Is It Ever too Late to Recover from Drug Addiction?

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Is It Ever too Late to Recover from Drug Addiction?

You will hear it from recovery centers all across the country. It is never too late to recover from drug addiction. Regardless of your age or how long you have been addicted to a drug or combination of drugs, it is possible to recover. It will likely require not only attending rehab but a strong support system and ongoing counseling. However, you must remember, it is never too late to recover from drug addiction.

Individualized Treatment for Drug Addiction

There are numerous options a client has when choosing a program that is right for their unique needs to help them recover from drug addiction. First, the client can decide whether or not they wish to seek treatment in an outpatient program or inpatient treatment center. Those who are experiencing mild and controllable cravings and are not experiencing painful withdrawal symptoms can usually receive favorable results from outpatient programs. However, those with uncontrollable cravings and moderate to severe withdrawal symptoms will often require inpatient treatment. Inpatient treatment will provide medical supervision, along with various treatment methods used in easing the discomfort of the client’s withdrawal symptoms.

Once a person has selected the method of treatment they prefer, they can now choose a treatment program. There is no one particular form of therapy that is effective for everyone. Many kinds of drug rehabilitation programs exist around the country.

Some of the forms include:

  • Self-Help Programs – These programs enable clients to attend meetings and join groups with others who are recovering from addiction.
  • Faith-Based Programs – These programs allow clients to focus their treatment on developing or strengthening their faith while healing through treatment.
  • Cognitive Programs – Cognitive programs help clients by basing their recovery on the understanding of their belief practices, triggers, and emotional processes.

All of these treatment options can be customized to provide a unique program for each person to help them recover from drug addiction in a manner that is helpful to them.

With so many kinds of rehabilitation treatment options around the country, you get a choice of what will work for you. Even if it takes multiple programs to find one that works, it is beneficial to your health and the health of those around you to give it a try. If you find a rehab center that is ineffective, it is not because it is too late to recover from drug addiction but merely because the wrong approach was taken.  It is always possible to reach recovery.

Detoxification Treatment

One important aspect of treatment to consider when finding the right center is rehab treatment. Not all centers offer a detox program. When this is not included, it requires a person to go outside of the rehab center to be detoxified first – and the way that other places deal with the withdrawal symptoms may not be effective. As a result, some people would rather continue using drugs as opposed to dealing with withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawing from drugs can be a physically and mentally arduous task. Anyone who has tried to quit before understands the symptoms and pain that they are about to deal with.

For former drug addicts, dealing with withdrawal is the first step towards becoming sober. Getting professional help by attending a drug rehabilitation program can help users to endure drug withdrawal. There are a variety of approaches to detox treatment, including medically-assisted detox. Choosing the most effective one for the client is not the only important factor of an effective rehabilitation program, but it is something to be cognizant of when searching for rehab centers.

Some people can recover quickly after entering a rehab center. Others need years and years of group counseling to be able to talk through the issues. What everyone must understand is that there is never a “quick fix.” People who become addicted to drugs will likely suffer from addiction of one sort or another for the rest of their life. Every day will be a struggle to resist the temptations but as time goes on, it becomes easier to resist.

Treatment Statistics by Age

For anyone who thinks it is too late to recover from a drug addiction, addiction recovery statistics paint a very different picture.

A survey by the National Institute on Drug Abuse has broken down admissions by age. The largest percentage is for people who are between 25 and 29, which is 14.8%. Those who are 40-44 hold 12.6% of the admission, and the age group of 50-59 is 10.4%, showing that people of all ages will go into a rehab center to get help with drug addiction.

Interventions

There are some individuals who will never check themselves into a rehab center of their accord. No matter how much they need help, either they don’t see that there is a problem or they believe that it will not be effective. This is when intervention is more important than ever. For those that are in denial, an intervention can be a very upsetting time because they believe there are no reasons for them to obtain help. Family members of a substance abuser will host an intervention in hopes that,  as a result, the person chooses to get drug treatment.

Remember it is Never Too Late to Recover From Drug Addiction

If you know someone who has a drug addiction, they can get the help needed to recover. A counselor can work with you and the person with the addiction to help them come to terms with their problem and plan a program that can be best customized for their needs.

Help is always available, and can always provide assistance to those who struggle with drug addiction. It is never too late to recover from drug addiction, no matter what a person has already been through. It does not matter whether they have ended up in the hospital, alienated friends and family, or only been addicted for years; there are rehab centers with critical services that can provide the necessary addiction treatment help. Never let people say to you that it is too late to recover from drug addiction. Research has shown that it is never too late to get help.

Resources:

  • drugabuse.gov – National Institute on Drug Abuse: Treatment Statistics
  • mayoclinic.org – Drug Addiction