drug and alcohol rehab

the road to addiction recoverytakes strength, courage and support.we'd like to now take you on a journey.a 12-part reclaim your life series with our partner attransformations drug and alcohol treatment center, to meet themany faces of addiction, but more importantly to understandthe uniquely different programs that transformations offers forspecific groups that are afflicted by addiction.today, we start with a look at the under-30 program.a program uniquely designed for

the younger generation who needto know they're not alone in this journey.i sat down with one young adult who knows this only too well.by 21, i had nobody in my life. i was living on the streets withthe clothes on my back. no money in my pocket.it was pretty much just me. i've had a lot of bad thingshappen to me. i've had all types of violence,guns, things like that. anything you could reallyimagine happen to me, but for me, the bottom was really justcomplete abandonment.

his story could be shared bymany young adults today who are suffering from the disease ofaddiction. a disease that destroys lives,relationships, and careers. for josh, rock bottom meantfinally admitting he had a problem and making the call forhelp. calling your best friend,calling your family, calling and no one is there.that's what made me, everyone pushing me away, because theywere good people and they knew that's what it took to get mebetter, is what led me to the

point, to the gift ofdesperation is i will do whatever it takes to get clean.i never want to feel this again. it's the first step that manymake in coming to transformations treatment centerin delray beach, florida. a place that changes lives onthe road to recovery. as a licensed psychotherapist,joshua weaver is the leader of the young adults program attransformations. it means creating specificprograms designed for the lifestyle of the under-30population, and starting them on

a sober journey to recovery.when i spoke to josh a few months ago, he was so honestabout his addiction and what he went through.it was so impactful. how typical is his story today?i believe that josh's story is very typical of how addiction isimpacting today's society. and what hope doestransformations offer to young adults like josh?what transformations offers is an opportunity to learn aboutthe origins of their addiction, so that they can learn copingstrategies to manage what

they have experiencedthroughout their lives, so that they can managetheir issues long-term so they pervent further relapse.but, to understand that, must be difficult for them because oncethey let go and say "i need help" it takes time tounderstand what they're going through, right?yes. initially, when they would cometo transformations, they sometimes have difficulty intrusting people and i think that's one of the major parts ofthis whole process, is they have

to allow themselves to becomevulnerable, when in the past, they've been very defensive, andonly really focused on using, to prevent them to numb the painthat they've been experiencing in their lives.young adults have such an active life.i mean, they're constantly on the go and they're moving andgoing, especially in today's society.how do you design a recovery program to fit that lifestyle?let;s say on a saturday, they all go to the beach, especiallyif it's around one of those

holidays if people tend to drinka lot, and they're there as a community in a whole differentperspective. they're looking at things withsober eyes, and then they come to monday morning to thecaseload, and they talk about their experience.that may be the first time in their whole lives that they'veever been able to do that. that must be such a turningpoint for them to just feel it and realize "i don't need to bedrunk or high to be happy." yeah, so what we do is, wesupport them in increasing that.

so, just because they've had oneexperience, that doesn't necessarily clear the playingfield for them. we try to incrementally increaseit. so, by the time that theytreatment at this facility, they have a really good foundationfor themselves to begin that initial stage of change.and i can only imagine, when they finally have that funwithout, let's say the drugs or the alcohol, and they see whatthey can do, how happy they can be, and what the future holdsfor them, it's got to be a

turning point.it's got to be huge. it's a huge turning point forthem, because a lot of them, they've never really been ableto experience fun, or they have a different definition of whatit is, so we are really at the initial stages of them changinghere. but let's be honest.the road to recovery is not an easy one.no. very difficult.what does it take? everything they have.i believe that a major thing for

them is, to allow them to bevulnerable and open about the things that they haveexperienced throughout their lives and allow us to help themthrough this process. if somebody is watching, andthey say "you know this all sounds great, but i just can'tdo it" what would you say? you can.yeah. the key is for each patient tohave the courage to seek help and start that journey torecovery. changing lives is whattransformations is all about.

i think a lot of people don'tbelieve that it's possible. i think the one addict oralcoholic talking to one another is one of the most therapeuticthings you can have. someone that was once at rockbottom, that can relate to them, giving them hope through yourown story, to help them realize that you can come out of it.there is light on the other side of the tunnel.like josh, there is hope for any young adults who have startedthis journey to recovery as we continue our series, we'll belooking at programs designed for

other groups, as well, includingadults over 30 or the older adult population.we hope you'll join us to see how anyone in addiction canreclaim their life. remember, for more information,you can go to transformationstreatment.center,and our website, thebalancingact.com.