Substance Abuse Resources

Call Now To Get On The Road To Recovery.

*As required by law, all communications with Resurgence Behavioral Health are HIPAA Compliant and 100% Confidential

Many people don’t understand the facts of substance abuse, which is why resources for substance abuse are so important.

Many people believe that those who use drugs have an issue with their morals or willpower.

They also might believe that a drug user can stop their drug use whenever they choose. This is simply not true.

Drug addiction is a complex disease, which is what you can learn from resources for substance abuse.

Quitting takes more than just good intentions or a strong will. Drugs change the way the brain functions.

It makes it difficult to quit even if you want to.

What is important is that researchers are offering substance abuse resources that can explain how drugs affect the brain.

There are also plenty of treatments that can help people recover from drug addiction, and eventually move on to lead productive lives.

What is Drug Addiction?

Addiction is a chronic disease. It is characterized by drug seeking and uses that is compulsive.

Drug addiction may be extremely difficult to control.

It always offers harmful consequences, even though the initial decision to take drugs is voluntary.

Repeated drug use eventually leads to changes in your brain that will challenge your self-control, and eventually interfere with the ability to stop using drugs.

These brain changes can be persistent, which is why many people relapse during addiction.

You will also be at risk for returning to drug use even after years of not taking drugs.

Does Everyone Relapse?

Although it is common to relapse, it does not mean that you will during your treatment.

If you do happen to relapse, it is important to realize that even if you do relapse it does not mean that your treatment is unsuccessful.

It simply means that you need to continue your treatment and adjust it as necessary.

What Happens in The Brain?

When a person uses drugs, it will affect the brain’s “reward circuit.” This causes euphoria as well because it floods the brain with a chemical called dopamine.

Having a properly functioning reward system helps to motivate a person to repeat behaviors that are needed to thrive.

This might include eating and spending time with loved ones.

If you have sudden surges of dopamine in the reward circuit, then you may reinforce unhealthy behaviors such as taking drugs, which will push you to repeat the behavior again and again.

This is why resources for substance abuse are so important.

What is Tolerance?

If you continue to abuse drugs, then your brain will begin by reducing the ability of cells in the reward circuit to respond to it.

This means that you will develop tolerance.

Tolerance means that you will not feel the same high that you felt before, meaning you will need more of the same drug to achieve that feeling.

This can also lead you to enjoy other activities less as well as food, sex, or social activities.

Long Term Use Consequences

Long-term use specifically causes changes in the brain and other chemical systems as well. This might include:

• Learning
• Judgment
• Decision-making
• Stress
• Memory
• Behavior

The most dangerous consequence of long term use is that you may not be able to stop your use. This is essentially the nature of addiction.

Immediate Placement in Rehab

Who Needs Resources for Substance Abuse?

There is no one factor that can predict if a person will become addicted to drugs.

There is a combination of many factors that influence the risk of addiction.

The more risk factors that a person has, the greater chance they have of ending up with an addiction.

Biology

Your genes can affect whether or not you become addicted more quickly than other people. This may be influenced by gender, ethnicity, and the presence of other mental disorders.

Environment

Your environment includes many different influences.

Whether this is family and friends, economic status, or overall quality of life.

Factors such as peer pressure, physical and sexual abuse, early exposure to drugs, stress, and parental guidance can greatly affect your likelihood of becoming addicted.

Development

Although genetic and environmental factors are important, they also interact with developmental stages in a person’s life.

This means that taking drugs at a young age means it will be more likely to progress to addiction.

This is specifically very problematic for teens. The brain of a teen is not developed in the areas that control decision-making, judgment, and self-control.

There are resources for substance abuse that show that teens may be especially prone to risky behaviors, including trying drugs.

Resources for Substance Abuse to Prevent Addictive Behavior

All chronic diseases require continual treatment. This includes diabetes, asthma, and heart disease.

Despite this, it is possible to manage most diseases, and addiction is one of them.

If you are recovering from an addiction, then you can be at risk for relapse for years.

This can even lead to your entire life.

Research also shows that addiction treatment medicines can work along with behavioral therapy to ensure the best chance of success.

Treatment approaches will be tailored to each patient’s drug use patterns.

This means that if you have any co-occurring medical, mental, and social problems, this needs to be addressed in order to lead to continued recovery.

Is Addiction Preventable?

Drug use and addiction are preventable. There are many studies that have shown that prevention programs work at preventing teen drug and alcohol use.

These programs work to involve families, schools, communities, and the media.

These are found to be effective at preventing and reducing drug use that leads to addiction.

Despite this, there is no one size fits all approach. Personal events and cultural factors will always affect drug use trends.

The difference is, when young people view drug use as harmful, they often decrease their drug-taking.

Therefore, using education is key to having teens understand the key is educating regarding the possible risks of drug use.

Teachers, parents, and health care providers also have crucial roles in preventing drug use and addiction.

Resources for Substance Abuse and Mental Illness

If you suffer from both a substance use disorder as well as a mental illness, this is called a dual diagnosis.

Resources for substance abuse can also include help for mental illness.

It is essential that you obtain help for your mental health disorder as well as your mental illness in order to obtain full sobriety.

Resources for substance abuse and mental illness include:

• Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration.
• MentalHealth.go: One-stop access to U.S. government mental health and mental health problems information.
• DrugAbuse.gov: The National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health. Their mission is to lead the nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction.

Important Notes from Resources for Substance Abuse

Drug addiction is a chronic disease.

There are many brain changes that occur over time with drug use, and these can challenge your self-control.

This can also mean that it may interfere with your ability to resist drugs.

Looking Into Resources for Substance Abuse?

If you are looking for resources for substance abuse, we can help.

At Resurgence Behavioral Health we offer free insurance verification for treatment, along with substance abuse support groups.

Contact us today to get started on your road to recovery.