Overcoming Addictions

Rehabilitation facilities specialise in comprehensive and holistic care for alcoholism, drug addictions, and behavioural addictions such as eating disorders, and mental health disorders. At rehab you will receive holistic care, with a treatment plan being customised to address your specific addiction and long-term recovery. Many rehab centres also assist and support the families of addicts.

Addiction treatment has three fundamental steps – addiction, detox, and rehab. The addiction phase requires acknowledging and addressing the harmful habits and addictions in your life. During detox your body is cleansed from all the drug-related toxic substances in your body. Withdrawal symptoms are carefully managed by medical professionals. Lastly, the rehab stage focuses on comprehensive therapy and providing you with the necessary tools to maintain a drug-free life.

If you or someone you know is suffering from drug addiction, you should seek professional help without delay. Drug addiction can quickly overtake your life and cause severe damage to your health, relationships, and finances.

Recovering From Drug Addiction

Drug addiction develops when a person uses drugs to the point where they become reliant on them. They can no longer resist the compulsion to take them despite the negative consequences.

Drug addiction is a progressive condition that gets worse over time. There are numerous drugs that can cause addiction if they are abused or used excessively. Each of these drugs cause a range of physical, mental, and emotional short-term and long-term effects.

If you are struggling with drug addiction, drug rehab is the best place to seek treatment and begin a new, drug-free life. Rehab provides a supportive community that can help you on your journey to recovery. Counselling will help you to examine the reasons that caused you to seek comfort within a particular substance. It will also help you understand the psychological rationale behind your unhealthy coping mechanisms.

Detox is a crucial step in your addiction treatment as it removes the addictive substance from your system, allowing your body to recover from the physical and mental damage caused by the substance. The withdrawal symptoms of drug detox include:

• Insomnia and nightmares
• Paranoia and psychosis
• Mood swings and depression
• Aggression, restlessness, agitation and irritability
• Nausea and vomiting
• Muscle cramps and spasms
• Diarrhoea and other digestive upsets
• Flu-like symptoms
• Sweating and shivering

You should only complete the detox process under the close supervision of a medical professional as detox can produce severe withdrawal symptoms and other complications.

The following drug addictions are commonly treated at rehabilitation facilities:

• Cocaine
• Heroin
• Ecstasy (MDMA)
• Cannabis
• Crack cocaine
• Sleeping pills
• Prescription drugs
• Amphetamine
• Monkey dust
• Ketamine

Recovering From Alcohol Addiction

Alcohol is one of the hardest drug habits to overcome. This is because it is readily and legally available and forms an integral part of many people’s social lives. The best way to achieve sobriety is at a professional alcohol rehab facility where you can get the support you need during difficult times and acquire the necessary tools to live a productive and healthy alcohol-free life.

Most people who undergo alcohol detoxification will experience some discomfort as their body readjusts to operating without alcohol. This is due to chemical changes that occur in the central nervous system when you use alcohol for a long period of time. Severe manifestations include alcohol withdrawal seizures and delirium.

Delirium tremens (DT) is a life-threatening manifestation of alcohol withdrawal that occurs in about 5% of patients. DT symptoms include audio, visual and tactile hallucinations, vivid nightmares of fever dreams, increased blood pressure, rapid heart rate and severe tremors. After about two weeks of alcohol detox, your brain will have mostly recovered, and you should regain cognitive function, balance and motor skills.

While detoxing at an alcohol rehab facility, you may be given medication to help manage your ongoing cravings. Medication may be prescribed to help reduce the risk of seizures, treating anxiety and insomnia, stabilise your central nervous system, limit psychosis and prevent muscle spasms.

Ongoing therapy and support is a vital part of rehabilitation and maintaining an alcohol-free lifestyle. Many people with alcohol dependency problems find it useful to attend groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). AA has the belief that alcoholic dependence is a long-term, progressive illness and that total abstinence is the only solution. The treatment plan promoted by AA is based on a 12-step programme designed to help you overcome your alcohol addiction.

Recovering From Behavioural Addiction

Experts disagree about whether behavioural addictions are ‘real’ addictions. Gambling disorder, however, is officially recognised as a behavioural addiction in many countries. Other types of ‘addictions’, include food addiction, internet addiction, porn addiction, plastic surgery addiction, risky behaviour addiction and love addiction.

Behavioural ‘addictions’ generally follow the same pattern as substance-based addictions, and result in similar problems in many areas of a person’s life. They often have a very negative effect on relationships and can lead to financial problems.

Psychiatrists and psychologists are trained to deal with the full spectrum of compulsive behavioural disorders. Treatment to overcome behavioural ‘addictions’ generally includes cognitive behavioural therapy, group therapy, medications, counselling (or couples counselling) and self-help groups (such as AA).

Frequently Asked Questions