Understanding drug and alcohol addiction is no easy task. Many professionals in the rehabilitation and recovery field have tried to designate states of addiction, create models of recovery and have developed multiple theories of addiction causes. The reality is that every drug addict and alcoholic will experience a very different conclusion to their addictions and predictions cannot be made based on pre-recovery state entirely. There are both physical and mental aspects in addiction of which cannot be gauged.
Some professionals will base treatment on Freud’s principals of the ID, the Ego and the Super Ego. In this they take a supply versus demand perspective and try to make the needed adjustments to attain a desired result. Typically, the ID is the craving for the drugs or drink, the Super Ego is a conscience like ballast to the impulses of the ID and the Ego is a sort of mental regulatory station, which tries to govern the two. An example of this in practice would be a methadone injection nullifying a heroin addict’s ID impulse to use by temporarily solving the craving. This might allow mental balance in the addict as the other two fixtures may try to act in a more regulated state than that of a peak high from the drug. An ideal time for therapy would be in this more controlled state.
Others may choose a less broad scope of total personality healing than that of the Freud based persuasion. In this they may treat addiction more directly and try to simply rid the body of the substance in an evacuative system. This treats the drug as the more important infiltrator of the addict and will let the addict, once cleaned of the drug, deal with the emotional and mental issues as they arise. Many people whom quit drinking and doing drugs cold turkey will deal with addiction in this manor. It is wise for people to have community groups, alcoholics anonymous and narcotics anonymous available when dealing with the unknown affects of drug and alcohol addiction withdrawal.
Regardless of treatment processes drugs and alcohol impacts the emotions and mental health of the addict with ferocity. Additionally, there are physical dependencies that develop from alien substances being in the body and the withdrawal symptoms cannot always be predicted. Together, this damaging duo can leave a drug addict confused and vulnerable. A strong support system can alleviate both the mental and physical affects of addiction.
Understanding Drug and Alcohol Addiction
