Recognizing the Need for Opiate Addiction Treatment
An addiction to opiates is very strong, and takes a lot of perseverance, support, and understanding to overcome.
Opiate drugs do a good job at relieving most all types of pain, be it from an injury or from chronic conditions like cancer. Drugs, such as codeine, Demerol and Dilaudid offer effective pain relief properties unlike any other types of medication. Unfortunately, these drugs carry the same addictive potential as heroin, another opiate drug.
According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, over 12 million adults reported using opiate drugs for non-medical purposes in 2010. Those who use opiates for long periods of time eventually lose the ability to stop using the drug. Once a person reaches this point, thereās a definite need for opiate addiction treatment.
Opiate Dependence vs. Opiate Addiction
While the terms āopiate dependenceā and āopiate addictionā are often used interchangeably, they do differ in significant ways. Someone whoās been prescribed pain pills for a back injury can become physically dependent on the drugās effects.
People who get to the point where they āfeelā they canāt make it through the day without the drugās effects are dealing with an addiction. Opiate addiction treatment helps addicts deal with both the physical and mental components of addiction.
Tolerance Level Increases
Over time, the brain naturally develops a tolerance for opiate effects. When this happens, a person must take larger doses of the drug to experience the same desired effects. The brain then develops a higher tolerance level, which in turn drives users to take even larger doses.
The longer a person uses the weaker brain functions become as tolerance levels continue to rise. This cycle will continue indefinitely unless a person receives needed opiate addiction treatment.
Psychological Changes
With ongoing exposure to opiateās effects, the brain inevitably starts to develop chemical imbalances that affect a personās emotions and perceptions. By the time most people enter opiate addiction treatment, other psychological disorders have begun to take root.
Psychological changes associated with opiate abuse include:
Mood swings
Problems concentrating
Depression
Confusion
Opiate addiction treatment helps a person replace addiction-type thinking and perceptions with a healthy outlook on life.
Changes in Behavior
As opiate addiction progresses, the drug takes on greater and greater importance in a personās life. Eventually, a personās motivations and actions will revolve around getting and using drugs. Unusual behaviors will surface on a more frequent basis to the point where a personās personality and morals have changed completely.
Changes in behavior make take the form of:
Missing work
Lying
Stealing
Isolating
Changing social circles
Opiate addiction treatment helps recovering addicts regain their sense of self and re-establish normal, everyday lives.
Opiate Addiction Treatment
The physical and psychological pull of opiates can quickly overwhelm a personās ability to cut back or stop using. Opiate addiction treatment programs employ a wide range of techniques for helping recovering addicts take back control of their lives.
Recognizing the need for opiate addiction treatment is the first step towards recovery. Without needed treatment the ongoing cycle of addiction will make it all but impossible for a person to break the drugās hold on his or her life.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, drug addiction is a disease. Unfortunately, admitting you need treatment for this disease is very difficult. Once you admit your addiction, you there are many things that you have to take care of, one of which is finding the right rehab for you. You can do this….
Just as there are many types of addiction, there are many different types of rehab. Which type of rehab is best, depends on the type of addiction as well as the individuals personality. Each person has different needs and rehabs are not one size fits all. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the….
Recently, the National Institute of Health announced that it will not pursue the proposed development of a single entity or institute that is devoted solely to addiction and substance abuse. This decision has many believing that the NIH is just not committed to making change and to stopping addiction in its tracks and this worries….
Once a loved one decides to get help for a drinking problem, having an alcohol rehab program ready to accept him or her can help ensure he or she follows through on the decision. Equally important is finding an alcohol rehab program that can best meet your loved oneās treatment needs. Alcoholism has been around….
A therapeutic community (TC) is a type of treatment program that many residential rehab centers use to help recovering addicts learn better behaviors associated with drug use, socialization and combatting negative perceptions and attitudes held by those individuals. This type of treatment program can be confrontational and is usually very structured, but it is often….
Many people face the challenges of working a 9-5 job that is both stressing and overwhelming. Unfortunately, many business executives find that the high level of responsibility and the extreme stress that comes with working in an executive position result in an increased risk of drug abuse which ultimately must be treated. Luckily, Seasons Recovery….
Although some might not think it, rehab centers are open during the holidays. Many of the programs do not stop just because it is Christmas or Thanksgiving. People still need help and there are both inpatient and outpatient clinics who provide it. The holidays are a tough time for many people who suffer from depression,….
Many people believe they can get over their addictions on their own and without the help of professional rehab. Unfortunately, though, this option is often much more dangerous and usually more unsuccessful than attending professional care in the hands of healthcare workers. Addiction Changes the Brain Most people cannot beat addiction through sheer force of….
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Within a treatment program, successful clinicians [should] establish a positive, therapeutic relationship with their patients,” which can help individuals stay in treatment for longer periods of time and achieve better recovery outcomes. A counselor can foster the kind of positive relationship that many individuals require in rehab,….
Whether or not a patient is in need of aftercare depends strongly on their state of recovery when their treatment program at a rehab center ends. However, there are many different types of aftercare available, and attending another type of treatment after one’s time in a rehab center is over is often helpful. What Options….
Calls to numbers on a specific treatment center listing will be routed to that treatment center. Calls to any general helpline will be answered or returned by one of the treatment providers listed, each of which is a paid advertiser.
By calling the helpline you agree to the terms of use. We do not receive any commission or fee that is dependent upon which treatment provider a caller chooses. There is no obligation to enter treatment.
