Disease Progression of Addiction
Addiction is a chronic, but treatable, brain disorder.
People facing drug and alcohol addiction cannot control their need for alcohol or other drugs, even in the face of negative health, social or legal consequences. This lack of control is the result of alcohol- or drug-induced changes in the brain. Those changes, in turn, cause behavior changes.
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Alcohol and drug addiction causes many changes in the brain. The brains of addicted people "have been modified by the drug in such a way that absence of the drug makes a signal to their brain that is equivalent to the signal of when you are starving," says National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Dr. Nora Volkow. It is "as if the individual was in a state of deprivation, where taking the drug is indispensable for survival. It's as powerful as that."
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Addiction grows more serious over time. Substance abuse disorders travel along a continuum. This progression can be measured by the amount, frequency and context of a person's substance use. As their illness deepens, addicted people need more alcohol or drugs; they may use more often, and use in situations they never imagined when they first began to drink or take drugs. The illness becomes harder to treat and the related health problems, such as organ disease, become worse.
Enterhealth creates individualized alcohol addiction treatment and drug addiction rehabilitation plans because we know your unique situation calls for an effective one-of-a-kind solution.
Contact Enterhealth today at 800.388.4601 to schedule an admission or email us at info@enterhealth.com for more information.
