Narconon Arrowhead Addresses Drug Cravings in Latest Press Release

headacheWhat does it take to get over addiction? What kinds of barriers does an addict face when trying to get sober? How hard is it really to quit using drugs and alcohol and to make a fresh start in life? These and other questions like them are answered in The Life Cycle and Mechanics of Addiction, a new booklet published online by Narconon Arrowhead executive director Gary W. Smith. It is a brief yet information packed booklet which is available as a free download through the Narconon Arrowhead website, and it is presented in an easy to understand, accessible and highly informative format. The Mechanics of Addiction is based on Smith’s decades of experience in the field addiction treatment, and it offers a wealth of information to people who are facing the problems of substance abuse in a loved one or in their own lives. Narconon Arrowhead issued a press release discussing the new booklet, focusing on the section of the book which discusses the first barrier that a person must overcome in the fight against addiction: cravings.

Cravings are the most easily recognizable aspect of addiction. There is more to the problem of addiction than only cravings — it’s a complex issue — but when a person starts craving drugs or alcohol, it is likely that he or she has become an addict, and just as it’s one of the first signs of the problem, it’s also the first obstacle to recovery. Most people who are dependent on drugs or alcohol don’t want to keep living that way. Most addicts want to quit. Many do quit, again and again, trying repeatedly to get sober and failing time after time. It’s this constant craving that keeps an addict trapped. As soon as the effects of the last fix or latest drink wear off, the person feels an overwhelming compulsion to get another fix or take another drink. With continued use, the person needs to use more and more to get the same result, a vicious cycle in which cravings hold the whip that drives the person deeper into addiction.

Breaking Through Cravings

Before a person can recover from addiction to drugs or alcohol, it is necessary to break through this barrier of the cravings that he or she will experience upon quitting. This is one of the reasons that trying to quit alone often does not work. It takes support from others to resist the cravings, which are often strong enough to drive a person to desperate measures. Being in a safe and secure environment during this initial detox phase can make all the difference. The Narconon program goes a step further, with a regimen designed to assist a person going through withdrawals and experiencing powerful cravings that threaten his or her attempt at sobriety. For example, the person is given specific nutritional supplements that help to soften the symptoms of withdrawal and reduce the feeling of cravings. Later in the program, the person completes the sauna detoxification step, which can greatly reduce the incidence of cravings by flushing the body of accumulated toxic residues left behind by past drug use.

Without effective measures such as these, a recovering addict is faced with a huge uphill battle with a steep climb at the very beginning, and few can make it through these cravings without help. Anyone hoping to recover from addiction must be prepared to conquer his or her cravings, and to find a way to resist the temptation and compulsion to get just one more fix or take another drink. The cravings that trap a person in addiction can be formidable, but it is possible to overcome them and make a fresh start.