Drug rehab
Drug rehab is a residential facility that specializes in the treatment of addiction. Addiction has become more complex in the 21st century, and while alcoholism is still a primary issue for many people, most addicts tend to be addicted to multiple substances, such as alcohol and prescription drugs such as Xanax, Vicodin, or related opiates.
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Addiction
Addiction is a clinical disease of the brain. Addiction to substances—such as alcohol, prescription drugs, or street drugs like cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine—can cause serious damage not only to a person’s health and well being, but to their psychological, psychiatric, and emotional states. Drug addicts may exhibit irrational or uncharacteristic behavior such as extreme emotions, compulsions, obsessions, impulsive behavior, and poor decisions, which affects their social lives, relationships, employment, finances, and more. When addiction begins to take hold of an individual to the point where they feel their lives are no longer in their control, a drug rehabilitation center can offer the opportunity for individuals to get their lives restored, renewed, and back on track.
Addiction to a substance causes an intense need and dependency on that substance in order for the abuser to function. Finding the right drug rehab treatment program may be a strenuous and stressful task for someone you care about, but it is also the best choice you can make to help your loved one overcome their dependency.
Intervention
Addiction Intervention may be necessary to get someone to go to drug rehab when they are in denial of their addiction, downplays their behavior, or establishes various defense mechanisms in order to rationalize their need for the substance and to avoid confrontation. This leaves the abuser in an isolated and dangerous state; they become incapable of controlling their own actions and therefore overlook the ominous consequences that will follow. Drug rehabilitation not only helps the victim of drug abuse to stop using deadly substances, but it proactively teaches them to take responsibility for their health one day at a time. Drug abuse is something that cannot be stopped overnight; most drug rehabs require minimum period of 30 days to stabilize the individual’s health, monitor their progress, and ensure their ability to control their addiction for time to come.
Signs Someone Needs Drug Rehab
If you are considering drug rehab for yourself or a loved one, it is likely that you do not need a list of signs or symptoms because the problem is obvious. Typical indications that drug rehab is needed are:
• Tolerance: the abuser takes more drug than prescribed or takes more over time to get the same effect
• Emotional Changes: the abuser is moody, unpredictable, and difficult to deal with based on whether they are high, withdrawing, or aggressively seeking drugs
• Physical Health Problems: the abuser shows signs of physical deterioration; confusion, clumsiness, overly sleepy, or overly agitated depending on type of drug used
• Deception: the abuser lies and uses various methods to keep their drug use hidden; hides drugs; steals money to obtain drugs; steals prescription drugs from friends/family.
• Failed Attempts to Stop: the abuser and has failed; possibly has tried outpatient therapy but has relapsed
• DUIs or Other Legal Involvement: the abuse has been stopped for driving under the influence, arrested, or otherwise been involved with police due to drug use (e.g., domestic violence)
Dangers of Withdrawal
One of the primary reasons to seek professional treatment at a drug rehab is to avoid the dangers of withdrawal. If the patient has developed a high tolerance to prescription drugs and is taking more than normally prescribed, withdrawal symptoms can be exceptionally dangerous, even fatal. It is critical that they get medical support during detox. See also narcotic withdrawal syndrome.
What Drug Rehab Offers
Drug rehabilitation programs offer detoxification, therapeutic, medical, psychological, physical, and psychiatric support during addiction recovery treatment. A drug rehab center may offer individualized treatment, inpatient drug detoxification, 24-hour nursing, family recovery programs, relapse prevention programs, holistic treatments, and aftercare planning.
The most critical period of treatment may be the detox period because if this is not done properly you risk the patient leaving against medical advice. Studies have indicated that leaving treatment early leaves the addicted person as vulnerable as they would be if they never entered treatment.
Drug Rehab Therapy
Behavioral therapy is a general way of describing the type of therapy offered in drug rehab. A drug rehab will develop a treatment plan for each patient; this will include group therapy as well as treatments and services customized to the individual’s personal and situational needs. Group therapy has long been shown to be the most effective methodology in drug rehab treatment as peers share experiences and get honest about their drug use and its impact on them and others.
Behavioral therapy promotes personalized strategies for patients to cope with their cravings and teaches them how to abandon their dependence and replace bad habits with healthy ones. The drug rehabilitation staff will aid the patient throughout this process, but the overall goal is to give the patient the ability to manage their own strengths and weaknesses, especially if faced with the possible onset of a relapse.
A medical professional will diagnose each individual to determine the severity of the addiction and to ascertain what methods, prescriptions, therapies, and services are appropriate to meet their recovery needs. A doctor may find that the patient is best suited for hospitalization, short-term rehabilitation, or long-term residence in a rehabilitation center, depending on the stage of the disease and the extent of the abuse. Most drug rehabs will have a physician and a psychiatrist specializing in addiction medicine examine the patient upon admission. They will develop a plan for detox with the goal of making this as comfortable as possible; comfort is critical to avoid a high incidence of leaving against medical advice. In higher-end drug rehab facilities, clients may see the psychiatrist a few days a week to monitor progress and assess for any underlying psychiatric issues that could put them at risk of relapse, such as clinical depression or severe anxiety.
The advantage of choosing long-term residence in a drug rehab facility is that the patient’s progress is fully monitored and catered to by 24-hour services provided by addiction specialists and a professional medical staff. The patient’s health risks are drastically lowered while residing in such facilities because the staff can ensure the patient’s safety and administer proper aid during physical withdrawal periods. Progress can be mapped over time so appropriate measures or adjustments can be made to guarantee the patient is receiving optimal treatment to overcome the addiction.
Holistic Drug Rehab
Many drug rehabs have developed an holistic approach, meaning they address not just the physical and psychological issues of addiction, but the spiritual. Many of the higher-end drug rehabs have developed alternative complementary treatments that are used in conjunction with traditional group therapy and individual therapy. These may include acupuncture, yoga, equine therapy, and neurofeedback.
Exercise and nutritional counseling are also part of a holistic drug rehab program.
Family Involvement
Residential treatment centers also offer family recovery therapy. Drug and alcohol addiction does not just affect the individual abuser; the effects are felt by everyone in the individual’s life, especially his or her family. Additionally, families are usually the ones who initiate the intervention to begin the rehabilitation. Part of the recovery process entails regaining the life that was deteriorated by the addiction. Families can become informed of the extent of their loved one’s dependency and can make responsible provisions for the individual once he or she is released from the residential program. They can learn to cope with the disease that has afflicted their family and offer support for the individual to best serve their emotional and physical needs. Family recovery includes regular family group therapy, interactive opportunities, and educational lectures that promote continued preventative care.
Can Drug Rehab Cure Addiction?
Addiction is not something you cure. Just as there is no cure for diabetes, there is no cure for addiction. Recovery is an ongoing process that requires the implementation of the strategies obtained through these residential rehabilitation programs into everyday life. Successful recovery is bolstered by the support of loved ones, medical advice or treatment when necessary, therapy, and recovery support groups. Many rehabilitation programs will conduct a follow-up program for their patients after completion of their treatment, as well as aftercare programs to encourage ongoing progress and resistance to relapse.
