Message Jim for a Free Consultation at (760) 212‑0444
Addiction can be a relentless disease that involves cycles of relapse and remission. Without taking actions steps of treatment and counseling, addiction can result in an individual’s disability or death.
Addiction is more than just a person’s dependence on their drink or drug of choice. There are issues that are biological, psychological, social, and even spiritual in nature—generally rooted in traumatic events from the past. There can be chronic mental wellness struggles where using and abusing alcohol or drugs is what the person leans on to regulate their emotions.
Make no mistake: substance addiction is deadly. If you are caught in substance use addiction, your survival—your very life—is why family and friends are concerned for your well-being.
POP QUIZ:
- Do you fight cravings?
- Do you have an inability to stop—or cut back—your substance use?
- Do you continue to use—even though you have experienced negative consequences (DUI, job loss, legal issues, inability to participate in social, recreational, family obligations, etc.)?
- Do you struggle to find purpose in life?
- Has your drug of choice become your best friend—and are you having a difficult time breaking up with this best friend?
- Have you experienced Post-Acute Withdrawal Symptoms (PAWS)?
- Do you have intense mood swings?
- Do you go to great lengths to hide your addiction?
- Is your behavior changing?
- Are you isolating?
- Have you developed tolerance to the substance and need more of it to get the same effects?
- Are you using substances to cope with stress?
- Are you using substances to numb painful emotions?
- Are you unable to face daily tasks and activities?
- Do you struggle with arrested development—behaving with immaturity—perhaps child-like tantrums or adolescent-like emotional reactions that do not match your chronological age? For example, are you a 40-year-old man who behaves like an 11-year-old boy?
- Do you feel shame and guilt for yourself and the people you have harmed?
- Have you reached a point where you’ve crashed into the same ditch yet again—but this time you are sick and tired of being sick and tired?
I’ve had the privilege to be on clinical teams for some of the best recovery centers in San Diego County. I’m here to provide education on substance abuse, the recovery process, and to help support your journey back to living a healthy lifestyle.
For the adult who is struggling: Let’s build a trusted alliance where you can communicate your feelings and focus on your unique experiences with addiction and recovery.
For the spouse and family: I know you’re watching your loved one suffer—and I know you fear losing them forever. There’s a fine line between supporting an addict and enabling them. Sometimes it’s necessary to create new boundaries to protect yourself and others. New boundaries can include financial decisions to stop loaning money or financially supporting the person with the addiction—or limiting your contact with them because you cannot predict their behavior—nor can you trust them. You might even need to take steps to protect vulnerable people from being hurt or taken advantage of—like an elderly person or your children.
It can be painful to take these measures. Remember—the person struggling with addiction is not the version of the person you know and love. Only time and distance can change things—and your trust is only rebuilt over time and distance. The protective measures and boundaries you put into action can be terminated when time and distance reflect that your trust in your loved one has been restored.
Message Jim for a Free Consultation at
(760) 212-0444