Drug Abuse and Drug Addiction
Drug addiction, or substance use disorder (SUD), affects millions of people in the United States each year. Understanding the causes and consequences of the cycle of addiction is the first step toward recovery. Get Help Now!Drug Addiction
To some people drug addiction can be confusing. Why do some people develop this condition and just can’t seem to shake the problem on their own? Why do some people seem to be more prone to addiction than others? There are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to addiction and there isn’t anything immoral or wrong about a person who develops a substance problem. This is a very complex and multidimensional disease and the process of quitting and maintaining a sober lifestyle can take a lot of effort, help and time. Once a person uses drugs for one period of their life, their body is forever altered by that usage no matter how controlled or minor it was.
What Is Addiction About?
A substance problem is characterized as a chronic disease that encompasses a number of factors such as compulsions, inability to control cravings and poor will power even though the addict may fully understand what their addiction does to them. It becomes harder and harder to control these impulses and many people relapse and begin using their substance of choice again and again. Some people are addicted to alcohol, some are addicted to street drugs like heroin or cocaine. There are also addictions that focus around prescription medications that a person just can’t stop taking and are abusing recreationally. Rehabilitation is a very involved process that takes a lot of different professionals and it can be years before a person is secure in their sobriety. Even then, a person can relapse after years of being sober. When a person uses drugs their brain responds by releasing dopamine which is a feel good chemical in the body. This is like a reward for the body and the body wants to feel that reward again and again which fuels the addiction.
Tolerance
Part of the problem with drug addiction is that as time goes on, a person will require more and more of a certain drug to get high. Their body will make less and less dopamine each time and what was once recreational use of a drug or of alcohol will become out of control and a person no longer is able to control their addiction. Their life becomes all about finding money to buy drugs and they spend more and more time with the wrong crowd. Activities that make sober people happy like a good meal, a long walk or reading a book have no positive enjoyment for a person who is abusing drugs because their ability to feel pleasure becomes harder and harder to achieve.
Relapse
After completing treatment, many people will remain sober for some time thanks to private drug treatment and then all of a sudden something will happen in their life that will cause them to want to use again. It could be something like losing a job or a family member passing away. A relapse doesn’t mean that a treatment plan was ineffective. Addiction is something that is lifelong and there will be ups and downs along the way. In order to find the most success, addicts are recommended to follow a very rigorous plan that includes psychological support, physical health and much more.
Long Term Abuse
Over the course of using drugs for long periods of time a person will become forever changed within their brain. Ongoing drug abuse can lead to problems with learning, retaining information, moral judgement, decision making, behavior, etc. It isn’t always about a person not being able to judge the positive or negative outcome of a situation but long term addiction makes a person not care about their life anymore.
Treatment
Luckily, there are a lot of different treatment options available for people who are suffering from addiction. There are private drug rehab facilities that are considered in patient. The patient will stay there for a pre-determined length of time that is determined by the severity of their addiction and their mental state. The treatment program will encompass a number of things like withdrawing from the drugs followed by psychiatry support that helps a person work through their issues that maybe causes them to use drugs. It might be abuse as a child that is haunting a person and that causes them to use. There will also be a long term plan decided upon that is designed to help a person stay sober for years into the future. Private drug treatment is often beneficial for many people that go on to live drug free lives. Unfortunately there are people who will return to these facilities in the future because of a relapse.
There are a number of risk factors that contribute to a person’s likelihood of developing an addiction of some sort. A person might have trauma that they are carrying with them that causes them to use. There are also people who chemically in their brains are more likely to use drugs. Mental illness is often prevalent with many addicts. Of course, environment often plays a big role as well. People who live in areas of a city that has an out of control drug problem will be more likely to hang out with the wrong crowd and develop a problem. But with proper treatment and ongoing care, a sober lifestyle can be achieved and maintained. The first step to success is admitting there is a problem and finding that treatment by way of a private drug rehab and proper support and help.
