Drug & Alcohol Rehab in Ashton-under-Lyne

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Drug & Alcohol Rehab in Ashton-under-Lyne

If you or a loved one is suffering from addiction, there are plenty of services out there that will offer advice, support and treatment today.

For more information about drug and alcohol rehab in Ashton-under-Lyne, please contact Rehab Recovery today at 0800 088 66 86.

Signs of Addiction

There are some key signs to look out for that indicate someone may be struggling with an addiction, such as:

1. Mood swings

When someone is using substances chronically, they are likely to experience mood swings. This does not always occur, and it is only a symptom of certain substance use disorders, but it is definitely something to look out for.

The reason for these mood swings is that substances alter the chemicals in our brain, the physical symptoms can take a toll on our mental health, and you are likely to be emotionally unstable when you are worrying about the potential consequences of your addiction.

It goes without saying that addiction is not always the cause of mood swings, and people with addiction do not always experience mood swings. However, if someone is suddenly experiencing intense mood swings and they are using drugs regularly, this could be the cause.

2. Defensiveness

When someone is addicted to drugs, they are unlikely to want everyone to know about this. They may feel ashamed of their behaviour, which can cause them to become defensive when you bring it up.

Some examples of defensiveness may be: denying their problem, criticising you to take the attention off their addiction, becoming aggressive, or downplaying the severity of their substance use problem.

Often, defensiveness is a natural coping mechanism that comes before acceptance. This means that many victims of addiction will first deny that they have a problem, but with time, they will become less defensive when someone voices their concerns.

However, this does not always happen, which is very damaging as it may lead to the person with addiction refusing to get help.

3. Withdrawal symptoms

For many people, the first sign that they are addicted to a substance is that they experience withdrawal symptoms when they stop using it. Some substances involve physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms, but others will only involve one or the other.

This is a clear sign that the person with an addiction has become reliant on the drug, and therefore they will need a detox if they want to get sober safely and with less pain.

4. Relationship struggles

Relationships tend to suffer when addiction is present, as it is difficult to watch the person you love suffer. The person without the addiction may become tired of caring for their partner, trying to encourage them to get help, and perhaps hiding the addiction from their friends and family to avoid embarrassment.

The person with the addiction may stop feeling the same feelings for their partner as they are too caught up in their addiction to think about anything else. Alternatively, they may feel these feelings but stop making their partner a priority, and this can cause the relationship to stop working.

5. Illness

When someone is using drugs frequently and in high doses, it has a negative effect on their immune system. Many drug users end up feeling under the weather most of the time, whether it’s with headaches, excessive sweating, nausea, or stomach pains.

In more serious circumstances, they may develop a long-term health condition either directly from using drugs, or from drug use combined with other factors. For example, they may deal with liver damage, heart problems, or blood pressure problems (usually high blood pressure).

6. Secrecy

We have already explained that many drug users feel shame due to their addiction. This means that they are likely to hide aspects of their drug use to avoid others shaming them.

They may downplay their dose, their frequency of use, or even pretend they do not have a substance use issue at all.

If a family member does this to you, it is hard not to take it personally, as it may feel as though they do not trust you with their struggles. However, remember that it is a very common sign of addiction, and it is a reflection of the damage that addiction does to an individual, not to your relationship with your loved one.

7. Poor personal hygiene

When someone is using drugs every day, it becomes all they care about. This means they are likely to neglect their personal hygiene, either because they do not have the energy to focus on it, or they do not even realise it is deteriorating.

As people’s mental health often declines when they have an addiction, this can also be the cause of poor personal hygiene. They may feel too depressed to put effort into anything, or they may be so consumed by anxiety that they cannot spare a thought for their appearance.

Some signs of poor personal hygiene to looking out for are: bad breath, unkempt hair, and dirty clothes.

8. Extreme tiredness

Extreme tiredness is another possible sign of addiction. This occurs because using substances takes a toll on your body, and it is exhausting to be constantly experiencing a high and then a huge low.

Another reason for fatigue is that people with addiction tend to have sleep problems, including insomnia. This means they are less likely to get a good night’s sleep regularly, and this can leave them with very limited energy.

The more tired we are, the harder it is for us to be motivated, which makes it more likely that people dealing with extreme fatigue will take the ‘easy’ route of being under the influence on a regular basis, rather than getting sober.

9. Tolerance

When someone has been using drugs over a long period of time, they tend to get used to the feeling, and this means their body adapts to the dosage they are taking. With time, they often begin to take higher doses to account for this, which is called tolerance. (1)

It goes without saying that tolerance increases the dangers of addiction for the individual concerned, as it means they are usually taking more of the substance, which can lead to serious withdrawal symptoms and even death.

Tolerance is not always easy to spot, as people can hide how much they are using. Sometimes, it is even difficult for the individual to know they are becoming tolerant, as they may have gradually increased their use over time without understanding why.

What is the Difference Between Behavioural Addiction & Substance Addiction?

Behavioural addiction is when someone is reliant on a certain behaviour, and when they cannot engage in this behaviour, they experience withdrawal symptoms. Behavioural addictions are sometimes viewed as less serious than substance use disorders.

This can sometimes be true in terms of physical health, but it is certainly not always the case.

Addictions to love, work, sex, and eating are examples of behavioural addictions that can destroy people’s lives. Anything that is getting in the way of your health, relationships, and responsibilities is something to be taken very seriously.

On the other hand, someone with a substance addiction is reliant on drugs, legal or illegal, to function in their day-to-day life. The severity of a substance use disorder varies depending on the type of substance used, the amount used, the frequency of use, any pre-existing health conditions the user has, and various other factors.

Some examples of common substance addictions in Ashto-under-Lyne are cannabis, alcohol, opioids, cocaine, heroin, and prescription drugs.

For more information about drug and alcohol rehab in Ashton-under-Lyne, please contact Rehab Recovery today at 0800 088 66 86.

What Determines the Severity of an Addiction?

There are different ways we can determine the severity of the addiction. One way is to look at how much the addiction is affecting someone’s life.

It would be useful to look at how the person’s health, career, motivation, relationships, and energy are influencing their life in a negative way.

Another method is to measure the individual’s substance use, looking at how regularly they use the substance, how often they experience withdrawal symptoms, what dose of the drug they take, how long they have been taking the drug, and other important factors.

The best way is to use formal diagnostic tests, as they have been approved by addiction specialists. One reliable way to test addiction severity is to look at the DSM criteria (2). This includes signs of addiction, and the more signs you have, the more severe your addiction is.

Some signs are: being tolerant to a substance, having cravings for the substance, using substances even when it is dangerous, and spending a lot of time using the substance. 6 or more symptoms mean you may have an addiction, 4-5 suggest a moderate issue, and 2-3 is a mild issue.

Though using a diagnostic test can be very helpful, it is not the most reliable if you do not involve an addiction specialist. This is why the staff at drug and alcohol rehab in Ashton-under-Lyne use diagnostic tests on their patients, rather than getting the patient to self-diagnose.

How Does Drug & Alcohol Rehab in Ashton-under-Lyne Help With Addiction Recovery?

The first way that drug and alcohol rehab in Ashton-under-Lyne helps with addiction recovery is by having a medical detox as part of the treatment programme. If you try to recover without detoxing, the result may be deadly.

Your body needs to adjust to sobriety, rather than being thrown into it via the risky ‘cold turkey’ method.

On the other hand, when you go to drug and alcohol rehab in Ashton-under-Lyne, you will have a controlled detox, which is much safer for you. When you complete the detox, is much more likely that you will stay motivated to get sober, as you will not be disheartened by daily withdrawal symptoms anymore.

Secondly, drug and alcohol rehab in Ashton-under-Lyne provides daily therapy to all patients. This is a great way to get people to recover, as they are forced to address their substance use issues immediately, and consistently. This means they will understand the dangers of addiction and the benefits of sobriety.

Often, people with addiction have experienced trauma. Having regular therapy means that they are less likely to experiment with substances to manage the negative feelings that come with this trauma.

Instead, there is more chance that they will reach for healthy coping mechanisms e.g., journalling, counselling, mindfulness, exercise, and socialising.

Something that can be very helpful in the recovery journey is meeting likeminded people, as this means you are not feeling pressured to engage in addictive behaviours, you have people to vent to about the specific challenges of getting sober, and you know that there are people who will motivate you when you are feeling down about sobriety.

This means that drug and alcohol rehab in Ashton-under-Lyne is a wonderfully motivating place for people with addiction to be. You get to meet lots of different people who suffer from addiction, and there is plenty of time to get to know them both formally (group therapy, workshops, educational sessions) and informally (leisure time).

Finally, when you go to drug and alcohol rehab in Ashton-under-Lyne, you will be given a relapse prevention plan before you leave, which lasts for a year after that point. It is a method to help you to stay sober when you are no longer immersed in recovery, as you were at rehab.

Though some people do relapse even with aftercare, there is a much better chance that they will stay sober when they have formal support provided by their chosen drug and alcohol rehab in Ashton-under-Lyne.

At any point that a patient feels overwhelmed and incapable of staying sober, they can contact the treatment centre for advice and support, which in itself can be a form of relapse prevention.

For more information about drug and alcohol rehab in Ashton-under-Lyne, please contact Rehab Recovery today at 0800 088 66 86.

Can Drug & Alcohol Rehab in Ashton-under-Lyne Result in Relapse?

It is not that drug and alcohol rehab in Ashton-under-Lyne causes relapse, but that people with addiction risk relapse at any point, and going to rehab does not change that.

The fact is that drug and alcohol rehab in Ashton-under-Lyne does reduce the risk of relapse in patients. However, many patients will still relapse after being an inpatient at private rehab. This is very common in the first year, which is why the aftercare is planned for this time.

You may be wondering what the point of rehab is if it does not remove the risk of relapse. What you need to keep in mind is that some patients relapse within the first few months of leaving rehab, but never again in their life.

They are still much better equipped to be sober long-term than someone who has never had addiction treatment at rehab.

Something else to consider is that removing the risk of relapse is not possible by any means, whether that be rehab, home detoxing, fellowship meetings, therapy, or medication. This means we need to focus on treatments that are the best at reducing the risk, and rehab consistently has the best success rates.

Furthermore, if a patient relapses within the aftercare period, they have a huge amount of support to help them get back on their feet and continue to pursue sobriety. This is unique to residential rehab, as aftercare is always provided.

With home detoxing, on the other hand, there is no subsequent therapy or any other support relating to the addiction.

How Can Rehab Recovery Help Me in My Recovery Journey?

The first thing we can do to help you recover is to take the pressure off you when it comes to finding the right treatment. This pressure will only worsen your physical symptoms, and negatively impact your mental health, so by asking us to take care of the rehab research, you are relieved of unnecessary stress.

We can also talk to you about what addiction is and how it works, in case you have unexpectedly developed an addiction, or you are worried about a family member who is showing all the signs.

Something else we are happy to do at Rehab Recovery is to explain how interventions work, in the event that you are concerned for a loved one and you would like to do all you can to push them to get professional help for their addiction.

Get Help Today

You can access all of these services by contacting us at 0800 088 66 86 or filling out our contact form. We offer an initial assessment if you are interested in getting treatment for your addiction without having to do all of the heavy lifting yourself.

References

[1] Tolerance, Physical Dependence, and Addiction Explained https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/tolerance-dependence-addiction-explained

[2] DSM 5 Criteria for Substance Use Disorders https://www.verywellmind.com/dsm-5-criteria-for-substance-use-disorders-21926