What is Cross Addiction?

Addiction is running rampant throughout the United States, and there’s a high relapse rate. The relapse rate isn’t because treatment doesn’t work but because of a variety of other reasons. One of the primary reasons is that people struggle with cross addiction and don’t address it. At this point, you may be asking yourself, what is cross addiction?

Exactly What is Cross Addiction?

The question of, what is a cross addiction, often comes up when people are researching treatment. Sometimes referred to as polysubstance abuse, a cross addiction is when you’re abusing multiple substances that all create negative habits. It’s critical to understand your addictions and how the brain works. Some of the most common cross addictions include the following:

• Alcohol and opiates
• Alcohol and cocaine
• Heroin and meth
• Alcohol and benzodiazepines
• Meth and marijuana

For your addiction therapy to be successful, you need to understand your cross addiction. The brain is made to be as efficient as possible, and different neurons wire together when you create habits, negative or positive. For example, if you do cocaine whenever you drink, your brain associates the two. The misconception people have is that their problem is only with cocaine, but they can still drink. This often leads to relapse because the brain urges you to do the other substance whenever you drink. This is why complete abstinence-based treatment is critical.

What is Cross Addiction with Alcohol?

As you saw in the examples, the most common cross addictions involve drinking alcohol. One of the reasons this happens is because alcohol is the most difficult addiction to recognize. The mind of someone with an addiction justifies drinking or using. The logic many people use is that alcohol is legal, so it’s alright to use, so the only issue that needs to be addressed is the drugs.

If you truly want to regain control of your life, you need treatment that explains why this isn’t true. To live the life that you deserve, you need to figure out why you want to drink in the first place. From here, your therapist will help you work through these issues in a much healthier way. When you learn how to manage your life without having to turn to either alcohol or drugs, you gain freedom from these substances.

Getting Help

Beaches Recovery is a drug and alcohol treatment center that can help explain what is cross addiction and then help you manage it. We have a fully licensed staff who understands the complexities of the disease of addiction. We’re passionate about helping people just like you overcome addiction and have a fresh start with life. Throughout our treatment programs, you’ll regain hope and see you don’t have to live the way you’re living anymore. Some of the methods we use here at Beaches include:

• Holistic treatment
• Coping skills for recovery
• Behavioral health services
• Experiential therapy activities

Now you know what is cross addiction. If you’re ready to begin cross addiction treatment programs, call Beaches Recovery at 866.605.0532.