Pathways Real Life Recovery News

Support for families affected by substance abuse has not been given a strong emphasis for years. The cost of setting up a solid family support system is seen as one of the major obstacles. Families are also not viewed as ‘patients’ that need to be tested and monitored. The fact is drug addiction can cause a tremendous amount of stress on the family. Some of the effects of substance abuse include:

• Health problems such as HIV infection, physical injuries, risks taking, and premature deaths.
• Children who belong to a family with substance abuse issues are more likely to suffer from academic, behavioral, and emotional problems.
• Marital woes may worsen that could ultimately lead to divorce.
• Legal and financial problems spring up as the addicted individual loses a job, drives carelessly, or abandons financial obligations.

Watching your friend literally self-destruct because of addiction is a frightening experience. Whether the problem stems from prescription medication or from alcohol, the irreversible damages are essentially the same. You know for sure that rehabilitation is the only solution. However, getting your friend to go to rehab is downright challenging. Addiction is a sensitive issue and when it involves someone dear to you, careful and effective intervention is needed. The challenge is how to get your friend into treatment even if the person has not been genuinely willing to take that extra step. In most instances, the road to recovery is paved by family and friends under proper circumstances.

Addiction literally mans being bound to, and such a condition is not just limited to physical disease or ailment, it takes over the entire body and mind of the affected person, who cannot function without appropriate help and support.

Any and all kinds of substances that enslave a person work their way through the brain. Drugs or alcohol or any other abusive substances are chemicals, they tap into the brain's communication system and interfere with the way nerve cells normally send, receive and process information.

It is surprising to find the number of myths that surround someone's road to recovery away from substance abuse. Such myths cloud the judgment of the person who suffers and can affect the way he or she deals with the recovery process. Substance abuse is a serious concern not only for the person in question and his or her family and friends, but for the society as a whole. It defines how the future generation will shape up and can make or break the societal system. When an individual, who is a crucial part of society, makes a mistake and wants to amend ways, he or she should be given complete support and be empathized with, instead of being shunned away and his intentions shrouded in a mist of myths.