Addiction is never easy to deal with. With its many different types and forms, this psychological condition can affect one’s life in numerous ways. Besides affecting a person’s physical health, one of the major impacts of addiction involves the development of numerous mental health disorders that can disrupt one’s normal life. Although the process that one may need to undergo varies depending on their current medical condition and initial perception about seeking professional help, it’ll require tremendous effort on the part of the patient and their family.
Having a hard time helping someone you loved overcome their condition? You can now effectively help them through various addiction treatments and psychological interventions offered by rehabilitation centers. You can visit this site to find more information about this condition and learn some efficient methods you can utilize to manage certain types of addiction.
Why Is It Hard To Quit An Addiction?
Addiction is one of the most common types of chronic mental health dysfunctions. Many people are susceptible to developing addictions due to various external factors and influences. Although this isn’t a new concept in the field of psychiatry and medicine, patients continue to experience public discrimination due to the stigma associated with this particular psychological condition.
The information listed below will help you have a better understanding of addiction:
- Some people would say that being addicted relies on one’s decision. There are people who believe that patients chose this path for themselves and they’re the ones responsible for their condition. However, you need to know that excessive dependence on something isn’t always a product of one’s choices.
- There could be various underlying factors that lead a person to this psychological condition. This reaction of the mind may be a form of defense mechanism against extreme traumatic stress experienced by the patient, the presence of intrusive thoughts, or a series of flashbacks that contain their distressing memories.
- Addiction mainly affects the brain’s frontal lobes. The condition stimulates the feeling of immediate gratification after engaging in addictive practices or upon consuming addictive substances. Apart from that, the other parts of the brain that play a vital role in one’s addiction are the anterior cingulate cortex and nucleus accumbens.
- These parts of the brain are the ones responsible for the feelings of pleasurable sensations one may experience upon exposure to addictive substances. This could be the primary reason why many people have a hard time quitting their addictive behavior, as their entire system is already dependent on these sensations.
How Does Addiction Affect The Brain?
Despite the many harmful effects and dangers that it may cause to a person, the number of patients suffering from addiction has continued to increase over the past decades. There’s also a disconcerting increase in the number of patients dying because of this psychological condition, not to mention the number of patients in rehabilitation facilities and recovery centers.
To know more about the specific effects of addiction on the brain, continue reading below:
- Specifically, the frontal cortex can significantly affect your precision, balance, and impulse control, thus preventing you from making sound judgments. Addiction can also affect one’s equilibrium and mental cognizance and distort one’s perception of reality, which often results in the development of other mental health disorders like schizophrenia.
- Besides that, addiction has also been reported to alter the mental process associated with reward systems and pleasure sensations. Due to the aftereffects of addictive substances, the brain releases nerve signals as a response to a memory of specific experiences that have been linked to an increased urge to consume or take addictive substances or liquor despite their harmful effects.
- Drugs and any other addictive substances can also release larger amounts of dopamine into your system, which gives off a similar feeling of self-satisfaction that one can get after eating or sex.
- Scientific studies reveal the rising number of people suffering from various forms of addictions, including cases of excessive use of cigarettes, harmful substances, opioids, and cocaine. There’s also an increase in the cases of drug overdose over the past decades, with alcohol and drugs as the primary reasons behind this tragic trend.
Dealing With Addiction
Managing addiction or any other type of psychological disorder is never easy. Despite the wide range of modern alternatives and methods that can help treat its symptoms, this is still one of the prevailing causes why many people suffer. Undergoing psychological interventions and various addiction treatments can be daunting and extremely challenging, not just on the part of the patient but also for the people around them.
Apart from requiring tremendous effort on the people involved, these alternatives can also be financially straining, not to mention that the healing process can take years. You must also be aware of the factors that can affect your loved one’s recovery, such as their medical condition, the severity of the symptoms, and their response to treatment.
Fortunately, there are various benefits these treatments can offer to the patients, including the assurance that they can return to their normal lives after going through rehabilitation.
If you’re wondering about different ways you can help your loved one who’s going through addiction treatments, you can learn some from the information below:
- Encourage Them To Seek Professional Help
If you know someone who’s been exhibiting unusual behaviors that are far from their normal personality, one of the most important things you can do is to be mindful of your loved ones and try to talk to them about your concerns. However, you must know that most people who suffer from addiction usually lack initial knowledge about their condition, as most of them think that it’s a product of newly-found routines and habits.
If their actions are still logical and show a great degree of sensibility, then there might not be any reason for you to worry about them. However, if your loved one is already starting to exhibit aggressive behavior, which isn’t normal in their characteristics, then you might need to seek professional advice regarding their condition.
As an initial measure, it might be a good idea if you’ll try to tell them about their unusual behaviors and ask them about the problem. Investigating the potential causes of their actions can be of great help in helping them understand their condition. Asking them to talk about their emotions and thoughts can significantly help them evaluate their situation and help you obtain knowledge about their condition.
- Promote Self-Care
When it comes to helping someone get through addiction, one of the most important forms of assistance you can offer them is your unconditional love and positive regard despite their condition. Always remember that addiction is a psychological disorder mainly caused by one’s inability to control their unwanted thoughts. The people who are suffering from it need all the support they can get from the people around them.
Although the practice of showing unconditional positive regard to these patients will also be provided by the professionals that will look after them, it’s also better if this will emanate from their loved ones, especially from their family. Hence, you must prioritize boosting their morale and making them see that there’s more to life than succumbing to the pits of addiction.
If you want to efficiently help your loved one recover from their addiction, you can make them realize the value of caring for one’s mental health and seeking professional help to treat their condition. It can also be beneficial to teach them some simple tips to effectively promote self-care, as this can encourage them to pursue recovery.
- Create A Comprehensive Recovery Scheme
Aside from boosting their morale, another essential thing you can do for your loved one who’s currently undergoing addiction treatment is to establish a comprehensive recovery plan that’ll serve as a guide for them to pursue.
This scheme will mainly consist of the courses of actions they must take to manage their condition, such as seeking professional help from registered psychiatrists and psychologists, signing up to rehabilitation facilities, and going through psychological interventions that can significantly help them control the symptoms of addiction and help them get through their ordeals.
- Be Involved In Their Journey
Involving yourself in their journey to recovery and being with them every step of the way can significantly fuel their drive to pursue recovery and return to the life that they once had. Allowing your loved ones to feel your support and companionship can make them realize the value of life and help them feel that they have someone to turn to whenever they’re having a hard time with their addiction treatments.
It’s also better if you’ll visit them regularly, especially if they’re in a rehabilitation center. Allotting some of your time to bond with them can boost their morale and help them hope for a faster recovery.
Key Takeaway
Helping a loved one deal with addiction is never easy. Aside from being financially straining, it can also be daunting and challenging, especially for first-timers. Although the process one must undergo might require tremendous efforts and time on their part, there’s no denying that seeking professional help can significantly help them get through their condition.
Some of the alternatives you can do to help your loved one may include encouraging them to seek professional help, promoting self-care, creating a comprehensive recovery scheme, and involving yourself in their journey to recovery. Through these acts of compassion, helping your loved ones get through their condition will be much easier.
