People are often curious if treatments for drug addicts and alcoholics are different or if they’re the same. The answer isn’t quite as straightforward as you might think. There are ways in which they’re the same and there are ways in which they’re not. Drug addictions are characterized by a person’s obsession with a certain type of drug or group of drugs. Addicts typically will spend a lot of money to get the drug from a dealer and sometimes will steal from others to get the money to access the object of their addiction. Addicts will use a drug for the specific effects they get from it. For example, someone who is a heroin addict is drawn to the feeling of euphoria it gives some people. To get rid of an addiction, the person must pass through a cleansing stage of ridding their system of that drug.
Alcohol addiction is much like drug addiction, except the object of their obsession is, of course, alcohol and not a specific drug. Alcohol provides some of the same effects a drug addict seeks. It offers a person brief relief from the pain they’re experiencing, whether it be physical or mental. It gives them moments of happiness where they feel they lack it in their sober state. With treatment, it’s important that the person goes through a detox, of sorts, to get it out of their system so that counseling and therapy can work their magic to help them get through the addiction.
Treatments for Drug Addicts and Alcoholics
Each type of addiction offers pretty much the same kind of treatment. However, each one will have varying parts based on an individual’s needs. With both types of addiction, you’ll find the following programs:
- Inpatient Treatment
- Outpatient Treatment
- Detox Program
The treatment facility will evaluate your situation and choosing the right treatment for your needs. They will determine what needs you have to beat your addiction, and what services best suit your situation. They will even consider whether you need to work while you go through treatment or if you have a family to support.
Inpatient Treatment for Drug Addicts and Alcoholics
For those with severe addictions, an inpatient program is best. It offers around the clock care to observe your physical and mental health while you go through the detox stage. Medical staff monitors the detox drug use, if needed, to be sure an individual isn’t abusing the treatments.
Inpatient services allow an individual to stay at a residential facility, 24-hours a day for a length of time. During their stay, they will receive counseling and therapy to help them beat their addiction mentally and will have medical services for withdrawal symptoms that ultimately surface during detox
Outpatient Treatment for Drug Addicts and Alcoholics
Outpatient treatment is generally for those who have been through detox and need the long-term care of support services. Sometimes, you may have an intensive outpatient treatment program that enables you to get monitored closely, but still gives you time to go to work and time to spend with your family.
The outpatient part means you go to the center after work, or before, depending on your work schedule. Once you’ve spent your predetermined amount of time there, you go home to sleep in your own bed. Then return on the next scheduled treatment day.
Detox for Drug Addicts and Alcoholics
The treatment used for drug detox and alcohol detox differ due to the differences each one has. Both need intensive monitoring, though, to ensure everything goes well. Once the drug or the alcohol is out of your system, you’re taught coping skills to take with you when you go home and try to live your life free of addiction.
Detox for drugs will also differ with the type of drug that one has an addiction for. Also, it depends on the severity of the addiction as well. Sometimes one will need medication-assistance to get over the addiction and other times, counselors may suggest you do it without medication. Each situation is different in how it’s handled. Counselors determine the best course of action when they evaluate your situation.
So, treatments for drug and alcohol addiction are alike in many ways, but how each type is handled is somewhat different. It’s more about the severity of the addiction and what’s needed to beat it more than it is about the addiction someone suffers from. If you would like more information about drug or alcohol addiction treatments, call us at 855-936-4435.
