Drug Addiction

DRUG ADDICTION

Drug addiction is a dangerous disease. It can strike anyone, regardless of age, race, culture, background or socioeconomic status. You’re never too young, too old, too rich, too broke or even too religious to struggle with drug addiction. At any point in time you may find that you’ve intersected the line from drug experimentation to drug addiction.

Is it drug addiction or drug abuse?

The difference between drug addiction and drug abuse tends to be situational. People who abuse drugs may do so during periods of high stress or trauma. This could be a major life transition or transformation such as divorce, death or being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness or disease. In circumstances like this, people are looking for ways to cope with overwhelming feelings of grief and despair. Alcohol or drug abuse can occur as a result of people assaying to cope with these feelings. Generally as the situation improves or these people seek outside help, the alcohol abuse or drug abuse abates and they are able to return to a fairly level normal of functioning without crossing the line into alcoholism or drug addiction.

There are people who are more allergic to alcoholism and drug addiction based on their genetic make-up. For these people, turning to alcohol or drugs to cope during a bad time can spiral straight into alcohol or drug addiction. Even when the situation has passed and things have balanced out, these individuals continue to abuse alcohol or drugs because they enjoy the effects and aren’t ready to quit. If they don’t recognize the problem and get help, a trip to alcohol rehab or drug rehab is inevitable.

Are you struggling with drug abuse or drug addiction?

In order to determine if you are struggling with drug abuse or drug addiction, there are a few questions you have to ask yourself. How often do you drink or take drugs? Do you take just enough to get by or do you get loaded every time? Is work or school attendance or performance sliding because of your alcohol or drug usage? Have you changed the people you hang out with? Do you isolate more? Have friends and family members expressed concern about your alcohol or drug use? Do you have withdrawal symptoms (headache, nausea, anxiety, body aches) when you quit drinking or using drugs? If you honestly answer these questions, you’ll have a better understanding of how serious your drug use is.

Whether you are dealing with drug and alcohol abuse or drug addiction, most people need professional help to quit drugs and alcohol. The level of care you need depends on the type of drug, how much you take and how long you’ve been taking it. While physical addiction is discerped generally within a week, psychological addiction can take months and even years to break. If you suspect that you or a loved one is either struggling with drug abuse or drug addiction, don’t wait any longer. Seek professional help today.

Alcohol and Drugs

What are alcohol and drugs doing to you? You had a big test but were too hangover to think clearly. You were supposed to meet a friend for dinner but had a few too many cocktails and were too drunk to drive. You find that you can’t function the morning after you tied one on unless you take something – another drink, a pill, a line. You’re canceling plans more and more with friends or business associates with explicates when the truth is you want to drink, use or you’re too sick from drinking or using.

How Essential is Your Alcohol or Drug Use?

When alcohol and drugs become more important than family, friends or work it can be said you are in the grips of alcoholism or drug addiction. There are people who use alcohol and drugs periodically but still manage the day to day events of their lives without allowing alcohol or drug use to interfere. Then there are people who cannot live life without their alcohol or drug use – it becomes consuming. Their lives revolve around when they can get it, when they can deplete it and when they can get more. A person whose alcohol or drug use has escalated to this level is in the grips of alcoholism or drug addiction.

What Is Your Alcohol or Drug Apply Costing You?

The cost of alcohol and drugs is immeasurable, not only financially but in terms of relationships, work and opportunities. Your girlfriend or spouse leaves you, your children are taken away, you lose your job, you get passed over for the advancement, you miss out on high school graduation, you flunk the class you needed to qualify for graduate school, you end up in jail with a DUI and now you can’t pursue your dream of becoming a pilot. Any one of these scenarios and thousands more are lived out on a daily basis by people in the grips of alcoholism and drug addiction.

If you or a friend thinks you need help before your use of alcohol and drugs gets worse, call a drug rehab center today. Most centers have professionals on staff who can help you determine if you need help for alcoholism or drug addiction and the steps you have to take next. They’ll walk you through the whole process. Don’t let alcohol and drugs waste one more minute of your life.

Accrediting Alcoholism and Drug Addiction

It’s not always easy to recognize alcoholism and drug addiction. For some people the slide toward bottom happens very quickly and it’s easily detected. Someone in the grip of addiction is typically so consumed with alcohol or drugs that little else matters. Personal appearance, responsibilities, normal activities, relationships, sleep and eating patterns all deteriorate. Others are high-functioning and can hide their alcoholism and drug addiction for long periods of time before it begins to interfere with their life.

Recognizing Alcoholism and Drug Addiction: Conventions

Someone who is struggling with alcoholism and drug addiction will typically have certain patterns of usage. For example, the must-have nightly cocktails, always having alcohol available in the house or at social functions, mood swings that could indicate someone is high or coming down off of a high, unusual sleeping patterns, isolating, leaving the house at odd hours, frequent visits to the doctor complaining of symptoms that require pain medication – these are patterns to watch.

If alcohol or drug usage is not interfering with an individual’s ability to manage life or relationships, then it’s not yet at a problem level. Some people can use alcohol and drugs for recreational purposes while others get hooked immediately. The best indication is the manageability of a person’s life.

Recognizing Alcoholism and Drug Addiction: Appearance/Outlook

Generally a person’s appearance and their surroundings are indicative of what’s going on inside of them. If someone is consumed in their alcoholism and drug addiction, it can’t help but affect what’s going on around them. Their personal relationships, extracurricular activities, school or work attendance and performance will all suffer. Usually family members will be the first to recognize the signs of alcoholism and drug addiction.

Recognizing Alcoholism and Drug Addiction: What to Do?

If you recognize these behaviors in yourself or a loved one, seek professional advice. Drug rehab centers typically have professionals responding the phones who are former addicts and alcoholics – they can detect the severity of alcoholism and drug addiction through the patterns you describe and advise you on the best level of care. There are inpatient and outpatient programs depending upon how much alcohol and drug usage is interfering with your life or that of a loved one. It doesn’t cost anything to make a few phone calls and find out how to arrest alcoholism and drug addiction before it’s too late.

Drug Abuse

 

Many people use drug abuse interchangeably with drug dependency and drug addiction. There are minor distinctions between these terms, but generally one leads to another.
Nobody sets out to get addicted to drugs or alcohol. Usually it starts off casually, as an offer from a friend, a desire to belong or just the desire to examine and see what it’s like. This can lead to more recreational use until before you know it, you’re reaching for the alcohol or drug to relax, to relieve stress, to reward yourself or to handle difficult situations. Once drug use reaches this stage, it can quickly become abuse. It’s no longer “just for fun” but to handle life.
Some people abuse drugs for a short period of time but can recognize their behavior isn’t healthy, and stop. Others don’t have the desire or the ability to stop. Their drug abuse spirals into drug dependency and from there, it’s an invisible line into drug addiction.

When Drug Abuse Starts

Most drug abuse starts in the teenage years when curiosity, peer pressure and the awkwardness of adolescence is high. Statistics show that the younger someone is when they start using, the more likely he or she will struggle with drug abuse or addiction later in life. The most notable signs that someone is slipping into drug use is a change in personality and usual behavior patterns. A teenager who is normally very active and social may suddenly become more reclusive and spend more time alone. They start to lose interest in activities and hobbies they’ve always been engaged in. Friends and associates may change along with school performance.
Drug abuse can also happen later in life in response to traumatic life situations. The loss of a loved one, experiencing physical or emotional abuse or a life-threatening situation can result in an individual turning to drugs to cope. In this instance, drug abuse is a form of self-medicating. Friends or family members who witness a change in behavior that lends toward depression or isolation can recognize some of these symptoms of drug abuse. It generally takes professional help to overcome.

When Drug Abuse Becomes Drug Addiction

Drug abuse becomes drug addiction when the individual can’t stop taking drugs in spite of negative and often severe consequences. When the drug becomes more important than school, relationships, family, work, health or a combination thereof, an individual is in the grip of drug addiction. The drug has become the most important thing in his or her life.
Drug addiction is both physical and psychological. The physical addiction results in withdrawal symptoms when the drug is removed. This can also happen with drug abuse and drug dependency, although the symptoms may not be as severe because usage may not be as heavy or prolonged. Physical addiction is generally severed within a few weeks. However, drug addiction carries the psychological reliance which is far more difficult to sever. Breaking the psychological reliance of drug addiction requires professional help in order for the individual to experience long-term sobriety.
People underestimate the power of drug addiction. Drug addiction and even drug abuse go far beyond will power. Once an individual becomes reliant on a drug, it can be nearly impossible to quit. This is why getting professional help at a drug rehab center is so important. Professional care can help interrupt the cycle. If you or a loved one is abusing drugs, call a drug rehab center immediately for professional help, before it’s too late.

Family and Drug Rehab

 

It is typically family members that help loved ones into drug rehab. This is primarily because the family can see what the alcoholic or drug addict cannot and also is directly affected by his or her destructive behavior. The person in the grip of alcoholism or drug addiction may be aware there’s a problem, but unwilling to do what it takes to overcome it or simply not know how.
Helping family members into drug rehab is not always easy. Generally by the time someone in the family needs drug rehab they are well into their alcoholism or drug addiction and it has become such a part of their life that they can’t imagine living without it. At this level, they are likely to resist giving up something that has become more important to them than anything, even family.

Professional Intervention for Helping Family into Drug Rehab

Family members need to realize that when someone is in the grips of addiction, it takes on a life of its own. Addiction is described as an obsession of the mind and an allergy of the body – when the drug is removed the person craves it and the cravings can be intense as can the withdrawal symptoms. This can lead to all sorts of behavior such as guilt, manipulation, dickering and anger when you try to help family into drug rehab.
Professional intervention can be very successful in helping family into drug rehab. Interventionists act as mediators between the addicted person and family members. The scenario is rehearsed beforehand and family members are advocated to share their feelings as well as set consequences in place should he or she refuses drug rehab. An interventionist can help take the pressure off the family and coax a reluctant loved one to get help.

Signs a Family Member demands Drug Rehab

The family is usually the first to notice personality and behavior changes. Change in hobbies, falling off in school or work performance, poor attendance, poor personal hygiene, sleeping more or sleeping less, lack of appetite, isolating at home more or not coming home at all. If you suspect someone in your family needs drug rehab, don’t wait until it’s too late. Research drug rehab centers and call to find out what you can do to help a family member into drug rehab. Find out if there is a professional interventionist on faculty you can talk to. It doesn’t cost anything to find out how to go about saving a family member’s life.