Substance Abuse Treatment Programs

Substance use disorder can affect anyone at any time or stage of their life. Substance abuse is defined as a harmful pattern of hazardous use of mood-altering substances, often called “psychoactive substances.” This can include alcohol, drugs (both legal and illegal), and even substances like caffeine or nicotine that are not drugs at all.

At Oceanfront Recovery, our fully licensed addiction treatment facility in California and highly trained staff are combined with cutting-edge substance abuse treatment programs to help you understand your substance abuse and begin your journey to recovery.

Defining Substance Use Disorder

The words use, abuse, and addiction or dependence are frequently used to talk about problems with drugs or alcohol. But it is critical to understand the difference as you are working through recovery.

• Use: Substance use is alcohol or drugs, whether it’s a cocktail at a social event or taking a prescription drug for a medical condition. For many people, substance use is occasional, and they can self-regulate. For one in 10 people, substance use leads to abuse or dependency.
• Abuse: Substance abuse occurs when you continue to use alcohol or drugs even after it has started to cause issues in your life, including problems with your health, job, or personal relationships. An example may be going into work hungover, knowing it will adversely affect your job performance.
• Dependence: Substance dependence has an addiction to alcohol or drugs. This means that you are physically dependent on the substance and may have severe withdrawal symptoms if you quit. It also means that you can’t control your use of the substance and feel as if you “need” it to function, even if it is actually impairing your ability to function.

In the case of legal substances, the line between use and abuse is often blurred. Are a couple of beers in the evening after work considered use or abuse? What about smoking a pack of cigarettes every day or drinking cup after cup of coffee? It may seem simple, but for many people, it doesn’t take much to step over the line from responsible use into abuse and then dependence.

Symptoms of Substance Abuse

Addiction, or substance use disorder, affects your brain until you can’t control your need for your alcohol or drug of choice and drastically alters your behavior. Addiction results from a change in brain chemistry due to the repeated use of drugs or alcohol. However, addiction can arise even without frequent abuse or misuse of a substance. For example, due to its potency, medications like opioid painkillers can cause a dependency or addiction even when the individual follows their doctor’s instructions. Although signs and symptoms of addiction will vary depending on the individual’s physiology and the substance, there are some common things to look out for. Some common signs of substance use disorder include (but are not limited to):

• Feeling an intense need for the drug (daily or several times during the day) overwhelms any other thoughts.
• Gradually needing an increased dose of the drug to experience the desired effects.
• Loss of interest in social activities and hobbies you used to enjoy
• Failure to meet deadlines and obligations at your job
• Continuing to use the drug despite harm to your mental and physical health, as well as your job and relationships
• Neglecting personal hygiene and appearance
• Changes in behavior
• Engaging in risky or illegal activities
• Spending a significant amount of your time thinking about using the drug, using the drug, or recovering from the drug
• Spending money that you don’t have on the drug, stealing, or failing to pay important bills to ensure that you can get the drug
• Trying to quit and failing, or experiencing withdrawal symptoms

Learning to recognize these signs and symptoms in oneself or in someone you care about increases the likelihood of finding help. Addiction, like any disease, requires professional support to help individuals heal fully and properly. That is why substance abuse treatment programs are essential.

The Important of Substance Abuse Treatment Programs

Substance abuse treatment programs can save lives. Because each person is different, treatment styles and therapies should reflect that. Some of the therapies we offer include:

• Cognitive-behavioral therapy
• Dialectical behavior therapy
• EMDR therapy
• Family therapy

At Oceanfront Recovery, we offer a multi-faceted approach to recovery in which our clients learn how to manage their own recovery, aided by our experienced and supportive staff. The substance abuse treatment programs have specialized programs including, but not limited to, the following:

• Alcohol addiction treatment
• Heroin addiction treatment
• Prescription drug addiction treatment
• Opiate addiction treatment
• Benzodiazepine addiction treatment

The weight of addiction should not be taken on alone. There are many treatment options available and one that help heal you.

Heal with Oceanfront Recovery’s Substance Abuse Treatment Programs

If you are one of the millions of Americans who suffer from substance use disorder, we can help. Call California’s Oceanfront Recovery today at (877) 296-7477 and speak confidentially to one of our experienced intake specialists. Let us help you begin to reclaim your life  with our specialized substance abuse treatment programs. Contact our specialists today to learn more about our substance abuse treatment programs in Laguna Beach, CA.