Drug & Alcohol Rehab in Hitchin
Hitchin is a town in the area of Hertfordshire, with an estimated population of over 35,800 people. Drug crimes in Hertfordshire make up for 2.3% of all the crimes in the county, at an average of 2.3 thousand in 2022. [1]
Further, hospital admissions that are directly caused by alcohol have been rising in Hertfordshire, increasing the most in middle-aged and older drinkers. In 2018, there were over 4,411 alcohol-related hospital admissions, almost 20% more than in the previous five years. [2]
The director of policy at the British Liver Trust stated that the government should be trying harder to tackle these numbers, as “these statistics are alarming”. [3] The more that people drink or take drugs, the higher the likelihood that they develop co-occurring health conditions.
Addiction is complex, arising from a series of underlying causes. Research has found that genetics, the environment, and trauma can exacerbate the onset of addiction. That being said, the direct causes are still unknown, as it seems more common to be an accumulation of factors. [4] [5]
Understanding what may have caused your addiction will make it easier to find treatment and stay motivated by it. Addiction is a substance use relapsing disorder, leaving patients with impaired control over their use and ignoring the consequences that the addiction might have. [6]
However, like other diseases, this disease of the brain is treatable. Treatment can help you understand your reasons for addiction, reduce your cravings, work on coping mechanisms, and prevent relapse.
Treatment in Hitchin can help you get back on track, fix broken relationships, fulfil major responsibilities, and stay sober.
Addiction can be preventable if the right measures are put in place. This also entails breaking free from denial and being aware of your own actions.
This is incredibly difficult but can be helped by the following: [7] [8]
- Sharing and learning about mental health and substance use disorders
- Prevention education
- Finding alternative hobbies that give similar feels of euphoria
- Improving your environment, such as avoiding those who peer pressure you to use or drink
- Finding and accessing material about addiction and mental health issues
Start your recovery journey today by calling our expert team to access drug & alcohol rehab in Hitchin on 0800 088 66 86
Symptoms of Addiction
Signs and symptoms of addiction can differ from person to person. Usually, the most obvious signs of addiction include frequent intoxication, constant hangovers, and behavioural changes.
Other common symptoms involve:
- Anxiety and depression
- Poor hygiene
- Lack of motivation
- Problems at work or other responsibilities
- Neglecting responsibilities
- Obsessing over using drugs or drinking alcohol
- Experiencing withdrawals when a substance is cut out
- Developing a higher tolerance to substances
- Lying and being secretive
- Bloodshot eyes and weight changes
- Insomnia
- Confusion
- Consuming substances on a regular basis, and making excuses for it
- Failed attempts to stop using or drinking
- Behavioural changes
If you are considering addiction treatment for yourself, you can start by taking at-home addiction questionnaires. These not only make you self-aware, but they can help you understand how severe your addiction is.
The University of Washington published a drug use questionnaire, asking questions relating to the following topics: [9]
- Using drugs when they are not prescribed
- Abusing more than one drug at a time
- How many do you use per week
- Blacking out as a result of drugs
- Being able to stop using drugs when you want to
- Do you feel guilty about drug use
- Has drug use created issues in your relationships
- Wanting to use drugs despite consequences
What is Addiction Intervention?
Addiction intervention is carried out by friends, family, partners, or professionals. These individuals take active steps to help the patient enter rehab in Hitchin.
Intervention is required when the patient is in denial about their addiction, has refused help in the past, or remains unmotivated to start rehab.
Intervention is the art of persuasion, opening the patient’s eyes to what they have been doing and the effects it has had. This experience is powerful, as close loved ones open up about how they feel, and what will happen if the patient doesn’t enter treatment.
A classic intervention technique used for addiction is CRAFT. Community reinforcement and family training use positive reinforcement from concerned loved ones.
The goal of CRAFT is to rewire the parts of the brain that have been damaged through addiction, particularly the reward pathways.
Concerned loved ones reward recovery behaviour, such as staying clean and being active in the community. Research has shown that this rewires the brain’s reward pathways, helping the user make better decisions and notice the effects of addiction on others.
There are many different types of intervention, suitable for all types of addiction. For example, mild addiction (the beginning phase) may only require a private conversation with a loved one.
Severe addiction, for those who have tried to get clean but failed in the past, requires a professionally planned intervention.
Addiction Treatment in Hitchin
If intervention is successful, the patient will enter one of two types of rehabs in Hitchin. These rehabs, inpatient and outpatient, will provide the patient with the therapy and techniques they require to help their recovery process.
Inpatient treatment, also called residential rehab in Hitchin, is considered ‘private’ treatment. This is not free of charge, so patients will need to pay for this rehab. This price will include everything, such as medication, meals, and therapy.
Inpatient treatment is designed to treat the most severe of addictions, so this will be the best option for those who have either been addicted for a long time or those that cannot control or quit their addiction at all.
If the addiction is less severe and more moderate, then outpatient treatment is the best option for the patient. This is much more flexible for the patient, enabling them to incorporate treatment into daily life.
This is not residential, so patients are free to come and go as long as they attend their therapy and attend the centre to receive their medication.
Whichever rehab the patient chooses to enter, they will go through a detoxification process first. This is only required if the patient is physically addicted to the substance, as the professionals must watch and monitor the withdrawal symptoms carefully.
Physically addictive substances such as alcohol and heroin can lead to life-threatening symptoms, such as delirium tremens. This can be helped by medication such as Librium, taken at the inpatient or outpatient centre. [10]
Start your recovery journey today by calling our expert team to access drug & alcohol rehab in Hitchin on 0800 088 66 86
Addiction Therapy and Counselling in Hitchin
Both inpatient and outpatient treatment in Hitchin offer similar therapy options for patients. The difference lies in length, frequency, and intensity.
Inpatient treatment is residential, so patients will attend therapy whilst living in the centre. Outpatient treatment is not residential, so patients will attend an outpatient centre in Hitchin to go to their therapy sessions and take any required medication.
The most popular form of therapy for addiction is behavioural therapy. Behavioural therapy is underpinned by the belief that addictive behaviour is caused by thoughts, thoughts based on addiction and self-doubt.
Cognitive behavioural therapy, referred to as CBT, focuses on irrational and negative thoughts that drive addictive behaviour, changing the way patients react to these thoughts.
CBT also acknowledges the past, including any trauma and previous issues to change the way the patient looks at their future after treatment. Reviewing past actions and thoughts helps patients to build their self-esteem, incorporating new techniques learnt in treatment to build a better life for themselves.
If the patient struggles with their emotions, they might be more suited to dialectical behavioural therapy. This is a form of CBT, a talking therapy that helps patients understand their emotions and work on their responses to them. [11]
A lack of motivation can prevent patients from attending this type of treatment, luckily, treatment covers this aspect of recovery too. Professionals will carry out motivational interviewing on the patient to seek out their true anxieties and worries about treatment.
Contingency management then uses incentives that relate to the patient, persuading them to attend treatment and take rehab in Hitchin seriously. A common incentive used is vouchers for supermarkets, these vouchers reward behaviour that is desired by the clinic, such as a clean drugs test and full attendance record.
Patients may also be more likely to attend therapy if it is anonymous. Groups such as alcoholics anonymous and narcotics anonymous offer a safe and anonymous space for patients to chat about addiction, treatment, and other issues in their life. [12]
The clinic you choose in Hitchin will help you identify which therapy and treatment work best for you, but you are also welcome to try a treatment of your own accord.
Alcohol addiction, alcohol misuse, and drug abuse can all be helped by rehab facilities and treatment programmes in Hitchin. These facilities can also treat mental health conditions that have been caused or exacerbated by addiction, such as anxiety and depression.
The programme of therapy will be unique to the patient, including different forms of therapy such as family therapy and individual therapy. This may also include working on healthier relationships, quality of life, and emotional issues.
Hitchin offers confidential one-to-one and group support sessions, sessions via phone, and online treatment if this works better for the patient. The success rate is similar for inpatient and outpatient rehab, as all treatment centres have different benefits and drawbacks according to the patient.
Intensive programmes and residential treatment work best for severe addiction, and outpatient treatment works best for the recovery journey if the addiction is milder.
The severity of the addiction will depend on different factors, such as:
- Alcohol dependency
- Mental disorders
- Drug and alcohol relapses
- Social support
- Type of addiction
- Substance in question
Start your recovery journey today by calling our expert team to access drug & alcohol rehab in Hitchin on 0800 088 66 86
References
[4] American Psychiatric Association. (2020). What is a Substance Use Disorder?
[5] National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2021). How Science Has Revolutionized the Understanding of Drug Addiction.
[6] National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2020). Drug Misuse and Addiction: What is addiction?
[7] National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2003). Preventing drug use among children and adolescents: A research-based guide for parents, educators, and community leaders.
[8] Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2017). Focus on Prevention. HHS Publication No. (SMA) 10–4120. Rockville, MD: Center for Substance Abuse Prevention.
[9] https://adai.uw.edu/instruments/pdf/drug_abuse_screening_test_105.pdf
[10] Sachdeva A, Choudhary M, Chandra M. Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome: Benzodiazepines and Beyond. J Clin Diagn Res. 2015 Sep;9(9):VE01-VE07. doi: 10.7860/JCDR/2015/13407.6538. Epub 2015 Sep 1. PMID: 26500991; PMCID: PMC4606320.
[11] McHugh RK, Hearon BA, Otto MW. Cognitive behavioral therapy for substance use disorders. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2010 Sep;33(3):511-25. doi: 10.1016/j.psc.2010.04.012. PMID: 20599130; PMCID: PMC2897895.
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