When used for long periods of time, amphetamines have a way of taking over a person’s life. Poor health, failing relationships, finance troubles and problems at work can quickly snowball into an out-of-control maze that once was a person’s life.
Choosing amphetamine addiction treatment opens up doors to a new life that remains otherwise inaccessible beneath the haze of addiction. While some people need to hit rock bottom before considering treatment, it doesn’t have to go that way. Amphetamine addiction treatment programs can help a person wherever they’re at, be it rock bottom or in the midst of trying to stop using.
Amphetamine’s Effects
The “high” produced by amphetamine drugs can be truly deceptive as feelings of self-confidence and euphoria take hold. Worries about money, family and work magically slip away as the drug’s effects take over. As the high wears off and feelings change, taking more drugs seems like an easy and logical solution. The reality of the situation is your body, your mind and your life are slowly falling apart.
Amphetamine addiction treatment enables users to gain perspective on the true role drugs have played in their lives. This perspective can only be had when a person stops using. Cleaning out the body of all traces of amphetamines becomes a necessary first step towards recovery. Before any of these changes can take place, a person has to make a firm decision to stop using drugs.
Residential Care
After long term use, amphetamine’s effects on the brain’s neurotransmitter functions leave a person desperately dependent on the drug. According to a Dartmouth College report, the damage done by amphetamines to neurotransmitter functions creates a self-perpetuating cycle of dependency and addiction. For these reasons, amphetamine addiction treatment programs offer residential care to help a person get off the drug and stay off the drug.
Residential care consists of two phases:
- Detoxification
- Inpatient care
Amphetamine addiction treatment detox programs enable a person to stop using while easing many of the distressing withdrawal effects that inevitably occur. Inpatient care, the second phase of amphetamine addiction treatment, involves ongoing individual and group therapy work. Therapy work helps users gain new and healthy perspectives on how to cope with life without drugs. Both phases of residential care take place away from home to allow participants the distance needed to put their lives back together.
Outpatient Treatment & Follow-Up Supports
Outpatient treatment and follow-up supports form necessary steps towards ensuring a person remains on the path to recovery. Outpatient amphetamine addiction treatment is actually quite similar to inpatient care. Rather than living in-house, participants live at home while attending therapy and support groups on a pre-planned schedule. Outpatient care is designed to act as a stepping-stone in that participants can resume work and home-life obligations while still receiving needed support and guidance.
Amphetamine addiction treatment offers follow-up supports in the form of help with finding a job, ongoing counseling and education assistance. Treatment program follow-ups also make sure participants find and attend community-based support groups like Narcotics Anonymous.