Counseling

Counseling is a generally misunderstood word. It is often interpreted as some evaluating for another and telling them what to think or do. Someone else’s opinion or evaluation is simply that, and gives no certainty of anything to the recipient. This is a very limited view of the concept and it has very limited workability as well. Counseling ideally should involve getting the individual to confront and communicate with and about the situations in life that they feel they have no control, or reduced control over. Counseling should offer tools and life skills that the individual can use for themselves and observe for themselves whether they work. More importantly, do they work for the individual himself?

Cravings (both mental and physical) for increasing and continuing use of drugs and alcohol. Guilt as a result of all the harm and damage done to self, loved ones, and others. Depression resulting from failed hopes and dreams, and the feelings of being trapped in a vicious cycle with no escape. These are the points that must be handled by a drug and alcohol rehab center if that treatment is to be effective and create change for a lifetime. An effective drug and alcohol rehab center knows there is much more to treatment than merely getting someone to quit using. At Narconon Arrowhead we know there are only three paths available once addiction or alcoholism has set in – jail, death, or sobriety. A drug and alcohol free life is possible without constant worry of relapse.

Generally speaking, rehab hospitals are short term programs dealing primarily with medically safe withdrawal from drug or alcohol. Extreme alcoholism as well as some drugs, especially prescription drugs, have life threatening side affects from stopping use cold turkey and need to be medically supervised. Most stays in rehab hospitals then need to be followed up with a comprehensive drug rehab program to address the cravings, guilt and depression that often exist in almost unbearable quantities. Without out handling these three factors following medical handlings relapse can almost be assured as one is not yet in a position to live a drug free and productive life.

Substance abuse generally starts with an attempt to handle pain. This could me mental or physical pain and does not necessarily need to be great. A teenager uses drugs for the first time and finds they helped with shyness and so uses them more and more often, as a false solution to the pains of adolescence. A mother finds relief from family stress with anti-depressants and so continues their use and even increases the dosages. Physical pain is relieved with prescription painkillers and so they are continued more and more frequently. All of these substances have their own particular side-effects which create new situations and new sources of mental and physical pain, and so other substances are now used in an attempt to handle these new pains. Thus most of those entering substance abuse treatment find themselves having problems with not just one substance but multiple substances. Narconon Arrowhead aids the individual in confronting and resolving the use of these substances as well as dealing with the underlying mental and physical pains which resulted in the original and now continued abuse.

Attempting to detoxify self from Morphine can be extremely dangerous. Morphine addiction withdrawal can cause physical and emotional trauma including stroke, heart attack, and even death. To ease the pain from withdrawal from Morphine addiction Methadone is often used. The substitute use of methadone typically results in an addiction to methadone, and continued Morphine use with out detoxification from either substance. Inpatient withdrawal without the use of additional drugs or medications offers the most workable scenario for beating a morphine addiction and allowing for a drug free lifestyle with out the dangers and side effects of continual substitute drug use.