Drug addiction can take over all aspects of your life and leave you isolated and alone. You may think that you have a handle on your drug use and can stop at any time while the truth is something far more serious. Drug addiction changes your brain’s chemistry and requires treatment and therapy to overcome. 

You’re not alone. Drug use and addiction affect more than 24 million people in the United States. This is an addiction that crosses all sorts of barriers from age and race to gender and profession. If you or someone you love has or might have a drug addiction, there’s no time to waste; it’s time to seek treatment now. 

What Is Drug Addiction

Most drug use starts as a recreational usage and develops into addiction over time. This is because the drugs change the brain’s chemistry over time, and it leaves you craving the substance. When you think of drug addiction, you break it into two categories: prescription drug addiction and illegal drug addiction.

This page covers the illegal drug addiction. As with both types of drug addiction, there is a progression in usage that turns you from a casual drug user to an addict. Here are the steps in the progression:

• Step One: After you’ve been using your drug of choice for a while, you’ll notice that you need more and more of it to get the same high as you did when you first started using. This is because you’ve built a tolerance to it.
• Step Two: During the second step, the body begins to develop a dependence on the drug. If you attempt to stop the drug usage cold, you will experience withdrawal symptoms.
• Step Three: Psychological dependence occurs in the final step. Not only is your body craving the drugs, but your brain is also. At this final step, your doctor will diagnose you with a drug addiction and not just a casual user. 

If you think that you or someone you love has a drug addiction, then they need to seek immediate treatment. The quicker you begin treatment means the more quickly you can reclaim your life and move forward. 

Signs and Symptoms of Drug Addiction

Sometimes, you might suspect that you or someone you love has a drug addiction. However, drug addicts in the early stages are masters at hiding their addictions or at least how bad it actually is, so you need to look for the signs and symptoms to determine how bad the problem is. A drug addict might display only a couple of signs, or they may show a large combination of the signs. Some of the signs are physical while others are behavioral. A professional will make the final diagnosis of drug addiction. Here are a few of the signs and symptoms to look out for:

• Abnormal pupil size
• Significant weight loss or gain
• Unexpected legal trouble
• Paranoia
• Poor or unkempt personal appearance
• Abnormal sleep patterns
• Placing distance between themselves and family and friends
• Impairment
• Changes in appetite
• Sudden mood swings
• Changes in personality
• Anxiousness
• Secretive behavior
• Getting in physical fights with others

Dual Diagnosis

For many people suffering from drug addiction, there is an underlying cause. This underlying cause is why they became addicted to drugs while their friends continue to use recreationally. During drug addiction treatment, your therapist and counselors will treat both the drug addiction and the underlying cause also known as a dual diagnosis. Many times, the dual diagnosis is a mental health issue and can include:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Personal trauma
• Obsessive compulsive disorder
• Bipolar disorder
• Eating Disorders

Drug Addiction Treatment Process

When you can no longer ignore the signs and side effects of drug addiction, you know it’s time to seek professional treatment. This can be a scary time, because you don’t know what is going to happen. Here’s a look at the treatment process to help you understand what you or a loved one is facing when seeking treatment.

• Detox: The first step in any drug addiction treatment is to detox or stop taking drugs. Once you stop taking the drugs, you may experience withdrawal symptoms for a few days while your body rids itself of any residual amounts of the drugs.
• Management of Withdrawal symptoms: Some of the withdrawal symptoms can be serious. They can include things, such as seizures and hallucinations. During withdrawal, a team of doctors and nurses will watch over your progress and provide medication as needed. 
• Therapy: Once your body is clean of the drugs, it’s time to do the work to ensure that you won’t relapse. During this phase, you’ll examine the behaviors that led to your drug abuse and new ways of coping with everyday situations.

Levels of Treatment for Drug Addiction

At Fairwinds Treatment Center, we break care into five levels. Each level of care is designed to help you heal and overcome your drug addiction. The assignment to a particular level of care comes from your overall health, outside support system, and your motivation to stay away from illicit drugs. Here’s a look at the five levels of care. 

• Level One Outpatient: At this level, there is a great deal of motivation on your part to stay clean, and you’re generally in good health. You can live at home while you seek treatment during the day.
• Level Two Intensive Outpatient: While patients at this level don’t require around the clock care, you don’t need a little more structure and supervision. You can remain at home because your health is generally good, and you’re able to care for yourself.
• Level Three Partial Hospitalization / Day & Night Treatment: At this level, you still need full-time care, and you’re medically stable because you have a compulsion to return to drug usage. 
• Level Four Residential Treatment: To stay clean, patients at level four need constant supervision. They’re very likely to use drugs again if left by themselves. 
• Level Five Inpatient Treatment: Level five patients need the most supervision and structure to overcome their addiction. Some of these patients may be experiencing health issues from prolonged drug use.

Drug Addiction Center Professionals

During your stay or course of treatments, you’ll meet and interact with a variety of professional staff members at the Fairwinds Treatment Center. Each person you meet with and encounter has your best interest at heart and wants to help you become successful in your recovery. This includes: 

• Psychiatrists
• Nurses
• Counselors
• Physicians
• Nutritionists
• Therapists

One-on-One Therapy

A major part of your treatment and recovery is working one-on-one with a counselor. During these sessions, with the help of your therapist, you’ll discover the reasons for your drug addiction and develop a plan to solve the problems that led to your drug use in the first place. This may be things such as poor self-esteem, lack of anger management, or lack of positive coping methods for everyday stress. 

You and your therapist will work out a schedule to most benefit your treatment. You may go to one-on-one therapy once a day and several times per week. During these sessions, you’ll work on ways to avoid the pitfalls that led to your drug use in the first place. As with all the therapy you receive at Fairwinds, the goal is for you to return home after treatment without relapsing and returning to drug use.

Group Therapy

You’ll spend a good deal of your time recovering in group therapy. This is a group of your peers who are also battling drug addiction. During these sessions, you’ll listen to other people’s stories and see that you aren’t as much to blame for your addiction as you do. You’ll learn coping methods that have worked for others and methods that haven’t. 

Each group therapy session is lead by a counselor who keeps the talk on the topic and ensures everyone gets a chance to speak. You may be asked to take part in some exercises, such as pretending to talk to a loved one who doesn’t understand your addiction or trying to cope with your anger triggers in new ways. You’ll probably attend at least one group therapy session each day and possibly more than one.

Family Therapy

One of the key parts of a successful recovery is your support system, and in most cases, your family is a large part of that support system. Many people who have suffered from drug addiction have damaged their relationship with their family during their drug usage days. With family therapy, you can start to rebuild trust, and your family members can learn more about the challenges that you face.

You may do family therapy in the office or have Skype sessions, depending on how far away your family lives. Your therapist will sit in on all of these sessions and try to keep the discussion productive. Working with your therapist, you’ll set a schedule of how often you need family therapy. 

A Fairwinds Treatment Center, we understand the challenges that you face recovering from drug addiction. We can help by creating a personalized recovery plan for you. Contact our office today to learn more about our recovery programs.