Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Getting Counseling For An Opium Addiction

Anybody who is addicted to drugs like opium needs to get help.  No matter what treatment option a person chooses, counseling will be part of the recovery process.  There are many types of counseling available.  These include in-patient, out-patient, group and individual counseling.

Individual therapy may be received on an out-patient basis or during a stay at a rehab facility.  The latter is called in-patient treatment.  Typically counseling begins during or after detox.

Detox is the process of getting the drugs and/or alcohol out of the patient's system.  Most rehab centers treat the symptoms of opiates withdrawal with prescription medication.  This combined with counseling will reduce the risk of the addict turning to drugs in the future.

Leaving rehab does not mean that the addict is cured.  Staying clean is a lifelong struggle as addicts can relapse at any time.  It is for this reason that addicts sometimes continue counseling long after they have left rehab.

Group therapy is useful as addicts find comfort in knowing that there are others who share the same struggles as themselves.  Having the support of people who do not judge them also helps.  In fact support is what makes programs like Narcotics Anonymous successful.

For most addicts, a big roadblock they will face is getting funds for therapy.  If addicts are worrying about how they will pay for treatment, they should contact their health insurer.  Some insurance policies will cover treatment and/or counseling.

If the addict does not have health insurance, he or she may need to borrow money for treatment.  While this is not ideal, it may be the only road to recovery.  When push comes to shove, the addict's future is more important than a short term loan.  There are also low-cost and free options available to those who are willing to find them.

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Cocaine: Psychiatric Disorders And How To Recover


Cocaine is a powerful stimulant that is highly addictive. It is derived from coca leaves. When taken, it causes various effects such as increased alertness, energy, short term euphoria and talkativeness. During a comedown, the drug is known to cause feelings of paranoia, anxiety and restlessness to a user. When the usage of the drug is excessive, the effects include; convulsions, tremors and increased blood pressure and heart rate which might cause cardiac arrest that may lead to death.

Psychiatric Disorders

The fore mentioned effects can result to cocaine- related psychiatric disorders which are 10 in number namely; cocaine intoxication, cocaine-induced sexual dysfunction, cocaine intoxication delirium, cocaine-induced sleep disorder, cocaine-induced psychotic disorder with delusions, cocaine-induced psychotic disorder with hallucinations, cocaine withdrawal, cocaine-induced anxiety disorder, cocaine-induced mood disorder and cocaine-related disorder not otherwise  specified.

All these disorders have unique symptoms and effect on mental health of a person. Therefore the recovery program for each of the disorder is distinctive. Below is a characteristic of each of the disorders;

Intoxication

Cocaine intoxication results when an individual has used the stimulant recently and has clear signs of unusual behavioral changes as mentioned above. When a person experiences extreme thought impairment, then this is cocaine intoxication delirium. As the name suggests, cocaine induced sexual dysfunction results to a person being distressed/disrupted when it comes to sex.

Withdrawal From Cocaine

As for cocaine withdrawal, this occurs after one stops the usage of this drug. The symptoms include; abnormal fatigue, depression, suicidal thoughts, insomnia among other effects.  For the sleep disorder, an individual will have disrupted sleeping patterns. When it comes to the induced psychotic disorder with hallucinations and with delusions, a person experiences that which is not reality.

Anxiety

The anxiety disorder causes one to be extremely anxious and cocaine induced mood condition causes change of mood every now and then. Lastly all cocaine-related psychiatric disorders not elsewhere classified fall under disorders not otherwise specified.

How To Recover

When it comes to recovery, the treatment modes will combine the use of sedative drugs, outpatient and inpatient psychiatric treatment, close observations by a doctor among other measures. There is usually a high chance of relapse with this drug. For this reason there is need for the addict to join a long term 12 step self help group as well as a therapist conducting periodic psychiatric evaluation on the patient.

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