Source: # How is addiction treated? *From the book – Chapter 25: Addiction and Substance Use* ## Treatment - Detoxification: medically supervised withdrawal when stopping is itself dangerous (alcohol, benzodiazepines, some opioids). - Rehabilitation programmes — residential or day — for structure, not as a prison of shame. - Medication-assisted treatment for opioids and for alcohol, when a licensed clinician chooses it. - Therapy: CBT, motivational interviewing. - Support groups: AA, NA, SMART Recovery — company that knows the loop. - Relapse prevention: a lapse is data, not a verdict that the person is finished. - Treat co-occurring mental health conditions. The drink is often holding a door shut on anxiety, trauma, or depression. Do not stop a dependent alcohol or benzodiazepine pattern at home without medical advice. Withdrawal can seize. This is a medical emergency. Never try to stop alone at home over a weekend; get medical help. [Read the full chapter – Chapter 25: Addiction and Substance Use](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/chapter/25/) ## Stories from real life - [The Glass After Dinner](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/story/the-glass-after-dinner-99/) – Raghav, fifty-one, runs a hardware shop in Nashik. He never drank in the mornings, he told himself, and he never missed a delivery. But the one… - [The Cigarette Behind the Hostel](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/story/the-cigarette-behind-the-hostel-100/) – Aisha, nineteen, started vaping at a friend's party in her first year of college in Pune. It looked harmless and tasted of mango. Within months she… - [Night Games, Empty Mornings](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/story/night-games-empty-mornings-101/) – Karan, fifteen, from Jaipur, once loved cricket and drawing. Over a year, an online game took over. He played until three in the morning, hid the… - [Pills for Sleep, Pills for Nerves](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/story/pills-for-sleep-pills-for-nerves-102/) – Mrs Dorothy Pereira, sixty-eight, widowed in Goa, was given a sleeping tablet after her husband died. It helped at first. Over two years she kept asking… More on this topic: [Addiction to alcohol, tobacco, drugs and gambling – signs and recovery](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/topic/addiction/) ## More questions - [Understanding family — support without enabling – addiction](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/understanding-family-support-without-enabling-addiction/) - [Understanding harm reduction – addiction](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/understanding-harm-reduction-addiction/) - [What is true: the loop named is best captured as…?](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/what-is-true-the-loop-named-is-best-captured-as/) - [What is true: A substance use disorder includes…?](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/what-is-true-a-substance-use-disorder-includes/) - [What is true: alcohol or benzodiazepine withdrawal can be…?](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/what-is-true-alcohol-or-benzodiazepine-withdrawal-can-be/) - [What is true: medication-assisted treatment is…?](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/what-is-true-medication-assisted-treatment-is/) - [What is true: support without enabling means…?](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/what-is-true-support-without-enabling-means/) - [The Glass After Dinner – what this story teaches, the signs and what to do](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/story-the-glass-after-dinner/) - [The Cigarette Behind the Hostel – what this story teaches, the signs and what to do](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/story-the-cigarette-behind-the-hostel/) - [Night Games, Empty Mornings – what this story teaches, the signs and what to do](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/story-night-games-empty-mornings/) [myadvisorfriend@gmail.com](mailto:myadvisorfriend@gmail.com) · [Contact](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/contact/) · [About](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/about/) · [Privacy](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/privacy/) · [Disclaimer](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/disclaimer/) --- *Psychology for Everyone – A Mental Well Being Series* by Satish Zope · free to read · Contact: [myadvisorfriend@gmail.com](mailto:myadvisorfriend@gmail.com) · [About](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/about/) · [Privacy](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/privacy/) · [Disclaimer](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/disclaimer/)