Substance Use Disorder (SUD) treatment

At Refresh Recovery, we believe that you are more than just your symptoms. We utilize the most innovative approaches to drug and alcohol treatment in the beautiful setting of San Diego, creating a foundation for a better life.

Understanding substance abuse is essential in preparing for the physical and psychological changes that rehabilitation entails. We believe that addiction to drugs and alcohol is often accompanied by mental health disorders, which can be embraced and utilized as tools to achieve and maintain long-term recovery.

At Refresh Recovery, a drug and alcohol rehab facility, we recognize that depression, anxiety, trauma, and other co-occurring disorders are often the underlying mental health components that contribute to substance abuse. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive and integrative approach to recovery, addressing these mental health issues alongside substance use disorder. This tailored process is the essence of our recovery program at Refresh Recovery, where we combine mental health treatment with substance abuse treatment to help individuals achieve and maintain sobriety.

Substance use disorder is a diagnostic term used to describe the recurrent and problematic use of alcohol or other drugs. This use can lead to significant clinical and functional impairment, including health problems, disabilities, and difficulties in meeting responsibilities at work, school, or home.

At Refresh Recovery, we understand that each individual’s experience with substance abuse is unique. Whether the drugs involved are heroin, alcohol, methamphetamine, cocaine, or prescription medications, our dual diagnosis rehab program in San Diego approaches each case from a human perspective, deeply understanding the specific needs of each client. We employ innovative treatment practices, such as NAD therapy, to accelerate rehabilitation and improve outcomes for our patients.

Addiction

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Risk Factors for Substance Use Disorders

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Addiction Treatment

The most severe, chronic stage of the substance-use disorder is a substantial loss of self-control, as indicated by compulsive drug taking despite the desire to stop. In the DSM-5, the term addiction equals the classification of severe substance-use disorder.

Remember that substance use disorders are neurobiological disorders, not choosing to abuse or become dependent on toxic substances.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) defines substance use disorders as recurrent pathological cognitive, behavioral, and physiological symptoms arising from ongoing use. To combat stigma, previously used terms of abuse and dependence are not recommended when describing persons with substance use disorders.

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Risk Factors for Substance Use Disorders

The risks factors are complex. They include biological and social factors, such as Family history (both genetic and shared environmental factors), Social factors (socioeconomic status, race, social network, education), mental health conditions, and more.

Neurobiological differences

Even though each drug produces different effects on a person, the arrest of brain reward pathways in conjunction with an overactive brain stress system reinforces the use of the substance to achieve a pleasurable high or avoid pain, even if pursuing these effects incurs awful consequences for the person with a substance use disorder.

Neurobiological differences in self-control often become evident in early childhood and may correlate with the subsequent development of a substance use disorder.

Although no specific neurological testing, imaging, or laboratory evaluation can accurately predict who will develop a substance use disorder, accurate identification of predictive markers remains a field of constant research.

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Addiction and its Numbers

Substance Use Statistics

The primary source of statistical information for substance use disorders in the general United States population originates from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), an annual survey of the civilian, noninstitutionalized population of the United States 12 years and older.

The survey is sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) within the Department of Health and Human Services and was most recently conducted in 2018, with results published in August 2019.

A significant limitation of the National Survey is that it does not sample from jails and is prone to underestimate the prevalence of substance use disorder in the country.

Levels of Substance Use Disorder

The DSM-5 has combined the DSM-IV categories of substance abuse and substance dependence under the single heading of substance use disorders.

The diagnosis of substance use disorder is based on scoring from 11 symptom criteria included in four major groups: Impaired Control, Social Impairment, Risk Use of a Substance, and Pharmacologic Criteria.

The seriousness of the substance use disorder is based on the number of 11 symptom criteria that are met: mild (2 to 3 criteria), moderate (4 to 5 criteria), and severe (more than six criteria). 

Impaired Control

  • Taking the substance in more significant amounts and for longer than intended
  • Wanting to cut down or quit but not failing to do it
  • Spending a lot of time getting, using, or recovering from use of the substance
  • Intense craving for the substance

Social Impairment

  • Repeatedly unable to carry out significant obligations at work, school, or home
  • Continued substance use despite persistent or recurring social or interpersonal problems caused or made worse by substance use.
  • Diminishing or stopping important social occupational activities and hobbies due to substance use

Risk Use of the Substance

  • Recurrent use of the substance in physically hazardous situations
  • Consistent use of the importance despite acknowledgment of persistent or recurrent physical or psychological harsh consequences 

Types of Substances

The DSM-V recognizes substance-related disorders resulting from ten separate classes of drugs: Opiates, tobacco, anxiolytics, sedative-hypnotics, inhalants, cannabis, hallucinogens, caffeine, alcohol, and other stimulants.

Number of Persons Age 12 and Older with a Past Year Substance Disorder, 2018 (7.4% of population)

Alcohol

14.8%

Illicit Drugs

8.1%

Marijuana

4.4%

RX Pain Reliever Misuse

1.7%

Methamphetamine

1.1%

Cocaine

1%

RX Stimulant Misuse

1%

Heroin

1%

Data from the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) found that almost 21 million people aged 12 years and older in the United States had a substance use disorder in the past year, representing nearly 8% of the population 12 or older.

In the same year, according to the NSDUH, 58.8 million people (almost 22% of the population) were current tobacco users, including 47 million current cigarette smokers and 12.2 million current cigar smokers. 

Smoking estimates were not as high in the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), another annual nationally representative survey, which reported that 13.7% of adults in the United States were current smokers in 2018. This discrepancy is likely due to differences in the age range included in the surveys—NHIS collects data only for adults aged 18. In contrast, the NSDUH collects data for persons beginning at age 12. These surveys likely underestimate the prevalence of substance use disorders because they leave out homeless and incarcerated people with higher rates of substance use disorders.

Addiction Treatment in San Diego at Refresh Recovery

At Refresh Recovery, our team of clinicians is trained to treat you in a caring and compassionate manner through substance use disorders while considering mental health and dual diagnosis. 

Your personalized rehab program will be designed according to the substance you have been trying to quit and your unique needs. Suppose you or a loved one suffers from mental health disorders such as bipolar, depression, anxiety, or others, including drug or substance abuse addiction. In that case, Refresh Recovery can provide a haven for healing. Read more on our blog or visit our privacy policy.

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