What Happens in Cocaine Detox Treatment?
Making the decision to enter cocaine detox treatment can be wrought with anxiety and indecision. Much of this has to do with the unknown and not knowing what to expect. What you do know is cocaine use has caused problems in your life and it’s time to make a change.
Compared to life as you know it now, cocaine detox treatment offers a means for breaking the drug’s hold over your emotions, thoughts and behaviors. The cocaine detox treatment process works to stabilize your present condition and from there offer interventions designed to undo the damaging effects of cocaine on your body and mind.
Cocaine’s Debilitating Effects
In essence, cocaine reconfigures the part of the brain that defines what brings joy and pleasure into a person’s life, also known as the brain reward system, according to Bryn Mawr College. Rather than take pleasure in a good meal or spending time with friends, cocaine has become the sole source of enjoyment, which accounts for the persistent drug cravings cocaine causes.
More specifically, cocaine warps neurotransmitter output in the brain and essentially rewires the chemical pathways that regulate the body’s functions. Stopping cocaine use altogether offers the only means for breaking this cycle of damaging effects.
Cocaine Detox Treatment
Cocaine withdrawal can make you feel paranoid.
Stabilization
Stopping cocaine use brings on a range of uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms, including:
- Anxiety
- Exhaustion
- Malaise and discontent
- Irritability
- Extreme agitation
- Paranoia
According to the University of Illinois at Chicago, cocaine detox treatment interventions help to stabilize or relieve symptom severity using medications while replenishing the body’s nutrients and fluid levels. Treatment providers also offer 24-hour monitoring and support. On average, the worst of withdrawal symptoms come and go during the first seven days of cocaine detox.
Behavioral Treatment Interventions
While physical withdrawal effects can be unbearable to say the least, cocaine’s effects on your thinking and behaviors persist long after you stop using the drug. For this reason, cocaine detox treatment provides ongoing behavioral treatment interventions throughout the length of your stay.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, behavioral treatments most commonly used include:
- Drug education and counseling
- Relapse prevention training
- 12 Step support groups
- Psychotherapy
Ultimately, this line of treatment begins the process of undoing the faulty thinking and belief systems that result from cocaine abuse.
Aftercare Planning
While it may seem like the worst has come and gone, completing cocaine detox treatment is only the first step in the recovery process. Undoing the mental effects of cocaine use takes time and not following through on needed aftercare treatment leaves a person at high risk of relapse and continued drug use.
Aftercare planning interventions can vary depending on your individual treatment needs. Recommended treatment interventions may include one or more of the following:
- Outpatient treatment
- Residential treatment
- Medication therapies
- Ongoing participation in 12 Step support groups
Considerations
Chronic cocaine use comes with a high risk of developing psychological problems due to the drug’s effects on the brain. Subsequently, it’s not uncommon for people to enter cocaine detox treatment with co-occurring depression and anxiety disorders. A co-occurring psychological disorder can make it all the more difficult to break the drug’s hold over one’s life. In other words, the sooner a person seeks out needed treatment help the better.
If you’re considering entering cocaine detox treatment, you’re definitely on the right track. If you have any further questions or concerns regarding the detox process or local detox programs, please feel free to call our toll-free helpline at 800-934-3781(Who Answers?) for help.