Addiction and Drug Abuse Counseling—Thriveworks Pueblo (Pueblo County)
You are not ‘weak’ for being stuck in drugs. You’re not ‘lazy’ or ‘self-destructive’ because of an addiction. Addictions are sticky. Every part of your brain and body want you to keep taking the substance or drug. Months or possibly years of habits are telling you to stay where you’re at.
Overcoming an addiction is hard.
Thriveworks Pueblo is here to make it a little easier. Our professional, licensed counselors know the commitment and sacrifice it takes to recover from a drug addiction. We also know that you can do it. There is so much more of life waiting for you outside an addiction, and you deserve to experience it!
To learn more, or to schedule an appointment, call (719) 838-6383.
What Are the Effects of Addiction and Substance Abuse?
Why is drug abuse so hard to get out of?
The short answer is the dopamine cycle. Dopamine is a messenger in your brain that lets the brain know when it is being rewarded. In a healthy brain, the dopamine cycle is highly regulated. But when a drug or alcohol is introduced into the system, the drug produces a dopamine surge sperate of the brain’s calculated system.
This is the high that keeps people coming back to drugs time after time. The brain responds to the dopamine surge by lowering its own dopamine production. So now, the only way your brain gets dopamine is by doing drug. Addiction has raised its ugly head.
It is terrifying to feel like you have no control in a drug addiction. It’s not a place anyone deserves to be. It is, however, a place anyone can get out of with some determination, hard work, and professional help. Thriveworks Pueblo Addiction and Substance Abuse counselors have years of training and experience to help you overcome drug addiction and wrestle back that control.
One of those ways is by utilizing the brain’s natural healing called neuroplasticity. Essentially, your brain is like clay and can be molded one-way or another. Addiction molded your brain, but therapy can mold it back. Thriveworks Pueblo is excited to walk beside you as you fight addiction and reform healthy habits.
When Should I Get Help for My Addictions?
Many people are okay with using drug recreationally or socially. But when has it gone too far and become an addiction? It’s hard to spot the exact moment because it’s a long and slow slip from recreational use to addiction. Our brain’s dependency on the drug makes it easy to make up excuses like:
I just need it to control my stress. Once I get my stress under control, I won’t use it.
I only use it when I’m with friends!
I deserve this. I work so hard. And everyone else does it!
Some of those may be true! But if you or a loved one has even a passing concern about your drug or alcohol consumption, it’s worth talking to someone. Drug addictions are quick to come detrimental and are slow to recover from. The faster you get help, the easier the recovery process is.
Another key part of drug addiction recovery is finding a program that works for you. If Thriveworks Pueblo isn’t that program, we can help you find another option. Our counselors live by the principle of doing maximum good and minimum harm. If we can help you, we will!
Common symptoms of a drug addiction include:
- Cravings for the drug/alcohol continue throughout day
- Use becomes regular and chronic
- Unsustainable or reckless spending patterns
- Painful physical reactions to withdrawal (headache, anxiety, inability to sleep or oversleeping, muscle aches)
- Changes in social patterns or groups
- Lying or being secretive
- Unable to feel happy or controlled without the drug
- Mood changes
Depending on the person, symptoms may be mild or severe, long lasting or come in short bursts. This list is far from exhaustive.
Fighting a drug addiction on your own is draining. Thriveworks Pueblo hopes to bring some hope into the situation and get you orientated towards a life you’re excited to live.
What Does Addiction Counseling Look Like?
Overcoming an addiction is not just sitting down with a counselor and talking it out. Good counseling will bring in your passions, outside goals, and other struggles. Thriveworks Pueblo recognizes that you are a full person, not just an addiction.
Addiction will rarely come alone. Often, you will experience depression, anxiety, insomnia, or low-self-esteem along with addiction. Thriveworks Pueblo wants to help you through these issues as well. They may be directly impacting your addiction, or your addiction may be directly impacting it (sometimes both!) It’s important not only to address the whole of you but to heal holistically as well.
Addiction can sneak in and whisper that you are not enough, that you are fated to stay like this forever, or that you can’t possible live without drugs. Those are all lies. You are strong enough, you are brave enough, and together, we can overcome addiction. You deserve to explore all that life offers without the shackles of addiction.
To schedule an addiction counseling session with Thriveworks Pueblo today, call (719) 838-6383. We strive to have no waitlist and guarantee to get you a session within 48 hours.
