Your Thoughts: Addiction or Habit?

I am going to list a few scenarios and would love to hear your thoughts on if the scenario is an addiction, habit, or something totally different.

1). You drive the same way to work/store/friends/family/etc. never wavering off your track. When you do have to take a different route you become irritated or uncomfortable.

2). Every morning you have to have coffee before you start your day. When you don’t have it you are irritable and extremely crabby to those around you until you have had your coffee.

3). After meal cigarette is a must have regardless of where you are at. If dinning out at a restaurant, you will step out to have a cigarette regardless if you have other guest with you.

4). Avoid movie theaters because you cannot smoke while watching the movie. You use excuses like “I will wait for it to come out in the stores.”

5). Always chew your food on the same side of your mouth and a certain amount of times before swallowing.

6). When faced with having to attend a non-drinking gathering, regardless if it work related or not, you will have a few drinks before heading out and possibly even bring a bottle with to keep in your vehicle or you will avoid the gathering completely, or attend for just a brief moment to make an appearance and then immediately afterwords drink – using it as an excuse to “award” for even attending at all!

7). Must always sleep on the same side of the bed when sharing a bed however, when you have the bed to yourself side doesn’t matter.

8). Cannot go to sleep at night unless everything is in its place. Will check more than once to make sure nothing was overlooked before retiring for the night no matter what time it is.

9). Must use something (drug or alcohol or even natural remedy) to help you fall asleep every night no matter how tired you are.

10). Check your email, Facebook, or other social outlets numerous times a day when it is not work related. When you are unable to you become anxious or irritated.


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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Moderation or Not..?

For most people, drinking in moderation is not harmful, however if your drinking is above the level of two to three drinks per day, or if you are drinking in situations where impaired function is dangerous, you are not a moderate drinker, and alcohol is clearly harmful.

For those with a severe alcohol problem, treatment can be frustrating and can even be unsuccessful. Moderation seldom works for the true alcoholic and complete abstinence is necessary for people with this illness. Some self-help organizations, especially Alcoholics Anonymous, enjoy a success rate that is at least equal to that of any medical treatment. Associated organizations such as Al-Anon, which work with the families of alcoholics, are also effective. These programs work best with motivated individuals who truly wish to change, and the program continually reinforces the subject’s desire to remain free of alcoholic influence. They are very worthwhile.

However, not everyone does well with just support groups alone. Many require entering a treatment center to get more intense help with their addiction. Here are some strong signals that you need professional help: a drunken driving citation, an automobile accident after two or more drinks, missing work because of a hang over, a pattern of work absences, a hospitalization for alcohol-related problems such as gastritis or upper bowel hemorrhage, inability to function at top efficiency in the afternoon because of a two-martini lunch or equivalent. These signal are not subtle; if you recognize that your situation must be changed, you have become a good candidate for successful treatment.


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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Taking Responsibility for your Choices

Part of taking responsibility for your choices is being honest with yourself first and then honest with others around you. The honest part seems to be the hardest thing to tackle when you have become accustomed during your addiction to hide everything with lies. Part of taking responsibility of ones choices is taking owner ship of the choices made in ones life. Ultimately, our choices in life are just that – OUR choices and no one else’s regardless if they are good or bad. It is easy to point fingers blaming others for our bad choices in life and only taking ownership of the good.

By staying honest with yourself in your recovery, you can make healthier choices. If you cannot be honest with yourself, there is no way you can be honest with others. Taking responsibility for your choices in life becomes a much easier thing to do if those choices can be backed up by the fact that you were just being true to yourself.


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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See it, Believe It

Quiet some time ago, I recall an episode of “Rosanne” where Jackie (Rosanne’s younger sister) attended a self-help seminar that was titled something like “See It, Believe It”. (Feel free to correct my wording if you have also seen it and recall it. I believe it had to be in season one.. that was back in 88 I believe!) Anyhow, the theory behind the seminar was that if a person imagines something, they can become it by simply seeing themselves doing it, saying it, and they will become it. Recovery is similar in that is some instance (times when you would rather close down) that if you simply act as if you could do something that made you uncomfortable and do it, that eventually any fear you had will eventually subside and you would be fine with whatever task was at hand. For example, if you are nervous speaking at an AA or a NA meeting, simply act as if you are not and do it, and eventually you will be fine with it.

Some may say this is faking self-confidence, but how else can one build it unless they take the first step. Acting as if you can and doing so is merely a tool to help start the process of building ones self-confidence. Eventually you will start to see that those things that made you uncomfortable before no longer make you uncomfortable. You will begin seeing the positive changes in yourself and with that your self confidence naturally builds. The more self-confidence builds, the more you can tackle and the stronger you become in your recovery. So if you have to act as if to get the job done initially, do it! In time, it will be natural.


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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Illusion of Recovery

A common denominator with all addicts is a sense of low to no self-confidence. The illusion gaining that self-confidence as soon as they enter a treatment center is just that. It doesn’t happen over night!

Like many who enter into addiction recovery, the thought is as soon as they stop using their drug of choice there was to be some sort of huge change in their life. That with recovery they would immediately become “normal” again.

The reality of it is, the only thing that has really changed is that you made the decision not to use drugs any longer and nothing other than that is going to change unless you actively seek to make those changes happen. The same internal and external problems you had before your addiction started are still there and it is up to you to realize that in order to make improvements in your life you need to begin to modify bad behaviors and work through issues.

Things that you may been oblivious to during your addiction can be rearing their ugly head such as habitual lying, stealing, procrastination, bad work ethics, financial irresponsibility, poor hygiene, lazy sloth behavior, self-absorption, etc. These are just a few of the bad behaviors that can develop quickly while addicted and unfortunately carry through even after no longer using. Facing that you have any of these bad behaviors can quickly dimension any of the self-confidence you may have built up during treatment.

If you are not careful, this line of thinking can lead you into a viscous circle of self-mental abuse, which leads to even lower self-confidence, which will lead to you not doing anything to make the necessary changes for improvement. When you see yourself exhibiting a bad behavior, take charge of it like you did you’re your addiction. Use your support people to help you if they see you displaying such behaviors to redirect you. Talk to a therapist and work through issues that may still be present. Just because you worked with counselors and therapist during treatment does not mean everything has been worked through. Some may require therapy for years afterward to get to a health emotional balance.

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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Recovery or Addiction? Which do you think?

Along your road of recovery, you may ask yourself “Am I still in recovery or am I just kidding myself?”

A 50-year old woman started using drugs when she was 13. She partied her childhood away and by the time she was 20 she was using needles mainlining heroin, morphine, etc that she could get her hands on. Quaalude's became a big part of her drug rapport. He was hooked on opiate and then was introduced to Oxycontin. As her age increased, she found she just couldn’t “do it” any more and found a methadone clinic. That was 10 years ago. To date, she is still relying on meth to make it through each day and feels she will be on it till the day she dies. Now the question is, is she an addict or is she in recovery? I would like to hear what you all have to say.

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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Online Recovery Support Groups

When your circle of support is limited, or access to them is upon schedules, it is great to have another outlet – another form of contact to be able to reach out at any hour. Online support groups is a great way to broaden your support of your recovery.

For some in recovery it is hard to express exactly what they are going through with someone who has never dealt with an addiction personally. Support groups are based on that fact that others there have the “been there done that” knowledge making it a great outlet for others in recovery. Online support groups work on the same basis. The key is finding those that are supported and or moderated by people who know what they are talking about with the “been there done that and am here to help, listen etc.” Not only are online support groups great for reaching out, but also for being able to give solid advice to someone who is struggling with addiction or a part of recovery that you have already gone through. However, keep in mind that others in the online support group as well as your self are not experts but do have valuable information that can help.

Another really good thing is just like at an NA or AA meeting people who are really struggling are sharing with you and it drives home the fact that you never want to be in that position again. It can be that reminder of where you were compared to where you are at today. Recovering addicts need to never forget just how bad we can get.

When your outlets are limited, you may want to consider joining a online support group so no matter what time of day, you can find someone who can relate or help someone struggling.


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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