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Substance Abuse: Substance Abuse Disorder, Symptom and TreatmentSubstance abuse may seem like an unconquerable problem but it is not, many have it. Subsequently, once the physical addiction has been overcome, how does the recovering addict deal with the emotional scars that are left over? Substance abuse is any chemical substance that a person is physically and emotionally depended on. For a lot of people, letting go of the physical dependency is hard but once that battle is over with many recovering addicts is still waging a war against the emotional after effects. A lot of addicts, once sober, find themselves wakening as if from a coma. Of course, this coma was their substance abuse. In a way time has stood still for them. Whenever they started using, when they sober up that is the age they still are. If the recovering addict starting using drugs at 16, but stops at 40, in a lot ways they are still that 16 year old kid. Having numb themselves to life for when the addict is no longer anesthetizing themselves, they wake up to life and find that they have to grow up even though they maybe in there thirties, or forties. First stepYou have conquered your chemical dependence, whether that substance was prescribed medication, alcohol, or tobacco you have stopped and that is a good thing. Now you must deal with daily life in all its the stresses and struggles that may entail, but without the drugs that use to dull the senses. Make no mistake, this is part of the process and you will need support. If you don’t have it, get it, and if you already have support, cling to it because you are going to need people who understand and love you through this process. Second stepOn top of everything else, you find that you have to learn how to do the things that a person your age or even younger already knows how to do. If you had dropped out of school because of your substance abuse, now clean and sober, you might be thinking of going back. If you have not worked for years because of your substance abuse, you will now find yourself entering the job force again. Consequently, facing a whole new set of problems like explaining lack of employment for the past couple of years and facing rejection. There will be the people you hurt where abusing substances , which you will now have to apologize to. There will be small, minuscule things you might have to face like learning how drives. It is easy to just say go back to school, get a job, and learn how to drive, and apologize to everyone you have hurt. But of course it is not that easy, it hard work to grow up. The challenges for the recovering addict is to know when to ask for help, and to continue to persevere to in the face of those challenges while clean and sober. Third stepMake no mistake you will make plenty of them, mistakes that is. The statistics even say you might fall off the wagon once even twice. However, don’t dwell on what you have done wrong. It is time that you learn what every adult has had to learn, mistakes are a part of life it can make or break you depending on how look at them. The best way to treat them is as a learning experience. Fourth stepDo things to give you some measure of control. Take financially responsibility: open a checking account, pay your rent on time, clip coupons, learn how to cook to save money from eating out. These small things are the building blocks that will help your gain confidence while also giving you adult responsibilities. Fifth stepYou are going to have to earn people’s trust again, and maybe that will take years. You probably messed up so many times that people would want nothing to do with you. You have to understand and live with this. Take action, offer an apology, and then let it go. Work on building new relationships. Dealing with the emotional scars left over from your substance abuse problems is an ongoing process, one that you will have to probably deal with for the rest of your life. Be sure to seek ongoing professional help and take one day at a time, and on really bad days, take one minute at a time. Your clean and sober, congratulations, now time to grow up, and growing up is hard work. What others have contributed to this page? No contribution yet. Be the first one to send your contribution for this page. Use the form below.
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