Whenever you get sick, catching your symptoms early helps you heal quicker. Addiction is no different. Thus, early intervention gives you the greatest chance of recovery when going through treatment.
Early Intervention Limits Brain Changes
Drugs work by altering the way your brain thinks, operates, and communicates with the rest of your body. In most cases, the longer you’ve been using, the more drastically these substances change your brain.
Your body works diligently to balance itself out. In doing so, it releases chemicals that help you manage pain and uses signals that allow you to feel pleasure.
These elements keep you in homeostasis. In other words, they bring you back to normal when you’re feeling off.
Drugs instantly change the way that your brain communicates. When the high wears off, your body attempts to regain equilibrium. However, if you use substances frequently or in high doses, they may cause irreversible cognitive effects.
Thus, people who continually abuse drugs such as methamphetamines, cocaine, alcohol, and heroin have dysfunctional receptors in the brain. Overall, this makes the brain less sensitive to natural rewards as well as the effects of the drugs.
However, if you can counter drug abuse early enough, you can prevent these changes from occurring.
Early Intervention Prevents Brain Rewiring
When your brain develops, it creates specific neurological pathways. These allow signals to travel more easily. In this way, the brain grows and changes.
Most of the brain’s wiring occurs in childhood. Although rewiring can happen throughout life. Usually, the brain develops in response to frequent or infrequent habits, behaviors, and actions.
For example, when you perform something over and over again, it becomes easier. This is because the brain forms connections to help the process along. The brain prunes and removes neural synapses if you don’t need them for your regular routines.
Taking drugs rewires the brain. You begin to act on certain drug-abusing and seeking behaviors by reflex. Fortunately, intervening before this happens can make the recovery process much smoother.
Addiction Intervention Help with Steps to Recovery
Many people who struggle with addiction are already aware of their self-destructive behaviors. In some cases, fear or financial troubles prevent people from seeking treatment.
If a loved one doesn’t realize they need help, you might have to stage an intervention. In order to be effective, you need to know how to organize it properly. Fortunately, the licensed clinicians and Certified National Drug and Alcohol Interventionists at Steps to Recovery can help you work compassionately with a loved one.
At Steps to Recovery, we offer 24-hour admissions. Therefore, you can get help whenever you need it. We also provide additional resources for patients and their families, including:
• Family counseling
• Alcohol and drug education
• Men’s and women’s addiction rehab programs
• Addiction therapy services
Don’t wait to make the most important transformation of your life. Call us today at 866-488-8684 to find out how our compassionate care and substance abuse relapse prevention programs can help someone in need.
