Tag: addiction treatment

Joining My Son in Rehab

son in rehab letting go

Inquiry from Father: Can I come to support my son in rehab? Dear Serenity Vista, My 35-year-old son was just fired from his prestigious job because of his drinking. He has been struggling with alcohol for years. Now he has lost his job and his wife at the same time as a consequence of his alcoholism. He needs help! I’ve been searching online worldwide for the best international addiction treatment center because I am willing to help my son in rehab anywhere. Your program is impressive and I am recommending he come to Panama and attend Serenity Vista. He says he is willing to come. It sounds strange, but I am grateful and relieved that I will have my son in rehab. To help him feel comfortable with this change, I plan to rent an apartment in Boquete for the duration…

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Rehab – It May be Now or Never

Treatment Abroad for Drug Rehab

When Is The Best Time to Go to Rehab? If you are asking this question, the time is NOW.   The Disease of Denial Alcoholism and other forms of addiction is the only disease that tells you that you don’t have a disease. The hallmark symptom of alcoholism is denial. Did you ever hear yourself trying to convince someone that you are NOT an alcoholic or other form of addict? Guess what? People that are not alcoholic, never try to convince anybody that they are not alcoholic. The point is, when the moment of clarity comes for the addict, it won’t last long. This little window of opportunity, when the alcoholic realizes there is a problem is ready for help, is a very little window. Alcoholism is a subtle foe. When the disease of addiction experiences the threat of exposure,…

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Rehab To Quit Smoking?

nicotine addiction recovery

Residential Treatment For Smoking Cessation Stats say in the US: 70% percent of all nicotine users want to quit.  So I get that most people can’t quit on their own – but residential treatment? That seems extreme. Nicotine addiction is drug addiction. Make no mistake about that. If you are still smoking, you are in active drug addiction. Addiction can be defined as continuing to use a substance (or behavior) despite negative consequences. Ask yourself if that applies to your smoking behaviors. Being an active nicotine addict means a continuous dance between physiological nicotine withdrawal, emotional, mental and physical craving, and replenishing the nicotine in the body, 10 – 30 times a day. OK, maybe so, but what happens in nicotine addiction treatment? Will I be with other addicts? Addiction is addiction is addiction. No matter what addiction a person…

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The GOD Bag

G.O.D. Bag Kit of spiritual tools

A Spiritual Tool for Recovery The GOD BAG I’ve heard the term ‘God Bag’ or ‘God Box’. What does it mean? How can this tool help me in recovery? 12 Step recovery programs offer many promises. A particularly great one is the promise of receiving a ‘kit of spiritual tools’. These tools help keep us sober, one day at a time. AA literature actually tells us this simple kit will be ‘laid at our feet’ (p. 25 BB). The toolbox is not thrust into our face or hands but rather offered as a gift. Significantly, that means we can use them if we want to, but we never have to. First, let’s be clear about the word GOD. In 12 Step Recovery, and most treatment centers, it is explicit that GOD is as ‘you understand Him’. And, we expand ‘Him’…

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English Speaking Addiction Treatment for Expats

Treatment Abroad for Drug Rehab

English Speaking Addiction Treatment For Expats in Latin America Trying to find private, self-pay, excellent English speaking holistic addiction treatment for alcohol & drug rehab in North America right now can be really difficult. The United States is undergoing massive changes in the rehab ‘scene’. Particularly in the United States of America (USA), but also in Canada and many other nations, the world is being affected by an ‘opioid epidemic’. An incredible influx of heroin, and two synthetic heroin-like drugs, fentanyl and carfentanil (or carfentanyl) have flooded the streets of cities and towns across America. Opioid Epidemic filling US and Canadian Rehabs Morgues are overflowing, babies are born addicted. OD’s are so commonplace that teachers, librarians and shop keepers are learning how to administer an injection of naloxone (Narcan). Narcan is a short term immediate antidote to an opioid overdose. It…

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No One Is Immune to Addiction

Who is an addict

Who is An Addict? There are myths often shared in society that those who have addictions are lazy, weak, or have failed in willpower to control their behavior. Other myths center around stereotypes of specific groups and types of people being addicts. However, the reality is that addiction is a complex but treatable disease. It affects brain function and behavior. No one can pick an addict out of a crowd. They live and work among us. No one is immune to addiction. They are all races, ethnicities, genders, ages, and social classes. Moreover, they affect all of us directly or indirectly in numerous ways. The Facts Per the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, over 265 million people over the age of 12 years old use or abuse substances every year. 8% of this population is diagnosed with a…

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3 Good Reasons To Go To Rehab

why go to rehab

Why Would I Want to go to Rehab? No one starts out as a youngster with aspirations of finding reasons of why to go to rehab! No young parent starts a drug rehab fund for their child like they do for college. However, today that might be a good idea. Given the epidemic of opioid addiction sweeping North America and the dramatically rising alcoholism rates, the odds are high drug or alcohol rehab may possibly be in your future. We know, finding out why to go to rehab wasn’t in your plans. But if you are misusing alcohol or other drugs, or concerned you might have a problem, here are 3 really good reasons why to go to rehab. 1. To stay out of jail First of all, there are lots of ways that addiction fuels crime. These include, but are certainly…

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How to Get My Son to Go to Rehab

Serenity Vista Alcohol & Drug Rehab

A Parental Nightmare: “How to Get My Son to Go to Rehab” Living with Addiction Living with somebody who is addicted to alcohol or drugs can be incredibly stressful. You may even begin to experience a loss of identity because so much of your focus is on the needs of this other person. If you have other kids, you may need to protect them from the addict’s outbursts or erratic mood changes. The question becomes, “how to get my son to go to rehab”. You have been living with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. You know he’s crazy sometimes. Sober he is charming and sociable. Perhaps, others only see his lovable side. But in the privacy of his home, among people who love him, he unleashes his insecurities and tremendous self-hate on you. ~ Margaret Joyce – The Turmoil of Someone Else’s Drinking…

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Nicotine Addiction and Drug Rehab

why won't my spouse go to Al-Anon

Smoking is Nicotine Addiction If you are still smoking, you are an active drug addict. That may sound harsh, especially if you are in recovery, and have stopped using alcohol or other drugs…except nicotine. Nicotine addiction IS drug addiction. Period. Tobacco use kills more people than all other illicit drugs combined, yet this is often denied in the recovery community. Back in the ‘old days’ of 12 Step meetings, one of the first basic jobs for newcomers was to wash ashtrays. AA meant coffee and cigarrettes. Even the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous said not to worry about smoking cigarettes. It is very noteworthy though, that the two co-founders, Dr. Bob, and Bill W., both died early deaths from emphysema due to smoking. So, times have changed, no one denies the toxic properties of tobacco anymore, and the powerful addictive…

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