It is well known that drinking too much alcohol, tobacco use and illegal drugs increase the risk of many chronic diseases.

Avoiding risky substances is important for long-term health. Setting goals for quitting or reducing substances like tobacco and alcohol is a great way to make positive changes to your lifestyle.

Quitting tobacco may seem daunting, but people who are ready can and do quit – there are more former smokers in the world now than current smokers.

There are also treatments that work for alcohol and medication overuse or misuse. Treatments can take time, many attempts and different approaches, so be patient with yourself and don’t give up.

Effective treatments include individual and group counseling plus medications.

Setting SMART goals around your substance use is a great way to make changes.

Specific: What are you going to do to decrease your substance use?
Measurable: How much will you reduce it by?
Attainable: Do you have what it takes to follow through?
Realistic: What can you actually do? Focus on improvement over perfection.
Time-connected: How frequent, and how long will you commit?

Addiction Services at NMMC

If your use of an addictive substance, especially illegal drugs, prescription medications or alcohol, start to negatively impact your life, it may be time to seek help.

Our team at North Mississippi Regional Pain Consultants is passionate about helping people with many forms of substance use disorder.

Led by board-certified addiction medicine physicians Dr. Drew Blackstock and Dr. Brent Boyett, our team works with each patient to develop an individualized treatment plan that leads to a durable recovery and more stable life. We use the most effective methods for treating opioid and other substance use disorders.

Small Steps, Better Health

Every two weeks we will introduce another Small Step for Better Health. Follow us on social media for more tips, and sign up for our email newsletter, True North.