Drug abuse is characterized by the excessive use of illegal drugs, prescription drugs or even over-the-counter drugs. Drug abuse eventually leads to drug dependency whereby the drug begins to take control over you and affects your daily activities as well as your physical health.

Treatment

Treatment of drug abuse normally involves a series of steps to be undertaken. These are:

1. Group therapy
2. Counseling
3. Drug addiction

Furthermore, treatment of drug abuse generally follows a 12-step program which continues even after the treatment as a part of the recovery process.

Detoxification

Detoxification, or simply detox, is a procedure involving medical care while attempting to deal with withdrawal symptoms after your initial break from drug use. Since dealing with withdrawal symptoms can be quite problematic, you will certainly have to consult a doctor who will probably prescribe you certain medications.

Therapy
There are different types of therapy needed to overcome the problem of drug abuse. These include:

1. Group therapy, where you can interact your problems with other people who are going through the same ordeal.

2. Motivational interviewing (mi), where you can resolve mixed feelings with regard to quitting and treatment.

3. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), where you can learn to take control over your actions as well as change your thought and behavior pattern in order to adjust to a drug-free life.

4. Motivational enhancement therapy (met), where motivational interviewing is used to help give you more motivation with respect to quitting drug consumption.

5. Family counseling, or even couples therapy, where you can learn how to stay drug-free as well as improve your relationship with your family members or with your partner.

Treatment programs

Treatment programs are often similar to therapies and are classified into three types:

1. Inpatient treatment
2. Outpatient treatment
3. Residential treatment.

How to Treat Drug Abuse

The World Health Organization defines Alcoholism as, chronic continual drinking, frequent episodes of intoxication, and preoccupation with alcohol, despite the adverse affects of it. It lays the perspective Alcoholics Anonymous (1939)-that alcoholism, characterized by the individual s loss of control over drinking and thus over his or her life, was a sickness -was carried into the scholarly literature in the 1950s in the form of the disease concept of alcoholism.

Alcoholism is on the rise as per the current global scenario. In fact, one of the main concerns after cigarette smoking is that of consuming excessive alcohol. Those who consume alcohol in an excessive quantity often create health hazards for themselves, and their behaviour makes it difficult for those who live in their immediate surroundings. For most people, a rehabilitation centre is the only option to treat alcoholism. But this is not so.

Homoeopathy too can effectively treat the problem of alcoholism. There are certain medicines which work wonders in getting you rid of this bad habit.

Nux Vomica: When your alcoholism is in its earliest stages, then it becomes easier to leave this addiction. For those people who have just started to fall prey to alcohol, Nux Vomica is a wonder medicine. It is administered for faster relief against your drinking problem. It starts showing its effects within a month s time.
Sulphur: Sulphur is a medicine which helps in curing many health issues. It is mostly prescribed to those who have started experiencing liver issues due to excessive drinking. One of the vital organs of the body, the liver, is affected when you drink excessively. Thus, to prevent degeneration of the liver, sulphur is usually prescribed.
Cannabis Indica: Marijuana is often treated as a medicinal plant. There are many extracts derived from this plant which is later on used to make many useful medicines. One such homoeopathic medicine is Cannabis Indica. It helps in not only detoxing the body against the ill effects of alcoholism but also helps in preventing associated symptoms to show up.
Natrum Mur: This medicine is derived from the extracts of what you know to be simple common salt. Once consumed it helps in blood cell production, cellular regulation, and albumin production. These help in coping up with extreme alcoholism. At times, alcoholism is triggered in people due to depression. Natrum Mur also helps in coping up with depression.
Avena Sativa: This is derived from the oat leaves. Just as oats themselves are considered to be one of the healthiest foods to consume, this medicine made from the oat leaves is no less. It helps to relax the senses and detoxifies the body against alcohol.
Acid Sulph.: A marvelous medicine if the patient has the family history of alcholism.
Quercus: Works wonderfully in mother tincture form.
Thus, these are some of the most important medicines that are administered on those who suffer from the problem of alcoholism. If you or any of your near ones have fallen prey to this habit, then it is recommended that you immediately take help of your homoeopathic practitioner to help you out of alcoholism.

Note: There are certain organizations that are actively helping people with alcholism and their families. A few are:

Brahmakumaris
Alcholic anonymus
Al-anon family group
Click, If you wish to consult for alcohol addiction and hangover symptoms.

Alcohol Addiction And Ways Homeopathy Can Help You Leaving It!

Drug addiction is an addiction of a very severe kind. This causes the sufferer i. E. The drug addict to seek and use drugs compulsively despite the destructive consequences to themselves and those around them. This is known as a chronic brain disease because of the functional and structural changes it causes in the brain. It is the overpowering dependence on illegal or legal medications and drugs. One cannot quit taking drugs just by strong will or good intentions. Ayurveda's holistic method combines exercises, meditation, and herbal medicines to cure addiction towards drugs.

Ayurvedic remedies:

Panchakarma therapies-only an ayurvedic expert should perform the panchakarma therapies and rituals on you. It promotes cleanliness and helps in detoxifying the body. These therapies are done using various herbs and oils in accordance with the ancient traditions to eliminate negative conditions.
Virechana-it is the most useful panchakarma therapy to treat addiction. Virechana is known to cleanse the gastro-intestinal tract and purify the blood of toxins of a period of a few days. It helps decontaminate your spleen, stomach, liver, kidneys, colon, intestines and sweat glands through varied herbs and laxatives such as castor oil, mango juice, raisins, cow's milk, psyllium seeds, flaxseed husk, prune and senna.
Rasayana therapies-rasayana therapy is another very useful ayurvedic treatment for treating drug abuse and addiction. It is based upon the transmutation and conservation of energy to improve the mental as well as physical characteristics in order to increase your body's natural metabolic processes while enhancing your immune system and brain function. Rasayana therapy consists of intricate face, head and full body massages which are combined with medicated creams and herb oils. This therapy is also useful to remove artificial aging which occurs due to prolonged drug abuse.
Yoga-the chaotic chemicals are known to wreak havoc on the drug addict's brain during the process of recovery. Resorting to exercise or yoga will help generate extra endorphins which are very helpful for clarity. To recover from drug addiction, you must join a structured yoga class along with other ayurvedic therapies. Yoga is beneficial since it stimulates every part of your body without applying too much stress on any one part.

Ayurvedic Remedies for Drug Addiction

Little or limited caffeine amount can definitely boost energy levels, but an excessive amount might lead to addiction, which is really quite a serious issue. This addiction cannot be kicked away with medications and rather you have to follow the natural ways. Practicing yoga asanas is one of the most improved solutions that can help you to get rid of acute or severe caffeine addiction and that too in a natural way without inviting any unhealthy side effects.

5 leading asanas that can help avoid caffeine addiction:

Mayurasana: This asana is mainly well known as the Peacock pose. The pose is very much useful for maintaining digestive and circulatory functions. The hands should be clasped backside and you should bend your head towards your feet. Standing straight is needed and you have to take deep breaths at the time of holding back the concerned posture.
Chakrasana: This is nothing, but a wheel pose which helps in system detoxification and toxin release. Your thyroid and pituitary glands will get naturally stimulated as a result of this pose. Extending arms overhead by keeping feet together you can perform this pose. You should bend backwards with your face down towards the floor, and you have to use your palms for support.
Sarvangasana: This pose needs to be done by keeping your shoulders in support. Without using yoga mats, this pose cannot be performed comfortably. Parathyroid and thyroid glands are stimulated along with the normalization of different body functions. Relief from constipation and indigestion can be gained from this pose. Keeping your shoulders in support, the legs should be extended upwards at 90-degree angle. The shoulders should take your full body weight at the time of doing this asana.
Halasana: This plough pose can help in reducing lethargy, fatigue and stress. Your nervous system can be calmed down, and you will feel completely relaxed. Energy channels of your body can be easily opened up by practicing this asana regularly. In this case, legs should be bended at your hips so that the legs can be flat over the ground. You should keep your hands beside your body.
Nadi-sodhan Pranayama: if you have got accumulated stress, then nothing can be a better option other than doing this asana. Both body and mind get completely relaxed as a result of practicing this pose. In this case, breathing patterns or techniques can be corrected along with the balancing of the nadis. You have to get a proper guidance in order to perform it in a correct manner.

Are You a Caffeine Addict? These 5 Yoga Asanas Will Help You Kick the Habit

Recently the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) published a journal claiming that addiction is a complex disease rather than a voluntary condition. The journal also mentioned that for decades, the approach towards recovery from addiction has been mismanaged.

Addiction is treated as a disease now. Pharmaceutical approach and therapy have been quite popular since the last few decades, but is there a better alternative to treating addiction and helping in recovery?

Alternative treatments for curing addiction have been in works since quite a while. Acupuncture is one such approach that has been found to be very effective when it comes to treating people with addiction and helping them to recover.

What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese healing method that involves stimulating different sections of the body in order to manipulate the body to harness energy and healing powers. This method includes insertion of long sterilized needles in certain parts of the body. An Acupuncture specialist carefully does it in a painless way. During an acupuncture session, the practitioner may also use other methods like Cupping and Massage.

The main ideology behind Acupuncture is balancing the QI energy that flows through human bodies. To harness and balance this energy, Acupuncture requires stimulation in different sections of the body, like the Cardiovascular system, Endocrine system, Nervous system and Immune system.



How does Acupuncture help in Addiction?

To understand Acupuncture s role in addiction, it is first important to understand what addiction does to a human body.

Addiction causes a major damage to the Endocrine system; it disrupts the balance of the hormones that are responsible for happiness and wellbeing of a person. This disruption of balance leads the person to go haywire and drop into a pitfall of bad decisions.

Acupuncture helps in restoration of that balance in the body. Multiple studies have shown that Acupuncture helps in restoring the Endocrine system, especially the Dopamine hormone (hormone responsible for happiness).

This involves inserting sterilized needles in the specific spots in the body, which are responsible for Dopamine release. After the Dopamine levels in the body have been elevated, the person suffering from addiction deals better with the withdrawal symptoms.

Is Acupuncture Effective with Addiction?  

Acupuncture is used as a treatment for Smoking Cessation. A group of smokers were gathered for a survey. This people in this group were trying different methods like medicines, Nicotine patches and e-cigarettes. The results weren t very effective at first Then, Acupuncture became a part of this treatment. The survey found out that people who used Acupuncture along with these treatments showed better results than people who only used conventional methods.

Though acupuncture has proven to be very effective when combined with other treatments, it is important to remember that it isn t a cure for Addiction by itself. Consulting an experienced Acupuncture practitioner who deals with addiction can help a person effectively get out of addiction.

Addiction -How Can Acupuncture Help In Getting Rid Of It? 

While we all know substance abuse is a social issue and learning that a loved one is affected by the problem can be nearly heart-breaking. It is definitely not something that can be easily accepted. At the same time, the affected individual needs all your love and attention and more importantly support to get through the situation. It is important to not show anger or frustration at the person but to empathize and help them get out of the situation. 

Read on to know some of the ways in which you can play an active role in supporting your loved one under such circumstances. This involves both of you coping with the situation at hand, as well as helping the person come out of the abuse. 

Educate yourself: When you are trying to help a person, you should know in detail about the substance that was being used and its ill effects. This gives you greater credibility, unlike the person who got carried with the happy feeling it gave and got into abuse. 
Ensure safety: This is both for the affected individual and yourself. With the required substance not being available, the person could look at harming either self or others, especially ones who are trying to get them out of the abuse. Though the intent is to help, they are looked at as people who are depriving the feel-good feeling produced by the substance, which is no longer easily available. Therefore, ensure safety. 
Talk openly: In the beginning, be a good listener. Once you get their confidence, make them understand that the entire situation is making you upset and perhaps angry or frustrated too. Get them to focus on your proposal of getting out of the habit together. If they are willing then this can ensure greater success in quitting the habit. Get to understand how exactly the habit developed including the people responsible for it, the circumstances leading to it, and the various chemicals that were used. The duration and frequency are also important. Tell them it is okay and that you will both get out of it with each other s support. 
Participate in therapy sessions: Individual counseling will work effectively for the primary client, but it is also important for family members to get involved. The counselor also would need support beyond the few counseling hours for completely getting rid of an individual s habit. Therapy can help you learn how to manage the issues back at home. 
Find your  me-time : With all that is going on, you will need some time for yourself to just be. Eat well, stick to your workouts, sleep well, keep your friends, and make time for your hobbies. These will ensure you are in good shape to support the affected individual. It is not possible for you to help another person when you are not in great shape yourself.

Substance Abuse - How Should You Cope With Someone Going Through It?

Don't wait any longer, manage your Masochism Addiction online with a Lybrate doctor today

Consult for Masochism Addiction - Online and Easy!

FilterClear All

COMMON SPECIALITIES

COMMON ISSUES