Breaking Free: How To Stop Using Cocaine and Reclaim Your Life
Cocaine addiction is a complex and challenging issue that affects individuals from all walks of life. The road to recovery may seem daunting, but it is never impossible. With the right mindset, support system, and strategies, anyone can break free from cocaine addiction.
Signs You’ve Lost Control Of Your Cocaine Usage
Knowing when your substance usage has spiraled out of control is essential to getting help and taking a step toward recovery. However, that can be hard to do when you’ve become accustomed to a substance. Luckily, some signs and symptoms indicate a loss of control.
Some of the most common signs someone has lost control of their cocaine usage include:
- Needing larger amounts of cocaine to achieve the desired effects or to experience the same level of euphoria as before
- Failed attempts to quit cocaine
- Neglecting responsibilities such as missing work or school and neglecting family responsibilities
- Financial difficulties such as maxing out credit cards and engaging in risky behaviors to purchase cocaine
- Social isolation such as withdrawing from social activities and relationships that were once important
- Health issues such as insomnia, irregular heartbeats, nosebleeds
- Psychological symptoms such as heightened anxiety, paranoia, mood swings, or depression
- Strained relationships
- Losing interest in activities and hobbies that were once important
- Poor judgment that leads to risky, impulsive behavior
Steps To Take When You’re Ready To Stop Using Cocaine
Deciding to quit cocaine is a courageous and transformative choice that promises a brighter future. However, navigating the path to recovery can be overwhelming without a clear roadmap. Luckily, there are some practical steps you can and should take when you’re ready to stop using cocaine.
1. Recognize the Problem
Acknowledging that you have a problem with cocaine is the first crucial step toward recovery. Denial can be a powerful force, but it only prolongs the suffering and makes it harder to break free. Take an honest look at your life and the negative consequences cocaine has caused, both personally and professionally.
2. Get In The Right Mindset
Having the right mindset is a fundamental aspect of successfully quitting cocaine. It starts with a deep-rooted commitment and belief in overcoming addiction. Cultivating a positive and determined mindset allows you to face challenges with resilience and perseverance. It involves shifting your perspective from viewing quitting as a sacrifice to seeing it as a powerful choice that brings personal growth and a healthier future.
3. Seek Professional Help
Overcoming cocaine addiction often requires professional guidance. Reach out to a healthcare professional, counselor, or therapist experienced in addiction treatment. They can help you develop an individualized plan, provide necessary resources, and offer ongoing support throughout your recovery.
4. Participate In and Complete an Addiction Treatment Program
Participating in and completing an addiction treatment program is a pivotal step toward quitting cocaine and achieving lasting recovery. While in the treatment program, embrace a willingness to learn, grow, and fully engage in the process. Recognize that recovery is a journey that requires commitment, patience, and active participation. Trust in the expertise of the professionals guiding you and be open to trying new strategies and techniques. Maintaining a positive and proactive mindset throughout your addiction treatment program can increase your chances of long-term success in quitting cocaine.
5. Identify and Avoid Triggers
Recognize the situations, people, and emotions that trigger your cravings for cocaine. It could be certain environments, social circles, or even emotional states like stress, sadness, or boredom. By identifying these triggers, you can proactively avoid or manage them. Restructure your social circles, find healthier outlets for stress, and engage in activities that promote a positive mindset.
6. Build a Strong Support System
Surround yourself with positive, understanding individuals who support your decision to quit cocaine. Inform your loved ones about your struggle, as their support can provide a crucial anchor during challenging times. Consider joining support groups or attending meetings such as Narcotics Anonymous (NA) or Cocaine Anonymous (CA). Connecting with others who have gone through similar experiences can be immensely comforting and inspiring.
7. Implement Healthy Lifestyle Changes
Adopting a healthy lifestyle can significantly support your recovery efforts. Focus on regular exercise, a balanced diet, and sufficient sleep. Exercise releases endorphins, which can naturally boost your mood and reduce cravings. A nutritious diet can help restore your body’s balance and provide the necessary nutrients for recovery. Adequate sleep enhances mental clarity and emotional stability.
8. Learn and Practice Coping Mechanisms
Cocaine often becomes a coping mechanism for dealing with life’s challenges. Developing alternative ways to manage stress, anxiety, and other emotions is crucial. Explore healthy coping mechanisms such as meditation, deep breathing exercises, journaling, engaging in hobbies, or pursuing creative outlets. These practices can help you redirect your energy and find healthier ways to deal with life’s ups and downs.
9. Establish Boundaries and Accountability
Set clear boundaries with yourself and others regarding drug use. Avoid situations and individuals who enable or encourage your cocaine use. Surround yourself with people who respect and support your commitment to sobriety. Regularly evaluate your progress and hold yourself accountable for your actions and decisions.
10. Celebrate Milestones and Practice Self-Compassion
Recovery is a journey, and it’s important to celebrate even the most minor victories along the way. Acknowledge your progress and reward yourself for achieving milestones. At the same time, be kind to yourself during setbacks or relapses. Recovery is not always linear, and self-compassion is essential for staying motivated and resilient.
Overcoming cocaine addiction is challenging, but it is possible with determination, support, and a comprehensive recovery plan. Remember, you are not alone on this journey. Reach out for help, take one step at a time, and celebrate every triumph. The path to recovery may be difficult, but the rewards of a drug-free life are immeasurable — a life filled with renewed health, meaningful relationships, and personal fulfillment. Contact us today if you or a loved one are ready to stop using cocaine. Our treatment programs can help.
Reviewed and Assessed by
Taylor Brown, B.A.Com., CADC
Tim Coleman, M. of Ed.
Start Your Recovery Now!
Have A Midwest Recovery Centers' Team Member Call You Today.
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Staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Medical
Midwest Recovery Centers believes strongly in a client-centered approach. Substance Use Disorder is not what it was 5 or even 2 years ago. The substances on the street are constantly changing and so are the number of contraindications and fatal threats that substance use imposes on the person suffering. Our Medical team continues to stay up to speed with new advances of evidence-based approaches in treating those with both substance use disorder as well as their co-occurring mental health diagnosis. There are many varying pieces to each client’s situation when it comes to tackling the puzzle of a medical detox, and each step in the treatment planning is carefully selected, reviewed, and communicated for the best possible outcome of each client. We understand that consideration of the medical history, family history, past trauma, past and current substance use are all key indicators to most effectively give each client the best chance at developing a recovery process. Each client may present with a different scope of medical needs whether it’s their blood work or the most effective medications for them. Midwest Recovery Centers is proud to have the finest medical team to meet these individual and specific needs of each client that walks through our doors.
Clinical
When it comes to the therapeutic treatment of patients with substance use disorder, Midwest Recovery Centers believes in a client-centered approach guided by evidence-based practices. Substance use disorder has been identified by the American Medical Association as a disease, but because addiction is a disease that impacts behavior, treatment of this disease is often heavily focused on modifying behaviors and thoughts as well as establishing a new way of life. We place a strong emphasis on educating patients about this chronic illness and empowering them to practice treating it as such. Our clinical team is composed of leading experts in the field. We believe in having a staff as diverse as the clients we serve; from Licensed Professional Counselors to Licensed Clinical Social Workers, our staff is highly trained and educated in not only addiction but the mental health issues and life circumstances that often accompany it. Many of our clinicians have their own personal experience in long term recovery which lends them to an even better understanding of what our patients are experiencing. Our staff is highly skilled in choosing the most effective therapeutic modality for each client’s needs, to give them the best chance of securing the recovery process that will change their lives. Our clinical team understands that this is a family disease. This is why clinicians will offer weekly updates to families as well as concrete tools for families to utilize as they journey through this illness with their loved one. Those tools will be offered by the patient’s individual clinician as well as at our free Family Night on the first Wednesday of each month, offered to anyone in the community.
Our Origin Story
I began Midwest Recovery in honor of my mother, Betty Lou Wallace, who taught me responsibility in life and sobriety.
Mom was born, raised, and lived most of her life in Missouri, a state I'm still proud to call home. She had five children. The youngest were my older brother Don and me.
We knew that the disease of addiction ran in the family, but it wasn't until Don and I grew older that we realized we were falling into addictive patterns. Through it all, Mom was supportive of her children but firm about one principle: whether the disease was inherited or developed through your environment, you were responsible for your recovery from addiction.
"I will be supportive of your recovery but I will not enable your addiction," she was fond of saying.
Ultimately, I stayed sober from 1990 to 1997, when I relapsed. With Mom's support, I was able to get sober again in 2002. Tragically, Don was not so lucky. He passed away in 2005 from complications of an injury and continued addiction.
Mom wanted no parent to suffer from the sorrow and anguish of losing a child, so in 2002, she helped me establish my first treatment center business.
As Mom grew older, she shared with me some lessons she had learned through her affiliation with Al-Anon, a support group for family members of loved ones struggling with addiction. She asked me to stay clean and sober one day at a time and to use the lessons I learned in my own recovery to help others who were suffering.
In 2008, Mom passed away from throat cancer, one day after my six year sober anniversary. I still remember that one of the last times we spoke, she told me she was proud of my recovery.
Mom would be so happy to know that myself, our partners, and our team are carrying on her legacy in her home state. I don't know if my own recovery process would be intact without her and the lessons she shared. So much of what we share with our clients at Midwest began with Betty Lou.
Above all, Mom imparted several teachings that I carry with me every day: that people are inherently good, and if they fall into addiction, this makes them sick, not bad. She taught me to be patient, tolerant, loving, and kind to myself and to others.
Most of all, she taught me that recovery works if we are able to be honest with ourselves about our own behavior. That’s what she helped me accomplish and that’s what we strive to accomplish with every Midwest client.
On behalf of Betty Lou, I thank you for your interest in Midwest Recovery.
Jeff Howard
Start Your Recovery Now!
Have A Midwest Recovery Centers' Team Member Call You Today.
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The stigma surrounding substance abuse is a significant barrier to seeking treatment. Many individuals delay getting help because of fear, shame, or judgment.
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