Crack is a solid form of cocaine that is known for its short-lived and hard-hitting high. Crack is also one of the most addictive illegal drugs that are in circulation today. Manufactured from cocaine with baking soda used as a base, crack is heavily circulated among the urban youth. In addition, crack is known for its affordability and the crackling sound that is produced upon smoking the drug. Due to the toxic additives utilized in the production, crack presents a threat to both mental and physical health of the abuser.

Crack addiction can be very hard to overcome, because it is primarily psychological in nature, making it necessary for the doctor to adopt a different approach towards the treatment. Due to the absence of the physical component responsible for the addiction, the focus of the treatment needs to be shifted to deep psychological conditions that might be encouraging the dependency.

How addictive is crack?

According to the researchers, crack is one among drugs that are highly addictive. After the high is gone, abusers often feel depressed or very tired, making them use the drug again to keep themselves energetic.

Which are the signs of crack addiction?

Crack is a highly addictive substance whose abuse affects every part of the life of the person abusing the drug. It is common for the abusers to have low attendance in schools and offices because getting high is the topmost priority they have in their lives.

Many abusers may experience financial hardships and a few of them actually take to stealing money to fulfill their needs. For somebody hooked with this drug, it is common to experience irregular sleep patterns, a decline in the appearance and excessive loss of weight. His face might start to appear sunk and his weight might drop drastically. In addition to that, those that have the habit of smoking crack tend to have serious dental concerns.

Crack addiction treatment

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The severity of your addiction determines the kind of treatment that is best for you. Treatment procedures are offered on both inpatient and outpatient basis. Abusers that want to have their treatment conducted in outpatient settings either choose day treatment programs or daily check in programs.

On day check in programs, the patient needs to spend at least a few hours with the counselor on a daily basis. With Day treatment programs, the patient will need to stay inside the facility for at least eight hours in a day.

Inpatient treatment is known to be a more structured form of treatment. The patient remains inside the facility throughout the treatment, which usually lasts for 30, 60 or 90 days. Inpatient treatment is meant for those that have serious addiction problems, for the reason that it allows the patient to recover in an environment that is free from all the temptations.

Once the program is completed, the patient can get back to his normal life. Before leaving the facility, the patient is given a relapse prevention plan, which might include counseling sessions with an aftercare specialist on a weekly basis.

Detox is generally committed to making the patient mentally stable. Sometimes, short-term medication may be required to calm the patient. Long term medication may be necessary in cases where there are underlying mental issues caused either by the drug abuse or some previous mental condition.

For more information about crack addiction, visit www.thecabinchiangmai.com/crack_addiction

John Vernon lives in beautiful Chiang Mai, Thailand. He often writes about health problems and addictions.