Addiction, as usually defined, is a physical dependence on a substance, in the case of drug addiction. Once an individual gets dependent on a substance, he or she is not able to function well and may feel physical pains when he or she doesn’t take in the drug. This is because the drug has already affected the chemical balance in the brain allowing the person’s structure to crave for the certain drug in order to achieve balance. This gets worse when the body starts to tolerate the drug that enters the system, thus, resulting to a higher quantity requirement the next time the drug is taken to reach the desired result.
By its very definition, addiction is the situation of being enslaved to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, such narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes distress. This distress can range in intensity from intense cravings to life threatening illness (depending on the drug), making it virtually impossible for an addict to give up without assistance. Because mainly withdrawal symptoms can be relieved instantly upon use of the drug that the body is withdrawing from, the craving to use that drug is exceptionally high in this stage, often resulting in defeat of the healing before it can even begin.
As the addict recognizes the problem, the treatment process is another cross to carry. Healing addiction means taking away the dependency on the drug. This would mean that the person had to stop taking the drug. However, inhibiting the body of an addict from taking in the drug would lead to withdrawal symptoms. It is never easy to deal with these symptoms. However, symptoms will always depend on the type of substance being used. Moreover, to ease the pain of the withdrawal symptoms, detoxification should be done.
Detoxification is a process of cleansing the toxins from the body. In the case of drug addiction, it is the removal of the drug residues from the body and controlling the symptoms of withdrawal. The detoxification process is only the first step to recovery. Taking away the toxins that have been controlling the body system of the addict should be done first before any behavioral based theraphy which would treat the causal factors of addiction.
Drug detoxification is referred to as the period of withdrawal during which the person’s body eventually returns to homeostasis after long-term use of an addictive substance. The process may vary depending on the kind of addiction.
Detoxification can be done on both inpatient and outpatient basis. Inpatient detoxification allows a close monitoring on the patient. With these, the exposure to the substance of abuse could be avoided. On the other hand, outpatient detoxification allows higher social support. Compared with inpatients, patients in outpatient theraphy retain greater freedom, continue with their day-to-day activities with lesser disruptions. However, with outpatient treatment, there is an increased risk of relapse since the patient is more likely to be exposed with the substance of abuse.
This drug detoxification process seeks to decrease the severity of the trauma associated with the body’s withdrawal from dependence on a particular drug by medically alleviating and monitoring the intense physical symptoms associated with stopping drug use. Once the drug is emptied from the system and the pain and discomfort associated with stopping its use have been alleviated, the other reasons contributing to the addiction, such as the emotional and psychological issues, can be addressed.
Addiction is a very serious problem among the many people in all walks of life. More than intensive treatment, self-determination is also a requirement. The curing process is to be deal very hard everyday.