10 Warning Signs That You Might Need Substance Abuse Detox

By

Chris Newcomb, M.Div. 

1. You frequently you feel as if you are different.  You feel and believe that drugs and alcohol make you feel “normal.”
2. You have developed "tolerance" which means that you need more of the drug or alcohol than you used to in order to get the same effect as when you first started using. 
3. You isolate from friends and family so you can use alcohol and drugs all alone without their interference ruining your fun.
4. You have had negative legal, academic, work, relational, and/or financial consequences such as DUI's, lost jobs, poor grades, destroyed relationships, or arrests due to alcohol and/or drug addiction.
5. You have tried to quit many times but can only do so for short periods of time and then you return to using again. 
6. You lie to hide your alcohol and drub abuse.
7. Your actions have deteriorated over time.  You now do things that you never would have dreamed of doing to support your alcohol or drug addiction such as stealing, prostitution, and even violence. 
8. You had a good circle of sober friends that has eroded because you have been focusing on strengthening relationships with friends who abuse drugs or alcohol.
9. You have lost interest in your physical appearance because of your drug and alcohol abuse.
10. You are preoccupied with thoughts around when you can use drugs and how you will get the next high much of the time. 

If you relate to any of these signs, now is the time to find the right treatment option to help you reclaim your life and be free of all illicit substances.

At The Coleman Institute, we are always here for you.  We provide help, hope, and healing to those who need to be detoxed because of their substance abuse.  If you find it's time to do something different with your life, give Jennifer Pius or Amy Stewart a call at 1.888.773.3869.  Relief is available if you decide you want it. We'd be happy to help you! 

Don't Ever...

Don't ever forget the truths listed above!  Today's article is short and sweet.  Recovery is a whole-person healing process.  The statements above remind us to take care of ourselves in every way.  Take this to heart.  It will serve you well in your recovery.  This weekend spend some time reading and reflecting on these ideas and how you can apply them to your life.  Positive input helps create positive outpoint which, in turn, helps you create the positive life you want! 

At The Coleman Institute, don't ever worry about being judged or misunderstood by us.  We are always here for you.  Our desire is to help you bring change to your life by getting clean and staying clean from drugs and/or alcohol.     Should you find that you need our services, please do not hesitate to call Jennifer Pius or Amy Stewart at 1-877-77-DETOX (33869).  

- Chris Newcomb, M.Div.

What if Opporunity Doesn't Knock?!?

By

Chris Newcomb, M.Div.

You've probably heard the famous saying that 'Opportunity Knocks' before this column.  It's an old adage and many times it is very true.  That is, 'opportunity' shows up or 'knocks' in the form of a phone call, an email, or a letter when we least expect it.  New jobs have been obtained by answering opportunity's knocking.  Dates and subsequent marriages have occured because someone was listening for the faint knocking of opportunity's knuckles of their door of life.  What if, however, opportunity doesn't knock? 

This is a great question.  We often wonder whether life is a series of random experiences or if the universe is run by a Divine Being(s) or if we are just floating on a random rock in a big universe with no rhyme or reason.  Sometimes, this is not a pleasant question to answer because the answers are not always obvious.  However, one thing we can consider that does make sense: personal application. 

As I said before, sometimes, opportunity knocks.  However, sometimes opportunity doesn't know to knock and we need to build it a door to knock on.  That is, you can influence your future by your actions.  But change really starts before that.  It begins with your thoughts.  Your thoughts become your actions.  Your actions shape your present and your future.  And sometimes, you have to build the door on which opportunity can knock it's proverbial knuckles. 

How do you do that?  Glad you asked.  Sometimes 'building a door' is in the form of preparation like weekly training for a marathon in the near future.  Other times, it involves studying a subject hard for 4 years in college so you can become a trial lawyer.  Still, it might include asking for help from someone to do for you what you cannot do for yourself.  This is how recovery works.

If you 'build the door' of recovery by asking for help, opportunity will come knocking.  It can't not happen.  It is the way things work.  When you ask for help, eventually, someone will help you.  And when they help you, the possibilities of your life will expand exponentially thus inviting opportunity to knock. 

Everyday, in our line of work, we hear the knock of opportunity daily.  As people submit themselves to the detox and rehabilitative process, we see and hear opportunity knocking change into lives that were formerly shattered.  It is a great sight to see!

At The Coleman Institute, we are always here for you.  Our desire is to help you bring change to your life by getting clean and staying clean from drugs and/or alcohol.   Should you find that you need our services, please do not hesitate to call Jennifer Pius or Amy Stewart at 1-877-77-DETOX (33869). 

How Do I Ask for Help?

By 

Chris Newcomb, M.Div.

Did the title of this blog article grab your attention?  Maybe you found it a bit stupid because the answer seems so obvious.  Perhaps it intrigued you because you wondered if it was a trick question.  

Truthfully, the title is neither.  It is not obvious how to ask for help because so many people fail to do it.  And, I can assure you dear reader, it is not a trick question.  Actually, it is a very important and vital question for everyone but especially for people who struggle with addiction!

If you want to know how to ask for help, the simple answer is: just ask!  The hardest part of that answer is: how?  Why is it hard?  Shame and embarassment are two emotional schoolyard bullies who will do anything to keep you from asking for help.  They shove you up against the wall of self-disdain.  They wrestle you onto the ground of self-loathing.  You kick and scream and bite and even cuss but they don't let go very easily.  

Most of us want to be able to beat things on our own.  This mindset is the primary reason we do not ask for help.  Then, we will be weak.  Then, we will be dependent.  Then, we will be imperfect.  And yes, even then, we will be truthful.  Because the fact of the matter is, every one is weak, dependent and imperfect.  Please realize, of course, that these descriptors do not equal other ones like awful, bad, and unlovable.  Since there are no all-powerful, perfect people, it can't be any other way.  And that is ok...if we ask for help.  

Do you ask for help when you need it?  Do you ask long before it's too late and you're up the proverbial creek without a paddle?  Have you ever felt the relief that comes when you humble yourself to ask someone to help you out?  If you haven't, I urge you to do it.  You'll be glad you did.  

We want you to know that at The Coleman Institute you are our pride and joy.  It is because of you that we exist: to help people get clean and stay clean from drugs and alcohol.  Should you find that you need our services, please do not hesitate to call Jennifer Pius or Amy Stewart at 1-877-77-DETOX (33869). 

What is Detox?

By 

Chris Newcomb, M.Div.

Detox is an familiar yet unfamiliar term to many people.  For some, it conjures up images of a raw vegetable diet to cleanse the body.  They think of it as a 'nutritional reboot' to their system.  While there is a type of detox that involves nutrition, substance abuse detox is a very different thing altogether.  

To answer the question "what is detox?", we first need to understand why someone would want or need a detox in the first place.  Simply put, when people use substances at an abusive level, their bodies begin to pay the price.  Often times, they will try to stop on their own.  Usually, they fail!  

Therefore, when drug and alcohol use has gotten out of hand, it means that the body, mind, and spirit have become literally 'toxic'.  Dictionary.com defines 'toxic' this way, "of, pertaining to, affected with, or caused by a toxin or poison: a toxic condition."  It may seem fairly obvious that drugs and alcohol can be toxins to the body but every weekend in America many people find out the hard way!  

Since drugs and alcohol are toxins to the system, a person must recover from their effects.  This is the rub.  Addiction doesn't allow people to just quit, pack it up and go home.  No, it's like a jealous spouse that checks your cell phone, reads your email, and goes through your wallet making sure you stay faithful to them and no one else.  It's ultimate weapon of choice: withdrawal!  And what an effective weapon it is, keeping people trapped in the cycle of addiction day in and day out.   As Eric Clapton once said, "Addiction doesn't negotiate!"

 And that's exactly why people need detox!  They can't do it on their own.  The symptoms are just too strong!  The pull is just too much!  The pain is overwhelming! 

At The Coleman Institute, our suite of detox treatments remove the poisonous toxins of excessive drugs and alcohol from a person's system in a safe, effective, outpatient environment so that health and vitality can be restored.  Our highly trained medical staff make sure that each detox is handled with care and compassion during the detox process. It's a privilege to be able to help our patients become renewed and restored!

Furthermore, care does not end there.  We are committed to helping you stay clean with an aftercare plan that is individualized just for you and your needs.  Time and again, we have seen that the combination of our highly successful detox process followed by consistent and appropriate aftercare leads to a happy and healthy recovery journey. 

Always know that at The Coleman Institute, we're here when you need us.  If you or someone you love has an addiction, we would love to help you heal.  Please do not hesitate to call Jennifer Pius or Amy Stewart at 1-877-77-DETOX (33869)

 

Who Needs Detox?

By

Chris Newcomb, M.Div.

"I tried to beat this thing cold turkey," he said with a tired rasp in his voice.  I had heard the sentiment a thousand times before from other brave yet addicted people who came to our clinic to get off drugs and/or alcohol.  He continued, "It was like, the withdrawal symptoms were just too much.  I felt like I was dying.  In fact, dying almost seemed better than having to go through all that pain like diarrhea, cold sweats, hot flashes, restless and cramped legs, vomiting, and really high anxiety.  I felt like I was going to come out of my skin!"  I nodded my head trying to convey a sense of compassion and empathy.  It's very hard to watch such suffering.  

Ever felt that way?  I sincerely hope not!  Withdrawal from alcohol and/or drug addiction is brutal for most people.  On average, it takes 7-10 days for a person to completely withdraw from their substance of choice.  Unfortunately, on average, most people "cave", that is, go back to their drug of choice, around Day 3 to Day 5.  Of course, there are always outliers but they are the exception not the rule.  

Perhaps you've been there or you are there again.  Maybe you've tried valiantly to get off that stupid drug you hate so much and keep failing no matter how hard you try.  I have good news:  it's not because you're weak.  It's because the drug or drink is that strong!  

Who needs detox?  Anyone who is tired of being a slave to drugs who can't quit cold turkey.  Who needs detox?  Anyone who is tired of having to drink to start their day or to go to sleep at night or to get through that next meeting with your boss.  

Give up.  Ask for help.  You'll be so glad you did.  You deserve it.  The drugs and alcohol don't deserve you!   

Always know that at The Coleman Institute, we're here when you need us.  If you or someone you love has an addiction, we would love to help you heal.  Please do not hesitate to call Jennifer Pius or Amy Stewart at 1-877-77-DETOX (33869

Oxycontin: A Gateway to Heroin?

By

Chris Newcomb, M.Div. 

Prescription pills are the rage right now.  People from all walks of life get sucked into using prescription pills for several reasons.  First, many are legitimately prescribed them for legitimate physical pain and the patient doesn't know that their brain is set up for addiction.  Second, some feel that it is ok to go to a doctor and fake pain so they can get these same pills.  Third, others justify that they don't have a problem because these pills are 'made by the manufacturer' so they are 'safer than street drugs'.  To add insult to injury, due to the large demand and short supply of Oxycontin on the street, many people are now 'graduating' from their prescription pill use to a whole new level of addiction via heroin!

Once thought of as just an 'inner-city' drug problem, heroin has now become the chic drug of choice for upwardly mobile members of society.  Doctors, judges, lawyers, accountants, ministers, and other seemingly upstanding professionals are getting caught in the vortex of heroin use via oxycontin abuse.  For example, in a recent U.S.A. Today article*, researchers at the Carolinas Medical Center found that the majority of their abusing patients came from the 5 best neighborhoods in Charlotte, NC. 

At The Coleman Institute, we keep seeing an increase in the number of patients who come in for a heroin detox yet started their drug addiction on Oxycontin.  In most cases, patients believed, naively, that Oxycontin wasn't addictive and that heroin was easy to kick.  All of them believed at one point or another that they had the strength to bear the withdrawals on their own.  None of them succeed which is why they come to see us.  Truth be told, it takes 7-10 days to withdraw off opiates and the majority of people cave between Day 3 and Day 5 because the withdrawal symptoms are that unbearable!  

There is nothing wrong with being on Oxycontin when it is prescribed carefully by a doctor who is very familiar with addiction and who limits the prescription time frame in order to avoid patients getting addicted.  Unfortunately, most doctors have a thumbnail view of addiction, and while they may mean well, they do more damage than good.  Furthermore, many patients who either have an addiction or know that addiction runs in their family refuse to be honest and open with the doctor and staff about their personal and/or family history so they can get their drug of choice.

If you or someone you love is hooked on Oxycontin and/or has graduated to Heroin, we can help!  We specialize in detox from all opiates.  If you have decided that you are tired of being sick and tired of being hooked on drugs and that you are in need of detox from opiates, alcohol, benzos, Methadone, or Suboxone, please do not hesitate to call Jennifer Pius or Amy Stewart at 1-877-77-DETOX (33869)

*For more information, here is the link to the aforementioned article in U.S.A. Today (http://usat.ly/ZwdCPV)