Drug addiction treatment centers across the nation have seen double digit increases in the individuals that are seeking Methamphetamine (also known as Meth) addiction treatment. Methamphetamine is a drug that keeps the user craving for more - sometimes as soon as the end of the last dose. When in the depths of such an overpowering drug addiction, Meth users are not able to stop using the drug on their own, and they must seek professional meth addiction treatment. What makes meth such an attractive high? Meth users report that after taking the drug they experience a sudden "rush" of pleasure and a sense of euphoria, as well as increased energy, focus, confidence, and feelings of sexual desirability. However, after that first experience in taking meth, users require more and more to get that initial feeling again, and maintain it. With repeated use, meth exacts a terrible toll on the mind and body. Unless an individual seeks meth addiction treatment, they will be robbed of their physical health and cognitive abilities, physical attractiveness will be devastated, and they will lose the ability to experience pleasure in the absence of the drug. When Meth addicts do attempt to quit without professional support, they find themselves experiencing extremely uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms. According to Erowid a drug information clearinghouse, these withdrawal symptoms include anxiety, compulsive eating, depression, excessive sleeping and intense craving.
Many meth addiction treatment providers have described methamphetamine abusers as "the hardest to treat" of all drug users. They are often overly excitable and "very resistant to any form of treatment once the acute effects of meth use have gone away." Meth addicts get over the acute effects of withdrawal fairly quickly. Methamphetamine use causes a variety of mental, physical, and social problems which may prompt entry into meth addiction treatment. Though not as expensive as heroin and cocaine and some other illicit drugs, the cost of meth might also produce financial problems for users and prompt them to seek meth addiction treatment .However, the most commonly reported reason why methamphetamine users enter treatment is legal problems. These legal problems that prompt the user to seek meth addiction treatment include bizarre and aggressive behaviors that cause people that are watching to be scared enough to call the police.
The meth addiction treatment process suggested for an individual that is addicted to the toxic drug is usually a long term residential inpatient program. The cognitive-behavioral therapy is effective as it not only helps to detox the addict from meth, but also takes care to provide the individual with relapse prevention tools to help them to stay sober after treatment. The inpatient meth addiction treatment program is by far the most effective form of treatment for methamphetamine addiction. Meth addiction treatment starts with withdrawal and detox and then goes into a complete drug rehab program.
Meth Detox
Detox is the first step in meth addiction treatment .An individual in meth addiction treatment must complete withdrawal and detox before the rest of the rehab process can begin. Meth detox can be accomplished in a variety of settings, depending on how medically compromised a person's health is. Meth detox settings include medical hospitals and alcohol and drug detox treatment facilities. The goal of meth detox is to rid the body of the toxins accumulated by meth use. The cleansing of the system that takes place during meth detox helps reduce the risk of relapse during treatment and represents the defeat of the physical addiction to drugs. The first step of drug detox within a drug treatment program is drug withdrawal. The definition of withdrawal is "Discontinuation of the use of meth, and the physiological and mental readjustment that accompanies such discontinuation." Once an individual has stopped using meth, physical and behavioral withdrawal symptoms may follow.
The severity and length of symptoms in withdrawal from meth vary with the amount of damage done to the normal reward system through long term methamphetamine use. During this meth addiction treatment withdrawal period, recovering addicts feel depressed, fuzzyheaded, and think life isn't as pleasurable without the drug. The most common symptoms in meth addiction treatment detox are: drug craving, extreme irritability, loss of energy, depression, fearfulness, excessive drowsiness or difficulty in sleeping, shaking, nausea, palpitations, sweating, hyperventilation, and increased appetite. The professionals at a meth addiction treatment center have experience with all of the aspects of a meth detox.
In terms of comprehensive programs, there are two basic forms of meth addiction drug treatment: outpatient and residential. Within these two program types, there are an almost endless number of treatment styles but most come within the scope of these two styles.
Residential drug treatment- The most powerful form of meth addiction treatment available is inpatient residential drug rehab. This type of meth addiction treatment represents round the clock, live in care at a facility away from the individual's home environment. By temporarily relocating to the facility, the individual is able to shut out all the distractions in their life and focus solely on recovery from meth addiction. Another advantage of residential meth addiction treatment is that it provides much needed structure, when the individual is coming out of the chaos of meth addiction.
Outpatient drug treatment- Many individuals can neither afford, nor find the time to drop everything and enter into a residential meth addiction treatment program. For their personal circumstances, they feel that outpatient care offers the best alternative. In the case of meth addiction treatment, by far long term residential meth addiction treatment has had the highest rate of success. Outpatient meth addiction treatment features all the key elements of drug treatment in a condensed version. Treatment takes place during the day so that the individual is free to return home in the evening, at which time an individual may not be able to withstand the temptation to use meth.
With help from a professional drug addiction treatment center, a person can recover from Meth addiction. In a drug rehab, an individual will be able to detox in a supportive environment, increasing their chances of recovery. Meth addiction treatment facilities offer clients the opportunity to be free of this dangerous drug that has caused such destruction to their lives.