Drug Treatment for Relapse Prevention in Richmond

Drug treatment for relapse prevention in Richmond gives individuals a chance to stay on the sober path with the least struggle. For anyone struggling with addiction or interested in helping an addict, it's important that they grasp what addiction is in essence; it's the only way to take effective action. Addictive behavior comes from the permanent changes that drugs make to the brain's structure. Some of the changes involve the creation of new types of instinct and a rearrangement of priorities. Others involve cell death and a consequent change in character.

Once these changes occur, quitting drugs is no longer a matter of simply attending detox, freeing oneself of the withdrawal symptoms and cravings, and returning to a normal life. Retrieving a life of sobriety back from addiction is only possible with a heavy investment in top-notch relapse prevention therapy.

Live a longer and happier life, call Richmond recovery centers for treatment. Dial (877) 804-1531 for more information.

How Drug Treatment for Relapse Prevention Works

The foremost therapeutic approach in relapse prevention involves addressing the challenge of emotional or behavioral triggers. While it's easy enough to understand that exposure to addictive substances creates a feeling of euphoria, many do not realize how it also sets up a system of constant anticipation in the brain. Each time the brain is exposed to drugs, it scans the environment for different environmental cues to attach to its use -- the smells, sights and sounds, the people around, and myriad other things.

When the brain later senses one of these environmental cues, it quickly begins to anticipate being treated to drugs, going so far as to create some of the pleasure associated with drug use even before the drugs actually come, and enters the craving mode. When one of these cues appears, the pleasure of drugs can be so thick, resisting can be extremely difficult.

Relapse prevention, then, trains recovering addicts in strategies that help them avoid all triggers. The HALT method is one of the most common strategies in use -- avoiding all Hunger, Anger, Loneliness and Tiredness. These common triggers are risks in most recovering addicts. Other strategies involve staying away from current drug users, and signing up for stress management classes with methods such as restoration yoga and mindfulness therapy.

Find the key to lasting recovery by calling drug and alcohol treatment centers in Richmond. You can also visit your local Narcotics Anonymous (http://meetings.intherooms.com/meetings/na/va) for more support.