The ABSOLUTE Cruciality of Finding EFFECTIVE Rehab for Drug Addiction 

As of this writing, there are few (if any) health crises as dire as our nation's drug epidemic.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics for Disease Control and Prevention's latest statistics from 2017, drug overdoses contributed to over 70,000 fatalities. With the opioid crisis intensifying each year, that number is likely even higher coming into the year 2020.

To make matters worse, the ever-rising trend of overdose-related deaths, parents of young adults and teens are having a difficult time locating drug rehabilitation that is clinically effective in rehabilitating their child's potentially fatal drug habits.

As Vox reported earlier this week, parents like Michel Cote, whose daughters are currently in recovery for meth and opioid addictions, are spending thousands of dollars and precious years of their child's life (in Michel's daughters' cases, over $200,000 and a decade in and out of ineffective treatment programs) before finally finding a treatment facility that works - and that's if they're lucky.

“I got to a point where I didn’t think anything would work,” Cote, who lives in Silicon Valley, said. “I actually thought that this was probably hopeless, and it was just a matter of time until the big disaster hits. But we had to keep trying.”

So What are Parents of Young Addicts in Need of Immediate, Clinically and Cost-Effective Treatment to do? 

According to experts, a large factor in locating the most effective drug rehabs comes down to locating the most individualized treatment one can afford. That said, parents of addicted young men and women should avoid programs considered to be a "one-size-fits-all" type of treatment facility that only offers generalized, non-specific rehabilitation-therapy to its diverse clientele. 

Beyond that, those seeking treatment can narrow their search by asking the following questions of any prospective treatment facility:

• Do you diagnose and treat physical and mental health conditions, besides addiction?
• Do you include medications for addiction in your treatment program, and what role do they play?
• What do you do to ensure someone remains in recovery in the long term?

Read the full article at https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2019/10/9/20887787/drug-rehab-addiction-treatment-facilities-inpatient-outpatient

Looking for drug rehab? It can be extremely difficult — and horribly expensive. In some cases, families spend years and thousands of dollars before they find treatment that works.

Michel Cote, whose two daughters are now in recovery from opioid and meth addictions, said it took his family 10 years and $200,000 to find a small clinic that finally helped.

“I got to a point where I didn’t think anything would work,” Cote, who lives in Silicon Valley, said. “I actually thought that this was probably hopeless, and it was just a matter of time until the big disaster hits. But we had to keep trying.”

Drug rehab: how to find good addiction treatment  Vox.com

Not Ready for a Treatment Center?

If you're concerned about your teen, trauma, or detrimental online behaviours, but still looking to explore other options before treatment, there may be other interventions before seeking professional assistance. 

Helping your teen find a passion outside of the virtual world and a place to reconnect may be crucial. They need to find a place where they can socialize and push themselves towards a goal. This is a great way to break an addiction or heal from trauma. Studies show that team sports can be a great outlet for youth and teens to develop skills and friendships with like-minded individuals. Participants in team sports can build lasting relationships that help break the cycle of internet and electronic addiction or overcome past trauma. It creates a support network they can rely on outside of parents and family that can be crucial for their growth.

The study highlighted above found that, "The results suggest the effectiveness of and need for sport and physical activity in Internet addiction treatment programs and for other addictions as well. Moreover, sports participation has a wider variety of psychological and physical benefits unlike intervention strategies or pharmacological treatments. Thus, the adoption of sports needs to be broadened from physical development to treating diverse psychological problems among adolescents." Sports may also help kids and teens dealing with trauma.

Any struggling teen, may feel lethargic and unmotivated when contemplating the idea of being active again in organized sports or socializing. A good, natural way to give them motivation to get in the gym or on a sports team and to have the energy for it is through a pre-workout. These provide a caffeine boost as well as other benefits which can make someone feeling sluggish, full of enthusiasm in a matter of minutes.

If your teen is not at a point where you think you need professional help, seeking help on your own through sports club teams may be a solution.

Finding a Sports Team and Getting Excited

It's best to talk to your teen about what their interests are and to make suggestions to try to point them in the right direction. Trying to force them could backfire, but gently coaxing them into a team sport can do wonders for their addiction, anxiety, or help heal their past trauma as long as you find the right endeavor to pursue.

Some sports are hard to break into in your teens, but a sport that seems to draw the world together is soccer. It doesn't cost much for a ball and a net, and it's the most viewed sport in the world. One way to help them get excited about soccer is through viewing matches and finding a team they love. A great resource for discovering futbol or soccer teams is through futbol libre.

Watching matches together is a great way to bond as a family and build on the excitement of the sport together. Once the interest is there, there are many resources to find both indoor and outdoor teams depending on the state you live in. US Youth Soccer is great resource to find ways to get involved as a player, coach, or administrator. Finding ways to get the whole family, or at least, a parent and child, involved together increases the chances of it becoming a lifetime passion and breaking addiction to video games and the internet. 

Options Outside of Sports

Sometimes teens are resitant to sports or show no interest, so what other options are there? Studies show that being outdoors is one of the best ways to reset and give your mental health a boost. In the linked article above, Mclean Hospital wrote that, "Because time in the outdoors offers the benefit of mental rest and rejuvenation, it has been shown to improve memory, attention, impulse control, and creativity in the general population. For example, in children, it has led to improved school performance."

Your circadian rhythm can be reset by sun exposure in the morning and evenings as well. Electronic addiction can rob teens of sleep and exposing yourself to the sun, daily, helps fix sleeping issues. A well-rested teen is more capable of resisting temptation and improving their outlook each day than one who is chronically sleep deprived.  

So get your teen into nature anyway you can with family trips or daily exursions. Make time outside a priority for your whole family and see the difference.

If you still need help, wilderness therapry could be an option. The Aspiro Adventure Therapy Program has excellent resources and activities to help teens kick addiction, heal from past trauma, socialize, and learn to love life again in an outdoor setting.

For more information, please email them at [email protected]