Meth Drug Treatment

Meth drug treatment is where you will delve into the root cause of your addiction and increase your ability to deal with life's stresses in a healthy manner rather than by using drugs. Meth is highly addictive and extremely difficult "to beat." Addiction to meth requires a full body detox program plus life counseling and a careful after treatment program for the recovering individual to even have a chance at rehabilitation and a normal life. At this time there are still well over 1 million people in the United States who are in need of meth drug treatment. The good news is that there is hope! Everyday, thousands are recovering from their meth addiction and getting their lives back by attending meth rehabs.

People become addicted to meth because it imitates the way the chemicals in the brain manufacture and transmit messages of gratification to the brain's pleasure center. An individual can become dependent on meth almost immediately after their first time using the drug. Researchers believe that this is because meth is able to produce a manufactured sense of pleasure due to the way it interacts with the user's brain. Similar to the body's natural hormone adrenaline, meth raises heart rates, blood pressures, and breathing rates. Due to the body's physical as well as physiological reactions to meth, the brain begins to expect the immediate gratification that it has become accustomed to. Because the use of meth produces this sense of instant gratification it becomes harder for life's normal rewards to create the same sense of pleasure.

When you go through meth drug treatment, there are a few things that you can expect to experience. First of all, you will go through detox, which involves clearing the body of toxins and leftover drug remnants. It can take anywhere from four to six weeks. The severity and length of withdrawal symptoms depends on the amount of physical, mental, and emotional damage done during use. Symptoms include: drug craving, irritability, loss of energy, depression, shaking, nausea, sweating, and fearfulness.

Although meth addicts get over the acute effects of withdrawal fairly quickly, they have to climb the "wall" to have any hope of meth recovery. This period can last anywhere from six months to three years. Effective meth drug treatment can't even begin until a user has been meth-free for an extended period of time. A relapse of meth use can occur even after a treatment program. Even after serving jail time and forcibly being without the drug for several months, many users will fall back to their addiction.

After detox is over, you could experience physical cravings for the drug for as long as a year and the cravings often intensify every three months or so. Additionally, both during and after attending meth drug treatment, there will be psychological urges to take the drug, and you will likely see and remember people and places that trigger your cravings. Regardless of the drug that you are addicted to - meth, crack, heroin, pills, alcohol - going through treatment can be hard, but you will be substantially rewarded with a life that is free from drug addiction.

There is one element that appears to be a constant in successful cases of meth recovery. This recurring similarity is remaining in treatment for an extended period of time. A growing number of experts and organizations believe six months likely represents a minimum timeframe for achieving successful meth drug treatment. What is the reason needed for a long-term approach? Meth is different than other drugs and the body needs more time to repair brain damage that occurs as a result of abuse. While drugs, such as cocaine, are quickly removed and almost completely metabolized in the body, meth has a longer duration of action and a larger percentage of the drug remains unchanged in the body.

Users, police officers, doctors, and families of users will tell you it's next to impossible to overcome meth addiction. For meth users undergoing current rehab programs, their meth recovery rate is often slim. Treatment providers describe meth abusers as the hardest to treat of all drug users. A user has an intense and fanatical devotion to meth, resisting meth drug treatment even when it's voluntary.

What are the principles of effective meth drug treatment programs? Meth addicts benefit most when engaged in meth addiction treatment programs designed to compensate for some of the cognitive and emotional deficits that occur during lengthy meth withdrawal. Some of the principals of effective meth drug treatment include:

• Meth drug treatment programs should help recovering meth addicts get back on their feet, with vocational or educational classes and job opportunities.
• Drug rehab programs should offer cognitive behavioral therapy as a primary treatment technique.
• Meth recovery programs should attend to any health deficits caused by the use of meth (such as dental problems or nutritional deficiencies) and should offer referrals for necessary treatment or direct care.
• Drug rehabilitation should include a substantial relapse prevention component, which teaches how to avoid temptation and to manage cravings that do occur.
• Treatment should include life-skills training within a matrix of programming.
• Meth drug treatment programs should last for at least 3 months; or preferably, a year.
• Treatment should offer highly structured and intensive programming, and should respond to needs in all areas of life.
• Residential meth drug treatment works best for people with long term or heavy meth addictions. A period of inpatient treatment helps people avoid temptation during the initial very risky period. People who inject meth and people with co-occurring disorders will also likely need residential treatment.

Meth drug treatment encourages users to see beyond the immediate "positive" effects gained from drug use toward the negative consequences of drug use that inevitably follow. Alternative coping mechanisms are then devised that will provide positive effects without the negative consequences of drug use. Finally, recovering addicts learn to manage their lives more successfully, increase their confidence and self-esteem, and set positive personal goals.