health

An addiction is a tough problem to beat, but it can be done. The first step is
to seek professional help. To make a diagnosis, a physician or mental health
professional, such as a psychologist, social worker, or counselor, asks the
addicted person about past and present alcohol and drug use. If possible,
the doctor or mental health professional will also talk to the person’s family
or friends. In addition, a physician can perform a full medical checkup and
may order tests to check for diseases that are more common among addicts.
For example, a person who injects drugs might be tested for HIV infection,
which can be contracted by sharing needles with an infected person.
Once a diagnosis has been made, there are several treatment options.
Medications can help control drug cravings and relieve withdrawal
symptoms. These are not the same kinds of drugs that are involved
in the addiction but rather medications that help lessen the addiction
problem. Talk therapy can help people with addictions understand
their own behavior, develop improved self-esteem, and cope better with
stress. For most people, a combination of medication and talk therapy
works best. Talk therapy can be done one-on-one with a therapist or in
a group.
Many people do quite well being treated at a clinic while living at
home, but others may need to spend a short time in a hospital or other
controlled setting. These may be appropriate for individuals who have
other mental disorders, are not motivated to change, have friends who
still use alcohol or drugs, or have failed in past treatment efforts. Peer
group self-help programs, such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics
Anonymous, are cornerstones of treatment for addiction problems.

Medications Some medications block the effects of addictive drugs
and relieve withdrawal symptoms. For example, methadone (METH-adon)
is a medication used to treat heroin withdrawal, whereas naltrexone
(nal-TREK-zone) blocks the effects of heroin and related drugs. Other
medications discourage the use of addictive drugs. For example, disulfiram
(dy-SUL-fi-ram) works against alcohol use by causing severe nausea
and other unpleasant symptoms when a person who is using it drinks
alcohol.

Various forms of therapy Several kinds of talk therapy (psychotherapy)
are used to treat addiction. Cognitive (COG-ni-tiv) therapy targets
the faulty thinking patterns that lead to alcohol and drug use. For
example, people who think that alcohol protects them from pain may
be helped to recognize the pain alcohol has caused them (such as loss of
friends, work, and self-esteem, along with physical pain such as hangovers).
People who use drinking as the only way to cope with problems
may be helped to identify other ways to cope with problems. They are
then helped to reconsider their old beliefs that alcohol is the only way to
cope or that it protects them from pain. By discovering that old beliefs are
false, individuals can decide what beliefs are more accurate. In this way,
with time and effort, thinking patterns and false beliefs can change.
Behavioral (bee-HAV-yor-al) therapy takes aim at negative forms of
behavior, often by using a system of rewards and punishments to replace
harmful behaviors with more positive ones. A teenager, for example,
might get movie tickets for having a drug-free urine sample or lose the
privilege of driving the car as a result of a relapse. Behavioral therapy may
also focus on identifying behaviors that keep a drug or alcohol problem in
place (such as going to bars for recreation or spending time with friends
who drink) and choosing behaviors that help beat the problem (such as
going to the gym instead of a bar).
Family therapy works on problems at home that may play a role in
alcohol or drug abuse, such as conflict between family members. Family
members may be taught to communicate better or to solve problems
more effectively.

Self-help groups Self-help groups can be helpful to people who are
trying to deal with an addiction and to their family members. Many are
12-step groups, patterned on the 12 steps that are the guiding principles
of Alcoholics Anonymous. Those who attend group meetings receive personal
support from peers who are fighting the same addiction and trying
to solve their problems responsibly.

Twelve-Step Programs