Rehabilitation Centres

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Rehabilitation Centres

29 October, 2021Articles, News

“Rehab” – is a word that has the potential to conjure up a range of mixed emotions. Unfortunately, due to the stigma around addiction, rehabilitation centres can have a negative perception attached to them, which may deter people from initiating the process. What we aim to do in this article is to outline some of the aspects of an inpatient programme as a way of preparing potential clients and their families for the process of recovering from an addiction.

Detox and Withdrawal

Depending on the type and quantity of the substances that a client has used, he/she will undergo a detoxification process as the body withdraws from the effects of drugs and alcohol. The extent of this detox varies from person-to-person. What you can expect is that a medical physician will be appointed to the client, to monitor their wellbeing and ensure that the physical side effects of withdrawal will be minimised. Choosing to detox without medical supervision may be fatal. Quitting “cold turkey” can lead to serious issues such as seizures and severe dehydration.

Information Sessions

Clients who book into rehabilitation centres will be empowered through knowledge around aspects such as the disease theory of addiction, what life in recovery entails as well as the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual impact of addiction. During these sessions, clients will have a chance to engage with their peers and ask questions in an open and inclusive forum. Awareness alone however, is not the key to long-term recovery, which is why rehabilitation centres take a multi-pronged approach to treatment.

One-on-One Counselling

Every client is assigned a counsellor at the onset of his/her treatment process. That counsellor will guide the client through the recovery process, talk about deep-seated issues and help to unpack their addictive thought patterns. Clients respond differently to counselling. While some may be resistant to the process, it quickly becomes clear that opening up and sharing with someone who can be trusted, is integral to getting and feeling better.

Group Therapy

Group therapy involves a counsellor or group facilitator hosting a session in which clients are invited to participate. Active participation is encouraged. In this environment, clients can challenge each other, share their experience and learn from the experience of others. Group therapy has proven extremely effective in the treatment of addiction.

Introduction to the 12-Step Fellowships

After treatment, one of the most effective ways of staying clean and sober and finding a new way of life, is found in the rooms of Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous. South Africa has strong fellowships within NA and AA, with members who are readily available to provide free support for people who have entered recovery. Rehabilitation centres will ensure that clients attend these meetings during treatment in order to start building valuable connections with others in recovery.

These aspects of the rehabilitation process are not exhaustive. Our programme is comprehensive and based on years of experience and collective expertise in the field. If you or a loved one are battling an addiction and need assistance – know that help is readily available. The road to recovery is not always an easy one, but getting yourself or your loved one the best care from the team at Crossroads Recovery Centre, provides you with a map to sober, healthy living. No matter how bad things seem, there is hope and it’s just a phone call away. If you or anyone close to you needs help with an addiction to sex, gambling, substances, alcohol or food, please contact us for a free assessment.

www.crossroadsrecovery.co.za

074 89 51043 JHB

012 450 5033 PTA

No Obligation Addiction Assessment

Book a No Obligation Confidential Assessment at your nearest Treatment Centre Today.

Johannesburg Admissions: +27 74 895 1043
Pretoria Admissions: +27 82 653 3311
Close

Stories of Recovery

  • The encouragement, love and support from the team at Crossroads allowed me to eventually see that I was worth something - that my life could be turned around and that I could accomplish the things that had long been a forgotten dream.
    Oliver VG
    Read more
  • On the last day of my stint at Crossroads I could only express gratitude towards all who works there. A wise councillor once commented on my question when one is ready for rehab by explaining that when one is ready for rehab, rehab is ready for you.
    Johan B
    Read more
  • I was lost and my soul was broken until I ended up at Crossroads and was introduced to the Twelve Steps. With the help of their excellent staff and amazing support I have recently been clean for 18 months, I could not have done it without them!
    Carla S
    Read more
  • "Just for today I am more than three years in recovery. I have Cross Roads to thank for this wonderful gift. Cross Roads helped me to set a firm foundation in my recovery on which I can continue to build."
    Angelique J
    Read more
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BASIC REHABILITATION OPTIONS AND RECOVERY

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Home / Posts tagged "12 Steps" (Page 3)

BASIC REHABILITATION OPTIONS AND RECOVERY

27 October, 2021Articles, News

Rehabilitation is a process that begins with abstinence and requires deep mental, emotional and spiritual change. For addicts struggling with substance abuse, entering rehab may be a daunting proposition but for thousands of people who go on to lead successful lives after active addiction, it is the beginning of a long-term solution. There are a number of rehabilitation options for substance abuse in South Africa. Some addicts turn to religion for the answer while others turn to psychiatry and alternative medicine for help. At Crossroads Recovery Centre, we believe that the most effective option is a combination of a number of therapeutic techniques and the integration of 12-step recovery.

A 12-step programme is a set of principles that assists people suffering from alcohol abuse and addiction by providing action steps, which will guide them into a life of recovery.

In 1939, Alcoholics Anonymous published its original 12-step method of recovery from alcoholism in the book Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More Than One Hundred Men Have Recovered from Alcoholism. Many programmes have started as offshoots of the original Alcoholics Anonymous programme. These problems include all addictions and support groups for families affected by addiction /alcoholism.

In 12-step drug treatment programmes, recovery is discussing the effects of addiction—physical, emotional, mental and spiritual—and responding with specific actions.

Dimensions of a 12-step programme:

  • Step work: Doing written work from a 12-step guide book, which will help you to progress through the 12 Steps.
  • Sponsorship: “A sponsor is simply another addict, who has completed the 12 Steps in his or her recovery process, and is willing to share their experience with another member and guide them through the Twelve Steps as they were guided.”
  • A group setting: The 12 steps of recovery are discussed and members share their personal experience strength and hope with each other.
  • Higher power: A personal concept of a power greater than yourself and your addiction that can help you to recover.
  • Service: Being of service to others as referred to by the 12th step.

The 12-step programme serves as a guide to spiritual growth and fills the void created by addiction and gives an opportunity for a better way of life.

The 12 Steps

  1. Admitting our problem: We admitted we were powerless over our addiction, that our lives had become unmanageable.
  2. Finding hope: Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
  3. Surrender: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of a power greater than ourselves.
  4. Take personal inventory: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
  5. Sharing your inventory: Admit to a higher power, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
  6. Becoming ready: Were entirely ready to have a higher power remove all these defects of character.
  7. Humility: Having the humility to ask for help with our shortcomings.
  8. Making a list of amends: Make a list of all those we have harmed and make amends to them all.
  9. Make amends: Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
  10. Continue inventory: Take a personal inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
  11. Conscious contact with a higher power: Through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious and contact with ourselves, humanity and/ a higher power.
  12. Helping others: Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps we try to carry this message to alcoholics/addicts and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

If you or a loved one are seeking help with rehabilitation options, know that help is readily available. If you or a loved one needs assistance with an addiction – know that help is readily available. We have an experienced team which includes medical staff to assist with safe medical detox where necessary. The road to recovery is not always an easy one but getting yourself or your loved one the best possible care from the team at Crossroads Recovery Centre, provides you with a map to sober, healthy living. No matter how bad things seem, there is hope and it’s only a phone call away. If you or anyone close to you needs help with an addiction to sex,  gambling,  substances,  alcohol  or food, please contact us for a free assessment.

www.crossroadsrecovery.co.za

074 89 51043 JHB

012 450 5033 PTA

Reference
https://www.aa.org/pages/en_US/read-the-big-book-and-twelve-steps-and-twelve-traditions

No Obligation Addiction Assessment

Book a No Obligation Confidential Assessment at your nearest Treatment Centre Today.

Johannesburg Admissions: +27 74 895 1043
Pretoria Admissions: +27 82 653 3311
Close

Stories of Recovery

  • The encouragement, love and support from the team at Crossroads allowed me to eventually see that I was worth something - that my life could be turned around and that I could accomplish the things that had long been a forgotten dream.
    Oliver VG
    Read more
  • On the last day of my stint at Crossroads I could only express gratitude towards all who works there. A wise councillor once commented on my question when one is ready for rehab by explaining that when one is ready for rehab, rehab is ready for you.
    Johan B
    Read more
  • I was lost and my soul was broken until I ended up at Crossroads and was introduced to the Twelve Steps. With the help of their excellent staff and amazing support I have recently been clean for 18 months, I could not have done it without them!
    Carla S
    Read more
  • "Just for today I am more than three years in recovery. I have Cross Roads to thank for this wonderful gift. Cross Roads helped me to set a firm foundation in my recovery on which I can continue to build."
    Angelique J
    Read more
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What is Porn Addiction?

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Home / Posts tagged "12 Steps" (Page 3)

What is Porn Addiction?

13 October, 2021Articles, News

Porn addiction is a behavioural disorder classified by people who experience difficulties with all-consuming sexual thoughts and behaviours. Their compulsions to watch pornography consequently can create emotional fall-outs such as stress, mood swings, depression or anxiety. People struggling with porn addiction problems tend to find they live a “double life” which may result in them pulling away from significant life events and relationships with others.

These behaviours may often be linked to intimacy-related issues or the inability to communicate or connect on interpersonal levels with a romantic partner. Porn addiction and the underlying fantasies they offer allow people an “escape” from having to confront their reality. This may include the unpredictability of real-life interpersonal relationships, their fears of rejection, judgement or past trauma which may all often trigger emotionally painful events. In some cases, the side-effect is that porn is simply being used to avoid certain situations.

Historically the medical field has described addiction as a chronic relapsing disorder, or continued use of illicit substances (including alcohol) despite the negative consequences that result from prolonged use. It is when someone abuses substances such as alcohol or drugs to the point where their body becomes overly dependent on the substance to function. As the physiology of an addict’s or alcoholic’s body is different from the average person, their use of substances/alcohol creates a physical craving for more each time either is consumed. But how does this explain porn addiction problems and a non-substance related addictions such as a porn addiction?

While many people understand the addiction to alcohol or drugs, not everyone realises how viewing pornographic material obsessively, being exposed to sexual imagery or videos can be extremely addictive; especially since it’s not a physical intake of a chemical or substance that they put into their body. However, pornography and porn addiction problems can still activate regions in the brain that are associated with motivation and reward – such as the dopamine system.

Porn addiction is when the brain becomes dependent on pornography to experience dopamine surges; therefore, it may cause a lack of control over their sexual behaviour. The obsessive and compulsive behaviour of viewing pornography is the brain’s demanding need for stimulus, and each time the act of viewing occurs so does a release of dopamine. However, over time, the body stops providing as much dopamine as it did when first engaged with porn – which means people begin to watch it more often or view more extreme pornographic scenes to receive the same pleasure. The constant craving for these dopamine surges can reduce the brain’s response to ordinary stimuli. Which in turn increases the desperate need to view more pornographic content more frequently and dependency is established.

What are the side-effects of porn addiction?

The side effects of porn addiction problems may vary from person to person, and some scenarios will require formal treatment.

As porn addiction is a deeply private, fantasy-driven realm for individuals, and is a classic “escape” from an otherwise mundane or routine driven existence, a person’s real life tends to become less of a priority and riskier behaviours begin to emerge. Obsessive thoughts and compulsive sexual behaviours begin to displace relationships and negatively harm a person’s real life in terms of work and other relationships.

When a person starts to avoid their lives in favour of their routine escapes- their fantasy begins to overtake the importance of their reality and consequentially impacts their well-being. This cycle can often result in feeling disconnected from others. It also tends to manifest in other addictions or co-occurring destructive behaviours such as eating disorders, depression, chronic stress, depression and anxiety.  As porn addiction problems are considered an intimacy disorder, it becomes hard for a person to mask the underlying need to escape to porn or “wanting to leave” everyday scenarios to satisfy a porn craving. Often people with porn addiction problems may at times get angry or hostile, or even just irritable when they are asked to stop engaging with pornography or forced to endure events/situations where porn viewing may not be available.

Another marked side-effect of porn addiction includes the secrecy involved in their attempts to “hide” their use of porn from loved ones. This, in turn, creates the sense of living a “double” or “secret” life that is directly attributed to obsessive porn use and has a negative impact on critical things like attending work, events or prioritising personal well-being and relationships. With any case of classifiable addiction, there is a distinct sense of personal powerlessness or an inability to stop the behaviour for any length of time.

If you or a loved one are battling a porn addiction and need assistance – know that help is readily available. The road to recovery is not always an easy one, but getting yourself or your loved one the best care from the team at Crossroads Recovery Centre, provides you with a map to sober, healthy living. No matter how bad things seem, there is hope and it’s just a phone call away. If you or anyone close to you needs help with an addiction to sex, gambling, substances, alcohol or food, please contact us for a free assessment.

www.crossroadsrecovery.co.za

074 89 51043 JHB

012 450 5033 PTA

No Obligation Addiction Assessment

Book a No Obligation Confidential Assessment at your nearest Treatment Centre Today.

Johannesburg Admissions: +27 74 895 1043
Pretoria Admissions: +27 82 653 3311
Close

Stories of Recovery

  • The encouragement, love and support from the team at Crossroads allowed me to eventually see that I was worth something - that my life could be turned around and that I could accomplish the things that had long been a forgotten dream.
    Oliver VG
    Read more
  • On the last day of my stint at Crossroads I could only express gratitude towards all who works there. A wise councillor once commented on my question when one is ready for rehab by explaining that when one is ready for rehab, rehab is ready for you.
    Johan B
    Read more
  • I was lost and my soul was broken until I ended up at Crossroads and was introduced to the Twelve Steps. With the help of their excellent staff and amazing support I have recently been clean for 18 months, I could not have done it without them!
    Carla S
    Read more
  • "Just for today I am more than three years in recovery. I have Cross Roads to thank for this wonderful gift. Cross Roads helped me to set a firm foundation in my recovery on which I can continue to build."
    Angelique J
    Read more
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Addiction – what does it mean ?

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Home / Posts tagged "12 Steps" (Page 3)

Addiction – what does it mean ?

06 October, 2021Articles, News

Addiction comes in many forms, alcohol and drug addiction being the most well-known. Alcohol and drug addiction are defined as the loss of control over the use of a substance. There are other ways of acting out in addiction that can be just as harmful to the person. Gambling, sex addiction, food addiction and other addictive behaviours are the equivalent of drug and alcohol addiction as they too result in a loss of control and powerlessness as well as loss of family support, financial insecurity, legal problems and health problems. These consequences, when they do occur, are very real and devastating to the addict and their families.

Alcohol Addiction

Alcoholism is characterised by compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcohol, binge drinking, blackouts and irresponsible behaviour when under the influence. Missing work, school or important occasions, social withdrawal and isolation are all symptoms of alcoholism.

http://www.aasouthafrica.org.za/

Drug Addiction

Drug addiction is the compulsive use of a chemical substance despite the negative effects, health risks, loss of social standing, financial risks, risky behaviour, which may lead to an active engagement in criminal activities to support a drug habit. This may be followed by arrests and confinement in prison or institutions, loss of family and friends, social withdrawal and isolation. Commonly used drugs are heroin, cocaine, marijuana, crack cocaine, CAT, crystal methamphetamine or tik, prescription medication, GHB, ecstasy and LSD.

http://www.na.org.za/

Sex addiction

The term “sexual addiction” is used to describe the behaviour of a person who has an unusually intense sex drive or an obsession with sex. Sex and the thought of sex tend to dominate the sex addict’s thinking, making it difficult to work or engage in healthy personal relationships.

Sex addicts engage in distorted thinking, often rationalising and justifying their behaviour and blaming others for problems. They generally deny they have a problem and make excuses for their actions.
Sex addiction is also associated with risk-taking. A person with an addiction to sex, engages in various forms of sexual activity, despite the potential for negative and/or dangerous consequences. In addition to damaging the addicts relationships and interfering with his or her work and social life, a sexual addiction also puts the person at risk for emotional and physical injury.

http://www.sexaa.org/
http://www.slaafws.org/

Gambling

Addictive Gambling is as destructive if not more so then any drug or alcohol addiction. Compulsive gamblers lie, steal and wreak havoc with their finances in order to get there “fix”. Unable to control themselves, they will gamble their life savings away and in the process, put tremendous strain on their relationships with friends and families. The next big win is always only one bet away and sadly never comes. There is no such thing as a big enough win for the addicted gambler to stop. Unfortunately this addiction does often not receive the attention it deserves and many gamblers may resort to suicide as the only way out of their addiction.

http://www.responsiblegambling.co.za/

Food addiction

Food addiction is a contemporary term used to describe a pathological disorder; the compulsive, excessive craving for and consumption of food. This condition is not only manifested by the abnormal intake of food, but the intake and craving for foods that are, in themselves, harmful to the individual. While society and the medical profession have readily understood alcoholism and drug abuse, it is only in recent years that there is an equal acceptance of the fact that persons may be addicted to food in the same way. When any substance is taken into the body regardless of its potential for harm or in excess of need, that substance is said to be abused. Individuals who abuse substances in such a way are addicts; these persons become physiologically and mentally dependent upon certain substances, in this case food.

http://www.foodaddicts.org/

If you or anyone close to you needs help with an addiction to sex, gambling, substances, alcohol or food, please contact us for a free assessment. Crossroads rehabilitation centres offer many options for recovery, including an outpatient programme. Contact us for advice on how to best proceed with your recovery. The road to recovery is not always an easy one but getting yourself or your loved one the best possible care from the team at Crossroads Recovery Centre, provides you with a map to sober, healthy living. No matter how bad things seem, there is hope and it’s only a phone call away.

www.crossroadsrecovery.co.za

074 89 51043 JHB

012 450 5033 PTA

No Obligation Addiction Assessment

Book a No Obligation Confidential Assessment at your nearest Treatment Centre Today.

Johannesburg Admissions: +27 74 895 1043
Pretoria Admissions: +27 82 653 3311
Close

Stories of Recovery

  • The encouragement, love and support from the team at Crossroads allowed me to eventually see that I was worth something - that my life could be turned around and that I could accomplish the things that had long been a forgotten dream.
    Oliver VG
    Read more
  • On the last day of my stint at Crossroads I could only express gratitude towards all who works there. A wise councillor once commented on my question when one is ready for rehab by explaining that when one is ready for rehab, rehab is ready for you.
    Johan B
    Read more
  • I was lost and my soul was broken until I ended up at Crossroads and was introduced to the Twelve Steps. With the help of their excellent staff and amazing support I have recently been clean for 18 months, I could not have done it without them!
    Carla S
    Read more
  • "Just for today I am more than three years in recovery. I have Cross Roads to thank for this wonderful gift. Cross Roads helped me to set a firm foundation in my recovery on which I can continue to build."
    Angelique J
    Read more
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