Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Developments

Having been around for almost a century, drug and alcohol rehabilitation is not a new thing. The leading substance abuse rehabilitation program was started in the mid 1930’s and is still serving the community today. It was these programs that introduces the idea of alcoholism and drug addiction as being diseases that had no cure but rather could be treated and needed to be treated for as long as the patient was alive. To learn more about drug and alcohol rehabilitation, visit MalibuHorizon.com, follow the link. These programs emphasized the importance of addicts looking at their sobriety in terms of days rather than ever seeing themselves as no longer being addicts.

Many drug addicts and alcoholics have refrained from use because of these programs. Emotional and social support is necessary in the rehabilitation process and these programs provide that for the addicts. However, science is opening up a door that leads to a new understanding of addiction. Neuroscientists can now examine the neurological and psychological reasons that cause some people to become addicted to substances.

Scientists have the opportunity to actually examine the brains of people who are struggling to overcome addiction. Scientists can even determine chemical imbalances. All of this is used to combat drug addiction from a neurological approach. When a patient enters a rehabilitation center that practices a neurological approach, the first thing that happens is the patients gets a brain scan. The scans are used to map abnormalities in parts of the brain. Using biofeedback, the neurologist can access emotional states such volatility, anxiousness, and depression, which may result from drug and alcohol use.

The doctors can diagnosis any brain conditions that may have resulted from drinking or using drugs. The doctors also pay close attention to the levels of serotonin and dopamine in the brain. These are the chemicals that transports information throughout the brain. Scientists now believe imbalances of these chemicals effect almost every part of our lives.  If you suffer from these issues, you can look into a Dual diagnosis treatment center that can help.

Dopamine has a huge effect on how we perceive pleasure, so it is very much at the center of addiction. Other things are effected as well: movements, pleasure and pain. Study the levels of the chemicals in the brain can help the doctor understand more about the causes of the addiction. Once the doctor has an understanding of the cause of the addiction, he can create an effective program to combat it and help the patient stay clean.

Combining the social approach that is still helpful almost a century since the first substance abuse program began and medical science has created even more success stories. Visit the following link for more info about Dual diagnosis treatment. It appears also that modern technology may have also validated the long held belief that addiction is a disease.