5 Signs that Methadone Clinic Treatment is Working
Unfortunately, there’s no quick-fix or fast cure for overcoming addiction. More often than not, people in recovery undergo a gradual process of change that leads them out of the addiction lifestyle and into a drug-free existence.
Methadone clinic treatment works in this same fashion, equipping you with the physical supports to overcome drug-using urges, while providing you with the mental tools needed to maintain abstinence on a day-to-day basis.
5 Signs Methadone Clinic Treatment is Working
1. Minimal Withdrawal Effects
According to Wisconsin Department of Health Services, withdrawal effects can persist long after a person stops abusing opiates. These effects develop out of persistent brain chemical imbalances left behind by chronic drug abuse.
Methadone’s mechanism of action works to support neurotransmitter-producing brain cells and restore a normal chemical balance in the brain. These changes enable the brain to regulate the body’s processes as normal.
The resulting effects include increased energy levels, better focus and concentration and an overall sense of physical well-being.
Call our helpline at 800-678-5931(Paid Advertiser) to see if your insurance will help pay your rehab costs.
2. Emotional Stability
The effects of chronic opiate abuse inevitably warp the areas of the brain that regulate emotions. Even after stopping opiate use, the state of the brain’s chemical system can leave a person feeling depressed and incapable of experiencing any type of joy in his or her daily life.
During the course of methadone clinic treatment, emotional stability sees ongoing improvement as the effects of the drug work to enhance brain functioning.
3. Making Healthy Choices
Methadone clinic treatment combines the effects of methadone with ongoing behavioral interventions. According to the Journal of Science & Practice Perspectives, behavioral interventions entail helping you identify addiction-based thinking and behavior and replace them with healthy coping skills for managing the affairs of daily life in healthy ways.
Behavioral interventions commonly used include:
- Identifying relapse triggers
- Developing new interests
- Learning new ways of having fun
- Developing healthy ways of communicating with others
- Developing a drug-free mindset
4. Reduced Drug Cravings
While drug cravings may feel like a physical manifestation of opiate withdrawal, cravings actually result from the brain’s psychological dependence on opiates to cope with daily life.
In this respect, the behavioral interventions used in methadone clinic treatment break the mind’s belief that it “needs” drugs to make it through the day.
These effects combined with methadone’s therapeutic effects work to greatly reduce the degree of drug cravings experienced.
5. Continued Abstinence
Chronic opiate addiction changes the brain and body in fundamental ways, not to mention the effects it has on a person’s thinking processes. Overcoming withdrawal and cravings effects and maintaining continued abstinence for any length of time is a real challenge considering how the addiction mindset works against a person’s recovery efforts.
Methadone clinic treatment equips you with the supports needed to overcome these obstacles and maintain continued abstinence for the long-term.
If you or someone you know are considering methadone clinic treatment and need help finding a program that meets your needs, please don’t hesitate to call our toll-free helpline at 800-678-5931(Paid Advertiser) to speak with one of our addiction specialists.