Your cocaine abuse may have started during a night of partying, or perhaps to push through a tight deadline at work. Because the drug causes the brain to release excess dopamine, it made you feel great. However, as you probably discovered, cocaine’s euphoric properties don’t last. Since then, maybe you’ve tried to stop using the substance a few times but couldn’t. At this point, you may be wondering where to get the help you need.
What Causes a Cocaine Addiction?
Typically, people using cocaine will snort it. Movies feature scenes showing partiers doing lines with rolled up hundred-dollar bills. The reality is less than glamorous. Men struggling with an addiction may snort it, but they can also inject it, or in the case of crack cocaine, they can smoke it.
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As users graduate from cocaine abuse to cocaine addiction, they generally experience:
- Bingeing: Because abuse is part of binge intake, you affect the brain by triggering its reward center. When the brain releases dopamine, the drug prevents it from recycling, which heightens the buildup in your system. You feel great, strong, focused and virile for a short amount of time.
- Downward spiral: You chase the high by repeating the dose as soon as the feelings subside. However, there’s a price to pay for your cocaine abuse.
- Physiological changes: The drug eventually changes your brain’s structure. Therefore, you now need more coke to get the same high. Without the drug, the reward center may not release dopamine.
The Reality of Cocaine Abuse
If you go too long between doses, you feel tired and depressed. Your thinking gets slower, and you have a difficult time staying on task. The ups and downs of your mood swings along with the high financial cost of purchasing cocaine may be causing family and work problems. In short, you need help.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse suggests that about 6% of drug treatment facility admissions involve cocaine abuse. Men, in particular, have a difficult time overcoming the fatigue, anxiety and shakiness they feel when they try to stop by themselves cold turkey.
A medically supervised detoxification is, therefore, a better idea. Medical professionals monitor your vital signs and address nutritional concerns as you go through withdrawal symptoms. One you’ve escaped from the physical addiction, you’ll transition into comprehensive treatment programs to deal with the psychological aspects of the disease.
Undergoing Cocaine Abuse Treatment at Serenity Lodge
Catering exclusively to men, Serenity Lodge in California operates on evidence-based treatment principles. Men respond to cocaine—and addiction—differently, which means that they need different rehab approaches.
At Serenity Lodge, you have the option of undergoing cocaine abuse treatment in a residential inpatient program on our 22-acre grounds, or attend an intensive outpatient program to overcome psychological addiction. Our staff, many of whom have walked in your shoes, will be on hand to help you through your recovery process, which may include:
- A 12-step program
- Dual diagnosis treatment
- Various holistic therapies
Since you are more than just a person struggling with an addiction, the friendly staff at Serenity Lodge assists you with cognitive behavioral therapy, grief counseling if needed, and expressive art therapy. As you seek to regain your mental and physical health, you’ll also have access to pleasurable amenities and activities such as swimming, playing racquetball, hiking, fishing, and golfing.
Of course, none of these possibilities materializes until you take the first step. Once you commit to breaking free from the chains of addiction, dedicated professionals will help you every step of the way. Call Serenity Lodge today at (855) 932-4045.
