Addiction is a major problem facing America today. Fortunately, the science of addiction treatment has come a long way. 

From medication-assisted intervention to counseling and support groups, there are many ways to combat the rising epidemic of addiction.

If you or a loved one have been living with a substance use disorder, you may be ready to make a change. Call our Summit at Harmony Oaks addiction specialists today for more information about our treatment programs, financial assistance options, and more.

What Is Addiction?

According to the American Psychiatric Association, addiction is the physical or psychological dependence on a substance such as drugs or alcohol. Addiction can also be a dependence on behaviors, including sex, gambling, and exercise.

Addiction is a chronic condition that can affect many aspects of a person’s life. Addictions begin when the pleasure center of the brain becomes overwhelmed after experiencing a substance or behavior. The brain remembers this feeling and wants to experience it again, causing repetitive behaviors. 

People who have a sensitivity to the effects of stimulants, alcohol, or drugs can be more susceptible to developing an addiction. 

This can affect everyone around them, including family members, friends, and coworkers who interact with them regularly. Addiction can also cause severe disruption to a person’s life, making it challenging to maintain relationships, a job, and even basic hygiene. 

Summit at Harmony Oak provides highly intensive treatment for all forms of substance addictions and mental health conditions.

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How Substance Abuse Leads to Addiction

Keep in mind that addiction is not something that happens overnight. Addiction occurs after repeatedly giving the brain signals to feel good. To keep an addiction from continuing, you have to break the reward cycle.

Substances such as opioids, cocaine, and nicotine that are found to be addictive cause a physical change in the brain structure. Addictive substances cause the brain to become flooded with dopamine. This flooding can be up to 10 times the usual amount of dopamine.

When this happens, the brain remembers the flood of dopamine and begins to need or crave more. 

However, the brain gets used to the stimulant and becomes less sensitive to it. The craving for the substance is still there, but now, a person will need even more to get the same feeling.

What Are the Causes of Addiction?

Dopamine overload caused by using substances such as drugs or alcohol creates a need in a person’s brain. This need is caused by a physical change to the brain’s reward system, which becomes numbed to the substance. 

The numbing requires more and more of a substance to get the same feeling as before. This creates a cycle in which a person’s reward system constantly searches and needs more dopamine. 

While anyone sensitive to drugs and alcohol may be the most at risk of addiction, there are other risk factors for alcohol and drug addiction, including:

  • A history of drug and alcohol abuse in the family
  • A history of mental health issues
  • Peer pressure in young people and adolescents 
  • Environmental factors such as being around the substances
  • Having a history of prescription drug misuse
  • People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
  • Anyone with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  • People who live with mental health disorders including depression or bipolar disorder

Common Signs of Addiction

Addiction becomes a series of repetitive behaviors for the person who is experiencing it. 

These behaviors become a pattern that can help those around them notice something might be wrong. Noticing these patterns, or red flags, can be the first step in helping someone seek addiction treatment.

Although different types of substances have their own sets of symptoms, there are some common signs of all forms of addiction:

  • Difficulties at work or school: being consistently late or absent, a sudden disinterest in work or school, sudden drop in grades or performance.
  • Physical health symptoms: red eyes, weight gain or weight loss, sleeping too much or not enough, lack of motivation, lack of energy.
  • Grooming/hygiene: a lack of interest in care for one’s appearance or general hygiene, or appearing disheveled.
  • Behavior changes: a person trying to create distance with close family and friends, being secretive, wanting to keep people out of their bedroom or home.
  • Money problems: new requests for money without explanation, finding that your money or personal items have been stolen.

Most Insurance Accepted

As a member of the Harmony Health Group family of treatment programs, we are able to work with many private insurance plans.

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Different Types of Addiction

There are many different types of behaviors and substances that can become addictive. A person’s brain may reward them with dopamine for using illicit drugs, prescription drugs, alcohol, and different behaviors.

Different substances can have different chemical reactions, but the result of dopamine overload is the same.

Alcohol Use Disorders

Alcohol use disorder is defined as uncontrollable drinking of alcohol and being preoccupied with alcohol. 

While this is a broad description of alcoholism or alcohol use disorder, there are different levels:

  1. Mild
  2. Moderate
  3. Severe

Each level of alcohol use disorder means a heavier dependency and more physical changes to the brain.

Binge drinking is when someone drinks a large quantity of alcohol in a very short amount of time. The main purpose of binge drinking is to get as drunk as possible as quickly as possible.

Drug Use Disorders

Drug addiction, also known as substance use disorder and substance abuse, is another type of addiction. 

Drug use disorders can cause people to act in ways that they know will hurt them. It can also cause people to do things they normally would not.

Different types of drug addictions that occur include:

  • Cannabis-containing products like marijuana and hashish
  • K2, spice, and bath salts
  • Barbiturates like phenobarbital
  • Benzodiazepines, or sedatives such as Valium (diazepam), Xanax (alprazolam) and Ativan (lorazepam)
  • Hypnotics like Ambien (zolpidem) and Sonata (zaleplon)
  • Stimulants like methamphetamine, cocaine, Ritalin, and Adderall
  • Club drugs like MDMA, Molly, and Ecstasy
  • Hallucinogens like LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) and PCP (phencyclidine)
  • Inhalants like gasoline, glue, and paint thinner
  • Opioid painkillers such as oxycodone, morphine, heroin,  codeine, methadone, and fentanyl

Opioid use disorder has become an increasingly serious problem in the United States and has become an epidemic.

Behavioral Addictions

While many people associate addiction with drugs and alcohol, behaviors can be addictive, too. There may not be a chemical substance that causes the reward response to occur, but the behavior itself gives the dopamine flood.

The most commonly reported addictive behaviors include sex, social media, internet use, gambling, and eating disorders.

Complications of Addiction

InMany short-term effects happen when people abuse substances such as drugs and alcohol. Many harmful consequences can happen when abusing substances for long periods of time.

Some of the long-term effects of addiction include the following:

  • Cardiovascular/heart issues such as high blood pressure, irregular heart rates, and heart failure
  • Neurological problems such as anxiety, depression, poor memory, and trouble learning
  • Liver health problems such as fatty liver disease
  • Damage to the pancreas
  • Kidney problems, including kidney failure
  • Gastrointestinal issues like ulcers, gastritis, and various cancers

Seek medical attention immediately if there is even a suspicion of an alcohol or opioid overdose. Getting help as soon as possible can be life-saving.

Addiction Treatment Options in Tennessee

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If you or a loved one have been living with an alcohol or drug addiction, you may be ready for a change. The good news is there are many effective treatment options in Tennessee that can help you get sober.

The following are brief overviews of our most commonly used treatment programs at Summit at Harmony Oaks.

Detox Programs

Detox is generally the first step in any addiction treatment program. It is a very important step because in order to truly begin to recover, you need to get the substance out of your system. 

During this time, healthcare providers will monitor patients’ vital signs, including blood pressure and heart rate. In some instances, there are medications that can assist with severe and intense withdrawal symptoms.

In most cases, patients can hang out with other patients undergoing detox. It helps to have support from people going through the same thing you are.

Residential Programs

Drug Once someone has successfully completed a detox program, they will generally move on to a residential or inpatient treatment program. This type of treatment program is very structured and scheduled. Patients learn to manage a routine while learning to live without access to triggers.

A day in our Summit at Harmony Oaks residential program will likely include both individual and group therapy, recreational activities, chores, and support groups.

Outpatient Programs

The next step after a residential or inpatient program is to continue on to an outpatient program. Outpatient programs are less intensive than inpatient and have three different levels. 

These levels are meant to be a step-down system in which the degree of care and intensity lessens with each progressive step. The three levels of outpatient programs are:

  • General Outpatient Programs
  • Partial Hospitalization Programs (PHP)
  • Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP)

Mental Health Programs

One of the most important parts of any treatment program is taking care of a person’s mental health. Often, a person’s mental illness is part of the reason they have become addicted to a substance or behavior. Treating the underlying mental condition can also treat the addiction.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th edition (DSM-5) states that addiction is a mental health condition. Therapy methods such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) have been proven to be very effective in treating substance use disorders.

In our rehab programs, we use counseling and therapy to assist those in our mental health and substance abuse care programs. 

Both group and individual therapy use talk therapy as a method to help people learn to cope with their mental health. This also allows people to come to terms with the reasons they may have become addicted to a substance.

Get High Quality Addiction Treatment at Harmony Oaks

Contact Us

If you or a loved one have been living with an alcohol or drug addiction, you need to know help is available. You are not alone in this battle, and there are many options for your journey to sobriety.

Summit at Harmony Oaks is dedicated to assisting people in achieving a new, sober life and to your complete health and wellness as you heal. If you are ready to take on sobriety, call our offices today to speak with an admission specialist.

Addiction FAQs

Can you cure addiction permanently?

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), addiction can not be permanently cured, only treated and managed.

Summit at Harmony Oaks focuses on helping people reach lasting recovery from addiction.

What is the best treatment for addiction?

Inpatient treatment is the most effective form of long-term, successful treatment. It is also even more effective when combined with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

How effective is addiction treatment?

According to the CDC, three out of four people who seek addiction treatment find it to be effective. It is important to keep in mind that addiction is unique to each person, and so treatment must be customized to be the most effective.

Sources

  1. American Psychological Association. “Substance use, abuse, and addiction.” Retrieved from: Substance use, abuse, and addiction (apa.org) Accessed on 10/08/2024.
  2. Mayo Clinic. “Drug Addiction (Substance Use Disorder).” Retrieved from: Drug addiction (substance use disorder) – Symptoms and causes – Mayo Clinic Accessed on 10/08/2024.
  3. National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Treatment and Recovery.” Retrieved from: Treatment and Recovery | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) (nih.gov) Accessed on 10/08/2024.
  4. Yale Medicine. “How an Addicted Brain Works.” Retrieved from: How an Addicted Brain Works > News > Yale Medicine Accessed on 10/08/2024.
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