Rehab Centers

The first challenge of rehab centers in addiction treatment is to help the individual with their drug and alcohol cravings. Cravings are strong, uncontrollable, urges that drive the addict to use over and over. Some withdrawal symptoms and cravings are caused by poor nutrition and depletion of vitamin stores in the body that the drugs are sucking out of the body. Depletion of nutrition and vitamins can cause the person to be tired and moody and can also cause shakiness and pain. The drugs accumulating in the body stress the various systems in the body including nerve systems. At this point more drugs are used in an attempt to alleviate feelings and emotions that the drugs themselves are creating. This is why treating drug addiction with more drugs only makes the problem worse and is now being rejected as a workable therapy by many rehab centers.

Drug Intervention is often effective when all else has failed in attempts to help someone suffering from addiction or alcoholism. Many times the addict or alcoholic already feels he has totally failed his loved ones and cannot face them. The guilt and depression is just too much to confront. Even though they may be in the same room listening to loved ones they really aren’t hearing anything. Drug intervention can offer some order and effectiveness to aid the true desire of both the addict and the family to find workable solutions. Yes, despite all appearances to the contrary, the addict or alcoholic is seeking a way out of the trap and does want to stop his use. An effective drug intervention can take that hope and desire, no matter how small, and create a willingness to do something and accept help.

A relapse to substance abuse can occur when the individual has not fully confronted and handled the personal issues leading up and then continuing the substance abuse. Relapse is almost inevitable if there are unhandled cravings, guilt, and depression issues that have not been fully resolved. Relapse is a desire to mask these symptoms with the same substances that helped create them. Getting someone to cease use and through an effective withdrawal process is only the beginning of the puzzle of substance abuse. At Narconon Arrowhead a majority of our staff are past substance abusers themselves and know what it takes to resolve the problems of cravings, guilt, and depression in a manner that lasts. With new skills and abilities learned at Narconon one is able to obtain lasting relief without the need to run away and continually numb themselves with further substances. Happy, drug free, and productive for a lifetime is the goal at Narconon Arrowhead, our 76% success rate speaks for itself.

Executive Director of Narconon Arrowhead Gary W. Smith reports, ‘Although the number of people coming to us who are abusing pot is a smaller percentage of our total clientele, in the 30 years I have been in the drug rehabilitation field I have not seen these numbers of individuals literally hooked on marijuana and unable to stop on their own. We’ve known for a long time that marijuana use can lead to other drugs but it is shocking to see people whose lives are being destroyed by smoking pot just like others we are treating who are addicted to crack or alcohol. I believe this is happening because the strength of the pot that is being smoked today is probably ten times stronger than the pot of 20 years ago.’

How does one begin to decide if drug and alcohol rehab is needed for self or loved ones? Beginning with an understanding of what addiction is, offers a good starting point. Addiction is a condition characterized by repeated, compulsive seeking and use of drugs, alcohol or other similar substances despite social, mental, and physical consequences. If you or your loved one fits the above definition, or even part of it, then drug and alcohol rehab is indicated and should be seriously considered. Most addicts or alcoholics didn’t start out with this as their goal in using drugs or alcohol. As addiction progresses the individual has less and less control over their use. The progression of alcoholism leads inevitably to one of three outcomes – jail, death, or sobriety.