FAQs

Secondary treatment enables you to feel more confident and more solid in your recovery. It also serves to strengthen your ability to integrate with society and pursue healthy relationships.

If you’ve been in recovery for a while and you are going through a period where you feel a little unstable or uncertain, you can always approach SHARP for support. Recovery and healing is an ongoing life-long process for us all. Clients who have completed programmes are still very much a part of SHARP, whether in small or big ways. SHARP is like family, and our doors and arms are always open.

Half of all patients diagnosed as alcoholic are born into families where alcohol is used heavily, suggesting that familiar influence, genetic factors, or more likely both, play a role in the development of addiction. Also of note, is that when people don’t gain a sense of moderation during their development they can be just as likely, if not more likely, to abuse substances than people born into alcoholic families.

Drugs generally fall into two categories – depressants and stimulants. Depressants have a relaxing and pain-relieving effect, while stimulants provide energy and alertness. Depressants such as alcohol and benzodiazepines, work by increasing concentrations of GABA in the brain. Narcotics such as morphine and methadone, work by mimicking endorphins (chemicals produced naturally by the body which have effects similar to dopamine), or by disabling neurons that normally inhibit the release of dopamine. These substances (sometimes called "downers") typically facilitate relaxation and pain-relief. Stimulants such as amphetamines, nicotine and cocaine, increase dopamine signalling, either by directly stimulating its release, or by blocking its absorption. These substances (sometimes called "uppers") typically cause heightened alertness and energy.

Drug addiction has two components: physical dependency, and psychological dependency. Physical dependency occurs when a drug has been used habitually and the body has become accustomed to its effects. The person must then continue to use the drug in order to feel normal, or its absence will trigger the symptoms of withdrawal. Psychological dependency occurs when a drug has been used habitually and the mind has become emotionally reliant on its effects, either to elicit pleasure or relieve pain, and does not feel capable of functioning without it. Its absence produces intense cravings, which are often brought on or magnified by stress. A dependent person may have either aspect of dependency, but often has both.

The most common drug addictions are to legal substances such as: alcohol, nicotine in the form of tobacco, particularly cigarettes, caffeine in the form of tea, coffee, and caffeinated sodas. Many prescription or over-the-counter drugs can become addictive if abused. Steroidal medications, for example, are extremely addictive.

There are many diverse explanations. There is the moral model, which states that addictions are the result of human weakness and are defects of character. The disease model holds that addiction is a disease, coming about as a result of either the impairment of neurochemical or behavioral processes, or of some combination of the two. The cultural model recognises that the influence of culture is a strong determinant of whether or not individuals fall prey to certain addictions. For example, alcoholism is rare among Saudi Arabians, where obtaining alcohol is difficult and using alcohol is prohibited. In North America, on the other hand, the incidence of gambling addictions soared in the last two decades of the 20th century, mirroring the growth of the gaming industry. The blended model attempts to consider elements of all other models in developing a therapeutic approach to dependency. It holds the mechanism of dependency is different for different individuals, and that each case must be considered on its own merits. The habit model proposed by Thomas Szasz, questions the very concept of “addiction”. He argues that addiction is a metaphor, and that the only reason to make the distinction between habit and addiction “is to persecute somebody”.

Addiction is a chronic disorder proposed to be precipitated by a combination of genetic, biological/ pharmacological and social factors. Addiction is characterised by the repeated use of substances or behaviours despite clear evidence of morbidity secondary to such use. There is lack of consensus as to what may properly be termed "addiction". Some within the medical community maintain a rigid definition of addiction and contend that the term is only applicable to a process of escalating drug or alcohol use. However, addiction is often applied to compulsive behaviours other than drug use, such as overeating, sex or gambling. In all cases, the term "addiction" describes a chronic pattern of behaviour that continues and is perceived to be hard or impossible to quit at any time. It is quite common for an addict to express the desire to stop the behaviour, but find himself or herself unable to cease.

Methods of recovery from addiction vary widely according to the types of drugs involved (or the type of addiction involved), amount of drugs used (or alcohol or other addiction), duration of the (drug) addiction, medical complications and the social needs of the individual. Treatment is just as important for the addicted individual as for the significant others in the addicted individuals sphere of contact. One of many recovery methods is the 12 Step recovery programme, with prominent examples including, Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. They are commonly known and used for a variety of addictions for the addicted individual and the family of the individual.

Very simply, an addict is anyone whose life is controlled by their addiction – be it drugs, alcohol, gambling or whatever else. Addicts are powerless over their addictions, and as a result, their lives very often become unmanageable. Although all addicts are basically the same in kind, they do, as individuals, differ in degree of sickness and rate of recovery.

Substance-abuse rehabilitation (or "rehab") centres frequently offer a residential treatment program for the seriously addicted in order to isolate the patient from drugs and interactions with other users and dealers, for other types of addictions, it would remove the addict from that particular addictive environment. Outpatient clinics usually offer a combination of individual counselling and group counselling. Frequently, a physician or psychiatrist will assist with prescriptions to assist with the side effects of the addiction (the most common side effect that the medications can help is anxiety).

Do I have to put my life on hold to deal with my addiction?

While you will have to make some fundamental changes, it is also important to maintain the positive aspects of your life. Work, family and support networks are vitally important to your recovery. Because coaching is a non-residential programme, it aims to assist you in establishing a non-using lifestyle within your existing life environment. At the end of the day, this is the environment you need to live in and stay clean in. The programme is flexible and tries, where possible, to fit in with your life.

Do you offer personalised treatment?

Addiction Recovery Coaching is a personalised approach. It’s built around your needs and works practically in your life to create steps to improving your life now. SHARP offers clients versatility, flexibility and discretion. Should the need arise, treatment can be provided at home or at other predetermined locations.

Do you offer support to families?

Recovery is a very personal and private journey. However loved ones can offer enormous support during this time. We often work with partners and families, offering support to the entire unit, and this can be a great healing process. Of course all coaching and therapy is totally private and nothing you discuss in treatment is ever disclosed to anyone, or to any family members without your consent.

Do you only treat drug addiction?

Addiction Recovery Coaching can help people recover from any addictive behaviours – gambling, alcoholism, sex addiction and compulsive eating as well as drug addiction. It’s not about the behaviour, or the substance, it’s about understanding addiction and learning how to live life in the now, free from addiction and need.

Is there such a thing as a successful addict?

No. Sometimes people who develop addictive behaviours have had no prior problems with addiction, no history of psychiatric problems or any other social problems, and do not seem to fit within the stereotype of a drug addict. They may not even appear to be traumatised in any way. They can be highly motivated, skilled and dynamic people. The problem is that once they have found something that takes them even higher, there’s no going back. Life appears miserable at the thought of never reaching that high again, of facing boredom and emptiness. Lasting recovery is about finding ways of getting high without drugs or other addictions.

  What about the psychological effects of addiction?

Over time, certain things, people or places can become what psychologists call, ‘paired’ with the addictive behaviour. In other words, one thing can lead to another. In addiction recovery coaching, you gain awareness of your trigger situations and learn how to manage them.  In time, you will become desensitised to the triggers and can even extinguish some of those triggers for good. Coaching will help you gain control over cravings, and support you every step of the way.

What if I need a detox?

SHARP offers detox support in the home as part of the Addiction Recovery Coaching programme. This unique, medically assisted detox is very therapeutic and supportive. Support is provided one-on-one and 24-hour care can be provided with an experienced personal nurse within the home. This allows for complete privacy and the continual comfort of your own surroundings. SHARP also has psychiatrists, psychologists and psychotherapists specialising in substance abuse on hand. At the start of a detox, an assessment is done to ascertain which methods are appropriate and what support is needed.  

What if there are physical withdrawal effects?

In some cases, addictions like cocaine addiction can leave you with a shortage of dopamine, and without enough dopamine you feel miserable and irritable. In extreme cases, adhenia can be experienced where it’s pretty much impossible to feel good about anything. Everybody feels a crash when they come down from the high that their addiction brings. And this of course can lead to a recurrence of the addictive behaviour, as a cure for the come down. There are methods such as auricular acupuncture, believed to assist in rebalancing brain chemistry. Meditation or visualisation therapy, which is learned during coaching, is also effective in stimulating those feel-good neurochemicals which help to reduce the physiological withdrawal effects.

What will it cost?

Your journey is unique to you, different people have different needs. Some may need more personalised attention on an ongoing daily basis, others may prefer less frequent sessions over a longer period of time.The nine-month programme can cost from R18 000 to R40 000, depending on the amount of care required. Compared to nine months of residential treatment, Addiction Recovery Coaching is a fraction of the cost.