A Guide to Overcoming Substance Use Disorders

If you or someone close to you is struggling with addiction, it can be terrifying to ask for help, especially when you don’t know what to expect. How does one overcome substance abuse? What are the steps of substance abuse recovery?

Laguna View Detox is a luxury rehab center in Laguna. Contact us today to learn more about our comprehensive addiction treatment options in Southern California and how overcoming substance use disorders is possible here.

Detox

Detoxification is the first step in substance abuse recovery. Detoxification, or detox for short, is a process where, under supervision, all of the remaining toxins that have built up in your body over time because of drug and alcohol abuse are removed.

Detoxification looks different for separate classes of drugs. For example:

Alcohol

Alcohol abuse necessitates professional detoxification because it has such a high risk of severe health complications and even death. If you try to detox on your own, you leave yourself open to the risk of things like hallucinations, seizures, and delirium tremens.

Cocaine

Cocaine detoxification might last up to 10 days at a treatment center, during which your withdrawal symptoms peak after a few days, but the ongoing cravings can last up to 6 months.

The process of detoxification involves getting through your withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms are some of the most challenging steps in substance abuse recovery because they cause significant physical and psychological discomfort. However, with a professional detox center, you can get help managing your withdrawal symptoms and transitioning toward the next steps in your recovery plan.

Withdrawal Symptoms

Each type of substance comes with unique withdrawal symptoms. Symptoms can include things such as:

  • Vomiting
  • Nausea
  • Headaches
  • Muscle pain
  • Stomach pain
  • Insomnia
  • Hallucinations
  • Fever
  • Chills

Withdrawal symptoms last different lengths of time depending on the substances to which you are addicted. A big part of substance abuse recovery is getting through your initial withdrawal symptoms, as this is often the most uncomfortable part.

Withdrawal symptoms tend to peak after a few days, getting progressively worse, at which point they start to decline over the span of one week.

Residential Treatment

You’ll start the rest of your treatment once you get through the withdrawal symptoms and the initial detoxification. There are different levels of care, and each may work more effectively for specific circumstances. It’s always best to consult our team for a free evaluation to determine whether residential care is best for your circumstances.

During your treatment, you can expect to participate in several sessions of individual and group therapy as well as family therapy or holistic treatments like yoga and meditation.

CBT

Cognitive behavioral therapy is a prevalent form of treatment for overcoming addiction as well as co-occurring mental health disorders such as depression or anxiety. This type of treatment allows you to reconcile differences between your perception and reality. 

Family Therapy

Family therapy provides chances for clients to repair bonds with family members that may have been temporarily broken or harmed by addiction. Family therapy is a place for family members to meet on a regular basis and learn how addiction works, figure out the best ways to support a loved one who is in recovery, and turn things like mistrust into trust, hopelessness into hope, and anger into forgiveness.

Addiction Education

Education about addiction and relapse prevention serve as integral parts of the latter half of your recovery, helping you not only understand addiction and triggers or environmental cues but also learn how to cope with stress and cravings. 

Get Professional Detox with Laguna View

When you work with a professional treatment center, you can benefit from 24-hour supervision provided by several types of mental health providers and doctors. Our center provides clients with a safe and supportive detox process. As a licensed detox center, we can offer FDA-approved medications for severe addictions to things like opioids, benzodiazepines, and alcohol.

Laguna View’s Relapse Prevention

With Laguna View, clients benefit from CBT, DBT, motivational interviewing, and family therapy as part of their ongoing treatment. Our luxury facility is community-focused and uses the most successful forms of evidence-based treatment. A big part of this is our aftercare program.

With aftercare, our clients benefit from learning relapse prevention tools that are essential to their well-being as they move forward along their path to sobriety. Aftercare can take several forms, such as:

  • AA or NA meetings
  • Outpatient therapy
  • Holistic treatment 

Each of these offers a chance to participate in programs that help reduce the probability of relapse, break the cycle of addiction, and provide healthier overall well-being.

Let Laguna View help you manage detox and withdrawal symptoms. Call us today at 1-866-932-3206.

The Role of Therapy in Addiction Recovery

The Role of Therapy in Addiction Recovery

Addiction therapy comes in many forms, each of which can complement one another and provide individual components to an overall treatment plan. Things like individual therapy provide an opportunity for self-reflection, while group therapy offers social support. Meanwhile, holistic therapies reinforce coping mechanisms like mindfulness, meditation, emotional control, and balance. 

Laguna View Detox is a luxury rehab center in Laguna. Contact us today to learn more about our comprehensive addiction treatment options in Southern California.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy is a foundational form of addiction therapy. You will likely participate in this for individual and group therapy sessions, depending on the course of your treatment.

Cognitive behavioral therapy encourages you to reflect on your negative automatic thoughts, things that you might think instinctively, which are harming your progress, contributing to your addiction, or otherwise hindering your ability to live a rewarding and successful life.

Once you recognize these hindrances, you can apply coping mechanisms to change them so that you are in a better place mentally and, subsequently, in a position to make better choices.

Group Therapy

Group therapy provides an essential support structure to overcome things like isolation or loneliness while also offering a chance to learn from one another. With group therapy, you can:

  • Learn coping techniques from others
  • Help support someone at the start of their recovery journey
  • Share what coping strategies, struggles, or victories you’ve enjoyed

These sessions become an integral part of outpatient therapy as you transition from higher levels of care. 

Holistic Therapies

Holistic therapies can go a long way toward helping improve emotional regulation and mindfulness. This form of addiction therapy can be highly personalized with options like:

  • Yoga
  • Wilderness therapy
  • Hiking
  • Meditation
  • Equine therapy
  • Music therapy
  • Art therapy

How Addiction Therapy Helps Recovery

There are innumerable benefits to each of these holistic therapies, both physical and psychological.

Building Endurance

Cognitive behavioral therapy, group therapy, and holistic therapies like Wilderness therapy or meditation help to build endurance. When building your endurance, you naturally build resilience.

Trying new things, whether it’s music therapy, art therapy, yoga, or simple meditation, helps to reinforce your Independence and self-esteem. When you have higher self-esteem, you naturally build endurance to small setbacks during the course of your recovery.

When you participate in group therapy, yoga, or hiking, you learn to build endurance through long-term commitment. This could be six months of support groups, three months of individual therapy, or a 6-mile low-grade hike. In each of these cases, you learn to move through temporary discomfort, recognizing that there is Beauty in the journey and that all good things in life take time.

This can help revitalize your spirits when you feel as though your recovery should be over or complete. It also helps remind you that real sobriety is something that takes time.

Sitting with Discomfort

Too often, people are uncomfortable with negative emotions and think they shouldn’t feel them at all. This causes individuals to try and push them away or get through them as quickly as possible. This can lead to drug and alcohol abuse in an attempt to quiet those negative emotions.

But plenty of holistic therapies and cognitive behavioral therapy can expose you to the importance of sitting with discomfort and recognizing those emotions for what they are rather than trying to mask or shoo them away.

Yoga teaches you to sit with temporary discomfort, recognizing that as you breathe through each pose, you might experience slight physical sensations with which you are uncomfortable, but remaining focused on your breathing helps you move through that temporary pain. This can be applied to addiction therapy when it comes to managing cravings and knowing that the physical discomfort of things like withdrawal or cravings is temporary and will eventually come to pass if you breathe through them and focus on the present.

Addiction Therapy with Laguna View

Many clients benefit from our Orange County inpatient treatment because it offers more comprehensive service, round-the-clock supervision, and specialized forms of holistic therapy. With Laguna View Detox, we provide all of your detox services with our residential programs.

This enables you to receive the right supervision and medication during detox and transition seamlessly into the remainder of your residential program. With an individual assessment, clients receive recommendations for the most appropriate forms of individual and group therapy and holistic therapies.

Signs and Symptoms of Alcoholism You Shouldn’t Ignore

Signs and Symptoms of Alcoholism You Shouldn't Ignore

Alcohol may not seem like a risky substance, given its legality and common consumption at celebratory events and in social settings. However, there are several signs associated with alcoholic behavior indicative of a serious problem, one that you shouldn’t avoid. 

Nearly thirty million people ages 12 and up struggle with an alcohol addiction. The high rate of availability and social acceptance of alcohol and alcoholic behavior increases the risk of developing an addiction and decreases the likelihood of getting help when someone with a legitimate problem might be referred to as “the life of the party” or “a really fun person.”

Understanding key alcoholism symptoms and other red flags can make it easier to determine when you or someone close to you needs help.

Signs of Alcohol Addiction

Signs of alcohol addiction can be behavioral, psychological, or even physical. Signs and symptoms can look different from one person to the next, but in general, you might consider help if you meet the following:

  • You find yourself unable to stop drinking once you start, even if you go out with the intention of just having one drink or staying home with the intention of just having one glass of wine
  • You regularly struggle with withdrawal symptoms, commonly known as a hangover, and you end up drinking more to make those symptoms go away
  • You spend most of your time, energy, and money drinking, obtaining drinks, or recovering from drinking
  • You neglect personal or professional responsibilities because of drinking, like coming into work late habitually or forgetting to pick up your children from school because of a hangover
  • You have experienced injury or harm because of your behavior, like getting into a car accident, falling down the stairs, or contracting an STD because of risky sexual behavior
  • You spend money intended for bills and other legitimate purchases on alcohol, causing problems at home
  • Your friends or family have mentioned that your alcoholic behavior is impacting them, and it’s a problem
  • You have gotten into legal trouble or financial strain as a result of alcohol abuse, like a DUI
  • You are experiencing relationship problems as a result of alcoholic behavior with your partner, spouse, children, or even close friends
  • You have tried to stop, but you can’t do it no matter how hard you try
  • You are aware that alcohol abuse is impacting your life in a negative way, but you still can’t or won’t stop

If you notice any of these symptoms, especially if you notice several of them, it’s important that you consider professional help from a treatment facility that specializes in medication-assisted detox services and comprehensive residential care.

Why You Shouldn’t Ignore Alcoholism Symptoms

Even minor signs of alcohol addiction can point to the potential for a much larger problem. Without treatment, alcoholic behavior can quickly become alcohol abuse, a serious illness that has mental and physical health ramifications. 

Short Term Risks

Alcoholic behavior has several short-term risks:

  • Increased risk of car accidents, falls, burns, and drownings
  • Increased violence, including partner violence and suicide
  • Alcohol poisoning
  • Risky sexual activities like unprotected sex with multiple partners
  • Miscarriage or stillbirths for pregnant women

Long Term Risks

There are long-term risks if you ignore alcohol abuse too:

  • Alcohol addiction
  • Social problems like unemployment or family issues
  • Mental health problems, namely anxiety or depression
  • Memory problems
  • Weakened immune system
  • Cancer
  • High blood pressure
  • Liver disease
  • Heart disease
  • Digestive issues
  • Stroke 

Get Help for Alcoholic Behavior with Laguna View Detox

With Laguna View Detox, we offer addiction treatment in California for those struggling with alcohol abuse. With our facility, you can start with alcohol detox services. Alcohol comes with a serious risk of withdrawal symptoms that can cause health complications like hallucinations and delirium tremens. 

As a certified Orange County drug detox center, we can offer FDA-approved medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for alcohol abuse. As a premier treatment center, we ease you into the rest of your ongoing residential care. With residential care, you can tackle signs of alcohol addiction no matter their severity. 

We have professionals available at all hours to ensure you receive optimum care. With a range of therapies, clients can benefit from personalized treatment with education, individual therapy, group therapy, and family programs that are essential to recovery. With ongoing support and aftercare, we encourage recovery long term. 

Laguna View is here for you. If you are noticing signs of alcohol addiction, call us now to learn more.