The way of dealing with the addictions has been changed when Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith founded Alcoholics Anonymous in 1935. This happened some forty years before the term “substance abuse” was even coined, and they did it in the solid belief that those suffering from addiction cannot improve on their own. Drug addiction recovery, in their philosophy, demands that a very personal, painful failing cannot be eradicated until it has been brought into public view. The Twelve Step Program which is the foundation of AA has now become the foundation of thousands of drug addiction recovery programs which treat dependency on every sort of drug, from prescription medications to speed, heroin, nicotine, and cocaine.The AA program, and drug addiction recovery based on it, require that addicts admit their helplessness in the face of their addictions and that there is a higher power on whom, or which, they rely to help them struggle against their addiction and to forgive them for the harm it has caused. Twelve Step Alternatives For those addicts who have little religious sentiment, however, this approach to drug addiction recovery can be discouraging. Some addicts believe that a physical and emotional addiction requires physical and emotional, but not spiritual, intervention. Another approach taken by some drug addiction recovery programs it to bring their patients, through a period of intensive counseling, to the understanding that having become an addict in no way diminishes their value as human beings.
Approaches to Drug Addiction Recovery
This approach will work as long as the addicts have family and friends ready to embrace them when they finish their drug addiction recovery process, and to give them the support they need to stay off the drugs and rebuild their lives. It also demands that the addicts be ready to walk away from the destructive friendships which led them into addiction, but getting to that point can be the most frightening part of their drug addiction recovery. Being able to say no to relationships base solely on mutual substance abuse, however, is essential if they hope to stay off drugs for good. Behavior Modification Behavior modification is also a big part of many drug addiction recovery programs. Behavior modification allows the addicts to understand that their addictions are not only physical but emotional, and that their drug use was driven by an emotional pain before it led to physical dependency. Addicts must start their journey of recovery first to the place where they want to stop and finally to the place where they will find the idea of not using it again as addiction is entrenched in attitudes and emotions.