Anyone seeking methamphetamine detoxification will have to make the first move and they might have a hard time finding a suitable clinic to help them. Local and state budgets have been cut to the bone and shifts in health insurance have put a squeeze on rehabilitation services nationwide, especially in the case of the young. This, despite the fact that there’s certainly been no reduction in the need for such care, has created a great need for facilities to deal with meth recovery. Methamphetamine addiction has been a serious drug crisis for almost a full generation.
Military Use
Methamphetamines became prominent during the 1930s and 1940s but especially during World War II when they were given to both German and Japanese soldiers by their governments to help them stay awake for prolonged periods. The drug gave heightened alertness and energy but at a significant cost to health. Meth use is known to cause damage to the small blood vessels in the human brain, potentially leading to strokes. It also inflames the lining of the heart.
Symptoms
There are both short and long-term symptoms of methamphetamine abuse. The former include paranoid behavior, even violently so, skin damage running the gamut from rashes and sores to cracking lips, sunken, blood-shot eyes and frequent scratching of one’s skin. The most frequently mentioned symptom, staying awake for several days on end, perhaps ought not be considered a “symptom of abuse” since it is so often the effect users are seeking.
Long-Term
As the addiction progresses, the methamphetamine addict may experience hallucinations. These hallucinations may be both visual and aural and won’t necessarily coincide with the smoking of the drug but may occur sporadically as a result of damage done to the brain tissue. Further, the addict can expect to develop one of the most typical symptoms of long-term abuse, an alarming loss of weight and tooth decay in all teeth simultaneously.
Emotional Addiction
When the meth crisis first emerged, therapists soon learned that rehabilitation would have to involve more than simply addressing the pharmacological effects of the drug itself. Methamphetamines is a notorious “lifestyle drug”, which is not partaken by isolate individuals so much as by close-knit “tribes” with each member becoming as attracted to this drug culture as to the drug itself.
Negative Social Bond
These social bonds need to be replaced for any real progress to be possible. Accordingly, an important part of meth rehab involves the addict’s social life. The patient should be separated from his or her old life and friends, all of whom reinforce the drug culture. During therapy, it is best to move out of the area for a period.
Types of Therapy
Person to person treatment is most effective at uncovering, then addressing, the essential reasons the patient turned to methamphetamines in the first place. Reasons vary from individual to individual and may include anything from an exaggerated need to please other people to compulsiveness, from fearfulness of life’s challenges to low self-esteem. The methamphetamine addiction group counseling reinforced in the aftercare process is useful for uncovering the personal triggers that send the patient in search of the drug.
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