Drug Abuse Treatment

December 18, 2016

Today the youth of India is dependent on alcohol and drugs. According to the official data from the ministry of social justice and empowerment, India has an estimated 3.4 million drug abuse victims and 11 million alcoholics in the country.The implications of alcohol and drug use are huge on the health sector. It is estimated that 7 individuals commit suicide due to this problem every day.

Management of alcohol and drug abuse problems begins at identifying them as an illness rather than a choice. The stigma associated with mental health issues prevents people from seeking help and individuals tend to go on abusing substances because they are unaware that treatment is available.

Treatment Components:

Detoxification

Most substances of abuse cause physical dependence which means that upon stopping the substance, the individual develops withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms cause acute discomfort and therefore, the abuser tends to go back to using the substance to get relief from symptoms. The first step therefore is to identify and mitigate physical withdrawal symptoms by prescription medicines. Psychiatric treatment for withdrawal is done under supervision and is safe and effective in preventing individuals from relapsing to substance abuse.

De-addiction

The next step is relapse prevention. Patients tend to use alcohol or drugs due to various reasons. Exploring the factors which can lead to relapse is important to individualize rehabilitation plans. Various factors cause addiction behavior-

• Environment
• Genetic/Hereditary factors
• Primary Psychiatric illnesses
• Personality Factors