Ringsend & District Response to Drugs 

What help is available?

Making the decision to go into treatment is potentially life-changing but finding a programme that suits you is also an important choice.

To give yourself the best chance of success you need to choose a treatment programme that suits your circumstances. The best option will probably not be the ‘easiest’ one, as any treatment for addiction is going to be a difficult, challenging experience.

 

 

Treatment Programme

An effective treatment programme will invite you to see yourself as more than your addiction, and to recognise your harmful behaviours as symptoms of some deeper insecurity. It will ask you the question:”Why do you do the things that you do?”

If you are really willing to engage in treatment you will already realise that the buzz or high that attracted you to using in the first place has become more of a trap than an escape, and you are ready to learn a new way of being in the world.Effective treatment helps you to unravel the causes behind your addiction, to explore the possibility of beginning to enjoy a new life, simply as yourself, away from drugs and alcohol. A good rehabilitation programme will guide and support you in analysing your relationships with friends and family, looking at how you see your place in the world around you, and ultimately your relationship with yourself.

 

 

Know when I need help

You may have been taking drugs or drinking alcohol for some time and feel that you have been coping well.

Not everyone who uses drugs or alcohol needs help. However, there may come a time when your drinking or drug use has become problematic or out of control and you need to seek professional help.

 

Factors

There are a number of factors that you can measure yourself against, to help you to decide if you need help.

This list will not apply to everyone and there may be factors in your life that indicate that you have a problem that do not appear here, everyone deals with using drugs and or alcohol in different ways. This guide can also be used by a parent or a friend who wants to help an individual.

Ask yourself the following questions:

If you answer yes to more than one question, it may be wise to seek help now:

 

• Do you spend a lot of your day thinking about taking drugs or having your next drink?

• Do you find that you need more and more drugs or alcohol to get the same feeling?

• Are you tired all the time but can’t relax or sleep?

• Do you suffer from bad mood swings and bouts of depression?

• Do you put yourself at risk by engaging in risky behaviours, such as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, starting fights, or engaging in unprotected sex?

• Are you borrowing money from family or friends, selling possessions, or stealing, so you have money to buy drugs?

• Have you dropped out of college or school?

• Are you frequently late to work or taking sick days, due to drinking or drug use?

• Do you find that you prefer your own company to being with others, even friends?

• Are the people you hangout with also using drugs or drinking a lot?

• Do you experience nausea, tremors or sweats?

• Do you notice that you have become forgetful?

• Do you feel paranoid or suffer from blackouts, flashbacks or delusions?

• If people say they care or worry about you, do you think they are interfering?

• Are you taking care of yourself personally: eating well, washing yourself, wearing clean clothes?

 

 

I’m not managing on my own

If you feel that you have tried to cope on your own but that your drug or alcohol misuse is not getting any better, or is even getting worse, it is probably time to seek professional help.First of all, you need to ask yourself:

• Do I need help getting my drug or alcohol use under control or

• Do I want to come off drugs completely?

 

The answer to these questions will determine what help you should seek:

• If you want to get your drug use under control, then you need a stabilisation service.

• If you want to stop using drugs completely, you need to detoxify through a detoxification service. Do not try to detoxify yourself, as this can be dangerous, even life-threatening. Always seek specialist medical support for detox.

 

 

Stabilising your use

Once you have stabilised your drinking or drug use, you should have more space to look at your long-term options. If you do not think that you can self-manage your pattern of drinking or drug use it may be best to look at giving up completely. Try and think back to the reasons why you started using drugs or alcohol in the first place if those underlying reasons are still there, there is a good chance that a future bad episode, situation or event may lead you to start using, or drinking, chaotically again.

If you want to, and feel ready to take it, the next step on the road to a life free from dependence on drugs and alcohol, is detox.

 

 

Life after detox

After detox, professional rehabilitation may be the key to attaining your goal of remaining drug-free. During the time you have been using, you will have developed a range of behaviours and attitudes closely linked to your desire for drugs. These habits need to be addressed; they don’t just go away because you have detoxed. If these habits take over and you use again now that your body is clean of drugs you are at real risk of overdose, which may be fatal.

If you want to stay clean look for a treatment programme that helps you to identify and explore your underlying reasons for using. This is the best option for a successful long-term recovery.