Recovery and Recovery Support

It’s difficult to recover from prescription drug addiction alone. Even after you’ve completed initial treatment, ongoing treatment and support can help prevent a relapse. Follow-up care can include periodic appointments with your counselor, drug addiction recovery continuing in a self-help program or attending a regular group session. The goal of detoxification, also called “detox” or withdrawal therapy, is to enable you to stop taking the addicting drug as quickly and safely as possible.

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We compiled this list of rehab centers in the U.S. based on components that are shown to be effective in long-term recovery. The Recovery Village is an inpatient rehab center in Colorado that provides opioid, alcohol, amphetamine, and benzodiazepine addiction treatment. Pinnacle Recovery offers addiction recovery programs in Utah that include both evidence-based and holistic therapies such as acupuncture, music therapy, and guided meditation. Ashley Addiction is a Maryland rehab center that offers a range of drug and alcohol abuse programs. The brain changes from addiction can be lasting, so drug addiction is considered a “relapsing” disease. This means that people in recovery are at risk for taking drugs again, even after years of not taking them.

  • For many with an alcohol problem, drinking a different kind of beverage can keep recovery on track.
  • Stopping drug use is just one part of a long and complex recovery process.
  • Mindfulness training, a common component of cognitive behavioral therapy, can help people ride out their cravings without acting on them.
  • Drug addiction is dangerous because it becomes all-consuming and disrupts the normal functioning of your brain and body.

MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

drug addiction recovery

Once you’re sober, the negative feelings that you dampened with drugs will resurface. For treatment to be successful, you’ll first need to resolve your underlying issues. Usually the first step is to purge your body of drugs and manage withdrawal symptoms. You may also want to consider if anyone in the list of friends and family should not be included. You may not be able to eliminate every trigger, but in the early stages of recovery it’s best to avoid triggers to help prevent cravings and relapse. Inpatient rehabilitation at a full-time facility provides a supportive environment to help people recover without distractions or temptations.

drug addiction recovery

What’s the difference between substance use/misuse and substance use disorder?

But cravings don’t last forever, and they tend to lessen in intensity over time. No matter which pathway of recovery a person chooses, a common process of change underlies them all. The well-researched science of behavior change establishes that addictive behavior change, like any behavior change, is a process that starts long before there’s any visible shift in activity. As people move along the recovery path, they not only gain new skills, they also begin to view themselves differently. A shift toward a new positive identity occurs as they encounter themselves in a new light.

drug addiction recovery

What is cognitive behavioral therapy?

Behavioral therapies help people in drug addiction treatment modify their attitudes and behaviors related to drug use. As a result, patients are able to handle stressful situations and various triggers that might cause another relapse. Behavioral therapies can also enhance the effectiveness of medications and help people remain in treatment longer. • Developing a detailed relapse prevention plan and keeping it in a convenient place for quick access when cravings hit, which helps guard against relapse in the future. A good relapse prevention plan specifies a person’s triggers for drug use, lists several coping skills to deploy, and lists people to call on for immediate support, along with their contact information.

drug addiction recovery

SAMHSA explains that family and friends who are supportive of recovery can help someone change because they can reinforce new behaviors and provide positive incentives to continue with treatment. Narcotics Anonymous (NA) is an international network of community-based meetings for those recovering from drug addiction. Modeled after Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), NA is an abstinence-based 12-step program with a defined process for overcoming addiction. Because addiction can affect so many aspects of a person’s life, treatment should address the needs of the whole person to be successful.

  • Relapse is a common part of the recovery process from drug addiction.
  • Everyone’s bodies and brains are different, so their reactions to drugs can also be different.
  • Therefore, you don’t have to use a psychoactive substance to get away from the negative things that happen in life.
  • Being in recovery is when those positive changes and values become part of a voluntarily adopted lifestyle.
  • But some triggers can’t be avoided, and, further, the human brain, with its magnificent powers of association and thinking, can generate its own.
  • If you have a severe addiction, you may need hospital-based or residential treatment.
  • Families can develop awareness of a loved one’s emotional, environmental, and social triggers of substance use and manage those.

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Preparing for change: 5 keys to addiction recovery