Drug Abuse & Addiction Explained

At Castle Health, we understand that navigating the challenges of drug abuse and addiction can be overwhelming for individuals and their loved ones. While it’s common to perceive addiction as a sign of moral weakness or a lack of discipline, the reality is far more complex. Addiction is not a choice; it’s a multifaceted health condition that extends beyond mere willpower or moral standing.

Alcoholism and drug dependence are deeply rooted in the neurochemistry of the brain. These conditions occur as a result of intricate interactions between genetic predispositions, environmental influences, and social circumstances. Addiction affects the brain’s natural reward system, leading to compulsive behaviours that prioritise substance use over health, relationships, and well-being

Key Points on Drug Addiction

– Drug addiction is a complex brain disorder rooted in the neurochemistry of the brain, not a moral failing.

– Environmental factors, genetic makeup, and early drug use significantly contribute to addiction risk.

– Drug misuse can worsen pre-existing mental illness symptoms and compromise self-control.

– Treatment for drug addiction requires a comprehensive approach, including behavioural therapy, medication, and addressing co-occurring mental health issues.

What is Drug Addiction?

Drug addiction is a complex brain disorder characterised by the inability to resist the urge to use drugs, regardless of the harmful consequences it may bring to one’s life. It’s also known as substance use disorder, an ailment where you can’t stop using even when it’s wreaking havoc on your health, relationships, and life in general. While some believe addiction is a moral failing, it’s important to recognise the biological and psychological components at play.

Addictive drugs alter your brain chemistry, leading to intense cravings and a drive to keep using. Over time, this behaviour can evolve into physical dependence, meaning your body needs the drug to function normally. When you try to quit, you might experience withdrawal symptoms, which can be painful, distressing, and sometimes dangerous in the case of benzodiazepines, opiates and indeed, alcohol.

It’s crucial to differentiate between drug abuse and drug addiction. Abuse might involve using drugs in a way that’s harmful but doesn’t necessarily lead to addiction, this may include the misuse of prescription medications such as opiates, stimulants or benzodiazepines. Addiction, however, is characterised by continuous use despite knowing the damage it causes. Both illicit drugs and certain prescription medications can lead to addiction if not used responsibly. In reality, drug abuse is often considered the first stage of a potential problem, whereas drug dependence is thought of as the final stage.

Causes and Risk Factors

You might wonder why some individuals become addicted to drugs while others do not.

It’s not merely a matter of willpower; repeated exposure to drugs can alter your brain’s reward system, creating a cycle that’s hard to break.

Your genetic makeup and environment also play crucial roles, with certain genes and life situations significantly increasing your risk of addiction.

Repeat Exposure to Substance Abuse

Understanding the causes and risk factors for repeated substance abuse is vital in addressing the roots of addiction and crafting effective prevention strategies.

Early drug use, particularly during adolescence, can significantly increase the risk of developing substance use disorders. This is because your brain’s reward system undergoes changes that may predispose you to repeated drug use.

Environmental factors, including exposure to high-risk settings or stressors, also play a crucial role.

Recognising these risks is essential, as they highlight the importance of early intervention and tailored approaches to prevent the escalation of casual drug use into dependency.

Genetic Factors

Genetic predisposition significantly influences an individual’s risk of developing substance addiction, acting as a complex underpinning for this multifaceted condition. A family history of addiction puts you at increased risk, highlighting the role of inherited traits in your susceptibility to substance misuse.

When considering drug addiction treatment, understanding these genetic factors is vital to identifying those at a higher addiction risk. It isn’t just about the substances themselves; mental disorders and genetic vulnerabilities often intertwine, raising the stakes for substance abuse.

Moreover, your genetic makeup and personality traits can interact with environmental triggers, such as peer pressure or drug availability, potentially tipping the scales toward addiction.

Environmental Factors

While genetics lay the groundwork for addiction risk, it’s the environmental factors that often shape whether an individual will struggle with drug abuse. Your surroundings, including family, peers, and community, can significantly sway your susceptibility to addiction.

Encountering peer pressure, especially at an early age, can increase the likelihood of experimenting with drugs. Socioeconomic challenges, like poverty and limited access to education or jobs, may compound risk factors, pushing you toward substance use as an escape.

High-stress environments, traumatic experiences, such as sexual abuse, and mental health problems can also escalate the risk of turning to drugs for solace.

Drug Abuse and its Impact on the Body

As you continue to use drugs, your body develops increased tolerance, necessitating higher doses to achieve the desired effects. The impact of long-term and persistent drug abuse on the body can be profound, putting individuals at increased risk of many diseases including cancer and heart disease.

This escalation is tied to the role of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that regulates pleasure in your brain, which is significantly altered by substance abuse.

The impact on your mental health can be profound, with addiction exacerbating or contributing to various psychiatric disorders.

Increased Tolerance

Whilst navigating the complexities of drug addiction, it’s vital to understand that increased tolerance is a significant milestone where your body begins demanding higher doses to achieve the same effects, potentially catapulting you into a dangerous cycle of escalating use.

As drug addiction begins, the phenomenon of tolerance often follows early drug experimentation and becomes more pronounced with repeated drug use. This adaptation can swiftly lead to physical dependence, with your body experiencing withdrawal symptoms if you cease intake.

Such intense urges to maintain drug use not only heighten the risk of drug overdoses but can also cause profound health issues. Addressing increased tolerance early is crucial, as support from healthcare professionals can significantly mitigate the long-term detrimental effects of drug addiction.

The Role of Dopamine

Understanding the profound impact of drug use begins with recognising how it hijacks the brain’s dopamine system, a critical component of your reward circuitry. When you introduce an addictive drug into your body, it often leads to an overstimulation of dopamine receptors.

This flood of dopamine causes intense pleasure and reinforces drug-seeking behaviour. Over time, chronic drug abuse can desensitise these receptors and decrease dopamine production, trapping you in a cycle of addiction and withdrawal symptoms.

The altered brain chemical systems affect your mood, motivation, and cognitive functions, compromising your ability to control drug use. Understanding the role of dopamine in drug addiction is important, and any form of treatment should follow an abstinence-based approach for this reason.

Impact on Mental Health

Drug abuse not only impacts the physical but also wreaks havoc on mental health, leading to a host of psychological disorders including depression, anxiety, and sometimes psychosis. Your mental health is significantly impacted by substance use, as chronic drug misuse can result in long-lasting changes to brain chemistry. This can impair your cognitive functions, leading to emotional instability and unpredictable mood swings.

Certain drugs are notorious for inducing severe mental health symptoms, such as hallucinations and paranoia, particularly with heavy and prolonged use. Furthermore, if you’re dealing with a pre-existing mental illness (dual diagnosis), drug misuse can exacerbate your symptoms and complicate the treatment process.

Addiction Myths

Dispelling common myths about addiction is crucial for a deeper understanding of this complex disorder. It’s important to recognise that alcoholism and drug dependence can emerge from the use of various substances, not just those deemed ‘hard’ drugs. This includes legal prescriptions and even cannabis which, contrary to popular belief, can lead to significant issues.

Drug Addiction is Not A Lack of Willpower

One prevalent myth suggests that addiction is simply a lack of willpower. In reality, addictive disorders alter brain chemistry and compromise the ability to exert self-control. Recognising the signs and symptoms of addiction goes beyond observing illicit drug use; it involves understanding the behavioural and psychological changes that occur (and the relationship that one has with substance abuse).

Simply Quitting Drug Use is Not Enough

Another misconception is that treatment is unnecessary, assuming that a person can quit at any time. Drug addiction is a chronic disease, and like other chronic diseases, it requires ongoing management and care. In the context of drug addiction, simply quitting and staying sober will prove challenging without comprehensive treatment.

Addiction Does Not Discriminate

Lastly, many assume that addiction only affects certain types of people. However, drug addiction knows no social or economic boundaries. It’s a disorder that can affect anyone, regardless of background or lifestyle. Understanding these realities is vital in combating stigma and providing appropriate support for those affected by addiction.

Treatment for Drug Addiction

Recognising early signs of drug addiction not only aids in mitigating the severity of the condition but also lessens the burden on both affected individuals and society. Treating drug addiction involves a multi-disciplinary approach that healthcare providers can implement. You must understand that treatment for drug addiction often necessitates a comprehensive strategy tailored to your unique circumstances.

At Castle Health, we utilise several evidence-based strategies which include behavioural therapy, medication, evaluation, relapse prevention, and treatment for co-occurring mental health issues, such as depression, ADHD, or post-traumatic stress disorder.

Take the First Step Towards Healing with Castle Health

If you or a loved one is navigating the challenges of drug addiction, you don’t have to face this journey alone. At Castle Health, we’re dedicated to providing compassionate care and comprehensive treatment options tailored to your unique needs. Our team of experts is ready to guide you towards the best treatment path, offering support, understanding, and the highest quality care every step of the way.

Don’t let addiction define your future. Contact us today to explore how we can support you in your journey towards recovery. Our confidential helpline is available 24/7, ensuring you have access to professional advice when you need it most.

What is the Process of Drug Rehabilitation?

 

Most treatment plans consist of three stages:

• Detoxification,
• Psychotherapy,
• Continuing Care.

All drug addiction rehab centres vary in their approach to treatment and there are different models that treatment but most follow the peer-supported models such as The 12 Step Model (also known as the Minnesota Model) with one-on-one counselling.

Therapy for addiction is usually a mix of individual and group counselling, led by addiction specialists. Many private drug rehabilitation centres, including Castle Health facilities, also utilise complementary therapies as an aid, such as equine therapy, art therapy and sport.

Whether a person opts for outpatient or inpatient care, the process of drug rehabilitation is more or less the same. Detoxification may not be necessary for everyone but therapy, being the most important aspect, usually makes up the majority of any treatment plan.

What Type of Therapy is Best for Addiction?

Most drug addiction rehabs implement a CBT-based approach and/or a 12-step philosophy. These have been proven to be the most effective for addiction treatment.

A review of 27 studies published in March 2020 by the Cochrane Library, an organisation renowned for its analyses of scientific research, concluded that 12-Step Facilitation works as well as or better than other scientifically proven treatments (such as CBT) in promoting abstinence from alcohol addiction.

In regard to what specific type of therapy is best, the answer will largely depend on the person and treatment should be individualised, taking into account each person’s unique circumstances and history. For example at Castle Health, our treatment is based upon the 12 Step Model which is clinically proven to work, and incorporates CBT which is also clinically proven to work, and includes separate therapy sessions targeting individual problems such as grief and trauma and EMDR so that these are addressed. Creative complementary therapies, such as art or drumming, can be beneficial as part of a programme, alongside therapy.

This is why choosing a drug rehab centre with a wide range of therapeutic methods can help, especially in early recovery. Private residential rehabs are usually the best choice in this aspect.

What Kind of Drug Addictions Does Castle Health Treat?

Our inpatient and outpatient centres treat all types of drug addictions, including cocaine addiction, heroin addiction, prescription drug addiction, cannabis addiction, and many more. We have experience helping people with all sorts of substance abuse issues, including cross-addiction.

While our outpatient locations treat patients with drug addictions, we may recommend an inpatient programme instead, if we feel that a residential stay is more suitable in their situation.

How Long Does it Take to Get Rid of Drugs in Your System?

The drug detox timeline for each drug varies. Although the effects may fade fast, the drug itself can remain in the body for a very long time. This doesn’t mean the substance has any effect on one’s physical or mental state, but it can be detected on a drug test.

Most drugs can be detected in urine or saliva for up to a few days. Cannabis can be detected in urine up to a week. In the blood, drugs can be detected for a longer period, usually a week. In the case of cocaine, with chronic use, it can be detected in the blood for a month or more. Drugs can show up on hair tests for about 3 months. Benzodiazepines can take 40 weeks to clear the system. Detox should always be carried out by a medical professional and at a slow and steady speed to avoid complications.

Even once a person detoxes from a specific drug, they may not feel 100% back to normal. This is because drugs can cause changes to the brain and body that take time to recover from. For some people, this initial recovery period lasts a year or more. This is why we always say that detox is the ‘first step’ on the road to recovery.

How Long Does Drug Rehab Take?

 

An intensive inpatient programme usually takes 4-6 weeks to complete and outpatient treatment may take longer. In some cases, a four-week programme may be acceptable. However, during treatment at Castle Health, we recommend a six-week stay at least for the initial residential treatment.

Under guidance from the focal therapist, patients can remain in treatment longer, from a further 6 weeks to six months in our extended care facility, Recovery Gardens. Research shows that patients who stay in treatment longer have improved outcomes in their recovery.

Every patient who comes into treatment with Castle Health goes through various assessments to determine the appropriate length and style of treatment. The treatment course for drug addiction at our outpatient centres is typically longer, ranging from 6-12 weeks, depending on whether a person enrols in an outpatient programme or a day programme. Patients are also welcome to prolong their participation if they feel it is necessary.

It is important to note that being discharged from rehab doesn’t mean a person is free from addiction. Continuing care is necessary for recovery to last. Therefore, even if a person is no longer attending therapy sessions within a rehab centre, they still need to attend meetings and/or addiction counselling. Rehabilitation, after all, is a lifelong commitment.

What Is Drug Addiction Treatment at Castle Health Like?

After a variety of initial assessments, patients at Castle Health are provided with a personalised treatment plan that is aimed at their specific needs. Once a person enters rehab, drug detoxification is the first step in treatment. This is always medically supervised because detox can be dangerous in certain situations.

After the initial uncomfortable side-effects of detox have worn off, patients start the therapeutic process, joining in groups and engaging in one-to-one therapy sessions. It is important that patients become part of the community as soon as possible, and a mentor is assigned from among the other patients to help with orientation and be a friendly point of contact in the settling-in phase.

At Castle Health, our therapeutic approach is based on the 12 Step clinically proven model as well as CBT and DBT principles. Therapy is one of the keys to overcoming addiction because it helps the person understand what led them to drugs in the first place and what they need to do to change their life. At any drug treatment facility, psychotherapy makes up the majority of the rehabilitation process.

Finally, before a person finishes their treatment, they are taught about preventing relapse and continuing care and given referrals to resources they can use after they leave. Many sign up to our online continuing care course, where personal therapy takes place once a week over Skype. Our free 2 year aftercare is part of all of our drug addiction rehabilitation plans.

If you are dealing with problematic drug use or worried about someone else, you can contact one of our centres to inquire about admission. We can provide a free assessment without any obligation to treatment.