Can You Save Your Health If You Treat Your Addiction In Time
If you or someone you love suffers from addiction, know that help is available and that you can take action now to protect your/their long-term health and wellbeing. We will discuss the effects of various addictions on mental and physical health, and then introduce the concept of a detox center. These centers specialize in helping people to begin their recovery journey. We will then address the possibility of saving addicts from the long-term negative effects of their addictions and finally, we will look at some of the available treatments. Let’s dive in.
Effects of Addiction On Health
There are various kinds of addiction; some are to substances, while others are to activities, such as gambling or sex. Whatever your addiction, there is a treatment center willing and able to help. All addictions have some level of negative effect on the body and mind.
Mental health can be severely impacted by addiction. The knowledge that you are out of control of your choices, dependent on a substance or activity, distressing those around you, and prioritizing your addiction over your loved ones and your life can cause shame, anger, and resentment. Moreover, addiction can be scary, lonely, and confusing for the addict and their loved ones.
Physical health can also be severely impacted by long-term addiction. A lot of the time when a person is addicted to a substance, such as alcohol or drugs, they do not regularly provide their body with proper nourishment and this can lead to malnourishment, exhaustion, digestive issues, and higher risks of heart disease. An addiction to gambling can also lead to physical health complaints due to a lack of proper eating and sleeping routines.
Of course, for those addicted to a substance, the actual substance will be harming the body and mind as well. For instance, heroin can cause brain damage, alcohol can lead to throat cancer, MDMA can cause severe depression and cocaine use can lead to panic attacks, paranoia, and even psychosis.
Detox Centers
This is where early intervention comes in. Detox centers are designed to help you take your first steps toward recovery and support you through this momentous decision. It can be scary and challenging to reach out to a detox center, but they are designed to guide you gently through the process, from detoxification to staying sober. These centers provide luxury living areas, attentive staff, therapy, and constant support while you begin this detoxifying journey. A detox center can give you back the life you have lost to addiction.
If you think that this sounds like something you or a loved one could benefit from, you should reach out to a center as soon as possible, as time is precious. The sooner you begin, the sooner you could have your life back and the less likely it is that there will be long-term damage.
How Your Health Can Be Saved
While all illegal drugs threaten dangerous short and long-term effects, if you intervene quickly enough in an addict’s journey, they might avoid the long-term effects that come from overuse. It is not guaranteed that treating addiction more quickly will prevent long-term damage, but it significantly decreases the risks. Some addictive substances have terrible long-term effects.
For example, someone who has used heroin repeatedly for a long time will have deteriorated white matter in the brain and will be likely to develop heroin use disorder. This causes the individual to seek heroin at all times and at all costs, and finding and using the drug becomes their primary purpose in life.
Moreover, long-term meth addicts will find that they suffer from gum disease and tooth loss, as well as serious cardiovascular issues and respiratory issues that can lead to death.
As for sex or gambling addictions, the longer these go on, the more likely a person is to damage their mental well-being. Their relationships can break down, they can lose all of their financial assets, contract sexually transmitted diseases, suffer from shame and embarrassment, and be unable to hold down a partner or a job. This can cause severe depression and anxiety.
The longer a person is addicted to a substance or activity, the more likely they are to succumb to the dangerous long-term effects on the body and mind. The good news is, with quick intervention, these chances are significantly reduced.
How Addiction Is Treated
Your addiction treatment plan will be built specifically around your own needs and what you are looking for. Once the center knows this, they can begin to shape a recovery plan around your individual case. Depending on what you want from this experience, they will assign you to different facilities and programs. The programs they choose for you will have a huge impact on the success of your recovery journey, but luckily they are experts, and you will be in well-educated hands.
One thing that you can do while you are at the center and receiving therapy and treatment for addiction is to try your hardest to commit to recovery. This will make all of the difference. There will, of course, be days where this seems incredibly hard. But with determination to live a better life comes a level of strength and resilience that can save your health and well-being. A lot of therapies, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, can only work when the patient wants to be helped.
This has been a brief look at how addiction can negatively impact a person’s mental and physical health, and how you can save your health and wellbeing by treating addiction quickly. We have seen how substances can damage your body and mind and how other addictions can ruin relationships, financial security, eating and sleeping patterns, and self-worth in a person.
However, the good news is that detox centers are here to help. With detoxifying treatments and support to stay clean, these centers can save lives and return people to their lives and loved ones revitalized. Detox centers have luxury living spaces, well-trained and kind staff, and facilities to treat all kinds of addictions. Contact a center today to talk about your situation.
