Tennessee is a state noted for its walking horses, country music, jazz and Elvis. Unfortunately, as with so many states in the country today, Tennessee is fighting a battle with alcohol and drug abuse. Much of this abuse is found in teens and pre-teens, which are using drugs and alcohol as an escape from home, parents, school or any one of the disastrous reasons they can find.

Drug rehabilitation in Tennessee has become a health care primer. The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities-Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services is one of the state's busiest departments.

Understanding what makes an addict is where Tennessee's drug treatment professionals begin. Without that ability, they cannot help addicts towards the road to recovery. Alcohol abuse ranks high on the list of addictions, along with drugs. Having the appropriate treatment centers that are staffed with psychologists, counselors and other support staff means being able to guide addicts through the often dangerous withdrawal period, or initial detoxification.

In Tennessee, part of the program includes sober living homes or recovery retreats where others with similar addictions begin the long journey back to a normal life, free of substance abuse. Rehabilitation centers have support programs for families as well. Addiction recovery is not a fast process. There are many steps to take and each one has to be done carefully to assure that addicts will remain drug or alcohol free for life, with less chance of the addict slipping back into substance abuse.