Veterans Addiction Treatment
Veterans Addiction Treatment in New Jersey
Veterans are a group of people who sacrifice so much for this country but, unfortunately, in doing so, put themselves in harm’s way. This harm comes not just from combat situations but also because of the impacts of military life on mental health and substance use.
Liberty Wellness NJ offers flexible veterans addiction treatment in New Jersey, specifically focused on the unique needs and experiences of former U.S. military members.
Contact our New Jersey outpatient rehab center today and learn more about how our addiction treatment programs can help.
Liberty Wellness of New Jersey Makes Your Journey To Recovery As Stress-Free As Possible.
Veterans and Addiction: What Are the Facts?
According to the NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse, many factors raise the risk of addiction in veterans. These risk factors include the stress of deployments, the military culture, and also zero-tolerance policies that may discourage getting help early on if there’s a problem. Around half of military personnel report that if they’d gotten help for mental health issues, they believe it would have negatively affected their military careers.
Sometimes, active-duty military service can be a protective factor, and it’s not until leaving the service where those protective influences are gone that veterans begin to experience substance use disorders.
More than one in ten veterans is diagnosed with a substance use disorder, which is higher than the general population. The rates of addiction are especially high in male veterans between the ages of 18 and 25.
Specific substance use issues predominant among veterans include:
- Prescription pain medications: Chronic pain following military injuries is a common issue that veterans face. That can lead to the use of prescription opioids, which are, unfortunately, highly addictive. Other opioids include heroin and synthetic substances like fentanyl.
- Alcohol: Alcohol use disorders are the most common type of substance use disorder among active duty military members. Similarly, veterans are more likely than non-veteran peers to use alcohol and to report heavy use.
- Illicit drugs: When active duty military members leave service, research shows their reported rates of illegal drug use go up. Marijuana is the most commonly misused illicit substance among veterans, with others including heroin and cocaine.
Liberty Wellness NJ is a New Jersey veterans drug rehab program with programs that focus specifically on the unique needs of people who served in the military. Our veteran’s addiction treatment in New Jersey is available on a flexible outpatient basis and includes group and individual therapy as well as medical treatment when needed.
Veterans’ Mental Health
One of the predisposing factors for a substance use disorder is having one or more mental health disorders. When you have a mental health disorder, it can raise your risk of addiction because you might use substances to self-medicate. It’s also theorized that similar pathways affect both the development of addiction and mental health disorders.
Around 50 percent of people with a substance use disorder also have a mental health disorder.
Among veterans, the rates of mental health disorders are often higher than the general population. This likely occurs for many reasons.
First, it’s difficult for veterans to leave their lives in the military and transition back to civilian life. There are also stresses specific to being in the military that can leave someone more vulnerable to a mental health condition. For example, deployment and combat exposure are two stressors specific to military life.
A veteran who experienced trauma or was injured or hospitalized during combat is more likely to use drugs or alcohol.
Anywhere from 30-50 percent of veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars have a diagnosed mental health disorder.
Among Afghanistan and Iraq veterans, 63 percent with a diagnosed substance use disorder also met the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Liberty Wellness NJ offers specialized veterans addiction treatment in New Jersey, addressing their unique needs and experiences.
Signs of Addiction in Veterans
It’s sometimes challenging to see the signs of addiction until the problem becomes significantly worse. The initial symptoms can be subtle. Some of the potential signs of addiction that could indicate the need for substance abuse treatment for veterans include:
- Intense cravings for the substance.
- Needing larger doses to get the same desired effects.
- Using the substance longer than intended.
- Spending large amounts of money on the substance ultimately leads to financial trouble in many cases.
- Not meeting other responsibilities at home or work.
- Doing dangerous things while under the influence.
- Spending significant amounts of time getting drugs or alcohol, using them, and recovering from their effects.
- Wanting to stop or cut back but being unable to.
- Withdrawal symptoms when not using the substance or lowering the dose used.
General symptoms of addiction can also include physical health problems, problems at work, and changes in behavior.
If you’re unsure whether or not you or a loved one meet the criteria for an addiction disorder, we can help in the diagnosis process. Contact our team at Liberty Wellness NJ, and we’ll connect you with the necessary resources.
How to Find Veterans Addiction Treatment in New Jersey
When you’re looking for veterans addiction treatment in New Jersey, or elsewhere, there are some important considerations. First, you want to choose an evidence-based addiction treatment program.
Researchers have learned so much about mental health and addiction in the past few decades, and an effective drug rehab for veterans should take this into consideration. Evidence-based treatment programs follow the latest leading-edge science as far as how addiction should be treated for the best possible outcomes. We know that addiction is a chronic disease, and approaching it as such is also part of evidence-based treatment.
Because of the high rates of trauma exposure and PTSD among veteran populations, veterans’ addiction treatment in New Jersey should be trauma-informed. Trauma-informed addiction treatment helps you to understand and work through your trauma without retraumatizing you.
Another key feature of an effective program is that it includes treatment for co-occurring mental health disorders, known as dual diagnosis treatment. If someone receives addiction treatment, but their underlying mental health conditions aren’t treated and well-managed, their risk of relapse is much higher.
Liberty Wellness NJ offers dual diagnosis treatment for mental health conditions.
Get Help at Liberty Wellness NJ
At Liberty Wellness NJ, we offer comprehensive, individualized programs for anyone looking for veterans addiction treatment in New Jersey. Our programs are available on an outpatient basis, which helps meet your needs, and provides you with a sense of flexibility.
Our intensive outpatient program, or IOP, has the same intensity level and focused treatment approach as inpatient rehab, but you can maintain other responsibilities at the same time.
Liberty Wellness NJ also has a traditional outpatient program and a partial hospitalization program, personalized to your needs, so you can begin to explore your life in recovery.
Our programs include co-occurring mental health treatment, individual counseling, family therapy, and medication-assisted treatment when needed.
We’re not only experts in the science of addiction treatment, but we bring a sense of compassion to every client.
Reach out to our team at Liberty Wellness NJ to learn more about drug rehab for veterans or to take the next step.
Get help with payment for your Addiction rehab treatment. We accept multiple types of insurance and can help you verify if you will be accepted.
We Accept Multiple Types of Insurance
