Addiction Treatment
Addiction is characterized as a complex illness that affects the mind and often the physical attributes as an individual as well. Become addiction is such a complex disease, many methods of addiction treatment have evolved to provide patients with the help and care that they need to overcome the physical, psychological and emotional factors that result from a range of addictions including drug addiction, shopping addiction, internet addiction, food addictions and alcohol addiction.
Alcohol Addiction Treatment
Most of the time, people who suffer from alcohol addiction will suffer some tragic loss or consequence prior to making the great decision to seek help for their addiction. Alcohol addiction treatment consists of a series of steps and goals that include weighing the benefits of drinking against the consequences, setting goals to make lifestyle changes that reduce the potential trigger situations that cause an individual to drink and then seeking the counseling and care of a treatment center or rehabilitation facility. Most alcohol addiction treatment programs last at least 90 days to ensure the best chance of recovery without relapse; many programs provide aftercare or follow-up care and support groups to assist the recovering addict in abstaining from alcohol use post treatment.
Substance Abuse Treatment
Substance abuse consists of the abuse of any substance that is used to promote a feeling of being drunk or high. The most commonly abuse substances today include prescription medications, alcohol, cocaine and heroin but there are hundreds of substances that an individual could potentially abuse. Substance abuse treatment focuses on helping patients to address the key issues that are at the heart of their addiction such as tragic loss or grief, anger, family problems, problems with work, stress and social issues. By helping patients to address the issues that caused them to begin using drugs or alcohol in the first place, substance abuse treatment programs are able to assist these patients in learning how to avoid similar situations in the future and how to cope with the situations that do occur without the use of drugs.
Methadone Addiction Treatment
Methadone is a sedative and pain relieving medication that is often prescribed to treat chronic pain associated with many forms of cancer or terminal illness. The drug is also prescribed to help patients overcome heroin or other opiate addiction and can be used as a replacement therapy under doctor’s supervision. Unfortunately, methadone is also a highly addicted medication that has a significant potential for abuse.
The need for methadone addiction treatment is often the direct result of a patient having been legitimately prescribed the medication for the purpose of treating pain or to overcome an opiate addiction. Methadone addiction treatment programs help patients to overcome the extreme physical dependence on methadone by providing them with replacement medications, such as Naltroxene or Suboxone, that will alleviate or completely eliminate withdrawal symptoms. Once physical dependence is no longer a key player, patients receive counseling and therapy to help with their emotional dependence and to reduce the risk of relapse.
Video Game Addiction Treatment
Video games have become an increasingly popular part of life, seen in stores, hotels, homes and in many travel options on cell phones and other handheld devices. Unfortunately, as with anything that is not done in moderation, video games can become addicting and can lead to health issues such as vision problems, ADHD, and lack of self-motivation as well as various social problems that result from a lack of interaction with others. Video game addiction treatment programs provide patients with counseling and behavioral treatment methods that reduce the desire to play video games and teach new methods of having fun and interacting with others.
Opiate Addiction Treatment
Opiates are a class of drugs that come in many different forms that all carry a wide potential for abuse and subsequent addiction. Heroin, many prescription medications such as Lortab, Percocet and Oxycodone and even opium are all classes of the opiate family. This dangerous and highly addictive class of drugs accounts for millions of overdoses each year and is one of the leading causes of addiction in the United States.
Opiate addiction treatment programs usually begin with residential treatment that includes around-the-clock care and medical supervision to ensure the safety of the recovering addict during the early stages of treatment during which detox and withdrawal symptoms will take place. Following residential treatment, patients are encouraged to continue working toward their treatment goals through various outpatient programs and support groups such as Narcotics Anonymous.
Meth Addiction Treatment
Methamphetamine, also called a bathtub drug, is quickly becoming a leading cause of injury, illness and death in the nation due largely in part to the ease of access and also due to the extreme potential that this drug carries for abuse. Meth addiction treatment programs place a heavy focus on relapse prevention and relapse management but they also provide treatment for the psychological issues that are always quite prevalent when methamphetamine has been used for a prolonged period of time. Because the use of methamphetamine causes the individual to stay awake for many hours or days at a time and reduces appetite, there is often a significant need for both psychological and physical care when meth addiction is being treated.
Food Addiction Treatment
Thousands of individuals suffer from an addiction to food that may be even more difficult to cope with than any drug or substance abuse problem there is; this is because food is readily available everywhere so, similar to alcohol, it’s difficult to steer clear of the trigger. Food addiction treatment is most often behavioral in manner and often consists of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) methods to avoid certain though processes that cause the individual to focus on eating certain foods.
Cocaine Addiction Treatment
Cocaine is one of the most widely abused drugs in the world and can be readily acquired in most countries as a result of having been trafficked into the country or having been grown in the country itself. Cocaine addiction treatment is both physical and behavioral in manner. Physically, the individual who is addicted to cocaine will often require rest and nourishment to bring their health status back up while emotionally or psychologically, counseling is necessary to help essentially reprogram the brain to feel emotionally satisfied. Most of the time, inpatient treatment is not required for cocaine addiction but in some cases, a 90 day inpatient cocaine addiction treatment program may provide the most suitable method of treatment.
Internet Addiction Treatment
Years ago things like internet addiction were not even thought of but with the influx if users who perform routine daily tasks online and who interact socially through social media such as Facebook, Twitter and other online avenues, internet addiction has become an evident problem that in some cases will require intensive treatment. Internet addiction has caused people to stop caring for themselves and their families and to not take part in normal daily functions such as eating, resting or socializing with others in the real world. The result: socially inept people who find themselves anxious, irritable and unable to function without the internet.
Internet addiction treatment programs place the majority of the treatment focus on helping patients to overcome the cognitive side of their addiction to the internet through a series of counseling and therapeutic techniques. Group sessions are a very significant part of any internet addiction treatment program as this is one of the ways that patients are taught how to interact with others in the real world rather than only online.
Crack Addiction Treatment
Crack is a derivative of cocaine and is said to be far more addictive than cocaine in powder for. Crack addiction leads to many psychological disorders such as anxiety, schizophrenia and depression that require psychological treatment through individual and group counseling. Treatment programs that help patients who suffer from crack addiction provide a series of both individual and group counseling as well as various method of behavioral therapy and reinforcement to assist patients in reducing their potential for relapse, healing emotionally from their addiction and learning social skills to help them become better functioning members of society.
Shopping Addiction Treatment
Shopping—it’s one obsession that can lead to financial ruin, hording and an overall unsafe environment for the addict as well as for those who are close to the addict. Shopping addiction is often the result of a lack or feeling of insecurity or void that is essentially filled when the individual makes a purchase. Shopping addiction treatment focuses mostly on cognitive and behavioral therapy methods as well as positive reinforcement or community reinforcement methods that encourage good behaviors such as not spending or refraining from making purchases unless they are absolutely necessary.