Stop Feeling Guilty for Being a Recovering Alcoholic

Many people assume that those with addictions are bad people. They have a stereotype in their mind of what an addict is, which is often a layabout who does not work or lives on the streets. They fail to realise that addiction can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender and social background.

Alcoholism, for example, is an issue that many individuals all across the UK deal with on a daily basis. Many of these people are high-functioning alcoholics who go to work every day and who are still providing for their families, despite the fact that they have developed a dependency on alcohol.

Alcoholics are not always bad people; however, many recovering alcoholics believe themselves to be bad. They are wracked with guilt about their past behaviour and, in many cases, this guilt begins to eat away at them. It is important that recovering alcoholics learn to let go of the guilt they are feeling and to remember that they are not bad – they may have done some bad things while addicted, but that does not make them a bad person.

Alcoholism is an Illness

It is important to remember that nobody chooses to be an alcoholic. No one in the world would choose to be so addicted to a substance that it becomes the only thing they can think about until it begins to destroy their lives and the lives of the people around them. The truth is that alcoholism is an illness just as the flu or shingles are illnesses. Those affected by alcoholism are no worse than the individuals hit by the flu or shingles.

Alcoholism is an illness that affects the brain. Those who do bad things while under the influence of alcohol do so because of the way that alcohol has affected their brain. Even small amounts of alcohol are enough to affect the workings of the brain. Those who drink alcohol find that their judgement is often compromised. Feelings and emotions are also affected long before speech begins to slur and movement is impaired.

Inappropriate Behaviour
Alcohol often affects people’s ability to determine what is right and wrong. In some cases, those under the influence of alcohol may have some idea that something is wrong but they will ignore it and carry on regardless. Alcoholics often act aggressively or display inappropriate sexual urges. This type of behaviour is completely different to the way the person acts when sober.

Violence is often displayed by alcoholics, and domestic abuse is quite common in homes where one person suffers from alcohol addiction.

You are Not a Bad Person

It is important to remember that alcoholics have no control over the way they act. As mentioned above, they have developed an addiction to a substance that alters the way their brain works. If you are in recovery from alcohol addiction, you may be feeling guilty about the way you behaved when under the influence of alcohol. This is natural but there is no need to keep beating yourself up about it. As long as you can make amends with those you have wronged, you should be able to move forward and begin enjoying your life again.

You do not need to wallow in guilt for the rest of your life. You are not a bad person because you were alcoholic. Feeling guilty will only drag you back down and prevent you from making the most of your new sober life. Provided you stay clean, you can be sure you will never hurt anyone in that way again. All you can do is show your loved ones how sorry you are.

Get FREE Help & Advice Today, Please contact us for information on Alcohol rehab as well as drug rehabs, Through our alcohol rehab clinic. Call now for the best addiction help in the UK

Source : [ Middlegate Blog]

The Importance of Addiction Treatment for Pregnant Women

Addiction is a continuing problem all across the UK. It affects people of all ages, gender, and social economic background. The majority of those with addiction will require treatment to get better, but many continue their destructive path for a number of years before considering getting help. A large number of addicts are fearful of rehabilitation and they will refuse to accept help. It is only when faced with a life or death situation or an ultimatum from family members that the affected individual will consider rehabilitation as an option. Many women with addictions cannot, or will not, even stop upon discovering they are pregnant; this is because the compulsion is just too strong and they are not in the right frame of mind to consider the wellbeing of the new life growing inside them.

However, some women will want to do all they can for their unborn baby and will try to get help when they find out they are pregnant.

How Will the Unborn Baby Be Affected?
Many pregnant women who have been heavily using drugs or alcohol before finding out they are pregnant will worry about how their baby will be affected. This will usually depend on how heavily the mother has been using drugs or alcohol as well as the type of drugs or alcohol being used. Although the growing baby can be affected by drug and alcohol use, there is also a chance that the baby will be born healthy, especially if the mother can get treatment as soon as possible and spend the rest of her pregnancy in sobriety.

What Treatments are Available?

One of the problems pregnant addicts face is the fact that many of the treatments available to non-pregnant addicts are unsuitable for those carrying a child. If the pregnant woman has a severe addiction, the treatments that would typically be offered would be far too intensive for use during pregnancy.

Detox, for example, can be extremely dangerous for pregnant women. If the woman has been addicted to opioid substances such as heroin or some type of prescription medication, she could suffer serious withdrawal symptoms including seizures and even heart attacks.

Many treatment centres do not offer treatment to pregnant women because they do not want the liability of caring for such a complex case. Nevertheless, there are organisations where pregnant addicts can receive the help needed. Middlegate Addiction Help is a free service with information and advice on where pregnant addicts can find suitable treatments in their area.

It is important for pregnant women to get help as soon as possible as the earlier a woman can quit addiction within a pregnancy, the greater the chance of her baby being born healthy.

Things to Consider

When a woman discovers she is pregnant, many thoughts typically run through her head such as whether or not she is ready to become a mother. For an addict, there may be many more things to consider. It is essential that she has a good place to live and that she can financially support the child, either with or without the father involved.

If medical professionals have advised you that your baby is likely to be healthy and if you believe you can provide your child with a good home and upbringing, then you should continue with your pregnancy and get the treatment you need to stay sober. You will need plenty of support throughout from family and medical professionals. Middlegate can put you in touch with a suitable organisation but can also provide you with support and advice as and when you need it. Call today to see how we can help you.


If you need help in the london area, then please contact us for information on the latest information on places in london rehab clinics as well as greater london drug rehabs, Through our alcohol rehab clinic.

This article originally published at Middlegate Blog here

How Rehabilitation May Be Sabotaged by the Addict

Getting an addict to accept that he or she needs help for their problem can be tough. Many do not want to hear from loved ones that they need professional treatment for an illness they do not think they have. Some will become aggressive or defensive at the mere mention of addiction while others will just avoid getting into any discussion that revolves around drinking or taking drugs.

However, there will come a time when family members can break down the defences of their loved one and may be finally able to get through to him or her. This is generally when the addict is open to the idea of a sober life; this often occurs after behaving badly or while suffering from a bad hangover. During these periods, it may be possible to get a loved one to agree to get help for addiction.

This can seem like a monumental victory for family members; they have finally managed to get their addicted loved one to get help and for them it seems as if life is about to get back on track. If you are in this situation, it is important that your loved one has agreed to get help for the right reasons and not just to get you off his or her back.

Fear of Failure

Your loved one may be reluctant to enter rehab for fear of failing. He or she may not want to get help for addiction and, if they feel as though they have been forced to attend, they may do everything in their power to sabotage their treatment. Below we have listed a few ways in which treatment can be sabotaged by an addict:

1. The addict spends his or her time doing anything other than getting help for the problem. This could be playing video games, texting friends, surfing the web, or watching TV.

2. The addict pretends to pay attention when really he or she is just going through the motions with the counsellor to keep family members happy.

3. The addict is resentful of the fact that he or she is in rehabilitation instead of being with drug-taking or drinking friends and is unwilling to put in any effort.

4. The addict wallows in self-pity and fails to commit to the programme of rehabilitation. He or she blames others for the way life has turned out instead of taking responsibility for their actions.

5. The addict acts as if he or she knows better than the counsellors who have been trained to help them.

6. The addict spends his or her days glamorising the past when they were drinking or taking drugs.

Can You Help an Addict Who Doesn’t Want Help?
It is important that your loved one understands that treatment could save his or her life. You cannot force a loved one to get help for addiction no matter how much you want to. Unless you can get through to them about how rehabilitation is in his or her best interests, you could be fighting a losing battle.

You may want to get a qualified therapist or counsellor to speak to your loved one about the benefits of treatment. Taking him or her to a rehab centre where they can see how the programme works may be the solution. Your loved one must be ready to make a change in order to get the most from treatment.

Be realistic in your expectations and remember that this may not be the right time for your loved one to enter rehab. If you force the issue, you could find that this person is simply biding his or her time until he or she can get back to feeding their addiction.

If you need help in the london area, then please contact us for information on the latest information on places in london rehab clinics as well as greater london drug rehabs, Through our alcohol rehab clinic.

This article originally published at Middlegate Blog here

Who Will Look After Your Kids While You Are In Rehab?

If you have been struggling with alcohol addiction for a long time and have made the decision to get help, you will probably be advised to enter a residential treatment programme. This type of programme has a high success rate because of the intensive treatment provided. However, for single parents, the decision to get inpatient treatment can be a difficult one, especially if you are worried about who will look after your children.

You may be aware that it is in yours and your children’s best interests to seek help for your addiction, but you may feel as though you are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Your addiction may be ruining your life and having a detrimental effect on your children but you may feel as though leaving them even for a short period could be traumatic. So what are your options?

Think Carefully

Although you may be worried about the effect it will have on your kids, the reality is that leaving them for a while will undoubtedly be less traumatic than them continuing to live with your addiction. Left untreated, your addiction will simply get worse and could have a devastating impact on your health. Imagine how traumatic it would be for your children if they were to lose you to this illness. It is better to get help now than to have them live with the consequences further down the road.

Family Help

If you want to get better then you will need to think about childcare arrangements for the time you will be in rehab. You may be worried about asking family members for help, but you might be surprised at their willingness to lend a hand. It may be that the other parent will be willing to take the children until you are well enough to have them back, or maybe their grandparents on either side could help.

If you have siblings or close friends, they could all take turns helping with looking after the children for you. At the end of the day, they will want to make sure you get the help you need and will more than likely want to do all they can to make this a reality.

Foster Care
If you do not have family members or close friends to call upon to help take care of your children, then foster care may be an option. This may not be something that you want to consider, but you may have little choice if you want to get better. It is important to realise that foster carers in the UK have been very carefully vetted before being approved. Their backgrounds have been thoroughly checked, and you can rest assured that your children will be in safe hands. Both carers and social workers will look them after during their time in care; in many cases, foster care is the perfect solution.

In almost every situation, it is preferable for children in care to return to their birth families, so the foster carers and social workers will work closely with you to ensure that your kids are returned to you as soon as you are well enough to take them back.

Outpatient Treatment

If you really do not like the idea of putting your children in care and have no one else to take care of them, it may be worth looking for a good outpatient programme where you can attend therapy during the day while your children are at school or nursery.

For help and information on the best treatment centres for your requirements, call Middlegate today. We can provide free, independent advice as well as assessments and referrals based on your individual circumstances. We are here to help, and your wellbeing is our priority.

If you need help in the london area, then please contact us for information on the latest information on places in london alcohol rehabs as well as greater lodnon drug rehabs, Through our alcohol rehab clinic.

This article originally published at Middlegate Blog here

How Alcohol Addiction Can Destroy Lives

Alcohol addiction is a major problem in the UK. The global recession has led to a number of people suffering financial hardship and facing growing amounts of debt. This financial strain can be hugely stressful, and, therefore, many individuals are self-medicating with substances such as drugs and alcohol.

What may have started as a glass of wine at the end of a long day could have developed into a bottle of wine every night when the kids are in bed. Some will find that they spend much of their waking hours either drinking or thinking about when they can get their next drink.

Once they have become tolerant to the effects of alcohol, they will require more and more to experience the same feelings; this is when addiction has become a problem. Many people do not even realise they have developed a dependency on alcohol until they try to give it up and start suffering withdrawal symptoms.

Why Do People Drink Alcohol

Alcohol addiction affects individuals of all ages, regardless of gender, background, or race. There are various reasons why people drink alcohol, but it is a socially acceptable vice in most countries. Most drink alcohol in moderation, but there are a number who drink alcohol to excess and develop addictions.

Alcohol addiction occurs when someone loses control over the amount of alcohol he or she drinks. Those affected become dependent on alcohol and cannot function without it. Many drink to blot out the pain of a previous experience or loss. Others drink because it helps them cope with the stresses of everyday life.

How Alcohol Addiction Affects Family Life

As well as having a detrimental effect on the person with the addiction, alcohol addiction also negatively affects their family members. Living with an alcoholic can be extremely stressful, with many family members admitting that they are living in constant fear of how their addicted loved one will behave. They may also be fearful of conflict as alcoholics can often become aggressive and violent.

Children of alcoholics may experience feelings of sadness, loneliness, despair, and exclusion. They may be embarrassed that their mum or dad acts the way they do and will avoid bringing friends home for fear their situation will be discovered. These children are often neglected and have to learn to fend for themselves from a very young age. This can cause numerous problems in later life.

Alcohol addiction can also cause a number of health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, liver disease, infertility, pancreatitis and some forms of cancer. Those with severe alcohol addictions can do irreversible damage to their liver and are unable to get a liver transplant because of their addiction.

Home life is often damaged beyond repair too, with many marriage breakdowns resulting from one spouse’s addiction. Those who suffer from an addiction may become self-absorbed and will have little time for others, including their loved ones. They may neglect relationships with their spouse or partner and with their children.

Alcohol addiction can affect a person’s ability to work and, therefore, financial hardship typically follows, leaving the family in an even more precarious position. It is not uncommon for family life to completely break down because of one person’s addiction to alcohol.

Help is Available

It is important that those with an addiction to alcohol get the help they need as soon as possible. Middlegate is here to provide free advice and support to those who need it. We work with addicts and their families to ensure they get access to the treatments that could turn their lives around. If you or a loved one needs help for addiction, contact Middlegate today.

If you need help in the london area, then please contact us for information on the latest information on places in london alcohol rehabs as well as greater lodnon drug rehabs, Through our alcohol rehab clinic.


This article originally published at Middlegate Blog here

Why Detox Can Be Beneficial For Addiction Recovery

If you have been suffering from addiction for a number of years and have finally decided to make a change, you may be worried about what rehabilitation entails. Many addicted individuals are scared that rehabilitation will be painful and traumatic, and this is what puts so many people off the idea of asking for help. Others are worried that they will appear weak if admitting they need help.

However, going it alone is not only difficult; it can be very dangerous as well. Depending on the type and severity of addiction you have, you may find that quitting alone can mean experiencing withdrawal symptoms, which can be quite intense. It is, therefore, important that you are medically supervised during this process; a detox programme is usually the best solution.

Withdrawal Symptoms

When a person has been abusing drugs or alcohol for some time, he or she become tolerant to the effects of the substance. This then means that they tend to use more and more of the drug or alcohol to get the same effects and that, in turn, means their body adapts to cope with the increased toxins. When these toxins are removed from the body, it can go into shock. This is why addicts tend to suffer withdrawal symptoms when they stop abusing drugs or alcohol.

For the first few days after a person stops taking drugs or drinking alcohol, they may experience withdrawal symptoms that are similar to flu symptoms. While these symptoms are not particularly painful or severe, they can be unpleasant, meaning that most addicts know that by simply drinking or using drugs again, the symptoms would go away. This makes the whole process extremely difficult

There is also the risk of serious withdrawal symptoms, which tend to affect those who have been heavy drinkers for a long time or those who have abused barbiturates heavily. These symptoms are known as DTs, or delirium tremens. The reason these symptoms are particularly dangerous is that they can cause the blood pressure to raise to dangerously high levels and this, coupled with an increased pulse rate, can lead to seizures or convulsions.

How Detox Can Help

Entering a rehabilitation programme, which includes detox, can often be the best solution for many addicted individuals. Those suffering withdrawal symptoms are medically supervised and given support and encouragement through the process. They may even be prescribed certain medications that will make the withdrawal symptoms easier to bear.

A large number of addicted individuals will give in to temptation and relapse during this stage of rehabilitation because of the withdrawal symptoms. On a programme of rehabilitation, though, this is less likely to occur.

It is impossible to know whether an addict will suffer DTs during withdrawal, so detox can be the safest way to get them through this process. Being under medical supervision when you try to withdraw from alcohol or drug abuse is the best way to ensure your safety at all times.

You may be able to find a suitable rehabilitation clinic that will also provide detox programmes. Middlegate can help you access information regarding treatments available for your addiction. We can assess your situation, advise on the best course of action, and refer you to a suitable clinic.

If you are assessed as having a high risk of developing acute withdrawal symptoms, then we may advise you to attend a specialist detox facility. In most cases, though, you can combine detox with a programme of rehabilitation.

For more information on the treatments available as well as advice and support on the next step of the process, contact Middlegate today.

This article originally published at Middlegate Blog here

How to Handle Low Days During Recovery

Living in the grip of addiction can be devastating for all involved. Those who suffer from addiction can find it hard to break the habit, and those who love them suffer the heartbreak of seeing their loved one in such despair.

Getting help for addiction is important but many addicts are reluctant to accept that they either have a problem or that they need external help. Many are unwilling to try rehab because they are afraid that it will be too painful or that they might not succeed. Others believe it is better to not try than to try and fail.

However, there are some who get to a point when they know they need help. They have reached their low point, and they are ready to make a positive change to their lives. These individuals may be prepared to accept help and are optimistic about their future sober life. This positive attitude can be hugely important in terms of a successful recovery, but it is common for these feelings of positivity to subside once the person is living their new sober life.

Ups and Downs

Those in recovery tend to have great days and then have days when they are feeling low. During these low periods, it is easy to feel disheartened but it is important to realise that these feelings are normal. However, if you notice that the low periods are lasting longer than the good periods, you may be in danger of relapse. It is vital that you learn how to get past these bad times by focusing on the good things in your life.

Learn to Love Your Life
One of the reasons you may feel down is because you are unable to appreciate the good things in your life. It is important to learn how to be grateful for the things you do have rather than focusing on those you don’t. It is easy to take things for granted, so learning how to appreciate your blessings may help you get your life back on track when you are feeling down.

Spend More Time with Those Who Inspire You

There are no doubt people in your life who inspire you, or maybe you have met someone in recovery who motivated you to get through your rehabilitation. If this is the case then spending time with these individuals is an excellent way to keep you on the straight and narrow. Try to avoid spending time with negative individuals as this can make you feel even more down and prevent you from enjoying the fact that you are proof that successful recovery is possible.

Read about Other People’s Recovery Journeys

Inspirational stories of other recovering addicts can be immensely powerful and can help you to remember why you wanted to be sober in the first place. There are many books available that document people’s stories but there are also plenty of options online including blogs, YouTube videos, and podcasts. Take the time to read about other people’s journeys as this can motivate you and inspire you to stay healthy and sober.

Think About What You Want from Life

You may have set yourself the goal of getting sober and, now you have reached that goal, you may be wondering what to do next. Think about the plans you had for yourself before you became addicted and maybe you can achieve those once-forgotten goals. Alternatively, set a new goal for yourself and put your energy into achieving your aims. This can be a great way for you to rekindle your positive energy and to focus on something else.

Speak to Someone Who Can Help

If you are still feeling low, talking to a professional can help. Middlegate has a team of experienced advisors and counsellors who can help by providing you with a listening ear. Call today to speak to one of our dedicated members of staff.

This article originally published at Middlegate Blog here