Recovery
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Detoxification or withdrawal is the
first step on the road back to sanity. It usually involves medical care and
supervision. This is a very crucial step, the brain has been affected by the
drugs and is not balanced at this point, and rational thinking does not come
easily for the addict in this stage of recovery. The addict will need to clear
the drugs out of the their system before they can listen rationally to any
counseling or benefit from therapeutic activities. The brain will need to
restructure a proper neurobalance.
This restructuring is aided by
vitamin supplementation. Deficiencies in specific vitamins, minerals and amino
acids are known consequences of alcohol and drug abuse, due either to poor
nutrition or to the action of the drugs themselves.
Most chemical
dependency programs offer some form of medical supervised detox or work in
conjunction with a primary hospital to provide these services. Many detox
programs use prescription medication to help with withdrawal symptoms however,
there are programs that offer drug-free withdrawal consisting of nutritional
supplements. Addicts taking large daily doses of drugs, especially physically
addictive drugs like speed, cocaine, heroin, and alcohol will require a
detoxification period. This period will also be the time when the addict is
least able to think rationally and will crave the drug the most. The withdrawal
process can take any where from 3-10 days on an average, after it is complete
the addict is then ready to begin rehabilitation in a residential setting.
Residential, or inpatient, treatment is recommended for fully handling
any addiction. It is an ideal setting for an addict to address the problem at
hand, the addiction. This helps to remove any outside influences that may
interfere with the recovery process. Most traditional (12-step) programs last
about 30 days. There are also many non-traditional programs that last much
longer and take a different approach to recovery. One key point to remember is
that addiction has many aspects and when making a decision on a treatment
center, one needs to look at how thoroughly the addiction is being addressed by
the program. |
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Get Help Now!
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Detoxification or withdrawal is the first step on
the road back to sanity. |
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