Addiction Treatment Process

Drug addiction is a complex illness characterized by intense and at times uncontrollable craving for the drug. Drugs can lead to physical as well as psychological dependence when taken in larger doses for a longer period of time. This leads to addiction. Some of the symptoms of addiction are cravings for drug, inability to abstain from the drug, physical symptoms, and inability to recognize the deterioration of relationships with friends and family, inappropriate emotional response and other behavioral problems. Drug or alcohol addiction frequently involves cycles of relapse and remission, even with long term treatment.
Addiction Treatment
The main aim of addiction treatments is not just removing or reducing drug or alcohol use. Their main goal is to help addicted people change their habits, lifestyle and core values so as to prevent them from returning back to the problem of addiction.
Quitting a stimulant addiction is not an easy process; the painful withdrawal symptoms may force the patient to relapse. Hence, it is advisable not to quit abruptly. Addiction treatment consists of three stages:
Detoxification
Detoxification is the process where an addict undergoes withdrawal of the stimulant under medical supervision. As the withdrawal is associated with several physical and psychological symptoms, detoxification is done under the supervision of medical professionals. During the detox process, medical professionals may prescribe low potency drugs in tapering doses to wean you off drug or alcohol. Weaning helps you to cope with the withdrawal symptoms so that you can carry out daily routine activities.
Along with the medications, addicts are evaluated for nutritional status. Nutrients, vitamins and a healthy diet - all of them are the part of detox process.
Behavior Therapy
Behavioral therapy help patients modify their attitude and behaviors related to drug abuse and increase healthy lifestyle skills and coping skills. They also help in enhancing the effectiveness of the drug. Therapy treatment can be delivered in many different settings:
In-patient addiction treatment- Those who are having severe addiction problem or have a previous history of drug addiction are recommended for in-patient addiction treatment. Here, the patient remains in the rehabilitative centers for at least one month to one year depending upon each case. Each day, patient/user spends 6 to 8 hours of the day in learning coping skills that can be used to reduce the reliance on the drugs/alcohol. Various types of therapeutic activities and therapies are taught to the addict.
Out-patient addiction treatment- Out-patient addiction treatment is recommended for patients, who have strong network of family and friends support, and who have no previous history of drug addiction; it includes a variety of programs for patients who visit a clinic at regular intervals. The therapy includes group or individual counseling. While the individual sessions are important to understand why the addict began using the drug, group sessions help him by relating to other addicts who have gone through the same addiction suffering.
After Care
As the patient/addict is most vulnerable to relapse during the first few months, continuing care services are designed to monitor the emotional health of the recovering patient.

Make more noise against drug abuse

Last Thursday night I attended a meeting regarding drug addiction awareness. A small group of mothers with a special bond decided to start up this group (never underestimate the power of a mother). There were approximately 60 people in attendance all with the same goal - to have our town and schools drug free and safe, to offer more facilities in Parry Sound to help people in recovery, to work together as a community with existing services, to offer education and prevention and to lobby politicians to make changes to existing laws. This seems like a tall order for 60 voices. When the next meeting is announced let us have hundreds of voices in attendance. We live in one of the most beautiful towns in the country, however, within our community an ugly and dangerous world of drugs exists.

Article - The lesson of Justice Rehniquist's drug addiction - US ...

Newly released FBI records reveal that a physician prescribed a powerful sleeping pill for the late William Rehnquist when he was an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. According to these records, the doctor prescribed 500 milligrams of Placidyl every evening. Instead, the justice popped 1500 milligrams every night before bed. The problem apparently came to a head in 1981 when, according to a shrink interviewed by the FBI, the family admitted awareness of long-standing slurred speech which seems to coincide with the administration of Placidyl. A month-long detox program weaned His Honor off the addiction in 1982, we are told. Its instructive to ask what sorts of decisions the Justice was rendering at the peak of his drug addiction in 1981. While hardly an exhaustive review of the cases in which Justice Rehnquist weighed in, here are a couple of quick examples: In Robbins v.

Editorial: Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration drunk at the wheel

BALTIMORE - A new audit shows the state agency charged with overseeing substance abuse programs needs treatment — for financial misfeasance, at least. And it's not the first time. Two audits in a row of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration, covering six years ending in March, criticized its mismanagement of taxpayer funds. Among the reports' findings are that the ADAA did not properly monitor whether agencies under its supervision provided services they claimed and that it did not manage its cash receipts in a timely fashion. The ADAA does not handle pocket change — it granted about $125 million last year for substance abuse programs. How much of that is not accounted for? The audit found that 80 of the 265 care providers it serves never received a site visit. The agency's response to each of the audit's recommendations was “procedures are being implemented," to fix this or that problem.

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Abu Dhabi to host global conference on drug addiction

Abu Dhabi: The emirate will initiate a global campaign against drug addiction when it hosts the first UAE International Conference on Addiction (UICA) next year, officials announced yesterday. With the motto "Yes...to Life", the UICA is organised by the National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) in Abu Dhabi, in collaboration with the National Addiction Centre in London. Over 300 speakers from various countries will participate in the first campaign of its kind, including Queen Silvia of Sweden, president of the Mentor foundation, a non-government drug prevention organisation. "Prevention is better than cure," said Abdul Aziz Nasser Al Raisi, NRC Chairman. "The best strategy is to address drugs. We want to develop rehabilitation and treatment inside the country, and be a support for other centres worldwide by exchanging expertise." The UICA will cover all kinds of addictions, including alcohol, prescribed and illegal drugs.

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Youths can take different routes to drug addiction

Drug policies in the United States have long been influenced by the idea of a "gateway progression" in drug use, where the use of one substance eventually leads to "harder" drugs. Marijuana is often called a "gateway drug" because many young people who use it later move on to substances such as heroin and cocaine, and the gateway progression has been considered a strong predictor for drug dependency. A new study from the University of Pittsburgh, however, suggests that teens who follow a reverse sequence -- using harder drugs without having first tried "softer" ones, such as cigarettes and alcohol -- are just as likely to develop a drug dependency. In a study of 214 boys, researchers monitored participants' use of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana over a 10-year period, until they reached the age of 22.

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Doherty treated for drug addiction

BRITISH rock star Pete Doherty, the on-off boyfriend of supermodel Kate Moss, is reportedly being treated for drug addiction at a clinic in Portugal. The 27-year-old Babyshambles frontman will have the drug naltrexone, which reduces the craving for heroin, implanted in his abdomen at the clinic at Oeiras, an oceanside suburb of Lisbon, Portuguese newspaper 24Horas reports, citing clinic sources. Doherty arrived in Portugal on Monday and is being accompanied by a British doctor, the paper said. The troubled singer has repeatedly sought treatment for drug addiction before in Portugal as well as at clinics in England, France and Thailand. He was arrested on suspicion of possessing crack cocaine earlier this month after he was spotted driving his Jaguar erratically near his home in East London.

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