Resources

Quick jump list: Schedule | Alcoholism | Heroin | Cocaine | Marijuana | Meth | Intervention | Helpful Links

Christian Drug Rehab Program Schedule

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Alcoholism

Alcohol misuse can impact health, relationships, judgment, and daily functioning. If you’re concerned about your drinking (or someone else’s), getting help sooner is usually easier than “waiting until it’s worse.”

Please check out the Christian Alcohol Rehab page for more information on treatment options or call us now.

Read Brittney’s Alcohol Recovery Testimonial

Heroin Addiction

Heroin is a highly addictive drug that is processed from naturally occurring opium. It is most commonly used intravenously although it may also be smoked or snorted.

A total of 1.4% of all Americans have reported using heroin in their lifetime. Although this number may be small in comparison to other drugs, heroin use is on the rise in the United States.

When heroin is injected, users report feeling a surge of euphoria (“rush”) accompanied by dry mouth, a warm flushing of the skin, and a heaviness of the extremities. Following this initial euphoria, the user goes “on the nod,” an alternating wakeful and drowsy state. Mental functioning becomes clouded.

Users who do not inject the drug may not experience the initial rush, but other effects are the same. With regular heroin use, tolerance develops. This means the abuser must use more heroin to achieve the same intensity of effect.

Eventually, chemical changes in the brain can lead to addiction. Heroin addiction can be particularly dangerous. Because the purity of the street drug can vary tremendously, a user can never truly know how much actual pure heroin he or she is putting into their body. This variation often leads to overdose and death. Overdose of heroin results from excessive depression of the central nervous system. Often, respiratory function will decrease to the point that a person may not be taking in enough oxygen to survive.

In 1999 heroin usage accounted for 51% accidental deaths from drugs. Aside from the danger of acute overdose, the long-term effects of heroin can be devastating as well. Because many people inject the drug, the risk of contracting diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis C increases greatly. Poor nutrition often accompanies chronic use as well.

Chronic use of heroin leads to physical dependence, a state in which the body has adapted to the presence of the drug. If a dependent user reduces or stops use of the drug abruptly, they may experience severe symptoms of withdrawal.

These symptoms, which can begin as early as a few hours after the last drug administration, include:

• Restlessness
• Muscle and bone pain
• Insomnia
• Diarrhea and vomiting
• Cold flashes with goose bumps (“cold turkey”)
• Kicking movements (“kicking the habit”)

Users also experience severe craving for the drug during withdrawal, precipitating continued abuse and/or relapse. Major withdrawal symptoms peak between 48 and 72 hours after the last dose and typically subside after about a week; however, some individuals may show persistent withdrawal symptoms for months.

Although heroin withdrawal is considered less dangerous than alcohol or barbiturate withdrawal, sudden withdrawal by heavily dependent users who are in poor health is occasionally fatal.

Detox is the first step for anyone who desires to get off heroin. If the drug has been used for a long period of time, we usually recommend a medical detox prior to treatment. Modern heroin detox is usually accomplished by a drug called Buprenorphine (found in Subutex and Suboxone). The use of this drug has made detox much more comfortable than it has been in the past and has even contributed to the success rate of long term sobriety.

Because heroin is such a powerful drug, most users will need some kind of help getting off of it.

Cravings associated with heroin use can be extremely intense. Often times, an addict will need long term treatment in a drug rehab environment to keep from using. There is often a period of physical and emotional discomfort experienced during the first months of sobriety.

Although medication can help, true healing of the body, soul and spirit often occurs over the course of treatment.

Eternal Awakenings offers a Christ centered, biblically based, comprehensive solution to heroin addiction. Our addiction doctors are specially trained to work with heroin addicts and are all Suboxone licensed.

The detox programs that we work with all have extensive experience with heroin withdrawal. Our licensed chemical dependency counselors have worked in the recovery field for over 20 years and have extensive experience with heroin addiction.

All of our staff are believers in Jesus Christ and carry their Christian beliefs into the facility.

Please check out our home page for more information on treatment options or call us now.

Read more about Susan’s recovery from Heroin

Cocaine Addiction

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Marijuana Addiction and Treatment

Marijuana is the most commonly abused drug in the United States. More than 33% of people have reported using it. Although it is not considered one of the hard drugs of abuse, it is addictive and debilitating.

Marijuana is a green, brown or gray mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds and flowers of the hemp plant Cannabis sativa. It is most commonly smoked in a pipe or rolled up into a cigarette called a joint. It can also be ingested orally by making tea or baking food (brownies) with it.

The short-term effects of marijuana use include problems with memory and learning; distorted perception (sights, sounds, time, touch); difficulty in thinking and problem solving; loss of coordination; and increased heart rate, anxiety and panic attacks.

Marijuana also affects memory, judgment, and perception. Learning and attention skills are impaired among people who use it heavily.

Although not known for being physically addictive, marijuana can be psychologically addictive. People who abuse marijuana often feel like they are able to cope with life better while under the influence of the drug.

Chronic users often have an inability to experience emotions, a loss of interest in all areas of life, and damage to relationships.

Treatment for marijuana addiction often begins with learning how to cope with life on life’s terms. At Eternal Awakenings, we address the psychological, social and spiritual components of marijuana addiction. Our licensed chemical dependency counselors have worked in the recovery field for over 20 years and have extensive experience with marijuana addiction.

Please check out our home page for more information on treatment options or call us now.

Read Rodrigo’s recovery from Marijuana

Methamphetamine Addiction

Methamphetamine (Crystal Meth, Speed)

Methamphetamine is a very addictive stimulant drug that affects the central nervous system. A pure form of the drug, known as crystal meth, has recently surged in popularity in the United States. Most of the methamphetamine abused in this country comes from foreign or domestic superlabs, although it can also be made in small, illegal laboratories, where its production endangers the people in the labs, neighbors, and the environment. In fact, law enforcement reports that meth lab seizures have increased almost 600% since 1995.

Methamphetamine is a white, odorless, bitter-tasting crystalline powder that easily dissolves in water or alcohol and is taken orally, intranasally (snorting the powder), by needle injection, or by smoking.

Taking even small amounts of methamphetamine can result in increased wakefulness, increased physical activity, decreased appetite, increased respiration, rapid heart rate, irregular heartbeat, increased blood pressure, and hyperthermia.

Long-term methamphetamine abuse has many negative consequences, including extreme weight loss, severe dental problems, anxiety, confusion, insomnia, mood disturbances, and violent behavior. Chronic methamphetamine abusers can also display a number of psychotic features, including paranoia, visual and auditory hallucinations, and delusions (for example, the sensation of insects creeping under the skin).

The euphoria high produced when using methamphetamine usually lasts 6 to 12 hours. It is not uncommon for a meth user to continue to use the drug for many days with little to no sleep at all. The crash experienced when a meth user stops using the drug can be extremely severe.

The effects are often so miserable that users will do just about anything to get more of their drug and not have to experience it. Methamphetamine is an extremely powerful drug that in essence hijacks the reward center of the brain.

Like cocaine, more than 3 out of 4 people that try methamphetamine will need some kind of help getting off of it. Cravings for the drug can be overwhelming and can easily overwhelm a person who has no plan in place. Methamphetamine is perhaps the most damaging drug to the brain. Brain chemistry in a meth addict can take 2 full years to return to a near normal level and in some cases may be permanently altered.

There is also an alarming relationship between methamphetamine use and criminal activity. Legal consequences aside, meth addicts often have severe social, financial, emotional and often physical problems. Methamphetamine addiction is often so severe that it damages every area of the user’s life.

Eternal Awakenings offers a Christ centered, biblically based, comprehensive solution to methamphetamine addiction. Because of the toxic nature of the drug, many users will require some form of medication while their brain repairs itself.

Our addiction doctors are specially trained to work with meth addicts and can address any co-occurring mental health problems that may be present. Our licensed chemical dependency counselors have worked in the recovery field for over 20 years and have extensive experience with methamphetamine addiction.

Please check out our home page for more information on treatment options or call us now.

Read April’s recovery from Methamphetamines

A Guide To Intervention

Give your Family Member, Friend or Associate the Help they Need

Intervention is designed for chemically dependent people who do not want help, or for chemically dependent people who believe that they do not have a problem.

The concept of an intervention comes from Dr. Vern Johnson, an Episcopal priest who was a recovered alcoholic. Through research and experience, Vern Johnson came to believe that it was not necessary for an addicted person to “hit rock bottom” before getting help. Dr. Johnson believed there was a better way than the loss of everything to “hit bottom.” Instead, Dr. Johnson believed a bottom is “created” by the family, friends, associates or employer as they follow a prescribed format to help their chemically dependent person seek help through treatment.

Working together in unison, as a group, to a point at which they can effectively and constructively confront the dependent person, intervention interrupts the progression of the disease of alcoholism before it completely destroys the alcoholic’s life.

This approach, created in the early sixties, continues as a successful and widely used method to this day. Jim Welch, Co-founder and CEO of Eternal Awakenings Christian rehab, has conducted many successful interventions over the last thirty-three years.

A well designed and executed intervention can be extremely effective in getting your family member, friend or associate the help they need, and possibly save the life of the ones you care about. Please seek an Intervention Professional in your area to assist in providing the support and guide needed to execute a proper and well thought out intervention.

Request “A Guide To Intervention” (PDF)

Helpful Links

• YouVersion — a bible for anyone, anywhere (PC, Tablet, Mobile)
• Bible Gateway — A Great Bible Resource: Scripture, Key Word Searches, Commentaries, etc.
• Charisma Magazine — News, Devotionals, Uplifting Articles
• The Christian Post — The Nation’s most comprehensive Christian news website
• I Am Second — Are You An Addict?
• Texas Department of State Health Services — Mental Health and Substance Abuse
• SAMHSA — Substance Abuse And Mental Health Services Administration
• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism — NIH… Turning Discovery Into Health
• National Institute on Drug Abuse — Advancing Addiction Science

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