Patricia is a 30 year old woman who started using methamphetamine in her last year in college. She found that it gave her "an edge" in studying and on tests. The problem was that she soon found that if she did not have any "meth", she couldn't function at all. She tried many times to shake the habit, and even went through "rehab" three times.
However, after a while no matter what she tried, the depression and lethargy was too much to take and she would relapse. At her lowest point, Patricia weighed 80 pounds, was unemployed, and her health was failing. She finally moved in with her parents and sought help and support.
This story describes the lives of many addicted persons in our society. They are not "Bowery Bums." They are middle and upper class folks, who suffer from a deadly condition that is resistant to treatment. In fact, about 15% of the population suffers from some type of substance dependency or abuse (not counting smoking).
The typical detox/rehab system that John experienced has a success rate of less than 15%. Yet the response to failure is to put people through the same process again and again. Repeating something over and over, and expecting a different outcome has been described as a form of insanity.
What's wrong with the Detox/Rehab Cycle?
The current predominant system of treatment stresses the social aspects of this all-encompassing problem. The usual treatment is to "go to "rehab". While this is differs from place to place and program to program, what usually happens is that after medical "detox", the affected person is sent to a residential program of varying length and luxury or is sent home to a relatively brief outpatient program. After this, the person is released to their previous life and lifestyle to be supported by local 12 step programs, like Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous (AA and NA).
This assumes that once an addicted person gets through the first few weeks off their drug they eventually return to normal. This is a fallacy. The withdrawal symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, fatigue, and muscle aches, and can go on and on, sometimes indefinitely. (This is a HUGE problem with methamphetamine use). This condition is called the Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAW). In addition, there are psychologic triggers for cravings that can themselves cause the return of these physical symptoms. Eventually, almost all of these people succumb and restart using. Here's why..
Top 7 Reasons Why the Detox-Rehab Cycle Doesn't Work
1. It fails to recognize and treat the brain disease that causes drug cravings using amazing new medical advances, including the Prometa protocol and buprenorphine (Suboxone)
2. Most detox-rehab programs don't diagnose and treat underlying psychiatric conditions such as depression, anxiety, and even bipolar disorder. The usual medications used to treat these problems may not help addicts and may actually make the problem much worse.
3. It fails to analyze each person's individual situation and to work with him or her to realize the extent of his or her problem. Addiction counselors should use tools like the Readiness to Change Quadrant Evaluation and then follow up with advanced counseling techniques such as motivational interviewing.
4. Most detox-rehab programs do not effectively evaluate and treat the nutritional aspects of substance abuse using a variety of supplements that vary from person to person.
5. The current detox-rehab cycle does not include treating alcohol and drug addictions on an ongoing and personal basis for at least a year using the Recovery Maintenance Model.
6. Current detox-rehab programs allow addicted persons to return back to their homes and lifestyles after the acute treatment is completed without modifying their environment.
7. The treatment is for "Substance Abuse" and everyone gets basically the same treatment regimen. The person must admit that they are an addict and submit to the program's mandates, even if they do not buy into the process. Many folks do what Patricia in the story did. She "shined it on" until she could get out. Others check out early and return to using very quickly.
Abstinence based programs that keep patients in residence for a specific period and then have them go back to their prior lifestyles are doomed to fail.
Listed below are more articles related to the above article from the "Addictions" article category.
People interested in the above article "Alcohol and Drug Addiction: Why the 'Detox-Rehab Cycle' Doesn't Work" are also interested in the related articles listed below:
Addiction to any substance or habit is considered a wrong thing in our society. When a person needs some thing to consume orally or visually and cannot do without it or feels restless with it, it can be termed as addiction. Pornography addiction too is one of them. Though not exactly dangerous, but surely can have disastrous results on the addicted well being, health, relationships and most importantly his life.
This chemical discrepancy can lead to a significant problem of alcohol deficiency. This addiction can lead to intense urges and increase of stress and uncomfortable physical responses like insomnia, hallucinations as well as depression. Detox Signs and symptoms are related to individuals which arise when alcohol intake is all of a sudden stopped. Those who have a practice of regular intake of alcohol or consume alcohol in large amounts eventually fall under its addictive trap.
A person checking in to drug rehab is at a higher level than at any previous point in history. However, this represents a trend of acceptance which has swept across the UK in recent years. While previously issues of alcohol and drug use have been dirty little secrets, these days they are recognised as widespread issues. Thankfully for all of us, private alcohol rehab clinics are now located across the country, meaning that if you, or a loved one, feels that their drinking problem is getting out of control that they can check into a local private alcohol rehab clinic, where they will receive the best possible care.
Cannabis or Marijuana is highly abused illegal drug in United States. According to National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) report, more than 15.2 million people were abusing Cannabis in 2008. Cannabis abuse is linked with many negative effects, both physically and mentally, sometimes involving violence and injury. Many people are getting addicted to Cannabis unaware of its harmful effects.
The term 'club drugs' refers to a wide variety of psychoactive drugs mostly abused by teenagers and young adults, often at raves or trances (all-night dance parties), dance clubs and nightclubs. Some wrong perceptions among teens are encouraging teens to get into club drug addiction.
Heroin is a highly addictive drug semi-synthetic opioid drug. This central nervous system depressant is one of the highly abused illegal drugs in United States. According to a survey by NSDUH (National Survey on Drug Use and Health) in 2008, there was an increase in Heroin abuse in teenagers from 153,000 in 2007 to 213,000 in 2008.
Cannabis, also known as Marijuana is one of the commonly abused illicit drugs in USA. It consists of the dried leaves of the hemp plant. It is generally smoked or chewed for the euphoric effects. Now-a-days, many people are getting addicted to Cannabis. According to 2008 report by NSDUH (National Survey on Drug Use and Health), 15.2 million people were using Cannabis in USA. It translates into 6.1 per cent of the total population aged 12 years and above.
