Suboxone Rehab vs. Addiction Treatment: What’s the Difference?

Anyone who’s ever tried to recover from opiate abuse well knows how opiates can exert a hold over one’s mind and behavior. In cases of chronic opiate use, the aftereffects of addiction attack both the body and the mind.

First approved as an opiate addiction treatment in 2002, Suboxone offers those recovering from opiate addiction an alternative to the traditional methadone treatment approach. Suboxone contains two ingredients, buprenorphine and naloxone, both of which support your recovery efforts in different ways.

While Suboxone goes a long way towards relieving uncomfortable withdrawal and drug cravings effects, the actual Suboxone rehab process combines the benefits of the drug with a formal addiction treatment process. Understanding the essential role addiction treatment plays in Suboxone rehab can help you make the most of your treatment experience.

For more information on opiate addiction treatment options, call our toll-free helpline at 888-646-0865 (Who Answers?) .

The Addiction Recovery Process

The emotional aftereffects of addiction must be addressed in order to truly recover.

While addiction recovery in general requires an ongoing effort, recovering from chronic opiate addiction entails overcoming both the physical and psychological effects of drug abuse.

According to Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine, opiates integrate easily within the brain’s chemical system, so it’s much easier for physical dependence to develop. From there, developing chemical imbalances warp the brain’s cognitive and emotion-based centers, which creates prime conditions for addiction to take root.

Under these conditions, recovering from opiate addiction requires a two-pronged approach: medical treatment and behavior-based treatment. Suboxone rehab does just that.

The Purpose of Suboxone in Rehab

The two ingredients contained in Suboxone -buprenorphine and naloxone- treat the aftereffects of opiate abuse and provide a preventive measure to reduce the risk of relapse.

Buprenorphine is a synthetic opiate that’s able to mimic the effects of addictive opiates without carrying a high risk for abuse or addiction. These properties work well at relieving the uncomfortable withdrawal and cravings effects experienced in recovery.

Naloxone works by inducing severe withdrawal effects in the event a of a relapse episode.

Addiction-Specific Treatment Interventions

Addiction treatment focuses entirely on replacing addiction-based thinking and behavior with healthy ways for coping with daily life pressures. This aspect of Suboxone rehab also helps you work through the underlying emotional issues that drive drug-using behaviors.

Whereas Suboxone the drug treats the physical aftereffects of addiction, addiction-specific treatment interventions help you develop the type of daily living skills that make drug-free living possible.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, interventions commonly used include:

• Individual psychotherapy
• Developing relapse prevention strategies
• 12 Step support group work
• Group therapy

3 Sure-Fire Ways to Sabotage Your Recovery Success in Suboxone Rehab

Considerations

People coming off long-term opiate abuse experience ongoing emotional turmoil, incessant drug cravings and physical discomfort for months or even years after drug use ends. The effects of Suboxone, the drug enable you to feel “normal” again.

That being so, Suboxone’s effects do nothing to address the warped thinking and behavior that drives the addiction problem. For these reasons, actively participating in the addiction treatment aspect of Suboxone rehab is equally important; otherwise, the risk of relapse increases considerably.

If you’re struggling with opiate addiction, but don’t know where to turn, we can help. Call our helpline at 888-646-0865 (Who Answers?) to speak with one of our addiction counselors about Suboxone rehab treatment options.