In most cases of addition, especially drug addiction, an individual gets physically dependent on a certain substance. The dependency is intense that without the drug the person might be in severe pain or dysfunctional. This is because the drug has by now affected the chemical balance in the brain allowing the person’s system to crave for the certain drug in order to achieve balance. Much worse is that the body later on tolerates the substance that enters the system, thus, resulting to a higher quantity requirement the next time the drug is taken to achieve the desired result.
From its very definition, addiction is the condition of being enslaved to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, such narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma. This distress can differ in intensity from intense cravings to life threatening illness (depending on the drug), making it virtually impossible for an addict to give up without aid. Because most withdrawal symptoms can be relieved instantly upon consumption of the drug that the body is withdrawing from, the craving to use that drug is very high during this time, often resulting in defeat of the healing before it can even begin.
As the addict recognizes the problem, the treatment process is another cross to carry. Curing substance dependence means eliminating the dependency on the drug. This would indicate that the person had to stop taking the drug. However, slowing down the body of an addict from taking in the drug would lead to withdrawal symptoms. And it is not easy having to deal with these symptoms. The severity of the symptoms depends on the kind of drug the person is addicted to. Detoxification should be done to stop pains of withdrawal symptoms.
Detoxification is a process of cleansing the toxins from the body. In the case of drug addiction, it is the removal of the drug residues from the body and controlling the symptoms of withdrawal. The detoxification process is only the first step to recovery. Eliminating the toxins that have been controlling the body system of the patient should be done first before any behavioral based theraphy which would treat the causal factors of addiction.
Drug detoxification is referred to as the period of withdrawal during which the person’s body eventually comes back to homeostasis after long-term use of an addictive substance. Depending on the addiction, the process will vary.
Detoxification can be for both inpatient and outpatient basis. Inpatient detoxification allows a close monitoring on the patient. With these, the exposure to the substance of abuse could be avoided. On the other hand, outpatient detoxification allows greater social support. Compared with inpatients, patients in outpatient theraphy keep hold of greater freedom, continue with their day-to-day activities with fewer disruptions. However, with outpatient treatment, there is an increased risk of relapse since the patient is more likely to be exposed with the substance of abuse.
The process of drug detoxification seeks to decrease the severity of the trauma associated with the body’s withdrawal from dependence on a particular drug by medically alleviating and monitoring the intense physical symptoms associated with systematically inducing the withdrawal process. Once the drug is emptied from the system and the pain and discomfort associated with stopping its use have been alleviated, the other factors contributing to the addiction, such as the emotional and psychological issues, can be addressed.
Addiction is a very serious problem among the many people in all walks of life. More than intensive treatment, self-determination is also a requirement. The treatment procedure is to be deal very hard everyday.
