Drug and substance abuse

One of the most damaging and costly social and medical diseases of the twenty-first century is drug and substance abuse. Drug addiction is a major concern for governments all around the world, notably in America and Europe. Most addictive medications excessively stimulate the brain’s reward system, resulting in a euphoric experience and heightened pleasure that is often enticing, and the brain craves the feeling over and over. However, repeated use or exposure to addictive chemicals creates adaptive changes in the brain, and drug addiction can become compulsive. An estimated 184 million people who make up 4.7% of the global population aged between 15 and 64 consume illicit drug annually the number is thought to be rising (Anderson, 2006). Drug abuse and addiction are responsible for reduced job productivity, increased rates of violent crime, domestic violence and also increased medical costs to the victims and their families. Drug addiction is a preventable disease but once addicted it is very tough to cure, but there is hope since some people can overcome the disease and restore their productive lives.

Introduction

Drug addiction is considered a chronic disease by the National Institute on drug abuse. It is characterized by compulsiveness and uncontrollability and causes changes in the brain that can be long-lasting. Drug addiction is a relapse decease meaning victims return to it even after an attempt to leave.

Treating drug addiction is a not easy since drug addiction is a chronic disease and often only one 10% of the victims of drug addiction is cured according to research conducted by the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids and The New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (Oasas, 2017). Even after treatment recovery of drug addiction patients is a tough process that requires sacrifice and dedication form the patient and everyone else supporting them.

This paper will explore in detail treatment methodologies for patients with drug addiction and the approaches they can take to full recovery after treatment.

Effective drug addiction treatment methods must help the patient to stop using drugs, stay drug-free and live productive lives. For these methods to be effective, they observe some principles such as, understanding that no single treatment can be right for all the patients and that addiction is a complex but treatable disease that can affect brain functioning and behaviour. Another principle for an effective treatment method understands that the treatment should not just address the drug problem of the patient but all other problems that may make the person go back to drug abuse and finally treatment methods should address other possible mental disorders of the patient

Methods of treating addiction

Behavioural therapies

Behavioural therapies help addiction victims’ change attitudes towards drugs so that they start to feel they do not have to take for example marijuana to live or to be happy. Therapies also help victims to embrace new and healthy life skills to help them live better without drugs, strategies of avoiding or coping with repulse if it occurs and finally behavioural therapies help victims persist with other forms of treatment like medication. Patients receive this kind of treatment in many different settings employing various approaches such as Outpatient behavioural treatment and inpatient behavioural treatment. ( Sylvain et al, 1997)

Outpatient behavioural treatment This kind of treatment involves a variety of action plans and programs for patients that visit behavioural health counsellors on a particular schedule. The programs may involve individual or group counselling, or both is some case, and they offer various forms of behavioural therapy such as:

Motivational incentives or contingency management which use positive reinforcement to encourage patients to abstain from using the drugs

Cognitive behavioural therapy that helps patients recognize avoid and cope with situations in which they are most likely to go back to using drugs (Sylvain et al, 1997)

Motivational interviewing which uses people’s readiness to change their behaviour and begin treatment.

Outpatient treatment is used for people who are not excessively ruined by the effects of addiction and have sought help before the situation gets out of hand. This kind of treatment is intensive at first patients attend multiple sessions a day, and it transitions to less often but consistent to sustain recovery.

Residential or Inpatient treatment This is a very effective way of treatment especially for patients with much severe problems. Residential treatment facilities offer intensive rehabilitation programs for patients including safe housing and medical attention by employing a variety of therapeutic approaches, and they are all aimed at helping a patient live a drug-free life and return to healthy productive lives. (NIDA, 2017)

Medications

Treatment for drug addiction happens in several stages, some stages may need the victims to use medications to stay in the medication process stay drug-free and avoid repulse. ( Volkow et al, 2014).

Withdrawal stage Once victims join rehabilitation and stop using drugs they experience several physical and emotional symptoms such as depression, anxiety and many other mood disorders including sleeplessness and restlessness. Antidepressants such as Acamprosate are administered to help patients feel less depended on drugs by reducing these symptoms.

Staying in treatment Medication at this stage is used to help the brain gradually adapt to the absence of the abused drug. The medication works to starve the brain of cravings slowly and have a calming effect on body systems and help patients to focus on counselling and other treatment procedures. ( Volkow et al, 2014).

Preventing Relapse Cues and environments linked to drug experiences, for example, people and places trigger patients to go back to drug abuse. Medication has been developed to help patients avoid such triggers and sustain recovery

Drugs used in treatment of addiction include

For alcohol and Drug Addiction medicines such as Naltrexone, Disulfiram and Acamprosate. For Tobacco addictions medicines such as Bupropion and Varenicline opioid addictions may be treated with medicines such as Methadone, Buprenorphine, Naltrexone (.Volkow et al, 2014).

The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous

This treatment method was created by Alcoholics Anonymous to establish guidelines for ways overcoming many types of addiction such as alcohol and other drugs the system has had considerable success in helping patients overcome addiction and can be modified to help patients suffering from different kinds of drug addiction and even behavioural problems.

( Rynes &Tonigan,2012).

The Twelve-step program approach provides individuals with structured plans for recovery and a sense of togetherness with others suffering the same conditions.

Here is an example of the 12 steps as defined form Alcoholics Anonymous for treatment of alcoholism

We admitted we were powerless over alcohol–that our lives had become unmanageable.

Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character

Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings

Made a list of persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.

Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs (Anonymous, 2017)

Approaches that help sustain long-term recovery from drug addiction

The road to recovery for patients suffering from drug addiction is different and unique to different individuals. This means there is no blanket approach to sustaining the long-term recovery of addiction patients. Recovery programs should be tailored to suit the individual patients so that they can have the desired effect. Below are some of the approaches to help sustain long-term recovery from drug addiction.

Sober Living Houses and Recovery houses

While outpatient treatment method is one of the most popular treatment modalities of drug addiction, one of its weaknesses is that the outpatient facility offering treatment to addiction patients does not have control to their behavioural life after they leave the facility. Some of the patients live in environments that do not support abstinence from drugs or live in a situation that forced them to use drugs to survive harsh living conditions (Light et al. 2014). For example, homeless patients live in conditions that expose them to harm and often cannot get sleep due to fear and harsh weather conditions this leaves them with no option but to use drugs as a way out

Sober living houses are drug and alcohol-free environments for patients seeking cure form drug and alcohol abuse. SLHs do not offer any treatments for patients but require patients to enrol in self-help groups. Sober living houses are an important approach in helping addiction patients recover entirely since they provide support such as emotional support. When people living in this houses live and interact with others who are on their own journey to recovery, they feel there is hope for them also. Sober houses are also important social structures where patients submit to rules and duties this teaches them responsibility and other social value like humility and respect to help them integrate better into society when they leave them. Some sober houses also instil life skills so that they can assist them to earn a living and better their own lives since most patients resolve to drug abuse when they lack professional skill. (Polcin et al, 2010)

Submit to post-treatment monitoring

People who suffer from drug addiction should always accept monitoring and assistance after treatment. They should respect the power of addiction and admit just like they were once addicted they are most likely to end up the same way if they do not take caution and constantly remember the effects of drug addiction on them. By submitting to post-treatment monitoring, they live a chance for help if they are sliding back to old ways. The monitoring program continually offers support and advice on how to live a better life and also reminds them of their goals in life leaving them feeling supported and better. (UKATT Research Team. 2005)

Join support groups

Social support forums such as Narcotics Anonymous or Alcoholics Anonymous are important to the recovery of drug addiction patients since they offer compassion and understanding for the patients which the rest of the society may not care to give patients of drug abuse. Support groups also offer platforms for drug addiction victims to express themselves and grow self-esteem which goes a long way to help them find self-worth and avoid going back to drug abuse (Rothman, 2017). Besides, shared experiences that support groups offer help relieve the pressure form addiction victims and hasten reintegration into society. Knowing that you are not alone in the struggle to live a drug-free life makes it’s possible that you will gather the courage to do it even faster and once the motivational levels are high enough overcoming addiction is more likely. ( Frings &Albery,2013)

Conclusion

Drug addiction is a serious societal issue that affects mostly young people and causes them to be dependent on drugs and become less productive and unhealthy. Drug addiction is a chronic disease that is very tough to cure, but there is hope, several methods of treatment help patients overcome addiction and resume healthy productive lives.

References

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Anonymous, A. (2017). The 12 Steps of AA. Alcoholics Anonymous (Great Britain) Ltd. Retrieved 6 December 2017, from https://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/about-aa/The-12-Steps-of-AA

Buckingham, S. A., Frings, D., &Albery, I. P. (2013). Group membership and social identity in addiction recovery. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 27(4), 1132-1140. doi:http://dx.doi.org.library.georgian.edu:2048/10.1037/a0032480

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Rynes, K. N., &Tonigan, J. S. (2012). Do social networks explain 12-step sponsorship effects? A prospective lagged mediation analysis. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 26(3), 432- 439.

Sylvain, C., Ladouceur, R., & Boisvert, J. M. (1997). Cognitive and behavioral treatment of pathological gambling: A controlled study. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 65, 727-732

UKATT Research Team. (2005). Effectiveness of treatment for alcohol problems: findings of the randomised UK alcohol treatment trial (UKATT). BMJ, 331(7516), 541.

Volkow, N. D., Frieden, T. R., Hyde, P. S., & Cha, S. S. (2014). Medication-assisted therapies—tackling the opioid-overdose epidemic. New England Journal of Medicine, 370(22), 2063-2066

Polcin, D. L., Korcha, R. A., Bond, J., & Galloway, G. (2010). Sober living houses for alcohol and drug dependence: 18-month outcomes. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 38(4), 356-365.

Oasas. (2017). Survey: Ten Percent of American Adults Report Being in Recovery from Substance Abuse or Addiction. Oasas.ny.gov. Retrieved 6 December 2017, from https://www.oasas.ny.gov/pio/press/20120306recovery.cfm

NIDA. (2017). Types of Treatment Programs. Drugabuse.gov. Retrieved 6 December 2017, from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-drug-addiction-treatment-research-based-guide-third-edition/drug-addiction-treatment-in-united-states/types-treatment-programs

Rothman, J. (2017). How Support Groups Can Aid in Addiction Treatment. EverydayHealth.com. Retrieved 6 December 2017, from https://www.everydayhealth.com/addiction/how-support-groups-aid-addiction-treatment.aspx