Substance addiction
RESTORE - RECOVER - REGAIN
Substance addiction
Can addiction be treated successfully?
Yes, the addiction disorder can be treated successfully. Research into addiction science and the treatment of drug abuse disorders has led to the development of research-based methods that help people stop drug use and resume their productive lives, also known as recovery.
Can addiction be cured?
Like other chronic diseases such as heart disease or asthma, drug addiction treatment is not a cure. But the treatment help manage the addiction successfully. Treatment enables people to face the devastating effects of addiction on their brains and behavior and to regain control over their lives.
The Journal of Neuroscience, 21(23):9414-9418. 2001
Brain tests compare the brain of a person who stopped using drugs after a month and 14 months of abstinence against a healthy person’s brain. These images show the impressive ability of the brain to recover over an extended period of drug abstinence – in this case, methamphetamine.
How can best treatment programs help
patients recover from addiction?
Stopping drug consumption is just one aspect of a long and complex healing journey. When people start the treatment process, addiction often causes serious consequences in their lives, which can disrupt their health and how they socialize in their family lives, at work, and in society. Since addiction can affect many aspects of a person’s life, treatment must meet all the different needs of the person to be successful. Counselors may be selected from a list of services that address their patients’ medical, mental, social, occupational, family, and legal needs to help with their recovery.