Drug and Alcohol; Solution or Problem?
Q. If drug abuse, addiction and alcoholism are diseases, why do people start using drugs or alcohol in the first place?
A. Many people have a difficult time finding pleasure or coping with distress and pain. In the beginning, alcohol and drugs often provide them relief- a short-cut to pain/ stress relief and pleasure.
Q. What are some of the reasons why people continue to use drugs and alcohol to the point of their addiction or alcoholism?
A. When people cease to develop or practice new paths to pleasure or pain/ distress management due to their reliance on chemicals, they lose the interest and ability to use recreational and social skills. This addiction/ alcoholic “short-cut” becomes a habit, being practiced repetitively even in the face of problems and consequences.
Q. What are some of the physical effects of drug and alcohol use, which replace recreational and social activities?
A. Addictive drugs and alcohol increase the neurotransmitter, dopamine at the receptor site, which produces an experience of reward/ pleasure, dulling unpleasant sensations. Social connections and communication, exercise, relaxation, meditation, intimate relations, etc. produce a similar but less intense effect in the brain.
Q. How does the treatment of addiction and alcoholism help people replace drugs and alcohol when they become a problem?
A. The consequences of addiction and alcoholism usually result in an experience of profound loss and shame. Learning and practicing new skills and coping strategies rather than falling back to the “short cut” of addictive drug and alcohol use is the progressive but therapeutic solution.
Q. Can’t other chemicals be used to replace those that created the problems in the first place?
A. In the absence of learning new, healthier ways of achieving pain and alleviating stress and pain, different chemicals usually become another short-cut which eventually result in similar problems and consequences.
Twin Town Treatment Centers is immediately accessible to all Los Angeles and Orange County residents, is accredited by The Joint Commission, and is certified by the California DHCS.
All network HMO/PPO/EPO insurance plans and Medi-Cal contract with Twin Town Treatment Centers to provide drug and alcohol rehabilitation.
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