Drug and Alcohol Rehab Blog

Speculating on Spears’ Drug Problem

Throughout this past year there have been many speculations as to what has really been wrong with Britney Spears, including what drugs she may have been taking.  However, delving deeper into a couple of the latest troubles (including a ‘not there’ performance on the VMA’s and then the late-night custody issue where she wound up on the hospital)reveals more about her condition and I have an explanation to her erratic behavior recently.

This is actually a pretty common scenario that I’ve seen throughout the years of dealing with thousands of people with some kind of drug problem.  Somebody decides to take drugs and/or drink alcohol excessively.  The result is that they feel bad when coming down from the high or waking up with a hangover.  They’re supposed to be low and depressed at that time.  To remedy this they often take more drugs or drink more alcohol in an attempt to feel better, which temporarily seems to work, but is actually making things worse.  They cycle continues to the point where they have to be drunk or high just to “function” in their daily lives.

Then somewhere along the way, either through treatment or seeking some type of professional counseling, some misinformed person tells them they should be taking a medication to alleviate the ups and downs, mood swings, depression, etc.  This has also happened to Britney.  The problem is that these drugs never solve the problem permanently and often have very severe side effects.  On top of that, if someone has been taking medication for depression or “bipolar disorder” then they develop a dependency on those as well and when suddenly stopped there are very dangerous withdrawal symptoms, including heavy manic behavior, hallucinations and psychotic breaks.

This would explain why Britney acted the way she did the other night when she was taken to the hospital, yet a drug screen turned out to be negative.  The Dr. Phil explanation of her now having a bipolar diagnosis is ludicrous.  Look back just a few short years ago and obviously that would not be the case.  These symptoms and behaviors are chemically created, first by whatever illicit drug use and alcohol consumption, and then made worse by the prescription drugs she has been given.

The best way to actually help her would be to do a complete body detoxification and cleansing program to get all of the chemicals out of her and then start to address the problems in her life with a clear head.

Your Tax Dollars for Ineffective Rehabs?

Earlier this year, a report from Join Together sharted statistics about who is bearing the cost of drug rehab.  A study funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) found that 77.4 percent of treatment in 2003 was paid for by Medicaid, Medicare, and other federal, state and local sources, up from 50.4 percent in 1986. Meanwhile, the private sector’s share of the treatment cost burden slipped from 49.6 percent in 1986 to 22.6 percent in 2003.Private insurers, who paid 29.6 percent of treatment costs in 1986, were only paying 10.1 percent by 2003. Total dollars paid by private insurers for addiction treatment fell from $2.8 billion to $2.1 billion during the same time period.

Fewer patients were paying for treatment out of their own pocket, as well: in 1986, 13.8 percent of treatment was self-paid, but that fell to 8 percent in 2003.

Despite the major increase in public funding for drug rehab services, rehabilitation centers have yet to develop a uniform outcome measuring system.  And, I for one, would like to see my tax dollars going toward something that is truly going to help people instead of lining the pockets of ineffective drug addiction treatment centers.  The money pit of government-funded drug and alcohol rehabs needs to be stopped and those funds should be re-routed to effective drug rehab programs.

Drug Rehab During the Holidays

A common mistake often made by families during the Holiday Season is to wait until after the first of the year to get help for their loved one.  While it is with good intention, it is usually a destructive decision.

The Holidays are a very difficult time for someone with a drug or alcohol problem.  All of the pain and guilt of the past becomes resurfaced when faced with family members, sometimes arguments happen, or even worse - sympathy (forgiving for what they’ve done is very different thant telling them “it’s okay” or “it’s not your fault” and allowing it to continue).

As an effort to try and get help and spend time together, some families try to schedule the drug rehab admission right after Christmas, but this opens the door for potential disaster.  From an addict’s perspective, if he or she knows that on Dec 27th he’s going to go away to rehab for a few months, then there is usually an effort for “one last time” of getting drunk or high.  That “last hurrah” becomes an increased chance of getting arrested, having an accident or overdosing. 

So why risk it?  Not being with your loved one this Holiday Season because they are in a long-term inpatient drug rehab is much better than potentially having many more difficult times in the future.

If you have a family member in need of an effective drug rehab, then call us now at 1-877-421-9659 or visit www.drug-addiction-rehab.net and we can help find a program.

Parents Preventing Drug Rehab Help?

Over the years I have come to find a very disheartening observation.  There are often parents who contact us to find effective drug rehabs for their son or daughter, and after they are referred to a successful center, and realize and ackowledge that is exactly what they’re looking for, don’t follow through with getting them the help they need.  The common thread in most of these parents that I have found is that they are on some type of prescription drug themselves.  In most cases, it is something for behavioral symptoms, such as anxiety, depression, “adult add”, “bipolar disorder” or whatever else has been concocted.  The drugs prescribed to treat the symptoms of these diagnoses render someone partially incapable of making a rational decision.  Yes, I mean even the most loving, well-intentioned mothers fail to help their children get into a drug rehab because of their own drug-taking, no matter how “harmless” it may seem.

 Don’t believe me?  I could give you dozens of specific examples.  So, if you know a parent out there who continues to not help their child get into an inpatient drug rehab program that works, look a little closer and you will probably find a prescription bottle in their purse, nightstand, medicine cabinet, kitchen or their car with their name on it.

Questioning Drug Rehab Authority

There is a very destructive element in the drug and alcohol rehab field now that has been considered the authority on addiction and treatment.  This self-appointed authority passes off theory as fact and is driven by pharmaceuticals and recurring insurance and medicaid funding.  It is based on continual treatment (i.e. more money) and no results.  This so-called authority is the traditional mental health field, and it has fooled millions of Americans into thinking that addiction is a disease, that it is okay to give more drugs to addicts, and that relapse is an acceptable result after treatment.  None of these are true and they are not okay.  Contact us to find out the truth behind these lies and how to find effective drug rehab help.

Drug Rehab and Pharmacology

As a counselor, I am continually pushed in the direction of researching the latest medications that are given to addicts undergoing treatment.  Frankly, it disgusts me.  In every trade magazine I get about the treatment industry, mixed in with the ads for the highest-priced drug rehabs are the ads and articles about the newest prescription drugs and multiple diagnoses.  If a direct question is asked of a person, then common sense prevails more than half of the time.  The question in this case is, does it make sense to you to give more drugs to an addict?  Most people say “no!” and then go on to tell me how wrong they thought it was that their son or sister or whomever was given multiple prescriptions and continues to relapse.  So why to people keep taking them then?

Drug Rehab Trouble in Malibu?

The Los Angeles Times this morning reported about a series of problems and questionable practices involving numerous high-priced drug rehab centers in the Malibu, CA area.  With prices as high as $75,000 per month and celebrity clientele, no wonder they make headlines.  But should they be under attack, or are they simply filling a niche and providing services that some people are looking for?

In my opinion, anyone expecting to stay at a resort for a month and get some counseling or go through initial detox or have some pills prescribed to them can’t possibly be serious about wanting to end their addiction.  It is more of a therapeutic retreat than a rehabilitation center.

 If anything should be attacked, it shouldn’t be their methods, style or prices, it should only be if they pretend to get any substantial results.

The True Meaning of Recovery Month

Each year some of our tax dollars go toward getting an assessment of the drug and alcohol problems in the United States.  This National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) is overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services, and the release of its findings has fallen in September of each year.  September also marks National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, which is now in its 18^th annual observance.

This year’s theme, “Join the Voices for Recovery: Saving Lives, Saving Dollars,” aims to raise awareness about the financial and human costs of substance abuse and highlights the benefits that investing in treatment can have on those who enter recovery, their families and the larger community.

The drug rehab and alcohol addiction treatment field is comprised of thousands of outpatient and residential programs across the country.  There is a chunk of public funds that is spent on substance abuse treatment and prevention, but not enough.  Even more importantly though, is that the dollars that are spent often go to ineffective treatment methods.

Most treatment programs in the country are centered on the 12 steps, which came from Alcoholics Anonymous.  The problem is that the original text didn’t talk about being “in recovery” for the rest of your life.  In fact, author Bill W. said he had recovered from alcoholism.  Some may say this is merely semantics, but let’s look at the literal and implied meanings of those words.

According to Webster’s online dictionary, “recover” means to bring back to a normal position or condition; and “recovery” means the process of combating a disorder or a real or perceived problem.

The difference is in the process or tense of it.  Someone “in recovery” is given the idea that they must continue to fight because they’re not yet there.  Someone who is considered “recovered” has won – they’ve moved on with life and drugs or alcohol are no longer a problem.

Our tax dollars should be given to programs that focus on the product instead of the process.  The product is a person no longer affected by drug or alcohol use and who has recovered from their addiction.  By spending money on programs that expect relapse and write addiction off as an improvable “disease” that one is always in recovery from, then we’re only throwing dollars at the process with no end result in sight.

This inverted theory has gotten so out of hand that the misinformed few have tried to change the name of one of our governmental agencies, from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to the National Institute on Diseases of Addiction, in an effort to further distort the process on the road to eventually making it all but impossible to recover.

Effective rehabilitation programs are ones that focus on getting people fully recovered.  The rest are just temporary treatment centers, whether they’re based on the 12 steps or not.  Any program that can demonstrate the ability to get people off of drugs and make them productive members of society again at a high ratio should be given a lot of credit, because they embody the true meaning of Recovery Month. 

National Survey Results Released for Drug Addiction Recovery Month

Each year our government conducts the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) to get a snapshot of the substance abuse issues we currently face and as a measurement tool to see trends in drug and alcohol use amont Americans aged 12 and older.

Not surprisingly, it found that prescription drug use continues to rise among young and old alike.  We get many calls and e-mails each week about people addicted to prescription drugs and searching for an effective drug rehab.  In most cases, it is a combination of drugs, with narcotic painkillers being at the top of the list.

Apparently there are a lot of doctors out there who just don’t understand how addictive and damaging these drugs really are.  If they did know, they would be much more hesitant in prescribing them.  We are always advocating drug-free ways to approach problems in life, physical or otherwise, if at all possible.  While taking a prescription might curb the symptoms temporarily, a drug-free solution will almost always be much better off down the road.

Effective Detox Missing from Most Drug Rehabs

Ask just about anyone in the country, whether they work in the drug and alcohol rehab treatment field or not, what they consider to be detox and the explanation you will get will be nothing more than withdrawal.  Sure, it might be in a social or medical setting or have various ingredients, but it is still only withdrawal, because science has proven that toxic residues store in the tissue of a person’s body and are still present long after they stop using drugs.

The only known method to remove these residues safely and effectively in a relatively short period of time is through a biophysical detox program, which can still last many weeks as part of a longer-term inpatient rehabilitation facility.  Sure, your body will do this on its own naturally, but it can take up to 5-7 years for cellular regeneration (like re-growing a new head of hair). 

This means that none of the other 13,000+ rehab programs out there can effectively help someone become thoroughly detoxified, and that at the end of their course of treatment there, addicted individuals are still under the residual effects of drugs - including cravings to go use again.

So why risk it?  Why not give yourself or your loved one the best possible opportunity to recover by getting their bodies completely detoxified?