Have you ever wondered what happens when a person starts engaging in drug and substance abuse? It’s a common question that many people ask without getting a solution. Besides, you must have heard various myths associated with addiction and alcoholism. Whereas some are cultural, others originate from various processes that healthcare institutions use to aid the recovery from drugs and alcohol. The treatment of addiction/alcoholism is not easy, but people must understand that it’s achievable when approached appropriately, although not for curative purposes but managing it.
Curing An Addiction
Whenever you hear people talking about an addiction, it means the perception that they no longer have specific interests in using certain drugs and substances, including alcohol. However, curing addiction is a different case. You’ll never experience a person who’s been cured of an addiction; what happens is that people are trained on how to manage their addiction to prevent any relapse into using the same drugs that addicted them. Using alcohol addiction is significant in understanding what addiction entails and how you should approach its cure. If you meet an alcoholic, you’re likely to experience these symptoms with them:
- Cravings for alcohol.
- Inability to stop drinking.
- Increased dependency on taking more alcohol volumes.
- Withdrawal symptoms.
In the treatment of this addiction/alcoholism, it’s insignificant to expect an alcoholic that’s not interested in drinking, which means that addiction is never cured but controlled.
How Can Addiction Be Controlled?
After realizing that it’s impossible to cure addiction, it’s now imperative to understand the different mechanisms to help your loved ones who are already addicted to alcohol and other drugs.
Change of Lifestyle
While different people choose different options to handle addictions, one crucial solution to any addict is changing their lifestyle. You can expect to find a person who abuses alcohol and cannabis in the company of other cannabis smokers. It’s almost impossible to experience cases of drug addicts mingling freely with people who do not abuse the same drugs. Therefore, anyone interested in controlling their addiction should change their company, environment, and other triggering factors that lead them towards using and abusing certain drugs and substances. Besides, a person’s lifestyle determines what they do at particular periods. Introducing new activities for certain times leads to changing priorities and less triggering situations towards addiction and alcoholism.
Using Medicines
You’ll never receive medicines or drugs that are used to reduce a person’s urge to drink. However, they are mainly used to deal with various symptoms that people exhibit during their recovery from any addiction, including withdrawal symptoms. Opioids are the most common medications that different healthcare institutions and physicians use to inhibit such symptoms. Besides, people addicted to certain drugs may exhibit conditions, such as substance use disorder, which doctors address using particular drugs.
Therapy and Detox
Undergoing therapy sessions is among the most common methods that doctors use to control addictions. This process involves a counselor advising an addict and alcoholic about the need to stay sober, the dangers of addiction, and how to change lifestyle behavior to prevent triggering situations that can result in a relapse into the previous or another addiction. While a person undergoes the different therapy sessions, physicians use different detox criteria to rid their body of any chemicals and compounds, with it the role of a physician to counsel an addict on the need and significance of doing it.
Is it Possible to Put Addiction Behind You?
Although addiction and alcoholism cannot be cured, addicts and alcoholics can forget about their addictions, which is only possible after overcoming any relapse. You’ll realize that it’s impossible to get over drug and substance abuse if there’s the realization of personal triggering factors to an addiction, but when it’s done, you can conclude that you’ve already left an addiction behavior behind you. When you’re actively involved in using alcohol and other drugs, the brain becomes dependent on them and doesn’t function optimally if it’s not exposed to those drugs. Besides, this dependency leads to specific behaviors that are associated with the addiction.
Upon realizing that your actions are based on specific dependencies, you’re at an addiction control level where you recognize the triggers to your substance abuse, acting as the first critical step to recovery from drugs/alcohol. If you need any specialized support on how to stop abusing alcohol and other drugs, you’re sure to get this help from us. Contact us at 833-364-0736 or visit us at any of our locations on any day and meet our qualified counselors who’ll guide you through the recovery journey.