Addiction is a far-reaching problem in America. Almost 21 million people suffer from some form of addiction, but relatively few seek help. It is a chronic medical disease brought on by the relationships between your brain circuits, genetics, environment, and experiences. People that struggle with addiction will feel a compulsion to use even though it is harming them.
Some of the most addictive substances are alcohol, cocaine, heroin, nicotine, and methamphetamine. While it’s less widely known, many Americans have an addiction to painkillers and prescription drugs. There are several warning signs that indicate someone’s drug use is becoming an addiction:
- Lying or secretive behavior
- Changes in physical appearance
- Decline in health
- Problems in relationships, work, or school.
There are other red flags to look for, but these are a few easy signs to spot.
How Drugs Affect Your Health
While it’s common knowledge that long term drug use can harm your health, it is in fact possible to develop serious medical issues after only using drugs once. Of course, how the substance affects someone depends on what you are using, how much you take, how you take it, and your health. Many common short-term effects are changes in appetite, heart rate, blood pressure, sleep, and mood. More seriously, substance abuse can cause a heart attack, stroke, psychosis, overdose, and death.
The risks also accumulate; once someone has been using for a long time, they are more liekly to encounter serious health risks. Cancer, mental illness, HIV/AIDS, and hepatitis are just a few of the risks present in long-term drug addiction. Viruses like HIV, AIDS, and hepatitis spread through bodily fluids when sharing needles, or are spread through unsafe sex when judgment is impaired.
Not only does addiction affect your physical health, but it also alters your mind. It can become hard to make decisions, learn and remember new information, manage stress, and changes the perception of food and sex. As the brain adjusts to the dopamine surges caused by certain drugs, it will require a greater and greater dose to produce the same “high” feeling. The extreme release of dopamine triggered by many drugs will cause the brain to decrease its ability to produce appropriate levels of dopamine. Because of this, drug users can become depressed and feel lifeless. They begin to need drugs to feel like themselves again.
The long term drug user is not the only one that suffers because of their addiction. Those around them are often just as affected. Substance abuse makes the abuser more violent and prone to making bad decisions that can result in them injuring themselves or others. Almost 80 percent of offenses resulting in jail time can be traced to alcohol and drug use. These offenses are usually related to domestic violence, damaging property, and driving under the influence. About 16 percent of car accidents are caused by driving under the influence of drugs, and 28 percent of fatal car accidents are due to driving drunk.
Tragically, drug addiction can impact the lives of unborn children. Pregnant women that use drugs can cause their babies to have withdrawal symptoms at birth, or developmental and behavioral issues later in life. Many studies have shown the lifetime consequences of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
There Is A Solution
The good news is that addiction, like many health issues, is treatable. It’s not an easy journey, but it is incredibly worthwhile. There are several ways to get help with addiction—what works depends on the individual patient’s needs, location, and environment. For example, Texans are lucky to have access to professional addiction treatment in Austin. There are also online addiction treatment programs that have seen an influx of patients in recent years due to the pandemic.
Counseling
There are several different kinds of counseling that one can undergo for addiction. They include
- Motivational interviewing
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Maintenance therapy
- Dialectical behavior therapy
The most important thing is that you acknowledge that you need help, and seek it out. You may not find the best counseling for you and your needs on the first attempt, but persistence will pay off: you don’t want to live with your addiction for the rest of your life.
Medication and Devices
When helping someone become sober, professionals will often prescribe medication. The medication may help to lessen the withdrawal symptoms. Detox is often the most acutely difficult part of getting clean.
Rehab
Deciding to pursue inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation (“rehab”) is great step towards getting sober. Inpatient rehab requires people to stay in the facility and is best suited for serious addiction. It is necessarily more disruptive to daily life, but it has a higher success rate than outpatient rehabilitation. Outpatient rehabilitation is for moderate to serious addictions and is not as disruptive to daily life, as people can go home and continue working, while being treated.
There are many more ways to get help with addiction. For more help, reach out to SAMHSA’s National Helpline.