In the past, stereotypes about drug addiction and those who suffer from the disorder often threw up an insurmountable obstacle in providing treatment for those who needed it at a community level. Many small towns and neighborhoods would protest and block plans for new methadone clinics or sober living homes on their streets out of fear of an increase in crime, violence, and other unsavory activities that they felt were associated with addiction – even when that addiction were being actively treated.

It appears that, due to widespread education and increased awareness about the issue of heroin addiction and opiate dependence and treatment, those attitudes are changing. In small town Rutland, Vermont, a methadone clinic that was previously proposed was opposed by local law enforcement, the medical community, and locals alike. Ten years later, those opinions appear to have shifted: the new methadone clinic proposed for the town have been met with approval.

Changes in Attitude

Over the past decade, it has become clear that opiate abuse and addiction to prescription drugs like Vicodin, OxyContin, Percocet and other painkillers have become more and more prevalent. The one thing that seems true across the board about those is that there are few unifying characteristics of those who develop this type of dependence. There are no class barriers, race and gender is not an issue, and few Americans have been untouched by the epidemic. The reality of how devastating and debilitating opiate addiction can be has increased the urgency to get help where it is needed –and if that means creating a local methadone clinic or allowing for sober living services within the town limits, then people are opening their minds to the possibilities.

Heroin Addiction Help

Heroin addiction is the main form of opiate addiction treated at methadone clinics, and even small towns like Rutland, Vermont, have been exposed to the health problems and crime related to its spread. Back in 2000, only 49 patients sought treatment for heroin addiction in Rutland. By the following year, that number had almost doubled to 96. By 2008, the number of patients in search of heroin rehab would reach 315.

The best way to lower this number is to provide services that include more than just medical detox through methadone. A comprehensive heroin rehab program that provides detox as well as intensive psychological treatment will help patients to stop abusing their opiate of choice and learn how to live without drugs of any kind, including alcohol.

If you would like to learn more about the woman-centered heroin addiction treatment options we provide here at The Orchid, contact us today

When it comes to the development of drug addiction and abuse, it’s common knowledge that genetic connections can play a part. If an immediate family member – mother, father, or sibling – struggled with drug and alcohol dependence, it is more likely that another family member will fight the same problem if they opt to experiment with illicit substances.

The issue may be more than just genetic. There is an identifiable cycle of abuse and addiction that occurs among families where drug addiction is rampant. The bad news is that it won’t be broken without effort. The good news is that drug addiction treatment can help.

The Cycle of Drug Abuse and Addiction

Let’s consider the passing of an addiction from generation to generation. A teen who is addicted to drugs or alcohol may be more likely to engage in unprotected sex, and have a child before they are ready. Still struggling with drugs and alcohol, they may be unready to undergo drug addiction treatment and continue to abuse illicit substances as the child grows up.

When addiction is a part of family life, the child is neglected. He or she is exposed to the dangers and ugliness that come with daily life lived in the grips of drug dependence. Trauma can result and many children are witness to – if not victims of – terrible events as a result of a parents’ addiction. Domestic violence, sexual abuse, criminal acts – all of these are common.

As a result, many children of addicts will turn to drugs and alcohol in order to numb the feelings of fear, instability, and sadness that result. Access is easy due to the parents ongoing addiction, and due to the young age of first use and the malleability of the brain during this crucial period of development, the onset of addiction is relatively rapid.

What happens next? The increased chance of unprotected sex, which means another cycle of a young parent with a drug addiction tasked with a raising child….

The cycle can be never ending.

Breaking the Cycle

Breaking the cycle starts when the addicted parent gets the help he or she needs to break free from their own addiction. Once in recovery and beginning the process of building a solid life for themselves, their children will benefit from a better role model, less chance of trauma, and more stability. If this happens early enough, it can lower the chances of the child ultimately developing an addiction as well.

If you are a mother and fighting off a drug and alcohol addiction, contact us at The Orchid today for information about how you can help yourself, your child, and your family to beat drug dependence – now and in the future.

Research in the area of drug addiction treatment is heavily focused on the medications that make it more possible for patients to quickly stop abusing their drug of choice, more safely and efficiently get through withdrawal symptoms, and more effectively fight drug cravings and avoid relapse. One of the latest plants under the microscope is the African plant iboga. Ibogaine is the substance derived from this plant and one that may have healing properties that address the issues associated with opiate addiction that make it so difficult to walk away from.

The possible positive side of ibogaine is that it has been shown to help patients deal with the physical aspect of drug addiction and may have a significant effect on interrupting withdrawal symptoms.

The somewhat more dubious claim is that, because ibogaine is a psychedelic drug, the patient who takes it may no longer experience withdrawal symptoms but will certainly go on a 36-hour “trip.” Some report that this experience is characterized by a visit from a “plant spirit” who helps the user to understand why they began abusing drugs and provides them with guidance to avoid returning to drug addiction when the ibogaine wears off.

It is perhaps due in part to the fact that these claims are widely unverifiable that the iboga plant and ibogaine are not used in drug addiction treatment here in the United States. It is most definitely due to the fact that the drug is a psychedelic that the drug is illegal for any use in this country – and has been since it was banned along with other psychedelics like mescaline, DMT, LSD under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970.

The studies that are being done are reportedly happening in other parts of the world, like Western Africa, where the drug is often used in shamanic ceremonies and, in lower doses, to treat certain ailments. However, some say that the drug has been found on the underground, passed around for its psychedelic uses as well as its drug addiction treatment properties and even in a handful of drug addiction treatment centers in Mexico, New Zealand, and Holland.

Arguments for using the drug in addiction treatment programs are not helped by the fact that a number of people have died while under its influence. However, a US-based study of the drug is being conducted by Santa Cruz Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) in Mexico and soon in New Zealand.

Women are more likely to develop an addiction to drugs and alcohol than are men when they begin to experiment or abuse drugs casually, and they tend to develop that addiction more quickly and on lesser amount of their drug of choice. That’s the bad news. The worse news is that women are less likely to seek treatment than are men who are living with similar drug and alcohol addictions. Why? Perhaps it’s the stigma of drug addiction that they wish to avoid. Maybe it’s because they feel that they can’t leave children who are dependent upon them. No matter what the reason, the hardest part for women is recognizing that they have an addiction issue that is significant and requires drug rehab and then getting them the drug addiction treatment they need to heal.

But what about after drug rehab? What chances does a woman have at full recovery after addiction? What kind of life can she create for herself after addiction?

Statistics Show that Women Succeed in Drug Addiction Recovery

The good news for women battling a drug or alcohol addiction is they are more likely to recover if they seriously seek treatment. Research has proven that the relapse rates for women are less than for the male population. Experts speculate this is due to the fact that women are more likely to use the group therapy offered in rehab to their advantage. Women are better able to form bonds and create a support network with their peers in counseling than men. These statistics demonstrate that relapse prevention needs to be approached differently between the genders in rehab.

The Benefits of a Network of Support in Drug Addiction Recovery

It’s true that women fare better after drug rehab when they have a group of gals to lean on. In general, women are social creatures by nature and get more from the benefits of sharing their feelings or venting and thus avoiding a relapse and/ or being there for others in a supportive capacity. Creating a community in recovery can help patients to remain accountable for their actions and their commitment to staying clean and sober. It can be extremely positive, and though the mechanism of group therapy and support groups are helpful for men as well, they are an especially positive choice for women in recovery.

Drug Rehab for Women

Many drug rehabs offer extended care for female graduates, woman-centered therapies, and women-only treatment. Orchid offers drug addiction treatment solely for women. Contact us today to find out more about our program.

One of the most important factors in anyone’s successful cocaine addiction recovery is the support system that patients create to help them through the tough times. Women, especially, need a strong emotional support system in order to be successful without drugs and alcohol in recovery –and many have found benefits to creating woman-centered system of support that is mutually beneficial to all.

Through woman-centered 12-step meetings, therapy sessions, and drug rehab programs, women are finding in larger and larger numbers that banding together can be most effective in helping them to stay clean and sober for the long term.

Woman-Centered Cocaine Addiction Recovery Meetings

There are a number of 12-step meetings and other support groups for those breaking free from cocaine addiction that are for women only. Here, participants can feel safe to share the stressors of the day, issues with significant others, and other issues that they may not feel comfortable sharing when men are in the room. Participants exchange phone numbers and often make themselves available for coffee or support when cravings strike. Often, women form lifelong friendships based on the experiences they have in 12-step cocaine addiction recovery.

Woman-Centered Cocaine Addiction Therapy

Group therapy sessions or private therapy sessions with a female therapist and/ or female participants can provide similar mechanisms of support found at woman-centered 12-step meetings but with a more psychologically therapeutic bent. Working with a medical professional means that you will receive medical guidance in addition to the support of other women in the group. A therapist who can help you navigate the emotional issues and issues of sexual trauma can be of great assistance in an ongoing recovery and is one of the best choices to make after completing a cocaine rehab program.

Woman-Centered Cocaine Rehab

If you are seeking woman-centered cocaine detox and addiction treatment, there are drug rehabs for women that provide just that. Here you will find an all-female staff and female peers who will help you through the process of leaving cocaine addiction behind. Starting with a cocaine detox to handle the physical effects of cocaine addiction and continuing with comprehensive cocaine addiction treatment, a woman-centered cocaine rehab can help you build a strong foundation in recovery and help you begin the process of working through trauma that occurred before or during your cocaine addiction and help you learn how to better handle the stressors that come your way without relapse. Contact us at Orchid Recovery Center to find out how we can help.