The coronavirus pandemic has very quickly placed us in a scenario of uncertainty and vulnerability that we did not expect.
We went to sleep one night with a strange mix of relative normality and worry, and woke up the next morning with many of the rules that governed our world and our known reality having already changed.
Faced with this new and disconcerting paradigm, We all (addicts and not) get blocked, we get out of adjustment If we want to overcome it adaptively, we are going to have to do good personal work and rely on the right professionals to do so.
Since the state of alarm was declared, and with it the beginning of confinement, there are many people with different diseases and pathologies having a very bad time. People with addiction problems are no exception. This being so, it is also true that People with addiction must make an effort to rationalize and relativize the discomfort derived from their confinement situation
How to deal with detoxification treatment in the face of the coronavirus health crisis
The low tolerance for frustration, impulsivity and anxiety that characterize addictive behaviors are fatal companions in this context of a global pandemic. Even so, we must be aware that no matter how uncomfortable and annoying it may be for everyone, we cannot grant this situation the category of catastrophe just because we are overwhelmed in confinement for health security reasons.
Looking around us a little and empathizing with other people’s lives, we can find many very precarious personal situations and diseases for which this new reality does mean something truly catastrophic in terms of their treatment and evolution. If we stop to observe the reality of people who have sadly been infected, gotten sick, are in an ICU and have even died, our burden becomes something ridiculous, almost bordering on a lack of respect for our fellow human beings.
People with addiction problems, in these days of confinement, they may or may not be actively using (I couldn’t say that it could be worse), but what is clear is that their personal and especially family situation at home will be even more complex than usual. In this context, discussions, crises and conflicts of much higher intensity and impact may arise due to the situation of confinement (stress, consumption anxiety, etc.).
If you are reading this, you have an addiction problem and you find yourself having a hard time, I invite you to make a couple of reflections with a constructive spirit.
How do you think you would be experiencing this situation if you had already undergone rehabilitation treatment?
You would probably be prepared to manage it in a more mature, coherent and adaptive way. You would have more self-control over your thoughts, emotions, attitudes and skills to manage anxiety
Now you probably have multiple problems related to consumption anxiety, withdrawal syndrome, abuse and substitution of other substances, problems with your family, with neighbors, with authorities due to non-compliance with regulations, etc.
Don’t you think that how bad you are going through is indicating the need to make a change in your life?
Learning can (and should) always be extracted from every experience, especially from those that clearly show us our shortcomings and limitations.
It can be an excellent time to consider making a change and preparing to undergo a treatment May it help you break the servitude and slavery of addiction. Perhaps this global crisis, even with all its bad things, can be the starting point to break with the past and make a good decision.
The need for therapeutic support
During these days, in Llaurant La Llum We are having a lot of contact with former patients who, today, are fully rehabilitated We are happy to see how they are being able to manage this situation from abstinence and personal stability, a very different way of facing problems than the one they unfortunately had before carrying out their program, full of anxiety about using and/or all kinds of drugs. alterations due to having consumed.
In these turbulent times, we can access a wide range of (very appropriate) advice and recommendations online on how to stay active, busy, maintain a good attitude, the importance of controlling our thoughts and knowing how to direct them in order to have a better emotional state… All of this is very useful as guidance for people without significant pathologies, but For people with a disease as complex as addiction, immediate treatment is required to help them redirect their situation, and at this time more than ever.
Fighting addictions in times of pandemic is possible
At Llaurant La Llum (Therapeutic Community and Outpatient Clinic) we respond by adapting to the current circumstances promoting preventive protocols to stop the effects of the coronavirus crisis and to guarantee the health safety of our patients. We continue working through an intensive program that our Therapeutic Team has adapted to the current circumstances.
We always have, but now more than ever we ask patients and their families to make sure they go to treatment to centers duly registered and accredited by the competent health authorities
This guarantees, on the one hand, quality standards in the treatment to be received, quality of the facilities, methodologies, professionals… On the other hand, there is a very important question at this time when looking for a detoxification center: ensure that preventive and safety health protocols exist in the center in question regarding the coronavirus pandemic.
In Llaurant La Llum We have all the measures and protocols established by the reference public health services In addition, we have established a series of objective measures that ensure the peace of mind of our current and future patients.
To this end, we make tests available (as a mandatory requirement) to anyone who wants to enter our center to verify that they have not been infected by the virus. Specifically, two tests are carried out, one laboratory, and if this first test is negative, a quick validation test is carried out as a second immediately prior to admission.
From the moment of admission, It is ensured that the person is in a safe health environment and intensive treatment is planned of about 12 weeks in which cessation, detoxification and relapse prevention are addressed. We are in a privileged environment surrounded by nature where we can carry out multiple sports activities, in addition to having all the telematic means to maintain a fluid and effective relationship with the family, carry out personal arrangements, access training…
All social health professionals have a role to play in this coronavirus crisis and those of us who are dedicated to the field of addictions at Llaurant La Llum will continue to provide the necessary service to patients and families who require it in these difficult times.
“We stop this virus together”…. And addiction too.
Author: José Miguel Camacho Fernández-Medina, Coordinator of the Llaurant La Llum Therapeutic Community
