Bill Urell

One way to view being in drug and alcohol addiction recovery is to think of a time line with three phases marked out on it, early recovery, middle recovery, and late recovery. Every stage of addiction recovery has certain lessons to be learned, growth opportunities, and tasks that must be completed within that stage before moving to the next stage.

People who think they will try cocaine 'just once' often fall prey to cocaine addiction because they enjoy some of the short-term effects, such as increased energy and mental alertness. People looking to lose weight also sometimes experiment with cocaine because of the short-term effect of appetite suppression.

The recovery, and drug and alcohol treatment communities generally agree that there is a relapse process that begins long before the actual first use has occurred.

Dysfunctional relationships are relationships that create more emotional turmoil than satisfaction. Relationships are part of the human experience. But what happens if one or both partners have never been involved in a happy relationship, or had one modeled for them as a child?

Unfortunately, many times, a loved one actually is enabling addiction through their well intentioned desire to help the addict or alcoholic. How does this occur?

There is probably nothing more dismal to a recovering drug addict then the fact that they are going through a process which seems like it takes forever! Counseling, group therapy, as well as a variety of others are experiences that you should continue throughout your addiction and recovery process.

An addictive relationship is usually evident to outsiders, but when you are in the middle of it, seeing the situation can be difficult. An addictive relationship is almost always unbalanced.

Certainly the popular notion that alcoholism may be inherited from our parents has gained momentum in recent times. The genetic component of alcoholism is not a new school of thought by any means, but it has gained creditability as a result of detailed investigations that have been carried out in the name of science these past decades.

Is it stretching things to be speaking of computer use in terms of addiction? What if your job involves using a computer  eight hours as day, are you addicted? It really comes down to a matter of intent and effect.

Before we look for a drug rehab or alcohol treatment program, we have to look at the level of care needed and assess the severity of the problem.