Cocaine is an illegal stimulant drug that still accounts for a meaningful amount of substance abuse across the United States. One complicating factor in cocaine addiction treatment is that many cocaine users are polydrug users. This means they use cocaine plus other drugs at the same time, with alcohol being one of the most common pairings. Mental health disorders can also co-occur with cocaine addiction, thereby making the recovery process more complex. 
Still, help is available, and recovery can be achieved with the proper support. Contact Serenity Grove at 844.904.3485 to learn more about substance abuse treatment near you.
What Makes Cocaine So Addictive?
Cocaine, often called coke for short, is a stimulant. Users ingest cocaine in multiple different ways through smoking, injecting, or snorting. When accounting for global drug use, cocaine is estimated to be the second-most-used drug in the world.
One reason that cocaine is so addictive is that it acts on the reward centers in the brain. Taking cocaine activates those reward centers, tricking the brain into thinking that using cocaine is a good thing for the mind and body. Cocaine use causes intense euphoria, at least in the early stages. But the way it floods the reward centers also causes the brain to adjust its natural chemical balance to account for the presence of cocaine.
Then later, when cocaine is not present, the brain feels like it has a deficit. Reaching this state is called dependence, which means a person has developed a psychological need for cocaine. Reaching this state means withdrawal symptoms are likely between uses or when a person tries to stop using. Cocaine withdrawal symptoms include:
- Depression and anxiety
- Concentration issues
- Fatigue
- Aches and pains
- Appetite changes
- Restlessness
- Agitation
Cocaine Addiction Treatment Starts With Detox
The first step in cocaine addiction treatment is detox. This is the process of stopping cocaine use. It can take up to a few weeks to conduct detox. The detox process can happen in either an inpatient or an outpatient facility, depending on the cocaine addiction treatment center. Both inpatient and outpatient treatment can help people recover. Which structure is best depends on a person’s situation, their history of cocaine use, and how severe their addiction is.
Once detox is complete, the majority of cocaine addiction treatment is delivered through behavioral therapies like cognitive-behavioral therapy, contingency management, and rational emotive behavior therapy. Each of these therapies is described in more detail in the following section.
Serenity Grove’s Cocaine Addiction Treatment Center Therapy Options
Serenity Grove’s cocaine addiction treatment center offers numerous therapy options to every client based on their needs and treatment goals. As mentioned earlier, three of the best therapies for treating cocaine addiction are cognitive-behavioral therapy, contingency management, and rational emotive behavioral therapy.
First, cognitive-behavioral therapy helps people change their thoughts and behaviors by targeting unhealthy psychological patterns. It is very action-oriented and geared toward helping people replace poor physical and mental habits with more positive ones that encourage recovery.
Second, contingency management is an incentive-based approach. This means that a therapist will work with a client on setting goals during recovery. Meeting these goals results in being rewarded with things or experiences that promote recovery. Contingency management is an especially good approach for people who need extrinsic motivation as part of overcoming addiction.
Third, rational emotive behavioral therapy is a form of counseling that emphasizes helping people tear down irrational or untrue beliefs that hold them back from recovery. For instance, someone may have developed a belief that they are flawed or are not worthy of healing, or have made mistakes too big to be fixed. This type of therapy works to replace those false self-beliefs with rational thoughts.
Overcome Cocaine Addiction at Serenity Grove
Your healing journey can start today. Contact Serenity Grove at 844.904.3485 to learn more about beating cocaine addiction. You can also reach us through our online form. Lasting recovery is possible, and we can help.
