FAQs

Yes, structured treatment has very positive recovery rates, especially with family support. Addiction is a treatable disease. Discoveries in the science of addiction have led to medications that may help some people stop abusing drugs or alcohol and resume their productive lives. Combining treatment medications with behavioral therapy is the best way to ensure success for most patients. And, research is beginning to show that recovery of brain function may be possible with prolonged abstinence.

Chronic disease is a long-lasting illness that can be managed but not cured. Chronic diseases with similarities to addiction include type II diabetes, heart diseases, depression, and asthma. The bottom line is that people suffering from addiction can’t be cured or get well after a few day’s stay in treatment. Getting well from addiction requires a lifelong commitment to disease management and wellness.

To be diagnosed with addiction, you must meet the criteria listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). This manual is published by the American Psychiatric Association and used by doctors, mental health professionals, and other health providers to diagnose mental health conditions.

Addiction is also referred to as “substance use disorder.” The illness is defined on a continuum from mild to severe based on the condition and criteria. Mild substance use disorder requires two to three symptoms from a list of 11.

When someone has been heavily using drugs or alcohol and they abruptly stop or cut back, they often experience withdrawal symptoms. The intensity and length of these symptoms can change greatly depending on the substance involved, the biological make-up of the person, and the severity of their addiction. Withdrawal symptoms can be both physical and psychological. Withdrawal can sometimes be dangerous, so you should be sure to seek out help from a qualified health professional.

Freeing someone you love from alcohol and other drugs, and trying to locate appropriate treatment, especially finding a program suitable and changeable to an individual’s particular needs, can be a difficult process. Our ability to cope with anything is a function of how much we know about what we are up against. Although you have been living with alcohol and/or drug problems for some time, learning about alcohol and drug addiction is a critical first step. You cannot rely on common sense or popular myths (preaching, complaining, acting like a martyr, dumping alcohol or drugs). Getting the facts about how alcohol and drugs affect the individual and the family is very important.

Nearly all addicted individuals believe at the start that they can stop using drugs on their own by their willpower only, and most try to stop without treatment. Although some people are successful, many such willpower attempts result in failure to achieve long-term abstinence. Research has shown that long-term drug addiction results in changes in the brain that continues long after a person stops using drugs. These drug-induced changes in brain function can have many behavioral consequences, including an inability to maintain control over the impulse to use drugs despite troubling and harmful consequences—the crucial feature of addiction.

Psychological stress from work, family problems, psychiatric illness, pain associated with medical problems, social triggers (such as meeting individuals from one’s drug-using past i.e. slippery people), or environmental triggers (such as encountering streets, objects, or even smells associated with drug abuse i.e. slippery places) can trigger intense cravings without the individual even being consciously aware of the triggering event. Family and friends may also be enabling and provoking an individual towards drugs and alcohol without being consciously aware of it. Any one of these factors can get in the way of continued abstinence and make relapse more likely. Nevertheless, research shows that active involvement and compliance in treatment is a vital component for good outcomes and can benefit even the most severely addicted individuals.

Drug addiction is a disease of the brain that frequently occurs with other mental disorders. In fact, as many as 6 in 10 people with an illegal drug use disorder also suffer from another mental illness; and rates are similar for users of legal drugs—i.e., tobacco and alcohol. For these individuals, one condition becomes more difficult to treat successfully as an additional condition is also associated. Thus, patients entering treatment either for addiction or for another mental disorder should be assessed for the co-occurrence of the other condition. Research shows that treating both (or multiple) illnesses together in a structured fashion is generally the best treatment approach for these patients.

Addicts will often to great lengths to hide their problem. Whilst you may have tried to challenge their behavior, and received an angry or defensive reaction in return, their denial and dishonesty serve to fuel their addiction further. This is when professional help can make a crucial impact. We can provide a structured intervention programme that could make a huge difference to you and your family. Please speak to us today for support and guidance.

If you, or your loved one, require emergency assistance please call 0300-1561495/ 051-2757187 to speak to the relevant emergency service immediately.

The family therapist assigned to your loved one will contact you about the family group. Gulf Addiction Treatment Center can provide you with the family therapist’s e-mail and phone number so that you can contact him or her with any questions you may have.

This is a great question. Each client is different and I think it would be really helpful for you to write down all the questions you might have and then present them to your child’s family therapist.

In addition to stopping drug abuse, the goal of treatment is to return people to productive functioning in the family, workplace, and community. According to research that keeps a record of individuals in treatment over extended periods, most people who get into and remain in treatment stop using drugs, decrease their criminal activity and improve their occupational, social, and psychological functioning.

Individual treatment results depend on the extent and nature of the patient’s problems, the suitability of treatment and related services used to address those problems, and the quality of interaction between the patient and his or her treatment providers.

Like other chronic diseases, addiction can be managed successfully. Treatment enables people to fight addiction’s powerful disruptive effects on the brain and behavior and to retake control of their lives. The chronic nature of the disease means that relapsing to drug abuse is not only possible but also likely, with relapse rates similar to those for other well-characterized chronic medical illnesses—such as diabetes, hypertension, and asthma that also have both physiological and behavioral components.

Unfortunately, when relapse occurs many believe the treatment to be a failure. This is not the case: successful treatment for addiction typically requires continual evaluation and changes as appropriate, similar to the approach taken for other chronic and long-term diseases. For the addicted patient, lapses to drug abuse do not show failure—rather, they mean that treatment needs to be reinstated or adjusted, or that a different treatment is needed.

Part of the process is a discharge plan. A team of people will be involved, helping make sure that the client has all the tools and resources he or she needs before being discharged.

Yes. It is cost-effective. Treatment can help reduce the costs of drug addiction. Drug addiction treatment has been shown to reduce associated health and social costs by far more than the cost of the treatment itself. Treatment is also much less expensive than its alternatives, such as imprisoning addicted persons

The biggest risk of job loss is continuing to use. During treatment, we are able to advocate and support the individual in returning to the workplace, usually with good results.

Because successful outcomes often depend on a person’s staying in treatment long enough to get their full benefits, strategies for keeping people in treatment are crucial. Whether a patient stays in treatment depends on factors associated with both the individual and the program. Individual factors related to engagement and retention typically include motivation to change drug-using behavior; the degree of support from family and friends; and, frequently, pressure from the criminal justice system, child protection services, employers, or the family.

Within a treatment program, successful clinicians can establish a positive, therapeutic relationship with their patients. The clinician should ensure that a treatment plan is developed cooperatively with the person seeking treatment that the plan is followed, and that treatment expectation is clearly understood. Medical, psychiatric, and social services should also be available. Whether a patient stays in treatment depends on factors associated with both the individual and the program.

Therapeutic work environments that provide employment for drug-abusing individuals who can show abstinence have been shown not only to promote a continued drug-free lifestyle but also to improve job skills, punctuality, and other behaviors necessary for active employment throughout life.

Adolescent/teenage drug addicts have unique needs growing from their immature neurocognitive and psychosocial stage of development. Research has shown that the brain undergoes a lengthy process of development and refinement, from birth to early adulthood, during which a developmental change occurs where actions go from more impulsive to more reasoned and reflective.

The brain areas most closely associated with aspects of behavior such as executive skills, decision making, judgment, planning, and self-control undergo a period of rapid development during adolescence.

Teenagers are also especially sensitive to social triggers, with peer groups and families being highly influential during this time. Therefore, treatments that facilitate positive parental involvement, take into consideration other systems in which the adolescent participates (such as school and athletics) and recognize the importance of vital habits, development of executive skills, and pro-social peer relationships are among the most effective.

While this situation occurs rarely, it is possible. Because some psychotherapeutics has a risk of addiction associated with them, it is important for patients to follow their physician’s instructions faithfully and for physicians to monitor their patients carefully. To minimize these risks, a physician (or other prescribing health providers) should be aware of a patient’s previous or current substance abuse problems, as well as their family history with regard to addiction. This will help determine the risk and need for monitoring.

Yes—exercise is increasingly becoming a component of many treatment programs and has shown effectiveness, in combination with cognitive-behavioral therapy, for promoting smoking cessation. Exercise may apply positive effects by addressing psychosocial and physiological needs that nicotine replacement alone does not; weakens negative mood; reducing stress, and helping prevent weight gain following cessation. Research is currently underway to find if and how exercise programs can play a similar role in the treatment of other forms of drug abuse.

Relapse is avoidable. In fact, many people get well and never go through a reoccurrence of symptoms. The chronic nature of addiction means that that the disease can come up again if it’s not being managed properly. This can be caused by many things, including triggers like cravings, emotional challenges, and other issues. Relapse rates for addiction are about the same as for other chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and asthma.

The non-medical use of prescription drugs increased dramatically in the 1990s and remains at high levels. Like many illegal drugs, these drugs change the brain’s activity and can lead to many harmful consequences, including addiction. Treatments for prescription drugs tend to be similar to those for illegal drugs that affect the same brain systems.

Gender-related drug addiction treatment should attend not only to biological differences but also to social and environmental factors, all of which can influence the motivations for drug use, the reasons for seeking treatment, the types of environments where treatment is obtained, the treatments that are most effective, and the consequences of not receiving treatment.

Many life situations have a greater influence on women as a group, which may require a specialized treatment approach. Other factors unique to women that can influence the treatment process include issues around pregnancy and child care, financial independence, and how they come into treatment (as women are more likely to seek the assistance of a general or mental health practitioner).

An effective answer to give your loved one is “I will support your recovery, but I will not support your disease.”

Individuals progress through drug addiction treatment at different rates, so there is no prearranged length of treatment. However, research has shown clearly that good results are dependent on adequate treatment length. Generally, for indoor or outpatient treatment, involvement for less than 100 days is of limited effectiveness, and treatment lasting significantly longer is recommended for maintaining positive results.

Treatment dropout is one of the major problems faced by treatment programs; therefore, motivational techniques that can keep patients involved will also improve results. By viewing addiction as a chronic disease and offering continuing care and monitoring, programs can be successful, but this will often require multiple episodes of treatment and readily re-admitting patients that have relapsed.

Addiction is a chronic disease similar to other chronic diseases such as type II diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. Drug addiction shares many features with other chronic illnesses, including a tendency to run in families (heritability), onset and course that is influenced by environmental conditions and behavior, and the ability to respond to appropriate treatment, which may include long-term lifestyle modification.