Suffering from Drug Addiction? You Need Drug Detoxification! (Part 1)

A drug by broad definition is any substance that when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. In pharmacology, a drug is a chemical substance used in treatment, cure, prevention or diagnosis of disease or used to otherwise enhance physical or mental well-being. It can be prescribed for a limited duration or on a regular basis for chronic disorders. Recreational drugs on the other hand are chemical substances that affect the central nervous system. They may be used for perceived beneficial effects of perception, consciousness, personality and behavior. Some drugs can cause addiction and habituation.
Addictive potency of drugs varies from substance to substance, and from individual to individual. Dose, frequency and time are critical factors for developing drug addiction. The larger the dose, the more often and longer that this habit of going the greater risk that consumption becomes an addiction.

When Should You Undergo A Drug Detoxification and Cleansing Process?

When one becomes hooked on taking a drug substance, they develop a drug addiction. A drug addiction is a pathological or abnormal condition which arises due to frequent drug use. The disorder of addiction involves the progression of acute drug use to the development of drug-seeking behavior, the vulnerability to relapse and the decreased, slowed ability to respond to naturally rewarding stimuli.

There are three stages of drug addiction as characterized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV): reoccupation/anticipation, binge/intoxication, and withdrawal/negative affect. These stages are characterized, respectively, everywhere by constant cravings and preoccupation with obtaining the substance; using more of the substance than necessary to experience the intoxicating effects; and experiencing tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, and decreased motivation for normal life activities.
Drug addiction is treated by undergoing a drug detoxification. People who have a drug addiction problem normally check in to drug detoxification centers to help them overcome their addiction.

What is a Drug Detoxification?

Recovering from drug addiction is not easy. It’s a long, hard road often accompanied by many stumbling blocks. An individual wanting to break an addiction to drugs will benefit from undertaking steps to detoxify their system and get ‘clean’. Drug detoxification or drug detox for short refers to this process. Drug detoxification is a collective of interventions directed at controlling acute drug intoxication and drug withdrawal. It refers to body cleansing of the substances to which the drug detox patient is addicted and acutely under the influence.
The process of drug detoxification focuses more on body cleansing, on lessening the physical effects caused by the addictive substances. The drug detoxification program does not necessarily treat the other aspects of drug addiction such as the psychological aspects of addiction, social factors, and the often complex behavioral issues that are intermingled with addiction.

There are three typical steps to drug detoxification:

1.    Evaluation: Upon beginning drug detoxification, a detox patient is first tested to see which specific substances are presently circulating in their bloodstream and the amount. Clinicians also evaluate the patient for potential co-occurring disorders, dual diagnosis, and mental/behavioral issues.

2.    Stabilization: In this stage, the drug detox patient is guided through the process of detoxification. Detoxification may be done with or without the use of medications but for the most part the former is more common. Also part of stabilization is explaining to the drug detox patient what to expect during treatment and the recovery process. Where appropriate, people close to the addict are brought in at this time to become involved and show support.

3.    Guiding Drug Detox Patient into Treatment: The last step of the drug detoxification process is to ready the patient for the actual recovery process. As drug detoxification only deals with the physical dependency and addition to drugs, it does not address the psychological aspects of drug addiction. This stage entails obtaining agreement from the drug detox patient to complete the process by enrolling in a drug rehabilitation program.

Learn about the importance of drug detoxification and it can help treat addiction on the second part of this article.

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