Drug Addiction Treatment

Understanding Drug Addiction

When a person is battling drug addiction, they are battling a chronic illness in which an individual presents compulsive, or uncontrollable, drug seeking behavior or use despite the negative consequences. Today, there are several illicit drugs that all have different effects on the body and brain. This makes treatment a complicated process because it cannot be standardized or streamlined. While difficult, it is important to know that recovery is possible with the right help.

Why Do People Do Drugs?

People turn to drugs for a variety of reasons, from self-medication to curiosity. Some people become addicted to drugs they were legally prescribed by a doctor. Other factors which can drive people to use drugs include family distress, emotional trauma, peer pressure, or mental health conditions.

Drug Addiction Is a Disease

Many people dismiss the medical aspect of addiction and simply blame the person struggling with chemical dependence for having made poor choices. While a person may initially choose to engage in drug use, the reality is that a person cannot control whether they become addicted.

Drug addiction causes chemical changes in the “reward circuit” of the brain by flooding it with dopamine, a hormone that regulates mood changes, behavior, decision-making, and other vital functions. Dopamine causes the “high” feeling that drug users constantly chase. Addiction worsens as the brain builds up a tolerance, causing drug users to seek higher doses of their drug of choice to achieve the same effects. It is these chemical changes that make quitting difficult, even for those who desperately want to do so.

Signs & Symptoms of Drug Addiction

Drug addiction can be difficult to identify, both for the addict themselves and those close to them. Addiction can cloud a person’s judgment and cause them to be in denial of the extent of their dependence. Additionally, certain drug addictions can easily go unnoticed by friends and family who are not on the lookout for certain key signs.

Common warning signs that a person may be struggling with addiction include:

• Uncharacteristically reclusive behavior
• Sudden money troubles
• Decreased performance at school or work
• Lack of energy or motivation
• Changes in appearance
• Poor personal hygiene

What Does Drug Addiction Treatment Involve?

Because each patient has a different underlying reason for their addiction and the addiction affects them in different ways, it’s important that we offer a variety of approaches toward treatment.

Depending on a patient’s individual needs, treatment could include:

• Mandatory participation in self-help groups
• Mandatory behavioral therapy
• Mandatory individual and/or family therapy
• Addressing any underlying mental health conditions
• Medical detox
• Treatment for chemical dependency
• Development of tools and effective strategies to cope with cravings and unsettling emotions
• Lessons to avoid relapse and maintain full sobriety

The Types of Illicit Drugs

While many people are quick to identify cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and even marijuana as illicit drugs, they often overlook prescription medications, which are highly addictive and are often misused.

Today, illicit drugs are divided into two categories: those that are illegal to possess, sell, use, grow, or produce and legal prescription medication that is often illegally bought, sold, or obtained. Common prescription medication addictions include OxyContin, Vicodin, Percocet, Ativan, Xanax, Ambien, and Valium, plus any of their likes or derivatives.

How We Provide Effective Treatment

It’s no surprise that treating drug addiction is difficult. The chronic nature of drug addiction and the ways it affects the brain’s pleasure and motivational centers mean that someone simply refraining from using drugs for a few days is not a viable cure. Instead, most patients require long-term or repeated treatment to reach full sobriety and alter their lives.

At Mount Sinai, we combine evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions, medication-assisted treatment, and holistic methods to provide a comprehensive and effective treatment plan for each patient.

In order to measure the effectiveness of treatment, The National Institute of Drug Abuse developed a set of principles that should form the basis of any treatment program.

These principles include:

• While addiction is a disease that affects both brain function and behavior, it can be effectively treated
• A qualified staff member needs to monitor any drug use that occurs during treatment.
• There are more stages to treatment than simply completing medically assisted detox.
• It is of paramount importance that a patient remains in treatment long enough.
• Treatment needs to be able to be accessed quickly by anyone seeking it.
• Treatment needs to focus on more than just a patient’s drug addiction.
• Medications, paired with counseling and behavioral therapies, are extremely important parts of the treatment process.
• Any patient needs to be evaluated and treated for any underlying mental illnesses in addition to their drug addiction.
• Treatment plans need to be ever changing in order to fit a patient’s varying needs.
• Involuntary treatment is just as effective as voluntary treatment.

At Mount Sinai, we look forward to transforming your life through successfully proven treatment methods.