Author: Jim Sugel

Why Traveling for Addiction Treatment is a Good Idea

a man traveling to rehab treatment center

Why Traveling for Addiction Treatment is a Good Idea

If you’re considering going to rehab for yourself or for a loved one, you likely have a lot of options. Not only do most areas have local outpatient programs, you can travel to one of the over 16,000 treatment facilities across the United States. Those treatment centers off inpatient care to local and out-of-state visitors – with an estimated 4 million patients each year. While that’s less than 10% of the total number of people who need treatment, it does mean that you have significant options to seek out treatment away from home.

And, while traveling to rehab treatment can seem like a big deal, it may be a good idea for your needs. That’s especially true for professionals who need discrete treatment to protect their career. Or, if you’re not yet ready to share about treatment with your community or your workplace. However, there are many reasons other than privacy that might mean traveling to rehab is a good choice for you.

You Want a Choice of Different Treatment Options

Most treatment centers in the United States offer 12-step treatment. If you’re going to an outpatient program, chances are it’s made up of counseling and 12-step and potentially cognitive behavioral therapy on a group basis. If you want something more intensive or more diverse, you might have to travel to find it.

For example, one-on-one motivational therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and dialectal behavioral therapy are proven to be effective in helping people to recover from a substance use disorder. In addition, you may benefit from family and relationship therapy, child care, pet care at the facility, EMDR, or any of a number of other treatment options that aren’t available locally.

That’s especially true if you have a co-occurring or dual diagnosis, where you might need specific treatment to offer support for getting substance abuse treatment while continuing medication. Or, if you want to go to a program that offers support for LGBTQ+, female-only, male-only, or medication assisted (or the lack of) programs.

The further out you’re willing to travel, the more options you’ll have. And, those will extend to complementary therapies and options like mindfulness, music therapy, physical therapy, nutritional therapy, etc.

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Taking Time Off Shouldn’t Feel Like a Hospital Visit

It’s also true that if you go to a local rehab clinic, especially on an outpatient basis, you’re essentially taking a lot of time out of your life for what will feel like work. It is important to note that rehab is work. You will have to spend a significant amount of time and personal effort on changing yourself, your behavior, and the way you think.

Traveling for rehab allows you to reduce the stress of that investment by making it something of a vacation. You also don’t have to go to a luxury rehab to get that feeling. Almost every rehab center has activities, group exercises, and entertainment, designed to help you to be happy and healthy throughout the program – while building the life skills you need to be happy and healthy outside of treatment. That means you can:

Let go of daily responsibilities and focus on treatment
Dedicate all of your time to recovery and building yourself up
Get to relax in a private and safe environment
Step away from the possibility of relapse into an environment where you can’t drink or use

Going to rehab doesn’t have to feel like you’re visiting a hospital everyday or staying in one. That’s stressful and demotivating. Traveling to a rehab center in a nice location means you can enjoy weather and nature and get to relax and destress while you work on yourself, and that should improve the quality of your experience and how much you can learn.

Getting a Fresh Start

Most people build habits around where they live and who they live with. This means that if you’re going to rehab and not changing the habits of how you live or who you hang out with, chances are, you are likely to relapse again. Stepping out of that environment means you get a fresh start, away from the people, places, and things that could trigger you to use.

That’s especially important if you frequently drink or use with friends or family. Or, if you have habits built around getting home and drinking or using. The more barriers you put between yourself and falling into automatic habits, the easier it will be to actually get clean or sober.

Of course, that does come with a caveat as well. If you travel to rehab, you’ll have to readjust when you get back and you’ll have to learn to avoid those triggers, to cut them out, or to mitigate them with better coping mechanisms or strategies. That can mean you’ll want to stay in a sober home when you get out of rehab, it may mean you’ll want to move, and it may mean you’ll want a new set of friends. However, getting the fresh start will be an important first step in helping you to step away from habits and give yourself the opportunity to build new ones.

You Need Extra Help

If you’ve tried to quit drugs or alcohol in the past and didn’t manage, have been to outpatient care, or qualify as having a significant substance use disorder, you may benefit from the extra support, hands on treatment, and higher rate of personalized attention in an inpatient center. While personalized treatment and more one-on-one time with counselors and therapists doesn’t guarantee better outcomes, it does mean you get the benefit of a program that is built around your needs, adapted as you move through therapy to match your progress, and based on your personal treatment history. And, when you graduate, you can move into aftercare programs, often via virtual therapy, so you can continue getting support as you navigate early recovery.

There’s no one right way to go to addiction treatment. In fact, if you’re choosing between outpatient treatment at a local facility or no treatment at all, the outpatient treatment is always better. However, traveling to treatment can offer a lot of benefits that will help you as you progress through your recovery journey.

If you or your loved-one struggles from alcoholism or other substance abuse please contact us today and speak with one of our experienced and professional intake advisors about our detox, partial hospitalization, and residential treatment programs. 10 Acre Ranch also has specialty tracks like our pet friendly drug rehab and couples substance abuse treatment programs. We’re here to help you recover.

Who is Best Suited for Residential Addiction Treatment?

people outdoor in recovery sitting on the grass

Who is Best Suited for Residential Addiction Treatment?

Today, an estimated 16,000 rehab centers deliver addiction treatment services to millions of Americans. On average, some 4 million of us go to rehabilitation every year. However, with dozens of choices in treatment type and style, it can be difficult to decide what’s right for you. Here, one of the biggest first choices is whether you’re attending inpatient or residential addiction treatment or outpatient treatment.

Both treatment options have pros and cons. And, residential treatment is definitely the best fit for some people and outpatient treatment for others. Therefore, making that decision will mean reviewing your needs and possibly talking to a consultant to help you decide what’s right for you. However, this article will help you get started with an overview of who’s best suited for residential addiction treatment.

Those with a History of Relapse

If you’ve tried to quit before and ended up relapsing, you likely go into rehab with a mindset that it isn’t going to work and you’re just going to fail. That can mean that you don’t even try – not even to get clean and sober to begin with. Going to a residential treatment facility means you’re forced into being clean and sober because you have no access to drugs and alcohol over the duration of the program. That duration can be 28, 30, 90 days or even longer. This means you’ll have plenty of time to detox and recover physically from your addiction – without having to navigate the hurdles of being able to just buy something and get drunk or high whenever you want.

However, if you do have a history of relapse, it’s important to talk about it with your counselor. That may result in preventive steps like ensuring you go into an aftercare program after you graduate, extra checkups, or a MAT (Medication-Assisted Treatment) maintenance program to ensure you can’t relapse once you’re back on your own.

People Without a Stable Home Situation

Addiction treatment relies on you having a comfortable routine and a good basis to build your life on so that you can work to rebuild your life and your behaviors. This means that if you have a tumultuous situation at home, if your friends and family at home also use, or if you don’t currently have a stable living situation, it’s better to go to an inpatient rehab facility.

Residential treatment can also vary from clinical settings to home-like settings with small groups brought together for treatment. They can offer all of the comfort and most of the privacy of home, although you will be asked to participate in social behavior, which typically means sharing a room, communal eating, and communal activities.

In addition, you can often move out of residential programs and into sober homes or halfway homes to benefit from that same level of stable home situation so you can maintain your recovery after you graduate the program.

Those Who Need Privacy

Many people don’t attend rehab or treatment because they’re afraid that other people will find out. In some cases, it’s important to learn to talk about your mental health and your substance abuse issues. In other cases, doing so could actually hurt your career or your study. In the latter case, it’s usually a good idea to travel to rehab and to attend treatment with full privacy. While that will cost more, it may be an important step for your career and your long-term well-being.

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Anyone in Need of Intensive Care

Residential treatment gives you the benefit of 24/7 medical monitoring and care. You also get more contact with nurses, doctors, therapists, and counselors, because they are working around you all the time. Therefore, while outpatient treatment can be as effective as inpatient treatment for those with a light to moderate addiction, anyone in need of intensive care is normally recommended into residential treatment.

Residential treatment also normally means you get more personalized care, because your therapist is better able to see your progress, gauge your reactions, and adjust your program to you and with your progress. This can mean you get support for dual diagnosis, that you get extra help with something specific you’re struggling with, or that you have the full program tailored to your needs rather than being put in a general recovery program. In each case, it can and does improve outcomes.

Who needs intensive care? In most cases, anyone with a predisposition to substance abuse (e.g., family history of, family history of abuse, family history of trauma), co-occurring mental health disorder, repeated history of treatment and relapse, high substance abuse (e.g., blacking out using alcohol, risking overdose with drugs), etc. Of course, there are many other reasons you might need intensive care and personalized treatment, so talk to your doctor.

Getting Help

If you’re struggling with a substance use disorder, it’s important to keep in mind that any help is better than no help at all. If you can’t afford or can’t make time to go to residential addiction treatment, it’s better to go to an outpatient program and see what you can learn from it. Outpatient treatment can also add significant value to your recovery and may be enough to help you quit drugs or alcohol for good.

However, it’s also a good idea to talk to your doctor and your counselors to determine what is a best fit for you and your needs. People are often recommended into residential treatment when:

They have a long history of drug or alcohol abuse
They are heavy users
They have no stable living situation
People in their close friends and family also use
Their family life is tumultuous
They experience a high amount of stress in daily life
They have significant complicating factors such as a dual diagnosis
They have specific career needs that could negatively impact treatment
Medical or mental health complications require extra medical or therapeutic attention

In each case, you don’t have to tick the boxes to benefit from residential treatment. Anyone can benefit from stepping away from day-to-day life and focusing fully on treatment and therapy. However, if this profile does sound like you, you are likely best suited for residential treatment.

Eventually, the best option is to get help. If you talk to a counselor at a treatment center or to your doctor, they can help you make the right choice to get the help you need. Good luck.

What Does the Bible Say About Addiction?

What Does the Bible Say About Addiction?

If you or a loved one is struggling with substance abuse, turning to your faith and the Bible can be a powerful factor in recovery. But, what does the bible actually say about addiction and recovery? The bible was written thousands of years before modern medicine and our modern understanding of addiction, does it even talk about it at all?

The answer is yes, and in ways that may be inspiring for you or for your loved one. Depending on where you are in life and in your spirituality, there are also many different references to addiction and substance abuse in the bible. Addiction is just one more challenge that God put on earth for us to navigate, so of course His book talks about it. Here are some references to addiction in the bible.

1 Peter 5:8

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour”

Addiction is a temptation and it will tempt you and it will overcome you, but if you are careful and invest in learning and vigilance, you can avoid the trap of addiction and relapse and stay on the path of recovery. That means long-term care and staying aware of the potential for relapse, so that you can take care of yourself.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

For ye are bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Your body is a temple and it is your responsibility to care for it in a way that fits your faith and your love for God. That means working to overcome addiction and substance abuse and putting the same love and care into your body and your self that you would give to any other child of God.

Thessalonians 5:6-8

“Therefore, let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.”

It’s important to always take steps to invest in yourself, your sobriety, and your body. Approaching recovery as a proactive thing, and one that requires contemplation and deliberate choice is important. And, you can do so from the standpoint of caring for yourself and using your spirituality and faith as a guiding light.

John 16:33

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

You can overcome any tribulation that is here for you on earth. It may not be easy, but you can do it, and God has given you the tools to do so. All you have to do is look for them, put in the work, and keep your mindset where it should be.

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1 Corinthians 10:13

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

You can overcome any tribulation that you face, including addiction. It won’t be easy, but God has put the means to recover on earth for you and there will be no challenge you cannot overcome. It may not seem that way, but that is God’s promise.

Proverbs 20:1

“Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.”

Addiction can seem tempting, drugs and alcohol can seem like they make you feel better, but eventually they deceive and get in your way. Finding better coping mechanisms is important for living in a Christian way.

Ephesians 5:18

“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit”

Turn to God for help with trouble, for feeling good, and for dealing with the tribulations of life, not to drugs and alcohol. That can be harder than it sounds on paper, but going to your community and church and asking for support and love will always yield better results than drinking or using and trying to escape from those same problems.

Romans 5:3-5

“And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”

You can overcome anything God puts in your path. However, it will require patience, hard work, and dedication. You must invest in faith and hope and continue to dedicate yourself to your path towards recovery – because it will not be an easy road – but with patience, you will get there.

James 5:15-16

“And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

Talk to your peers and your community, ask for help, and offer help where you can. People do not become righteous, clean, or sober on their own. You have help available to you, getting help and sharing is the way to recovery.

If you’re struggling with drugs or alcohol, it’s important to reach out and get help. God put temptation and struggle in your way but he also gave you tools and people to help you overcome those tribulations. Getting treatment and therapy, learning how to navigate your life without drugs and alcohol, and investing in a life of sobriety and self-care.

Good luck with recovery.

If you or your loved-one struggles from alcoholism or other substance abuse please contact us today and speak with one of our experienced and professional intake advisors about our detox, partial hospitalization, and residential treatment programs. 10 Acre Ranch also has specialty tracks like our Christian drug and alcohol rehab and pet friendly drug rehab programs. We’re here to help you recover.

What Happens to My Pet If I Go to Rehab?

young man hanging out with his dog at the rehab center

What Happens to My Pet If I Go to Rehab?

Going to rehab can be an important step in getting your life back on track. Substance use disorder treatment can give you the tools to get clean and sober, to cope with cravings in the future, and to manage the underlying causes of substance abuse so that you don’t need drugs or alcohol to cope with life. At the same time, for many of us, stepping away from responsibilities like jobs, homes, and pets can be challenging.

If you have a pet and you live alone, that can be especially pressing. What does happen to your pet when you go to rehab? Depending on your situation, there are multiple options and all of them have different pros and cons. This article will discuss what those are and will help you to make a decision.

Leaving a Pet with a Friend or Family Member

Even if friends and family members aren’t particularly happy with you as a person, they are unlikely to ignore a request to help care for a pet while you’re gone. If your friends and family can be trusted with your pet, this can be the most affordable option. However, it is understandably not an option for everyone. For example, if you’re not on speaking terms with anyone, if those people aren’t trustworthy around pets, or if they have too much on their plate already, you may not have this option.

Another option here is to try to break up the work across several friends. For example, your pet stays with one person for a week and then someone else picks them up, and so on. This means less constant work for someone who may not want a pet for 30-90 days. However, this option also means the most stress for your pet.

Paying For Professional Kennel Care

Professional kennel care means taking your pet to a professional pet boarding center and leaving them there for the duration of the stay. This option can be expensive. For example, pet boarding rates average about $500 per month. This does mean your pet will stay in a professional care center with someone to watch them, take them out, and offer play or walking.

Unfortunately, most professional care is available for dogs and cats. If you have a bird, you’ll probably have to seek out and travel to a professional center. This can mean added hassle and expense, which means the option isn’t for everyone.

If you do have a dog or a cat and you want to ensure that your pet gets the best possible care without you having to worry about anything, paying a professional kennel to care for your pet is a great option.

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Pet Sitters

Pet sitters are friends, family, or professional sitters who come and stay at your home for the duration of your treatment. Pet sitters may also drop by to exercise, play with, and feed your pet. This second option is the cheapest. For example, it may cost from about $20 per day to have someone walk and feed a dog. That still costs more than many kennels. However, it reduces the amount of stress your pet is under and is suitable for smaller mammals and fish.

Pet sitters will need access to your home, which means getting them keys, organizing when they will be there, and ensuring they have everything they need to provide for your pet while you are away. Often, that means choosing pet sitters who are licensed and bonded or choosing people you know. In each case, it will require organization and ensuring that you trust the person in question to continue doing the job while you are gone.

Choosing a Pet-Friendly Rehab

Pet-friendly rehab centers like 10-Acre Ranch allow you to simply bring your pets with you when you get treatment. This option offers the most peace of mind, because you know what care your pet is getting because you see them every day. In addition, the rehab center offers daily pet care, so you don’t have to watch or mind your pet while going to therapy or treatment. Plus, many therapies can work very well with having a pet, which means that your pet can actually take part in your recovery with you.

Pet-friendly rehab centers vary in offering from establishments that allow you to have a pet in your room to establishments that offer kenneling and care for your pet during the day, which you can access when not in treatment. In most cases, you should be able to keep your pet in your room – although that will be at the discretion of your roommate as well.

In addition, keeping your pet with you at rehab usually doesn’t cost more than going by yourself- although you may have to pay a small fee for boarding your pet and you may have to pay for pet-food acquired by the rehab center – as it’s unlikely you’ll be allowed to go shopping on your own.

Making a Choice

There are plenty of care options for people with pets who need to go to rehab. However, choosing an option normally depends on your situation. For most of us, keeping our pets with us in a pet-friendly rehab center is the best option because it reduces worry and stress. On the other hand, if your rehab center doesn’t allow pets, you’ll want to prioritize for either affordability, reduced stress for your pet, or professional care. Depending on which you choose, family care, kennel care, or a pet sitter may be the best option.

Going to rehab is important for your health and well-being. Luckily, having pets doesn’t have to get in the way. Often, you can just bring your pet with you and enjoy the company of your companion while you work to improve yourself and your health.

If you’re looking for a pet-friendly rehab, 10-Acre ranch offers substance use disorder treatment in a setting where you can bring your pets. However, it’s always important to get in touch and discuss your needs upfront. Good luck going into treatment.

How to Tell if Someone is on Meth

thoughful man struggling from meth addiction

How to Tell if Someone is on Meth

If you expect that a loved one is abusing methamphetamine, it can be difficult to verify. For example, most people won’t be truthful if you attempt to sit down and have a conversation. Instead, drug abusers lie, throw back accusations, and use deception, even to the point of deceiving themselves. Yet, some 2.5 million Americans use methamphetamine, and an estimated 1.6 million of those are addicted to the drug. With almost 1 in 100 Americans using meth, it’s not unlikely that your suspicions of drug abuse are founded on something – so you can look for symptoms and take steps to get your loved one help.

Importantly, if your loved one is abusing drugs, it’s important to be gentle, non-judgmental, and caring. That starts with your investigation into whether they’re using or not. Your loved one should always be treated as a person with an illness, not someone making bad decisions or someone deliberately doing the wrong thing. The more you use judgment and anger, the more likely it is that you’ll have trouble getting them into treatment.

In most cases, you can start with three basic things. Looking for symptoms of your loved one being high, looking at long-term side-effects of meth, and looking for paraphernalia and other signs of drug abuse.

Symptoms of Being High

Methamphetamine is a stimulant which rapidly acts on the body, resulting in increases in energy, alertness, motivation, and mania. Normally, these symptoms last for about 12 hours or more, with a defined “manic” period followed by a crash. Initially, people act like they are suddenly excited and full of energy, are agitated, breathe more heavily, and may have dilated pupils. These symptoms can kick in within 15 minutes of taking a dose and can result in a period of being agitated and energetic that lasts up to 36 hours. Afterwards, people tend to crash, sleeping for tens of hours at a time and sometimes for a full 24-hour period.

That after-effect or “Crash” also often comes with cold and flu symptoms like redness around the eyes, runny nose, fatigue, and depression. They might be unable to sleep, but while being tired. And, that will happen cyclically, every time they use and crash.

Of course, people with manic disorders tend to have similar symptoms, minus the cold and flu symptoms. That’s also problematic considering people with bipolar disorders tend to struggle with substance abuse. So, it can be much harder to notice methamphetamine use in someone who already has manic episodes.

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Understand the Symptoms of Long-Term Meth Abuse

The longer your loved one uses methamphetamine, the more noticeable the side-effects will be. Methamphetamine has a significant effect on users, with an estimated 18% of all users and up to 70% of regular users suffering from psychotic episodes and psychosis. Unfortunately, longer-term symptoms can be difficult to notice, because they often happen gradually. People don’t go from one state to the next but instead gradually slide into being worse and worse. You might look up one day to realize that your loved one is doing really badly, even if you’ve been seeing them every day.

That’s a natural result of being around someone everyday and gradual change. You just get used to it. But, if you notice the following symptoms affecting your loved one, they are symptoms of meth use.

They have difficulty feeling happy or showing happiness at things they used to like. They might just not be excited for anything or they might be “meh” at everything. This is known as emotional blunting and happens when serotonin and dopamine channels are overloaded and the brain stops or reduces producing both.
They have out of character periods of depression, which might last for weeks at a time. That’s especially true if the first few days of this always come with cold and flu symptoms. However, this could also be a symptom of bipolar disorder or depression.
They struggle to sleep or maintain a healthy sleeping schedule. For example, they might sleep for several days at a time and then not sleep for several days.
They start to show physical symptoms of meth use such as tooth decay, muscle tics, or jumps.
They start to be paranoid or irrational behavior and may think people are out to get them, may take hunches to extremes, and may jump at every shadow.
They might start to be more manipulative, even showing completely different personality traits. For example, they might deliberately lash out and try to hurt you. They might also deliberately try to manipulate you to feel bad so you stop asking questions. They might guilt trip you, lash out, or use righteous anger to make you feel bad. And while those reactions and behaviors can be justifiable in some circumstances, in others, they are not. People who are abusing methamphetamine will likely to start to use them indiscriminately to get what they want.
They lose a significant and worrying amount of weight, to the point where they look unhealthy. They might also lose hair and teeth if they lose enough weight. This can be difficult to tell, especially if they were overweight, but sudden and rapid weight loss without dramatically changing diet and exercise is unlikely without an illness or drug abuse.
They show symptoms of psychosis like hallucinations, talking about things that aren’t there, having trouble telling what’s real or not, itching or scratching at things crawling on their skin, having irrational beliefs, etc.
They show increases in aggression and irritability and may lash out at even small provocations.
They have memory problems and might not be able to clearly put an event together, even if it was a day or two ago.
They “tweak” or stay awake for extremely long periods, sometimes as long as 2 weeks, with agitated and jerky movement, extreme irrationality, and difficulty functioning.

Methamphetamine can be subtle in small doses. However, heavy abusers often change so drastically, physically and psychologically, that the people who love them barely recognize them. They can become aggressive, mean, paranoid, manipulative, and irritable. They might have memory problems, they might not show love or excitement for anything, and they might even look completely different. But, when that happens, your loved one is very obviously and very heavily addicted to meth.

Physical Signs

There are always going to be non-health and behavior related signs of drug use. Here, you can actively look for some of the following:

Paraphernalia such as glass pipes
Needles
Ropes or hoses
Unexplained blood
They constantly run out of money or things happen that require money
They manipulate you to get money
Things go missing or are stollen

If you find drug use paraphernalia, it’s a pretty strong sign your loved one is using. That’s true even if they deny it or say that their friend was using and they did not.

Getting Help

Millions of Americans use stimulants like methamphetamine. Unfortunately, these drugs are never safe and run high risks of physical and psychological harm, with up to 70% of methamphetamine users experiencing significant psychosis. The sooner you quit, the less likely you are to have lifelong side effects and problems.

Unfortunately, it can be extremely difficult to talk someone into going to treatment and therapy. That can take time, building trust that you really want to help. And, it can mean convincing that person that life is better without meth. Good luck getting your loved one into treatment.

Celebrity Drug Deaths 2022

Most of us are well-aware of the lifestyles of the rich and famous and they glamorize drugs and alcohol. Yet, even people with wealth and access to the best medical care in the world suffer because of drug and alcohol abuse. While the numbers are unknown, celebrities struggle with drug addiction, mental health problems, and physical health problems as a result of substance abuse.

And, every year, with 99,017 people dying of alcohol-related causes, and in 2022, nearly 110,000 people died of drug-related causes including overdose. Celebrities are not immune, and in 2022, 5 well-known celebrities died as a result of drug abuse.

These tragedies are a stark reminder that even people with access to the safest drugs and the best medical care suffer as a result of drug abuse. And, if you or a loved one is using, it’s important to get help when you can and before it’s too late.

Celebrity Drug Deaths in 2022

In 2022, five well-known celebrities died of drug-related causes, most of which were fentanyl related. However, this list only includes individuals whose autopsy reports were publicized. This means there may be additional drug deaths which are not listed here – but their families have chosen to opt for privacy. There were also 5 celebrity deaths in 2021, 5 in 2020, and 3 in 2019.

Taylor Hawkins

Foo Fighter’s Drummer Taylor Hawkins was announced dead on March 25^th of 2022. An ambulance was called at his hotel after he complained of chest pains, but by the time emergency services arrived, Hawkins was unresponsive.

The toxicology report later revealed that Hawkins had taken a large number of prescription medications as well as THC. These included opioid pain pills, benzodiazepines, and antidepressants. His heart was also twice the expected size, following what doctors expressed as prolonged substance abuse. It is unknown if Hawkins had a prescription for his medications or not.

Hawkins died at the age of 50, leaving behind his wife and three children. His death rocked the music and entertainment industry, resulting in an outpouring of love, with memorials and tribute concerts in his honor.

Dwayne Haskins

Dwayne Haskins, NFL Quarterback, died on April 9 of 2022, pronounced dead after being hit by a car while crossing a road under the influence. Haskins was driving to training in a rented vehicle when he ran out of gas. He stopped by the side of the road, called his wife, and then crossed the interstate where he was struck by a dump truck and died. His blood alcohol level at the time was .24 and he tested positive for ketamine. Haskins did not die as a direct result of drug use and drugs may not have contributed to his death. However, Haskins tragic death was under the influence and his crossing the interstate may have been influenced by ketamine usage.

Jamal Edwards

Jamal Edwards, DJ and television platform owner, died in February of 2022 after a heart arrythmia. His sudden death was first reported as a heart attack – but toxicology reports later found that he had ingested significant quantities of cocaine prior to the arrythmia. His tragic death occurred in the middle of a project to reopen youth centers in London, using his platform of SB.TV and funding from Google to help kids turn to music and performance instead of drugs.

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Coolio

Artis Leon Ivey Jr., artistically known as Coolio, died on September 28 of 2022, following an overdose on fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine. The artist was found in a friend’s home in Los Angeles, on the bathroom door and was pronounced dead by the first responders. An investigation was opened, later showing the cause of death to be an overdose. The artist is most well-known for his single “Gangsta’s Paradise” but was in the middle of recording a new album at the time of his death.

Aaron Carter

Aaron Carter, singer and teen-pop star, died in November of 2022 following an overdose and accidental drowning in his tub in Lancaster California. The 34-year-old was found by his housekeeper in the tub. It was later found that the singer had passed out after inhaling difluoroethane, an inhalant drug used for aerosols, and taking alprazolam, which he may have had a prescription for. His death was ruled as accidental – as he liked passed out because of the difluoroethane.

Stephan Bonnar

American mixed martial artist Stephan Bonnar is most well-known for his UFC fights and wrestling. The wrestler died on December 22 of 2022. It was initially reported that he had died of a heart attack. However, the toxicology report showed that the 45-year-old had died of a fentanyl overdose. This followed multiple run-ins with the law including several DUIs. He left behind his wife and son.

Getting Help

Anyone can be vulnerable to drug addiction. It doesn’t matter how well your life is going, drugs are addictive and can cause you to lose control when using them. That puts you at risk of mental health problems, physical health problems, and overdose. Like the celebrities on this list, you are always at risk of overdose and death when using drugs. Even “Safer” drugs like cocaine and ketamine can result in heart attacks, decision-making that leads to death, and organ damage that can cause significant long-term reductions to quality of life. And, with street drugs including pain pills and Xanax now containing traces of fentanyl, risks of overdose are higher than ever.

If you or someone you know is using drugs or alcohol, you are at risk of overdose. People often use to feel better, self-medicate, and to fit in. No matter what you’re using for, you can still lose control and you are still at risk. If you need help, it is there, and modern rehab and substance use disorder treatment works to help you uncover the underlying causes behind substance abuse so you can improve quality of life, improve how you cope with things, and work to build skills and strategies to make your life better. The goal of recovery is not to get your old life back but to build a new one where you don’t need drugs.