by Delia Busuioc

Created on: May 18, 2009   Last Updated: May 27, 2009

The road from sanity to perdition is short, brutal and dehumanizing. But there is always a way back. No matter the circumstances. However, the journey towards normality is always long, slow and painful.

Giving up drug abuse is a hard battle, full of nightmares and fears, requiring a strong determination. And this is not all. Keeping your life clean will become an everyday challenge. Temptations will be everywhere. The drug abuse past will always be ready to jump right back at you. I am not trying to scare anyone, I am just letting you know what to expect.

The first step in giving up drug abuse, the sine qua non condition is WANTING to give up. You have to do this for yourself. Not for your friends, nor for your family. But because YOU want to. This has to be YOUR decision. Otherwise, it won't work. Not for long. You will stay clean for a year or two, but eventually you'll fall again. Putting behind drug abuse has to be YOUR OWN will.

After you've made up your mind about giving up drug abuse, it is very important to seek help. There are numerous drug programs nowadays every modern city has at least one drug program going on.

Many people get scared when hearing the words drug programs, associating them with hospices and deprivation of freedom. Actually, this couldn't be falser. Drug programs give total liberty to drug abuse recovering persons, doctors are working together with patients, considering them capable to take decisions in their best interest. Drug programs rely on this doctor patient relationship, but a bigger importance is given to the patient patient relationship: drug abuse persons, either recovered, in recovery or wanting to start recovery meet together and talk about their emotional state of mind, about what drug abuse has done to them, sharing their experience. This group therapy plays a highly important role when starting the process of quitting drug abuse, but also along the hard way. There may be times when will is less stronger than the vice, when wanting to quit fades to wanting a smoke or wanting to get high/drunk, when ration is blurred by addiction. This is what drug programs are for: preventing the drug abuse recovering persons to fall back into temptation. When in need, patients may call their drug program doctors or drug program mates, regardless of the time, to help them get over their weakness moments.

This is what a drug program does: it lets the ones in need know they are not alone.

When deciding to give up drug abuse, it is strongly recommended to enroll in a drug program and attend the meetings at least three times a week. Attending drug program sessions at a high frequency should be maintained for the first recovering year. Afterwards, the time rate can be decreased. It is highly encouraged for people who used to have an addiction problem but have now recovered to continue being a part of the drug program, as a roll model. This way, a message is being sent to the ones who have a drug abuse issue: If I could do it, so can you!.

Sometimes we forget that life itself is a miracle. But if we are lucky enough, someone will remind us of that. If so, we must do everything possible not to forget again.

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