How Will Crack Cocaine Addiction Treatment Help Me Overcome Drug Cravings?
Anyone who’s used crack cocaine well knows how powerful this drug can be. It’s addictive effects make it all but impossible for a person to cut back or stop using for any length of time. For many, it doesn’t take very long at all before persistent drug cravings become an everyday struggle.
Unlike cocaine, crack’s concentrated effects actually increase the rate of a developing addiction as well as the intensity of drug cravings experienced. According to the University of Maryland, crack cocaine acts as a central nervous system stimulant, forcing the release of massive amounts of dopamine in the brain.
Dopamine, a neurotransmitter chemical that regulates the brain’s pleasure centers, lies at the heart of crack addiction and the drug cravings that result. Over time, crack’s effects actually reconfigure the areas of the brain responsible for thinking, feeling and daily behaviors.
Crack cocaine addiction treatment works to undo the damaging effects of the drug by helping you replace destructive thinking and behavior patterns with a mindset that can create a drug-free lifestyle.
If you’re considering crack cocaine addiction treatment and need help determining what type of program will work best for you, feel free to call our toll-free helpline at 800-934-3781(Who Answers?) to speak with one of our addiction specialists.
How Crack Cocaine Addiction Treatment Helps
Treatment programs address underlying emotional issues that lead to drug use.
Detoxification
As long as a person keeps using crack cocaine, the effects of the drug will continue to drive compulsive drug-using behavior. For this reason, detoxification treatment becomes the first step in the crack cocaine addiction treatment process regardless of the severity of one’s addiction, according to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
As detoxification entails stopping drug use altogether, the withdrawal effects that develop can be excruciating while drug cravings will likely be the strongest you’ve ever experienced. Crack cocaine addiction treatment programs administer medications that help relieve uncomfortable withdrawal effects while providing much needed emotional support.
Behavior-Based Interventions
Once a person completes the detox stage, behavior-based interventions form an integral part of the crack cocaine addiction treatment process. Both residential- and outpatient-based programs use a range of behavioral interventions, each of which works to help you work through the damaging effects of addiction on your thinking and behavior, and in turn reduce the severity of drug cravings.
Behavioral interventions commonly used include:
- Contingency management (a type of rewards-based therapy)
- Motivational therapy
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Group therapy
- Relapse prevention training
- Stress management
In effect, these interventions are designed to help a person work through the underlying emotional issues that drive the addiction; the very same issues that also fuel drug cravings.
Support Group Work
Addiction recovery in any form requires a strong support system made up of like-minded individuals who share the same goals. Much like the addiction lifestyle breeds its own “support” system of like-minded individuals, so must a drug-free lifestyle.
Crack cocaine addiction treatment use the 12 Step support group model to encourage mutual support among recovering addicts. The 12 Step model in particular also incorporates step-by-step guidelines for applying the principles of recovery within your everyday life.
Overall, the combined effects of behavior-based treatments and a healthy support system enable a person to replace the destructive mindset that fuels drug cravings with a positive sense of self and healthy relationships with others.
Call our toll-free helpline at 800-934-3781(Who Answers?) if you have any questions about crack cocaine addiction treatment or need information on available treatment options.