The Cause of Relapse
Why Addicts Cannot Stop Using Drugs or Alcohol
You may have heard of or experienced people getting off drugs and then starting again. It is extremely frustrating for the former addict, friends and family and quite mystifying why the person would want to get back into that life. But it’s not just bad luck when this happens – there are reasons for it, and these reasons are addressed in the Narconon Drug Rehabilitation Program.
We’re going to explain these reasons in this section, and it’s vital that you understand them – even if you have to go through this a few times to make sure you’ve really got it. These are the keys to successful recovery and they are the reasons why this program has a high success rate.
Although there are many reasons why a person starts taking drugs, there are two basic reasons why addiction continues:
- Mental and physical cravings don’t stop unless drug residues are released from the body. Even though the person is no longer taking the drug, traces of the drug are still in their system. They lodge in fatty tissues – and we all have lots of that even if we’re slim – and can be released into the bloodstream for years afterwards. When they’re released, they create an urge to take drugs. The Narconon Drug Rehabiliation Program addresses this thoroughly.
- A drug addict develops a way of thinking that keeps him going back to drugs. He has adopted a lifestyle that enables him to get drugs and live as an addict. If this way of thinking, known as the "Drug Personality," is not addressed in drug rehab, these thought processes can lead the person right back into a life of drugs. The ‘Drug Personality” is also thoroughly addressed in the Narconon program.
These situations work hand-in-hand – and unless both are addressed, the person’s chances of full recovery are slim.
Drug Residues: What they are and how they work
The addicted person can “just say no” a thousand times, but it only takes saying “yes” one time to start the cycle of addiction again. This is, in part, due to drug residues.
Several decades ago, it was discovered that drugs can stay in the body for years even though the person has stopped taking them. Also discovered was the effect this has on addiction. This biochemical breakthrough led to the development of a program that is today the most successful drug rehab program available.
Drug Residues Remain in Fatty Tissues
Although drugs are released from the bloodstream within a short period of time, traces of them stay in other parts of the body. These traces, known as drug metabolites, lodge in the fatty tissues and are stored there indefinitely.
When the metabolites are dislodged, they go back into the bloodstream and the person can re-experience mental and physical symptoms as if they were currently taking the drug. This also creates cravings that the person may give in to – especially if he hasn’t done a drug rehab program that addressed the ‘Drug Personality.’
If the drug residues are not released from the fatty tissue during the drug rehab program, this can go on for years – even decades. Every cell in our body is renewed over time. This is called ‘tissue turnover’. The turnover for fat cells is extremely slow. So, little by little, as the fatty tissue dies and is regenerated, the drug residues are released and the cravings and symptoms are stimulated over and over again.
This also creates continuous stress – which will help push the person towards drugs. He may say no over and over again, but giving in just once could put him back into the cycle of addiction.
The Cycle of Quitting, Withdrawal, Craving And Relapse
Another phenomena that contributes to relapse happens in the brain. Because the brain is used to getting the drugs, and when a person quits taking them the brain still physically wants them. It is dependant on them for ‘normal’ operation. At first, through withdrawal, it’s really bad. But it doesn’t stop there. Even as the withdrawal symptoms subside, the brain still “demands” the drug. This is another type of drug craving, and it’s extremely powerful. Powerful enough to make the person come up with reasons why he should take drugs again.
If he does, he is once again caught in the addiction.
With some addicts, this happens over and over again. And each time he tries to quit he goes through painful withdrawal again. It can be an endless cycle.
The brain does eventually learn to operate without the drugs, but if the residues are not removed from the fatty tissue during the drug rehab program and, instead, are released over and over again for years, the brain reacts like the person had taken the drug again. And you’re back at square one. Under these circumstances, relapse is always a possibility – no matter how long ago the person stopped taking drugs.
Handling the Drug Metabolites
With the Narconon drug program, the drug residues or metabolites are eliminated through a regiment of exercise, sweating them out in a sauna, and nutritional supplements (no substitute drugs). By the time this phase of the program is complete the drugs are gone.
Getting rid of the drug residue in the fatty tissues can have remarkable effects:
- Cravings for drugs and alcohol are greatly reduced or completely eliminated
- Depression, anxiety, fatigue and other symptoms common with drug addiction and alcoholism are minimal or gone completely.
- The person can think more clearly.
- Memory, focus and attention span improves.
- Energy is markedly increased.
- An increased sense of well being.
- Feeling enthusiastic about life.
Handling the "Drug Personality"
Once the drugs are removed from the body, we start to work on getting rid of the false drug personality and restoring the person to who they really are.
The student studies specially-developed courses that work hand-in-hand, each complementing and expanding on the other, to help the person identify the various aspects of the drug personality and life-style. This is done through unique cognitive and objective therapies, and is followed by life skills training.
The former addict is ready for graduation when he recognizes and accepts responsibility for his actions, his habit patterns, and his justifications for these, and he has a new understanding of himself and his relationships with family, friends and his environment.
He is now no longer an addict – he has made that decision on his own and is now back to being himself.
And since anything that could get him hooked again has been thoroughly examined and addressed, he is going to stay that way.
As so many program graduates say, "The future is once again accessible, and anything is possible."
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