Addiction is a biopsychosocial issue. It is crucial that treatment does not place emphasis solely on the drug of choice but on the entire process of the addiction at hand. At Soba Recovery our comprehensive addiction treatment program addresses all aspects of addiction. At Soba Recovery, we also incorporate the medical management of addiction into our clients’ treatment plans. It is critical that our clients address the psychological, social, emotional, and cognitive issues in their lives during their recovery process. A complete recovery must encompass every facet of life because each and every aspect of life is deeply affected by addiction.
Physical Health
Addiction causes more severe impairment in some of these areas than others. The effects of addiction on physical health are often the last aspect of health to deteriorate. However, physical health also heals much quicker than the other areas that have been impaired by substance abuse. At Soba Recovery, we provide our clients with the best care and strive to make our clients as comfortable as possible. Our rehab offers a nutritional program that provides our clients’ bodies with nutrients that were lost during the period of extensive alcohol and drug abuse. Once the body is replenished with these crucial nutrients, the physical healing process can begin. Another crucial part of the physical healing process is detoxification. One benefit of undergoing detoxification at Soba’s alcohol and drug treatment center is the safe, controlled environment provided for our clients. During the detoxification phase, clients are often prescribed regulated medication in order to decrease their discomfort level. Our clients’ withdrawal symptoms are minimized if and when they are given cross-tolerant prescription medication. They are then slowly tapered off of the medication until it is no longer needed as deemed by their physician. Physical health issues outside of those associated with detoxification are also treated at Soba Recovery Center by our highly experienced medical staff and physicians. Physical recovery after detoxification leads people to believe that they are freed of their addiction, when in fact, they are far from it. A strong support system is necessary for a full recovery from all aspects of the addiction, not just the physical ones. This is why an inpatient treatment program such as the one at Soba Recovery is an essential component in the recovery process.
Cognitive Health
Cognitive health refers to a person’s reasoning, memory, judgment, intuition, and perception. There can be both short and long term effects of substance abuse on a person’s cognitive health. When a person abuses substances, his or her cognitive health is almost immediately impaired. This includes intoxication, amnesia, short-term memory loss, neurological malfunctions, and a vast deterioration of the person’s ability to concentrate. Their perception of what is occurring around them is likely very different than reality. Poor judgment and inaccurate perception often lead the user to believe that he or she does not have a problem or an addiction. This explains why some users are reluctant to enter treatment. The corrosion of a person’s cognitive health often leads to legal and social issues for that person as well. Deterioration of cognitive health has a wide variety of negative effects on the lives of substance abusers, which is why at Soba Recovery Center we understand that it is important to treat each individual’s specific needs.
Psychological Health
When a person’s psychological health deteriorates due to substance abuse, symptoms include irritability, frustration, suspiciousness, delusions, hallucinations, anxiety, depression, and paranoia. This is why people on drugs often view their environment inaccurately, which ultimately results in violent behavior. When a person is abusing substances, his or her dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine levels are significantly altered.
- Dopamine is a chemical in the brain that controls pleasure and stimulation. People often use substances in order to heighten the levels of dopamine in their brains, which results in an increase of pleasurable feelings. After prolonged amphetamine use, people often experience psychosis as a result of the varying levels of dopamine in their brain. Other substances, however, can decrease the levels of dopamine in the brain, which can cause a person to become unconscious and/or experience amnesia.
- Serotonin, another important chemical in the brain, manages a person’s mood, appetite, and sleep. When serotonin levels are decreased as a result of prolonged drug use, the user becomes more irritable, anxious, and depressed. The user will experience scattered thoughts, inability to focus, and memory loss.
- Norepinephrine is the neurotransmitter in the brain that keeps people alert, focused, responsive, and motivated. When the body needs to react quickly to a stressor, norepinephrine increases blood pressure and heart rate, which gets the muscles ready to escape or fight. When substances decrease the levels of norepinephrine, the person using becomes lethargic and sleepy. The user will have difficulty staying awake, focusing, and completing tasks. When substance use increases the levels of norepinephrine, the user’s blood pressure will increase, he or she will experience nervousness, racing thoughts, and cold hands and feet.
After a person discontinues the use of substances, levels of these brain chemicals are often unable to completely recover from the previous damage caused by substance use. This is why at Soba many of our clients are prescribed antidepressants and mood stabilizers to regulate their levels of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Once a person’s psychological health is stabilized, he or she will be able to gain a full understanding of every crucial aspect of the recovery process.
Social and Emotional Health
Substance use and abuse cause a rapid decline in the user’s social and emotional health. The user’s socialization skills decrease as substance use increases. Drug using acquaintances replace the user’s old friends. Problems with friends, family, work, finances, and the law progressively worsen as the person becomes more engulfed in the lifestyle of substance abuse. Substance abusers often experience social isolation. The abuser will lose almost full contact with society, outside of the substance use subculture. When the user’s life revolves around obtaining and using drugs, they lose themselves in the drug use and become disconnected from all other aspects of life. The user will soon feel that without drugs, his or her life has no meaning or purpose. Users do not realize that there are other people and things they can turn to for support and guidance. As a result, a person’s emotional health will also worsen. When a user isolates himself or herself from society, he or she will feel lonely. Loneliness leads to depression, anger, resentment, and hate. Over time, isolation will often cause the user to lack love, joy, intimacy, and warmth. Because the user has not experienced hope in a long time, at Soba, we know it is important to instill the idea that there is hope in recovery.
Social relationships benefit a person’s health via social control that others exercise over that person. Strong, positive social relationships often discourage behaviors that damage the person’s health, such as drug and alcohol use and abuse. These positive social relationships can result in the user’s increased accessibility to others that are also struggling with addiction, and resources that support a healthy lifestyle. At Soba Recovery our clients’ social and emotional health is nursed back to life during the treatment process. Aftercare and referrals are provided by Soba Recovery because we know that having a strong, positive social support system, even after the completion of treatment, ensures a long-lasting recovery.
Because addiction is a biopsychosocial issue, all aspects of a user’s life need to be taken into consideration during treatment planning and throughout the entire rehabilitation process. The most effective treatment for addiction combines education, relapse prevention, various forms of counseling, psychotherapy, group interactions, neurofeedback, a healthy diet, exercise, physical health therapy, and pharmacological adjuncts. At Soba Rehabilitation Center we offer not only the previously mentioned treatment techniques but additional forms of therapy proven to boost our clients’ recovery. The comprehensive, individualized treatment plan offered at Soba Recovery warrants a successful recovery for our clients. After our clients complete their individualized treatment program, they are encouraged to partake in our aftercare program. The aftercare program and referrals presented to our clients make certain that our alumni will have the ability to continue to live a clean, positive, and healthy life.