This monthly article brought to you by Hill Alcohol and Drug Treatment will serve as a platform for readers to bring their questions regarding substance abuse and recovery to light. Hill Alcohol and Drug Treatment has been providing state licensed, CARF accredited outpatient chemical dependency treatment to the Temecula Valley and surrounding areas since 1986.
There are a multitude of definitions that attempt to encompass the essence of addiction into a single set of facts. Using alcohol, the most abused substance, the definition of Dr. Paul Ohliger MD succinctly defined an alcoholic simply as someone ‘who ought not drink.” Within this clear statement, he separates the social drinker from the drinker who may lack capacity to control use, experiences family dysphoria, medical problems and/or other negative repercussions in his/her life. It is this loss of control over the alcoholic’s consumption or resulting behaviors that defines addiction.
Returning to a behavior, despite negative consequences, is an abnormal response to pain.
This article will attempt to help readers understand addiction, but more importantly understand RECOVERY for the addict, illustrate how this disease impacts the family and new methods for understanding how desperation is often essential to motivate a shift towards change and how families and friends can foster that while offering a roadmap to discovering a life of peace, purpose, and pleasure. We hope to illustrate a picture of the trials and tribulations of the countless lives that have turned from addiction to a blessed alternative life and the ability of people to change their feelings from the inside out, rather than seeking it in destructive addictive behaviors.
Temecula Valley is filled with support groups that provide help and hope to those of us who had fallen into a rut of self destruction, never planning to have so completely lost control of our lives, friends, families and future. Later articles will delve into the advancement of medications to assist in curbing detox and replacing early recovery fears with love, joy, hope, and a sense of purpose for addicts and families.
Authors will vary, as will topics, and we welcome any questions you may have regarding substance abuse while protecting your anonymity. We look forward to providing a resource for the community and thank Temecula Valley Business Journal for this opportunity to help bring hope and awareness.