Xanax, among the most commonly prescribed benzodiazepines, is a potent sedative used to treat things like generalized anxiety disorder, insomnia, seizures, social phobia, and panic disorder. Alprazolam, the generic name for the drug, isn’t just a regularly prescribed benzo, it’s the most prescribed psychotropic drug, period, in the United States. In 2013 alone there were 48 million prescriptions filled. 

As a central nervous system depressant, Xanax works by increasing the activity of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a chemical that inhibits brain activity. This action causes drowsy and calming effects that make the medicine effective for anxiety and sleep disorders.

That’s the basic science, what makes it so addictive though?

Why Xanax Is Addictive

The sedation and calm that washes over a user is a powerful feeling. For someone struggling with panic or anxiety especially, an intense wave of comparative relaxation becomes hard to give up and the same goes for anyone taking Xanax recreationally.

Sedatives extremely swiftly create a sort of “new normal”, to the point that a person will quickly start to feel like they need Xanax to function. 

Aside from the high risk of addiction, Xanax presents other unique hazards. The dangers of mixing it with alcohol are profound as both are depressants and they amplify the effect of the other which means taking them together can have very real and very life-threatening consequences. 

Additionally, over 30% of overdoses involving opioids also involve benzos like Xanax according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

Signs of a Xanax Addiction

For any user, when the use becomes problematic, the question becomes “how do I know if I am addicted to Xanax?”. 

When does using as directed or recreationally turn into something different? When does dependency transform and shift into a full-blown addiction?

The symptoms of an addiction to Xanax, or another benzo for that matter, can manifest in these ways:

• Developing a tolerance and needing to take ever-larger doses to achieve the same feeling or high
• Inability to control the amount or how often you take Xanax
• Visiting multiple doctors to obtain additional prescriptions
• Spending an inordinate amount of time getting, taking, and recovering from Xanax
• Purchasing it illegally on the street
• Financial problems
• Slurred speech
• Memory problems
• Borrowing or stealing Xanax from a friend or loved one
• Unable to maintain responsibilities at work, home, or school
• Strained relationships
• Avoiding or losing interest in activities, events, or people you once enjoyed spending time with in order to take the drug
• Continuing to use despite clear negative consequences
• Experiencing withdrawal symptoms when not taking Xanax

The Best Way to Get Help With Addiction

After recognizing that you need help, the first step in overcoming an addiction is safely dealing with the withdrawal symptoms. With respect to Xanax and other central nervous system depressants, they can start within just a few hours after the last dose and as NIDA notes, “people addicted to prescription CNS depressants should not attempt to stop taking them on their own. Withdrawal symptoms from these drugs can be severe and—in the case of certain medications-potentially life-threatening”.

Given that, it’s critical to detox under the watchful supervision of medical professionals who can guide you through the entire process while mitigating discomfort as much as possible. 

After the physical addiction is broken, the important work on the mental side of addiction can truly get underway. Whether residential inpatient treatment or outpatient care is better for you is full dependent on the severity of your personal addiction to Xanax. At All American Detox, we offer both as well aftercare services because support doesn’t end when the rehab does. You can reach out to us by calling us on +1-844-570-1301.

The critical thing to know is that recovery is a process and a journey, not a destination. Reach out to us if you or a loved one is ready to start theirs.

Surrounding yourself with the right support system can make all the difference when you or a loved one is trying to break free from the chokehold of crystal meth.

Unshackling yourself from the grasp of addiction is a tough task even when getting the proper care and attention from licensed professionals and people who have been there before. Going it alone makes an already big hurdle even harder to clear.

Meth rehab centers in Los Angeles could be the gateway you’re looking for to getting clean. The City of Angels, with its warm sun and proximity to the Pacific, might just be the place you need to be to start your journey towards sobriety in earnest and the best place for you to build the groundwork for a lasting recovery.

What Is Crystal Meth?

A form of methamphetamine, crystal meth gets its name because it quite literally looks like crystals. Meth itself was actually used widely during World War II because of its stimulant effect and only became a controlled substance in the 1970s. 

Crystal meth is a powerful and highly addictive stimulant that affects the nervous system and goes by a whole host of street names so you may have heard it referenced as ice, speed, crystal, blue, tina, go-fast and many, many more.

The most frequent way it’s taken is by being smoked but it can also be snorted, swallowed or injected directly into a vein.

The effects on the brain are summed up succinctly by the National Institute on Drug Abuse:

“Methamphetamine increases the amount of the natural chemical dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is involved in body movement, motivation, and reinforcement of rewarding behaviors. The drug’s ability to rapidly release high levels of dopamine in reward areas of the brain strongly reinforces drug-taking behavior, making the user want to repeat the experience.”

That cycle of reinforcement creates bigtime cravings for the user and as long-term use of crystal meth takes hold, the mental and physical consequences get worse. If the injection is the main means of delivery, the longer you’re using the higher the risk of contracting diseases from inadvertently mixing fluids. In addition to that, extreme weight loss, sores, anxiety, confusion, paranoia and more accompany chronic use. Not to mention what is referred to as “meth mouth”, which is rampant tooth decay.

Do Meth Rehab Centers in Los Angeles Actually Help With Addiction?

Meth rehab centers in Los Angeles do help with addiction, yes! It’s all a matter of finding the right treatment center for your particular needs.

There are plenty of options in this city and pinpointing what works best for you is going to give you the best chance of success. In many cases, having a one-stop-shop is particularly beneficial for people. A facility that takes you through the whole process of getting you sober and setting you up for a lasting recovery.

That means starting with drug detoxification under the supervision of professionals to tackle the physical nature of addiction. Then moving into a residential inpatient drug rehab facility where you work through the mental side and the root causes of your reliance on crystal meth through individual and group therapy. And finally transitioning to outpatient/aftercare where you’re back to living on your own or if that’s too overwhelming, into a sober living home first.

Get Help With Crystal Meth at All American Detox

At All American Detox, we’re the type of rehab that can guide you through every step of the recovery process. No need to bounce from detox in one place to inpatient care elsewhere and a whole other facility for aftercare. If that sounds like a comfortable fit for your loved one, reach out to us. We’d be happy to give you more info or advice on the next steps. You can reach out to us by calling our addiction recovery helpline number.

Point blank: heroin is among the most potent drugs known to man.

Its highly addictive qualities mean that users can get hooked from just one use and while that may seem far-fetched it’s very much a legitimate fact because heroin is an opioid after all. The plague of which has decimated individuals and families from coast to coast.

As per the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), 128 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids every day. Of course, that’s not just heroin, the deaths include those from prescription meds, synthetic opioids as well as heroin.

For that reason, heroin is classed as a schedule I drug by the DEA, meaning it has “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” In other words, it’s very illegal.

Why Do People Get Addicted to Heroin?

The addictive nature of heroin is well documented and its ability to grab hold of people and not easily let go is part of what makes it so dangerous.

Heroin is processed from morphine, which should already tell you all you need to know about its potency. It’s no joke and can be taken in a myriad of ways; by injection, snorting, sniffing or smoking.

The reason people get addicted to it so easily is that, like other opioids, heroin produces a wildly euphoric sensation.

NIDA notes that it works by binding to opioid receptors and activating “specific receptors in the brain called mu-opioid receptors (MORs). Our bodies contain naturally occurring chemicals called neurotransmitters that bind to these receptors throughout the brain and body to regulate pain, hormone release, and feelings of well-being. When MORs are activated in the reward center of the brain, they stimulate the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine, causing a reinforcement of drug taking behavior”.

The danger of that reinforcement is massive because a user ends up constantly chasing the euphoric highs they felt the previous time which creates a vicious cycle of needing to take ever larger doses.

That leads to a higher and higher likelihood of overdose and we see that manifest itself in the explosion of deaths involving heroin; from 1,960 in 1999 to 14,996 in 2018.

Who Should Go to A Heroin Rehab in Los Angeles?

Heroin rehab in Los Angeles could very well be the game changer and life rearrange you need to break free from the chokehold of heroin addiction. There’s truly no sensible reason to try to be a hero and overcome it on your own.

It’s a powerful drug and having a dedicated team that truly understands what you’re going through, both physically and mentally, will help set you or a loved one up for sustainable sobriety.

Detox is arguably the toughest initial hurdle to clear and going it alone exacerbates the difficulty. The withdrawal symptoms from heroin, in particular, are so strong that it’s not uncommon for people to relapse rather than work through the discomfort. However, drug & alcohol detoxification under the supervision of people who know what you’re going through and have seen it before can help you get through it.

Detox is just the start and tackles the physical side of addiction to heroin. The important work of rehab is really the mental side and digging deep into what led to addiction in the first place. Developing new and healthy coping mechanisms in a safe and warm residential inpatient treatment environment where the process of laying the groundwork for a clean life is your only focus.

How All American Detox Can Help You 

Located in Los Angeles, at All American Detox our focus is on helping you get your life back. With 30 plus years treating substance abuse and over 20 dedicated staff members who all have a connection to recovery helpline number, our individually catered programs are all about your unique needs.

Once you’ve decided that getting sober is a priority, the next steps can feel daunting because they all stem from an important question: how?

It’s the rarest of birds that can quit cold turkey and just go on about their business. For many, for the vast majority, in fact, ridding themselves of alcohol is no easy task. The body grows dependent on the drink to feel “normal” and when you stop drinking the withdrawal symptoms start to kick in quickly. So, what do you do? You go back for more, of course.

That’s the cycle of addiction and it’s tough to break on your own. It’s why All American Detox Center exists. Breaking free from addiction often requires motivation and guidance outside of yourself and help from trained professionals goes a long way in setting you on the right path.

What Are Alcohol Addiction Centers?

Alcohol addiction centers are a dedicated place to focus on freeing yourself from the hold of drinking. They vary in treatment methods and approaches and the types of rehab they offer. Finding the right one for you is a matter of doing the research.

The first order of business at all of them will be detox. Recovery can’t begin until all the toxins are vanquished from your body. Naturally, this can be unpleasant as you’re forced to go through withdrawal and the symptoms that come with it. In the cases of more serious addiction and abuse of alcohol, those symptoms can even become life-threatening.

Given that, it’s best to detox at a treatment center where you’re under the care and watchful eye of medical supervision and can be administered medication to alleviate some of the worst parts of the process.

Once that phase is complete and your body is cleaned out, you can begin the work of untangling and healing the mind. Getting to the root of the causes of alcoholism and the why of it all.

Next, it’s crucial to understand the different types of treatment that are available:

Residential Inpatient – This is the one folks most strongly associate with the word “rehab”. You stay in the facility for a set amount of time, based on your needs, and go through a customized program. The emphasis is usually on counseling, one on one sessions, and group therapy. In an inpatient setting, all distractions are removed and you focus 100% on rehab.

Outpatient & Aftercare – Similar to inpatient in terms of what goes on, and basically an extension of that treatment, but you don’t live in the treatment center. You’re free to come and go and live your life as normal. It’s less intensive and a good transitionary tool to get you comfortably back to your real-life after a stay in inpatient care.

Sober Living – The closest to your regular, day-to-day life, sober living homes are places that are free of substances and a place in which you live with others who are going through the same journey. You’ll also be able to continue working with therapists, counselors, etc. to help keep you on track.

At All American Detox, we offer residential inpatient, outpatient & aftercare options. We partner up with a number of sober livings as well. You can call on our recovery helpline number.

How Do They Help Me with My Addiction?

Treatment centers like ours help with addiction by creating tailored recovery programs that start with getting a truly deep understanding of your needs and goals. As alluded to at the top, going it alone with detox and recovery is oftentimes a tough mountain to climb on your own, rehab centers work to alleviate that pressure and surround you with trained professionals, comprising a multidisciplinary team, who recognize where you’re coming from and how to get you where you want to be: sober.

Reach out to us at our inpatient drug rehab and discover if we’re the right alcohol addiction center for you.