How is crystal methamphetamine addiction treated?
Crystal methamphetamine can cause long-term damage to the brain’s ability to produce dopamine. Users often feel extremely depressed and can not experience normal feelings of happiness and contentment long after they stop using. For this reason it has one of the highest relapse rates for addicts and is considered extremely resistant to treatment. Currently, the most effective treatments for methamphetamine addiction are cognitive behavioral interventions. These approaches are designed to help patients modify their own thoughts and behaviours to increase their skills at coping with various life stressors. Support groups also appear to be effective adjuncts to behavioral interventions that can promote long-term abstinence. There are currently no known pharmacological treatments for methamphetamine abuse, although antidepressant medications are helpful in treating the depressive symptoms frequently seen in methamphetamine users who have recently stopped using.
