Drug & Alcohol Rehab Basingstoke

Aberdeen Drug and Alcohol Rehab Treatment Centres

Despite decades of study, some people still think that a drug or alcohol addiction is something that you should be able to pull yourself out of through willpower alone.

They rarely have a grasp of the shame and guilt that many addicts struggle with, or the vicious cycle that comes with repeatedly trying and failing to quit.

The truth is, addiction is an illness that can have a profound effect on your body and brain. Cravings and severe withdrawal symptoms can make it very difficult to quit drugs or alcohol if you are a dependent or habitual user.

Over time, addiction changes the way your brain works, altering the way it deals with pleasure, reward and compulsion control.

Thankfully, help is at hand – if you choose to seek it out. Drug and alcohol rehabilitation centres in Basingstoke and elsewhere in the UK offer evidence-backed programmes that have been proven to have a high success rate.

It still won’t be easy but there are people out there who want to help…and who understand what you are going through.

If you’re looking for drug and alcohol rehab in Basingstoke or surrounding areas, contact us today to find out how we can help.

The physical and psychological effects of alcohol and drug addiction

Different drugs have different effects on the body and mind. The short-term effects of depressants, stimulants and hallucinogens are all very different and the long-term impact can vary depending on a number of factors.

These factors obviously include the type of substance involved but also the duration and heaviness of usage, your own physical and mental characteristics and any underlying health conditions.

They all change the way your brain operates however and in the short term this can lead to risky, reckless or criminal behaviour.

Some other potential physical effects of long-term alcohol and drug misuse could include:

• – Death from alcohol or drug poisoning
• – Stroke
• – Cardiac issues from heart disease to irregular heartbeat
• – Damage to organs and systems including liver, stomach, lungs, brain and central nervous system
• – Infections and diseases, especially if sharing needles
• – Low-level illnesses due to supressed immune system and being generally ‘run down’
• – Jaw and teeth issues due to teeth-clenching
• – Impotence

If you are pregnant and continue to drink or take drugs, this can cause permanent harm to your baby.

As you continue to drink or use drugs, you can build up a tolerance. This means that you have to take more to get the same effect and the addiction itself continues to ramp up.

At the same time, withdrawal symptoms can get more severe if you do not get the substance you crave. This, along with the compulsive element of addiction, can make it increasingly difficult to break away from without getting the right help.

Mental health treatments and support

Prolonged substance misuse can also have an impact on your mental health. Psychological issues such as paranoia and depression are common and many people struggling with addiction are also found to be suffering from mental health issues.

This is generally known as dual diagnosis or co-morbidity. According to the NHS somewhere between a third and a half of people treated for mental health conditions in the UK experience co-existing problems with alcohol and/or drugs at some point.

The relationship between addiction, substance misuse and mental health is a complex one and it is not always accurate to say that addiction causes mental health issues.

This can sometimes be the case but for other people, mental health issues can be a root cause of their addiction and drug taking.

Substance misuse can exacerbate existing mental health issues and sometimes it is the withdrawal process that triggers symptoms of mental illness.

Often, it is a tangled web of all these strands.

In cases of dual diagnosis it often pays to treat both areas at the same time. As addiction and mental health are so often interlinked, it might not deal with all the root causes if you only concentrate on one or the other.

Not all private drug and alcohol rehab places specialise in treating people with dual diagnosis but if you are struggling with both addiction and mental health, it can certainly pay to find out that does.

We can help you to find addiction treatment centres in Basingstoke that can also help treat accompanying mental health conditions.

What to expect from drug and alcohol rehab in Basingstoke

Most residential addiction treatment programmes for alcohol and drugs start with a thorough physical and psychological assessment.

This allows the addiction professionals to create a tailored programme of treatments and to address any medical and other requirements that you might have.

This will generally be followed by drug and alcohol detoxification in a controlled and monitored environment. This will help you to ‘flush’ the harmful elements of the alcohol and drugs from your body, as well getting you through the accompanying withdrawal symptoms.

A holistic rehab for drug and alcohol abuse will also offer a number of therapies and treatments aimed at exploring the root causes of your addiction and changing the way you think and behave in regard to it.

Why a drug and alcohol aftercare programme is so important

The process of recovery from addiction does not end when you step out of the door. Long term recovery is a process rather than a single step and it can take months or even years before you feel confident that you will not relapse.

You should also make sure you don’t become over-confident. This could lead to slipping into complacency and a danger of relapse. Some recovering addicts say that it is a lifelong battle but the first year is generally the biggest hurdle to get through.

Our rehab clinics in Basingstoke and beyond offer aftercare services that are second to none and designed to get you through those perilous moments when temptation, stress or other triggers put you at risk.

Call today and find out more about how we can help you to take the first steps towards a brighter, addiction-free future.

Despite decades of study, some people still think that a drug or alcohol addiction is something that you should be able to pull yourself out of through willpower alone.

They rarely have a grasp of the shame and guilt that many addicts struggle with, or the vicious cycle that comes with repeatedly trying and failing to quit.

The truth is, addiction is an illness that can have a profound effect on your body and brain. Cravings and severe withdrawal symptoms can make it very difficult to quit drugs or alcohol if you are a dependent or habitual user.

Over time, addiction changes the way your brain works, altering the way it deals with pleasure, reward and compulsion control.

Thankfully, help is at hand – if you choose to seek it out. Drug and alcohol rehabilitation centres in Basingstoke and elsewhere in the UK offer evidence-backed programmes that have been proven to have a high success rate.

It still won’t be easy but there are people out there who want to help…and who understand what you are going through.

If you’re looking for drug and alcohol rehab in Basingstoke or surrounding areas, contact us today to find out how we can help.

The physical and psychological effects of alcohol and drug addiction

Different drugs have different effects on the body and mind. The short-term effects of depressants, stimulants and hallucinogens are all very different and the long-term impact can vary depending on a number of factors.

These factors obviously include the type of substance involved but also the duration and heaviness of usage, your own physical and mental characteristics and any underlying health conditions.

They all change the way your brain operates however and in the short term this can lead to risky, reckless or criminal behaviour.

Some other potential physical effects of long-term alcohol and drug misuse could include:

• – Death from alcohol or drug poisoning
• – Stroke
• – Cardiac issues from heart disease to irregular heartbeat
• – Damage to organs and systems including liver, stomach, lungs, brain and central nervous system
• – Infections and diseases, especially if sharing needles
• – Low-level illnesses due to supressed immune system and being generally ‘run down’
• – Jaw and teeth issues due to teeth-clenching
• – Impotence

If you are pregnant and continue to drink or take drugs, this can cause permanent harm to your baby.

As you continue to drink or use drugs, you can build up a tolerance. This means that you have to take more to get the same effect and the addiction itself continues to ramp up.

At the same time, withdrawal symptoms can get more severe if you do not get the substance you crave. This, along with the compulsive element of addiction, can make it increasingly difficult to break away from without getting the right help.

Mental health treatments and support

Prolonged substance misuse can also have an impact on your mental health. Psychological issues such as paranoia and depression are common and many people struggling with addiction are also found to be suffering from mental health issues.

This is generally known as dual diagnosis or co-morbidity. According to the NHS somewhere between a third and a half of people treated for mental health conditions in the UK experience co-existing problems with alcohol and/or drugs at some point.

The relationship between addiction, substance misuse and mental health is a complex one and it is not always accurate to say that addiction causes mental health issues.

This can sometimes be the case but for other people, mental health issues can be a root cause of their addiction and drug taking.

Substance misuse can exacerbate existing mental health issues and sometimes it is the withdrawal process that triggers symptoms of mental illness.

Often, it is a tangled web of all these strands.

In cases of dual diagnosis it often pays to treat both areas at the same time. As addiction and mental health are so often interlinked, it might not deal with all the root causes if you only concentrate on one or the other.

Not all private drug and alcohol rehab places specialise in treating people with dual diagnosis but if you are struggling with both addiction and mental health, it can certainly pay to find out that does.

We can help you to find addiction treatment centres in Basingstoke that can also help treat accompanying mental health conditions.

What to expect from drug and alcohol rehab in Basingstoke

Most residential addiction treatment programmes for alcohol and drugs start with a thorough physical and psychological assessment.

This allows the addiction professionals to create a tailored programme of treatments and to address any medical and other requirements that you might have.

This will generally be followed by drug and alcohol detoxification in a controlled and monitored environment. This will help you to ‘flush’ the harmful elements of the alcohol and drugs from your body, as well getting you through the accompanying withdrawal symptoms.

A holistic rehab for drug and alcohol abuse will also offer a number of therapies and treatments aimed at exploring the root causes of your addiction and changing the way you think and behave in regard to it.

Why a drug and alcohol aftercare programme is so important

The process of recovery from addiction does not end when you step out of the door. Long term recovery is a process rather than a single step and it can take months or even years before you feel confident that you will not relapse.

You should also make sure you don’t become over-confident. This could lead to slipping into complacency and a danger of relapse. Some recovering addicts say that it is a lifelong battle but the first year is generally the biggest hurdle to get through.

Our rehab clinics in Basingstoke and beyond offer aftercare services that are second to none and designed to get you through those perilous moments when temptation, stress or other triggers put you at risk.

Call today and find out more about how we can help you to take the first steps towards a brighter, addiction-free future.