Amphetamine Treatment Intake: What’s It like?
Amphetamine use is detrimental in many ways. Yes, it affects your life and your choices. But, it also affects your friends, your family, your job, your schooling, and your emotional stability. You are probably beginning to realize what amphetamine abuse has done to your life and you are making positive choices to break your pattern of addiction and start healing.
However, addiction itself will make seeking help difficult. In fact, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), defines drug addiction as “a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences.”
You may begin taking drugs voluntarily, but as your brain changes to accommodate addiction, your self-control will be damaged and the urge to use will no longer be something you can resist. Your will to quit will likely not be enough.
When you make the choice to get help, your first step will be an intake. Even if you are simply seeking detox, you will go through an intake because it is important for the professionals helping you to have a thorough understanding of multiple aspects of your life. But, what exactly will that look like? What follows are details of the intake process.
For more information about treatment and recovery, including intake, contact SubstanceAbuse.org at 800-487-1890 (Who Answers?) . We can connect you with resources, set you up with treatment and answer your questions. Give us a call.
The Effects of Amphetamines
It’s important to answer questions honestly in order to develop an effective treatment plan.
Amphetamines gained popularity as mother’s little helpers. They worked miracles for patients looking to treat depression, increase weight loss, decrease fatigue, clear nasal decongestion, and treat narcolepsy and ADHD. They seem like a wonder drug. But, they pose real dangers for people who use them non-medically/recreationally.
The more individuals use them recreationally, the more they face negative physical side effects like:
- Heart problems
- Irregular heart beat
- Headaches
- Troubled vision
- Chest pain
- Skin ailments
Negative psychological side effects include:
- Reduced societal inhibitions
- Changed sexual behavior
- Delusions of personal ability and power
When you enter recovery, you will be choosing to leave these side effects behind. But, before you reach that stage you undergo intake.
Honesty
During the intake process, you will meet with a medical professional to answer a succession of questions and take tests. Clinicians will test for the presence of amphetamines and determine the amount currently in your system. They will also screen for comorbid mental and physical conditions. Prepare for a complete assessment of your medical, psychological, and social circumstances.
You must answer all questions honestly. When you lie, you affect the development of the treatment plan and alterations of the plan will mean that it cannot succeed as easily. Do yourself a favor and help the clinicians gather all the information that they need to do right by you. The National Institute on Drug Abuse notes: “No single treatment is appropriate for everyone.” You need a plan tailored to you and your addiction.
If you feel embarrassed, don’t. Nothing you can tell them will shock them or make them judge you. They are professionals.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse notes: “No single treatment is appropriate for everyone.”
What is a Dual Diagnosis and How Does it Relate to Substance Abuse?
Comorbid Conditions
A treatment plan must address comorbid mental and physical disorders. These are conditions that occur simultaneously for you. For example, you may have both an amphetamine addiction and a heart condition or generalized anxiety. Your treatment plan will need to consider how these conditions impact each other.
As the NIDA states: “To be effective, treatment must address the individual’s drug abuse and any associated medical, psychological, social, vocational, and legal problems.
It is also important that treatment be appropriate to the individual’s age, gender, ethnicity, and culture.” The more honestly you answer intake questions, the better the information gathered will be and the better it will address these various concerns.
If you are ready to begin drawing up a treatment plan and undergoing treatment, contact SubstanceAbuse.org at800-487-1890 (Who Answers?) . They will direct you to treatment centers and resources. Call today.