It is an unfortunate truth that many Americans, some of them just adolescents, are addicted to drugs or alcohol. Being addicted to heroin or addicted to opioids can devastate the user’s life, as drug use may alienate friends and family, exhaust their finances, and cause the loss of a job or even their living space. Tragically, many Americans even lose their lives due to drug abuse, and for these reasons and more, treatment centers can be found across the United States to help addicts recover. A Chicago methadone clinic may help Chicago residents kick a heroin habit, and heroin rehab may soon follow. Friend and family might stage an intervention and encourage a drug addict to seek recovery, and in some cases even the drug addict might seek out help on their own. An interested party may look online to find some clinics, such as searching “methadone clinics chicago” to find a clinic that offers methadone as a heroin treatment plan. Searching “methadone clinics chicago” may be refined with the seeker’s ZIP code. When and why might someone search “methadone clinics chicago” or “detox clinics in chicago il”?
Americans and Addiction
Drug and alcohol addiction are a part of the much larger field of American health, and many studies are done and surveys are conducted to track the health of Americans. Studies have shown that many Americans are abusing drugs, and in fact many heroin addiction cases started out as legal, over the counter painkiller prescriptions. In 2015, for example, some 20.5 million Americans aged 12 and up had a substance use disorder, and two million were abusing prescription pain relievers and 591,000 were abusing heroin. Tragically, this can often lead to death, and drug overdose ranks first among causes of accidental death in the U.S. In the year 2015 alone, some 52,404 Americans lost their lives this way. For the sake of an addict’s health and perhaps their entire life, friends and family may intervene and encourage that addict to seek recovery. There are many clinics and therapists across the U.S. who are ready to help, and this can often lead a cooperative addict to a new, drug-free life.
Finding Methadone or Detox Clinics
An addict seeking recovery must approach the correct clinics and get medical assistance with their recovery plan. This may mean finding methadone clinics in the area, with online queries such as “methadone clinics in los angeles CA” and “methadone clinics chicago near me.” At such a clinic, a patient may get a prescription for methadone, a legal, over the counter drug that helps ease the patient out of a heroin or opioid problem. It may be administered in either pill or liquid form, and so long as methadone is used properly, it may prevent the unpleasant side effects of drug withdrawal. Methadone use alone does not provide a full recovery from drug addiction, but it can serve as a useful first step in that process. Using methadone may free the drug addict of their constant need to use drugs, and it may decrease opioid cravings, too.
Detoxing is another major part of any recovery plan. A drug addict is not truly free of drugs until they have cleared their body of all substances and undergo therapy and counseling to readjust their life. But detoxing, or flushing the body of drugs, should not be attempted alone. Why not? Undergoing detox alone may mean a lack of medical assistance should something go wrong, and the addict may be tempted to use drugs to relieve the unpleasant effects of withdrawal.
Thus, an addict should find and check into a detox clinic, and they may spend a few nights there. The medical staff on hand will monitor the patient’s withdrawal symptoms and detox process, and they can intervene and help if there are complications. Detoxing must be allowed to run its course, and the length may vary based on the drugs that had been used. Once this process is complete, the patient may undergo therapy and counseling services to help them adjust to a new, drug-free lifestyle and reclaim control over their life. This may include joining anonymous support groups, along with emotional support from friends and family.