6 Things You Need to Know About Treatment for Prescription Drug Abuse

Shame can apply pressure on both sides of your addiction experience. Feelings of shame can provoke you to self-medicate with potentially addictive substances. That impulse leads to substance abuse, which can very easily lead to addiction. Once you are caught up in addiction and have lost a lot of control over your life, the resulting destruction—to yourself and the people and things around you—can also bring feelings of shame. And the cycle continues and expands because that additional shame is likely to inspire more of the same destructive coping pattern.

However, treatment for prescription drug abuse takes into account that this shameful pressure is misguided and inappropriate. Addiction and other mental health disorders call for compassion and understanding for the original pressures and problems that underlie your inclination to self-medicate. And empowerment—the opposite of shame—is a vitally important ingredient for true long-term recovery.

For reasons of privacy, misinformation, and other factors, a lot of people try to manage their problems with prescription drugs on their own. However, there are real dangers possible with withdrawal symptoms, and the risks of relapse are high. Not to mention, quitting the drug is rarely enough for long-lasting recovery. It’s important to have professional assistance in navigating any underlying mental and emotional upset. Otherwise, there’s a chance that you might reach for substances again in the future for lack of a better coping mechanism.

Prescription drug abuse treatment programs work by taking into account the whole person, their personal history, their triggers and stressors, their relationships, and their overall daily environment. All of these factors influence your relationship with prescription drugs, and comprehensive treatment can address a diverse range of issues. By pulling together various treatment options for your holistic well-being, professional addiction rehab doesn’t just stabilize you in the present—it also sets you up for success in the future.

It’s hardly possible for your substance abuse and addiction to occur in isolation. On one level or another, your loved ones are involved and struggling as well. In fact, addiction is a family disease, and for your sake and for theirs, it is beneficial for loved ones to participate in the recovery journey.

Treatment specialists are in touch with how family dynamics can serve as triggers for substance abuse, as well as how family dynamics can play an integral and supportive role in recovery. Hence, in the flow of addiction treatment, family therapy can address the interpersonal patterns that are counterproductive in order to redirect them. This kind of cooperative therapy can also identify the opportunities for more empowered dynamics that account for health and happiness all around.

When you’re coming down from prescription drugs, after your body has been accustomed to regular use, the withdrawal symptoms are unpredictable and potentially very dangerous. Those symptoms could, ultimately, make it very difficult to abstain from the drug without attentive and knowledgeable support. But they could also put your physical and psychological health at great risk.

Through supervised medical detox, experienced clinicians can attend to your safety and your physical and emotional comfort all at once. Because you’re not on your own, you have a much better chance of getting through the initial withdrawal struggles and coming out the other side with your personal power intact. Plus, you’re in the best place to mobilize your coping strategies and support for a future free of addiction and distress.

Your concerns about privacy may become a barrier to your recovery, but it is possible to put your treatment first without compromising your privacy. You can consider factors such as the program size, the population, and the explicit policies that affect privacy and confidentiality. And treatment centers can give you details about their procedures for ensuring that your concerns are addressed.

Both federal laws and program-specific policies protect clients’ personal information and presence in treatment. You can also inquire about private accommodations to understand how that might support your success in recovery.