Tag: addiction facts

Man screaming in anger after being triggered

What Kinds of Triggers May Cause an Addiction Relapse?

If you are recovering from an addiction to any substance, it is crucial that you become aware of common triggers that could potentially lead to a relapse. By understanding what could trigger or lead to a relapse, you can make sure to avoid these triggers so that you can continue living a sober life.

What Is a Trigger for Addiction?

Any social, emotional, or environmental situation that brings up memories of drug or alcohol use in the past or encourages you to revisit this time period in your life is considered a trigger. Triggers can stir up strong emotions that may give you the impulse to go back to using a substance that you formerly abused.

Although experiencing a trigger does not necessarily mean that you will relapse as a result, triggers can make it more challenging to resist the cravings that they produce. When you are happily living a sober life, experiencing a trigger event is an unwanted distraction.

What Common Triggers Can Cause a Relapse?

One of the most common triggers that can lead to an addiction relapse is stress. It is difficult to live a life completely void of any stress, so if stress is a trigger for you, it can be helpful to find ways to strengthen your coping skills. With stronger coping skills, the stress you experience in life may not have such a negative impact.

Other triggers that you should be aware of when it comes to addiction relapse include:

  • Certain feelings and emotions, such as feeling angry, tired, or lonely
  • Social isolation
  • Romantic relationships under certain circumstances
  • Situations in which drugs or alcohol are readily available
  • Mental or physical illness
  • Moving to a new residence
  • Changing jobs
  • Other people, particularly those with whom you used to abuse substances

Tharros House

If you live a sober lifestyle and are actively working to avoid triggers and setbacks to maintain your sobriety, a sober living home might be the right choice for you. Give us a call today to learn more about Tharros House and find out if we can help.

Addiction Hereditary in Boston Massachusetts

Is Addiction Hereditary?

When it comes to addiction, a question many people have is whether or not addiction is hereditary. Substantial research has been done on this topic, and there does seem to evidence that addiction may be hereditary. Specifically, there appears to be a connection between genetics and addiction to drugs or alcohol. If one or both of your parents has suffered from addiction, it does not necessarily mean that you will also have an addiction—it would just make you more susceptible to it and more likely to have one than the average person.

Genetic Links Associated with Addiction

Presently, scientists believe that heredity accounts for approximately half of the risk that a person has of developing an addiction. This understanding is based on the analysis of patterns of inheritance. It is important to remember that addiction is a medical illness, so it develops in the same way as many other illnesses. It is not simply a “choice,” as some people believe it to be.

How Does Someone Develop an Addiction?

In many cases, addiction occurs when a person with an underlying genetic vulnerability becomes exposed to an environment that triggers the addiction. When it comes to drug and alcohol addiction, stress is one of the common environmental factors that contribute to the development of the addiction.

Another environmental factor includes the availability of the addictive substance. Often, the surroundings in which people grow up in dictate what they crave and contribute to how they act—but ultimately, a person has the choice whether or not to consume alcohol or try a drug in the first place.

For individuals who have gotten sober and want to maintain their sobriety by living with other sober people, a sober living home is a great option. Contact the Tharros House today to learn more about the benefits of sober living homes.

Addiction Treatment on Doctor's Tablet

Addiction Treatment

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It’s easy to get confused about addiction treatment, particularly for those who are new to the process.  There are many resources, including addiction counseling, addiction therapy, addiction articles, addiction groups, and addiction centers or recovery centers.  There are 3 main stages to the recovery process, which is a good place to start.

Addiction Treatment Stages

Addiction treatment can be broadly categorized in 3 different stages: Detox, inpatient or residential treatment, and aftercare or continuing care.

Detox is the process of freeing the body from the substance and physical addiction.  In most cases, it’s highly recommended to have a medically supervised detox, which means that you’re entering a detox center.  Depending upon the drug and individual’s use history, this process can range from 3 days to a week, or longer.  While some detox centers will introduce some information about recovery, their primary purpose is to detoxify the body, not to treat addiction behavior.

Inpatient or residential treatment is what people commonly refer to as a treatment center or addiction rehab.  Some centers are in hospitals (inpatient) while others are in a residential environment (residential).  Both require patients to stay overnight at the facility and treatment programs range usually from 2 weeks to 3 months, or more.  During this period, patients undergo various forms of therapeutic intervention which can include both individual and group therapies.  The goal is to provide the patient with a foundation of recovery knowledge so that they may continue the process after this initial treatment period.

Aftercare or continuing care is what happens after leaving an overnight program.  This may include some form of structured transitional living (sober living), an intensive outpatient program (IOP), individual therapy, group therapy, and recovery fellowships like AA or NA.  Essentially, aftercare includes everything you do after you leave the treatment center in order to continue your recovery work.

Addiction Services

When someone goes into a treatment facility, they are provided a number of treatment services.  After leaving this intensive treatment environment, it’s important to connect with local services where he or she can continue recovery while transitioning to a sober lifestyle.  Many treatment centers will help find these resource, which are geared to help prevent addiction relapse.

Sober Living is an Addiction Recovery Residence

A sober living, sober house, or recovery residence, is a place designed to provide a safe and supportive community while transitioning from a treatment center.  While many sober living environments accept a multitude of clients with various recovery experiences, most high standard homes will require that every client has undergone some form of primary treatment for addiction.  These homes are designed to provide support and there is a broad spectrum to what they offer.  At Tharros House in Lexington, we offer a highly supportive and structured environment where clients attend morning meetings, participate in sober activities, group equine therapy, and learn life skills through events like our cooking classes.  Tharros House also offers case management to ensure that each client is connected with excellent addiction services and support programs.

Where should I start

At Tharros House, I get many calls from family members of those in an active addiction.  While they are looking to us for their solution, we don’t provide the services that are offered in the first two stages, detox and inpatient or residential treatment.   There are many great treatment centers throughout the United States, many of which cater to a particular kind of client or form of treatment.  Some are 12 step based, others use alternative treatment modalities.

While we are not affiliated with any addiction treatment program, below are some which we recommend for detox and/or addiction treatment.  Please give us a call if you have questions about Tharros House or where to start.  We will be happy to share some resources which may helpful for your particular situation.   You can reach Tharros House at 617-697-1218.

Serenity at Summit (Haverhill, MA)

McLean Fernside (Princeton, MA) and Borden Cottage (Camden, Maine)

McLean Hospital (Belmont MA)

Mountainside Treatment Center (Cannan, CT)

Spring Hill by Sunspire Health (Ashby, MA)

New England Recovery Center (Marlboro, MA)