100free.info  

The need for methamphetamine rehab has increased and it has been rising for at least 10 to 15 years. The care of addicts has been threatened by deep cuts to bloated state and local governments during the past few years. Further, insurance is more difficult to obtain and for the young in particular. Those looking for treatment will have to be more proactive than they needed to be just a few short years ago.

Military Use

Methamphetamines became prominent during the 1930s and 1940s but especially during World War II when they were given to both German and Japanese soldiers by their governments to help them stay awake for prolonged periods. The drug gave heightened alertness and energy but at a significant cost to health. Meth use is known to cause damage to the small blood vessels in the human brain, potentially leading to strokes. It also inflames the lining of the heart.

Symptoms

The abuser of this drug typically seeks the ability to stay awake and at high energy for prolonged periods, typically days on end. He or she pays a high price for such wakefulness, including damaged skin. Cracked lips, blisters and sores are common. So are blood shot eyes and the persistent need to scratch oneself. That’s just the short-term damage.

Long-Term

Over time, the long-term effects of methamphetamine abuse assert themselves. These include decay in all their teeth at once and dramatic weight loss. Further, the abuser will likely suffer hallucinations. These hallucinations, which may be of either the visual variety or the aural or both, won’t just occur as the abuser is smoking the drug. At this stage, they can appear at any time.

Emotional Addiction

The physical effects of this drug, with its power to distort the mind, are only half the battle. Meth is an infamous “party drug” whose users tend to gather in mutually supporting small communities of drug addicts. Therapists treating the addiction found out early on that the lifestyle is at least as attractive as the drug itself, so patients might be cured of the latter only to be drawn back into abuse by the allure of the former.

Negative Social Bond

For treatment to have lasting impact, it is advisable to physically move the patient out of town, beyond the reach of his or her drug culture. The social reinforcement needs to be addressed just as much as the withdrawal from the drug. Otherwise, experience has shown that progress will be slow and relapse highly probable.

Types of Therapy

Treatment can be both individual, working one on one with a therapist, and in meth addiction group counseling. One on one therapy is best for sorting the problems that underlie the addiction. These include compulsiveness, being overwhelmed with fears and a diminished sense of self. Group and then aftercare treatment is a good environment for identifying the events that trigger patients to seek and use the drug.