Drug/Alcohol Addiction Treatment

The main components of treatment include confrontation, detoxification, and rehabilitation (Friedlander & Norman, 2006). Confrontation involves overcoming patients’ denial, convincing them of the consequences of continued drinking, and motivating them to receive treatment (Friedlander & Norman, 2006). Detoxification consists of removing alcohol from the body and protecting the patient from the effects of withdrawal (Friedlander & Norman, 2006). Rehabilitation consists of continued efforts to increase and maintain high

A broad range of medical and psychological therapies is currently available for people who struggle with substance addictions. The scientific community is working on evaluation of various treatments to determine which strategies offer the best chances of successful outcome. People who need treatment for alcoholism and drug use are very diverse group. Addiction is a disorder that requires an individual case approach; therefore, different ways to

Even the most severely addicted individuals can participate in treatment; in the hopes of reducing their drug and alcohol use. Treatment programs with the higher success rates offer a combination of treatments. I will explore substance abuse prevention programs in this paper. I will summarize their goals, funding, and effectiveness.

Therapies that include family, group, or individual counseling are most commonly used for drug abuse treatment. Teaching motivation to change in order to resist the need of drug use is important. Building skills to resist drug use, replacing with drug-using activities with constructive and rewarding activities, in order to improving problem-solving skills.

Proposal: The first step in the rehabilitation process is to make sure that the patient wants and accepts the help that is about to be given. If the patient does not want to be treated, it is doubtful that their personal health is to change. Second step in the procedure is to make sure the patient acknowledges the problem, and does not blame others for their addiction; whether the subject went through a traumatic event caused by another person, and began the use of drugs/alcohol as a method to manage, or tried it from a suggestion of someone else. The sufferer will have to be able to take blame and responsibility for their actions. Once these two steps are accomplished, further treatment can be

Historically drug addiction has not been treated like other chronic diseases. Society has viewed the illness as being based on the person using drugs/alcohol and concluded that stopping the behavior would end the problem. The reality is that other people who have chronic disorders often require sustained and repeated treatment episodes. Amelia Arria and A. Thomas McLellan (2012) pointed out, “First, viewing addiction as a “bad habit’ or a “sin” has led us to unnecessarily attach antisocial attributes to both the addiction process itself and to those who become addicted. Second, the nature of our traditional treatments for this “condition”-generally short term, educational, and segregated from the rest of medical care–do not comport with the scientific findings showing

Drug addiction is a disease of the brain and a lot of times individuals who suffer with addiction also have other mental disorders. For individuals suffering with both one issue becomes very hard to treat because another issue is intertwined. Anyone who is entering a treatment program should be assessed for the co- occurrence of both substance use and a mental disorder. Research has proven that treating both (or multiple) illnesses at the same time in an integrated fashion is generally the best treatment approach for these patients.

Drug addiction is a chronic disease. People who are addicted to a drug or substance are driven by a desire that is uncontrollable. They don’t stop to think about harmful consequences and negative effects it will have on their lives and the lives of their children. The desire to either do the drug they are addicted to or to drink the alcohol that they need overcomes all logical thought. These substances can cause changes in the brain, which can be long lasting. Drug addiction is not only a chronic disease it is also a relapsing disease. Relapse is the return to drug use after an attempt to stop. This disease is not something a person can just decide to stop it takes extensive therapy to overcome addiction. In order to prevent substance-abuse and addiction, communities should offer more help and rehabilitation options.

There are a selective few that may feel that addiction is a choice and not a brain disease. There are various possibilities that may lead to an individual voluntarily using drugs. It is very doubtful that it is due to brain disease but in fact to stimulate a craving that is not essential to sustaining life. Psychologist Marc Lewis argues; “The brain changes with addiction,” he writes. “But the way it changes has to do with learning and development — not disease.”

Drug addiction is a complex but treatable disease. It is characterized by compulsive drug craving, seeking, and use that persist even in the face of severe adverse consequences. For many people, drug abuse becomes chronic, with relapses possible even after long periods of abstinence. In fact, relapse to drug abuse occurs at rates similar to those for other well-characterized, chronic medical illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, and asthma. As a chronic, recurring illness, addiction may require repeated episodes of treatment before sustained abstinence is achieved. Through treatment tailored to individual needs, people with drug addiction can recover and lead productive lives.

Alcohol and drug addictions are the greatest dangers to a healthy society nationwide. An addiction is “a condition that results when a person ingests a substance (e.g. alcohol, nicotine, cocaine) or engages in an activity (e.g. gambling) that can be pleasurable but the continued use/ act of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary life responsibilities, such as work, relationships, or health.” An addicted person may not be aware of their altered behavior or the problems that their behavior is causing. To help an addicted person it is important to understand the psychology behind addictions, the symptoms, drug trends, and the options for treatment.

Drug Addiction is a habitual disease categorized by drug seeking individuals, is very uncontrollable, or challenging to control, despite the various damaging consequences (Stimmel, 2003). The first time taking drugs is voluntary for most people, however, frequently drug use can lead to many brain changes that test an addicted person’s self-will and affects with their capability to fight strong desires to take drugs. Several of these changes have to be very persistent, which is why is classify has a “relapsing” disease. Many Individuals who are trying to or are in recovery from drug

Drug addiction is influenced by many factors. Not only does the brain change when taking constant doses of a certain drug, but life as you know it changes to. Drugs are misleading they cause you to think that your life is becoming better, when it actually is becoming much worse. “Fooling” is what drugs do best; they fool the brains receptors by sending abnormal messages to the brain. After all, what good really comes from drugs? When someone starts taking it they just simply can’t stop, even if they wanted to. However, if they actually do stop there are many side effects to this, “persistent vulnerability to relapse long after drug taking has ceased”. They lose total control over their brain and bodies. How lamentable is it watching someone’s life shatter in to pieces right in front of your eyes, and there’s nothing you can do about it. How sad is it knowing they had a reason for living before this all began, that they wanted to actually achieve something before they leave this world. All the drug dosage did was completely destroy them. Hence, drug addiction leads to greed, treachery, murder; dreams fall to pieces and life is nothing but a living hell.

Is drug addiction a choice or a disease? This polemical topic has been in the media for many years and has provoked many debates to ascertain the whole thing. Many researchers have concluded being a drug addict is a disease that is only cured by “feeding the habit”. Conversely, there are researchers who assert that drug addiction is just a choice. Having thoroughly taken into consideration both sides of the arguments and doing my own research, my stand remains that being a drug addict is undisputedly a matter of choice and not a disease.

The reason behind a person initially taking drugs can vary and while the action itself is voluntary: the eventual drug addiction is essentially involuntary. Drug addiction is a complex and chronic disease, a brain disease, which changes the way the brain functions. Drug addiction, much like chronic illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes, disrupts healthy, normal functioning organs. This has harmful consequences that are both preventable and treatable (Branch, 2011, pp.263-265). Drug addiction is considered a brain disease as drugs change the brain structure and how the brain operates. These changes of the brain can be lifelong and can lead to the destructive behaviour seen in drug addicts (Perry, 2011, p.1). This essay will argue that addiction is in fact a disease rather than a behavioural disorder.