addiction treatment

We’ve all heard of the gateway drug theory – as a kid, you were likely told that smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol could lead to more drugs such as heroin or cocaine. Programs such as D.A.R.E. – Drug Abuse Resistance Education – taught us at an early age to always say “No!” to someone who is offering us drugs or other substances. This program and theory might have helped some of us refrain from using, at least at a youthful age, but is the theory true? The New York Times has broken down the theory and provided several useful pieces of data. Several studies have shown the effect of one drug to another in lab rat experiments. For example, a Columbia University study found that rats exposed to alcohol were far more likely than other rats to press a lever that dispensed cocaine. A 2011 study found similar findings in a study that explored nicotine use in mice. While these types of studies have shown some sort of causal relationships, many scientists are still wondering the effectiveness of these studies due to the simple fact that the studies’ assumptions were that humans respond similarly to rats when it comes to narcotics. Other studies have proven that users who took a drug, like marijuana for example, were able to reduce their use of other drugs. For example, a 2008 study found that individuals who smoked marijuana could reduce their dose of pain-relieving opioids. Newer research is also concluding that other factors, such as poverty and poor social environment have greater predictability in one’s use of drugs than using soft drugs during childhood. A 2016 study conducted by researchers in Texas titled “Gateway hypothesis” and early drug use: Additional findings from tracking a population-based sample of adolescents to adulthood”, further emphasized that childhood drug use wasn’t consistent through adulthood and that other factors such as social context and role of community social norms should also be considered. Does this mean there is no such thing as gateway drugs? Not exactly. Research has proven there is some connection, but each person is different, and some people may be more impacted by childhood drug use than others. Personality, addictive-behavior tendencies, temperament, social context, environment, biological factors, and so much more play a role in addiction.

Many of us have friends, family, or extended family who have gone through addiction. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 23.5 million Americans aged 12 or older needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol abuse problem. When family members have an addiction, their attitude and behavior changes. This, in turn, changes the equilibrium within the household – whether it is spoken or unspoken. Psychology Today notes that patterns of interactions between family members may include how feelings are expressed (or not), how conflict is managed (or avoided), how family issues are communicated in the world outside of the family system, what roles each family member is assigned to, and more. These patterns impact every member of the family, leading some to adopt negative patterns of behavior, continuing the negative cycle of addiction. Luckily, this doesn’t have to be true. The National Association for Children of Addiction states that recovery and even abstinence is possible – you can break the cycle. Tim Sanford of boundless.org, author and licensed professional counselor with over 20 years of experience as a clinician, has provided several key steps to breaking the family cycle of addiction, or even dysfunction.

Treatment centers are frequently criticized for offering “luxury” treatments like massage therapy to their clients who are recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. Massage is a healing therapy and treatment modality. Going to treatment for drug and alcohol addiction is about more than simply learning how to quit using drugs and alcohol. It is meant to be a time for healing, mind, body, and spirit. Most people are unaware of the fact that drug and alcohol addiction lives in the body as much as it does the mind. Harmful substances are harmful to the body inside and out. Massage therapy provides a therapeutic healing touch which is soothing and deeply relaxing. Above all else, recovery is a form of stress management. Massage therapy helps clients reduce their stress and learn to relax, which helps them not produce symptoms of craving. Feeling connected to healing human energy, massage work can help to break up toxins in the body, release stored up emotional energy, improve overall health, and create deep relaxation. Massage therapy releases emotional energy which can reduce the effects of depression and anxiety: Eastern forms of therapeutic treatment like massage believe that emotion is energy and that emotional energy is stored in the body when it is not properly released. A body that is tight and tense can create blockages where the emotions cannot get out. For the therapeutic healing process, massage therapy can serve as an aide to emotional release and processing, which is often a challenge for addicts and alcoholics. Massage therapy increases the production of dopamine and serotonin while it decreases adrenaline and cortisol: Dopamine and serotonin are neurotransmitters in the brain which act as chemical messengers to other parts of the brain. Communicating pleasure and happiness, the stimulation of these hormones help the brain balance out the deficit of dopamine and serotonin caused by drug and alcohol addiction. In addition, the increase of dopamine and serotonin production can help reduce the adrenaline and cortisol in the body, which are stress hormones.