Treating Cocaine Addiction

Abstract

The rise of cocaine use, its cost to the user and society, have led gradually to regard it as more and more problematic. At the stage of dependence, reference is sometimes a chronic disease, a term usually reserved until the addiction to alcohol or heroin, with periods of relapse and remission. Meanwhile, multiple strategies have been developed to help patients with different crucial phases, peppering its management. After a few reminders epidemiology, effects, psychiatric and somatic complications, we discuss the latest trends in terms of psychological care and treatment drug. Regarding the latter, can be expected to engage industry pharmaceutical, given the potential of this market in the making.

Table of Contents

Abstractii

Introduction4

Methodology5

Findings and Discussion6

Therapeutic Communities6

Outpatient Drug-Free Treatment Programs7

Psychological Treatments8

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy8

Supportive-Expressive Psychotherapy9

Motivational Enhancement Therapy9

Behavioral Therapy10

Multisystemic Therapy11

Individual Counseling11

Self-Help Programs12

Conclusion13

Treating Cocaine Addiction

Introduction

Cocaine is a white powder that is obtained by drying the leaves of the coca plant. The slang terms for cocaine are coke, snow, lively, pure Lady, pasta, white, parakeet, and farlopa perica. Cocaine can be snorted, consumed orally, injected or smoked. Crack is the term applied to cocaine of "free base, which is prepared in small granules or crystals (rocks) that are smoked through a hookah. Cocaine is a stimulant that makes the individual feels hyper stimulated, euphoric, energetic and mentally alert after taking the substance. Cocaine is a drug that causes a strong addiction and development of serious mental and physical problems. Even with a single shot is possible to overdose and death (Carroll et al., 1998).

The immediate effects of cocaine use are increased heart rate and breathing and increased blood pressure and body temperature after consumption of a small amount of the drug, large quantities (100 mg) can cause bizarre behavior, unpredictable or violent. Physical symptoms include blurred vision, chest pain, nausea, fever, spasms muscles, convulsions and death from convulsions, coma, heart failure or failure of the central nervous system that causes respiratory arrest. In long term, it has adverse effects on both psychological and physical. Cocaine use may cause dependence, depression occurring when the individual does not experience hyper stimulation during consumption. After repeated use, the state of hyper stimulation is replaced by feelings of nervousness, anxiety, irritability, mood swings, paranoia, sleep disorders and weight loss (Zickler, 1999). Cocaine produces emotional problems, school and work and isolation family and group of friends. It causes psychiatric problems such as psychosis, paranoia, depression, anxiety and delusions. Repeated inhalation of cocaine produces injury and inflammation nostrils and congestion of the nasal passages. Individuals who inject intravenous drugs are at increased risk of present hepatitis and HIV, the virus responsible for AIDS (Peng et al., 2010). Individuals who smoke cocaine are more prone to severe respiratory infections. All forms of cocaine have been associated with the presentation of myocardial attack, chest pain, respiratory failure, stroke, abdominal pain and nausea (Carroll et al., 1998).

It is not easy to make a differential diagnosis in certain addictions, like addiction to cocaine. Therefore, treatment of cocaine, depend on the correct diagnosis of addiction, and ...