How Unhealthy Attitudes toward Sex Impact Drug Addiction

Your attitude towards experiences changes how you interpret events and how you react in the future. Unhealthy attitudes about anything in life have the potential to impact drug addiction. If you have a history of low self-esteem and bad experiences, you are more likely to struggle with addiction.

Sex is an integral part of the human experience, but the range of emotions and attitudes about sex reach both sides of the spectrum. Everyone will agree that unwanted sex, either in the form of rape or molestation, will not lead to a positive attitude toward sex. On the other end of the spectrum is sex addiction which needs to be treated like any other addiction due to its negative impact on a person’s life.

Attitude towards Sex

A person’s attitude towards sex can impact that sexual encounter. Many people believe that consensual sex between committed partners is a rewarding human experience. However sexual encounters that are not shared in such a light can leave a person feeling any of the following:

• Anxious or depressed
• Unfulfilled and frustrated
• Used or abused physically and emotionally
• Guilty, worthless or helpless

Attitudes and Addiction

An addict’s attitude and outlook on aspects of life is affected by drug use, because their ability to think and feel is being controlled by their addiction. With some much of their mental energy and physical activity geared toward acquiring and using drugs, a person often does not realize that they have given control of their feelings and attitudes to their addiction.

Time in rehab is spent exploring thoughts, feelings and attitude and how interconnected those elements are. Upon successful completion of treatment a person often feels that they have the right attitude to continue in their recovery and avoid relapse. An effective addiction treatment program gives you the opportunity and experiences to explore your attitude about yourself, about your addiction, about your recovery and about your ongoing sobriety. During these experiences you can reinforce the strength of your attitude to give yourself the greatest opportunity to maintain your sobriety and avoid relapse.

Finding Help for Drug Addiction and Related Concerns about Sex or Attitude

There is a relationship between your attitudes about sex and addiction. We can help you break the ties by finding an integrated treatment program that is right for you. Please call our toll-free number today. We are available 24 hours a day, so please call now.

How Codependency Impacts Drug and Sex Addictions

Codependency is an emotional and behavioral condition that affects a person’s ability to participate in a healthy relationship. It affects addicted individuals and those in close relationships with them. Codependency shares some characteristics with addiction, and these include the following:

• A compulsion to perform certain behaviors
• Performing behaviors even if they negatively impact you or a loved one
• Inability to discontinue certain behaviors

Characteristics of Codependent Individuals

The characteristics of a codependent individual may include the following:

• Low self-esteem
• Need for approval and affirmation
• Struggles with identifying and communicating emotions
• Abusive family environments
• Never feeling in control
• Lacking experiences that enable a person to behave in a normal fashion
• Unsure how to act in a variety of situations
• Lacking understanding about the characteristics of “normal” personal and professional relationships
• Uncomfortable in setting and maintaining healthy boundaries with others

Codependency and Addiction

Because the codependent individual already possesses many of the emotional and behavioral characteristics associated with addiction, it is understandable that a codependent person is at significant risk for drug or sex addiction. Drug use or unhealthy sexual behaviors can lead to the following:

• Having a temporary sense of control
• Additional addictive behaviors
• Using sex or drugs to fill a void from the lack of love and healthy relationships
• Avoiding reality so as not to engage in constructive and meaningful relationships
• Hiding from things that make codependent individuals fearful such as abandonment and isolation

Getting Help for Codependency and Addiction

The best environment in which a person can receive treatment for drug or sex addiction is an integrated addiction treatment facility. Quality treatment facilities address both physical and psychological issues related to addiction. This combined treatment helps a person understand his or her codependent thoughts and behaviors and addresses the root causes of addiction.

Get Help for Codependency and Addiction

If you or someone you know is codependent or an addict, call our toll-free helpline. We are available 24 hours a day to answer any questions you might have about treatment for codependency and addiction.

Fears Related to Acknowledging an Addiction Problem

Most people who become addicted to drugs or alcohol have a difficult time admitting to themselves or others that they have a problem and that they need help. There are many misunderstandings about the nature and cause of addiction, and there are certain stigmas attached to addiction and recovery. The truth is that addiction is a disease, and like others struggling with a disease those affected need help to get well. There should be no shame or fear associated with this realization, but there often is.

Psychological Addiction and Self Awareness

One of the most common misunderstandings about addiction is the nature of the disease itself. Most people assume that the body’s physical need for the given substance is the most powerful aspect of addiction. The truth is that, while physical addiction is strong and detox can be difficult, the real power of addiction is its ability to change the way a person thinks.

While most intoxicating substances are physically addictive, any chemical or behavior that provides temporary emotional or psychological relief of underlying anxiety, stress, pain or mental imbalances may lead to addiction. Substance abuse directly impacts the reward center of the brain. This is the part of the brain that is responsible for a range of critical psychological functions including the following:

• Managing emotions and feelings
• Handling anxiety and responding to stress
• Reinforcing behaviors
• Forming habits
• Controlling impulses and urges

An addicted individual’s brain will use all of these functions to keep a person from getting the help he or she needs to get clean.

Common Fears Associated with Addiction Treatment

Fear and anxiety about admitting to addiction is completely normal. Drug addiction causes users to do the following:

• Make excuses for continued substance abuse
• Diminish the repercussions of destructive behaviors on self and others
• Deny that addiction is really a problem
• Be overconfident in the ability to quit at any time
• Fear a loss of status, respect or other relationships due to admitting to an addiction
• Fear that the “good times” will end when drug use ends
• Fear negative employment or career development if the disease is made known
• Fear the pain of withdrawal
• Fear that treatment is too expensive

Untreated addiction is always more expensive than treatment in financial, relational, career and overall quality of life terms. There are many people who believe in you, respect you and want to see you recover from addiction.

Find the Help You Need Today

If you are concerned that your use of drugs or alcohol had become abuse or addiction, please call our toll-free helpline today. Our counselors are here to answer any questions you have about addiction and treatment options. The call is confidential and free, so you have nothing to lose. Call today.

Can My Employer Fire Me If I Go to Rehab?

According to the United States Department of Labor under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) you can be given up to 12 weeks of medical leave in a 12 month period. Before you approach your employer about going into rehab, you want to thoroughly understand this act so that your rights are protected. The information provided here does not specifically cover military service members, so you should check with the US Department of Labor.

Who is eligible for being granted a leave? Any employee that has worked at least 1250 hours over the past 12 months for an employer that is within 75 miles and has more than 50 employees.

Are all leaves paid? Leaves can be unpaid or paid.

What are the reasons a person can ask for medical leave?

• Adoption
• Childbirth
• Care of an immediate family member for a serious illness
• Serious health condition of the employee which prohibits them from working

What protection does a person get from this law? For people who requested and were granted a leave the employer must return the employee back to the position in which they left (or an equivalent) with the same benefits, pay and status. In addition the employer is required to maintain the employee’s current health care plan. The law also protects employees that are on an unpaid leave by requiring the employer to pay the insurance premiums in installments while on leave or in full upon their return to work.

Can an employer fire an employee for going to rehab? If a person chooses to enter an inpatient drug rehab program, the FMLA law protects them from being terminated.

Why did my friend get fired? A person can be fired, if their addictive behavior impacted their ability to perform their job. If a person’s addiction increased their absenteeism or decreased their work performance, the employer has the right to follow their standard operating procedures regarding a person who is not doing their job.

How should I proceed? Working with your employer in a constructive manner is your best bet for maintaining employment after addiction recovery. You will want to understand what their concerns may be about how your work activities will be managed while you are on leave. You also need to have a clear understanding on how to request a leave in as seamless a manner as possible. By being upfront with your employer you demonstrate your commitment to the company. In turn they will realize that you are doing what is in your best interest and ultimately what is in their best interest as well by going into addiction rehabilitation.

Get Help Finding Treatment and Keeping Your Job

We can help you find the right addiction recovery program for you, and we can help you understand your rights as an employee. Call our toll-free helpline to learn more about attending a rehab program and keeping your job. We are here for you 24 hours a day, so please call now.

What Is Partial Hospitalization for Addiction Recovery?

A partial hospitalization program (PHP) is a short-term outpatient program that provides treatment and support to adults who have substance abuse disorders. Addicts reside at home, but they commute to a treatment center up to seven days a week. Unlike outpatient or day treatment programs which may be profit or non-profit organizations, partial hospitalization programs are affiliated with a hospital.
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Overcoming Shyness and Addiction

It is completely normal to feel shy occasionally and especially in foreign environments or in a group of strangers, but for some people shyness can become debilitating. These individuals may turn to drugs or alcohol to help them overcome their shyness in social situations, but this simply leaves them with the additional burden of addiction.
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Mutual Help and Inpatient Addiction Recovery

When a person thinks about inpatient drug treatment, he or she may expect the following:

• To focus exclusively on their recovery while free from the obligations of everyday life
• To have a safe and structured environment in which to receive treatment
• To receive medically supervised detox services designed to meet your specific needs
• To receive individual counseling that enables you to explore any underlying issues contributing to addiction
• To take advantage of nutritional meals and fitness programs designed to strengthen both mind and body
• To gain a fuller understanding of addiction, triggers and cravings
• To participate in alternative therapies and activities such as meditation, yoga or tai chi

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Addicted to Exercise and Performance-Enhancing Drugs

There are many types of eating disorders. What many people may not be aware of is that eating disorders are not just limited to teenaged girls and young women. There has been a sharp increase in the numbers of eating disorders seen in men, and eating disorders are becoming more varied for women and men.
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How Does Euphoric Recall Contribute to Relapse?

Addiction is both a physical and psychological disease. While many people mistakenly believe that the physical aspect of the disease is more powerful, it is actually the psychological side of addiction that causes more relapse. Learning how the addicted brain works can empower a recovering addict to avoid relapse.
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