"HEALING ADDICTED LIVES"

NOW AVAILABLE TO HELP CITIZENS IN THE FIGHT

AGAINST ILLICIT DRUG USE AND ADDICTION

As anyone exposed to drug or alcohol addiction knows, overcoming addiction is an all-too difficult task that often seems to end in failure. The truth is that successful recovery from addiction is attainable. Every day, parents, law enforcement and educators struggle to prevent their children’s use of cocaine, heroin and illicitly obtained prescription drugs, as do parents and civic-minded people in thousands of other communities across America.

What is missing in the fight against drug abuse and addiction is information on addiction that is honest, accurate and understandable by laymen, so one can really see how addiction takes control of a person’s life. When one knows how addiction starts and what the component parts of addiction are, it becomes possible to prevent someone from ever becoming an addict, or stop an existing addiction to drugs or alcohol.

Is it genetic? Is it a brain disease? Are some people just “prone” to addiction by personality characteristics? The truth, as proven through decades of successful rehabilitation services, is different.

In fact, addiction does not need to be a curse that lasts a lifetime. The life cycle of addiction begins with a problem, discomfort or some form of emotional or physical pain for a person. This person is, like most people in our society, basically good. But he encounters a problem that is causing him physical or emotional pain and discomfort for which he has no immediate answer. In our young people, this might mean rejection from a group they want to fit in with, anxiety over appearance or academic, social or athletic performance, disappointments in life or physical pain from an injury.

For the one who suffers, the discomfort or pain is real, major, persistent and without solution or relief. This can be enough to open the door to experimental drug use with an addictive substance. If the user then experiences relief from the pain or discomfort, then the stage is set for that drug experimentation to advance forward into full-blown addiction. The greater the discomfort, the more relief the person experiences and the more value they will place on the drug. The more valuable the drugs are, the greater the chances are of becoming an addict.

A second major contributing factor to continuing drug use is peer pressure. Peer pressure here is defined as strong influences that encourage one to take drugs or drink alcohol to relieve discomfort. These influences can originate from many places such as friends, family members or even the media. How many times have our children been exposed to prescription drug advertisements that promote the idea that if they feel bad, they should take a drug? If the user is exposed to these influences at the time they are experiencing problems or discomfort, this pressure can influence their decision-making process and drive them toward using drugs or alcohol in search of relief.

The first important step in effectively dealing with addiction is to understand what causes it. Narconon Arrowhead, one of the country’s leading drug and alcohol rehabilitation and education centers, is making the booklet Healing Addicted Lives available free for the asking. Indispensable for anyone faced with drug abuse in their community, this informative booklet fully explains how addiction starts, what forces keep addiction in place and how full recovery from addiction can occur.

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