Addiction, as usually defined, is a physical dependence on a substance, in the case of drug addiction. 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 attain balance. This gets worse when the body starts to tolerate the drug that enters the system, thus, resulting to a higher amount requirement the next time the drug is taken to reach 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 discontinuation causes distress. This trauma can range in intensity from intense cravings to life threatening illness (depending on the drug), making it virtually impossible for an addict to quit without help. Because the majority withdrawal symptoms can be relieved instantly upon use of the drug that the body is withdrawing from, the desire to use that drug is exceptionally high in this period, often resulting in defeat of the recovery before it can even begin.
As the addict recognizes the problem, the treatment process is another cross to carry. Treating addiction means taking away the dependency on the drug. This would mean that the person had to stop taking the drug. However, reducing 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. Moreover, to ease the pain of the withdrawal symptoms, detoxification should be done.
Detoxification is a process of cleansing the toxins from the body. In the case of drug addiction, it is the elimination of the drug residues from the body and controlling the symptoms of withdrawal. The detoxification process is only the first step to recovery. Taking away 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 can be referred to as the stage of withdrawal during which the person’s body eventually returns to homeostasis after long-term use of an addictive substance. Depending on the addiction, the process will vary.
Detoxification can be done on both inpatient and outpatient basis. Inpatient detoxification allows a close monitoring on the patient. Also, the contact to the substance of abuse could be avoided. On the other hand, outpatient detoxification allows higher social support. In comparison to inpatients, patients in outpatient theraphy keep greater freedom, continue with their day-to-day activities with lesser disruptions. However, with outpatient treatment, there is an increased risk of no improvement because the patient is more likely to be exposed with the substance of abuse.
The process of drug detoxification seeks to lessen 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. When the drug is cleared 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 taken cared of.
Addiction is a very serious problem among the many people in all walks of life. This problem requires serious treatment that requires self-determination, and self-will to be able to overcome the first phase of recovery. The healing procedure is to be deal very hard everyday.
