There are varying forms of anxiety that you can acquire. One high-intensity anxiety disorder is obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Because of the severity of anxiety that people with obsessive-compulsive disorder contain, people with OCD may abuse substances to cope. Before you know it, you have a co-occurring disorder made out of OCD and addiction. The only way to manage such a co-occurring disorder is to simultaneously receive treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder and addiction.
One major aspect of treatment that people often forget about is detox. Detox is an important part of treatment for any substance use, mental illness, or co-occurring disorder. There are two types of detox that you can use when treating OCD and addiction. These types of detox include holistic detox and medical detox.
Before you decide which type of detox you should use for your OCD and addiction, you must understand the process and effects of detox itself. You must then understand what makes holistic and medical detox different from one another. Ultimately, the best type of detox to use for your addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder treatment is the one that best meets your individual needs.
What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder and mental illness. OCD causes you to have recurring thoughts that sometimes make you act out repeated, unwanted behaviors.
One may separate the effects of OCD into two categories: obsessive and compulsive ones. The obsessive effects of OCD cause individuals to repeatedly think about unwanted thoughts. The compulsive effects of this disorder cause people to repeatedly act out unwanted urges. Those who suffer from OCD might either obsess about unwanted thoughts, compulsively act out unwanted urges, or do both.
Types of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
There are four main types of obsessive-compulsive disorder. These types of obsessive-compulsive disorder include checking, contamination, symmetry and ordering, and ruminations and intrusive thoughts. The type of OCD that you have may affect the types of therapy that therapists choose to use during your obsessive-compulsive disorder treatment.
1. Checking
The checking type of OCD is characterized by a repeated compulsion to check to see if something is a particular way or not despite already knowing the answer. People with this type of obsessive-compulsive disorder usually check things frequently. They may check their locks, alarms, ovens, and light switches an obsessive number of times. Women with this form of OCD may also often check to see if they’re pregnant.
2. Contamination
This type of OCD is characterized by an obsession with things being dirty. Contamination OCD also gives people a compulsion to clean things over and over again.
You may find a person with contamination OCD washing their hands over and over again. You may also find a person with contamination OCD wiping down a counter repeatedly for hours. People with contamination OCD will also obsess over things being dirty so much that they won’t want to touch others.
3. Symmetry and Ordering
Symmetry and ordering is a type of OCD that causes people to obsessively think about the order of things. This disorder also causes people to compulsively put things in order or line things up in a symmetrical way.
For example, a person with symmetry and ordering OCD will line up their clothes in their closet over and over again in a way that is symmetrical and in an order that he or she sees fit. You may also find a person with symmetry and ordering OCD obsessively worrying about the way that something inside of his or her house is lined up or ordered while out with friends.
4. Ruminations and Intrusive Thoughts
Ruminations and intrusive thoughts are a form of OCD that causes people to obsessively think about violent and disturbing things. For example, people with ruminations and intrusive thoughts OCD may obsessively think about cutting themselves.
People with this form of OCD may also think about someone doing something violent and disturbing to them. For example, people with this type of obsessive-compulsive disorder may constantly think about someone breaking into their home and hurting them.
What is Addiction?
Addiction to substances is characterized by not being able to function without using alcohol and drugs. People that suffer from addiction also have a willingness to exhibit risky behavior just to obtain substances. This risky behavior puts people and others in danger.
You must already have a dependency on substances to have an addiction to them. A dependency on substances is characterized by getting withdrawal symptoms anytime you minimize or discontinue your use of substances.
Detoxification is the first form of treatment when dealing with addiction. Therefore, it must also be the first form of treatment when dealing with obsessive-compulsive disorder treatment and addiction.
Detox centers operate very similarly to hospitals. In fact, most detox occurs in a hospital-like environment. While detox may not seem like an important step when treating OCD, it’s vital if your OCD is associated with substance abuse.
What is Detox?
Detox is the process of allowing your body to remove all substances from it so that you can be sober when you enter treatment. When in detox, you must carefully manage your withdrawal symptoms.
If your withdrawal symptoms are severe, you’ll likely need to taper your use of substances while in detox. You may also need to use medication to help manage your withdrawal symptoms if they are severe during detox. While it may seem counterintuitive, using medication-assisted treatment while in detox will prevent your brain and body from going into shock while detoxing.
The reason why it’s important to sometimes use medication-assisted treatment or taper the way you stop using substances while in detox from addiction is that your extended use of substances has caused your brain to rewire itself in a way that requires substances to function.
Therefore, if you detox yourself from substances too quickly, it could cause your brain and body to turn on you. This, in turn, can cause your brain and body to suffer from severe and permanent negative effects. The same thing could occur if you suffer from severe withdrawal symptoms and don’t use any medication-assisted treatment when in detox.
The Detoxification Process
Your detox will occur in a way that caters to your needs. For example, if your addiction withdrawal symptoms are severe, you may use medication-assisted treatment while in detox.
On the other hand, if you can manage your withdrawal symptoms without medication, you may be allowed to do so. The length of your detox can also vary depending on your personal needs. Regardless of the details of your detox, your detox process will likely occur in the following three stages.
Detox Stage 1 – Evaluation
During the evaluation stage of detox for addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder treatment, a medical team will screen you to see what your physical and mental health issues are. The doctors and medical professionals at your detox center will also use the evaluation detox stage to go over your drug, medical, and psychiatric history.
Doctors will then perform blood tests on you to determine how much drugs and alcohol are in your system. The results of your blood tests will determine whether or not you’ll need medication to assist you in your detox.
Detox Stage 2 – Stabilization
During this stage of detox treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder and addiction, the medical professionals will work to stabilize your physiological and mental condition so that you don’t harm yourself. If you’re going to receive medication-assisted treatment, you’ll receive it during this stage of detox. Other than that, medical and psychological therapy will be used to help stabilize you.
Detox Stage 3 – Preparing Entry into Treatment
In the third and final step of detox, you will prepare for your actual addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder treatment. To help you prepare for treatment, your detox doctors will go over the treatment program options for people with OCD and addiction with you.
Holistic Detox Treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Addiction
Not all detox occurs in a hospital-like environment. In fact, there is a form of detox in which hospitals and medications are not allowed. This form of detox is called holistic detox.
Holistic detox allows the body to rid itself of substances naturally without any assistance from medications or physicians. Instead, natural supplements, medical advisors, and techniques such as tapering are used to stabilize patients during detox.
The goal of holistic detox is to improve the health of a patient’s overall body, mind, and soul. To achieve this goal, holistic methods will be used on you throughout your detox. Examples of holistic detox methods include acupuncture, chiropractic care, massage therapy, yoga and meditation, behavioral therapies, nutritional and fitness programs, and expressive therapy.
Holistic vs. Medical Detox
When detox includes medications and 24/7 medical supervision by doctors and other medical personnel in a hospital-like environment, professionals may refer to it as “medical detox”. One way that holistic detox differs from medical detox is that holistic detox does not involve the use of medications. Instead, all supplements a patient receives in holistic detox must be natural.
Holistic detox also differs from medical detox in that the environment during holistic detox is not like a hospital. Instead, the environment during holistic detox is meant to be peaceful.
The goal of medical detox is to stabilize the patient’s body through medical measures and get the patient ready for treatment. But the goal of holistic detox is to improve the well-being of the patient’s body, mind, and soul. Therefore, holistic detox typically uses other practices to improve the patient’s mind and soul once he or she is already stable. These holistic practices can range from yoga and meditation to acupuncture.
Substances That Require Medical Detox
While holistic detox is beneficial, the withdrawal symptoms and physical condition caused by certain substances require medical detox. Addiction to opioids, heroin, benzodiazepines, and alcohol require medical detox the most. Addiction to prescription drugs such as Xanax, Vicodin, Hydrocodone, and Oxycontin also require medical detox.
After you complete your detox, you must attend actual addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder treatment. There are varying forms of treatment that you can use for your OCD and addiction. The major forms of treatment that you can use to help you manage your OCD and addiction include inpatient treatment, residential treatment, partial hospitalization treatment, intensive outpatient treatment, and outpatient treatment.
Residential/Inpatient Treatment
Residential treatment is a form of inpatient treatment that also requires its patients to live in its treatment facilities 24/7 for long periods of time. Although residential treatment facilities do provide 24/7 supervision for its residents, residential treatment facilities operate as housing communities. Therefore, residential treatment programs are more casual and less structured than other inpatient treatment programs.
Partial Hospitalization Treatment
Partial hospitalization treatment is a form of outpatient treatment that requires its patients to stay in its treatment facility all day but then allows its patients to spend their nights at home. This type of treatment occurs in a hospital-like environment, hence the name. Another name for partial hospitalization treatment is day treatment due to it requiring its patients to receive treatment at its facility all day long.
Intensive Outpatient Treatment
Intensive outpatient treatment is a form of outpatient treatment for people with substance use issues that are too mild to receive partial hospitalization treatment but too severe for just regular outpatient treatment. This kind of treatment requires its patients to receive treatment for a few hours a day for three to five days a week.
Outpatient Treatment
Regular outpatient treatment is for people with mild substance use issues. Patients of regular outpatient treatment only receive treatment for around a couple of hours, once or twice a week.
Treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Addiction at Coastal Detox
At Coastal Detox, we provide detox programs that specialize in a wide variety of substances. For example, we have specific detox programs for people that are addicted to alcohol, marijuana, heroin, Xanax, fentanyl, and other drugs. On top of our many detox programs, we also provide residential treatment and treatment for working professionals.
For people that suffer from a co-occurring disorder like OCD and addiction, we also provide dual diagnosis treatment. That way you can receive all of the detox, addiction treatment, and mental health therapy that you need to treat your disorder.
To learn more about Coastal Detox and the treatment programs and services that we provide, contact us anytime. We have an around the clock intake department that is ready to take your call.