Everyday we hear how addiction has impacted the lives of others, but we rarely think that it will ever affect ourselves. However, everyone has the possibility of starting an addiction to something, as addiction is a brain disorder. Problems with drugs or other addictions cannot be cured but can be managed with the help of treatment and recovery.
The common definition of addiction involves repeated engagement in a satisfying or fulfilling action. This is despite the negative impact it may have on the individual. There are many different things that factor into how addictions start which could depend on the object of abuse.
Drug addiction can be caused by many different things unique to a person. It is easier to become addicted to drugs if family members or friends are addicted themselves. Peer pressure from one’s support system can increase their chances of being addicted to illegal drugs or prescription drugs. Being in an environment with easy access to someone else’s prescription can also cause someone to form a drug addiction.
Besides peer pressure or general curiosity, people may start their addictions to feel good, feel better, or even do better. Addiction is a mental disorder so addictions can also start because of the condition of your mental health. Addictions are started for many reasons but almost all addictions work the same in our brains.
When performing an action like misusing alcohol or drugs, our bodies and brains produce high amounts of dopamine. This high production is what causes the good feeling you can get from taking drugs.
Addiction starts because while we continue to want the same rush of dopamine, the same amount of dopamine can no longer be produced. This process makes it very difficult to feel good and the effects of the drug will be less every time. In short, the feeling of the first time someone started using drugs will never feel the same as the next.
Addiction can be very harmful to your body and cause large health problems if not treated. Problems with drugs can cause many health issues such as substance use disorders, cancers, and disease.
Children that are still growing can have significant health issues as their brain is not fully developed. At this stage in a child’s growth, introduction to drugs can lead to a higher chance of drug addiction. Drug addiction can affect your brain and behavior processes which can harm you but also others around you.
For example, every year drunk driving crashes cause more than 10,000 deaths, many being people that the driver does not know. Abusing other drugs including tobacco and marijuana can impact others due to secondhand smoke. Negative effects of secondhand smoke include higher risk of heart disease and lung cancer. Secondhand smoke may also affect neighbors through vents and the chemicals in cigarettes can be especially harmful to children.
There are thousands of stories of people that have had problems with drugs that end in bad situations. Luckily, there are ways to prevent and treat drug addiction which can provide people with a fresh start. There are plenty of treatment programs that can help manage your addiction so you can live a drug free life.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, addiction cannot be cured but it can be treated and prevented. It is important to catch addiction early in individuals so that it cannot grow strong in their minds. Treatment for people that have problems with drugs can be in the form of medication or behavioral therapy. Usually, a combination of both methods can work to treat one’s addiction to drugs.
Effective medical treatments can be used to help detoxify a patient’s body but it is usually not enough. Medication is mainly used to fix and control the damage that the drug has done to a patient’s body. Almost always, medical treatment is not enough and behavioral treatment is necessary.
Behavioral therapy is used to treat drug abuse and is the best way to stop addiction. Behavioral therapy learns why the patient started on their road of addiction and why they want to end it. We want patients to know why they continue to abuse drugs and how it is affecting themselves and others around them. Patients use behavioral therapy to find better ways to cope with situations where they would turn to drugs.
In short, behavioral therapy seeks to change a patient’s behavior to manage their addiction. Here at DiRoma Therapy we can help you with your drug addiction using three different methods of behavior therapy.
First, we offer individual counseling where we provide for you safe and non-judgmental space to talk about your issues. We want our patients to be as comfortable as possible so they can be open to us about their addiction. Communication is key in individual counseling because we want to have open discussions, so we can help our patients. At DiRoma Therapy we use rational behavioral therapy and encouraging interviewing to start recovery.
We also have services to run interventions if the person you know struggling with addiction does not want help. If your friend or loved one needs help in their drug addiction we can intervene. With help from our colleague Lori Williams, we use two different intervention models. We utilize The Johnson model or Systemic model to start recovery for your loved one.
The Johnson Intervention model involves members of the patient’s social network confronting them about the damage their drug use has caused. This approach can create a strong reaction in the patient and can be impactful in their decision to get more treatment.
The Systemic Intervention model tries to analyze how the patient chooses to deal with adversity. This includes how they understand and deal with power relations and fixing relationships. This model deals with systemic thinking which can give further insight into why a patient has an addiction. Both models of intervention are used in hopes of the patient agreeing to continue further treatment to end their addiction.
Finally, at DiRoma Therapy we provide a service to speak at your event and examine addiction with a large group. Our speaking engagement service looks to speak openly about addiction with a large group. It is important for groups to engage in the conversation to prevent future drug addiction. We can help people who are struggling with addiction as well as people who deal with others who need treatment.
Throughout any addiction treatment it is common to see withdrawal symptoms and relapses. When a patient experiences a relapse it does not mean the treatment has failed or the patient has failed. It means that you are on the road to recovery and it will not always be a smooth ride. Struggling with addiction is not easy and recovery can be hard but with treatment addiction can be managed.
For more information on solving a problems with drugs, you can reach us by phone at 203-667-7526. You can visit us online to learn more about our services and how to get treatment. At DiRoma Therapy we want you to experience a healthy environment to receive personal treatment and support. We hope we can help you start a better life soon.