Drug Detoxifaction

The process of drug detoxification, or removing harmful drug residue from the body, is the foundation of any drug treatment program. It can be conducted on an inpatient or outpatient basis, depending upon the severity of the individual addiction, and it uses a variety of techniques to help reduce the effects of drug withdrawal.

Addiction Recovery

Detoxification, or “detox,” is sometimes seen as the only real step needed to cure a person of drug addiction. Get rid of the physical traces in the body, and get rid of the craving, right? Too bad it is not that simple. A drug detoxification program is just the beginning of a helping a person kick the drug habit for good.

Hard-core drug addicts, no matter what drug or drugs they have been abusing, build up a tolerance over time and require more and more of the drug to achieve the “hit,” the euphoria the mind and body both crave. And because addiction is two-fold, physiological as well as psychological, drug detox requires more than just flushing all the toxins out of the addict’s system and calling it a day. Withdrawal can be a terrible process, so feared that the very thought of the unpleasantness to be endured stops many addicts from asking for help. Drug detoxification programs allay that fear—and that pain—by managing the transition from chemical dependency to physical freedom from the presence of the drug.

Emotional freedom, however, is the second half of detoxification. Simple drug detox uses substitute drugs to soothe the body’s craving during the cleansing process. Carefully managed and supervised drug treatment programs can accomplish this on an outpatient basis in some cases; in others, the addict requires inpatient care at a drug treatment center or clinic which specializes in drug detox and ongoing treatment for drug abuse. Such centers for drug treatment have on staff trained therapists who focus on the emotional damage done by drug abuse. Their part of the drug detoxification process is to identify and help the patient overcome the root cause of his or her addiction, and then to deal with the emotional letdown and devastation that accompanies a realization of just how badly the addict let life get out of control.

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Anger, shame, humiliation, loss of confidence and lowered self-esteem are all part of the emotional damage inflicted by drug addiction. Learning to deal with these emotions is integral to a good drug detox program. The addict must learn how to build a strong defense against the emotional craving for drug-induced insulation against life’s problems that may have led to the abuse in the first place. Even if the abuse stemmed from an accidental addiction, the same toxins must be dealt with and the same cravings must be faced and eliminated. Drug detoxification, conducted at a center for drug treatment staffed by medical personnel experienced in treating both the physical damage and the emotional fallout, is the first step on the road to recovery.