How Treatment Centers Help With Opioid Addiction

There are a staggering amount of people who are addicted to opioids in the United States, and the number is only growing. It is an epidemic, and there are new synthetic opioids such as fentanyl that is emerging. In 2016 overdose deaths increased by 21.5 percent according to the CDC. The problem doesn't look like it's going to get better anytime soon, either.

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Luckily, addiction is a treatable as well as preventable disease. It is estimated that almost 64,000 Americans die of a drug overdose involving a prescription or illicit drug in 2016 alone. New drugs like fentanyl which are 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine are party to blame.

There are many different medications that are effective at helping those addicted to opioids to get off the drug, but it is often necessary for there to be a combination of both medication as well as therapy. With any addiction, there is normally an underlying problem that caused a person to begin using in the first place. It could be that they were depressed or that they have a painful past that they are trying to escape.


When you take that person off of their "self-treatment," they are often likely to relapse. They simply do not know how to deal with all of the emotions as well as the withdrawal symptoms that come flooding in when there's an absence of the opioids or other substance to help numb the pain. They don't know where to turn. When you take someone off of their drug or other substance, everything is much more magnified as well, and they can be overwhelming. It can be helpful to be able to talk to others who are going through the same thing in a support group. Treatment centers are often centered around therapy and support groups such as https://www.harrishousestl.org

Treatment centers are often very effective because they not only treat the addiction but they also deal with the underlying situations that can be in the present or in the past. Patients learn how to cope without the use of opioids, and they also learn the different triggers for them and how to deal with them in alternative ways.

A treatment center offers the tools needed to overcome addiction as well as provides the support system that the patients need in order to feel love when they may not be able to get it elsewhere. Sadly, not everyone has a good, strong support system at home or know anyone who genuinely cares about their well-being. Many addicts simply know their dealer and other addicts since their lives are so deeply involved in their addition.

An addiction recovery center shows its patients how to live again and without any judgment. Recovery from an addiction is a long and slow process. It is necessary to detox as well as to get treatment so that the brain can recover from the damage that has been done. Daily life has to be relearned, and coping skills need to be adopted.

It can take as much as an entire year to get off the medication-assisted treatment, and each path to sobriety is a different one. No one is the same, so there is no universal plan that will make everyone better. Each patient who attends a treatment center will get the one-on-one care and attention that they need, and they will also meet with a therapist to access the severity of their addiction before deciding on a treatment plan. It is also best to involve the family if they are going to be supportive as well as friends who care about the well-being of the person attending treatment.

In many instances, family and friends are the ones to get the patient to get treatment in the first place, so it is important to have them involved in the life of the patient. Loved ones of the patient are going to help support them once they get out of the rehabilitation center and they are going to have to be a strong support system for the patient. It can be difficult to resume life after a crippling addiction, and it may be best to cut ties with former acquaintances if they are still addicted to a substance so as not to be a bad influence.

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