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Resistance in Recovery

Understanding Resistance in Recovery.

Maintaining recovery presents significant challenges to not only the individual, but also to their families as well. I know this from my own experience in early recovery just what I put my family through. We are told early in recovery, that recovery is possible, and for me it has proven true for more than 20 plus years. Yet resistance does make it hard to break free from addiction. Having been a counselor for 20 years gave me a better understanding the why this happens. It is important for people to know the why, avoid the pitfalls of falling down the rabbit hole of relapse. This episode explores some of the complex reasons behind resistance to recovery. We will explore four of the main factors to resistance, psychological, environmental, biological, and behavioral patterns.

Let’s start with Psychological Factors. Addiction often serves as a coping mechanism for people struggling with underlying psychological issues such as trauma, depression, anxiety, or low self-esteem. Addiction provides temporary relief from emotional pain or stress, making it hard for individuals to envision life without the crutch of addiction. Moreover, addiction alters brain chemistry and behavior, making it difficult to break free.

Denial is a common psychological defense mechanism for people suffering from addiction. Have you ever had the though “I don’t have a problem”,” I can quit whenever I want” People have a hard time acknowledging the severity of their problem. They rationalize or minimize the truth about themselves. Confronting the painful truth about their addiction, and facing the prospect of change becomes intimidating and overwhelming. Our substance use and addictive behaviors are only the symptoms of other deep seated issues.

Furthermore, addiction often co-exists with other mental health disorders complicating the recovery process. Individuals with co-occurring disorders find it especially challenging to engage in the recovery process. And the truth is recovery is a process, there is no quick fix.

Let us look and Environmental Factors: Environmental factors also have a big impact on resistance to recovery from addiction. There is peer pressure, society norms, and cultural influences that hinder or efforts to set ourselves free.  Who we associate with in our addiction has become the norm, and having to let go of some of those connections is hard. We want to fit in, and change is always a difficult choice. Family dynamics can also influence our recovery. Dysfunctional family environments, trauma, enabling behaviors may get in the way of our recovery. And the stigma that comes with shame, guilt and secrecy play vital roles in keeping us stuck in our addictive behaviors. Economic factors can pose a barrier to recovery, financial stability, taking time off work for treatment, or not finding time to attend support groups can cost more than just our recovery.

Now, let’s look at Biological Factors: Chronic substance abuse leads to changes in the brains structure and function, impairing decision making, impulse control, and emotional regulation. There is a term know as PAWS (post-acute withdrawal syndrome) which we will cover in another episode, has to do with how long it takes our brain to restructure itself after abstaining from substances.

Moreover, withdrawal symptoms can be physically, and emotionally distressing, deterring individuals from attempting recovery. Fear plays a huge role in recovery, the fear associated in detox and withdrawal often prevents people from seeking treatment and finding that recovery is possible. Biological challenges can be overcome and although they may seem to be a struggle at times, with all things in recovery this to will pass.

Behavioral Patterns: These patterns are developed during active addiction and contribute immensely to resistance in our recovery. These patterns become deeply ingrained in our daily routines, habits, and rituals, making it challenging to break free. These cravings, triggers, and habitual thinking are the tempting factors that lead to relapse.

Additionally, addictive behaviors are often reinforced by environmental cue, such as people, places and things associated with our addiction. These triggers can evoke powerful cravings, undermining our attempts at a successful recovery. Without adequate coping skills, and support, individuals find it difficult to resist temptation.

In conclusion: Resistance to recovery comes in many forms and understanding these is essential in understanding the recovery process. There are many different treatment options and methods all very good programs, yet it is hard to find a continuous care that helps you discover your true self, and design a process built just for you. That is why in all these episodes we will explore addictive behaviors and solutions. Having dedicated my life to this lifestyle of recovery, and served thousands in counseling I believe I have value and knowledge to serve others who are struggling from this disease. To answer any questions or concerns reach out to me at www.richarddaroneinternational.com and set up a complimentary call.

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How Drug Tolerance Changes the Brain

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter. Neurotransmitters are released from neurons and travel in microscopic spaces (called “synapses”) to inter-connected neurons to send messages from one brain cell to another. To accomplish this, neurotransmitters “dock” with “receptors on the surface of message-receiving neurons, stimulating them via an electro-chemical exchange. Dopamine creates the feeling of pleasure by docking with neurons in the Reward System, stimulating those neurons and the Reward System as a whole.

Excessive drug use can cause permanent change to the Reward System neurons.This results from increasing drug tolerance, a process of accelerating change that makes the Reward System less efficient and requires users to take more drugs to obtain the same high they used to get from less drugs. Tolerance alters brain cells physically, changing their function. Eventually, as tolerance deepens, it alters the nature of the drug using experience, from liking drugs for their euphoric effects to needing them simply to feel normal and hold off withdrawal.

The brain must be balanced to operate properly and has a defensive systems to monitor and correct imbalances. If the brain encounters drug-induced over-stimulation occasionally, the brains defensive system respond to each as an individual event. However, if the Reward System is over-stimulated regularly over a long period of time, the brain learns to anticipate the over stimulation, prompting a much more powerful and long lasting – even permanent defensive reaction.

In other words, in the face of chronic over stimulation by drugs, the brain’s defensive systems cause physical and structural changes in the Reward Systems. Ultimately, adaptions that drug exposure elicits in individual neurons alter the functioning of those neurons, which in turn alters the functioning of neural circuits in which those neurons operate. This leads eventually to the complex behaviors that characterize an addictive state. Essentially, long term predictable drug abuse causes the brain to reprogram itself in defense. That’s what tolerance does.

However, since tolerance dulls the high that drugs evoke, users retaliate by taking more.They increase the amount of dopamine by increasing the dose and the frequency of drugs, or both, so they get the same reward they used to with less, before tolerance developed. The brain, in turn responds tries to counteract drug abuse by gumming up the reward system ever further while users compensate by taking more and more drugs. This prompts further brain change, which in turn elicits increasing drug taking, accelerating a continual downward spiral. That’s a  key reason addiction is a progressively worsening disease. The changes caused by tolerance establish what scientist refer to as a “new normal” for the addictive brain – a less effective Reward System.

There are ways to reverse the effect drugs have on the brain, it’s called recovery, and just as addiction is progressive, recovery is a process, when practiced can lead to a new life, rebuilding and refreshing the Reward System.

More will be revealed in upcoming posts, allow me to guide you on the journey of recovery.

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Dopamine and the Reward System

Dopamine and the Reward System play an important role in addiction. When a an addict uses an active drug it produces a high, overstimulating the brains reward system. Our brains are made up of cells called neurons. Neurons communicate with one another through an exchange of molecules called neurotransmitters, which are like keys that fit into locks called receptors on the surface of the brain. When a neurotransmitter locks onto a receptor, it transmits a message, either stimulating or depressing the neuron activity. This is called a synapse sending a message from one brain cell to another, it initiates a chain reaction along a neural-network sending messages around our brains. For the network to operate properly, these neurotransmitters and receptors must stay in proper balance. The brain detects imbalance and corrects them.

The Reward System is the neural network involved in feeling pleasure. This system is also central to learning and motivation. The primary neurotransmitter in the Reward System is Dopamine. If enough dopamine is released into the brains reward circuits, euphoria results.

Dopamine-based exhilaration is common experience, at least partially responsible just about anytime one experiences pleasure. A hug, a kiss, a word of praise, winning a game, can trigger a dopamine spike, resulting in pleasure. When your team hits a last second shot to win a basketball game and the team erupts in delirium, this is a rush of dopamine stimulating the brains reward system through the synapse rushing through the neural network, causing extreme pleasure.

Drugs create a high by increasing dopamine to the Reward System much like natural rewards do, just up to about 10 times more. If drugs are used only occasionally, the brain corrective systems restore proper balance once the drug wears off. But when drugs are abused and used excessively, the brain boosts it’s defensive reaction. The brain does this by increasing the tolerance levels. By doing this it makes the Reward System less efficient, muting the over stimulation caused by drugs. Once tolerance develops, it takes more drugs to achieve the same high.

If excessive drug use occurs over a long period of time, the brain keeps developing an accelerating tolerance level. This can result in physical permanent changes in the Reward System neurons of addicts. These changes not only alter the structure of the neurons, but also their function. This literally changes the way an addict thinks, resulting in behavior change such as denial, irrationality, and obsessive compulsive behaviors. and continual increased drug use.

There is however a way to adjust and correct this imbalance through abstinence and recovery practices. Addiction is a process, one does not become addicted in one day, as is recovery a process. The brain has the ability to correct the imbalance through the process of working recovery practices and realigning the thinking process. Recovery takes work and I am here to guide you in many different modalities and practice to bring you success.

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Addiction Defined

  • An obsessive and compulsive drug seeking behavior even in the face of negative health and social consequences
  • A progressive and fatal disease. It gets worse over time because of the way tolerance intensifies
  • It is a chronic relapsing disease, because long term drug use alters the brain structure and function. These brain changes remain months and even years after the last drug use, and leave the brain vulnerable to relapse long after withdrawal and treatment.

What makes addiction a disease is the brain becomes physically altered and different at a molecular and cellular level that from abuse of substances. These differences in the brains structure, causes the brain to malfunction, causing the way addicts think and behave. The obsessive and compulsive behaviors continue to intensify as use continues and the tolerance levels grow. Neuroscientist say that in addicts, normal balancing mechanism in the brain go haywire, allowing instinct like circuits to find drugs rewarding and hijack the brain functions, resulting in obsessive – compulsive drug use. This disease of the brain is constantly progressing due to increasing tolerance level rising.

These difference in the brains structure and functioning occur in the brains Limbic System, the network of the brain that is responsible for feeling pleasure and both positive and negative emotions. Substances including alcohol greatly overstimulate this network – by as much as 10 times that of a natural reward – to produce a high.

For most people alcohol and drugs are pleasurable but not life changing. However, for others, like those who have a genetic predisposition, drug induced over excitement of the Reward System causing a profound positive effect, change the perception that drugs are the solution to their deepest emotional problem. That euphoric feeling motivates them to take more and more drugs increasing their tolerance to higher levels, constantly seeking more drugs. They feel they are accessing the solution to emotional endeavor’s and creating more negative consequences and permanently altering the brain cells and in this Reward System.

Once a user goes beyond the point of no return the physical body, tolerance levels go into overload and now without the drugs the body reacts and takes the addict to another level that not only does the brain seek a solution in drugs the body becomes adjusted and react with physical craving. The disease spreads to different parts of the body depending on the substance and the physical body becomes dependent on it. That why Detox is such a tough physical ordeal for the addict. For the opioid user they become drug sick, for the alcoholic they get delirium tremens (DT’s). Without drugs or alcohol, the brain experiences a stimulation deficit and plunges into withdrawals. At this point the addict must continue to use to avoid this terrible fate of withdrawal and the substance use becomes compulsive, constantly seeking more to meet the tolerance levels that are being increased.

The Reward System of the brain has now created a “new normal” effecting the balance between emotional and intellectual brain systems. Ordinarily these two brain functions are equally balanced to affect the decision-making process. But in the addict’s, brain the abnormally excited Reward System gain an edge over corresponding rational systems. As a result, addicts over value the short term emotional need for drugs and under-value the rational consequences of substance use. This is all compounded by multi substance users.

In short, the drug induced molecular rewiring of the brain causes an imbalance that results in why addicts obsessively use drugs despite the worsening consequences and damage it causes in their lives, and why they cannot see a rational solution to their use.

There is a solution and recovery is possible. It is possible to rebuild and create a new life to repair brain functionality, and learn tools to assist in maintaining a clean and sober lifestyle. Like with addiction, you don’t become addicted in one day it a process. Recovery is also a process and there is different modality to recovery. Allow me to share these with you and learn more practices to help you and your loved one wake up from the nightmare of the disease of addiction and wake up to a new way of life.

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Jimmy’s Story – Blindsided by Addiction

Addiction is never wanted and even though it comes in many ways, sometimes it sneaks up and grabs the innocent. It affects the family in a way that is devastating with no understanding of why.

Jimmy C. is a young seventeen-year-old honor student who loves sports, ever since a young child he would excel at basketball and football and loved most of all when not playing to watch games with his dad. Jimmy played trumpet in the High School band when he was not playing on the field or the court. Raised in a Midwestern suburb, Jimmy has a sister two years younger than him a little brother who was eleven years old. The family went to church on Sundays and Mom and Dad both college graduates held well-paying jobs. The family had strong family values and Jimmy and his siblings were raised in a wholesome structured environment.

On a crisp Friday evening, on the home field of Jimmy’s high school he was on the field playing varsity football with his family in the stands to root him on. At the start of the second half of the game, Jimmy was on the field to receive the second half kick-off, he caught the ball on the 2-yard line and started up the field. As he crossed the 25-yard line he was hit both low and high by the defenders his body went one way his legs another. He took a hard blow and lay on the field. The coaches and the trainers ran out on the field they could see Jimmy in terrible pain and he couldn’t move. They carried him off the field and his parents rushed him to the hospital not even waiting for an ambulance. After arriving at the hospital Jimmy’s parents found out he had injured his knee and needed surgery.

After surgery and stint in physical therapy jimmy was determined to get back on in shape and get back on the field for his senior year. After surgery Jimmy was prescribed opiates for the pain. The injury was severe and the rehab would take months and months of physical therapy. Jimmy worked hard in physical therapy with the determination of getting back into the game by his senior year. Physical therapy was tough on this young boy and the pain always there. So, he did what he was told take his meds for the pain and keep focused on getting back in shape. Well there were times during his rehab that he would hurt so much after physical therapy he would take a pain pill so he could rest. The bottle said take 2 tablets as need for pain. Jimmy would take one in the morning and then another to help him get through the school day and another after physical therapy.

As his knee was healing, Jimmy felt as long as he was taking his medication all would be well. One morning in a rush to get to school he forgot to take his medication, before lunch he started to feel a little sick and his knee began to hurt so he had his medication and took some. Within a short period of time he felt better and went about his day. As the months moved on Jimmy’s mom would get him refills of his medication and thought that everything was coming along as planned his knee was getting better and he was tired a lot and she figured it was from him pushing so hard in physical therapy to get back in shape and on the field. The family talked of how they couldn’t wait for his senior year to see him on the field again.

Summer came and Jimmy who had always loved to go water skiing with the family, had to sit this summer out. So, the first few trips out with the family Jimmy went and it was no fun to sit in the boat or on shore so Jimmy stopped going. He would stay home on the weekend and go to the arcade play video games and hang out. As summer progressed the family noticed that Jimmy’s attitude was getting pretty negative and that he was not participating in family functions, sleeping late missing his Physical therapy appointments sometime and not wanting to be around people. Jimmy was about to be taken off his medication and kept insisting that he needed it to get passed the pain of physical therapy. By the time the summer ended if he didn’t take his meds he would get sick and when school started again Jimmy was a different person. He could not get any more medication from the doctor so he started buying them on the street. If he didn’t have them he would be sick. As the school year started Jimmy took to stealing money from his family to buy more meds. Then he found out that heroin was cheaper and did the same thing as the meds. Heroin is an opiate. Jimmy had started football practice and missed a lot of practices after school, and never hung out with his sister as he always had. He always had an excuse for being home late and his attitude got defensive.

Right around Halloween as the leaves are changing and chill is in the air. Jimmy’s mom gets a phone call from the school that Jimmy never made first period. Jimmy’s mom tried to reach him and when she couldn’t she went to the school to talk to his sister and she said he left early and she hadn’t seen him. Dad was called and the police notified and everyone was looking for Jimmy. Mom and dad drove all over town and now evening was coming. Jimmy’s sister had gone to a friend to wait and hear from mom and dad about Jimmy. Well Mom called his sister and said they were all going home, to walk home and wait and they would be there soon to here from the police. Jimmy’s sister walked home and waited, she turned on the TV and waited for Mom and Dad. Mom and Dad got there and everyone was frantic. Home about an hour and the police knocked on their door, they had found Jimmy. The news was sad they found him under some bushes in the park behind the school, Jimmy was dead from an overdose. It looked to them as if he was left for dead, they found paraphernalia by the body. No family should have to bury their child.

This disease is subtle, it’s cunning, baffling and powerful. It is not the old-world stigma that this can’t happen to me. This can happen to any family. There is an epidemic in our country and there is a way out of this nightmare. There are solutions, and recovery has happened for millions of people around the world. If you or your family is struggling with this disease. I will help you find solutions. As I have said before each person’s path to recovery is different, but the journey is the same.

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Helping Those with Addiction

What I have experienced in my time as an Addiction Recovery Specialist is that addiction comes in many forms, substance abuse, food, sex gambling and more. Addiction is one of the most misunderstood diseases we encounter over a lifetime. It not only attacks the physical part of a person, it breaks them mentally as well as breaks the spirit of a person.

What if I told you there was a way to free yourself from your self imposed prison, and you had the key. Would you use it, to unlock you from the nightmare of your addiction. You ask well how do I find this key? You have had it all along, it’s within you, The key to finding and living a life of recovery is working from the inside out.

No one ever wants to become addicted to anything and addiction is a process. As recovery is a process. There are many paths to addiction and there are many different roads to recovery. Recovery does not only affect the addict it affects the whole family.

Addiction is a mental illness, that as it progresses breaks down the addicts ability to think and in time to feel and the behaviors behind this addictive thinking lead to self destructive actions.  Breaking down core beliefs and values. For each addict it is different, yet there are successful practices and paths that allow to addict to rediscover themselves and rebuild there lives. It is a process none as recovery. Just as cancer in the body can be put into remission, so recovery can be put into remission. The practices and  road to recovery teach you that we cannot solve a problem with the same mind that created it. It may sound a bit odd, yet the addict had lost his or her sense of reality and must learn  that they are able to rewrite a new agreement with reality. Form a new foundation of core beliefs that serve them not their disease. An addict did not become an addict in one day it was a process, accidental or intentional makes no difference. Their are solutions and we do recover. The paths to recovery may be different for each addict, yet the journey is still the same. As is said: Keep coming back it works if you work it.