Trends in Addiction Recovery 2022

Addiction is a chronic and recurring disease of the brain. It is based on the search for relief through the consumption or use of substances or other similar behaviors.

The development of this behavior implies for the addicted person the inability to control it, difficulty in abstaining, desire for consumption, decreased recognition of the problems derived from addiction and in interpersonal relationships, as well as a dysfunctional emotional response. This creates problems in the life of the addicted person, reducing their quality of life.

Apart from addictions to toxic substances (alcoholism and drug addiction), there are multiple addictions to:

New technologies (technophilia)
Sex (nymphomania)
Gambling (gambling)
Video game
Mobile (nomophobia)
Prognosis of the disease

Addictions can lead to serious problems for the physical and mental health of the patient. It is important to detect them at an early stage to achieve an effective diagnosis and treatment. For this reason, the collaboration of friends and family is very important, both in detection, and in treatment and follow-up as well as you can see trends in addiction recovery are mostly common now.

Frequently, addicted people have health problems derived from their addictions, especially in the case of toxic substances. These can be heart disease, lung disease, cancer, or mental health. Also, addictions to sex or drugs can increase the risk of serious infections, such as HIV or hepatitis C.

In addictions, the coexistence of mental illnesses is also common. Some disorders such as anxiety, schizophrenia or depression can be a result of drug use or worsen as a result.

Finally, addictions can end up affecting and causing harm to other people, especially in cases of pregnancy but also due to stress or anxiety.

Addiction symptoms

The symptoms of the pathology will vary according to the addiction suffered by the patient and their individual personality characteristics.

In any case, there are several common signs in most cases of addiction:

Loss of control of use, with episodes of compulsive use that affect the person’s life in general.
sad mood
Irritability
Impaired quality of life
Denial or self-delusion
Anxiety
Obsession
Excessive restlessness or worry
Insomnia
Guilt
Medical tests for addictions

In the first place, there are self-diagnosis tests, which can be answered by people with symptoms of addiction or family members, to make a first assessment of the severity of the addictive problem. In many cases, the closest people, such as friends and family, are the ones who detect the first behaviors or physical or psychological signs of addiction.

Specialists follow various diagnostic criteria to detect possible addictions:

Drug Addiction Tests: These tests are a useful tool in screening, diagnosis, and monitoring of a Inpatient Treatment for addiction.
Clinical history: it is important to know the family history in order to establish a complete clinical picture.
Physical exam: There are several key signs that a specialist can identify in a complete medical physical exam.
Psychopathological evaluation.

What are the causes of an addiction?

The causes of an addiction are multiple and interact in a complex way that leads to the addictive disorder. The causes are different for each patient, so each case must be individualized and a study of her personal and family history must be carried out, in order to make the most appropriate diagnosis.

Personality factors play a fundamental role in the development of an addiction. There are some specific characteristics, such as difficulty managing one’s own feelings or low tolerance for frustration, that facilitate the addictive disorder.

Can it be prevented?

Addictions are difficult to prevent but there are risk factors that can increase the chances:

Social factors: living in a very disadvantaged environment.
Family factors: lack of ties with the family or relatives addicted to drug use.
Individual factors: behavioral problems or low self-esteem.
School factors: for example, school failure in adolescents.

It is important to work and educate at an early age and try to offer a good emotional education, to prevent them from falling into different addictions.

Addiction Treatments

There are multiple methods to treat different addictions, depending on the individual situation of each patient.

Among them we find:

individual psychiatric treatment
Individual and/or group psychotherapy
Self help groups
Couple and family therapy
Counseling and therapeutic sessions for family and friends

Once the patient manages to leave the addiction, he will follow a recovery process, to regain control of his life and be productive again. In the event of a relapse, a specialist should be consulted to restart the treatment, modify it or try a different one.