Should I Consider Long Term Inpatient Drug Rehab?
For most people, the decision to enter drug treatment doesn’t come easily. The prospect of leaving a life of drug abuse behind may well bring on mixed feelings in spite of the heartache and frustration the addiction lifestyle breeds.
Those who’ve already made the rounds as far as drug treatment goes may harbor little hope of seeing positive results with yet another go around in rehab. More often than not, chronic addiction problems require more than the standard, traditional-type treatment approach in order for addicts to break addiction’s hold in their lives.
Long term inpatient drug rehab specifically deals with the types of challenges long-time addicts face in recovery when it comes to treating the physical and emotional damage left behind by chronic addiction. Whether or not long term inpatient drug rehab will benefit you depends on a range of factors involving your physical and mental health as well as your overall drug use history.
The Effects of Chronic Drug Abuse
Addictive substances, be they alcohol, opiates, stimulants or sedatives all produce psychoactive effects, altering the brain’s chemical system and skewing overall brain function over time, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. With frequent, ongoing drug abuse, the brain takes on a whole new structure, which inevitably causes it to work differently in terms of how a person thinks, feels and experiences the world.
In effect, chronic drug abuse breeds physical dependence, soon to be followed by psychological dependence. With physical dependence, the brain can no longer maintain normal functions in the body without the drug’s effects. With psychological dependence, the mind has come to “need” drugs in order to cope with daily life pressures and responsibilities.
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In the case of chronic, long-term drug abuse, psychological dependence breeds its own lifestyle on top of the body’s ongoing dependence on drugs to function. These combined effects make it especially difficult to break an addiction problem as drugs have become necessary for a person’s survival on both a physical and psychological level.
When to Consider Long Term Inpatient Drug Rehab Treatment
Chronic Medical Problems
Long term inpatient drug rehab addresses both the physical and psychological damage left behind by addiction. Rampant brain chemical imbalances brought on by chronic drug abuse inevitably disrupts the body’s major systems causing chronic medical conditions, such as diabetes, liver problems and heart disease to develop. Long term inpatient drug rehab provides treatment for these conditions as leaving them untreated only makes it more difficult to treat the addiction problem.
Mental Health Issues
According to the Journal of Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, psychological dysfunction and addiction go hand-in-hand, so it’s not uncommon for people coming off long-time addiction problems to struggle with full-blown psychological disorders in recovery. For these reasons, long term inpatient drug rehab programs take an integrated treatment approach, treating both conditions together rather than separately.
Long term inpatient drug rehab treatment may entail medication therapies, psychotherapy as well as drug education and counseling training. These interventions work to equip a person with the tools needed to build a drug-free lifestyle and develop a solid foundation in the recovery process.
If you or someone you know are considering long term inpatient drug rehab treatment and need help finding a program that meets your needs, please feel free to call our toll-free helpline at 800-430-1407Who Answers? to speak with one of our addictions specialists.