When most people think about substance abuse in New York, they usually think of it occurring in New York’s five boroughs, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. While not necessarily off-base in that assessment, it should be made clear that the substance abuse problem in New York transcends the five boroughs. The same substance abuse problem that seemingly has New York City in a vice grip also exists in suburbs of Suffolk County, especially in Farmingville, according to a 2021 study from the New York State Department of Health.
Table of Contents
- What You May Not Have Known about Farmingville but Probably Should
- The Reality of Addiction in Farmingville, New York
- The New York State Department of Health Weighs in on the Substance Abuse Crisis in Farmingville and Elsewhere in New York
- How Rehab Facilities in and around Farmingville Are Helping People Get Sober
- The Role of Addiction Counseling in Farmingville Rehab Facilities
- Bottom Line
What You May Not Have Known about Farmingville but Probably Should
If you have never been there, you should know that Farmingville is the complete and polar opposite of New York City, both in outward appearance and way of life. To further contextualize what this hamlet and census-designated city in Suffolk County is all about, we should probably go over some of the information compiled by Data USA, an online resource for collecting, analyzing, and visualizing shared U.S. government data. As of 2019, the number of people who called Farmingville their home was roughly 15,700, and the reported median annual household income was about $110,000, according to Data USA. The same data further revealed that the 2019 poverty rate in Farmingville was only 4.23% compared to NYC’s 14.5%. By all accounts, Farmingville, which is known for having a relatively low crime rate, more restaurants and shopping spots than anyone could shake a stick at, and a terrific school district in Sachem, has a lot in common with NYC when it comes to substance abuse.
The Reality of Addiction in Farmingville, New York
Along with all the things that make it a great place to live and visit, Farmingville is known for something that is not so great, an unfortunate substance abuse problem. And this is especially evident when you look at how many people are being admitted to the city’s drug and alcohol rehab facilities each year. In fact, one drug rehab in Farmingville, NY, revealed that many Farmingville residents have turned to them for help overcoming heroin, prescription-based opioids, cocaine, and alcohol addiction. But it appears opioid addiction represents the biggest of these problems, according to the same previously mentioned study from the New York State Department of Health.
The New York State Department of Health Weighs in on the Substance Abuse Crisis in Farmingville and Elsewhere in New York
According to the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), between 2010 and 2017, overdose-related deaths across New York State, Farmingville included, increased by an astonishing 200%. Piggy-backing on that, a recent article published in the “Suffolk Times,” an award-winning National Newspaper, recently reported that Fentanyl surpassed heroin as the deadliest drug in Farmingville and pretty much all of Suffolk County. And it does not end there; in March 2022, Suffolk County police and the NYSDOH announced a series of drug busts that led to investigators recovering the following:
- 1,000 grams of cocaine
- 650 grams of Fentanyl
- $100,000 in drug money
How Rehab Facilities in and around Farmingville Are Helping People Get Sober
Having painted a rather vivid picture of what Farmingville and most of New York State have on its hands relative to substance abuse, let’s now turn our attention to what area rehab facilities are doing to help. There is no shortage of rehab facilities available to individuals in and around Farmingville who need help quitting drugs or alcohol. And thanks to online and traditional resources, a good alcohol and drug Rehab in Farmingville NY or another neighboring city is not too hard to find, with more than 800 located all across New York State, from private and state-funded rehab facilities to luxury facilities and those catering to the following:
- The LGBT community
- Individuals with a co-occurring disorder
- Veterans
- Teens
- Victims of violence or domestic abuse
Indeed, there is a Drug Rehab in Farmingville NY and surrounding cities, for almost anyone ready to end their relationship with drugs or alcohol. Many of these rehabs have addiction recovery services that are especially helpful in combatting opioid addiction and co-occurring disorders involving opioids, the two most pressing issues in Farmingville and much of New York State relative to substance abuse. For example, to address the withdrawal symptoms that often present themselves when individuals begin detoxing from opioids, many offer medication-assisted detox. In short, this is an aspect of treatment whereby a physician monitors an individual’s detox process and prescribes FDA-approved drugs as needed to help ease difficult withdrawal symptoms. Some of the withdrawal symptoms that can stem from going through an opioid detox include the following:
- Feeling agitated
- Anxiety
- Muscle aches
- A runny nose and watery eyes
- Difficulty sleeping
- Profuse sweating
- Chronic yawning
- Abdominal cramping
- Diarrhea
- Dilated pupils
- Nausea and vomiting
To combat these withdrawal symptoms and give individuals the best chance at achieving short and long-term sobriety, many physicians in Farmingville and other New York State rehab facilities will provide prescription-based medications. Some of the more commonly prescribed ones are as follows:
- Naltrexone
- Acamprosate
- Disulfiram
- Lofexidine
- Buprenorphine
- Methadone
Along with these medications, rehab facility physicians may also prescribe selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRI) to those struggling with a co-occurring disorder that involves opioids, alcohol, or another illicit substance.
The Role of Addiction Counseling in Farmingville Rehab Facilities
As difficult as it is to overcome the physical aspects of addiction, some might argue that overcoming the psychological ones is a far more challenging proposition. It is easy to see why they feel this way in light of the four stages of addiction, which, from 1 to 4, include the following:
- Experimentation
- Regular use and abuse
- Dependence and increased tolerance
- Full-on addiction
To help individuals identify the events in their life that contributed to them developing an addiction and how to prevent falling victim to addiction after getting clean, many rehab facilities offer addiction counseling. Rehab facilities in and around Farmingville are no exception in that regard. These counseling sessions, which can be one-on-one, group, or family sessions, generally involve some form of psychotherapy. And as a side note, they can benefit those with stand-alone addiction and those struggling with a co-occurring disorder. Some of the go-to psychotherapy counseling sessions that are made available to individuals in New York State rehab facilities include
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Contingency management
- Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT)
- Motivational interviewing
- 12-step facilitation therapy
These various forms of psychotherapy can go a long way toward teaching individuals how to cope with craving, temptation, and many other triggers that can culminate in relapse during and even after finishing rehab. More than that, how these sessions unfold can inform whether or not an individual should join a support group or go to a sober living home after completing rehab. Similarly, they can help an addiction counselor gauge whether or not it is in an individual’s best interest to remain in rehab’s addiction recovery program longer.
Bottom Line
In summary, Farmingville and other cities in New York State are struggling with the same substance abuse crisis that has gripped NYC for decades. And like NYC, many of the residents who live there are making a conscious effort to go to rehab, highly motivated to break the cycle of addiction and finally get their lives back on track. If you’re interested in doing the same, consider speaking with a Long Island Treatment Center associate today.