Addiction Counseling
Serving all of Nevada, Arizona and Florida Virtually.
Are You ready to take your power back?
Do you find that a substance continues to sneak its way into your life despite all of your best intentions? Maybe it's drugs or alcohol, maybe it's smoking, gambling or television? Do you want to change, but others don't believe you because, let's face it, your words aren't matching up with your behaviors? Maybe you don't even believe yourself?
On the outside.... You're a hard worker. You appear strong, confident and well put together. Charming even. Little do they know, you're racked with guilt and shame about your secrets. You've lost control. Or better yet, you've convinced yourself you still have control, yet you are simply not utilizing it.
Just. One. More.
Addiction sucks
Maybe you even know how to refrain, you know the 12 steps like the back of your hand, you've been to the meetings, you've read the books, you've even done treatment before. It's just that whole implementing it part... Long term. That's where it gets tough.
Or perhaps this is your first attempt, and so far all is going pretty well, but you can just smell relapse lurking around the corner. How do you handle holidays without it? How do you sleep? How do you tolerate your mother-in-law? And don't even get me started on feelings.... Is this just what life is now? B. O. R. I. N. G.
Let's face it. It's easier to stay away from your vice when life is peaches and cream. Throw in a couple of bad days and things get rough.
Speaking of bad days, I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest your inability to stop really doesn't have anything to do with the actual thing you can't stay away from. I imagine you didn't wake up one day and choose this? No. You didn't. Clearly, there is something deeper going on. Often times that something deeper is what we therapists refer to as trauma (just a fancy word for any sort of physical or emotional harm you've experienced). Don't worry, we can help you with that too.
Addiction doesn’t discriminate
The truly unfortunate thing about addiction is that it doesn’t discriminate. Television has us convinced addiction happens in a vacuum. Addicts are portrayed as irresponsible, unreliable, and not trustworthy. They are self-centered, bad people. The media shows us it happens to people that live on the streets, to teenagers that make bad decisions, to gang members, to people that grow up in the projects, and to people who party every weekend.
Yeah, sure, addiction happens there, but addiction also happens to the CEO of your local law firm, it happens to the pilot of your plane and your daughter’s preschool teacher. In fact, most addictions are quite expensive, and sadly, addiction is much more “easily maintained” if one is generating a decent income to support it. In 2017, a National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows that 19.7 million American adults suffered from a substance use disorder and a whopping 74% of those were alcohol users. Addiction can happen to you. It can happen to your straight-A kid or your even your grandmother. The reality is, a functioning addict can be just as dangerous (to themselves and others) as a barely functioning addict.
Gambling is no better. According to the National Council on Problem Gambling, 2 million adults in the U.S. have a severe problem with gambling and another 4 to 6 million American adults have mild a moderate gambling problems. That’s a lot of full-grown adults just throwing their hard-earned money away! Our guess is, these statistics are likely much higher. I don’t know about you, but we certainly weren’t part of the survey and usually, people in a full-blown addiction aren’t going around telling complete strangers about it.
Addiction is scary
Addiction can creep up on you quickly and once it has it’s grip on you, it really can wreak havoc on your entire life. People in addiction can give up everything they once loved, without even realizing it.
Maybe you used to spend Friday nights with family, and instead, you’re down at the local Dotty’s throwing your paycheck into a machine. Or you used to play sports with the guys, but instead, you look forward to rolling a joint and disappearing into your TV. Addiction will take everything that’s good from your life and convince you it’s better. Addiction will make you lonely and then convince you you’re better off that way.
Not to mention your mental and physical health. If you are here reading this page, chances are you’ve come to some awareness of the consequences. Most people don’t browse this page while they’re experiencing the positive aspects of addiction.
Addiction counseling can help
At Recovery Unfiltered we see people suffering from the grips of addiction every day. And the funny thing about these people is that they know what they need to do. They know all the answers. Often times they’ve read books or they’ve been to meetings, yet somehow knowing hasn’t made a single dent in their addiction. In fact, often times knowing the answer to the problem and then not being able to implement what they know, leads them to experience guilt, shame, and embarrassment for their continued behavior. That guilt and shame can then lead to depression and occasionally suicidal thoughts.
While it may seem addiction can be cured through sheer willpower, and a series of books or steps, the reality is, in many cases, in order to create long-term change, a person might require addiction counseling. That’s where we come in.
Maybe Im not addicted?
I can quit.
I just don’t want to….
When it comes to substances, here are some clear-cut signs you might have a problem:
Having difficulty controlling your use. In other words, you’re using more of the substance than you intended or you are using it more often than you intended to. Or you have had the desire to cut down and have even tried to cut down, yet can’t seem to follow through.
Social Issues. This might mean neglecting your responsibilities and relationships due to the substance- either because you’d rather use, you need to find a way to get your next fix or because you are recovering from the effects of the substance. People in addiction sometimes give up social activities they used to enjoy. You might also find yourself having difficulty completing the same tasks at home, work or school that you used to complete just fine. Or you could be arguing with your spouse or your friends more frequently due to your use.
Risky Use. Often times a person in addiction has trouble seeing the risk involved in their substance use. They might believe they have things under control yet others can clearly see the danger. This might look like having a couple shots before driving to work, or taking a few pills while caring for the kids.
Physical dependence. Someone with a physical dependence needs more of the substance to get the same effect. Physical dependence can also cause withdrawal symptoms when the substance isn’t used.
What is addiction counseling anyway?
Great question. Unlike the 12 steps and other programs aimed at reducing addiction, addiction counseling at Recovery Unfiltered is completely unique to you. Let’s face it, in general, your addiction is completely unique to you. Why you do it, when you do it, how you do it, and what got you into this mess in the first place, these things are all completely unique to you. There really is no one size fits all solution to addiction. Different interventions work for different people.
At Recovery Unfiltered, you get the opportunity to work with a Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor. Also known as a person that has a great deal of knowledge and experience working with addiction. Addiction counseling always starts with a thorough evaluation of your history and current addictive thoughts, and behaviors. We then help you create your own definition of recovery and identify your current stage of change (there are many stages of change, and not everyone is ready for sobriety, we get that). You’ll work with your addiction counselor to develop motivation for lasting change. You will also identify your triggers to use, and any trauma that may have landed you in this situation.
Your treatment plan may include building a toolbox of skills to help you meet the needs that your addiction is currently meeting, and skills to manage triggering situations. You might also need to unburden yourself from the junk that you are trying to avoid with the addiction. In cases where trauma led to or exacerbated the addiction, this may mean participating in Trauma Therapy or even EMDR. We find that effective communication skills and healthy boundary setting can also be a big part of the recovery process, as difficulty in these areas can lead to relapse.
Speaking of relapse, some people are great at quitting a substance for a short period of time, yet can’t seem to maintain sobriety when under stress. We encourage our clients to stick around a while after they’ve become sober so they can process and problem-solve any curveballs life throws their way. Curveballs on a newly sober psyche can be difficult to tackle solo and we want to be sure you feel comfortable and confident in handling life without the addiction.
“Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”
— J.K. Rowling
But if I call you, you’ll make me quit. I don’t want to quit yet.
That’s fair. Of course, you don’t want to quit. You’re addicted. We get that. We don’t expect you to book an appointment and then and follow that with a steadfast desire to completely give up your addiction. In fact, we’ve never seen that. We understand part of you wants to quit but part of you is hanging onto this damn thing for dear life. We get you are afraid to live this life without the addiction. We get that you might show up to your counseling session and have very little motivation to follow through with everything you know you need to do in order to get where you want to be. Addiction is a tricky beast. Look, we are willing to meet you wherever you are in this journey. We are willing to talk to the part of you that wants to quit and also willing to talk to the part of you that feels incapable of quitting. We can see how you might come to the conclusion that we somehow have the power to make you quit, but we’ve got news for you, we can’t make you quit. We can’t make you do anything. If we had that kind of power we would have a waiting list years long. The reality is, you have total control over what you decide to do, when you decide to do it, and how long this process takes. At Recovery Unfiltered we are your recovery guides, your addiction sherpas, your motivators, and the supplier of your recovery guidebook. Once you contact us, you’re still the one in the driver’s seat. We aren’t taking this thing from you, nor do we have expectations as to how long this process takes you. So be kind to yourself. You don’t have to be “all in” today. You can be sorta in, most days, and totally out other days. That’s an okay time to give us a call.
My life is total chaos right now, this isn’t a good time for me.
Something happens in addiction where you might get into this state of what feels like barely breathing. Life can start to feel like navigating a shopping cart at Costco the weekend before Christmas, day after day… You’re always feeling like you’re waiting till the next break, the next weekend, the next fix, the next time when things calm down a little bit. But the reality is, that sense of calm never really comes. The punches keep being thrown and you just aren’t getting the break you’ve been hoping for, for the last month, the last year or even the last decade. That easy breezy feeling you are waiting on to finally kick up your feet and beat this addiction… it just doesn’t show up. There’s never a good day. There will always be another Monday, another shitty event, another holiday, and another excuse. If you don’t start now, when will you start?
But what I’m doing is totally stupid. I’m embarrassed.
We get that addiction can be demoralizing, embarrassing and downright humiliating. We understand maybe you have done or continue to do some crazy thing that you are hiding from the world. Addiction can lead people to do or say things they regret. We understand that you are not your addiction. We know that good people make stupid decisions. We’ve made a few of our own. We aren’t in this to judge you, we are in this to help you and we’ve heard our fair share of crazy and embarrassing stories. Believe it or not, we don’t sit around after work and talk about you or the wild things you do. To us, your shameful story is one of many. Helping you out of the darkness that is your addiction is our only goal here.
Some more good news. Addiction counseling at Recovery Unfiltered is 100% confidential and we are bound by our licenses and unable to run off to and tattle on you. If you are using substances that aren’t legal we can’t and won’t be reporting that to anyone. Now, there are some scenarios (not related to substance use) in which we are mandated to report information however, those are few and far between and you will have a chance to read about those situations, and ask us about them before you even show up to your first session.
We can help you out of this mess.
Wherever you are in your healing journey, the good news is, there's help and we’re here to lead the way. We specialize in helping people break free from addictive behavior with evidence-based interventions that work (even when other interventions have failed). If you call us and we can’t help you, we will connect you with someone that can.