Addiction

What begins as occasional alcohol or drug use when socializing or a purposeful need to relieve pain, stress, escape, or feel rewarded, can all too easily become problematic overuse or even addiction. If you need help with an addiction, you can turn to Mental Health and Wellness Associates, based in Santa Monica, California. Their team of psychiatrists, therapists, and coaches have extensive experience helping people overcome addiction safely. This could include outpatient medication-assisted treatment that stops cravings and withdrawals. Don’t wait to seek help. Call the office or request an appointment online today.

What causes addiction? 

You can develop an addiction to many legal and illegal substances, including:

• Alcohol
• Opioids (heroin, fentanyl, oxycodone, Vicodin®)
• Stimulants (methamphetamines, cocaine)
• Barbiturates (tranquilizers)
• Hallucinogens (LSD, PCP, ketamine, ecstasy)

These substances activate your brain’s reward centers, causing the release of chemicals that relieve pain, elevate your mood, and make you feel euphoric. They also physically change your brain, making it dependent on the substance and leading to strong cravings.

As you keep using, you often need to increase the dose to stop the cravings and get the same effects. Before long, withdrawal symptoms begin if you try to stop using or cut back on the amount you use.

Withdrawal symptoms are minor initially, but without medications, your symptoms get increasingly severe. They can be life-threatening, depending on the substance you use.

Are there early signs of addiction?

There are some signs that you’re moving into an addiction. You may:

• Need time to recover after using the substance
• Feel irritable, angry, or emotionally volatile without an obvious reason
• Fail to keep up with school and work responsibilities
• Stop socializing with friends or stay away from family activities
• Use your substance even if you feel sick
• Suffer occasional memory loss or blackouts
• Neglect personal grooming

Having cravings, needing to use more, and suffering withdrawal symptoms are sure signs of an addiction.

How is addiction treated?

Mental Health and Wellness Associates safely treats addictions by starting with a comprehensive evaluation. All levels of care and treatment modalities are considered, including medication-assisted treatment (MAT). This holistic approach often combines aspects of medication, therapy, behavioral modification, and mutual help programs.

Medication

Medications support your ongoing recovery and address possible underlying and co-occurring symptoms like insomnia, anxiety, or depression. The type of medication you may need depends on the substance you use and the co-occurring symptoms you have. 

If you’re addicted to opioids, your doctor could consider a medication such as Suboxone®, a medication that:

• Stops opioid cravings
• Prevents withdrawal symptoms
• Blocks the effect of opioids
• Normalizes brain chemistry

Other medications could directly address trouble with anxiety, depression, sleep, PTSD, or other symptoms that alcohol and substances are often used to self-medicate.

Therapy

While medication supports your mental health physiologically, therapy helps you psychologically and can help to prevent relapse. It is one thing to stop using alcohol and/or drugs, but it is important to learn, develop and employ the necessary coping and life skills needed to move forward into a successful, happy, and fulfilling life without drugs and/or alcohol.

The team at Mental Health and Wellness Associates can recommend different therapeutic techniques to support your mental health and wellness.

You don’t need to face addiction alone when you seek help at Mental Health and Wellness Associates. Call the office or book an appointment online today.