What Should I Do to Heal? Is It Enough to Quit the Substance?

Quitting the substance is the first step to recovery, but it is not sufficient on its own. Recovery requires change. There are things that a person needs to change in themselves and in their life.

Addiction develops in a person over a process. Just as a process is required for addiction to develop, overcoming addiction also requires a process of change. People are most afraid of treatment at this point. Because change is frightening. When individuals are forced to change their behavior patterns, they may take a step back. At this point, it is necessary to motivate individuals towards change. The motivation process is an important part of treatment.

Simply quitting the substance and trying to stay away without entering the process of change brings temporary solutions. It does not provide a permanent solution. Sentences frequently heard from families of addicts, such as "He quit for a month but then started again," are exactly related to this. When a person quits the substance, they act as if the whole process is complete, but the real important thing is the effort made to not start again. 

The first process of recovery in addiction is the body starting to detoxify with the cessation of the substance. 

The process of staying away from the substance follows the cessation of the substance. Staying away from the substance may not always be easy. A person may need to make significant changes in their life. For example; staying away from environments where they used the substance, not meeting with friends they used the substance with, making many changes that will affect their daily life, such as changing their phone number so that people from whom they obtained the substance cannot reach them. Sometimes individuals may even consider changing their living environment.

It is very important for the continuity of treatment that the person adapts to these changes and is able to sustain them. During the process of quitting the substance, even the slightest situation that will remind the person of the substance should be avoided. Because even if the person quits the substance themselves, their brain continues to crave it. Until they learn to resist the desires of the brain, what needs to be done is to stay away from dangers.

The recovery process should be seen as a process where the person integrates with a life without substances and changes. The person begins to know and understand themselves and, being aware of the factors that lead to substance use, tries to change them. At the same time, they begin to cope with the psychological problems they experience. Thus, they learn that they should not seek the solution to their psychological problems in substances. They learn the effects that the substance has on them. They gain the necessary knowledge and skills to not start using again. They learn to resist the brain's craving for the substance. Thus, they prepare themselves for the outside world, because there will always be triggering factors and risks in their life.