Progress Not Perfection

The most important thing I have had to accept since being in Dual diagnosis treatment is that I have to have a lot more patience with myself than I am used to. I have had to learn to forgive myself for not being perfect. I think going into treatment, both the teen and the families can fall into thinking that the teen will emerge “cured”. In my first few months home in Orange County, California, any time I felt weird or had an emotional day, all of us would get worried that everything was unraveling. What I have learned, is that that just isn’t true. I can have bad days, and I can have good days. A bad day doesn't mean I'm not recovering.
I can feel discouraged from time to time but the most important thing is that I pick myself up and keep moving forward. This is recovery to me- to be able to keep making the effort regardless of how I feel. I have had to redefine my definition of success. In treatment, I learned how to believe in myself, even when the going gets rough, and to use the tools given to me. The tools aren’t there for perfect days- they’re there for challenges and for growth, and growth is sometimes awkward and uncomfortable. I made a commitment to myself to change my life, and thanks to that, regardless of how difficult the changes may be, I have maintained the willingness to keep growing. It's not something I can really explain to my family, and in the beginning, that was really frustrating. I realized that I just had to show people my commitment to change, by continuing with the process long after treatment ended. That's the neatest gift I've received: the ability to keep using these tools for years after I was introduced to them.if you have a loved one that needs to be introduced to these tools please contact us at adolescent dual diagnosis treatment.

Is My Child Abusing ADHD Medication?

It is reported that calls to poison-control centers in Orange County regarding teens misusing ADHD medication rose 76% . Around 42% of the adolescents suffered from moderate to severe side effects, and of the calls, four teens died as a result of misusing ADHD medications. Opiates are not the only medications teens are abusing. Adderall, Concerta, and Ritalin are all ADHD medications that act as stimulants. Many teens abuse these medications in order to achieve a “speedy” effect. The pills may make teens feel like they are more focused or confident.
I began abusing ADHD medication when I began to feel too much pressure in school. I thought that the pills would make me study better or help me stay up and finish reports. When I was on the pills, I felt like I was brilliant and everything made sense. Unfortunately, that feeling didn’t translate into my school work, and I certainly didn’t retain information the next day. I often felt tired and irritable following a pill binge. I began snorting them to get the effect faster. As I began to need more and more stimulants, I turned to cocaine and speed because they were stronger and cheaper. After awhile, my original intent of using the drugs to achieve more in school fell aside and my newest priority was to just get high. I went from an A student to ditching class to get high with my friends. My whole life revolved around using.
When my parents found out, we tried several different outpatient counselors but I just kept using. When they were at their wits’ end, and I was confident I would never stop using, they contacted Visions Adolescent Drug Treatment Center.
It seemed really harsh to me to have to get sent away to drug treatment, but it was exactly what I needed. I learned to deal with my feelings and learned how to manage my time effectively. I realized that I’m a really competent person and I don’t need stimulants to feel like I’m worth something. Learn how to stay clean, one day at a time, that’s just what I’m doing.

The Bride Has Cramps?

I just got back from a wedding in New York and I guess I should have asked my readers if they wanted me to bring back any souvenirs. Percocet? Darvocet? Oxycontin? Vicodin? There were more prescription drugs floating around that wedding party than an Orange County high school. I was amazed at how quickly people offered up pills for any malady. The bride has cramps? “Oh here hon, take half an Oxy.” I was sitting at dinner the night before the wedding as one bridesmaid prepared a list of pill requests for the next day and was surprised to hear the bride’s 13 year old sister pipe in, demonstrating her knowledge of pharmaceuticals. “Oh yeah,” she said when I asked her about it. “All of my friends are on that stuff.”
I don’t know if this group was particularly special in their pill consumption or if I just don’t hang out with “normal” people very often. I have been reading so much about the escalation of prescription drug abuse in this country and to see it firsthand was honestly a bit of a shock. I mean, I abused a lot of prescription medications when I was using, but to see someone offer up Vicodin as readily as most people offer up Ibuprofin was kind of scary. I talked to the 13 year old sister some more when we were alone. I saw some fresh cuts on her arms and felt concerned about her, growing up around all of this casual pill abuse. She told me about her friends in 8th grade that are snorting oxycontin and cocaine, and how a friend of hers overdosed on a scary cocktail of marijuana, mushrooms, vicodin, klonopin, cocaine, and alcohol the other day after his girlfriend broke up with him. All of her friends in this suburb of New York City are engaging in some really dangerous behavior. She insisted that she hasn’t tried any of drugs but that her friends pressure her daily. We talked about how it’s hard to not use drugs when everyone around you acts like it’s normal. I hope she continues to resist. She and her friends cut themselves and show each other, and being in therapy is like a badge of honor among them. I hope that she makes it through all of that. I told her about the struggles I had and about the treatment center in Malibu that I went to. I told her if she ever needs anything, or if her friends are looking for help to call me. I guess that’s all I can do, and sometimes that’s a hard thing to realize.

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Adolescent Drug Treatment In Newport Beach

The reason the teenagers from Orange County and Newport Beach that go through the Visions Adolescent Drug Treatment Center are so successful is that young peoples recovery is so amazing. Young peoples recovery in Orange County, CA is definitely and experience you cannot miss. Sobriety can be seen everywhere in the southern California hot spot. The more amazing thing within the recovery community in Orange County is the amount of young people getting and staying sober. There is an average of 2-3 young peoples meetings that can be found to go to every single night of the week. In these meetings young people are getting clean and sober. Teens in trouble can find inspiration within these meetings where they can find people their age to relate to in regards of drug and alcohol abuse issues. Parents also find hope when they know their teens in need can go to a safe place, and be with people who try and live a healthy positive lifestyle.

Young people in Orange County and the ever growing Visions Alumni group sets an amazing example of recovery for many other groups. They take “we are not a glum lot” to a new level, as young people getting clean and sober. You can often find a group of sober teens sticking together and supporting each other in their daily struggles, but also having lots of fun too. Young people in AA and NA in the OC are a tight nit community that opens their arms to anyone in need. If your are every in Orange County, do yourself a favor and experience young people getting clean and sober and see the miracle happen!

-Alberto P.=

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