When it comes to addiction, there is more than one type, which may surprise people. When helping someone to deal with their addiction, no matter what it is, they must receive the correct treatment to give them the best chance of overcoming their illness. Below are some of the different types of addictions and how they can be treated by medical professionals that may help you if there is someone you know or love falling down the slippery slope of addiction.
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A Chemical Addiction
One type of addiction that most people are familiar with is chemical addiction, which can mean that the person suffering from the affliction is addicted to any of a wide range of different substances. Some of these substances can include:
- Alcohol
- Heroin
- Cocaine
- Prescription Medication
- Amphetamines
- Crack
There are a wide variety of different substances that are addictive, and many of these are legal being prescribed by doctors. The withdrawal symptoms that people suffer from these drugs when they stop taking them can be severe, and the thought of going cold turkey puts many people off wanting to reform due to the physical distress that it can cause.
Because many highly addictive substances are available through a doctor or a pharmacy, there are many people suffering addiction that manage to hide their problems from the people that they love. Whatever the addiction is, you must ensure that the person that you know wants to seek help before trying to intervene, as if they do not want to change, it will be a waste of time.
Behavioural Addictions
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As well as being physically addicted to a substance, there are also behavioural addictions that people suffer from, which can significantly affect people’s lives. Behavioural addictions can manifest in many different ways, and some of the most common ones are:
- Gambling Addiction
- Sex Addiction
- Shopping Addiction
- Internet Addiction
- Video Gaming Addiction
- Adrenaline Addiction
Any addiction can have a significant effect on both the person suffering from the illness and the people in their lives that they love. Just as with chemical addictions, there is a treatment for behavioural addictions in the way of process addiction treatment. The addicted patient can be treated in many different ways, and the focus is generally on breaking behavioural habits.
There are also withdrawal symptoms for this type of addiction; however, these can be harder to deal with as it is in the patient’s mind, rather than being a physical addiction to a substance. Breaking the cycle of addiction, whether physical or mental, is hard, and the road to recovery is one that is full of many pitfalls. It is vital to keep in mind that any addiction will be something that the sufferer has to deal with for the rest of their lives, and it is common for people to have relapses along the road to recovery.
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If you or someone that you love is suffering from an addiction, there is help available, and the first thing that you need to do is encourage the addict to seek treatment. Once an addict wants to change, there is a higher chance of a full recovery, and with the correct support structure, they can break their addiction once and for all.
