Can You Ever Fully Recover From Drug Addiction?

Drug addiction is considered a treatable disease. With the advanced discoveries regarding the science of addiction, innovations in drug addiction treatment have been successfully formulated to aid people to stop the dependence and abuse of drugs and gain back a healthy and productive life. While addiction may also considered as a chronic disease, this can be managed effectively and successfully. With drug addiction treatment, drug addicts can have the power to counteract the powerful and disruptive effects of drug addiction on the brain and behavior. Drug addicts will have the chance to regain and control their lives back.

 

Does A Relapse Mean Failure in the Treatment?

Relapse while on drug addiction treatment can happen. In fact, the relapse rates for drug addiction are actually similar to those other chronic health conditions. The relapse rate for drug addiction is around 40 to 60 percent while hypertension and asthma have 50 to 70 percent relapse rate and diabetes has 30 to 50 percent relapse rate. The treatment of chronic diseases like addiction would involve changing a person’s behaviors. Thus, a relapse would not mean that the treatment has failed. For addicted individuals, the relapses to addiction would only indicate that the treatment needs to be adjusted or reinstated. An alternative treatment may also be required.

 

What Are Effective Addiction Treatment Options Available?

Research actually shows that the combination of treatment medications with cognitive behavioral therapy is considered as the best way to ensure a successful drug addiction recovery for most patients. However, the treatment approaches should be tailored according to the drug abuse pattern and drug related social, and medical problems of the patient.

 

Medications for Treating Drug Addiction

There are different types of medications utilized in treating drug addiction. Basically, the treatment medications can help the addicted person stop abusing drugs, stay in the treatment, and avoid having any relapse.

• Withdrawal Symptoms
• Staying In Treatment
• Relapse Prevention. There are different factors that can trigger a relapse like stress, cues to drug experience, and exposure to drugs.

 

Cognitive Behavioral Therapies as Treatment for Drug Addiction

Cognitive behavioral treatments are also used to help engage addicts in the drug addiction treatment. These treatments help modify the attitudes and behaviors of addicted individuals. Cognitive behavioral treatments will also help these people increase their ability to handle stressful situations and respond to different addiction triggers. In addition to this, such treatments can actually enhance the effectiveness of treatment medications. Some examples of treatments would include the following:

• Motivational Incentives
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Motivational Interviewing
• Group Therapy

 

Looking At the Numbers

According to SAMHSA or the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration, 23.5 million people 12 years old and above needed addiction treatment for the illicit drug abuse problem in 2009. Basically, this is 9.3 percent of the total number. Basing from this number, only 11.2 percent or 2.6 million actually received treatment at specialized treatment facilities. Seeking help from drug addiction is considered a personal choice and this is basically a confidential matter. However, not all people succeed in such endeavors. In fact, based on the average number of people who subject themselves to drug addiction treatment, about 42 percent of female admissions and 38 percent of male admissions were successful in recovering. This is according to the study which was published in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.