Addiction is an affliction that can harm anyone from any economic, or social background. At its base, addiction is a complex condition, a brain disease that is manifested by compulsive substance use despite harmful consequences. It’s found that people with addiction (severe substance use disorder) have an intense focus on using a certain substance(s), such as alcohol or drugs. This addiction even occurs to the point that it takes over their life.
Common Addictions
The most common forms of addiction include tobacco addiction, alcohol addiction, marijuana addiction, addiction to painkillers, cocaine addiction, heroin addiction, gambling addiction, sex addiction, and internet addiction. The numbers tell a sobering story about how addiction has affected today’s world.
To begin with, 19.7 million American adults (aged 12 and older) battled a substance use disorder in 2017. Specifically focusing on alcohol addiction in 2017, almost 74 percent of adults suffering from a substance use disorder struggled with alcohol abuse. In the same year, about 38 percent of adults in 2017 battled an illicit drug use disorder, and 1 out of every 8 adults struggled with both alcohol and drug use disorders at the same time.
It was also found that 8.5 million American adults suffered from both a mental health disorder and a substance use disorder. Drug abuse and addiction specifically also pose harm to the American economy. Such drug abuse and addiction have cost the United States more than $740 billion annually in lost workplace productivity, healthcare expenses, and crime-related costs.
Treatment Options
Considering all these daunting facts, it’s good to know that is a light at the end of the addiction tunnel. A person can find treatment for this psychological affliction, leading them to find peace once again in their lives.
Such treatments include behavioral counseling, medication, medical devices, and applications used to treat withdrawal symptoms or deliver skills training, evaluation, and treatment for co-occurring mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, and long-term follow-up to prevent relapse. One step which encompasses all these steps is drug rehabilitation.
This is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin, or amphetamines. It normally takes place in a hospital or treatment like setting (such as a rehab center), where a person is taken away from the detrimental temptations of the outside world.
What Happens After Rehab?
After a person has, for instance, done alcohol rehab in Los Angeles, what’s the next step? Taking a move like this is huge, and to be introduced to an environment where relapse is sometimes around the corner can be intimidating.
You first want to start by finding different types of continuing support. The great thing about going into a structured environment like a rehab center is that you are surrounded by people and professionals who want to help you. To find yourself without that can be a bit worrisome, as you’ve come to find direction and hope through these means of support.
Find this continued support by looking into individual therapy, setting up regular checkups with mental health professionals, participating in 12 step programs, and seeking support groups. All of these options will help you to find the continued support that you might be missing.
While also seeking out different types of continuing support, also investigate building your social life. There’s a saying that, “an idle mind is the devil’s playground.” You’ve got to keep yourself busy to avoid relapsing into bad habits. One way of doing this is by occupying your time with social activities.
Catch a movie. Volunteer. Play video games. Attend conventions. Take a vacation to that NC mountain property for sale which you saw on an online property listing. In fact, getting away from the city to enjoy some North Carolina mountain land is a good idea. The spectacular views of the Blue Ridge Mountains will keep your mind on what really matters. Find something which will occupy your time in the most productive way possible.
