A simple guide to understanding drug use and addiction. Drug Addiction treatment in Alberta and British Columbia – Drug Rehabs in Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer and other parts of Alberta by Options Okanagan Treatment Center in Kelowna, British Columbia treating heroin, fentanyl, opiate, drug addiction and recovery.

Drug Opiate Rehab in BC and Alberta

Drug addiction is hard to understand for the average person. They believe drug addicts do not have any willpower or just choose to use drugs for pleasure. They question the person’s values and decisions. They may even believe quitting drugs is as easy as turning down an after-dinner mint.

Drug addicts wish it was that easy. An addiction has gone beyond a simple choice and has become an illness which is hard to cure. It is not enough to make the decision to quit and to attempt to use willpower. Many drugs change the brain’s chemical balance or modify the brain’s functions making it very difficult to stop, even when they try their hardest.

Research has begun to give us a better understanding of how addiction works and how it can be treated. New treatment options help restore a person’s ability to stop using drugs and can give them their life back.

How Does Drug Addiction Work?

Imagine having an itch that never stops. You scratch and apply medication, but the itch is always there. Addiction is very similar. It is a chronic illness that can only be cured through proper treatment and extreme effort. An addict constantly seeks and uses the drug to satisfy their cravings because it is an insatiable itch. It all starts innocently. They tried drugs recreationally and enjoyed them, but with each repeated use the drug begins to change them physically. Soon their body and brain demand the drugs overcoming their desire to stop using drugs.

Stopping the use of drugs is often not enough. Many of the physical changes caused by drugs do not go away. Drug addicts relapse and begin using the drugs again because their body demands it. Recovering addicts are always at a risk to relapse and start using again, even when they have been off of drugs for years.

Does this mean the treatment is not working? Relapses are just like any other chronic disease. If you stop following your program of treatment, the illness can quickly recur. An addict may need treatment for the rest of their lives, with regular adjustments to their treatment plan. Regular evaluations need to become a way of life, just like it is with anyone else suffering from a chronic illness.

Are There Physical Changes To The Brain From Drug Use?

Most people are surprised the real culprit behind addiction is a natural chemical all of us produce. Dopamine is the chemical messenger our body uses to signal feelings of euphoria, or extreme happiness and pleasure. It is our body’s reward system. It is so powerful that it causes people to repeat behaviors that release dopamine. Think about what causes you extreme pleasure. Is it playing with your children, eating ice cream or running? They can all release dopamine, making you want to repeat the activity.

This sudden feeling of euphoria makes us want to keep doing the activity and to repeat it as often as possible. Drug users get an even larger blast of dopamine when they take the drug. It almost forces them to continue to use the drug to reach a level of “feeling good”.

Our body is smart enough to know too much dopamine is not a good thing. When it senses too high a level of dopamine, it begins to shut down some of the receptors in the brain. This leads to needing more dopamine and drugs to reach the same level of euphoria. Addicts begin to have higher and higher tolerance levels to the drugs.

Each time the addict uses more drugs, the body quickly begins to adjust. They must keep adjusting their drug usage upwards to reach the same feelings. Their tolerance climbs. Since their brain has now become very resistant to dopamine, they no longer receive pleasure from food, hanging out with friends and even sex. All of these normal forms of having fun are now boring activities providing no pleasure.

Heroin and Opiate Rehab in Alberta and BC

Drug and Opioid Rehab in Alberta and BC

The problems continue to grow with continued drug use. Soon the brain chemistry changes even further and communication in the brain deteriorates. The addict’s memory begins to fail. They find it hard to learn. Their stress levels climb. They start making bad decisions in all parts of their lives.

So why do drug users continue to take drugs even if they know this will happen? It is how addiction works. They can only reach a state of happiness with the drugs, so they do not see an option. The goal of treatment is to restore options and provide a chance for an addict to live a more normal life.

Dangerous Fentanyl-Laced Cocaine Addiction in Alberta and BC

Options Okanagan Drug And Alcohol Treatment Centers in Kelowna, Salmon Arm and Vancouver, British Columbia – Men and Women are recovering and healing from Alcohol and Drug Abuse at our treatment center here in the Okanagan right now.

Our unique and distinctive drug treatment program allows men and women to come in from Calgary as well as Edmonton as we offer airport pickup.

Numerous clients come to us from Calgary and Edmonton and other locations in Alberta and even other provinces for Opiate addiction treatment, meth drug treatment, many other drug and alcohol addictions for rehabilitation because of the uniqueness of our treatment center.

Our Opiate Treatment Location:
Options Okanagan Drug Opiate Treatment Center
551 Sherrydale Crescent, Kelowna, British Columbia, V1V 2E6
Toll Free Phone Number : 1-855-335-0331