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Help with Addiction to Alcohol
Alcohol addiction is a disease that affects people from all walks of life. This is regardless of what job you do, or your race. This disease has no cause. However, there are some factors that contribute to the development of the disease. Some of the factors include heredity, gender, race and so on. Alcoholism is more than an addiction. It is a real disease that causes changes to the chemistry of the brain. However, the severity of the disease depends on how regular the individual drink. Alcoholism can lead to various mishaps. Some of them include road traffic accidents, physical and sexual abuse, domestic abuse, medical conditions such as liver diseases, Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, arrhythmia, cancer and so on. In addition, the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy can lead to an abnormal development of the fetus. Lastly, alcoholism can lead to depression. Just like drug addiction, it’s difficult for alcoholics to quit drinking on their own. This is why it’s important for addicts to check themselves into a rehabilitation center. A lot of successes have been recorded in recovery centers. In fact, everyone recovers, as long as the patient would cooperate with the support team in the facility.
Drug Addiction
Drug addiction can be described as a condition in which an individual goes through a prolonged, and relapsing disorder in which he/she compulsively finds and uses drugs, regardless of the adverse effects. This condition has been classified as a brain disorder. This is because it causes a change in the way the brain functions. This disease is just like other diseases such as liver disease and the likes. Drug addiction usually starts when a person decides to take a drug, probably for the treatment of pain, or a cough. Most times, these drugs are prescribed to the patient. However, the repeated consumption of this drug might lead to a tolerance in the system of the patient. This means that the patient would need to take more of the drug, to achieve the desired result. This continues until the patient can’t do without the drug. Patients usually find it hard to resist the urge of taking the medications. After doing this for a long time, the patient might develop withdrawal symptoms when they try to abstain, or stop using the drug. The most common drug that people get addicted to is opiates. These are drugs that are used for the treatment of pain. Opiates are one of the most addictive substances in the world. A lot of prescriptions are administered every year, with patients getting addicted to these drugs. A lot of popular figures have died because of drug addiction.
Why Is It Bad For People To Take Drugs, Even Though It Makes Them Feel Good?
People feel drugs are good, especially at the initial stage. However, they find it difficult to control their use as time goes on. These drugs can easily consume one’s life. As people continue abusing these drugs, things they find enjoyable, become less pleasurable. These affected people would want to take more of the drugs just to feel good. Drug abuse destroys, notwithstanding of the severity of the consumption. Drug addiction can be likened to an alcoholic that gets behind the steering wheel of his car and causes an accident. This is what happens when people misuse or abuse drugs.
Alcoholism And Drug Addiction Recovery Programs
Alcohol and drug addiction rehabilitation is the most effective way of getting alcohol addiction. Alcohol and drug addicts are admitted into a rehabilitation center. This can be done willingly by the person involved, and the families and friends can also make an addict check-in for the program. Recovery period usually takes from a month and above, although the duration of treatment depends on the severity of the addiction. Severe cases might take many months before the patient recovers. Longer duration of treatment is usually recommended for those with bad conditions. The longer the period of stay, the more the effective the treatment. Below are the steps involved in rehabilitation;
- Evaluation: Evaluation is the first step involved in the treatment procedure of the patient. Some information is taking from the patient. This includes the name of the patient, the name, allergies, family history, medical history, the amount of alcohol the patient consumes per day, how many days of the week the patient drinks and so on. After this is done, the patient is then assessed. This includes both physical, medical and psychological assessment. It’s important for the patient to open up completely to the physician, as the treatment plan for the patient would be based on the information gotten from him/her. The families and friends of the patient should also be interviewed for more information. However, the patient should be informed about this.
- Detoxification: This is the process whereby the patient is taken off drugs and alcohol. The medical team doesn’t just take the patient off the abused substance suddenly but does this gradually. The patient is fed well, and given medications to avoid any withdrawal symptoms.
- Therapy: Generally, people feel better when they share their struggle with someone that’s going through something similar. This is why recovery programs put patients together in support groups. The role of this group is to help the patients open up to each other, and share their struggles together. It has been observed that this method is very effective.
- Aftercare: Rehabilitation centers do offer aftercare. This is done to monitor the patient, and give administering medications and check-ups on him/her after the patient has been discharged. The purpose of aftercare is to ensure that the patient doesn’t relapse.
Although this method has proven to be effective, some patients would rather not talk to other people about their alcohol addiction. This is why some rehabilitation centers provide private counselors to this kind of patients. Rehab centers usually offer both outpatient and inpatient rehabilitation care. The inpatient care is usually between one month to one year, while the outpatients are given daily supports. Rehabilitation is the way to go if anyone is to quit the addiction.
References
Maskey, R. (2011). Alcohol consuming habits and its effect on adherence and blood glucose level in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Health Renaissance, 9(3).
Molloy, E. (2015). This Ad is for You: Targeting and the Effect of Alcohol Advertising on Youth Drinking. Health Economics, 25(2), pp.148-164.
Dethmers, M. (2010). Ambulante opiatendetox met Suboxone®. Verslaving, 6(2), pp.50-54.
HUNTER, W. (2007). Suboxone for Opiate Withdrawal in the Hospital. Clinical Psychiatry News, 35(1), p.54.