Have you had a Relapse in your attempts to quit drinking and using drugs in beautiful San Diego County?

Why does this happen?

I get calls daily from people who report they have attempted to quit drinking alcohol and using drugs, and have relapsed. Generally successful in many areas of their life, men and women trying to quit without help from a treatment professional can be frustrating and leave people feeling guilty and hopelessness.

What’s the answer to the residents of our local communities in Del Mar, Carmel Valley, La Jolla, Solana Beach, Rancho Santa Fe, or Scripps Ranch? Whether the mind altering chemicals such as alcohol or illegal drugs or prescription drugs such as tranquillizers, or opiate pain medication, the answer is to call a treatment professional now! Do not wait for the DUI, or the Possession charges; don’t wait for your spouse or children to leave because they say they can no longer cope with your addiction. Seek treatment before you loose your job, business or profession.

According to most well known researchers in the areas of alcohol and drug dependence, alcohol and drug use changes the brain, in fundamental and lasting ways. Does this mean you have brain damage? Some people do develop brain damage. Others are able to complete a process of treatment and learn how to care for their brain and quickly begin the healing process, repairing the brain within a couple of years.

Attendance in an Intensive Outpatient Alcohol and Drug Addiction program can teach you the tools to support your commitment to recovery, and both recognize a relapse trigger and change your thinking and behaving.

This is one of benefit of treatment…. To help you recognize the internal triggers (emotional states, thought processes and memories) and external triggers, those people, places and things that have part of your alcohol or drug dependence. For some people it means staying away from certain situations, for others it means learning another way to cognitively and emotionally respond to specific events, without reaching for a mind altering chemical such alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, heroin, meth, a tranquillizer such as Xanax or an opiate such as Vicodin or Oxycontin.

Take action now to seek care for your self, your health and your family!

To a Healthy 2009,

Judy Saalinger, Ph.D., MFT, CAS