What You Must Know About Heroin Treatment

Heroin is one of the commonly used and addictive drugs. It can be smoked, snorted, or injected. Most abusers may use heroin up to four times daily; overdosing can be fatal and may lead to death. Treatment for heroin abuse is most effective when started early. There are various behavioural and medical treatments used for treating heroin addiction.

Treatment for heroin addiction must be tailored to your needs. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all treatment programme, so a reputable treatment centre performs an assessment of your condition prior to your admission. For the treatment to be effective, it must include a detoxification period where you completely stop taking heroin. Detoxing from heroin can be unbearable because the withdrawal symptoms can be severe. During detox, it may be best for you to stay in a treatment centre where you can be monitored and assisted by medical professionals when the withdrawal symptoms set in.

Upon completion of the detox period, you may be asked to undergo pharmacological treatment and behavioural therapy. An example of pharmacological treatment is the use of a synthetic opiate such as methadone, which blocks heroin's effects and minimises withdrawal symptoms. Another example is buprenorphine, which can help treat heroin addiction and addiction to other opiates.

Many types of behavioural therapies that can be used for treating heroin addiction, and they can be provided in either an inpatient or an outpatient setting. Cognitive behavioural therapy is one of them, and it teaches you better ways to cope with stress and situations that can trigger drug use. The therapy seeks to help you modify your behaviour towards drugs, too. Cognitive behavioural therapy has been found to be effective when combined with pharmacological treatment.

Some of the best treatment centres offer specialised treatment programmes, too, such as music therapy and equine assisted therapy. These methods of treatment may help you learn more about yourself, understand why you behave the way you do, and face life without drugs.

Some Effective Methods for Drug Addiction Treatment

When it comes to treating drug addiction, many experts recommend checking into a rehabilitation facility where you can undergo a safe and proper detox, and a therapeutic treatment programme that specialises in treatment methods that can help you recover and overcome the addiction. Look for treatment centres that provide non-cognitive treatment programmes to go alongside the medical and cognitive treatment methods for drug addiction. Here are some of them:

Equine Assisted Therapy

This type of therapy involves the help of horses and is designed to make you realise your worth, know yourself, and change the way you deal with personal issues. It is believed that horses can help you realise your authentic self because they do not judge, challenge, or confront you. The honesty, genuineness, and openness of horses can help you feel more at ease with yourself and with people around you. Treatment centres that provide equine-assisted therapy generally won’t require you to have riding skills or prior experience in interacting with horses. You just need to have the desire and willingness to change.

Music Therapy

This is another non-cognitive behavioural therapy that can be offered in a treatment centre. Music therapy seeks to help you learn a better way to be sensitive your own needs and to other people's needs. If applied to the recovery process, it can help you cope with severe emotional states. Music is believed to be nurturing and helpful in soothing your sensitivity and preventing or at least reducing anxiety. Participants in music therapy would usually feel more empowered and joyful, and they can have more compassion for others and themselves, too.

Trauma Reduction

Some drug addictions manifest from an individuals need to self-medicate negative thoughts and feelings, which are often caused by specific types of traumatic experiences in one's life. Trauma reduction therapy can be helpful in making the drug addiction treatment successful. This type of therapy seeks to help identify and deal with traumatic issues from childhood and painful life experiences.

Understanding The Need for Addiction Counselling

Counselling is among the most important aspects of drug and alcohol addiction treatment, making it a crucial part of every successful addiction treatment program. People who are addicted to drugs or alcohol go through various types of addiction counselling, with individual counselling, group therapy, and family counselling being some of the most common ones offered. Different methods that can be used in counselling sessions, but they all aim to assist addicts in changing their behavioural patterns to stop drug addiction and alcohol abuse, and to learn to live more productive and healthier lives.

• Counselling improves the motivation of the client to recover. Proper counselling can help addicts realise the negative effects of addiction to their lives and urge them to improve and make better decisions to recover.
• Counselling teaches clients the necessary skills to quit drugs and alcohol to avoid a relapse. Cognitive behavioural therapy can help you cope with cravings, handle negative feelings well, and prevent yourself from relapsing.
• Non –cognitive therapies are often more affective for clients that experienced trauma and are shut down in their ability to openly share their thoughts and express their feelings and emotions. EMDR, equine, psychodrama and music therapies are often the gateway therapies that enable clients to engage in more cognitive methods of therapy, such as 12 step facilitation and group therapy.
• Counselling encourages the client's participation in support groups. This approach can help you recognise that you are not alone and that you are not the only one going through the recovery process. You might feel alone in your addiction, so group therapy makes you see that you do not have to feel that way, and that there are others who share your issues.
• Counselling uses positive incentives to promote recovery and facilitate behavioural changes in the client. Recovery is a long-term process that requires you to be extremely patient and committed to getting better, there are good rehabilitation programs that provide you with small incentives to make you feel proud of your accomplishments.
• Counselling involves close friends and family members in some activities. If a parent, sibling, or close friend is willing to learn about your addiction and has the willingness to participate in your recovery process, your chances of recovering can be higher because you know that you have all the support that you need through difficult times.

Common Facilities Provided In a Drug Rehabilitation Centre

Entering a drug rehabilitation centre is a preferred way to get started in the recovery process. With the help of drug rehab, you can learn ways to cope with your inner demons, deal with your problems, and identify the risks of taking drugs. Long-term recovery and relapse prevention are among the goals of drug rehabilitation. If you are staying in a residential drug rehabilitation centre, you want to make sure that you can get the most of the experience—perhaps even feel at home. Here are the common facilities you can expect in a drug rehabilitation centre:

Detox Facility

There are drug rehabilitation centres with detox facilities that help you completely stop using drugs the moment you check in. You will be monitored round the clock by qualified and specialist staff and evaluated by physicians to make sure that the withdrawal symptoms are managed and tolerable.

Counselling Facilities

There are individual counselling rooms and larger rooms where group therapy can be hosted by a qualified psychiatrist or counsellor.

Private Rooms

Many drug rehabilitation centre provide private rooms to their patients or where appropriate or requested sharing will be made possible. This allows you to have more time for yourself and reflect when you need to.

Other Facilities

Of course, a drug rehabilitation centre will not be complete without common areas like a dining room and living room where you can play games or read books.

Special Facilities

There are drug rehabilitation centres with specialised facilities like a music room for music therapy sessions, as well as stables where equine assisted therapy can be conducted.

Dimensions of the Anorexia Treatment

Treatment for anorexia has many different dimensions, mostly because programs have to address all the underlying mental and emotional health issues in addition to the physical manifestations of the disorder. Moreover, there are issues that date as far back as the patient's childhood, which greatly affects his or her self perception and image.

Anorexia is more than just an eating disorder—it is a preoccupation to achieve a certain physical state or appearance. It takes over more than just a person's eating habits—it also dominates their thoughts and their life. The desire to lose weight and stay thin becomes the most important goal in an anorexic's life, even more important than his or her health and well-being. Anorexia is a very serious eating disorder and it can affect men and women across all ages. It is a health-damaging condition that can threaten your life through malnutrition and development of many other diseases because of the physical abuse that the body receives.

Fortunately, there is a way to beat this condition. Most of the time, treatment for anorexia does not require hospitalization (except for cases where the client is extremely underweight or has developed severe medical problems). Once he or she has regained a healthy weight and disposition, real treatment for the condition can start. Most anorexia treatments are threefold and include (1) medical treatment, (2) behavioural counselling, and (3) nutritional counselling.

Medical treatment addresses malnutrition and other medical conditions that might have been caused by the suppression of nutrients and physical abuse to the body, like osteoporosis, immune system and metabolic problems, heart diseases, and others. Nutritional counselling involves talking with a dietician or a qualified professional to determine safe ways to regain weight and take charge of your eating patterns. Behavioural counselling involves therapies that address your behavioural and psychological issues that may have been contributing to the eating disorder.

Alcohol Detox Offers Best Treatment Facilities

When you have developed a strong dependency on alcohol, where your body cannot function well without consuming certain amounts of the substance, it can be very hard to take the habit away without experiencing some kind of withdrawal. Symptoms may start to appear even after just 3 to 8 hours of your last drink as the effects of alcohol on your system starts to wear off. This is why it is best to detoxify with the help of expert professionals in a proper rehab facility, where you can be well cared for as you experience mild to severe withdrawal symptoms.

Some common withdrawal symptoms that you might experience may include feeling sick, sweating, trembling, strong alcohol craving, or feeling nauseated. Convulsions may also occur in extreme cases. Someone who is trying to quit drinking on his own may end up succumbing to alcohol use yet again after experiencing these discomforts in an attempt to ease or prevent the symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms generally last 5 to 7 days after your last intake of alcohol, but some cases may take longer to wear off, especially when alcohol use has been severe.

Delirium tremens is the more severe withdrawal reaction after ceasing alcohol intake. It happens to about 1 in 20 cases of alcohol withdrawal, usually 2 to 3 days after the last drink. Symptoms of DT may include shakes (marked tremor), delirium, and convulsions, which may lead complications like dehydration and some serious physical problems. In more severe cases, DT can be fatal, which makes checking into a professional detox facility all the more advisable, especially when the abuse is also severe.

Detox may involve a short course of medication aide, which helps in preventing withdrawal symptoms. It also involves administration of a healthier diet and other regimens to help keep and/or restore a healthier body. Detox is a necessary step to recovery, as procedures and methodologies have better chances of success when the patient is in shape and free from the influence of alcohol or drugs as he or she goes through the recovery process.