Principales Of Drug Addiction Treatment

       WHAT IS DRUG ADDICTION TREATMENT ?

Drug treatment is intended to help addiction individuals stop compulsive drug seeking and use treatment can occur in a variety of settings take many difference forms and last for different lengths of time because drug addictions is typically a chronic disorders characterized by occasional relapses a short term one time travel treatment is usually not sufficient for many treatment is a long-term process that involves multiple interventions and regular monitoring.

There are a variety of evidence-based approaches to treating addiction drug treatment can include behavioral therapy such as cognitive behavioral therapy or contingency management medications or their combination the specific type of treatment or combination of treatment will vary depending on the patient's individual needs and often on the type of drugs they use

What Happen To Your Brain When You Take Drugs

Drug contain chemicals that tap into brain's communication system and disrupt the way nerve cells normally send receive and process information there are at least two ways that drugs cause this disruption (1) by imitating the brain's natural chemical messengers and (2) by overstimulating the reward circuit of the brain.

Some drugs have a similar structure to chemical messenger called neurotransmitter which are naturally produced by the brain this similarity allows the drugs to fool the brain's receptors and activate nerve cells to send abnormal messages.

Other drugs such as cocaine or methamphetamine can cause the nerve cell to release abnormally large amount of natural neurotransmitter or to prevent the normal recycling of these brain chemical which is needed to shut off the signalling between neurons the result is a brain awash in dopamine a neurotransmitter present in brain region that control movement emotion motivation and feelings of pleasure the natural behaviors linked to survival producing euphoric effects in responce to psychoative drugs this reaction sets in motion a reforcing abusing drugs.

As a person continues to abuse drugs the brain adapts to the overwhelming surges in dopamine by producing  less dopamine or by reducing the number of dopamine receptor reward circuit the result is a lessening of dopamine's impact on the reward circuit which reduce the abuser's ability to enjoy not only drugs but also other events in life that previously brought pleasure this decrease compels the addicted person to keep abusing drugs in an attempt to bring the dopamine function back to normal but now large amount of the drug are required to achieve the same dopamine high an effect know as tolerance.

What is Drug Addiction

Addiction is a chronic often relapsing brain diseases that causes compulsive drug seeking and use despite harmful consequence to the addicted individual and to those around him or her although the initial decision to take drugs is voluntary for most people the brain changes that occur over time challenge an addicted person's self-control and hamper his or her ability to resists intense impulses to take drugs.

Fortunately treatments are available to help people counter addiction's powerful disruptive effects research shows that combing addiction treatment medication with behavioral therapy is the best way to ensure success for most patient's treatment approaching thay are tailored to each patient's drug abuse patterns and any co-occurring medical psychiatric and social programs can lead to sustained recovery and a life without drug abuse.

Similar to other chronic relapsing diseases such as diabetes asthma or heart disease drug addiction can be managed successfully and as with other chronic diseases it is not uncommon for a person to relapse and begin abusing drug again relapse however does not signal treatment failure-rather it indicates that treatment should be reinstated or adjusting or that an alternatives treatment is needed to help the individual regain control and recover.  

National Institute ON Drug Abuse

          Understanding Drug Abuse and Addiction

Many people do not understand why or how other people become addicted to drugs it is often mistakenly assumed that drug abusers lack moral principles or willpower and that they could stop using drugs simply by choosing to charge their behavior in reality drug addiction is a complex disease and quitting takes more than good intentions or a strong will in fact because drugs change the brain in ways that foster compulsive drug abuse quitting is difficult even for those who are ready to do so.

Through scientific advances we know more about how drugs work in the brain then ever and we also know that drug addiction can be successfully treated to help people stop abusing drugs and lead productive lives.

Drug Abuse and addiction have negative consequence for individuals and for society estimates of the total overall costs of substance abuse in the united states including productivity and health- and crime-related costs exceed $600 billions annually this includes approximately $193 billions for illicit drugs $193 billions for tobacco and $235 billion for alcohol as staggering as these numbers are they do not fully describe the breadth of destructive public health and safety implication of dug abuse and addiction such as family disintegration loss of employment failure in school domestic violence and child abuse.