Recovering Addict

Drug Addiction

Just like with other chronic diseases, such as heart disease, asthma, diabetes, a treatment for drug addiction doesn’t provide a cure. Addiction is, however, treatable and can be managed successfully. A recovering addict is at risk for a relapse for several years after their recovery, and possibly for their entire life. Studies show that using medicines to treat the addiction along with behavioral therapy offers the best chance of successful recovery. It is also best to tailor the treatments to the individual patient’s drug use patterns and any other problems they may have socially, mentally, or medically to help with their lifelong recovery.

Of course, preventing addiction is completely possible. Research shows that drug use and addiction can be greatly prevented by involving schools, families, communities, and the media in prevention programs. A recovering addict will typically admit to personal events or cultural factors that led them to their addiction, but those trends are reduced if young people are taught that drug use is harmful. Therefore, it is imperative to provide outreach and education to communities to help people better understand the risks of using drugs. It is crucial for parents, teachers, and healthcare providers to educate youth to help prevent drug use and addiction.

Things to Remember

There are several things to remember when dealing with a recovering addict and when discussing drug use. Those things include:

• That an addiction to drugs is a chronic disease where someone seeks out drugs in a manner that is compulsive and hard to control without considering the harmful consequences.
• That the brain of an addict changes over time as they use drugs. These changes affect their self-control and will interfere with their resistance to taking drugs. This is a big factor when relapses occur with a recovering addict.
• A relapse is when a recovering addict returns to using drugs after attempting to stop. A relapse can indicate that a different treatment needs to be used.
• Dopamine is released throughout the brain with drug use. The dopamine over stimulates the reward circuit in the brain, causing the addict to feel an intensely pleasurable high that makes the user want to continue using the drug.
• The brain adjusts to the excessive amounts of dopamine over time, reducing the high feeling the addict feels. This effect is known as tolerance. Typically, the addict will begin taking more of the drug to get the same high.
• There are no determining factors as to whether a person will become a drug addict. Many factors influence the risk of addiction, such as genetics, the environment, and developmental factors. If a person has more risk factors, their chances of taking addictive drugs can be greater.
• A drug addict can be treated and learn to successively manage their recovery.

If you or someone you love is addicted to a drug or is a recovering addict, contact us at Coastline Behavioral Health get clean or continue the road to recovery.

Tags: Alcohol Addiction, Recovery, Treatment Centers