Part 3 of 3
In the third part of the Cross Addiction and Drug Treatment posts, I come down to what you can do to minimize your risk of becoming cross-addicted. (Here is yesterday’s post.)
- The first thing I always suggest, and this is because I’ve practiced it in my own life, is to ask questions about the medications you are taking. There are no dumb questions, and if your physician doesn’t understand addiction, they you might want to consider finding one who does. After all, this is your life and your recovery.
- Secondly, remember there are typically alternatives to other certain medication that will reduce the risk of cross-additive behavior. If you’ve pain, there are non-addictive drug treatment modalities that can help you significantly. There are some good, non-addictive drugs available for insomnia as well. As a matter of fact, I take Melatonin and it works great.
- Thirdly, you should know that a person who is in recovery from alcoholism and/or drug addiction they have an addictive personality. It’s important to note that they might have trouble restraining themselves from different hobbies or activities they enjoy. However, if it’s a positive behavior, like cooking, reading, and sightseeing, and it isn’t creating harm in a physical, psychological, or financial way, then it is likely you won’t need worry about ending that behavior.
- Fourth on my list is to have a host of constructive ways to cope with stress, which ultimately helps you avoid the trap of cross-addiction to another substance. Someone who is newly sober might experience social anxiety, which is possibly a new emotion, and not a surprising one. You are most likely out of your comfort zone.
Of course, and I always believe the best way to help stay sober is talk to someone who is of like-mind (someone sober) or at least someone who supports you in your new sober life.
Recovery Rob BIO
Recovery Rob is a 47-year-old man who has more than nineteen years of sobriety, whose drugs of choice at one time were alcohol and drugs, and he has worked in and around the field of addiction for more than 20 years. Having just recently launched his own website, Ask Recovery Rob, he hopes to reach out and continue to help others who work through their process of addiction and recovery. Recovery Rob is a professional writer who has published two novels and is currently working on his third. He has been writing and working as Pat Moore Foundation’s premiere blogger and content writer, which helps keeps Pat Moore Foundation’s addiction and recovery blog top-rated.