Cocaine Addiction Treatment
Cocaine is a stimulant drug originating from coca plant leaves native to South America. It is typically found in a white, crystalline powder form and is often snorted, injected, or smoked in the case of crack cocaine. The drug increases dopamine levels in the brain, leading to heightened alertness and energy. It is an incredibly addictive drug, and the use of cocaine can have numerous effects.
Sivana Rehab is a treatment centre in Bali that offers world-class treatment for various forms of substance abuse, including cocaine.
What is Cocaine Addiction?
Cocaine addiction, or cocaine use disorder, is a chronic condition characterised by a compulsive need to use cocaine even if the user experiences adverse consequences. Individuals who are addicted to cocaine often experience an overwhelming urge to use the drug and are often unable to control this urge.
Cocaine abuse can become the dominant facet of a person’s life. It often becomes their highest priority, superseding everything from work, school, family, and friends.
How Common Is Cocaine Use?
Cocaine use is not uncommon in Australia. While it’s by no means the most commonly used drug in the country, that would be cannabis, cocaine is still widely used.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare estimates that around 1 million Australians used cocaine between 2022 and 2023. This is about 4.5 million people throughout the country. This represents a steady, upward trend in cocaine use in Australia since the year 2004.
Short-term Effects of Cocaine Use
Aside from the rush of euphoria, the high of cocaine has numerous short-term effects. It increases heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature while dilating pupils and suppressing a user’s appetite.
Users often experience increased energy and alertness but may also become restless, agitated, or paranoid. Using the drug can cause a person to experience tremors, muscle twitches, and nausea. Cocaine can also cause some users to feel more confident.
Cocaine use can also increase a user’s body temperature, sometimes to an unsafe degree. Cocaine can cause blood vessels to constrict, which can affect the flow of blood to various parts of the body.
Cocaine can also have other health effects. It can increase a user’s heart rate and blood pressure, increasing the risk of cardiovascular problems.
As the effects wear off, users can sometimes ‘crash.’ This ‘crash’ results in fatigue, depression, irritability, and increased appetite.
High doses of cocaine also put a person at risk for seizures.
Long-term Effects of Cocaine Use
Cocaine users can feel several long-term effects. Long-term use can cause a person to develop a tolerance, which requires them to use a larger amount of cocaine to achieve the high that they want. This can increase the risk of cocaine overdose.
Another effect of chronic cocaine use is what’s called ‘saddle nose.’ Snorting cocaine can perforate the septum, the membrane that is in between the nostrils. This damage can accumulate and eventually cause the nose to collapse, making it resemble a saddle. This is a condition that requires surgery to correct.
Speaking of which, snorting cocaine can also cause respiratory problems such as infections.
Another effect of long-term cocaine use is dependence, which makes it so that if a user is ever unable to use cocaine, they will suffer withdrawal symptoms.
Financial problems can also be prominent. Cocaine is expensive relative to other drugs, so many people who struggle with addiction can often burn through their financial resources to support their drug habit.
It can also affect mental health and increase the risk of a person developing disorders such as anxiety and depression.
Causes of Cocaine Addiction
There are numerous causes of cocaine addiction. Like many diseases, genetics can play a major role, and a person who has a family history of drug use is liable to develop a substance use disorder themselves.
A person’s environment can also play a major role in the development of addiction. If they grow up or live in an environment where drug use is normalised, they may be more susceptible to substance use and addiction.
Mental health problems can also drive a person towards addiction. Many people who suffer from mental health disorders often turn to substances such as cocaine and alcohol as a means of coping with their symptoms.
Symptoms of Cocaine Addiction
Cocaine dependence can have several symptoms and effects, both immediate and long-term. Some of these effects include:
Cocaine Addiction Treatment
Cocaine addiction may have numerous detrimental effects. Because of that, effective treatment is important to help users stop taking cocaine. Some of our treatment options to help chronic cocaine users include:
Detox
The first step of a treatment programme is detox. During detox, a person will purge their body of all substances.
Cocaine withdrawal can cause a person to struggle with sleep disturbances such as insomnia. Conversely, they may also sleep excessively. If and when a cocaine user does sleep, they may have vivid, unpleasant dreams. While withdrawal symptoms can make detox uncomfortable, it is still a vital step in the treatment of cocaine addiction.
Inpatient Treatment
Inpatient treatment for cocaine use can offer those who struggle with addiction many benefits. One major benefit is that an inpatient centre will have staff on hand to offer continuous monitoring and support. Another major benefit is that a treatment centre is a controlled environment, and there are no drugs other than what the care team deems medically necessary.
People who use cocaine can also find that treatment facilities can take them away from triggering circumstances and enablers, giving them the space they need to reflect on their addiction and recovery.
Another facet of inpatient treatment is that patients get an individualised treatment plan so they get the help they need in the way they’ll respond best.
The main benefit of inpatient cocaine treatment is that it offers those in recovery intense care and support to help them stop using cocaine.
Individual Therapy
Individual counselling can be an important part of a person’s drug and alcohol treatment. One-on-one therapy can give someone a safe space to explore the root cause of their addiction as well as develop coping skills to help them manage their cravings.
Support Groups
Support groups can be vital to the recovery process. They can offer a person recovering from addiction a space to be around people who understand their struggles. These groups can also become a source of encouragement and accountability, which is vital in maintaining sobriety.
Joining a support group can allow a person in recovery to practise the skills they learned in individual therapy. They can also present learning opportunities, as some group members may be further along in their recovery than others and may be able to impart wisdom.
Sober Living
Sober living homes, sometimes called halfway houses, are places where people can go after inpatient care. They give people recovering from addiction a safe place to practice living independently.
While in a sober living home, residents are responsible for their own upkeep. This means that they cook their own meals and tidy their own spaces. They’ll also help maintain common areas such as living rooms and shared bathrooms.
Residents will participate in programmes to help them live independent lives and may be subject to random drug testing.
Aftercare Treatment
Relapse is all too common with drug use. To minimise its risk, many treatment centres offer aftercare programmes to help their patients maintain their sobriety once they are no longer in a treatment facility. Aftercare programmes can often consist of regular therapy sessions and joining support groups.
Our Treatment for Cocaine Addiction Can Help You Recover
Many people can feel hopeless when it comes to addiction. They can feel as if they can do nothing to get better. But that is simply not true. It is possible to recover. Plenty of people who struggle with cocaine use were able to recover.
The reason that they were able to recover wasn’t because there was something about them that was inherently special. They weren’t stronger or smarter. They were just like anyone else who struggles with addiction. They were just ordinary people who needed help.
Sivana Rehab can offer people the help that they need to recover from cocaine addiction. Recovery is possible, and we can help you get there.