It is with definite grief that we have to realize that our society is not prospering as well as it should. Crimes are still being continuously committed, be it by cruel acts of violence or mass killings, and they need to be stopped. Yet although the culprits may be caught, they will eventually be released into our communities once more. They don’t necessarily receive the adequate treatment to appease their psychotic desires.
The same goes for individuals afflicted with a drug addiction. Too often are these individuals looked down upon and judged by others as being worthless vermin roaming the streets. However, what many don’t seem to understand is being a drug addict is not necessarily a choice, but can become a vital need for the body. The body demands drugs, just as it would for nutrition or thirst, and the individual has but little power over this.
Some are capable of recognizing their problem and ultimately overcome their drug addiction, but so many others require help to do this. The ongoing criticizing, superior looks and defaming comments going their way do nothing to improve their condition. The general opinion on drug addicts should be altered from them being “worthless” to them becoming functional members of society once again.
Here are a few quick facts about drugs . Many drugs are highly addictive, sometimes even after the first use, such as crystal meth. When trying to withdraw from a drug, harsh side effects can be encountered, hence increasing the difficulty in quitting.
Instead of feeling useless and pointless, the addict should be encouraged to take this determining step in his life and overcome his drug addiction once and for all. This would not only help the individual improve his perception and vision of life, but equally re-establish their self-esteem and self-confidence.
There are considerable amounts of drug rehabilitation centers and treatment programs to choose from. Nevertheless, some are more efficient in treating an addiction than others. As many addicts can tell you, they might have went through several different types of drug rehabilitation programs before prevailing over their addiction.
Below is a list of the main types of drug rehabilitation and treatment programs offered and the methods used to treat the addiction:
Twelve Step Program
The twelve-step program is mainly founded on the ideology of support and discussion of the addiction, while including spiritual principles.
The 12 steps include:
1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. We’re entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all people we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
The twelve steps address different "problems" such as alcohol abuse, drug abuse, overeating abuse, gambling etc. In might not appeal to everyone in some respect and may be less efficient in treating harder drugs such as crack, cocaine, heroin, crystal meth, morphine, etc.
The Long Term Religious Based Program
The objective of this program is to remove the person from his everyday environment and place him into a hard work camp based on a religious concept. This is aimed to get the individual in contact with God. Such a type of program has a moderate success rate, mainly due to the fact that very few actually complete it all.
The Behavioural Modification Program
This program is designed on the basis that an individual has to be properly told all the wrongs he/she committed in his/her life. This attempt to “break” their character is made with peer pressure, and constantly reminds the individual of the mistakes made in his/her past. Such a method not only continually degrades the individual, but also can be damaging and hurtful. Once the individual’s mind and spirit appears satisfactorily shattered, an effort to rebuild them into a well-structured behaviour is made. Therefore, the expected result is a behaved and conscious individual. However, a very small percentage of those entering such a program will never touch drugs again.
Biophysical Treatment
This treatment addresses the biophysical and biochemical imbalances in the human body caused by a drug addiction and substance abuse. The biophysical program uses a unique sauna program that eliminates toxins from the body, hence eliminating the constant cravings reported by addicts. Once the sauna is completed, a social educational program teaches new life skills that enhance communication, perception, comprehension, etc., enabling the individual to tackle life’s many hardships and come out on top. It also deals with the personality and traits of each individual to improve their behaviour and attitude.
Once the individual has thoroughly understood each aspect of the social educational program, he/she will now be able to apply these skills to repair the damage caused by their drug addiction and go on to lead a fulfilling life.
The final stage of the program is individually designed by the case supervisor, the staff member assigned to follow the individual throughout his drug rehabilitation , so that he can specifically see what the individual has to work on to ensure a drug-free life.
The success rate for this program is very high compared to the others. It is a natural drug rehabilitation program, so there is no risk of becoming addicted to a medical drug that is sometimes administered in the detoxification process.