Help for Drug Addiction

Help for drug addiction can provide drug addicts with the skills needed to stop using drugs and get on the road to recovery. Getting help for drug or alcohol addiction is often a confusing process and can have a huge impact on the individual's family. The vast majority of people are unfamiliar with chemical dependency, drug addiction, and or alcoholism. As a result, they end up making improper choices and not getting the best help possible or worse yet, not getting any help at all.

Drug addiction is a complex problem. It is characterized by compulsive, and at times uncontrollable, drug craving, seeking, and use that persist even in the face of extremely negative consequences. Drug seeking becomes an overwhelming compulsion, in large as a result of the effects of prolonged drug use on brain function. For most addicts, drug use becomes chronic, with relapses possible even after long periods of abstinence. There is no easy answer for the addict.

If and how quickly an individual might become addicted to a drug depends on many factors including the biology of their body. All drugs are potentially harmful and may have life-threatening consequences associated with their use. While one person may use a drug one or many times and suffer no ill effects, another person may be particularly vulnerable and overdose with their first use. There is no way of knowing in advance how someone may react.

Those who screen for drug problems, such as physicians and drug rehabs, have developed the CAGE questionnaire. These four simple questions can help detect substance abuse problems. If you are wondering if you or someone you care about needs help for drug addiction think about the following questions:

Have you ever felt like you should Cut down on your drinking/drug use?
Have people ever Annoyed you by criticizing your drinking/drug use?
Have you ever felt bad or Guilty about your drinking/drug use?
Have you ever had a drink or taken a drug first thing in the morning as an Eye-opener to steady your nerves or get rid of a hangover?

If a person is compulsively seeking and using a drug despite negative consequences, such as loss of job, debt, physical problems brought on by drug abuse, or family problems, then he or she probably needs help for drug addiction. When it comes down to it, the first step in getting help for drug addiction is to really figure out what the problem is. The individual with the drug addiction problem needs to be able to sit down and talk about the fact that they have a problem, and they need to be able to make this admission to themselves as well as to others.

It is an important first step in solving their problems to actually admit that they have one. It might sound like a cliche and like something that you have heard over and over again, but it really is the truth. It is nearly impossible to provide help for drug addiction problems if the person doesn't really want to get help, or if they feel like they don't have a problem.

If someone who doesn't admit that they have a problem is forced to stop using the drug that they are addicted to, they might end up going back to their drugs or alcohol after they have gone through recovery. This happens because they do not really think that they have a problem and so they don't bother to stay sober.

After the individual has admitted that they need help for drug addiction problems, there are many places that they can turn to. It is important they weigh their options very carefully because there are many different methods of treatment for drug addiction. One of the most successful treatments for drug addiction is an inpatient drug treatment center. At these centers, the recovering drug addict can be removed from their day to day world and put into a drug rehab where they can concentrate completely on their drug addiction. These places are often very successful at treating drug addictions because the recovering individual does not have to worry about the pressures of the outside world while they are getting better. However, for some, being removed from their lives is not the best option.

Another type of drug addiction help provided at other treatment centers is addiction counseling sessions. These are provided on an outpatient basis. The individual can go to counseling and talk about their feelings as well as complete all of the work that would be done in the in house treatment facilities. There is a difference because they can still live their life and maintain their family while getting help.

Here are 12 questions to consider when selecting a rehab program to receive help for drug addiction problems:

Does the program accept your insurance? If not, will they work with you on a payment plan or find other means of support for you?
Is the program run by state-accredited, licensed and/or trained professionals?
Is the facility clean, organized and well-run?
Does the program encompass the full range of needs of the individual (medical: including infectious diseases; psychological: including co-occurring mental illness; social; vocational; legal; etc.)?
Does the treatment program also address sexual orientation and physical disabilities as well as provide age, gender and culturally appropriate treatment services?
Is long-term aftercare support and/or guidance encouraged, provided and maintained?
Is there ongoing assessment of an individual's treatment plan to ensure it meets changing needs?
Does the program employ strategies to engage and keep individuals in longer-term treatment, increasing the likelihood of success?
Does the program offer counseling (individual or group) and other behavioral therapies to enhance the individual's ability to function in the family/community?
Does the program offer medication as part of the treatment regimen if appropriate?
Is there ongoing monitoring of possible relapse to help guide patients back to abstinence?
Are services or referrals offered to family members to ensure they understand addiction and the recovery process to help them support the recovering individual?

In the end, all that matters is that the individual gets help for drug addiction problems. There are so many different drug treatment centers available that they can choose from, and when the course of treatment is complete, they will be better able to take over their life like they have always wanted too. They will be able to live again without the need for drugs and alcohol.