Drug Addiction Destroys People

If drug addiction led people to happiness, it would be unreasonable to try to dissuade these people from the behaviour. This is not the case though. When the person first begins using these substances, be it experimenting with canabis, then can convince themself they are in control. However, as they fall deeper into addiction, the negatives begin to far outweigh the positives. By that time, the individual will be so caught up in denial that they can be unable to see the reality of their situation. Drug addiction drags the person into a downwards spiral and unless they are able to escape this decline it will eventually kill them. This is why it is so important to consider a stay in one of our drug rehab centres.

The Effects of Drug Addiction

It would not be possible to list all of the negative effects of drug addiction. This is a type of behaviour that just keeps on taking away from the individual. Some of the most common drug addiction effects will include:

• These substances are toxic on the body, and this means that they damage the person’s physical and mental health. The body will try to adapt as best it can but ultimately it is a losing battle.

• Some people will overdose on these substances and this can kill them right away. Alcohol poisoning and drug overdose can happen to people even though it is only their first time using these substances.

• One of the hardest things to deal with for people addicted to these substances is the decline in their mental health. At the times the individual may feel afraid and on the edge of madness. If they are unable to stop the behaviour they may cross this line, and there is no guarantee that they will ever be able to return.

• Feeding a drug habit can be very expensive and in order to do this the person will often be driven to commit crimes. This means that they will behave unethically and probably start developing legal problems.

• It is usual for drug abusers to become less effective as employees. They may have to change jobs regularly because of their unreliability. Eventually the person may reach a stage where they become unemployable, and this means plenty of financial misery for them and their family. Some substance abusers will be high functioning, and this means that they are hide the extent of their problems from employers, but this ability to stay in control will decline over time.

• Over the course of the addictive behaviour, the individual is likely to be the source of pain for friends and family. It will usually be young children who suffer the most. Even if the substance abuser is not physically or emotionally abusive, they can still cause a great deal of harm to their family. At the very least, they will be diverting family financial resources away from where it could be better spent. It is common for those who fall into addiction to become estranged from their family, and there can be so much damage done that these relationships become unsalvageable.

• The addiction not only robs the individual of the respect of their loved ones but also their own self-respect. This means that even when the individual is able to recognise their situation they may feel unable to escape – their low self-worth means that they now feel like they deserve this miserable existence.

• By remaining trapped in addiction, the individual will be missing out on many of the good things in life. They will also be wasting their own potential. The individual may hold onto lies, such as the idea that sober life is boring, but the reality is that they could be living a much better life.

Above are just some of the effects of drug addiction – it is by no means an exhaustive list.

Hitting Rock Bottom

It is often claimed that people need to hit rock bottom before they will be able to break away from addiction for good. This is often mistaken to mean that the person has to lose everything before they will be able to quit their addiction. The individual may be waiting to hit this magical rock bottom, so that they can give themselves permission to quit. This is a very dangerous game, and there is no need for the person to wait one more day before ending this behaviour. All that rock bottom really means is that the individual has reached a stage where they are ready to quit the behaviour.  It means that they have decided they have had enough, and have decided to get help. If you have decided that you are fed up of feeling sick and tired, it means that you are at your rock bottom. It does not matter if you have lost relatively little because of your addiction – this is as low as you need to go.

Let Us Help You Deal with the Effects of Addiction for Good

There is only one way to escape the misery of addiction and this is to give up these substances completely, by choosing drug rehab treatment.

If you are ready to take this life-changing step, we will be able to assist you in this endeavour. Our team is highly skilled in addiction treatment planning and drug rehab placement. We will know what resources are available in your area , so you can experience the full benefit of drug rehab. UK based organisations such as ours have various outlets all over the country, where you will even be able to arrange foreign drug or alcohol rehab treatments if that is what you want.

In September 2013, Mail Online published a tragic story about prescription drug abuse in the UK. They reported that, according to statistics, more Britons die every year from painkiller and tranquilliser overdoses them from addictions to cocaine and heroin. It’s hard to believe, but it’s true.

Mail Online says there were more than 800 deaths from prescription drug overdoses last year, representing a 16% increase over the last five years. The number of deaths relating to cocaine and heroin came in at only 718. The good news is that heroin and cocaine deaths are gradually declining. The bad news is that prescription drug overdoses are on the rise.

One of the most disturbing things about prescription drug addiction is that it strikes people we would normally view as being outside the grasp of drug addiction. However, therein is the trap of drugs: those who fear them the least are the most likely to become addicted. Prescription drugs are not feared because we assume our doctors would never prescribe anything that is potentially addictive.

The most commonly abused prescription drugs in the UK are:

• oxycodone
• hydrocodone
• phenobarbital
• alprazolam
• codeine
• morphine
• dextroamphetamine.

This list of prescription drugs is by no means thorough. It is merely a start to a long list of prescription medications and over-the-counter drugs Britons are using and abusing every year. If you find yourself in that place, please keep reading to the end of this page. We want to help you overcome your addiction.

Classes of Drugs

You may not recognise all the names of the commonly abused prescription drugs we listed above. So to make it easier, let’s talk about different classes of drugs.

The first two drugs are considered opioids. They are used to treat chronic pain after surgery or an accident, or during some sort of prolonged physical rehabilitation. Their ability to numb pain receptors makes them highly addictive if used for long periods.

Codeine and morphine are also very strong painkillers known for their addictive effects. They have been in use at hospitals and medical clinics for decades. Unfortunately, the number of prescriptions being written for these drugs rarely declines from year-to-year.

The next two drugs in our list – phenobarbital and alprazolam – are depressants. They are typically prescribed for people suffering from insomnia or chronic anxiety. Unfortunately, most patients develop tolerance to these medications very quickly. Tolerance requires more medication and, as a result, includes the potential for addiction.

Dextroamphetamine is the last drug our list; it is a stimulant used most commonly to treat ADHD. The scary part about this class of drugs is that a large percentage of those addicted to them do not even know they are addicted. Parents should think long and hard before giving these powerful stimulants to their children.

How Addiction Develops

Addiction to prescription drugs is similar to illicit drug addiction in some ways, but different in others. Perhaps the most pronounced difference is how the habit starts. With a prescription drug, there is usually a legitimate reason for beginning to take it.

An addiction to prescription medications is generally the result of tolerance issues. In other words, the patient taking the drug notices at some point that the current dosage is no longer offering the type of relief experienced when the prescription was brand-new. He/she may attempt to solve that problem by increasing the dosage. That’s the start of addiction.

There are other factors that play into prescription drug addiction, including:

• Emotional Dependence – Depending on the particular drug, some people can develop an emotional dependence as well as the physical. That emotional dependence makes them fearful of life without the drug, making them believe they cannot cope unless they continue using it.

• Chronic Medical Issues – There are times when someone will suffer from a chronic medical issue that really cannot be relieved in any other way. Insomnia is a great example. Doctors will often change up prescriptions on a regular basis in order to avoid addiction.

• Financial Gain – Unfortunately, some people have figured out there is tremendous financial gain to be had in prescription medications. They may steal prescription drugs, purchase unused drugs from family and friends, or otherwise get hold of whatever they can to resell on the street.

Breaking the Addiction

Individuals addicted to prescription drugs need to undergo some of the very same treatments offered to users of illicit drugs or alcohol. However, sometimes they have an additional hurdle to overcome: the medical condition that led to the original prescription.

If that medical condition has already been overcome, it will not have to be dealt with during rehab. But if not, therapists will have to work within the boundaries of that condition in order to help the individual recover. It can be done, but it is challenging at times.

Breaking prescription drug addiction can be accomplished with a combination of several different therapies carried out in drug rehabilitation centres. These include

• detox
  withdrawal
  
• counselling
• group support
• life skills building
• aftercare.

Treatment Options

Any addiction that has had the time to really take hold can be difficult to break. That’s why we recommend a residential treatment programme offered through one of the many private drug rehab clinics in the UK. Residential treatment gives the addict the opportunity to fully devote him or herself to recovery without distraction. A typical residential programme runs between 6 and 12 weeks and is followed by several months of aftercare.

As an independent referral service, our job is to match you up with a residential treatment programme likely to be helpful to you. If residential treatment is not an option, we can advise you regarding outpatient services, drug addiction support groups, and programmes offered by the NHS.

Any programme that is not residential in nature is considered an outpatient programme. These types of services involve the drug addict attending things like counselling sessions and group support at a local facility. After a few hours at the facility, the individual returns home.

We urge you to contact one of our drug rehab centres today if you or someone you love is suffering with prescription drug addiction. We will explain all of the treatment options to you before giving you our recommendations for the most appropriate strategy. If you need help with admissions, we can assist there is well. In either case, do not delay. The road to recovery starts today.