Posts Tagged Methamphetamines

Recovering from drug addiction is never an easy task. The process of preventing relapse becomes even more difficult due to the presence of certain factors which complicate the recovery process. Awareness regarding the presence of such factors will help the service providers to understand the difficulties and adopt measures to avoid the associated problems.

Chemical dependency is often accompanied by certain psychiatric disturbances the most common ones being major depression, paranoid disorders, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia and psychopathic personality disorders. This co-occurrence of drug abuse with psychiatric problems is referred to as dual disorder and the situation demands an integrated treatment approach. Both the problems should be treated simultaneously failing which the untreated disorder will increase the chances of relapsing to the other disorder. Apart from continued counseling and group therapy, such clients should be given medicines as prescribed by the psychiatrist.

Certain problems are more common within dual diagnosed clients compared to those with single disorder. Such people may suffer due to psycho-social chaos which may be caused by certain inter-related factors such as loss of job, legal problems, family conflict, homelessness, indebtedness, and others. It is beneficial to prioritize the treatment goals in such situations. Involving the family members and strengthening the support and networking with other agencies to mobilize resources are extremely essential.

Many substances like Methamphetamines, when abused overtime, may lead to brain damage which in many cases could be irreversible. This damage may limit the addict’s ability to understand issues, comprehend, remember and apply them in his journey of recovery. The counselor should be extremely patient in dealing such cases. The messages should be given in clear and simple language using concrete examples.

Traumatic past experiences of the recovering addict also complicate his recovery. Specialized help may be sought to deal with Post Traumatic Stress Disorders.

Lack of family support also cause complications and delay the recovery process.