Friday, January 16, 2009

The Workings Of Drug Rehabilitation

By Leland Michaels

Traditionally treatment for drug addiction is based mainly on counseling. Recent discoveries though have shown that people suffering from drug addiction usually have chemical imbalances that add to the difficulty of their recovery.

Imbalances can usually be fixed by changing the patients diet or using prescription supplements. Also most centers help the patients to develop a healthy and active lifestyle. Rehab can basically be broken into two phases.

First is the physical dependency. This treatment involves a detox process to help control and deal with withdrawal symptoms caused by no longer using the drug. Regularly using any drug including legal ones causes the brain to grow accustomed to having it present.

Because of this, the body builds a tolerance to substances such as cocaine, alcohol, and morphine. It is also the reason that, with regular use, your body will start requiring more of the substance to get the same effect.

Abruptly ceasing use of any substance can potentially cause symptoms of withdrawals. The body may take months to recover from the effects.

The second area of treatment is the psychological dependency on the drug. Patients are usually exhorted or even required not to hang around with people who still use the substance. Along with this they are encouraged to examine and change habits caused by their addictions.

The rehab process is never really over. It is ongoing. For legalized substances including alcohol and tobacco, it is usually better to stop using them completely rather than trying to slowly stop or use moderately.

Using alcohol and/or tobacco can easily lead to a relapse because they are so widely available. Abstinence is considered the most effective way to quit. - 16955

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