Men who are admitted to an alcohol and drug treatment program may not only be waging a battle against substances which cause physical symptoms of addiction. Addiction is often the most evident behavior present in a person’s life, but very often, much more is going on than meets the eye. Psychological dependency is a very real issue in substance abuse, and must be dealt with in treatment, or a client will simply go back to his previous behaviors.
Physical Addiction to Drugs or Alcohol
Physical addiction occurs when a person must continue to use drugs or alcohol to avoid experiencing withdrawal symptoms, such as headaches, nausea and vomiting. An addict needs to keep taking it to feel “normal.” Going through withdrawal is often a painful experience, which can keep people in the cycle of addiction.
Detoxification (detox) is the process where an addict is weaned off of drugs or alcohol. This is usually the first step when a new client is admitted to an inpatient treatment facility. Once the client is free from the physical effects of the substance, the focus rehab for men can shift to dealing with psychological effects of addiction.
Psychological Addiction to Drugs or Alcohol
To say that a psychological addiction is all in someone’s head is too simple and doesn’t reflect the seriousness of the situation. Once a man has gone through detox, the body is free from the effects of the chemical substance, but it doesn’t do anything to deal with the urges to use that stem from his mind. A psychological addiction comes from the idea that a person needs drugs or alcohol to function or to function better.
A luxury rehab center will include measures to treat both issues of addiction. For men who need help with a dual diagnosis, it’s even more important to get the physical addiction out of the way so that the psychological issues of addiction and the mental health issues can be dealt with appropriately by qualified, caring professionals.
Contact Laguna Beach Recovery today if you are concerned with the addictive behavior of a man in your life.
The post Physical versus Psychological Addiction: Two Issues for Men in Recovery appeared first on Laguna Beach Recovery.