Triggers and their Detonator

Do you recognize all your triggers? If you are not familiar with that term, a trigger is something that compels you to use your drug of choice or behave in an additive manner. Remember, addiction comes in many forms, not just a bottle or a drug, but also gambling, shopping, sex, and so many more and as many different types of addictions there are, there are thousands upon thousands of possible triggers that can go with those addictions. Triggers are unique to the addict. Just because a certain trigger may make one-person use, doesn’t necessarily mean that same trigger will result in the same effect with another.

Triggers can be internal (feeling motivated) or external (a scent, action, item, etc). Some common triggers for many addicts on the internal factor are shame, boredom, anger, fear, loneliness, and frustration. Internal triggers are often harder to control than external. If a certain television program is known to be a trigger for you, you can stop the detonation of that trigger by simply not watching it however if loneliness is a trigger, it is not easily remedied.

Most addictions are an attempt to self-medicate a painful emotion away. “The more I use, the less I feel.” External triggers can be anything else under the sun and moon from family, financial problems, a phrase, a song, the smell of certain cologne; anything and everything specific to the addict that causes one to use.

It is important to be aware of your triggers in order to avoid them or understand them to counteract with a more productive response. Write a list of all the possible triggers that can affect your recovery. Share them with support people in your life. When you come upon a situation where a trigger is involved, recognize it as such, remove yourself from the situation, and use your support group to help you work past the power of your triggers. Remind yourself how far you have come and how you will not allow the trigger to have the power over you any longer.


If you need help, are struggling with an addiction, or know of someone who is, please contact A Better Tomorrow Treatment Center today. We are here to help.
http://www.abttc.net/
Phone: 800.971.1586
Fax: 800.401.8464
24 Hour Addiction HelpLine
Tel. (800) 396-9389 (7 days 24 hours)
e-mail: info@24houraddictionhelp.com
http://www.24houraddictionhelp.org/

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Causes of Addiction

Research has shown that there are similarities between addictive conditions like alcoholism and drug addiction and many cases of eating disorders which are considered addictive behaviors. The human brain has within it reward centers that are activated when a person feels well, or does something well. This could occur naturally when taking care of the body, behaving sensibly, being praised, experiencing feelings of love and even when exercising.

It is also possible to stimulate the reward centers by artificial means. Drugs of all kinds produce chemical stimulation making it an important aspect of the cause of addiction. The same stimulation is caused by a number of drugs, both legal and illegal. This stimulation also blocks unpleasant feelings. It could explain why people with addictive disorders use them to block feelings that are unbearable. When the reward center is stimulated by drugs, alcohol or abuse of food, they stop functioning in the way they should. Abuse is merely a shortcut to false happiness which doesn’t come from achieving something good.

Incorrect use of these centers is especially common with people who have a personality requiring an excess of reward effects in order for them to feel well. There is accordingly a common factor with many types of addiction: Alcoholism and drug disorders, eating disorders, compulsive sex dependence, compulsive gambling, self-injury and anorexia nervosa (body injuries can stimulate the center in order to protect the body from pain) and even compulsive exercise.

Eating disorders and drug addiction are similar in the fact that the addiction is compulsively developed into an even stronger form regardless of the effect on their health. Serious medical complications do not assure that the addict will give up their addiction. Starvation in anorexia reduces the activity of the hormone Serotonin and in turn reduces the anxiety in a person with an overactive nervous system. Many drug addicts began with compulsive eating before switching to drugs. There are certain hereditary characteristics that increase the risk of eating disorders and drug addiction although the presence of the characteristics does not mean they will become addicts. Addictions are treatable and A Better Tomorrow is waiting to hear from you.


If you need help, are struggling with an addiction, or know of someone who is, please contact A Better Tomorrow Treatment Center today. We are here to help.
http://www.abttc.net/
Phone: 800.971.1586
Fax: 800.401.8464
24 Hour Addiction HelpLine
Tel. (800) 396-9389 (7 days 24 hours)
e-mail: info@24houraddictionhelp.com
http://www.24houraddictionhelp.org/

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Addict Now, Addict Forever?

Addictions vary in severity. You don’t generally get addicted to a drug the first time you use it, although it is a possibility. Generally addiction is a process that occurs over many months and/or years of abuse. Some people are able to decrease the amount of the drug they are using and some may be able to stop all together. Others will be drug users until they die. Life time drug users don’t generally die of old age. Their lives are diminished in time and quality.

If the addiction is less severe, it might be considered a temporary disorder and the right treatment can help put your life back in order and you will be pretty much the person you were before the addiction. In more severe addictions, the disorder has more lasting effects. The goal for any addict is to stop the use of drugs. With more severe addictions there is a long history of use accompanied by many physical, emotional and social problems. There are situations where brain damage keeps the addict from being able to resist the impulse to use again. This often happens with alcoholics.

With all of that in mind, be assured that addiction can be treated and overcome. Do relapses happen? Of course they do, but it doesn’t have to accelerate to the level of addiction. Relapses create a feeling of dejection and that has a negative effect, and can actually push the person closer to the road back to addiction. The better approach is to examine the events surrounding the relapse and learn from the experience. If you can pinpoint the circumstances that pushed the person into the relapse, they may be able to avoid them in the future. There is strength to be gained from a relapse. Breaking the habit is not a cure, but a process, just as addiction was a process. Neither of them happens overnight. Breaking the habit also means there is a possibility of remission.

The biggest boost is not to lose hope. If you or someone you love is enslaved by an addiction, there is help available to you. Call A Better Tomorrow and get on the road to recovery.

If you need help, are struggling with an addiction, or know of someone who is, please contact A Better Tomorrow Treatment Center today. We are here to help.
http://www.abttc.net/
Phone: 800.971.1586
Fax: 800.401.8464
24 Hour Addiction HelpLine
Tel. (800) 396-9389 (7 days 24 hours)
e-mail: info@24houraddictionhelp.com
http://www.24houraddictionhelp.org/

Feel free to follow us on Facebook and Twitter too!
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ABTomorrow
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