Since drug or alcohol addiction affects all areas of your life, and not just your body, it is natural that you need a treatment program that addresses all those areas. This approach is referred to as holistic rehab. Holistic rehab involves not only overcoming physical addiction, but also addressing factors that have contributed to the addiction.

Here are the most common reasons people prefer a holistic drug rehab.

Treating the Body

To overcome the physical addiction, the body needs to go through detox and withdrawal. Holistic rehabs facilitate weaning off the substance and manage withdrawal. In addition, they also help you repair the damage that the substance may have caused to your body. Your treatment will include learning about healthy eating and practices such as yoga to ease the physical pain and cultivate an overall healthy life.

Treating the Mind

An addiction is never just an addiction. There are several factors at play. Holistic rehab will identify and address those factors through individual and group therapy. This may include treating any psychological factors.

Individualized Treatment

Finally, it is important to treat the person as a whole. Holistic rehab involves formulating an individualized treatment plan for every patient. No two people are the same. This is why your rehab will design a customized program that works best for you.

A person suffering from addiction goes through withdrawal on stopping the use of alcohol and drugs. Chemical dependence will lead to discomfort if the use is stopped. The degree of discomfort will depend upon how the substance interacts with the brain and body. However, there are some withdrawal symptoms that universally affect all former users.

Since withdrawal may have severe side effects, it is advisable to wean off the substance, under medical supervision, at a medical detox center.

Flu-Like Symptoms

Substance withdrawal, especially alcohol and opiate withdrawal often causes flu-like symptoms. These may include diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting.

Vomiting and diarrhea can cause loss of electrolytes and fluids, leading to severe dehydration, if left untreated.

Shaking and Sweating

Shaking is a common symptom in alcohol and benzo withdrawal. It can manifest in response to extreme emotions, such as anxiety.

Changes in nerve cells can also cause shaking. These changes may be the result of reduced brain activity, caused by depressants. The brain gradually adjusts to lower activity. Stopping drug use can boost activity levels. This may result in trembling.

Sweating can accompany shaking and usually occurs during alcohol and opiate withdrawal.

Anxiety and Depression

Anxiety and depression are also common during withdrawal. Anxiety and depression often occur together and need to be addressed simultaneously.

Severe anxiety involves constant worry and irrational fear. Depression is an all-encompassing feeling of sadness and despair. While most people may feel these from time to time, it becomes a problem when anxiety and despair starts disrupting people’s lives.

This is why, if you or a loved one wants to stop using drugs, rather than taking the risk of doing it at home, seek professional help at a rehab. Good rehabs, such as Pacific Bay recovery in San Diego, offer detox and de-addiction programs including –

• Medical Detox
• Inpatient Program
• Outpatient Program
• Individual therapy
• Group and family therapy
• Addiction counseling, and more

Do you know what happens in a drug overdose? Do you have any idea how you can help if someone overdoses on a drug? Overdose is a common risk with people who suffer from drug abuse. Here is important information about a drug overdose and what you can do to help in case it happens to someone you know.

Drug Overdose

An overdose involves a person taking too much of a drug. Overdose amounts are levels of the drug that a person’s metabolism cannot detoxify the drug fast enough, causing serious medical symptoms, including death. The severity of a drug overdose depends on the type of drug, the amount taken and the individual.

What to Do if someone is experiencing a Drug Overdose

• Call 911 if someone has stopped breathing, lost consciousness or is having seizures.
• Don’t let the person fall asleep while you wait for help to arrive. Even if the person gets irritated, keep them awake by shaking them or talking to them.
• Watch their breathing closely. Begin CPR if the breathing stops.

Prevent a Drug Overdose

If a loved one has become addicted to drugs and/or alcohol, prevent overdose by overcoming the addiction with treatment at the best rehab center. Skilled and experienced addiction specialists at leading rehabs, such as Pacific Bay Recovery, help you choose the right treatment program.

Drug addiction doesn’t always begin with recreational drugs. Many people, especially chronic pain patients, become addicted to prescription drugs even when they’re taking according to a doctor’s prescription. The most abused prescription drugs are opioids, depressants, and stimulants.

Oxycodone

If you have heard of OxyContin, that is what Oxycodone is. Since it is a time-release tablet used to manage pain, experts assumed that the potential for abuse is low.

But many users snort or inject the medication to bypass the time-release. This increases the likelihood of addiction because some brain chemicals may rise and fall more rapidly.

Hydrocodone

Hydrocodone is similar to oxycodone and available in direct-release form. This is the drug that is used to make lean, a drink with soda and hard candy. Since there is no control over dosage, it is dangerous to take the medication in this form. And increasing the intake can quickly cause a drug overdose.

Benzodiazepines

Benzodiazepines slow the nervous system down to reduce anxiety, so that you can calm down and/or sleep. Common benzodiazepines are Xanax, Klonopin, and Valium.

Many people combine benzos with alcohol which can cause a dangerous drop in heart and respiration rates.

Stimulants

Ritalin and Adderall are stimulants that boost levels of dopamine (the feel-good chemical) in the brain. Some people may use prescription stimulants to help them concentrate or focus or pull an all-nighter. Since stimulants can also make you feel more social and confident, a large number of people are now using them recreationally.

Treatment for Prescription Drug Abuse

Leading rehabs, such as Pacific Bay Recovery in San Diego, can help you get rid of your prescription drug dependence with non-drug pain management. You can select from the following programs:

• Intensive outpatient program
• Inpatient program
• Individual therapy
• Group therapy
• Family therapy

Modern medicine has tricked us into thinking fixing the human body is easy. The advent of antibiotics has to lead us to believe that there is a one-stop shop for every ailment or disease process. You’ve probably had grandparents complaining of a chesty cough diagnosed with a chest infection. Antibiotics are given and it clears up. Or if you’re a woman – you might have felt a sting when passing urine that quickly passed when your family doctor prescribed a 3-day course of antibiotics. Perhaps you even know somebody who had an early stage cancer that was swiftly trolleyed off to an operating room only to make a full recovery. Regardless of who the patient is, where the patient has come from and what they have done in the past is irrelevant – everybody gets the same treatment. But this isn’t the case with mental health and addiction. If you yourself are reading this looking for a cure for an addiction take a moment to think to yourself why you are here. What happened along your own complex journey that led you or somebody you love to addiction. Each patient, each person, has an individual story that directly affects why they are there and how they can recover. Why then does the United States rely so heavily on one treatment, 12 step recovery programs, for addiction treatment?

Dual Diagnoses

A significant proportion of people who have a substance abuse issue also have a mental health diagnosis. Called a dual diagnosis, this is just one example of the ways in which the status quo is hindered addiction recovery in the United States. Whilst a 12 step programme can be useful for these patients – a whole host of other mental health treatments are also needed.

Treatment Options for Addiction

Whilst 12 step programs do provide an excellent option for addiction recovery – they aren’t for everyone. They also aren’t the be all and end all of the addiction treatment. Take the PacificBayRecoverycentre for instance which offers the following list of treatments:

● Inpatient recovery
● Intensive outpatient recovery
● Cognitive Behavioural therapy
● Medical detox

These different types of treatment programmes are tailored to the individual – providing a far more holistic care for the patient. What we mean by holistic is that the programmes are built around the patient’s own personal journeys and stories. They are tailored and personalized to that patient.

There Will Never Be A Magic Bullet

For incredibly complex diseases like an addiction – there will never be a magic bullet, an antibiotic or drug that can be given quickly and easily and give the patient immediate and lifetime relief. A multitude of treatments and need to be tailored to that individual patient to aid in their recovery. An interesting blog post (that I recommend you read) on DopeMagazine.com explored this very issue this week. In the article a clinician notes:

“Without guidance to other methods, a person with an addiction can stay stuck in the belief that nothing will work for them,” says CT, a Seattle-based CDP who wished to remain anonymous. “12 Steps does not encourage getting help for mental health issues, nor convey how common dual disorders are.”

And therein lies the issue. Not that 12 step programs don’t work. For many they do. It is just the word is not getting out about the different options available that specialist centers like the Pacific Bay Recovery Centre can provide.

People across the western world are certainly fond of a drink. In fact almost 27% of the American population over 18 binge drink every single month according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Almost 70% of American adults had a drink in the past year and almost 56% in the past month. This will come as no surprise to many – and it’s no secret that lots of us need to cut down in one form or another. But the majority of Americans aren’t alcoholics. How can you differentiate between somebody that likes a drink and a problem drinker that potentially needs professional help? The simple steps below should help.

Doctors across the world use a tool developed by the World Health Organization called the AUDIT. It helps doctors identify people that might be at risk of alcohol abuse. Whilst it isn’t 100%, and scoring highly on it is not a diagnosis of alcoholism (you should always visit a licensed doctor for a diagnosis), it can give a good indicator to problem drinking. It acts as a good tool to have in mind if you suspect you or somebody you know may suffer from alcoholism.

The questionnaire includes 10 questions each with an answer scoring between 0 and 4. The maximum score is therefore 40, and any score over 20 indicates potential dependence. You can download the questionnaire for yourself at the following link but the questions include things such as:

● How often during the last year have you found that you were not able to stop drinking once you had started?
● How often during the last year have you failed to do what was normally expected from you because of your drinking?
● How often during the last year have you needed an alcoholic drink in the morning to get yourself going after a heavy drinking session? (This is often known as an “eye opener” and it a big sign of alcoholism).
● How often during the last year have you had a feeling of guilt or remorse after drinking?
● Has a relative, friend, doctor or other health worker been concerned about your drinking or suggested that you cut down?

Getting Help For a drinking problem

If you or somebody you love scored highly on the World Health Organization’s AUDIT score, it may indicate they have a dependence to alcohol. There are lots of treatment options available for those who do, and there are a number of specialist services available across the United States that can provide tailor made plans to help an individual overcome their drinking problem. Their treatment options include:

● Inpatient recovery facilities (where a patient will stay on site to break their habit).
● Intensive outpatient treatment (where the patient come sin for regular meetings to discuss and get help).
● Pharmacotherapy – sometimes drugs may be prescribed to overcome withdrawal.
● CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy can be very helpful for people that have a dual diagnosis of alcoholism and a mental health condition).

Drug addiction change the brain and these changes continue for a long period of time even after the person stops taking the drug. Addiction progresses through stages and here is a look at those stages.

Intoxication

Initially, when a person consumes a drug or alcohol. s/he feels euphoria. Majority of American adults consume alcohol in varying degrees. A large number use marijuana.

For most people, substance use stays at experimental or recreational use, without disrupting their lives. But for some people, there is a risk of developing substance abuse disorder.

Withdrawal

In some people, repeated drug or alcohol use leads to changed neural connections in the brain. without using the substance, the person becomes unable to function or feel normal.

Without the drug or alcohol, they experience physical and psychological distress or withdrawal symptoms. These withdrawal symptoms can range from discomfort to being potentially fatal.

Withdrawal symptoms can include:

• Irritability/anxiety/depression
• Nausea/vomiting/diarrhea
• Insomnia
• Severe muscle pains and cramping
• Chills, alternating with excessive sweating
• Confusion and hallucinations
• Seizures

Preoccupation with the Substance

With initial withdrawal, the person realizes that the easiest way to relieve the distress is to use the drug or alcohol. This can soon become a vicious cycle of cravings and drug-seeking behavior.

The prefrontal cortex in the brain regulates self-control and decision-making. Addiction changes this part of the brain, disabling the person’s ability to think rationally, decision making, and resist the urge to consume the drug or alcohol.

So, addiction has nothing to do with lack of will-power, as is commonly believed. It is a disease involving changes in the brain and if left untreated, substance abuse disorders turn chronic, progressive, and eventually fatal.

Fortunately, there is hope with the right substance abuse treatment. With help and time, the person can recover completely and a return to a productive, drug-free life.