Addicts and alcoholics often struggle with finding the coping skills that will enable them to face life successfully and leave behind the jungle of their illness. Frequently, efforts to recover are plagued by problems with finances, relationships and the legal system. Despite the overwhelming nature of these challenges, many sufferers do recover and go on to enjoy full, satisfying lives.

Medical clinics, treatment facilities and support groups exist in most metropolitan areas to address the recovery community’s needs. Whether addicts and alcoholics are seeking addiction treatment St Charles MO, Tacoma WA or other population centers, help is available. Support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous offer peer support from others who have found recovery. Individuals with long-term experience living a sober lifestyle attend regular meetings and want to help newcomers as part of their own program of recovery.

Even though variation exists in the different approaches to treatment, some themes reappear regularly. Commonly recurring characterizations of addiction include the physical, mental and spiritual dimensions of the disease.

Physical Dimension of Addiction

Some substances are physically addictive. They interact metabolically with addicts’ bodies in a way that can make sudden abstinence from them medically dangerous. For instance, after long-term excessive consumption, ceasing alcohol abruptly can result in hallucinations and life-threatening seizures. Medically supervised detoxification treatment is required in these cases.

Mental Dimension of Addiction

Addicts are victimized by incredibly obsessive thinking patterns. The neurochemical reward centers in the brains of those afflicted suffer from a vicious cycle of reinforcement. Often, this requires a significant period of abstinence to overcome.

Spiritual Dimension of Addiction

Beyond medical treatments based on empirical science, scores of recovered alcoholics and addicts credit spirituality as a key element in their recovery. These individuals testify to having found uncommon strength, courage and peace by relying on their own conception of a Higher Power.

Addiction, alcoholism and related societal problems are often devastating to the individuals who fall prey to this disease, their families, friends and employers. Fortunately, there are many resources available for those who want to recover. The recovery community is full of successful examples of individuals who sought and found help and now are helping others.