Drug addiction is a chronic health condition that inhibits an affected individual’s ability to control their behavior and impulses when it comes to their drug intake, despite the negative health and social consequences of their drug use. Drug addiction is such a dangerous disease because the long-term use of the drug affects our brain chemistry, leading to changes in our reward systems.
Because addiction is a chronic disease, relapse can be a very real outcome in the recovery and addiction treatment process. Unfortunately, the likelihood of relapse can also be high. However, if you have suffered a relapse and are concerned about what that may mean for your future recovery, you should know that you are not alone. Through ongoing treatment and other strategies, there are many ways to regain your sobriety and help get you started back on the road to recovery. This article contains ideas about how to stay positive after a relapse has occurred.
Dissociative disorders and addiction commonly co-occur, making recovery more difficult.1 Both conditions can make day-to-day functioning very hard, and to cope with the symptoms of a dissociative disorder, a person may be more likely to abuse drugs or alcohol.
Many rehab centers use various types of experiential therapy for addiction treatment. If you’ve never been to rehab, you may not know what this type of therapy entails or how it works. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at experiential therapy, how it works during rehab, and its benefits for people in recovery.
Residential rehab is an intensive type of drug and alcohol rehab in which clients temporarily live on-site at the rehab center and take a break from work and family obligations to focus on their recovery. Inpatient rehab keeps people safe, helps them adjust to a life in recovery, and prevents relapse.
Without the right support or treatment, getting sober can be very difficult or even life-threatening. So, before you decide to break an addiction on your own, consider the following risks and think about getting professional treatment at a rehab center.