Canadian Addiction Treatment Centres Around me

Canadian Addiction Treatment Centres Around me: Carita World Foundation

What is addiction?

Addiction basically occurs when a person has no control over the use of drugs or substance, even though they know that there are negative consequences of consuming them. Addiction is a brain disease as drugs change how the brain works. However addiction can be treatable. You can tell that your loved one has developed a substance abuse problem if they consume a substance in large amounts or over a longer period than was intended. If there is a persistent desire or a failed effort to cut down the control of substance, a craving or a urge to use the substance, recurrent use resulting in failure to fulfil social and moral obligations can mean that the person is suffering from addiction.

Causes of Addiction

Addiction is usually triggered by emotional pain, trauma or neglect. Addiction can sometimes be caused due to ineffective pain management strategy. Sometimes people with physical pain can become addicted to opioids. For other people, addiction is caused by excessive use of pleasure inducing substances. Why are some people more vulnerable to become addicted? The cause of addiction can be divided into two main categories.

Environmental factors stress, trauma, neglect, family and relationships can affect a persons vulnerability to addiction. For instance, if your social group has an encouraging attitude towards the consumption of drugs, you are more likely to get addicted. Accessibility to drugs, cost can also play an important role in one getting addicted to drugs.
Genetic traits play a big role in one feeling more or less vulnerable to addiction. If you start using a drug, progression towards addiction can be delayed or become quicker depending on your genetic tendencies.

Some risk factors for addiction include

Family history: If your family has members who are suffering from addiction, you are at a higher risk for addiction.
Peer pressure: Peer pressure in teens and young adults can play a huge role is encouraging substance abuse.
Problems in family: Lack of discipline or oversight by parents or family issues can increase addiction risk.
Using drugs at a young age: Use of drugs at an early age when the brain is still developing can influence neural networks and increase addiction risk.
Having a highly addictive drug: Risk of addiction is higher if you consume highly addictive drugs like cocaine or opioids.
Suffering from a mental disorder: People suffering from mental illness are more vulnerable to develop an addiction. On an average, 50% of people suffering from mental illness develop an addiction disorder.

Treatments for Addiction

Addictive disorders are disorders that can cause both physical as well as psychological damage. To break the cycle of addiction, it is very important to receive treatment. Addiction is a chronic disease and is very difficult to treat. It requires ongoing care. The first step to recovery is acknowledging that you have a problem with the diction and its effect on your day to day life. You need to acknowledge that substance abuse has become a problem and is disrupting the quality of the person’s life in school, work, socially and other areas of life. Once the person with the problem recognises that substance abuse has a negative impact on their life, there can be a wide range of treatments available. A person who has an addiction requires access to treatment. A lot of people may require treatment for the rest of their life. They would need to stay away from substance for the rest of their life, which can prove to be difficult. Treatment plans for people with addiction are usually designed and changed according to the needs of the patient.

Treatment options for substance abuse depend on various factors, like the type of the addictive disorder, the length, severity and the effect it has on the individual. The doctor also treats any physical complications, such as liver disease in people who suffer from alcohol addiction or respiratory issues and people who have addiction to substances that are smoked. There are a lot of treatment options available and most people receive a combination of these treatments. No two people with addiction can have the same treatment option. A combination of inpatient and outpatient programs, psychological counselling, rehabilitation programmes, self-help groups and medication together can help people with substance abuse overcome their addiction.

Detoxification:

This is the first step in treatment of addiction. Detoxification involves detoxifying the body and clearing the substance from the body and limiting any reactions from withdrawal. Usually, a treatment clinic uses medications to reduce the symptoms from withdrawal.

Counselling and behavioural therapies:

This is usually followed after detoxification. Therapy can be one on one, in a group, or family therapy depending on the needs of the individual. Intensive therapy is given at the outset of treatment with a large number of sessions in the beginning. The number of sessions gradually reduce over time as the symptoms improve. Different types of therapy include cognitive behavioural therapy, which helps an individual to recognise and change their way of thinking about substance abuse, Family therapy, which is primarily designed for families to help them function around adolescents with substance abuse and motivational interviewing, which helps an individual to willingly change and make adjustments to behaviours.

Counselling can prove to be beneficial for people to help them change their behaviour and attitude around substances. It can help them improve and strengthen their life skills and support other treatments. Counselling helps to focus on the underlying cause of addiction.

Rehabilitation programs:

Rehabilitation programs for addictive disorders can prove to be very effective. They mainly focus on helping and individual remain free from drugs and resuming his or her social, professional and family responsibilities. Most rehabilitation programmes include fully licensed residential facilities and have a structured 24-hour care programme with a safe housing environment and medical assistance. Rehabilitation facilities include

Short-term residential treatment which focuses on detoxification and preparing the person with addiction to get rid of his addiction through intensive counselling.
Therapeutic communities, which are usually long term treatment facilities focusing on severe forms of addictive disorders. A person with addiction usually stays in these communities for a period of 6 to 12 months. The treatment plan usually revolves around recovery from substance abuse by change in attitude and behaviour towards use of drugs.
Recovery housing, which is a short-term stay in a housing which helps the people to engage with responsibilities and help them adapt to an independent life without the use of substance. People with addiction are usually given advice on how to handle finances, find work and also help them find community support services.

Self Help Groups:

Self help groups help the person who is recovering from an addictive disorder to meet with others suffering from a similar substance abuse. Self help groups boost motivation and can help an individual to feel less isolated, knowing that he/she is not alone. Self help groups serve as a useful source of community and information. Self-help groups like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics anonymous have helped people with alcohol addiction and narcotics addiction. People who suffer from these addictions can find out about these groups through the internet or their doctor and get the required help from these groups.

Medication:

A person recovering from substance abuse might require to take medication on a regular basis to deal with the disorder and its complications. Medications are mostly used in the detoxifications stage to manage withdrawal symptoms. The medication can vary depending on the drug or the substance that the person is addicted to. Medication can help reduce cravings or even prevent relapse after recovery from addiction. Psychotherapy, along with medication can help an individual recover from the reduction. For instance, people with alcohol abuse can take medications like Naltrexone, Campral or Disulfiram to reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Substance abuse can cause some serious mental health conditions, like depression and anxiety. Doctors may prescribe medication to address these issues.

What is the difference between habit forming and addiction?

Stigma around addiction

There is a lot of stigma surrounding addiction. People do not understand that it is also a disease just like cancer. People usually use the term addict for people suffering from addiction. To eliminate the stigma, we need to eliminate the language that is used for people with addiction. Instead of calling someone an alcoholic, addict or substance user, terms like “person with substance use disorder” or “person with addiction” should be used. The stigma around addiction have a lot of negative effects. People with addiction can avoid undergoing treatment because they experience blaming and shaming. They might see themselves as weak, bad and sinful, which can drive more substance abuse. People with substance use disorder can isolate themselves, which can make the recovery much harder. Families of people with substance abuse problem can isolate themselves to avoid the judgement of communities. Hence, resulting in slow progression of treatment in people with substance abuse disorder. Families can help people with addiction disorder by supporting them, instead of charging them. Everyone needs to remember that this problem can happen to anyone, and help and support can make it easy for anybody to recover. One needs to get educated about the issue and also cause awareness among people around.

Symptoms of addiction

Addiction is depend on what substance you’re addicted to and the severity of the addiction. Some of the primary symptoms of addiction are:

Cravings
Compulsion to do something
Loss of self control
Social problems
Risk taking
Interference with your occupation
Effect on health

Carita World Foundation: Canadian addiction treatment centres around me

Carita World Foundation helps people suffering from substance abuse get the best in class treatment. Our mission is to improve the lives of the individuals who are suffering from the devastating effects of substance abuse. Our main focus is providing the best care to people suffering from drug direction and to provide them an encouraging, compassionate and a judgement free environment. We strive to provide quality care to all our patients. By making a donation to Kavita world foundation, you are helping thousands of people in their substance abuse recovery. Your donation can help us fight the addiction epidemic in Canada and help support the individuals and their families who are suffering because of drug addiction.

The majority of people who use substance do so to relax or have some fun. Unfortunately engaging in drug use can become problematic and lead to drug addiction. In Canada, about 6 million people have suffered substance use disorder at some point in their life. The top addictions in Canada are alcohol abuse, cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine and excessive use of opioids and other prescription drugs.

1. Alcohol

Alcohol is the most commonly used legal substance in Canada. When over consumed, alcohol consumption can lead to intoxication, violence, temporary memory issues, addiction, heart disease, mental health disorders and high risk of cancer. More than 20% of people in Canada still consume alcohol above the recommended guideline for alcohol consumption.

2. Cannabis

Cannabis is used by people for both recreational as well as medical purposes. It can lead to respiratory and cardiovascular problems, mental health issues and addiction. Canada has the highest number of adolescents who use cannabis in the world.

3. Cocaine

This illegal stimulant is used as a recreational drug. Using cocaine is very dangerous as it can cause many health risks like increased heart rate and BP, sleep disturbance, mental health issues and headaches. Cocaine consumption is increasing at an alarming rate in Canada.

4. Methamphetamine

Methamphetamine is a central nervous system stimulant cause severe psychological and physiological effects like headaches, elevated heart rate, addiction, hallucinations, delusions and even memory loss. Increase in methamphetamine in Canada has resulted in an increase in hospitializations and deaths caused due to over consumption of methamphetamine.

5. Opioids and prescription drugs

Opioids and prescription drugs are misused and an overuse of these drugs can lead to Health issues like decreased cognitive function, decreased respiratory function and overdose. Canada is suffering from an opioid crisis. Opioid overdose has doubled in the past few years among young adults in Canada.

Make a donation

Make a donation to Carita world foundation, Canadian addiction treatment Centre to make a difference. You can make a difference to thousands of families suffering from the pain of substance use disorder. About 30% of Canadians have been personally impacted by addiction. People with addiction should be treated the same way as people with a physical illness. You can help a person struggling with addiction. We advocate for timely, compassionate and evidence-based treatment, healthcare funding including medical healthcare for people suffering from this disease, more addiction specialists and a strict regulation of addictive substances. Your donation can help thousands in need.