Why would you consider getting treatment? You may have become dependent on taking prescription pills, smoking marijuana, drinking alcohol, injecting heroin or smoking cigarettes. There are other dependencies too. You may have a problem with shopping, gambling or sex. Or, you may suffer from depression, an eating disorder, anxiety or an obsessive compulsive disorder. All of these situations can drastically affect your ability to live a healthy, happy lifestyle. By living without treatment you have so much to lose. You may spend too much money on your addiction or you could lose your sense of self, your job, your family or even your life. Fortunately, treatment these days is very advanced. There isn’t a “cure-all” drug or course of action taken for every situation.
The first step is always admitting. Tell someone that you are suffering. Let a loved one know that your behavior is out of control and you need help to stop. Some of these situations are beyond your control at this point, and the only choice is treatment.
Maybe your loved one is completely unaware of the affects that their behavior has on you and your family. You have tried talking to them, ignoring them, or even threatening them, but no luck. You may need the help of an interventionist. What an interventionist does is organizes the family members and loved ones to help create a “bottom” for the individual which encourages them to go to treatment.
Here are some examples of different types of treatments:
- Drug treatment
- Alcohol treatment
- Eating disorder treatment
- Anxiety treatment
- Depression treatment
- Gambling addiction treatment
- Sex addiction treatment
- Obsessive compulsive disorder treatment
- Quit smoking treatment
There are several different types of treatment programs and several levels of treatment. Determining what type of treatment your loved one needs depends on the drug or addiction, their personality, physical or mental illness, spiritual or religious background, and the ability to afford treatment. You may need a medical detoxification before entering treatment. What this means is that you would be under the care of a doctor who will monitor you and help to ease the withdrawal symptoms.
Once you enter a treatment program you will be assessed. A qualified counselor will ask you several questions to get a good idea of where you are. It is important to be completely honest with your therapist, so they can place you in the proper program. The counselor may suggest psychotherapy, 12-step groups, cognitive behavioral therapy, group therapy, art therapy or other creative ways to assist you in healing. You may be dually diagnosed, which means you have more than one disorder. For example, you may be an alcoholic and have bipolar disorder. It is possible in some treatment centers to treat both conditions at the same time. You may even have an underlying mental condition that you aren’t even aware of. Don’t be afraid. There are so many different types of treatment programs and treatment styles, just keep researching until you find the one that fits all of your needs. The main thing is to not go untreated. You only live once, and you deserve to live a happy, joyous and free life.
[page updated February 2009]