The physical dimension of substance abuse treatment, it follows, aims to break that reliance by cleansing an addict's systems of drugs and drug byproducts. Drug detoxification, overseen by qualified drug detox professionals, helps addicts navigate the straits of drug withdrawal with a minimum of physical side effects, thus preparing them for the later stages of the drug rehabilitation process.

Substance abuse recovery is never easy, not least of all because drug addiction is an exceptionally resilient disease. Drug use and abuse don't just go away, you might say: They have to be beaten back, time and again, in a way that will try even the most resolute drug recovery patient. If you want to get sober and stay sober, in other words, you're in for a nasty fight.

But it's important to remember that substance abuse treatment is a real thing: Drug rehabilitation works for millions of people around the world every year, and there's no reason you can't be among them. Successful drug programs really do help patients get better, provided those patients are willing to be helped and are cognizant of the challenges facing them.

That said, though, it can be hard to know where to turn in the search for the right drug treatment center. The drug rehabilitation market is full of options, and distinguishing one substance abuse treatment program from the next is no mean feat. Indeed, for the untrained consumer, the profusion of drug rehab models can be almost literally overwhelming: Faced with so many different choices, the consumer's most logical response might be to simply assume that every drug rehab center is the same.

The fact that you've made it this far says a lot about you: You know what's at stake; you know that drug addiction ruins lives, and you know that drug rehab can make it better. What follows is a brief overview of substance abuse treatment and substance abuse recovery, designed with an eye towards helping you make an informed decision about your drug treatment options.

By the same token, your addiction recovery plan must ultimately belong only and entirely to you: To get better, you need to find a drug rehab center that will work for you as an individual. Some substance abuse treatment centers purport to have discovered a universal care plan for drug addiction. Such a claim, of course, implies that all addicts are the same, and that what works for one drug dependency case should work for every drug dependency case.

Only substance abuse treatment which addresses both dimensions of drug dependency can help patients achieve and maintain lasting sobriety. Physical drug dependency is that which operates on metabolic pathways in the human brain. Chronic drug abuse distorts the body's natural chemical balance, ultimately rendering an addict incapable of functioning "normally" without the artificial stimulus of a drug high.