Author: John Carter

Preventing Drug Misuse and Addiction: The Best Strategy National Institute on Drug Abuse NIDA

These medications can have harmful reactions if overlapped with other substances. For example, Cannabis can spur episodes of psychosis in some mood disorders. Often folks turn to substances to mask emotions they may need to cope with holistically. For many, access to substances to manage mental health or pain symptoms may be easier than accessing healthcare services. Our goal is to focus on preventing the possibility of unhealthy outcomes and behaviors that can push substance use into misuse or addiction. Additionally, medications are used to help people detoxify from drugs, although detoxification is not the same as treatment and is not sufficient to help a person recover.

Whatever the method of delivery, seek immediate medical care after using naloxone. Whatever is said during an intervention should be done so with the intention of helping the person accept help. The Association of Intervention Specialists (AIS), Family First Interventions, and the Network of Independent Interventionists are three organizations of professional interventionists. Detoxification is not equivalent to treatment and should not be solely relied upon for recovery.

1. For a teenager, risky times include moving, family divorce, or changing schools.35 When children advance from elementary through middle school, they face new and challenging social, family, and academic situations.
2. You may have heard the myth that addiction is inescapable, but that’s not true.
3. Whatever the method of delivery, seek immediate medical care after using naloxone.
4. This article discusses how drug addiction is treated and offers suggestions for overcoming drug addiction.
5. An intervention is an organized effort to intervene in a person’s addiction by discussing how their drinking, drug use, or addiction-related behavior has affected everyone around them.

Withdrawal from different categories of drugs — such as depressants, stimulants or opioids — produces different side effects and requires different approaches. Detox may involve gradually reducing the dose of the drug or temporarily substituting other substances, such as methadone, buprenorphine, or a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone. You may also want to consider if anyone in the list of friends and family should not be included. You may not be able to eliminate every trigger, but in the early stages of recovery it’s best to avoid triggers to help prevent cravings and relapse. Triggers can be any person, place, or thing that sparks the craving for using. Common triggers include places you’ve done drugs, friends you’ve used with, and anything else that brings up memories of your drug use.

Treatment programs

Coping with withdrawal may require hospitalization or inpatient care to ensure adequate supervision and medical intervention as necessary. This isn’t always the case, though, because different drugs have different withdrawal symptoms. The severity of use also plays a role, so knowing what to expect—and when to seek emergency help—is important. SAMHSA explains that family and friends who are supportive of recovery can help someone change because they can reinforce new behaviors and provide positive incentives to continue with treatment.

Using drugs can change brain structure and functioning, particularly in areas involved in reward, stress, and self-control. These changes make it harder for people to stop using even when they really want to. For people with addictions to drugs like stimulants or cannabis, no medications are currently available to assist in treatment, so treatment consists of behavioral therapies.

When a person is addicted, they prioritize using the drug or drugs over their wellbeing. This can have severe consequences, including increased tolerance to the substance, withdrawal effects (different for each drug), and social problems. For a teenager, risky times include moving, family divorce, or changing schools.35 When children advance from elementary through middle school, they face new and challenging social, family, and academic situations.

Often during this period, children are exposed to substances such as cigarettes and alcohol for the first time. When they enter high school, teens may encounter greater availability of drugs, drug use by older teens, and social activities where drugs are used. As noted previously, early use of drugs increases a person’s chances of becoming addicted. Remember, drugs change the brain—and this can lead to addiction and other serious problems. So, preventing early use of drugs or alcohol may go a long way in reducing these risks. Like treatment for other chronic diseases such as heart disease or asthma, addiction treatment is not a cure, but a way of managing the condition.

You could even use some drugs socially or recreationally to help calm your mood. As a person continues to use drugs, the brain adapts by reducing the ability of cells in the reward circuit to respond to it. This reduces the high that the person feels compared to the high they felt when first taking the drug—an effect known as tolerance. These brain adaptations often lead to the person becoming less and less able to derive pleasure from other things they once enjoyed, like food, sex, or social activities.

Additionally, we’ll help you understand why addictions are hard to overcome and how to plan for common problems that may pop up. If you’re someone who engages in substance use and you’re concerned about the direction your engagement has taken, you have options. You can always reach out to a mental health professional, or attend a local or online support group with individuals who are navigating similar thoughts and feelings. While relapse is a normal part of recovery, for some drugs, it can be very dangerous—even deadly. If a person uses as much of the drug as they did before quitting, they can easily overdose because their bodies are no longer adapted to their previous level of drug exposure.

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Bear in mind that stopping taking drugs is only one part of recovery from addiction. Strategies that help people stay in treatment and follow their recovery plan are essential. Along with medical and mental health treatments, the following are steps you can take to help overcome substance use disorder. As with most other chronic diseases, such as diabetes, asthma, or heart disease, treatment for drug addiction generally isn’t a cure. People who are recovering from an addiction will be at risk for relapse for years and possibly for their whole lives.

Research shows that combining addiction treatment medicines with behavioral therapy ensures the best chance of success for most patients. Treatment approaches tailored to each patient’s drug use patterns and any co-occurring medical, mental, and social problems can lead to continued recovery. Behavioral therapies help people in drug addiction treatment modify their attitudes and behaviors related to drug use. As a result, patients are able to handle stressful situations and various triggers that might cause another relapse. Behavioral therapies can also enhance the effectiveness of medications and help people remain in treatment longer. Medication can be an effective part of a larger treatment plan for people who have nicotine use disorder, alcohol use disorder, or opioid use disorder.

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Detoxification alone without subsequent treatment generally leads to resumption of drug use. Even after you’ve completed initial treatment, ongoing treatment and support can help prevent a relapse. Follow-up care can include periodic appointments with your counselor, continuing in a self-help program or attending a regular group session.

An overdose happens when the person uses enough of a drug to produce uncomfortable feelings, life-threatening symptoms, or death. The goal of detoxification, also called “detox” or withdrawal therapy, is to enable you to stop taking the addicting drug as quickly and safely as possible. For some people, it may be safe to undergo withdrawal therapy on an outpatient basis. Outside of physical pain management or treatment for disorders, substance use for pleasurable purposes is common and isn’t inherently harmful. Perhaps you’ve long used prescription meds to manage a chronic condition or you’re prescribed pain medication after surgery.

Use, misuse, and addiction

Your therapist or licensed counselor can help you locate a self-help support group. A person may need to try quitting more than once before maintaining any length of sobriety. Make your tax-deductible gift and be a part of the cutting-edge research and care that’s changing medicine. While naloxone has been on the market for years, a nasal spray (Narcan, Kloxxado) and an injectable form are now available, though they can be very expensive.