Drug and Alcohol Abuse
The Kansas City Community Center is in the business of helping people who are struggling with addiction.
Addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain disease that results in compulsive drug or alcohol use, regardless of the consequences. There are structural changes in the brain when someone repeatedly uses drugs or alcohol and this results in cravings. As time progresses it becomes difficult to resist the increasingly intense cravings. Quitting is difficult: It is not a matter of just saying "no" even if the person is "sick and tired" of being "sick and tired." Fortunately, treatments can and do work to stop addiction's powerful disruptive effects.
At KCCC we use evidence based practices to help people overcome their struggle with drugs or alcohol. We use a combination of approaches including behavioral therapy and addiction treatment medications. Because there is no single approach that works for all persons, we tailor our approach to each person's drug abuse patterns and individual "triggers."
Addiction can be managed successfully and lives can and are restored with proper help and assistance. However, as with other chronic diseases, it is not uncommon for a person to relapse and begin abusing drugs again. Relapse, however, doesn't mean that treatment was a failure. Instead it simply means that support needs to be reinstated to help the person regain control.
The Cost of Drug Addiction
Drug addicts lose everything. But it doesn’t happen all at once. You don’t wake up one day and become an addict. It’s a slow erosion. Twenty-one million individuals in this country over the age of 12 use illicit drugs and/or meet the diagnostic criteria of drug addiction.
Don’t overlook the effect on the family. Even if you don’t agree with treatment because you believe addicts are flawed, think about the costs of treating abused wives, damaged kids, innocent bystanders.
To learn more about how Kansas City Community Center can help with alcohol or drug abuse, or to find out more information on Kansas City alcohol and drug treatment, please contact us at 866-242-6670 or send us an e-mail.
