Drug and Substance Addiction
Enter treatment at a level appropriate to your needs then step up to more intense or down to less intense treatment as needed.
What You Need To Know About Drug and Substance Addiction
Addiction is a disease.
The behavioural aspects of drug and substance addiction disease are characterized by continued use of drugs or other substances even when use causes harm or interferes with achieving goals in life.
Addiction develops when the pleasure circuits in the brain get overwhelmed, in a way that can become chronic and sometimes even permanent. This is what’s at play when you hear about reward “systems” or “pathways” and the role of dopamine when it comes to addiction.
What this means is:
When a person develops an addiction to a substance, it’s because the brain has started to change. This happens because addictive substances trigger an outsized response when they reach the brain. The brain remembers this surge and associates it with the addictive substance.
However, with chronic use of the substance, over time the brain’s circuits adapt and become less sensitive to dopamine. Achieving that pleasurable sensation becomes increasingly important, but at the same time, you build tolerance and need more and more of that substance to generate the level of high you crave.
Addiction can also cause problems with focus, memory, and learning, not to mention decision-making and judgement. Seeking drugs, therefore, is driven by habit—and not conscious, rational decisions.
What Are The Most Addictive Drugs and Substances
Drug addiction causes a shortcut to reward in the brain that, when used repeatedly, can alter how a person processes information. How a drug makes a person feel while taking it and how it makes a person feel after using it can both contribute to how addictive it is.
- Cocaine: It creates an intense high as it floods the brain with dopamine, the neurotransmitter involved in pleasure. The effects are quick to begin, significant, and short-lived.
- Heroin: is an illicit substance that causes the brain’s opioid receptors to become active. This blocks pain perception promotes relaxation and creates an “out-of-body” experience. By building up a surplus of dopamine in the brain, it also promotes bliss.
- Nicotine: It enters the body through the mucosal lining of the mouth and nose, the lungs, or the skin before acting on the reward circuitry in the brain. Smokers may be persuaded to continue smoking by the pleasant sensations it produces and the improvement in mood and cognition. People may want to smoke another cigarette soon after the last one since nicotine takes effect in just 10 seconds and wears off in a matter of hours.
Is Drug and Substance Addiction a Curable Disorder?
Yes, addiction is a treatable disorder!
Research on the science of addiction and the treatment of substance use disorders has led to the development of research-based methods that help people to stop using drugs and resume productive lives, also known as being in recovery.
Like other chronic diseases such as heart disease or asthma, treatment for drug addiction usually isn’t a cure. But addiction can be managed successfully. Treatment enables people to counteract addiction’s disruptive effects on their brains and behaviour and regain control of their lives.
Appropriate Level of Care for Drug and Substance Addiction
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for treating drug addiction. Whether you will benefit more from a drug rehab program that takes place in a residential treatment setting or in outpatient rehab will depend on your individual needs and the severity of your addiction.
Most people who seek treatment for drug dependency find residential rehab programs substantially profitable because there is more structure, supervision, interaction, and active engagement in therapeutic healing.
At Diamonds, we believe that everyone who is struggling with a substance abuse disorder deserves access to high-quality, caring addiction treatment. That is why we have quality addiction treatment programs available to assist you in your recovery. We are dedicated to ensuring that every person who seeks to undergo addiction recovery at our facility, has access to the proper therapies and levels of care that best suits their unique needs. Do not let your drug addiction go untreated.
Start the path towards sobriety today.
If you or someone you love is struggling with substance abuse, call us to learn more about our addiction treatment program.
Applying care, experience, and love to heal and bring hope for communities and families affected by substance use addictions and mental health conditions.
