ADDICTION TREATMENT

Common Symptoms of Active and Non-Active Addiction: 


Why the ideal length of treatment is 90 days 

Duration of stay in addiction and alcoholism treatment: Residential programs can last between 28 days up to 6 months. However, clinical wisdom suggests the time required for behaviour change to be internalised for all age groups is approximately 3 months. Those clients with deep and complicated issues are unrealistic in expecting to achieve this within 28 days. Even though 28 days is the most commonly offered program for addiction and alcoholism globally, this is often due to insurance company pay structures and annual leave allowances.

The Warehouse Effect: This is one of the most successful elements of a long-term addiction and alcoholism treatment program. This refers to the idea that it takes around 90 days for a person to “break a habit” and in general the idea works. By “warehousing” addicts in safe places, such as Hope Rehab Center Thailand, who provide therapies and education on addiction disorder. This is why Alcoholics Anonymous has the historic slogan “90 meetings in 90 days”: The neurological damage produced by consistent abuse manifests as the brain’s inability to regulate the production of serotonin and dopamine neurotransmitters; both of which are associated with the pleasure center and reward circuitry in the brain. According to NIDA research, those who complete 90 consecutive days of residential treatment are 35% more likely to maintain five years of unbroken recovery than people who do not.

90 Days: An extended course of addiction and alcoholism treatment can last up to 6 months and involves various stages, primary, secondary and third stage. Of course, 28 days clean is a positive start, away from the common stressors, (people, places and things) and being around recovering people and a clean environment provides the opportunity to consider extending treatment further. At Serenity Recovery Bhubaneswar you can access the 90-day package that gives a client the best chance for long-term results.


What are Addiction and Alcoholism?



Defining addiction as a chronic neurological disorder involving many brain functions, most notably an imbalance in the reward circuitry. This fundamental impairment in the experience of pleasure literally compels the addict to chase the chemical highs produced by substances and excessive behaviours like sex, food and gambling. Addiction is a “bio-psycho-socio-spiritual” illness characterised by; Damaged decision-making (affecting learning, perception, and judgment) persistent risk and recurrence of relapse; Addicts lose control over their addictions: known in AA as “Powerlessness” or Compulsiveness in CBT.

The “destructive and unhealthy” behaviour themselves are all symptoms of the addiction, not the disease itself. The state of addiction is not the same as the state of intoxication or even physical dependency; Substance abuse is considered a form self-prescribing or self-medicating, allowing their users to escape temporarily from the condition that troubles them, from simple stress and/or anxiety to mental disorders. However, the relief or highs provided by drugs and alcohol are short-lived.

Addiction and alcoholism treatment specialists see the latest ASAM definition as a validation of what has, since the publication of Alcoholics Anonymous in 1939, come to be commonly known as “the disease concept” of addiction. “Many people in the population at large see addiction as a moral, social or chosen problem; however understandable this is, it is a dangerous mistake. 

The Disease Concept and the medical model: Don’t be confused, addiction cannot be cured in the traditional medical sense or in a Hospital. Treatment of addiction and alcoholism means addressing psychological, environmental and social aspects (triggers) of the problem, not just its biological condition. It’s called “medication-assisted therapy” not “therapy-assisted medication” Medication alone fails, the analogy is with depression: If you ask most people what depression is, they’ll answer that it’s a serotonin deficiency disorder and that the solution is to put somebody on a SSRI (antidepressant medication) but that’s a simplistic and short-term way of managing depression. Medication can be helpful, but it needs to be combined with talk therapy and lifestyle change. Also, humans become tolerant to all drugs/medication so a sustainable long-term solution must be found. Addiction is like a cardiovascular disease or diabetes, recognized as a chronic disease, it must be treated, managed and monitored over a person’s lifetime because there is no pill which alone can cure addiction, so choosing “a recovery lifestyle” over unhealthy behaviours is akin to people with heart disease who choose to eat healthier or begin exercising.

NOTE:

The human reward system is designed to support survival and has been hijacked by the chemical payoff provided by substance use or addictive behaviours. The reward circuitry bookmarks things that are important: eating food, nurturing children, having sex, sustaining intimate friendships. Use of the substance then starts to happen at the expense of what otherwise would promote survival. Addiction is a condition that changes the way our brain works.

So a quick “Detox” (the acute phase) will certainly never be a lasting answer, it’s a quick fix like the using itself, or “flight to health” as we say and cannot replace addiction and alcoholism treatment.  The alcoholic/addict in the longer-term is like a rat that has become habituated by a scientist, to choosing cocaine over food. The rat in the short-term cannot control the neurological impulse to choose the cocaine! The rat will continue to seek it, ignoring food and water! The rat’s nerve-impulse to use the cocaine has nothing to do with free will. The addict cannot control these spontaneous overwhelming neurological impulses to use, any more than the rat can in the short-term.

So addiction is a brain disease, not about will power or substances or physical dependency. The problems facing addicts, alcoholics, and their families, who come to Hope Rehab, are miserable, painful, and infuriating, often feeling hopeless. But to imagine an addict can just change when he or she wants to is a common misunderstanding, even when physically clean. Addiction is based on physically altered neurotransmitter balances (brain chemistry) and driven by active neural pathways which have been permanently established, and they will not just disappear or stop. The physical dependence on the substances is secondary but also powerful! Although physical withdrawal does not change the underlying primary neurological addictive disorder it is uncomfortable. After detoxification, long-term overpowering cravings are predictable. These cravings are, in reality, spontaneous nerve impulses. So the early weeks in addiction and alcoholism treatment are when people are most likely to relapse and require a safe place.

One analogy is to consider the brain like a ski slope after a recent heavy snowfall. As skiers begin to traverse the slope, “grooves” or pathways begin to form as skiers follow the same groove or path over and over, think-paths. Eventually, these grooves or paths become so deep and entrenched through behaviour repetition (addiction) it requires a great deal of effort for a skier to traverse the slope onto a new path. If the new path is repeatedly followed, however, it can eventually replace the old groove or path as the automatic choice.

The old groove or path does not go away and can be followed by the skier if they are not intentional about choosing and using the preferred recovery (safe) path. New paths of thinking, feeling, and behaving can be established with help and effort. Old habits may remain available but their power can weaken over time.

Neurologically based impulses to use sometimes stay hidden unless opportunity (triggers) arises. It can be many critical weeks in addiction and alcoholism treatment adjusting to living without the chemicals. Depression, anger, boredom, or happy, excited feelings are predictable. These symptoms follow detox and take time to re-balance and will eventually trigger an uncontrollable impulse in early recovery. There is no way to turn off these inevitable overpowering cravings. During this time help is needed. By learning to accept help, developing patience and tolerance, one can work through these critical challenges in early recovery.

New Environment: Sometimes, relocating to a different environment can change your perspective. From meeting new and interesting people from around the world with different ideals and cultures to the inspiration of new landscapes, addicts sometimes need some beauty and change, and this is often found by travelling to somewhere you’ve never been before, such as Hope Rehab Center Thailand. Addiction is a highly repetitive condition that leaves people feeling like they’re in a never-ending cycle that requires intervention.

Going to a rehab far from where you live: Coming to Thailand you may experience fewer triggers to use, because the brain forms contextual associations during active drug use, those associations can come back to haunt an addict when they see a person they used with, a building or street where they spent a great deal of time or other local triggers that cause the addict to feel a severe compulsion to get high.

Brain Chemistry: Understanding the role of the neurotransmitter dopamine in addiction is helpful so at Hope Rehab Center we teach you about this important subject: Low dopamine levels can not only cause addiction but depression, loss of satisfaction, poor focus and many other symptoms.