Helping People Triumph Over Drug Addiction

The impact of drug addiction is never isolated to the individual who suffers from this disorder. It also affects the people who surround them, from family and friends to colleagues. This is why our rehabilitation programs for people struggling with drug addiction centers on instilling change in oneself with the help of families, friends, and a supportive community.

Transitions Recovery Programs is a licensed drug treatment and rehabilitation center in North Miami Beach with accreditations from the Joint Commission and the Florida Department of Children & Families (DCF). We provide a safe and compassionate environment run by experts in substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation.

We offer residential, partial hospitalization, and outpatient treatment. If you or someone you know needs help in overcoming substance use addiction, our doors are open for you.

Acknowledging Addiction Is the First Step to Recovery

While drug addiction begins with experimenting and recreational drug use in social situations, over time, substance abuse can become commonplace. The addiction can also begin with prescribed medications, such as opioids.

As time passes, the individual needs more of a substance to achieve the same effects. The addiction expands, demanding more drugs to feel normal. Still, the addict begins to find it difficult to function without their drug of choice. Intense cravings and physical withdrawal symptoms force the person to continue using, despite their desire to stop.

Addiction is challenging to combat; it takes commitment and the right help at the right time.

If you or a loved one need help, you’re not alone. We’re here and ready to help. Whether this is the first time you’re seeking assistance or have been on the road to recovery for a while, please contact our drug rehab in Miami today by calling 800-626-1980.

Is Drug Addiction A Disease?

Most medical associations define drug addiction as a disease. This, of course, includes the American Medical Association and the American Society of Addiction Medicine.

Similar to heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, the causes include a combination of environmental, biological, and behavioral variables. Even genetic risk factors come into play, making up approximately half of the chance that someone will develop an addiction.

With addiction comes changes in the way a person’s body and brain function. While some of these changes are the result of risky substance use, other changes are pre-existing alterations rising to the surface after drug abuse.

Signs Of Drug Addiction

The following are signs of substance addiction:

• You continue taking drugs even after you’ve resolved a health issue.
• You feel shaky, sick, depressed, have headaches, or sweat when the effects of the drug wear off. If it is severe, you might also feel confused, run a fever, or have seizures.
• You’ve built up a tolerance for the drug and need to take more to feel its effects.
• You want to stop using a drug but cannot. You continue using even if the use results in adverse effects on your life.
• You no longer have an interest in activities you used to enjoy.
• You do dangerous things (for example, drive) when you’re intoxicated.
• You hide your drug use or the effects from others.
• You steal or borrow money to finance your drug habit.
• You’re sleeping more or less than you did before you began using drugs. Or maybe you’re eating more or less now.
• You’re meeting with more than one doctor to get more prescription drugs.
• You habitually look in other peoples’ medicine cabinets for drugs.
• You pair prescribed medications with alcohol or other substances.
• You find it challenging to get along with teachers, friends, family members, and co-workers. They say you’ve changed and no longer act the same as before you started taking drugs.

Causes Of Drug Addiction

While there’s no single cause, four basic categories of causes exist. These include biological, psychological, socio-cultural, and spiritual causes. The causes are interrelated, meaning each category tends to contribute to forming a dependance.

Biological causes include a person’s unique physiology and genetics. Certain people prefer or disdain addictive substances or activities. With this in mind, it can be more difficult to resist a substance or activity for some people. Being unable to temper impulsive desires with rational thought could make a person at greater risk for developing an addiction.

Psychological influences highlight a person’s ability to change the way they perceive drugs. People can learn to anticipate a benefit, despite its harmful nature. Between stress reduction, pleasurable sensations, coping with negative situations or feelings, avoiding withdrawal symptoms, and relief from boredom, the benefits can outweigh the adverse effects in an addict’s mind.

Socio-cultural influences involve one’s culture accepting or tolerating drug use. People become more vulnerable as a result. The most obvious social influence is one’s family. Families can teach their children about drug abuse without highlighting the adverse aspects.

Spirituality highlights the belief that life has meaning and purpose. Some people believe there’s something beyond their individual existence. Without meaning and purpose, a person can become disconnected from themselves and others. Addiction can further this disconnection, meaning a lack of spirituality can contribute to addiction progression.

Effects Of Drug Addiction

Untreated addiction can result in a plethora of physical and mental health disorders that demand medical attention. As time passes it can become disabling and even life-threatening.

Substance abuse changes the brain. Pleasure generally comes as a result of satisfying basic needs, including sex, thirst, and hunger. Addictive substances push the brain to release elevated levels of the same chemicals the brain uses as a reward for fulfilling these basic needs.

As time passes, the brain system changes and the release of these chemicals becomes dependent on the substance. Hence, the individual needs the substance to function as normal. This results in cravings for addictive substances, encouraging the individual to continue using even with knowledge of the detrimental consequences.

A person addicted to drugs might prefer their drug of choice to other healthy pleasures. They can also lose interest in normal life activities. In some severe cases of drug addiction, a person can stop caring about their own life, as well as the lives of their loved ones.

Drug Addiction Facts

The brain changes as a result of drug abuse and the changes can persist for long after the person reaches sobriety. These alterations can leave a person vulnerable to physical and environmental impacts on their sobriety as well, giving the person a set of triggers that could elevate the risk of a relapse.

Also known as substance abuse disorder, this disease is unfortunately all too common. With around 38% of adults battling some form of illicit drug use disorder as of 2017, it’s safe to say most people know someone who is coping with this disease.

With 63,000 deaths resulting from drug overdoses each year, getting clean is essential. Opioids are behind the majority of overdoses. However, cocaine and other stimulants are also responsible. The following are the statistics from 2014:

• Over 15,000 overdoses from heroin
• Over 14,000 overdoses from natural and semi-synthetic opioids
• Over 3,000 deaths from methadone
• Over 20,000 deaths from synthetic opioids (besides methadone)
• Over 10,000 deaths from cocaine
• Over 7,000 deaths from stimulants with abuse potential

Recovery Is a Process

Just as addiction builds up over time, so too does recovery and sobriety. Drug addiction is a tough battle to win because the urge and compulsion to use drugs is hard to suppress once it takes root. Recovery takes time, and it will not be a walk in the park. It does not happen overnight. However, with clinical guidance and fierce support from people who matter, patients can overcome this chronic illness and emerge from the experience as a healthier person.

Our drug rehabilitation center in Florida gives patients the tools to resist the siren call of their addiction. From teaching mental exercises to forming peer groups that make up the supportive community every recovering patient needs, our counselors work hard alongside our patients, helping the latter stay firmly on the path to recovery.

We treat drug addiction in phases, depending on the degree of the addiction and intensity of the withdrawal symptoms, among other things.

For our in-house patients, we provide clinical treatment, a structured schedule, and a safe environment that keeps away any distraction to recovery. We help patients focus on their personal transformation: recovery can only happen when there’s a conscious choice of stopping substance abuse and avoiding anything that could trigger a relapse. Through activities like meditation, individual counseling, group sharing, and our 12-Step Fellowship Meetings, patients will learn to identify relapse indicators and nip temptation in the bud.

Our outpatient program, meanwhile, is designed for people who can maintain a normal life outside of rehab but want to get ongoing support and guidance from the Transitions Recovery Program community.

We educate, counsel, teach anti-relapse techniques, and provide clinical and emotional support to anyone who wants to overcome drug addiction. Our philosophy is that every patient can break free from his or her addictions and lead a fulfilling life — and it begins with a phone call or an email.

If you or someone you love is looking for a rehab facility that offers compassionate and comprehensive treatments for drug addiction, Transitions Recovery Programs is the right place. Visit our clinic in North Miami Beach Florida or call our toll-free hotline. You can also send a short inquiry through our contact form.

Get Help Now

We’re here to guide you along with your transition to the sober life you deserve. For more information, please contact our Miami Florida rehab today by calling 800-626-1980. You can also follow the link to learn more about our drug rehab center in Florida.