Detoxification

Many programs consider withdrawal from the particular drug of addiction to be detoxification. The is only a partial answer and when substitute drugs are given to replace the substance of abuse this is hardly detoxification at all and is often simply trading one substance for another, as in the use of some anti-depressants, or drugs like methadone, etc. Detoxification means to remove drugs, poisons and toxins from the body as fully as possible. Research clearly indicates that these substances will store in the fatty tissues of the body for months and even years. This in part accounts for drugged feeling and cravings appearing long after use has ceased. At Narconon Arrowhead we follow up withdrawal from use with the New Life Detoxification Program. This is state of the art detoxification embracing nutrition, exercise, and sauna routines to flush the stored drugs and toxins from the body. Many of the people completing this detoxification program report a complete handling and end of drug cravings, with rises in intelligence and ability demonstrated by actual test results.

Any effective alcohol treatment center should be well acquainted with the fact that alcoholism can only end in one of three ways – jail, death, or sobriety. There really are no other options, extenuating circumstances, or ‘this person is different’, etc. Anyone stating or asserting something different is simply uninformed or being dangerously reasonable with the condition. Death, jail, or sobriety, the choice is ultimately the alcoholics. A good alcohol treatment center will give the alcoholic the tools to life a happy alcohol free lifestyle when the choice is sobriety.

At Narconon Arrowhead we do no refer to our participants as ‘patients’ but rather they are considered ‘students’. Using the word ‘patient’ tends to give an erroneous impression of illness and disease, which is not the main thrust of our program. Certainly issues of health and nutrition need to corrected, especially in the withdrawal and detoxification phases of the program. The term student is used as we are educating the individual into the use of the tools and abilities needed to sustain a continuous drug free productive life and to confront and resolve the three main factors behind relapse and continued use. Addiction is not a disease of a lifetime. It can and is being ended on a daily basis here a Narconon Arrowhead.

An outpatient rehab is a drug treatment facility where the individual goes for treatment and then returns home at the end of the day. It could be the personal goes for a counseling session, or perhaps a seminar. All day seminars are often used as well. These offer viable services for those with a lighter abuse problem or as a starting point for full treatment. One thing that should be watched for in medical outpatient rehabs is the use of additional drugs in a mistaken attempt to handle the current drug problem, such as methadone. For most with a serious drug abuse and addiction problem an impatient and more long term treatment program is more effective, though outpatient treatment can be a good beginning if chosen carefully.

Addiction is a chronic, relapsing condition, characterized by compulsive drug-seeking and drug use which is accompanied by functional and molecular changes in the brain. In addition to being addicted to methamphetamine, chronic methamphetamine abusers exhibit symptoms that can include violent behavior, anxiety, confusion, and insomnia. They also can display a number of psychotic features, including paranoia, auditory hallucinations, mood disturbances, and delusions. The paranoia can result in homicidal as well as suicidal thoughts. With chronic use, tolerance for methamphetamine can develop. Users may take higher doses of the drug, take it more frequently, or change their method of drug intake. In some cases, abusers forego food and sleep while injecting as much as a gram of the drug every 2 to 3 hours over several days until the user runs out of the drug or is too disorganized to continue. Chronic abuse can lead to psychotic behavior, characterized by intense paranoia, visual and auditory hallucinations, and out-of-control rages that can be coupled with extremely violent behavior.