Dual Diagnosis and Eating Disorder Treatment

It’s not uncommon for many of us coming into rehab to be dual diagnosed. For me, I was battling both addiction and alcoholism along with an eating disorder. Sometimes dealing with the secondary issues can be a lot trickier than dealing with addiction. For me, getting clean was a no-brainer. My life was insane and using drugs was not and is not an option. My recovery in regards to addiction has been very simple, very black and white. I just don’t use. Things with my eating disorder, however, have been a lot more challenging. It’s an issue I have had to deal with during and after adolescent treatment. I have often felt discouraged and frustrated when my E.D. issues resurface during challenging times in my adolescent recovery. I sometimes wonder if I will ever have a totally “normal” relationship to food. I haven’t actively binged and purged, and I haven’t actively restricted since I went to treatment, but I have certainly gotten “weird” with food from time to time. I think my friends and family have also been frustrated and made nervous by the fact that my progress has been much slower in this area of my life. There have been many more stops and starts but progress is being made, however slowly. In treatment, I learned the beginning tools to get on the road to recovery from my eating disorder, and I continue to use them years later. That strong foundation is what keeps me striving for freedom and happiness today. Every day isn’t perfect, but I am clean and sober and as long as I have that, I am free to keep growing.

Troubled Teen Introduced On "The Closer"

The Closer, starring Emmy-nominated Kyra Sedgwick as Brenda, has introduced a new character this season- a troubled teen niece. Charlie (the niece)is the troubled teen who has been flown out to Los Angeles to stay with her Aunt Brenda because her parents are at their wits’ end. She has been acting out and has already gotten into trouble with drug use. Last week’s episode had Charlie receiving drugs in the mail from her friend back home. Brenda’s husband, Fritz, freaks out because a) he is an FBI agent and b) he is sober in the program of Alcoholics Anonymous and having drugs in his home is not something he will tolerate.
I am curious to see how the show will handle Charlie’s issues. As of right now, none of the characters on the show feel like they can help Charlie, which is how many parents of teen drug addicts feel. She is irritable and secretive and clearly struggling with drug abuse. Of course I’m thinking, “I know that game…send her to Visions!” It will be interesting to see if they address the issue of addiction head-on. I think it would be a great venue to promote the idea of teenage recovery and treatment. There are plenty of shows that depict troubled teens, but none that show treatment and recovery for teens. I would love to see Charlie get a chance at recovery, so that the average American might see that teen recovery is entirely plausible. If your teen is struggling with adolescent substance abuse and you feel at your wits’ end, there is help available. No one has to deal with teen addiction alone.

Adolescent Drug Treatment in Manhattan Beach

A 20-year study has concluded that abstinence from alcohol rather than controlled drinking has proven to be the most beneficial method of recovery for alcoholics. It makes sense to me. When I first entered adolescent drug rehab, it made sense to me that I should probably stop using drugs, but alcohol? I wasn’t even old enough to drink legally. I wondered what I would do when I went to college, or turned 21, or got married. What would I drink on New Year’s Eve? How would I ever have a normal life? Some of my friends and family shared similar concerns. Not even a glass of wine at dinner? None of Nana's famous eggnog? The decision to remain completely abstinent from alcohol and drugs was made after I realized in adolescent drug treatment that it didn’t matter what the substance was. If everything was taken away from me, I got creative and abused over-the-counter medications and inhalants that I could find around the house. If left to my own devices, I found myself taking heroin and nearly dying.

Understanding the root of my addiction helps me to make the decision to remain abstinent one day at a time. I know that if I were to drink, all of the work I’ve done will go out the window, and let me tell you- that work was painful and difficult, so I’m not going to just toss my progress away! It is rare that I encounter a situation where I feel like I wish I was drinking. In my age group now, my peers in Manhattan Beach still like to binge drink, and that never looks good to me. I don’t want to puke on my shoes anymore, you know? In day to day life, I feel proud of my teen recovery. I don’t tell everyone I know about it. Many people think that maybe what I went through was just a phase and that I’m being dramatic. It doesn’t matter what they think. I learned in teen drug treatment to put my recovery first, no matter what. I have watched peers relapse and end up worse than when they started, and I don’t want to trade the life I have now for a life of shame, guilt, and puking on my shoes.

I don’t worry anymore about what my life will be like without alcohol. I worry about what it would be like with alcohol. I continue to take the steps to protect my sobriety that I learned in adolescent rehab. I stay connected with my support group. I attend 12-step meetings. I don’t spend an unnecessary amount of time around alcohol and I don’t hang out with people who are using drugs. Sometimes these decisions make me feel awkward, but I can deal with awkward. I will take awkward any day over the despair and hopelessness I felt when I was drinking and using. Teen drug and alcohol treatment gave me an opportunity to honestly look at the destructive force drugs and alcohol were in my life, and showed me a new way to live, one day at a time.

For more information about Visions please click here teen drug treatment

12 Step Program for adolescents

A recently published article in the journal, Addiction, reports on 12-step affiliation and recovery outcomes for adolescents. As little is known about adolescents and 12-step affiliation, the study sought to observe the recovery outcomes of 357 13-18 year olds who attended substance abuse treatment in Northern California and San Francisco. The study measured the teens’ success based on drug and alcohol use, 12-step meeting attendance, and other forms of social or religious support. The study concluded that at one year past treatment, 12-step meeting attendance was marginally significant, and that at three years, the relationship between continued sobriety and 12-step affiliation was strong. The study concluded that 12-step affiliation was important in maintaining long term sobriety.

In treatment I was introduced to 12-step programs such as AA and NA. We used the 12-steps to address issues inside of treatment and I also began to work the steps with my sponsor. I soon learned that there was a difference between treatment and recovery, and that the responsibility of my sobriety fell on my shoulders when I left treatment. In treatment, I learned that I have a choice in what I choose to do with my sobriety. I have chosen to remain actively vigilant in preserving and developing the recovery that I have worked so hard on. 12-step meeting attendance has greatly enhanced my life, as I have found a group of like-minded individuals who support me and who are trying to become better people themselves. I am accountable to my support group and an example to those newer than me. It is a great feeling, to be a part of something that saved my life, and to have a chance to help someone else. I never thought about helping other people when I was using, and being an active member of the 12-step community has led me to think of others and to consider how my actions affect other people. Treatment helped me deal with the acute problem that was my active addiction, and provided me with tools so that I was able to leave treatment and practice maintenance myself.

12 Step Program for adolescents