What is the Purpose of Addiction Therapy

Addiction, alcoholism and other substance abuse disorders cause not only damaging consequences but also major changes to your brain chemistry. These changes impact your thought process, emotions and behaviors. Addiction is a chronic and progressive condition that continues to worsen until you receive help. The earlier addiction is treated, the more favorable recovery outcomes are. During inpatient and outpatient treatment programs, the main purpose of therapy is to help you identify and change your thinking patterns, emotions and actions. Addiction causes your brain to reward drug and alcohol abuse, which is a process that takes time to fully recover from.

How Addiction Works

Addiction is a potentially fatal mental health disease that causes you to compulsively abuse drugs and alcohol despite increasingly severe consequences and/or a willingness and desire to stop using. During addiction, your brain’s pleasure and reward center change along with your brain chemistry. When you use drugs and alcohol, your brain is compelled to release more neurotransmitters than it should. This begins a damaging cycle caused by unnatural neurotransmitter imbalances.

Having abnormally limited amounts of neurotransmitters results in mood changes, such as depression and anxiety. During the course of addiction, your brain associates your substance of choice with pleasure and induces intense cravings whenever you don’t use. You can also experience physical withdrawal symptoms, such as:

• Shakes, tremors, and restless legs
• Insomnia
• Body aches and pain
• Digestive problems
• Seizures, malaise, and disorientation

Withdrawal symptoms can begin within hours of your last use and typically last for 3 to 5 days.

The Purpose of Therapy During Treatment

The purpose of addiction therapy is to provide the insight, skills, and tools necessary to manage cravings and symptoms. Cognitive and dialectic behavioral therapy are effective, evidence-based treatments for addiction. The purpose of therapy like motivational interviewing therapy is to provide you with the ability to set and obtain realistic goals, manage distressful emotions and cope with cravings and triggers.

Experiential therapy, like animal and music therapy, provides creative outlets to express complex thoughts and feels. If you struggle with verbally sharing your emotions, experiential therapy offers an alternative approach to communicate your thoughts and feelings. Individual counseling can help you focus on your goals for treatment and recovery, such as re-entering the workforce or enrolling in school.

Learning healthy coping strategies is an important tool during early recovery. Negative emotions and major life changes are unavoidable, which is why finding methods to cope with these things without using drugs and alcohol is especially important. Anxiety, depression, and stress can all increase your risk of experiencing a relapse.

Reaching Out to a Treatment Center Today

Millions of Americans struggle with a substance abuse problem each and every year. Finding help from a treatment center can help you find a way to overcome addiction. During treatment, the purpose of therapy is to prepare you for living without using drugs and alcohol as a negative coping strategy. If you are ready to begin taking the steps necessary to recover, contact Beaches Recovery today at 866.605.0532.