How hard can it be to quit an addiction? If you aren't clear about how addiction works, it's possible that you place your faith in willpower, and entertain doubts over the necessity of long periods of rehab therapy. Nevertheless, there is one area of the process of ending an addiction that there can be little doubt of -- the painful withdrawal symptoms that show up in the initial stages when one quits. Most people who attempt to quit under their own steam and without the aid of medical treatment do not succeed. They return to drug use partway through the process, or they return at a later time. Still, others try their best to persevere but succumb to one of the more dangerous effects of withdrawal. Not only is quitting without medical help dangerous, it doesn't succeed. If you are serious about quitting, you need to find good medical detox centers in Hampton.
A Scientific study of the addiction phenomenon has uncovered a great deal of detail about what exactly happens in addiction. Gaining an understanding of the process can be vital to being effective directing your treatment in the right way.
People begin to use excessive quantities of addictive substance for various reasons. None of these reasons, however, are attributable to actual, conscious, personal choice. In more than half of all cases of addiction, psychiatric disorders are to blame; genetic causes sometimes play a part, and psychological disturbances and related problems are to blame for the vast majority of cases.
Whatever the reason, excessive use of these substances has definite effects on the brain -- it causes damage to the brain's ability to exercise self-restraint or gain awareness of the harm caused by drugs. Once such damage occurs, it becomes impossible for the substance abuser to exercise any kind of self-restraint. Even once a person does successfully manage to leave drugs behind, cravings can pursue them for life.
When you wish to quit drugs, however, the challenge that is of immediate concern comes from the pain and other withdrawal symptoms. These happen simply because drugs and alcohol have effects very similar to those of natural brain chemicals. For this reason, when drugs are used, they become a part of the way the brain functions. When ending drug use removes these drugs, the brain goes into chemical disruption, experiencing terrible symptoms.
With most drugs, chemical disruption in the brain begins within hours of quitting. The brain begins to sense great disturbances in its chemical balance and begins to work hard to correct things. Imbalances occur then, that cause a number of symptoms. The severity of these symptoms depends on how long one has been addicted, and a number of drugs that one has used.
With simple, light addiction, one may experience nothing more than a headache, nausea or anxiety. With deeper addictions, withdrawal may include tremors, a terrible body ache, headaches, and an inability to sleep for days. In the deepest addictions, there may be seizures and hallucinations. A heart attack is sometimes possible, as well. Some people do die when they try to quit a drug too abruptly.
Withdrawal symptoms that come from quitting, are artifacts of the brain's chemical disruption -- they are a chemical problem. This means that they can be helped with chemical intervention. This is exactly what happens in drug and alcohol medical detox. Experts carefully study each patient individually, determine the details of the drugs used, among other details, and carefully device a withdrawal plan.
The patient's drug intake is gradually tapered off, and various medications are offered for different symptoms that show up. Methadone, Suboxone, and naltrexone are maintenance drugs that may be prescribed to help with cravings in some cases. Medications are prescribed to keep cardiac activity at a normal level, to ensure that the patient is able to sleep, that panic, anxiety or nausea are calmed and so on. Most of these medications tend to not be available to those who will attempt to quit at home.
Addiction treatment in Hampton for medical detox can take a process that is life-threatening and painful, and turn it into an entirely manageable experience. When there is such quality medical detox available, more people addicted demonstrate their willingness to quit.
A quick search for the best medical detox centers in Hampton should throw up all kinds of results. It can be hard to know what to choose. A few tips are in order.
With a little care taken when you find medical detox in Hampton, and long-term sobriety should be within reach. Call Hampton Drug Rehab Centers now for help (877) 804-1531.