, can be severe and include pain, vomiting, nausea and shaking.

There are different ways that heroin detox can be carried out, most usually either ‘maintenance therapy’ or ‘full medical detox’.

Attempting to switch from heroin to a heroin substitute, usually on a controlled prescription, is known as Maintenance therapy. Subsites used are most often methadone or buprenorphine.

A full medical detox from heroin will always be carried out in a residential rehab setting and will allow the individual to switch form heroin to a substitute and slowly withdraw completing treatment free of all substances. Someone using a heroin substitute can choose to have a full medical detox at any time, however detoxing substances such a methadone can often add to the length of detox required. Drugs most commonly used to fully detox from heroin are, Subutex, Suboxone and Methadone. Much like alcohol, the exact drugs used will be dependent on the individuals needs/medical history.

Once detoxed from heroin the risk of overdose is much higher following relapse due to tolerance following withdrawal.

The length of treatment in a residential rehab depends on a number of elements. Some substances require longer periods of detox than others.

Private paying patients will also often choose a length of stay that suites their therapeutic and financial needs. As a rule, a full treatment program in a rehab is considered to be 28 days (often referred to as a month), however, treatment is offered in several different ways and lengths starting at 7 days.

Treating alcohol addiction will always require a minimum of 7-10 days, this would be considered the detoxification (detox) faze. The length required for treating drug addiction can vary drastically depending on the substance being used. Detox for Heroin addiction is generally around 14 days minimum, with more time required if substances such a methadone are being used. Treating prescription drug addiction can often take the longest. The time required for treating gambling addiction, eating disorders and sex addiction will be based on the individuals needs.

Rehab programs can be as long as an individual requires but primary treatment is normally caped at 12 weeks, with the offering for further secondary and tertiary treatment thereafter.

*based on average rehab stays, everyone will vary dependant on needs and medical requirement/history.

There is no need for your employer to know that you are seeking help for trauma and addiction unless you choose to involve them with the process. All employers should have a policy that explains what you do if you cannot come to work due to illness – illness to include treating alcohol addiction/treating drug addiction.

If your work absence extends over 7 days your employer is likely to require an official statement of fitness to work which would be obtained from your GP. This would need to supply evidence of your illness as well as any adjustments required for returning to work, fazed return or reduced hours, but does not need to specify in detail the reason why you have been absent.

If you are absent from work for 7 days of less, for example entering rehab for a detoxification (detox) on a Saturday for 7-10 days taking a full week away from work, you can self-certify your illness by letting your employer work you will not be attending work for that period of time. Exactly how an individual would do this would be dependent on a specific companies’ policies on taking sick leave.

Any time longer than 7 days it is likely an employer will require a note from the individuals GP certifying their sickness and a fit note on return. Most companies have a clearly outlined policy on sickness and receiving sick pay so the exact requirement can vary. A rehab will always be willing to advise on time off work.

How much does rehab cost is a very frequently asked question. The cost of treatment can range from £1,000 per week upwards depending on the place, with luxury rehab being the most expensive.

There are free options available on the NHS but the waitlist of those looking for free treatment is longer than that for privately paying patients. Some private health insurance policies will cover treatment in some rehabs around the country.

Choosing the right rehab centre will often be based on priced but it is important to follow guidance on the most suitable treatment centre for an individual’s needs which our expert team of advisers are on hand to offer.

There are certainly pro’s for both treatment near by and traveling for treatment with one of the most asked question being should I get rehab near me? There are rehabs all over the UK and around the world that all offer expert programs, let’s look at how to choose a rehab.

Local treatment

Being close to home gives certainly has benefits. Visitors are normally permitted in rehab following the first 7 days stay, therefore if an individual is in treatment for a length of time longer than that being local will make it easier for loved ones to visit.

Most rehab centres will also provide a full aftercare plan for someone following treatment, this will include ongoing aftercare in the specific treatment centre. Living close by can make it easy to take full advantage of ongoing aftercare. There can also often be the option for ongoing care with an individual therapist, again being close by will allow that treatment to be carried out face to face.

Some individuals wish to be local but are willing to look broader, for instance the greater city of residence (London, Manchester, Liverpool, etc)

Treatment Away

Getting treatment away from home can be very appealing to some. Being out of the local area makes it a lot harder to just walk out of treatment as resources locally are unknown. Some also take comfort in knowing that they are not near home and focus more on treatment.

As the price for treatment can vary so much from one residential treatment centre to another, private paying patients often would rather travel to keep the cost down. Those using private health insurance may also have to travel to find a treatment centre covered in their policy.

When opting for treatment away from home this can be anywhere in the UK and also abroad. Aftercare can still be carried out and very successful using tools such as The Online Rehab.

There is no right or wrong when choosing where to go to residential rehab, but our expert advisors are always on hand to help provide information on all possible options.

Whilst millions of people in the UK have taken recreational drugs (amphetamine, cannabis, cocaine, crack, crystal meth, GHB, heron, ketamine, methadone, and prescription drugs) and drank alcohol not all become ‘addicted’. Most recent reports show that 279,793 individuals were in contact with drug and alcohol misuse services in the last year with over half of that being from opiate addiction and a quarter for alcohol.

There are several risk factors invoiced in addiction and those using drugs and alcohol socially, simply take the risk. These risks are as follows;

Tolerance – basically, if a substance is used repeatedly an individual’s tolerance to it will build. This will result in more of the same substance being required to get the same effect. In the long run this can easily lead to addiction and physical dependencies.

Environmental risks – these can include influences such a peer pressure and stress as well as physical or mental abuse of an individual (particularly as a child). Overall, those who live with frequent pressures and stress are more likely to reach for a substance to cope and are therefore at higher risk of becoming addicted.

Drug type – it is very well known that certain drugs are simply more addictive than others. Using substances such as heroin increases the risk of becoming addicted for need to ‘chase’ a high as well as physical dependency.

Drug administration – how a drug is administered can affect its addictive qualities. A drug injected rather than smoked or snorted will release a quicker and more intense high thus making it psychologically (and in many cases physically) more addictive.

Biological factors – it is now widely reported that being an addict is not only psychological but also biological. This includes your genetic makeup, mental health, sex and age. It is also reported to be 8 times more likely for the child of an addict to become an addict themselves.

Its believed that addiction is approximately half genetics and therefore some are 50% more likely to become addicted than others.

How do you help a loved one trapped in addiction?

The first step is to help and encourage the individual to become willing to accept help. They do not need to be shouting this off the rooftops, but they do need to be willing to go into treatment. There are ways to help someone become willing to get treatment for alcohol or treatment for drugs.

Set boundaries – set boundaries and stick to them. Once you have laid them out follow through with whatever consequences you have set however hard it is.

Stop finances – if you are financially supporting someone stopping these finances can be the quickest way for the addict needing to ask for help. With no money to acquire a substance an addict’s options become very limited.

Intervention – getting together with other family members/friends/colleagues and staging an intervention is often very successful in the fist stage of acceptance and gaining an admission to residential rehab.

You can’t make them quit, this can lead to dangerous withdrawal. Boundaries are very important in helping someone become willing to get help. Unfortunately you cannot do someone’s recovery for them and without self-motivation it is very hard to make it work.

The next step is to call our highly trained advisers 0203 955 7700.

There is a huge range of rehab options available and where to start can be completely over whelming so let us help.