From Agoura Hills to Whittier, California’s Los Angeles County encompasses quite a few cities, and they are all renowned for entertainment, manufacturing, and international trade capital. These various cities that comprise Los Angeles County are also home to the fastest-growing high-tech and digital media industries in the United States. However, everything is not exactly sunshine and rainbows. Some cities in Los Angeles County are home to a chronic and pervasive substance abuse problem. Located approximately 20 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, Long Beach happens to be one of those cities. According to Los Angeles County Public Health, an estimated 740,000 Los Angeles County residents are struggling with a substance use disorder.
Long Beach Addiction Statistics
When roughly 740,000 people in a city have a substance abuse problem, negative consequences are sure to follow, say addiction experts with Long Island Interventions. In 2019, Long Beach bore witness to 500 overdose deaths involving opioids; in 2020, that number climbed to 830. But opioids represent only one of the many substance abuse problems in the city. Substance abuse problems involving marijuana, methamphetamines, and alcohol are also dealing Long Beach a considerable blow.
To appreciate just how significant these other substance abuse problems are in Long Beach and Los Angeles County as a whole, it helps to look at them individually. In 2016, over 32% of individuals ages 18 to 25 admitted to using marijuana, and between 2005 to 2017, hospitalizations related to marijuana use increased by an astounding 388%. From 2007 to 2017, alcohol was a factor in more than 130,000 traffic accidents, which resulted in over 7,400 injuries and more than 2,300 fatalities.
More Long Beach Residents Are Choosing to Finally Put Addiction Behind Them
There is no denying Long Beach has a chronic and pervasive substance abuse problem. But many of its residents are committed to ending their relationship with drugs and alcohol, and they’re turning to the city’s more than 1,300 rehab facilities to get the help they need to do just that. According to a study published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), in 2015, an estimated 45,000 people turned to California rehab facilities to overcome an addiction to methamphetamines. In the same year, some 30,000 and 35,000 sought help overcoming an addiction to marijuana and opioids, respectively.
What to Expect While Going Through an Addiction Recovery Program in a Long Beach Rehab Facility
Aside from picturesque views of the ocean and slightly better weather, overcoming addiction in a Long Beach rehab facility is not too different than overcoming addiction in a rehab facility anywhere else in the country. According to addiction experts with several esteemed California-based rehab facilities, the first and most critical step in getting clean involves going through detox. So that everyone is on the same page, detox is the body’s natural way of ridding itself of drugs and harmful contaminants once an individual stops using. Unfortunately, this is also when many people abandon the idea of quitting drugs or alcohol and return to using again, a phenomenon that therapists and addiction experts refer to as relapsing.
In most cases, individuals relapse because they are unable to cope with the severe withdrawal symptoms associated with going through detox. To provide individuals with relief from difficult withdrawal symptoms while improving their chances of achieving long-term sobriety, many rehabs in Long Beach offer medication-assisted detox. For those unaware, medication-assisted detox entails round-the-clock monitoring by a licensed physician and the use of prescription-based drugs to help ease severe withdrawal symptoms, some of which include the following:
- Changes in appetite
- Changes in mood
- Congestion
- Chronic fatigue
- Irritability
- Muscle pain
- Nausea and vomiting
- Restlessness
- Runny nose
- Shakiness and tremors
- Seizures
- Insomnia and hypersomnia
- Profuse sweating
- Anxiety and depression
Some of the most commonly prescribed prescription-based drugs offered to individuals going through a medication-assisted detox program include the following:
- Methadone
- Buprenorphine
- Clonidine
- Lofexidine
- Naltrexone
- Acamprosate
- Disulfiram
How Long Does an Addiction Recovery Program in Long Beach Rehab Last?
The length of time individuals spend in rehab can vary depending on whether they begin treatment in an inpatient or outpatient program. On average, it takes most people anywhere from 28 to 90 days to complete an inpatient addiction recovery program. Outpatient programs can take much longer, typically 180 days or more. Several other factors can dictate how long either of these programs can last, including how long it takes an individual to get through detox. Some of the factors that can influence how long it takes to get through detox include
- The individual’s drug of choice and how long they’ve been using
- Age and weight
- The individual’s overall physical health and mental health
- Whether or not the individual has gone through detox before
- The dose the individual was consuming before they started detoxing
Communicating With Family and Friends While in Rehab
Most inpatient programs in Long Beach do not allow individuals, barring an emergency, to communicate via phone call with family and friends. And this is to make sure they remain focused on their recovery. Outpatient programs are a bit less restrictive. Since individuals do not remain onsite, they can speak with their friends and family in between or after treatments.
Addiction Counseling
Anyone who has been there themselves will agree overcoming addiction is both physically and mentally challenging. And this is why many rehab facilities in Los Angeles County, including those in Long Beach, offer one-on-one or group psychotherapy sessions with a licensed therapist. The type of psychotherapy offered by most rehab facilities in Long Beach and throughout most of California include
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – This form of psychotherapy teaches individuals how to recognize and ultimately change the maladaptive behaviors that led them to abuse drugs or alcohol in the first place. But it does not end there; CBT teaches individuals how to cope with and identify situations that could potentially lead to a relapse.
Contingency Management – This form of psychotherapy focuses on rewarding individuals for good behavior. These rewards, which could be anything from movie tickets to gift cards, are given to individuals when they do anything that brings them closer to achieving long-term sobriety, such as passing a drug test or partaking in a specific number of counseling sessions. Studies show contingency management is especially effective for those trying to quit alcohol, opioids, marijuana, or stimulants.
Motivational Interviewing – This form of psychotherapy eliminates the ambivalence toward achieving sobriety that some have when they first start an addiction recovery program. Essentially, motivational interviewing encourages individuals to work with their therapist to develop a plan to keep them motivated and committed to changing their life for the better.
Bottom Line
Long Beach, California, indeed, has a significant substance abuse problem. However, it also has plenty of rehab facilities that individuals can turn to for help when they are ready to put addiction behind them.