3 Relapse Prevention Tips for the Holidays

Do you have substance abuse issues? You need to be aware that the holidays are a time where many people with substance abuse issues have a difficult time and may relapse into former substance abuse behaviors. Knowing this can help prepare you for the feelings you may have and the decisions you must make in order to keep your sobriety. Here are three tips that may help you in your quest.

Avoid Becoming Overly Tired

The holidays are a very busy time for most of us. Celebrations with family and friends are planned and attended. Many people celebrate by searching for special gifts for loved ones. Homes are decorated and special recipes are made. Trips out of town to see family and friends are planned and taken. On top of our already busy lives, adding these activities can leave us exhausted at the end of the day. Being overly tired may trigger the temptation to use substances to improve how you feel physically and mentally. Try and plan as far in advance as you can for the holidays. Make your plans early and buy those gifts before the last minute. The holidays will still be a busy time, but if you can pace yourself it will help. Losing your sobriety may require you to seek help at an addiction recovery center.

Avoid Being Alone

Loneliness can also trigger the want to use substances to relieve the feelings we are having. While many of us do have friends and family to surround ourselves with during these times, others of us don't. Seeing others experiencing the love and comfort of family and friends can lead to loneliness and even depression. A great way to avoid this trigger is to help others by spreading joy . There are many organizations that need volunteers, especially around the holidays. Start by looking in your local community for someone to help. There are soup kitchens for the homeless or impoverished, organizations that provide Christmas gifts to needy families, organizations that cook and deliver meals to the elderly ,and many others that strive to help the community. By spreading joy, you can avoid this trigger that can lead to substance abuse.

Avoid Being Around Substances

This may seem like common sense and easy to do, but sometimes it is harder to do around the holidays. The same parties that are planned and attended may include substances such as alcohol that need to be avoided. Those same parties may include family and friends that may not understand the health issues of addiction and don't understand that no, you can't have "just one." Being around the substances adds pressure that needs to be avoided during this already stressful time. You can find healthy alternatives that won't take your sobriety and will help you maintain your lifestyle.


Knowing what to avoid and what to expect can help you maintain your sobriety and avoid relapse. But if there is a relapse, we can help. Our mission is GRATITUDE and DESIRE to Give You HOPE,HONESTY to Make the CHOICE, ACTION so Choice Becomes CHANGE,INTEGRITY to Bring Lasting FREEDOM, and SERVICE to Create Real MEANING. Don't go at it alone, we will help you succeed at our addiction recovery center.


About the Author:
Michelle Amerman is a licensed therapist and President of Pathways Real Life Recovery. Pathways is a mental health counseling and addiction recovery center in Utah. Her treatment approach is based on 30 years' worth of groundwork, and has been assessed and validated by pioneers in the field of recovery research.


Pathways Real Life Recovery
8706 South 700 East #205
Sandy, UT 84070
801-895-3006

5 Books About Addiction and Recovery

Many addicts think that by going to addiction treatment in Utah, they will be cured of their addiction, but the path to recovery isn't quite so simple. There are many tools to help aid an addict on their new life journey, and books are one of them. Every rehab has a set curriculum with recommended books, but there are plenty more that serve as great supplemental material. Are you one of the 23 million people struggling with addiction? If so, then this book list is for you.

Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines

This addiction book, written by Nick Sheff, is about as honest as they come. Methamphetamine is wrecking addicts lives around the world, and he lets readers in to see how serious the disease of addiction can really become for addicts. While the book can be very graphic, many addicts will be able to resonate with his heartfelt, painful stories.

Prozac Nation

Elizabeth Wurtzel nails the connection between mental illness and addiction in her book, Prozac Nation. Growing up with mental illness herself, which turned to serious alcohol and pill addiction, she is now helping other addicts get sober through her work. She makes a realistic and accurate connection between the people who struggle with mental illness, their loneliness, and the common choice to turn to drugs and alcohol to help fill the void within themselves.

Addicts in the Family: Stories of Loss, Hope, and Recovery

Few books have been written that are quite as accurate and realistic as this one by Beverly Conyers. Whether you are an addict yourself, or the loved one of an addict, you know first hand the type of havoc that addiction puts the entire family into. Addicts in the Family talks about what it is like to have to sit on the sidelines of a loved one's addiction as they slowly kill themselves. It comes highly recommended for all mothers, fathers, or other family members of addicts as a form of self-help.

Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood

The age for drinking alcohol and trying drugs is getting younger and younger in America, and this is an honest account of one woman's journey of alcohol and the involvement it had throughout her childhood. Written by Koren Zailckas, it talks about the underlying issues of her addiction and talks about the route she chose to get sober.

Running with Scissors

This memoir by Augusten Burroughs goes back decades, traveling through his rough childhood, his mother's mental illness and addiction, and his road to drug and alcohol use. It opens the reader's eyes on the impact that childhood abuse can have, and how it can turn a normal child into a hardcore addict.


There are countless books that you can read while you undergo addiction treatment in Utah. These 5 are some of the most highly recommended books for addicts looking to get sober, and their loved ones who need support and knowledge on the subject. At Pathways Real Life, we help addicts recover and find their place in the real world. If you are ready to get help and start a new life, give us a call today.


About the Author:
Michelle Amerman is a licensed therapist and President of Pathways Real Life Recovery. Pathways is a mental health counseling and addiction recovery center in Utah. Her treatment approach is based on 30 years' worth of groundwork, and has been assessed and validated by pioneers in the field of recovery research.


Pathways Real Life Recovery
8706 South 700 East #205
Sandy, UT 84070
801-895-3006

5 Most Addictive Drugs

How serious a problem is drug use in the United States? The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) conducted a study that revealed in excess of 21 million Americans struggled with some form of addiction in the year 2014. We, at Pathways Real Life Recovery, want people to know that help is available in the form of drug rehab programs.

The Five Top Addictive Drugs

Though there are many more addictive substances, the following brief article details the top five addictive drugs and will touch on why these chemicals are so addictive, the symptoms of withdrawal people need to look out for in someone they suspect might be dealing with an addiction problem and the long-term effects if the addict does not get clean.

Cocaine

Cocaine is a stimulant that causes a user's brain to release high concentrations of a substance known as dopamine, which is responsible for making a human being experience the feeling of pleasure. However, the euphoria brought on by dopamine lasts briefly, requiring users to ingest larger and larger quantities of the drug to maintain a high. Physical fatigue, depression and an unquenchable desire to obtain more cocaine are the drug's most common withdrawal symptoms. Prolonged use can trigger brain damage, digestive difficulties, weight loss and cardiovascular disease.

Alcohol

While alcohol also increases dopamine levels, the drug also depresses the nervous system, which often leads to sedation. Due to the ease with which one can access alcohol and its sedative properties, it is often used as a means of escaping the everyday stresses and pressures many face. Alcohol withdrawal can pose a life-threatening situation, depending upon how serious the user's addiction is. Symptoms can include depression, anxiety, shaking, sleep loss, sweating and stomach pain. Prolonged use can precipitate cardiovascular problems, digestive tract issues, as well as irreversible brain and liver damage.

Heroin

Heroin activates brain receptors that enable users to develop a stronger tolerance for pain and a greater feeling of relaxation. Withdrawal symptoms from this drug can include anxiety, depression, sleep loss, an ill, flu-like feeling and tremors. Long-term bodily impacts could manifest in blood vessel and heart valve infections, arthritis, weight loss, gum disease, a weak immune system, muscular weakness and respiratory issues.

Methamphetamines (Crystal Meth)

Meth is a stimulant known for eliciting a high called "euphoria," which can make users feel overly excited and display an air of invincibility. Addicts often go without eating or sleeping for days, sometimes, weeks at a time. Long-term effects can result in brain damage, cognitive impairment, an increased tendency for violence, weight loss and dental illnesses.

Barbiturates

Though these drugs, which in slang terms are referred to as "downers," can be obtained illegally, are often found in the chemical makeup of medications physicians prescribe to combat problems like insomnia and anxiety and induce feelings of euphoria and relaxation. Withdrawal symptoms might manifest in agitation, anxiety, shakiness, hallucinations and convulsions. Long-term consequences can result in memory loss, brain damage and issues with muscular coordination.


Addiction can be a frightening problem that could produce lasting and irreversible consequences. However, a stint in a drug rehab program may be what is needed to get you or a loved one off of drugs and back into leading a productive life. We at Pathways Real Life Recovery are ready and willing to help and invite you to contact us.


About the Author:
Michelle Amerman is a licensed therapist and President of Pathways Real Life Recovery. Pathways is a mental health counseling and addiction recovery center in Utah. Her treatment approach is based on 30 years' worth of groundwork, and has been assessed and validated by pioneers in the field of recovery research.


Pathways Real Life Recovery
8706 South 700 East #205
Sandy, UT 84070
801-895-3006

3 Ways Gratitude Aids Addiction Recovery

Addiction is difficult to kick because the drugs and alcohol that people use to escape from reality can make them feel as though they need it to be happy and to separate themselves from their problems. However, this is far from the truth. We at Pathways Real Life Recovery will show you how to use gratitude to your advantage in addiction recovery.

Gratitude Gives Us Hope in the Dark Times

While it can be difficult for an individual to find hope when they first begin their recovery journey, gratitude is the light at the end of the tunnel that can provide that hope. Gratitude gives us an opportunity to look past the hardships that we are experiencing and to recognize the progress that we have made already. When we choose to be grateful for and focus on the positive effects of sobriety rather than the effects that we experienced while we were choosing to turn to alcohol or drugs for comfort, we have a better chance to beat our addictions.

Gratitude Reminds Us of What We Have in Our Lives

It can be easy to lose sight of what is important to us. We take for granted things such as family, friends, and belongings daily. Sit down and make a list of all of the things in your life that you are grateful for. Are you done? I'm assuming that you have discovered that there is plenty that you are grateful for in your life when you truly sit down and think about it all. These people, places, and things that we appreciate are powerful tools to use during our addiction recovery. They remind us that we have things to fight for and that we must continue to fight our addictions in order to keep these things in our life.

Gratitude Keeps Our Stress Levels Down

Gratitude helps us to keep our stress levels down by reminding us that we already have everything that we need in our lives, that our recovery is a day by day process but that each step is valuable and should be looked at in a positive way, and it reminds us that we should never take the opportunity to recover from addiction for granted. For those of us who turn to drugs or alcohol to escape the stress or conflict in our lives, practicing gratitude can be extremely beneficial to our recovery process and to preventing relapse.


Gratitude is only one of the powerful tools that we can use to help ourselves as we recover from addiction. If you would like to know how to further help yourself and break out of the chains of addiction, reach out to us by either calling 801-895-3006 or by emailing us at info@pathwaysreallife.com. You can find more information about Pathways Real Life Recovery here.


About the Author:
Michelle Amerman is a licensed therapist and President of Pathways Real Life Recovery. Pathways is a mental health counseling and addiction recovery center in Utah. Her treatment approach is based on 30 years' worth of groundwork and has been assessed and validated by pioneers in the field of recovery research.


Pathways Real Life Recovery
8706 South 700 East #205
Sandy, UT 84070
801-895-3006

What happens to your brain when you take drugs?

Drug addiction is a very powerful disease. The body becomes so dependent on the drug that the withdrawal cravings feel impossible to resist. We now know exactly how drugs effect the brain as well.

The Effects of Stimulants

A stimulant is a substance that produces an arousing effect on the mind and body. Some examples of dangerous stimulants are crack, cocaine, and methamphetamine. When these drugs are used, it stimulates the central nervous system. This drug addiction can give the user a sense of energy and alertness. The brain is not equipped to handle the excess stimulation associated with addiction. Over time, this damage to the central nervous system can lead to seizures or convulsions. Cocaine has even more adverse effects on the brain. It produces a high by transmitting large amounts of dopamine. Dopamine is one of the chemicals that send messages of pleasure. This chemical, in extreme amounts, can permanently rewire the brain, and even cause hallucinations.

The Effects of Depressants

Depressants have the opposite effect of stimulants on the central nervous system. It slows down the brain, which hinders your body's ability to function properly. The most common depressant substances are alcohol and prescription muscle relaxers. The produce temporary feelings of euphoria and intoxication. In large doses, however, they can wreak havoc on the brain. Slow-firing neurons impair speech, motor skills, vision, and other bodily functions. In extreme cases, this particular addiction can relax the heart and diaphragm to the point of a coma or death. When alcohol is mixed with prescription depressants, the effects can also include blackouts. Blackouts are significant, and often permanent, memory loss.

The Effects of Narcotics

Narcotics are drugs that increase relaxation and relieve pain. Two of the most powerful narcotics are morphine and heroin. Morphine is prescribed to help people manage severe pain, but both substances are highly addictive. Like certain stimulants, this drug effects the central nervous system by flooding it with dopamine. With each use, the rush becomes more difficult to achieve, which leads to larger amounts being put in the body. This creates both a biological and physical dependence. The brain becomes convinced that just a little more of the drug will repeat the intense pleasure of the first time. Because of the severity of this drug particular addiction, you may need to consider a facility for treatment. There are facilities available to help you towards sobriety. Explore the possibility of contacting a drug rehab center in Utah.


Overcoming an addiction to drugs or alcohol is extremely difficult to do alone. People who believe that they have a problem should seek assistance as soon as possible. Do not be afraid to speak with a counselor, therapist, or doctor about your concerns. If you consider a drug rehab center in Utah, Pathways Real Life Recovery can help. We have several services, treatments, and programs designed to cater to your individual needs. Our treatment team is available 24-hours a day/7 day a week, so feel free to contact us at any time.


About the Author:
Michelle Amerman is a licensed therapist and President of Pathways Real Life Recovery. Pathways is a mental health counseling and addiction recovery center in Utah. Her treatment approach is based on 30 years' worth of groundwork and has been assessed and validated by pioneers in the field of recovery research.


Pathways Real Life Recovery
8706 South 700 East #205
Sandy, UT 84070
801-895-3006

Signs and Symptoms of Alcohol Abuse

Alcohol has been a huge part of human culture for centuries, and there's definitely nothing wrong with having a few drinks now and then. However, the problem is that alcohol can be highly addictive, leading millions of people around the world down the path of alcohol abuse and eventually addiction. The fourth leading cause of preventable death in the United States, excessive alcohol consumption shortens a person's life by an average of 30 years.

Therefore, if you or anyone you know begins showing signs of alcohol addiction or abuse, it is important that you get help before it's too late. Our alcohol treatment center in Utah has experience helping people of all ages overcome their addiction problems, and we can provide the advice and treatment needed should you begin noticing any of the following issues.

Drinking is Creating Problems for Your Personal or Work Life

One of the biggest signs of alcohol abuse is when it begins directly affecting a person's family and work life. If alcohol is causing you to be late to work or miss days altogether, it’s a sign you need help. The same is true is alcohol is causing you problems with school or has led to fights and arguments with friends and loved ones. Of course, getting into legal troubles due to drinking is also another major warning sign of addiction.

You Can't Control How Much You Drink and Frequently Have Blackouts

The majority of people know their limit and have no problems stopping after a few drinks. On the other hand, drinking until you are sick or pass out is a sure sign of abuse. As well, if you often wake up not remembering what happened the night before, it's also a sign that you're drinking too much. Like most things in life, the key to drinking alcohol is moderation. If you find yourself unable to moderate your drinking, it's often best that you stop altogether. Otherwise, you'll end up risking your health and your future.

You Keep Drinking Despite Worries and Warnings

Over time, family and friends are bound to become increasingly worried by a loved one's alcohol abuse. Unfortunately, oftentimes alcoholics will continue to drink even after being confronted or given ultimatums. Similarly, many also continue to drink despite warnings from their doctor that alcohol is seriously damaging and threatening their health.

The problem is that alcohol is highly addictive both mentally and physically, meaning the person may not be able to quit no matter how much they want to. In this case, addiction treatment is really the only option. Therefore, if you or anyone you know is suffering from alcohol addiction, Pathways Real Life Recovery is here to help. Contact us today to see how our alcohol treatment center in Utah can help put you or your loved one back on the path to a happy, healthy life free from alcohol abuse.

About the Author:

Michelle Amerman is a licensed therapist and President of Pathways Real Life Recovery. Pathways is a mental health counseling and addiction recovery center in Utah. Her treatment approach is based on 30 years' worth of groundwork and has been assessed and validated by pioneers in the field of recovery research.

Pathways Real Life Recovery
8706 South 700 East #205
Sandy, UT 84070
801-895-3006

The 3 Most Abused Prescription Drugs

Many prescription drugs are abused by individuals in the United States on a yearly basis and according to experts, this trend is expected to continue. The American Medical Association states that approximately seven million men and women have admitted to using prescription drugs for non-medical purposes. Below are the three most commonly abused prescription medications in the US:

Narcotic-Based Painkillers

Opioid analgesics are the most frequently abused drug in America. These narcotic-based painkillers are prescribed for moderate to severe pain, particularly the acute pain that follows injuries and accidents. Additionally, even though they are only recommended for short-term use, some doctors also prescribe drugs of this type for pain brought on by specific illnesses or disorders, such as diabetic neuropathy or spinal stenosis. Because of the fast acting euphoria they produce, they are effective at distracting one's nervous system from the sensation of pain but unfortunately are also highly addictive.

Tolerance to such medication occurs quickly, meaning it takes a continuously higher dose to achieve the same effect. The most commonly abused opioid analgesics on today's market are Percocet and Vicodin. A synthetic narcotic, tramadol, has also recently been classified as a controlled substances at the state level in various parts of the country, despite the federal government's failure to recognize its opioid characteristics. Approximately five million out of the seven million men and women who abuse prescription drugs in America are addicted to opioid analgesics.

Benzodiazepines

Sometimes called “benzos,” benzodiazepines are classified as central nervous system depressants. Although originally developed for the treatment of panic attacks and still the drug of choice for this disorder, they are now prescribed for a broad range of problems, such as general anxiety, acute stress, convulsions and even sleep disorders. This is another type of medication that was never intended for long-term use but is nevertheless often prescribed in this manner. Therefore, the risk for dependency or addiction among patients is high. The most common drugs in this category are Xanax, Valium, and Ativan. Approximately a million individuals in the United States abuse some type of benzodiazepine.

Stimulants

Stimulants such as Adderall and Ritalin were initially intended for children or adults with Attention Deficit Disorder–ADD. However, they have become a common recreational drug and those who abuse them typically do so to improve their mood and experience a sense of elation and invincibility that this class of drug appears to create. There is evidence that this type of medication is abused by at least a million individuals in the United States and many experts anticipate that this trend will only escalate in future decades.

Hope for Addiction

At Pathway Real Life Recovery Program, we understand that addiction can happen to anyone at any stage of life. Our objective is to help you achieve long-term change through our customized programs and eliminate the unhealthy behaviors and beliefs that are stopping you from breaking free from your addiction. We work together with you and your loved ones to individualize the appropriate treatment plan and give you the skills and tools you need to live in addiction-free, purpose filled life. If you are struggling with addiction, do not hesitate to contact PathwaysRealLife.com to begin your recovery.

About the Author:

Michelle Amerman is a licensed therapist and President of Pathways Real Life Recovery. Pathways is a mental health counseling and addiction recovery center in Utah. Her treatment approach is based on 30 years' worth of groundwork and has been assessed and validated by pioneers in the field of recovery research.

Pathways Real Life Recovery
8706 South 700 East #205
Sandy, UT 84070
801-895-3006