On the Trail to Recovery
Whether you realize it or not, someone you know is struggling with substance abuse. It might be the person in the next row at church, the neighbor who waved to you this morning, or a family member. Drug and alcohol addictions affect Oklahomans from all walks of life. Overcoming them isn’t easy. But Arcadia Trails INTEGRIS offers new hope through a longer, more comprehensive treatment model.
A Healing Journey
“I didn’t realize my life had become abnormal,” says Jane (not her real name). She understood the concept of addiction but didn’t think it applied to her. “I had some denial going on,” she admits.
Eventually Jane entered a 90-day residential treatment program that helped her turn her life around. She’s been sober for more than a decade, and she has spent most of that time helping other people recover. She is now part of the staff of Arcadia Trails.
Many of Jane’s co-workers at Arcadia Trails are in recovery too. “It’s helpful for patients to know there are people like us who can relate,” she says.
Treatment Takes Time
Addiction creeps up on many people slowly, just as it did for Jane. “There are three main routes to addiction,” says Dr. Kimberlee Wilson, Medical Director of Arcadia Trails. One path is untreated anxiety. “People discover using a substance can help them get through the moment,” she explains. The second route to addiction is a genetic predisposition that causes some people to crave addictive substances more than others. The third route is through opioid medications. No matter how the addiction starts, a person eventually needs more and more of the substance to get relief.
Healing can be a slow process, too. Physical withdrawal from the substance is the first step, but it’s even more important to establish new, healthy patterns that support a sober life. “Addiction is a learned brain behavior,” says Dr. Wilson. “It doesn’t develop overnight and can’t be cured overnight. That’s why we believe in ninety-day programs. It takes about thirty days for the brain to start healing and at least another thirty days to start developing good coping skills.”
New Options for Treatment
Until now, most Oklahomans had to travel out of state to find a treatment program longer than thirty days. Arcadia Trails INTEGRIS features a full three-month residential program for males and females age 18 and over.
The center grew from the vision of a group of people who saw a need for a different treatment model in our state. “Being an Okie myself, I’m proud to have brought this to fruition in Oklahoma,” says Dr. Wilson.
Nestled in the woods near Arcadia Lake, Arcadia Trails INTEGRIS offers a whole-person approach to treatment. Along with group and individual therapy, there’s yoga, pet therapy, art therapy, and more. The center welcomes people of all faiths, and patients are supported in whatever spiritual expressions are most helpful for them. Staff members help patients find a community to sustain their recovery after graduation.
Arcadia Trails opened in May 2019. Located near I-35, it serves people from all over the Oklahoma and beyond. Dr. Wilson and her team recently celebrated the graduations of their first patients, and they look forward to celebrating many more.
For anyone struggling with addiction or watching a loved one struggle, Jane has a simple message: Get help. If Arcadia Trails isn’t the right fit, the staff will guide people to other resources. “There’s a ton of help out there,” she says. “We aren’t in the shadows anymore.”
Arcadia Trails INTEGRIS is located at 4851 Integris Parkway and online at www.arcadiatrails.com.
