Whatever your situation may be, here at Addiction Advocates, we can offer guidance, we can offer professional insights, we can offer referrals into rehab. To gauge where you stand with drugs and alcohol, to understand the necessity of professional withdrawal services, to appreciate the deteriorating cycle of addiction, reach out to our team.
Drug and alcohol addiction is a serious throughout the UK and Cambridge is no exception. The city might have a reputation as a gentile university town but it is certainly not immune. Between 2016-2018 figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that deaths from drug poisoning had risen to record levels in Cambridgeshire. The rate of 6.1 deaths per 100,000 people was still below the national average of 6.7 per 100,000 but represented a huge and growing problem.
That figure translates to an average of 115 deaths per year and that is only the tip of the addiction iceberg. Many more people will be suffering the ill effects of drug addiction and even more will find themselves in the grip of an addiction to alcohol. Even when addiction does not prove fatal, it can wreck the lives of the addict and many of the people around them.
Addiction by its very nature is extremely difficult to beat. This destructive disease leads to compulsive behaviour and sees the addict seeking out more and more of the substance despite the negative consequences. Chronic drug and alcohol use can actually rewire the brain, making it even more difficult to break the cycle of addiction without professional help and structured drug and alcohol treatment.
Drug and alcohol treatment options
If you or a loved one needs help to fight a problem with alcohol or drugs it’s important to get the right advice and find out what addiction treatment is available. The NHS can offer drug and alcohol services but there are limitations to the treatment it provides.
Free NHS treatment programmes are almost always outpatient or community-based. This means that you go home after treatment sessions and will be responsible for turning up to your appointments. This does have some benefits. You do not have to take time out from your life and can take a flexible approach to recovery. This can be suitable for people whose addiction is comparatively less severe or who have work or family commitments they cannot take time off from. It often does not suit people with chaotic lifestyles or heavy addictions, who can find it difficult to manage their own programmes – even with the help of programme staff.
Another option is to attend a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre as an inpatient. This means staying on the premises for the duration of the programme. A number of studies have shown this to be the most effective way to beat addiction and make a long-term recovery.
The benefits of alcohol and drug rehab clinics
The fact that you attend this sort of treatment centre as an inpatient brings a number of different benefits. The first is that it gives you the opportunity to concentrate on fighting your addiction without any distractions. This also means that you are safely away from the people, places and triggers that are associated with your drinking or drug use and in a place where alcohol and drugs are not accessible.
You will also have access to round the clock care and support. Medical care can be important, especially during detox, but moral, emotional and psychological support is also crucial. You will be surrounded by trained professionals who are used to working with a wide range of addiction problems in an understanding and completely non-judgemental fashion. The other residents of the facility will also be working through similar issues and so will have an understanding of what you are going through. You may be encouraged to socialise but you will not be forced to do so. The rest of the time will be quite rigidly structured as this tends to be beneficial for people undergoing a treatment program for drugs or alcohol.
What to expect from rehab in Cambridge
If you do decide to make use of drug and alcohol treatment centres you will naturally want to know what your stay will entail. For most residents, one of the first and most important stages is going through a controlled detox. Some people will come to a drug or alcohol rehab having not taken drugs or alcohol for a while but the majority will still have the toxic substance in their system.
Detox, or detoxification, refers to the period it takes for the body to metabolise the substance. In some cases this can be a relatively short space of time. Heroin, for example, has a relatively short half-life, which means it is usually processed in a number of hours after the last usage. The physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms can last a lot longer however and they can be severe.
These withdrawal symptoms, coupled with craving for the drugs and alcohol, see many addicts fail to pass through this stage, especially if they try to go ‘cold turkey’ alone. Using a supervised programme in a professional detox clinic is far more likely to be successful. It is also safer, as you will be supervised, with access to medical care and the correct medication where appropriate.
Although some people attend drug rehab clinics primarily to detox, it is far from the only part of the rehabilitation process. In order to avoid relapsing and returning to bad old habits when you leave the centre, you need to learn about the root causes of your addiction and change your ways of thinking. To this end, you can take advantage of a number of different therapies, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and group therapy.
How do I find a drug or alcohol rehab near me?
Drug rehab UK centres operate throughout the country, including many in Cambridge and surrounding areas. If you are looking for drug and alcohol rehab in Cambridge and Cambridgeshire there are a number to choose from. Addiction Advocates can help by finding the rehab clinic that suits your own individual needs.
Alcohol and drug addiction can cause untold damage if left untreated so don’t delay. If you or a loved one are struggling with drink or drugs, contact us for initial advice today.