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Drug Rehab and Drug Abuse
Drug Abuse and Drug Rehab
Many
people view drug abuse and addiction as strictly a social problem. Parents,
teens, older adults, and other members of the community tend to characterize
people who take drugs as morally weak or as having criminal tendencies. They
believe that drug abusers and addicts should be able to stop taking drugs if
they are willing to change their behavior. These misconceptions about drug
abuse and addiction lead only to prolonged use of drugs and present themselves
as a stop to seeking real help to overcome the addiction and leave it behind.
A variety of approaches are used in drug rehab treatment programs to
help patients deal with these cravings and possibly avoid drug relapse.
Research shows that addiction is clearly treatable. Through treatment that is
tailored to individual needs, patients can learn to control their condition and
live relatively normal lives.
Treatment can have a profound effect not
only on drug abusers, but on society as a whole by significantly improving
social and psychological functioning, decreasing related criminality and
violence, and reducing the spread of AIDS. It can also dramatically reduce the
costs to society of drug abuse.
Understanding drug abuse also helps in
understanding how to prevent use in the first place. Results from research have
shown that comprehensive prevention programs that involve the family, schools,
communities, and the media are effective in reducing drug abuse. It is
necessary to keep sending the message that it is better to not start at all
than to enter rehabilitation if addiction occurs.
A tremendous
opportunity exists to effectively change the ways in which the public
understands drug abuse and addiction because of the wealth of scientific data
has amassed. Overcoming misconceptions and replacing ideology with scientific
knowledge is the best hope for bridging the "great disconnect" - the gap
between the public perception of drug abuse and drug rehab addiction and the
scientific facts. |
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