Cocaine Addiction: How To Get Help

Cocaine abuse is, unfortunately, an all too common problem in the United States. In fact, over 900,000 Americans met the criteria indicating cocaine addiction as of 2014. Being addicted to cocaine can have negative consequences for an individual’s health and personal and professional lives.

Fortunately, addiction treatment for people who have become dependent on cocaine consumption offers success. If you or a loved one is addicted to cocaine and looking to stop using, don’t wait to reach out to get help. At Soba Recovery, we’re waiting for your call. 

Cocaine and Its Effects on the Body

Cocaine is a drug that stimulates the nervous system. It can be consumed in a variety of ways. The most common way to consume cocaine is through snorting this drug in powder form. However, cocaine can also be smoked or injected. 

When cocaine is ingested, it produces a euphoric effect. It can also create sensations in users of being highly energetic. The effects that cocaine consumption offers can result in both physical and psychological addictions. Physically, the body can become dependent on the drug so that withdrawal symptoms such as fatigue, depression, and irritability are noticed when affected individuals no longer consume cocaine. Psychologically, chronic cocaine users can become dependent on the drug and experience thoughts and feelings of needing it to get through the day. 

Perhaps the biggest reason why it’s so easy to become addicted to cocaine is because cocaine use produces high dopamine levels in the brain. This means that cocaine use creates a strong and intense reward response in the brain. Regular cocaine users enjoy this response and their brains are reprogrammed by routine cocaine consumption. If they don’t continue to use cocaine, their dopamine levels can drop abnormally low so that they feel very depressed and desperate to use cocaine again. 

Symptoms of Cocaine Addiction

If you’re suffering from a cocaine addiction, you probably feel like you’re unable to keep up with personal, professional, and financial commitments. You may also notice your addiction is starting to affect your health. Lack of appetite, unintentional weight loss, feeling paranoid, and feeling depressed, are all negative side effects to cocaine use. If you notice these symptoms in someone else, they may need help with their addiction as well. 

Seeking Treatment for Cocaine Addiction

Addiction to cocaine can be treated in a variety of ways. At Soba Recovery, we know overcoming addiction is not always easy. We do everything we can to make you feel as safe and comfortable as possible. We offer numerous treatment options that can help you overcome your cocaine addiction.

The first step to the recovery process is detoxification. Detoxification is an essential part of overcoming cocaine addiction or any other type of drug addiction. Detoxification is the process of ridding your body of cocaine and any other harmful substances. It’s also the first step to recovery One of the most difficult parts of detoxification is dealing with withdrawal symptoms. While withdrawal symptoms can be difficult to handle, we at Soba Recovery make sure we’re doing everything we can to ease the withdrawals. We also monitor your vitals 24/7 to make sure no health complications arise during detox. 

After detox, there are a few different treatment options for you. We usually recommend clients complete residential inpatient treatment, then partial hospitalization, outpatient, and sober living. We know addiction and treatment is different for everyone so if the above mentioned isn’t your path, that’s ok. We know some people aren’t able to complete residential treatment because they have personal obligations at home. Below is a breakdown of each treatment option: 

Residential Inpatient 

Residential inpatient treatment is typically the next best step to take in recovery after detoxification. On average your stay with us will be about one month. During this time you’ll live at our treatment facility and have round the clock care. You’ll eat your meals here, attend group, and individual therapy. Residential inpatient care is an excellent way to detox and overcome withdrawal symptoms with the assistance of doctors and counselors who have a great deal of experience regarding the treatment of drug addiction. This is the time where you’ll also start to dig deep and find out the root cause of your cocaine addiction.

Partial Hospitalization

Partial hospitalization can be used as a step down from residential inpatient treatment or in lieu of. The program is similar to residential inpatient but you don’t sleep at our facility. You spend the day attending different therapy sessions and connecting with others around you, but get to go home to your own bed at night. You’ll also focus on finding out some triggers for your addiction. 

Outpatient and Sober Living

Outpatient treatment continues the therapies offered during inpatient and partial hospitalization. Alot of our clients will attend outpatient while in a sober living home. These treatment options give you the flexibility in your schedule to get a job and start to get back to “normal” life while still working on your recovery. Outpatient and sober living are both great tools when preventing relapse. 

Get Help for Cocaine Addiction Today 

The sooner you or your loved one seeks help for cocaine addiction, the sooner this severe problem can be overcome. The first step to getting the treatment you or your loved one needs for cocaine addiction is to contact us at SOBA Recovery Center. We’ll provide you with more information and answer your questions regarding treatment options.

At Soba Recovery Center, we’re here to help. We offer treatment programs for cocaine addiction in Mesa, Arizona and San Antonio, Texas. Contact us to learn more about our cocaine addiction treatment centers and the drug addiction treatments we provide.

Top Ten Ways to Kick Cocaine

Kicking the cocaine habit is difficult due to the mental and physical effects it has on the body. You need both medical and psychological help to get you through the withdrawal effects of this drug. When it comes to quitting, though, you are not alone. Evaluate these ten ways to see which can help you the most to kick coke to the curb. You may need to try several to get over your addiction.

1. Stopping Cold Turkey or Detoxing

Generally, stopping cold turkey is the least preferable way to quit cocaine because doing so can cause serious side effects. These side effects can include severe drowsiness, agitation, suicidal thoughts, anxiety, depression, and paranoia. The mental effects of stopping coke may be serious enough to require a doctor’s intervention to keep you from hurting yourself.

If you want to stop cold turkey, consider checking yourself into a medically supervised detox facility. The doctors and nurses on hand will ensure that you get the support you need as your body goes through withdrawal.

3. Social Support Groups

While you go through withdrawal, you will need help to work through the emotions that emerge during quitting. Talking about your feelings and experiences with others who are going through the same steps may help you to power through the withdrawal stages and after.

3. Find Replacements for Cocaine

Because substance abuse no longer holds your life hostage, you will have more time on your hands. Unless you find something to fill that time with, you may go back to using drugs. Take the time during recovery to try out new hobbies, such as playing an instrument, knitting, or volunteering. Working with your hands can distract you when you experience cravings.

4. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a psychological technique that helps patients to change how they respond to specific situations. For addiction treatment, if you used cocaine in certain situations, by going through CBT, you will learn to do other things than turn to drugs. If you choose a formal counseling program or therapist, most use this therapeutic technique. Even 12-step programs integrate elements of CBT into their methods.

5. Motivational Incentives

For some people, motivation helps. Create rewards for yourself that correspond to times without coke. For example, you may use the money saved on drugs to buy yourself a new video game or jacket if you go for a week without using drugs. You may also increase the incentives to encourage yourself to extend the length of time you go cocaine-free. Perhaps you invest in the down payment for a new car after lasting a year of living cleanly.

6. Balance Your Life

Your life will get turned upside down when you stop using cocaine. The parties you once went to will no longer be options for you because you may feel too tempted to use drugs again. Part of getting over substance abuse is discovering how to keep yourself balanced.

Get regular exercise, develop good sleep habits, and eat a healthy diet. These activities will keep your body and mind healthy. They will also replace some of the time you once devoted in your schedule to drug use. If you used coke to improve your mood or energy levels, healthier living will replace it to give you more energy.

7. Unfriend Some People

Carefully examine your life, and if you have friends who encouraged you in your addiction, break ties with them. People who push you toward self-destructive behaviors, like substance abuse, are not friends.

To keep yourself from feeling lonely, look for activities in your area that do not require drugs where you can make friends. Sign up for a softball league, visit a house of worship, or volunteer your time. Making friends outside drug-use activities can make quitting easier.

8. Identify and Eliminate Triggers

Triggering events, feelings, locations, and people can be difficult to avoid, especially if you retain your old routine while trying to quit. You need to assess your life and identify times when you would use coke. If you only used it as a party drug, you should avoid going to parties for a while. For some people, the trigger may have been stress in their life. Getting more exercise or meditation to reduce stress can help remove that trigger. Talk to your therapist about possible triggers and how you can get those out of your life.

9. Check Into an Intensive Treatment Facility

If you have a serious addiction, check yourself into a substance abuse treatment facility. Though in 2013, only 6% of people in rehab centers had a cocaine addiction, 68% of those use more than one drug.

The advantage of professional treatment facilities is the access you have to a variety of services, such as CBT, intensive individual therapy, family therapy, psychodynamic group therapy, and more. At addiction recovery facilities, you can detox from coke, begin therapy, and discover ways to stay drug-free for life.

10.  Keep Trying

Unfortunately, those who recover from reliance on coke may experience a relapse. In fact, between 40% and 60% of those who recover once will relapse. Don’t let this discourage you because it reflects the recurrence rate of serious medical issues like asthma or high blood pressure, which can have a recurrence of 50% to 70%.

Get the professional addiction treatment you need to recover from your problem in a relaxing, luxurious setting. Contact us at SOBA Recovery today for more information on our cocaine and other substance addiction recovery programs.