If your drug and alcohol use has gotten out of hand, getting help for addiction could help you overcome, heal, and learn to live without these harmful substances. Getting addiction treatment may be a difficult decision to make, but it might save your life. Reach out to A Better State online, or you call us at 781.412.1488 today to learn how our addiction treatment program can be where your path to a happier, healthier life begins.
What Is Addiction?
Addiction is a chronic medical disease that involves brain circuitry, genetics, your physical environment, and your unique set of life experiences. Most importantly, getting help for substance abuse is possible because the disease of addiction is treatable. Thankfully, there are professional treatment programs available at A Better State, meaning that getting help for addiction is just a phone call away.
Knowing the Signs of Addiction
Acknowledging your addiction is the first step to getting help for substance abuse. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is the standard diagnostic tool published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and is widely used by medical and mental health professionals for diagnosing drug addiction and determining whether you need skilled medical attention in getting help for addiction. There are currently 11 criteria for diagnosing drug addiction.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, at least two of the following must be present in a year to be considered having an addiction to drugs:
- Inability to stop using drugs despite a strong desire, or even many attempts, to do so
- Taking more drugs at a time or more, taking them more often than originally intended
- Drug cravings
- A great deal of time is spent working on ways to obtain drugs, use them, and recover from drug use.
- Social and recreational activities that were previously a priority are no longer valued, and participation in them is often replaced by activities related to drug abuse.
- Repeatedly using drugs in situations that are deemed hazardous or physically dangerous.
- Despite the negative impact on relationships and the adverse social ramifications, continued drug use
- Continued use of drugs despite the knowledge that using them is creating emotional, social, and physical consequences
- Failure to consistently attend to important work, school, and family obligations as a result of drug abuse
- Drug tolerance is indicated by regular drug use having less effect and the need to take more to feel intoxicated.
- Drug withdrawal symptoms may include gastrointestinal upset, headaches, depression, anxiety, insomnia, irregular heart rate, blood pressure, irritability, agitation, and fatigue when the drug wears off.
If you see yourself in two or more of the above scenarios, it is time to start getting addiction treatment. The steps to overcoming, healing, and recovering from drug addiction begin at A Better State.
Your Best Chance For Recovery
If you have an addiction and want to get clean, detox, or rehab, an addiction treatment program could be your best chance for recovery. Beating an addiction to drugs or alcohol requires eliminating the physical dependence on the substances and addressing the behavioral issues, past trauma, and triggers that have and are leading to your addiction. Quitting cold turkey will not change the psychological aspect of addiction and could be dangerous when attempted alone. Getting help for addiction involves changing the way you think, feel, and behave every single day of your life. It’s difficult to address the psychological side of addiction without help from trained, caring, and compassionate team professionals.
To eliminate your physical dependence on drugs and alcohol, you will first experience a medical detox. Medically assisted detox is safer than trying to quit on your own because skilled professionals will be there with you, getting addiction treatment you need to help with any withdrawal symptoms. Getting help for substance abuse by going through a A Better State addiction treatment program will help you get clean and teach you essential coping mechanisms and life skills to stay clean. You will also build a vital support network that will be there for you during your successes and failures in long-term recovery.
Learn More at A Better State
Getting help for addiction today could be a life-saving decision. You don’t need to suffer through substance abuse alone, and you don’t need to try to quit without professional care. Contact us using our secure online form or call us at 781.412.1488 today to get the expert treatment you need and deserve.
