Addiction is a state where both your brain and your mind are attached to the use of drugs or alcohol. Achieving freedom from addiction requires that work is done on both kinds of addiction. At our facility for addiction treatment in Grapevine, we help make sure that our patients understand why drug and alcohol rehab is always a multi-pronged strategy, and we make sure that they do receive such treatment.
Why do some drug users go out of control using drugs, but not others? The answer, in 70% of cases, is that they suffer from a psychiatric disorder of some sort. From schizophrenia and bipolar to depression and anxiety, a large part of the population suffers from mental disorders that they don't even know about.
When they unconsciously look to do something that will help them deal with their highs, lows, pain and mental confusion, often, alcohol or drug is the most readily available solution. Using these substances makes it very easy for them to gain a quick, if temporary relief.
When a normal person uses drugs, they usually have the peace of mind to see when their lives begin to suffer as a result, and they simply stop. People with mental disorders, however, do not possess such self-control.
In addition, they often suffer from psychological disturbances -- poor self-image, a pattern of compulsive negative thoughts, guilt and anger -- that make it very hard for them to think clearly and find positive, workable solutions to life's challenges. Often, they can think of no way out other than substance abuse.
Drugs are pleasurable to use because they are able to mimic some of the functions of natural brain chemicals like dopamine.
Drugs are able to activate parts of the brain like the pleasure center just the way neurotransmitters do. They make this part of the brain create very significant amounts of pleasure. Such pleasure can feel like such a relief to people with troubled mental lives, and they may keep going at it.
The brain, however, does not do well with interference -- it tries to keep the pleasure center from responding to drugs. This is what causes tolerance -- the condition where a quantity of drug or alcohol, after some time, no longer seems to work the way it did. Hard-core users tend to react to tolerance by raising the quantity that they consume.
After struggling to protect the pleasure center from the effects of drugs for months, the brain, at some point, stops trying. It begins to allow the pleasure center to be taken over by drugs. When this happens, the brain actually depends on drugs for basic function in this area. If drugs are removed, as it might happen when the user attempts to stop his habit, the brain the comes unstable, erupting in a series of physical, and psychological effects.
It can take the form of serious anxiety, depression and emotional instability, or the form of physical effects such as seizures and cardiac irregularities. When the brain is so dependent on drugs that loss of access should destabilize basic function, physical addiction is said to exist.
There is another side to addiction -- psychological dependence. A pleasure center that is frequently activated by drugs learns an indelible connection to drugs. Such a connection can affect the mind.
Not only can it make the user want to drugs with extreme intensity, it can make the mind feel as if addictive use is logical and reasonable behavior, even in the face of great evidence to the contrary. When experienced together, physical and psychological dependence can be lethal. They can drive a person to self-destruct through overuse of drugs.
The only way to safely exit addiction is to receive treatment at our drug rehab in Grapevine. To be successful, treatment needs to separately address three areas: physical addiction, psychiatric condition and psychological addiction.
At our clinic for addiction treatment in Grapevine, we tell our patients that it's extremely important to go with a dual diagnosis approach -- where their treatment takes into account both their addiction and their psychiatric needs.
And our detox center, our dual diagnosis addiction experts take the patient off drugs, and sensitively treat him for every withdrawal effect with close supervision and all manner of medications to ensure that unpleasant withdrawal symptoms are never actually felt. This kind of sensitive treatment ensures that the patient never has a reason to want to leave.
We have our patients stay at a residential facility to help ensure the greatest amount of supervision and support, both very essential to the success of drug and alcohol treatment programs.
At the conclusion of detox at our drug detox center in Grapevine, we begin with psychiatric and psychological treatment. Our intensive therapeutic programs aim to give patients the skills that they need to gain a handle on their weaknesses, and to equip them with psychological strengths.
As you can probably tell, addiction treatment isn't a straightforward business. Most rehabs are hardly willing to do justice to even one of the three approaches needed. It can take a lot of research to find a really good place manned by experts who treat patients in ways backed by scientific evidence.
At our clinic for addiction treatment in Grapevine, we are completely committed to the scientific approach. If you'd like to speak to an expert about how to proceed with a treatment course, you only need to call us (877) 804-1531.