Trying to recover from addiction by yourself is like climbing a slippery pole with no foothold. You can slip at any moment and crash down to the bottom, making it even harder to start climbing back.
The reason why it is almost impossible to recover from addiction by yourself is because addiction is a chronic brain disease: your brain has been changed where judgment, decision making and behavior control have been lost. You no longer have the ability to make and carry out decisions about your life. But the good news is that the brain can heal when you give up drugs and move toward health.
If you admit that you are a drug addict, you’ve already taken the first step toward recovery. This means that you are considering, or have entered, an addiction recovery program. An important part of the program is individual counseling. What does this involve, and how does it help you?
Individual Counseling for Drug Addiction Recovery
Individual counseling helps you to look at and understand what led you to drugs in the first place, and what got you hooked on it. Talking to someone who listens and wants to understand and sort through your tangled feelings can help you to face your addiction honestly. You can then slowly find the motivation and strength to climb out of the addiction.
The individual counseling sessions will probably occur once weekly for about 50 minutes.
This may involve:
• working through the obstacles to recovery, within yourself or in your relationships and interactions with others,
• dealing with cravings and withdrawal symptoms and developing coping skills, and
• setting goals for the immediate and long term future.
The counselor will help you develop a recovery program and will act as an anchor in keeping you engaged in that recovery program.
Addiction Recovery Program
The recovery program will include first, detox and possible medication to control the craving. This is followed by individual counseling to set up your recovery program. Finally, group counseling places you together with other recovering addicts to share feelings and experiences and to provide support and motivation.
Professionals who have worked with and helped addicts regain their lives are attuned to the pain and risks involved. You will feel their love and support when you place yourself in their care. So jump out of the addiction and dive into their recovery program and welcoming arms.
