For years, substance addiction treatments have been primarily based on providing drug counseling to the patient. There have been recent studies that indicate that most addictions are accompanied with chemical imbalances. These imbalances make it difficult for the patient to recover from the addiction.

Many times, these imbalances can be corrected by a dietary change, an active and healthy lifestyle, and/or with prescription supplements. Rehab usually breaks treatment into 2 parts.

The first part is focused on the physical dependency. This will usually involve a detox program to help the patient cope with any withdrawal symptoms. Using a drug regularly gets the mind used to having that drug present.

This is the reason your body develops a physical tolerance to drugs such as heroin, cocaine, nicotine and alcohol. It also means your body will require more of the drug to get the same effect with regular use.

Abruptly ceasing use of any substance can potentially cause symptoms of withdrawals. The body may take months to recover from the effects.

Second, the program will focus on the psychological dependency. The patients will be either encouraged or sometimes even required to stop associating with drug users. They will also be helped to examine habits created by their former addiction and to change or get rid of them.

It is important to understand that the process of rehabilitation is an indefinitely lasting one. It may never be fully complete. For legalized drugs such alcohol, complete abstinence is usually encouraged over trying to partake moderately.

Using alcohol and/or tobacco can easily lead to a relapse because they are so widely available. Abstinence is considered the most effective way to quit.