Cocaine Rehab in Los Angeles

What Is Cocaine?

Cocaine is made from the leaves of the coca plant. It’s processed into a white powder or smoked as crack, a popular “cheap” free base form of cocaine. It works by flooding the brain with dopamine, creating a surge of euphoria, confidence, and energy. That’s the hook, but it wears off in 15 or 30 minutes, leaving you feeling agitated, twitchy, and wanting more.[1]

You can use cocaine by snorting, injecting, or smoking, but each method carries its risks, along with the dangers of cocaine use in general. From rotted nasal passages to collapsed veins to “crack lung,” every way you can use cocaine leaves damage on your body.[2]

Cocaine Addiction and Abuse

Cocaine may offer a thrilling experience, but it always comes at a cost. It rewires your brain to need it, and with each hit, it’s harder to feel pleasure without it.

You may chase the high while losing everything else in the process – your restful sleep, meaningful relationships, peace, and control. Your dopamine system breaks down, and before you realize what’s happening, cocaine is the only way you can feel normal.

Some of the signs of cocaine addiction or cocaine use disorder can include wild mood swings, paranoia and anxiety, sleepless nights followed by total crashes, nosebleeds and sinus issues from snorting, burns on lips and hands from smoking crack, and vein infections or bloodborne diseases from injections.[3] Drug use has a ripple effect into other areas of your life, causing job loss, poor finances, and damaged relationships from lies and secretive behaviors.

Effects of Cocaine on the Body and Mind

Don’t let the party drug image fool you. Long-term cocaine use destroys your body from the inside out. Physically, cocaine use puts you at risk of heart attacks, arrhythmias, stroke from blood clots, high blood pressure, and organ failure.[4] Damage to your gastrointestinal tract can result in malnutrition and weight loss, leading to further complications.

Mentally, cocaine can be much worse. Chronic cocaine use can lead to memory loss, paranoia, panic attacks, impulse control problems, depression, suicidal thoughts, and psychosis with hallucinations.[5] Eventually, you’re not even chasing a high – you’re chasing a way to stop feeling terrible.

If you take too much, which is likely to happen as you need more and more to get the same effects, you can experience a cocaine overdose.[6] Your body temperature rises dangerously, you go into a violent panic or become aggressive, and you may hallucinate or become paranoid. Your heart races, and you may even collapse suddenly. There can be serious complications from cocaine overdoses, such as organ damage, stroke, heart attack, seizures, or psychotic episodes.

Worse yet, all cocaine is illicit cocaine, so it could be contaminated with other substances that can have unpredictable and deadly effects during an overdose.

Residential Cocaine Addiction Treatment in Los Angeles

Stopping cocaine is not only preventing the use of the drug, but also eliminating the habits surrounding it. At iRely Recovery, we take a comprehensive approach with a cocaine addiction treatment program that’s designed to meet you where you are. Some of our substance abuse treatment options include:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): CBT helps you uncover the lies your brain tells you and reprogram it to find strength and resolve.
• Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT): DBT helps you navigate the emotional highs and lows, rather than succumbing to them, by teaching you skills to stay calm, set boundaries, and maintain a steady course in your life.
• Individual therapy: These therapy sessions are your space, free from filters, judgments, and masks. You and your therapist dive deep into triggers, shame, grief, identity, and trauma to figure out why you’re using drugs and what comes next.
• Family therapy: Addiction wrecks families, but therapy can help rebuild them. Together, you can talk and break down toxic patterns to mend the trust that has been lost and learn real support.
• Group therapy: In group therapy, you meet people who have walked the same paths and grow together, with everyone showing up for each other.
• Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT): Pain doesn’t go away. ACT teaches you to stop fighting it and learn to live with it through healthy actions, not avoidance.
• Recovery-oriented treatment: We don’t just get you through detox. We can help you prepare for your future with purpose, structure, and long-term success.
• Somatic experiencing therapy: Somatic experiencing therapy helps you release trapped trauma with body awareness, breathing, and mindfulness.
• Adventure therapy: Adventure therapy takes you out into nature to help you disconnect from your thoughts and focus on your body. Hiking, climbing, and outdoor skills build your confidence and trust.
• Trauma-informed care: Most people in recovery have experienced trauma. Trauma-informed care means we don’t push, blame, or retraumatize. Instead, we create an environment of safety, choice, and respect.
• Experiential therapy: Experiential therapy uses art, music, movement, and creative expression to find your “stuck” emotions and release what’s locked inside.
• Mindfulness-based therapy: Mindfulness teaches you to pay attention without panicking, grounding yourself in the moment to reduce cravings and sit with discomfort without spiraling.
• Motivational interviewing (MI): If you’re on the fence about drug or alcohol rehab, MI unpacks your motivation to determine what you want, what’s in the way, and what you’re willing to do to reach your goals.