Meth Addiction in Tallahassee – (850) 290-5955

Speed. Ice. Glass. Chalk. Crank. Chrissy. Tina. Tweak. On the street, methamphetamine goes by a lot of names. Inside the walls of addiction treatment facilities, however, it’s known as one thing: dangerous. Despite the feelings of euphoria it elicits among users, meth often begins starts a life on the path to ruin the very first time it’s consumed.

Meth Addiction: An Epidemic

Back in 2007, 4.5 percent of high-school seniors and 4.1 percent of sophomores said that they had used meth at least once, and in 2008, federal statistics indicated that over 12 million people had used meth that year, with over 500,000 of them being regular users. Meanwhile, a large portion of drug treatment admissions are meth-related, meaning that for many users, recreational use is a slippery slope leading to meth addiction.

Effects of Meth

Meth, which is consumed orally or by smoking, snorting, or injection, is dangerously addictive because of the very strong sense of euphoria that it imparts to users. In addition to this rush of happiness, meth can give people feelings of confidence, ability, and energy. When taken repeatedly, however, the pleasurable effects of meth quickly give way to tolerance, and more or higher doses are required to achieve the same results. When habitual users go without the drug, they are confronted with feelings of depression, anxiety, and fatigue. This only leads them to crave the drug more intensely, creating a cycle of destruction.

These negative emotions become part of the cycle of meth addiction, which also frequently includes confusion, moodiness, insomnia, paranoia, hallucinations, delusions, and more. When they become frustrated, those with a methamphetamine addiction have been known to frequently turn to violent behaviors. These psychotic symptoms can sometimes persist for months or even years after meth abuse ends, increasing the importance of effective aftercare in the treatment of meth addiction.

When meth addiction is treated, it can prevent further negative consequences of abuse, which include organ damage, severe malnutrition resulting from the appetite suppressing-properties of meth, and terrible tooth and gum decay. Additionally, neuroimaging studies have indicated that meth addiction may be responsible for permanent alterations in the brain’s dopamine system (its pleasure feedback loop) and centers for emotion, memory, verbal learning, and motor speed.

Treatment of Meth Addiction in Tallahassee, FL

Rehab and recovery for people with a methamphetamine addiction is fundamentally similar to that of people who deal with other types of drug addictions. After accepting the need for change, the first step is to undergo medical detox, in which medical and health professionals oversee the body’s break from dependence on meth. Following detox, the focus of treatment can be shifted to the underlying addiction and its causes. Relying on a number of traditional and alternative therapies, the staff at Drug Detox Centers Tallahassee aims to help individuals reclaim all that they lost through addiction and plan their future going forward.

If you are interested in finding out more about our recovery options at Drug Detox Centers Tallahassee, or have questions about meth addiction, please contact us today at (850) 290-5955.