Marijuana Addiction Treatment: 5 Steps to Avoid Relapse

Published on: 06 February 2019 Last Updated on: 29 February 2020

As told by science and modern research, marijuana addiction is a chronic illness, and like any other chronic disease – hypertension, diabetes, asthma – long-term treatment is needed. However, marijuana addiction always has a possibility of relapse. The relapse rates of substance use disorders are between 40% and 60%, which are highly comparable to other chronic medical conditions.

However, don’t be under the impression that relapse can’t be prevented just because it’s common. An alcohol or drug relapse can quickly waste a lot of rehab work and can also be fatal. But don’t worry. If you’re struggling or if you know someone who’s struggling to avoid a relapse, then continue reading this article to learn about the steps you can do to prevent it from happening.

Marijuana Addiction Treatment: 5 Steps to Avoid Relapse:

Stages of Relapse:

You should know that relapse does not happen overnight; it’s a process. For you to understand how to avoid relapse, you’ll have to know its three stages. Relapse begins a few weeks or months earlier before it reaches its final stage. Here are the three stages of relapse:

Emotional relapse – In this stage, your mind does not consider using marijuana again. However, your behavior and emotions are setting you up for a possible marijuana relapse. Here are some signs of an emotional relapse:
Poor sleep and eating habits
Isolation
Anxiety
Defensiveness
Intolerance
Mood swings
Anger
Mental relapse – It this stage, your mind will be torn about the dos and don’ts. There will be a part of you that wants to use marijuana, but there’s also a part of you that doesn’t. In the early stage of mental relapse, you’d idly think about using it again, and this gets worse as the mental relapse continues. The signs of mental relapse are:
Lying
Fantasizing
Thinking about relapse
Glorifying past use
Hanging out with friends that use
Physical relapse – In this final stage, you’d be physically using marijuana again. Some people only use once after realizing that they’ve made a mistake and try to focus again on recovery and moving forward. Unfortunately, there are others that will continue to use. In such a case, getting help is the best option.

Avoiding Relapse:

Here are 5 steps to avoid marijuana relapse:

1. Know and identify how to manage relapse triggers:

Relapse triggers can be anything. They can come from a similarly scented substance or simply just being with people that use. The triggers can also be a specific place, person, or emotion. These things can make you crave, think about, and use alcohol or drugs.

You can easily identify these triggers with the help of therapy sessions. A relapse therapist can teach you effective ways to cope up with triggers, keeping you away from drugs or alcohol when your cravings are fortuitously triggered. There are treatment centers in Los Angeles that provide recovery services, such as Nexus Recovery; these services can help you identify and manage relapse triggers and monitor your progress.

Here are some tips to manage or avoid triggers:

Change your daily route and avoid passing through places that cause a trigger.
Keep a list of people you can call when you’re feeling triggered.
Practice relaxation techniques.
Avoid triggering situations such as becoming stressed, lonely, tired, or hungry.

2. Follow a healthy lifestyle:

Avoiding relapse needs long-term commitment, and this commitment includes building a new and healthier lifestyle. This can be a long and difficult process, but making significant lifestyle changes has been seen to decrease the risk of relapse.

These lifestyle changes include learning and utilizing healthy coping methods for mental pressure and negative emotions, recognizing and managing mental illnesses if any, and promoting positive activities such as meditation, exercise, and art.

Here are some healthy lifestyle ideas:

Avoid having too much caffeine or sugar.
Plan and prepare healthy snacks and meals in advance to avoid becoming hungry.
Write a journal and keep track of your mood and daily thoughts.
Be active. Engage in sports or work out.
Drink plenty of water.
Practice gratitude.
Find a new hobby.

3. Use appropriate medications:

With the ever-evolving addiction research, the development of medications that help patients to avoid relapse and manage their cravings was made possible. These medications, such as buprenorphine and methadone, when adequately used under supervision, can significantly decrease cravings and relapse urges. For some, taking these medications is the key to their relapse prevention and recovery. Talk to your doctor about taking such medications.

4. Undergo long-term treatment:

Just like any other chronic disease, your recovery will not be quick and easy, especially when recovering from substance abuse. Doing two months of therapy or medication will not guarantee that you’ll not start using it again. For better long-term results, getting involved in an intensive treatment within a suitable period of time will surely help you.

Participation and engagement in long-term addiction treatments have been known to help decrease the risk of relapse. A study involving more than a thousand patients found out that relapse rates decreased for patients who had continuous treatments, aftercare, and support group engagement.

5. Get a support group:

It’s essential to know that going through the process alone may not provide desirable outcomes in recovery. Keep your supportive friends, loved ones, and family close. Do your best to surround yourself with people who really care for you and people who don’t use drugs or alcohol. A crucial factor in your road to recovery is social support; it can significantly help you to recover fast and resist relapsing.

Here are some tips on how to create a good support network:

Engage in recovery groups – You can search the Internet for marijuana recovery groups near your area, such as Marijuana Anonymous.
Find a sponsor – A sponsorship is one recovering person sharing and talking to another recovering person. You will attend recovery group meetings regularly, discuss issues on the recovery, and work on recovering together.
See a mental health or addiction counselor.

Closing Thoughts:

If you’re under treatment or recovering from substance abuse, you should be realistic and understand that a relapse can occur anytime. However, you should also do your best to avoid it by following these steps. In addition to these, always make sure to work with your counselor or therapist in developing an effective relapse plan. By following this plan in case of a relapse, you will be able to minimize its negative consequences.

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Polydrug Use: What Happens When You Mix Cocaine with Heroin?

Cocaine and heroin are among the most potent and extensively used illicit drugs in the world with deeply addictive and destructive potential. When we think of these drugs, we usually think of individuals having either cocaine or heroin addiction, whereas in reality the practice of taking more than one substance at the same time - known as polydrug use - is on the rise. Individuals typically start polydrug use by combining substances to enhance the effects of one or both of them. A very common combination of drugs in polydrug use is cocaine and heroin and in fact, the practice has become so widespread that it now has its own street name: "speedballing." When speedballing, polydrug users take heroin to extend and enhance cocaine’s short-term effects to avoid the crashing come down, essentially by replacing it with opiate-induced euphoria. The Health Risks of Speed Balling with Cocaine and Heroin: Although the effects of speedballing are extremely pleasurable and compelling to users, it is incredibly dangerous. Both heroin and cocaine have significant health risks separately but when used in combination and injected at the same time, these risks are heightened considerably. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and depending on the US state studied, around 36.9% to 98.9% of heroin-related deaths involve other substances. There are few activities in life that have the potential to be more deadly than speedballing and yet it is now a significant issue. Young people experimenting with substances are increasingly being encouraged to participate in speedballing without being fully aware of the risks. Let’s take a look at the differences between cocaine and heroin when used on their own: Heroin: Heroin is made from an extract of the opium poppy and it has been used for hundreds of years as pain relief for significant trauma. The way heroin works are by flooding the brain with euphoria-creating dopamine so as to “trick” the mind into ignoring pain signals from other parts of the body. The euphoria created by heroin is considered the reason it is highly addictive, as it immobilizes the body in the most pleasant way so that the only thing a user can do is lay back and enjoy the feeling. One of the most common ways people develop heroin addiction is by becoming tolerant to its effects, which can happen very quickly after they start using the drug. When the euphoria they seek starts to wane when taking their usual amount of the drug, they will simply up the dose. After a very short while of this addictive behavior, the body will start to develop cravings for heroin every time the user comes down from their high. Some of the withdrawal symptoms emerging if cravings for heroin are not satisfied can be extremely unpleasant and so more of the drug is needed to make them go away. Cocaine: The kind of high cocaine creates depends on the way it’s taken, which is generally by snorting or injecting. The effects of cocaine are generally short-term, lasting around 40 minutes and they are quite opposite to those of heroin. Cocaine is a stimulant that makes users feel a rush of energy, often making them the life and soul of the party. Whereas heroin immobilizes, cocaine stimulates and while on a high from the drug, users tend to talk at a fast pace, enjoying everything around them in an animated way. Cocaine is equally as addictive as heroin although it has a very different kind of appeal. Some people become socially dependent on the drug before going on to developing an addiction, using cocaine as a prop to boost confidence. However, as with heroin, cocaine has a negative impact on the brain's function, which can introduce extra challenges for people seeking to overcome cocaine addiction in heroin and cocaine addiction treatment. The risks caused by speedballing with cocaine and heroin include the following: Whereas heroin stimulates the brain’s production of endorphins, cocaine prevents them from being reabsorbed naturally. This eventually erodes an individual’s ability to enjoy the simplest pleasures in life unless substance abuse is involved. Cocaine is the only drug with the potential to hyper-stimulate the body to the point where the user suffers a stroke. When used in combination in heroin, it is not possible to detect that this is happening and there is a risk of suffering a stroke without any warning and possible death. The effects of cocaine do not last for as long as heroin and so speedballers tend to use more cocaine to prolong their high. This is incredibly dangerous and places the individual at risk of a fatal heart attack. Heroin has a powerful effect on the central nervous system, slowing down its functions when a person is under influence including the heartbeat and breathing. If there is not enough oxygen reaching the brain because a person’s breathing has become shallow after taking heroin, there is a high risk of brain damage or death. Because cocaine is a stimulant, it reduces some of the effects of heroin if taken at the same time. This can mask the warning signs of heroin overdose which include: confusion, dizziness, slurred speech, body limpness, and unconsciousness. Cocaine and Heroin Addiction Treatment for Speed Balling: Addiction is an illness that can be treated so that individuals can move on from substance abuse and enjoy a life in sobriety. Although challenging, the path through detox, rehab, and recovery on a cocaine or heroin addiction treatment program introduces individuals to a world outside of substance use, motivating them to make the necessary changes to overcome their illness. Because of the potency of heroin and cocaine independently, people speedballing face significantly more risks from substance abuse than those abusing one type of drug. The effects on a person's personality, behavior, and psychological state can be extended with both substances which is why holistic therapies such as those offered at the best heroin and cocaine addiction treatment centers are now commonly available as a cocaine and heroin addiction treatment approach. Through learning skills such as meditation and yoga or becoming physically fit through a structured exercise regime, individuals can move on from the difficulties in their lives cause by heroin and cocaine addiction. Read Also: How 12-Step Works As Addiction Recovery Support Addiction Treatment: 11 Tips To Find The Best Rehabilitation Center

The Physical and Occupational Therapy Changes in Medicare for 2020

There has been no time more integral to the advancement of our society than the 21st century. The past 20 years have been essential to the technological increases that are impacting billions of people all across the globe. Many facets of our society have been affected in the modern era, and healthcare is one of the most impacted elements. There has been a transformation throughout the healthcare industry, as new technologies like procedural telemedicine, as well as new regulations, have become commonplace throughout the medical system. There is a multitude of different specialties in healthcare, but one of the top aspects is physical and occupational therapy. This facet is involved in helping people fix their bodily ailments without the use of more invasive procedures. What is Physical and Occupational Therapy? Physical and occupational therapy has become increasingly popular throughout the 21st century, as advancements in the field and a greater understanding of the body have helped to improve peoples’ wellbeing. Patients who frequently attend physical and occupational therapy often have chronic pain or muscular-skeletal issues that can be aided with different exercises and stretches that help to heal the body. Working as a physical or occupational therapist allows you to more effectively treat patients who need help and requires immense knowledge of the human body. As 2020 has already gotten underway, it has become evident that the many changes to the system, especially for Medicare patients, are continuing to affect physical and occupational therapy offices. Understanding these changes is essential if you work in this field. Learning about the 2020 Medicare Changes for PTA & OTA Modifiers Working as a PTA (physical therapy assistant) or OTA (occupational therapy assistant) has undergone immense change since the beginning of the new decade in 2020. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has altered its billing policies, which has impacted the modifiers used in your office as well as the reimbursement procedures provided by PTAs and OTAs. Medicare changes 2020 has been implemented as a payment differential in the ways that PTAs and OTAs are paid. The payment rate is now 85% of the rate of what assistants are paid. CMS has noted that any care that exceeds 10% of the total time of care would now be subject to reduced billing. The payment differential has to be applied to all private practice facilities, home health agencies, hospital outpatient departments, as well as rehabilitation agencies. The codes that this can be applied include therapeutic services, as well as administrative or non-therapeutic services. Any timed or untimed coded procedures and modalities are also included, such as re-evaluations and initial evaluations. These many changes also include new documentation which provides a short description of the application of modifiers. While many of these changes may sound a bit challenging, understanding them is essential for the success of any physical or occupational therapy office. Final Thoughts Working in the physical or occupational therapy field can be very complex, especially when dealing with Medicare billing. Learning about the 2020 changes in Medicare billing is essential when running a physical or occupational therapy firm. Read Also: What Transaction Management Software Will Do to Aid Your Real Estate Business Recognizing How Important Inventory Management is to Your Ecommerce Store

Essential Health Benefits of Coconut Oil

The advantages of coconut oil are on everyone's tongue. It is a special blessing from God as it has many benefits. It has uncountable uses, some people use coconut for better hair growth, few people apply it on the skin for moisturizing purpose, some of them add them in scented candles for aromatherapy and last but not least few people add coconut oil in their smoothies and diet to enjoy its magnificent health benefits. Coconut Oil Kills Bacteria : Coconut oil is anti-microbial oil that fights against bacteria, viruses or micro-organisms. Coconut oil has saturated fat that contains lauric acid as fatty acids which are known for their ability to fight against bacteria. If you add coconut oil to your diet, it combines with enzymes to form monoglyceride which enhances the property of coconut oil to kill bacteria such as Candida Albicans or Staphylococcus Aureus. Coconut oil Promotes Heart Health : The saturated fat in coconut oil increases the number of High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) is good cholesterol responsible to carry fat lipids to the liver so that they can be removed. These fat lipids are low-density lipoproteins (LDL) cholesterol that can build in your arteries and can lead you to experience high blood pressure issues. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol fights against low-density lipoproteins cholesterol which reduces your chances of experiencing cardiovascular diseases. Coconut oil Improves digestive system : Do you know that coconut oil can help you improve your digestive system? Coconut oil makes your gut flora healthy by fighting against bad bacteria and maintains a healthy environment. Coconut oil also fights against bacteria that cause a decrease in stomach acids which helps indigestion. Tip: By adding omega fatty acids while taking coconut oil in your diet will enhance the result. Coconut Oil and Weight loss: Eating coconut oil can play an effective role in helping you to lose weight. Coconut oil improves your immune system because the chain of lauric acid in the coconut oil fights against bacteria and creates a hostile environment. Coconut oil also contains energy creating abilities and it naturally reduces your appetite that further aids in maintaining blood sugar level. In addition to this, the caprylic acid in coconut oil also helps in improving thyroid function, contributes to burning fat and controls heart rate. Due to its antimicrobial properties, it also helps in avoiding or treating stomach ulcer. Type ii Diabetes : As discussed prior that coconut oil helps in regulating blood sugar level. Similarly, coconut oil reduces the risk of diabetes type two. When your body stops accepting insulin and energy from glucose. Coconut oil promotes the production of insulin in cells which provides continuous energy by preventing insulin resistance. Coconut Oil Helps In Preventing Alzheimer Disease : Our liver is responsible to produce ketones which provide energy to our brain. The energy source for brain cells is derived from glucose by the help of insulin that is produced by the brain itself. People experiencing form Alzheimer brain loses their ability to produce insulin. However, the Medium-chain triglycerides MCT's in coconut oil increases the production of ketones by the liver which provides energy to the brain to improve its function. In addition to this, if you have a weak memory, the medium-chain triglycerides in coconut oil will also improve your recalling power as the brain cells get stronger. Coconut Oil for Anti-aging : Coconut oil is antimicrobial oil that promotes the level of antioxidants in the body which further aids into the slower aging process as it reduces oxidative stress on the liver and promotes better liver function. Healthier liver leads to a healthier body and skin. Prevent Osteoporosis By Using Coconut Oil : Free radicals and oxidative stress are two causes of osteoporosis. Many people use coconut oil as a natural remedy for osteoporosis because it promotes absorption of calcium by gut flora which saves them from loss of bone structure and increases bone volume. Coconut Oil for Hormone Imbalance : To balance hormones, one should reduce the intake of sugar and grain and load up on healthy fats. Therefore, the saturated fats in coconut oil have a positive effect on estrogen levels. It can be one of the best fats that can be taken during menopause. Hope this evidence would help you to make a wise decision of taking coconut oil in your diet. Read Also : 8 Home Gym Systems You’ll Want To Try Out All That You Must Know About Prenatal Vitamins Choosing A Diet Based On Your Personality Type

Marijuana Addiction Treatment: 5 Steps to Avoid Relapse

Marijuana Addiction Treatment: 5 Steps to Avoid Relapse:

Stages of Relapse:

Avoiding Relapse:

1. Know and identify how to manage relapse triggers:

2. Follow a healthy lifestyle:

3. Use appropriate medications:

4. Undergo long-term treatment:

5. Get a support group:

Closing Thoughts:

Ways To Protect Against A Traumatic Brain Injury

Passing A Marijuana Urine Drug Test- How To Pass Pee Narcotics Tests

Content Rally

Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

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Polydrug Use: What Happens When You Mix Cocaine with Heroin?

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Marijuana Addiction Treatment: 5 Steps to Avoid Relapse

Marijuana Addiction Treatment: 5 Steps to Avoid Relapse:

Stages of Relapse:

Avoiding Relapse:

1. Know and identify how to manage relapse triggers:

2. Follow a healthy lifestyle:

3. Use appropriate medications:

4. Undergo long-term treatment:

5. Get a support group:

Closing Thoughts:

Share this Article

Ways To Protect Against A Traumatic Brain Injury

Passing A Marijuana Urine Drug Test- How To Pass Pee Narcotics Tests

Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

Leave a Reply

Popular

Follow Us

Recent

Related