A Brief of the Drug Abuse Treatment Strategy

Alcohol and drug abuse are a very common condition and there are several people in the world who are suffering from the same. Every effort made to skip the drug or alcohol goes in vain when the person is so addicted to alcohol and drug abuse.

Use of drugs and alcohol is a very trendy thing among teenagers and young adults. The seriousness of the claim can be understood with the statistics proving that about 50% of the accidental death cases occurring between the age group of 15-24 all over the world, are more or less due to some drug or alcohol addiction.

The beginning of addiction:

Often people choose alcohol and drugs for recreational purpose, without knowing that it is an easy addiction causing substance. Repeated and regular use of drugs and alcohol soon lead to abuse and dependency.

Drug addiction treatment:

The treatment of drug abuse and alcoholism is based on abstinence. As drug addiction is a complex illness, it is characterised by compulsive drug craving and drug seeking. The treatment process of addiction is based on stopping the use, avoiding the relapse, and finally successfully recovering from the addiction phase.

The principles on which the addiction phase is based are:

•    Addiction is complex condition, but it is treatable

•    Each person is different and there is no single treatment process suitable for everyone.

•    The treatment of drug abuse should be started at the earliest

•    The treatment process takes care of the patient’s various needs other than the drug abuse recovery also

•    It is very necessary to carry on the treatment process up to a particular period as it plays an essential part of recovery

•    Counselling is very necessary and it is another thing that plays a necessary part in the treatment of drug abuse

•    Drug addicts also need behavioural therapies

•    Many drug addicts have mental problems also

Treatment approaches:

The drug addiction treatment is necessary and plays a very important part of the recovery process:

1.    Medications:

Medication for the treatment is based on the detoxification process. But the medications are used keeping in minds the aspect of withdrawal symptoms also. The medically assisted withdrawal symptoms are much more manageable than the non-medically assisted withdrawal.

The medications are based on the drugs for which the treatment is initiated. Some of the people who have severe addiction problems are polydrug users i.e. those people who use more than one drug. Such people will require treatment for all the substances for which they abuse.

Opioids:

The major medicines for the treatment of Opioid addiction are Methadone, Buprenorphine and Naltrexone. These drugs are very effective in the treatment of opiate addiction. The medicines especially Naltrexone works by blocking the effect of heroin and some other Opioids receptors. Methadone, buprenorphine helps to relieve the withdrawal symptoms.

Alcohol:

Medicines like Naltrexone, Acamprosate, Disulfiram and the new one Topiramate are approved by FDA for the treatment of alcohol dependence. The medicines are highly effective in encouraging the results as it reduces the drinking and craving for alcohol. The drugs are also helpful in reducing the symptoms of withdrawal due to abstinence from alcohol. The medicines are also effective in fighting the withdrawal symptoms; hence, these medicines are very good with alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

2.    Behavioural treatments:

The behavioural treatments are very good for the patients with multiple drug abuse. Treatment of drug abuse can be delivered in a variety of ways using a variety of approaches to treating behavioural pressures.

•    Cognitive behavioural therapies:

This therapy is based on completely recognising, avoiding and forgetting the situations that are most likely to cause drug abuse.

•    Multidimensional family therapy:

The drug abuse problem among adolescents is treated with this motivational therapy. This therapy is designed to improve the overall functioning of the person.

•    Motivational interviewing:

This treatment prepares the person to give up the drug /alcohol and change their behaviour to enter the treatment procedure.

•    Motivational incentives:

This therapy encourages the person to continue the abstinence from the drugs and use the positive attitude till the complete recovery.

More intense cases with a long past of drug abuse may require more medications. Benzodiazepines are the drugs used to treat the anxiety, poor sleep and seizures that arise due to withdrawal from the illegal drugs. Detoxification, rehabilitation and maintenance are the three main parts of the drug abuse recovery and treatment process.