Usually, the people who react once a person abuses certain substances are his/her family members or a circle of the closest friends. Basically, these people cannot stand to look at a person addicted to drugs, alcohol or some other substances, including marijuana, cocaine, heroin etc.
The concerned few remain quite bothered by the addiction eating away the lives of their loved ones, desiring to stop or prevent the worst case scenario. If this is the case with you, in order to make the necessary changes, you need to learn all there is to learn about substance abuse and the effect of this habit on the lives of people. The following lines will provide you with all the information you need.
What is Substance Abuse?
Today, millions of Americans are substance abusers, being dependent on alcohol or some types of drugs.
All types of substance abuse problems are considered to be quite serious states of affairs. Basically, people who suffer from these health issues were thought to be bothered by some other, underlying behavior disorders such as character defect or moral weakness. However, today, with the expansion and improvement of medicine regarding substance abuse as a health issues, this standpoint was rejected.
Namely, many individuals can stop drinking alcohol or abusing drugs without any problems whatsoever. Yet, other people cannot escape the clutches of addictions, sinking deeper and deeper into their substance abuse, regardless whether the object of abuse are drugs or alcoholic beverages.
This selective proneness to substance abuse is, actually, not selective at all. It affects people regardless of their social status, family health history, ethnicity, age or sex. Yet, some recent research has come to a conclusion that substance abuse is related to one's genetics. Nevertheless, the social environment that surrounds a person can influence his/her chances of becoming a substance addict, along with the personal psychological traits and levels of stress that this individual possesses. Moreover, according to recent researches, once one uses drugs or other substances in the long run, he/she experiences a terminal change in his/her brain functioning, reaching a point of no return, developing dependence.
Of course, criminal behavior, moral downfall and many other signs of substance abuse make the people around the affected person realize this and seek help.
What is Substance Abuse Treatment?
Treatment for substance abuse can be provided by many types of health professionals, including caregivers who are professionally trained and qualified as well as licensed for being counselors and therapists for people who have problems with alcohol or drug dependency. Moreover, many of the people who are involved into helping other addicts were addicts themselves or are currently recovering from the same problems. Usually, the staff in a rehabilitation facility is diverse in terms of nationality and ethnic characteristics.
Once a person gets admitted to a rehabilitation facility, he/she will be assigned to a group of these health professionals, consisting of social workers, counselors, nurses, doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists or many other professionals.
New patients are initially clinically assessed and the type of help they need is provided according to the results of this step. Naturally, the assessment will continue throughout the treatment, which can be changed and modified, depending on the advancement of the patient him/herself.
You, as a family member or a person in close relationship with the addict, will be asked to come and answer sets of questions regarding the admitted person. Basically, you will be asked to confirm the presence of certain symptoms of substance abuse in the other person, note any health issues that the other person may have and express your opinion on the matter.
Once all the consultations finish, a treatment plan will be created and the newly admitted patient will go through the processes of either being treated at home or being hospitalized, depending on the level of substance abuse and the addiction itself.
When the treatment program is over, the patient will be assessed again. Ideally, if he/she followed all the instruction received, he/she should step out of the program as a healthy individual who has overcome his/her addiction, returning to the society safe from ever using any substances again. Consulting, group therapy, medications, family education and follow-up care, all may be necessary for helping a person overcome his/her substance abuse problems.
People with Alcohol or Drug Dependence Can and Do Recover!
Many people may believe that these programs do not work or that they have flaws. However, the main change that happens within a former addict should take place after the treatment. Namely, the patients will get out of the facility confused, overwhelmed by emotions, worried and afraid that they might make the same mistake again.
Also, you might be worried that any wrong steps you take may lead to your loved one's relapse. Do not burden yourself like this – he/she is the main person responsible for his/her actions and no definite predictions can be made. Nevertheless, it is always better to return to the rehabilitation clinic if any tendencies towards relapse become apparent. In fact, relapse is commonly considered to be the one of the expected steps towards treatment and full recovery.
To sum up, substance abuse treatment programs are carefully planned and designed to help every person with a substance abuse problem individually. The process involves assessment and treatment which are concentrated on helping the individual in the best way possible.
Thus, if you know someone who needs this sort of help, do not hesitate to find it, since the affected person is not aware of the depths he/she is sinking in due to substance abuse.
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