Outpatient treatment
Treatment for patients who are not resident in a rehabilitation facility, but travel to and from the facility to attend therapy sessions in accordance with an agreed schedule. The treatment schedule can be adapted to suit an individual patient’s circumstances and resources.
Overdose
Overdosing is the taking of too much of one drug (or a combination of drugs) in one dosage, or more than one dosage within a short time period. It overpowers the body and mind and causes serious, life threatening conditions.
Prevention
Large scale prevention of addiction is controlled by two basic principles: First, by preventing availability and, secondly, dampening the demand by providing information about it. The only remaining option, for individuals, is to help victims to recover and to empower them to prevent relapses.
Structured relapse prevention
A type of therapy that teaches addicts the coping skills to identify and deal effectively with daily incidents and risk situations that trigger emotional responses that can lead to relapses.
Substance purity
The proportion of the active substance in relation to the rest of the material which forms the physical mass of a drug. (Also called substance concentration.) Drugs are contaminated with bulking materials and other drugs. It is difficult for a layman to determine the purity of a drug bought on the street..
Symptomatic Drinking / Substance Abuse
The “symptomatic drinking” stage of addiction describes the juncture in which an individual starts drinking or using drugs as a means to deal with an immediate issue in their lives.
Tolerance
The body and mind builds up a “resistance” against the immediate, rewarding effects of addictive drugs and activities. This tolerance develops over a period of time. The level of tolerance increases progressively. Addicts must take more and more of the drug to get the same euphoric effect that they had felt on previous occasions. Addictive behaviour (without substance abuse) also promotes a mental “need” for more intense or more frequent engagement in the activity.
Treatment
There are two main types of recovery treatment: Firstly, medical treatment for detoxification, including medication for overcoming withdrawals and rebuilding the body’s reserves, plus treatment for physical defects (if any). Secondly, therapeutic treatment employing modern procedures, designed to heal the underlying emotional defects and to instil defensive skills for more effective and lasting results.
Withdrawal
The physical and psychological discomfort that occurs when an addict stops taking a drug or stops practising an addictive act. Common physical symptoms are; nausea, tremors, diarrhea, rapid pulse, tight chest, etc. Common psychological withdrawals are anxiety, depression, insomnia, mood swings, etc.