Understanding Drug Addiction and Recovery

Drug addiction continues to be a significant problem for today’s society. A whopping 53 million people or 19.4% of the population aged 12 and above have used or misused either illegal or prescription drugs and substances over the last year.

Hence, governments and the medical field continue their pursuit in giving people the option of recovery for those who suffer the problems. However, things are not that simple.

To find a way for a person to recover from abuse or addiction effectively, we must understand their situation first.

So What is Drug Addiction?

Drug addiction is when you continually use drugs or alcohol so that you can feel the high or “good effects” of it – the effects that give you pleasure. And you do so even when you are already suffering from the adverse consequences of hangovers, the morning after, or diseases from abuse.

For example, if you are an alcoholic, you will continue drinking even if you already feel ulcer symptoms daily. Being an addict means that you will always use the substance even if the adverse effects are more prominent than the pleasure effects.

The problem is right there – the fact that the person cannot stop using it even if it causes pain and discomfort will make it seem that nothing else will let them stop.

How do you know if you are a drug or alcohol addict?

Here are some signs that you might have an addiction problem.

You are probably an addict if you have experienced a couple of the following things within the past year or twelve months.

■ You are unable to maintain your responsibilities in school or work.

■ You are unable to control your finances.

■ You have hurt yourself or anyone while intoxicated or under the influence.

■ You have isolated yourself from society, friends, and family.

■ Your daily schedule depends on how you take your drug or drink.

■ You suffer from drug or alcohol withdrawal symptoms at least ten hours to a day after your last dose.

■ You have tried to stop your addiction but failed.

■ You cannot go through the day without taking drugs or alcohol.

■ You have become abusive to the people around you – financially, psychologically, emotionally, or physically.

■ If you or anyone you know have had these signs in the past months, they need immediate help.

Why Do I Have to Recover?

Alcohol and substance addiction have significantly adverse effects on your mental and physical health.

Here are the following possibilities that you can experience in the future with continued drug or alcohol addiction.

■ Cancer

■ Heart Disease

■ Severe Liver Damage and Malfunction

■ Kidney Problems

■ Deteriorated Intellect and Mental Health

■ Severe Financial Loss

■ Crime

■ Accidents

■ Long-term Deteriorated Quality of Life

■ Risk of Immediate Death by Accident or Overdose

How to Recover

There is no single solution that will work for everyone but recovery will have you require essential needs.

The first thing you have to do is to find a place that is conducive to detoxification. You will have to rid your body of the substance, and you need a suitable location.

What is in a Suitable Place for Addiction Recovery?

■ No emotional or psychological triggers for needing to use drugs or alcohol

■ Available medication to tame severe and uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms

■ Complete medical support

■ Complete psychological and emotional support

■ Healthy food and exercise programs

And you can get all these when you go to a detoxification facility – a professional institution like addictiondetox.com where you can effectively break the habit and restore your life.

Professional facilities will not only provide you detoxification services for when you start your cessation. They will also offer aftercare which will help you effectively sustain sobriety.

You Need a Long-Term Plan of Recovery.

Recovery is not easy – you will always be at risk of depression and relapse. But why?

If you have abused drugs and alcohol for a long time, your central nervous system has been under the influence for so long and becomes dependent on operating with the substance. When you remove the substance, your system becomes confused and imbalanced.

Some people, months into detoxification, become depressed and significantly tempted to come back to their old habits to remove the negative feelings.

Almost a third of recovering alcoholics relapse within their first year of sobriety.

If you are to avoid relapse and returning to your bad habits effectively, you will need a long-term plan of recovery. And while you can organize this via DIY, nobody will hold you accountable – a loophole that you can take to “cheat” yourself.

When you are an addict, your main antagonist is you, and so you will need external help.

How Professional Addiction Recovery Helps.

With professional attention, you will have expert help in managing short-term and long-term withdrawal symptoms. 

When, months later, you experience bouts of depression, a doctor will be able to give you the right advice or prescriptions that will help you avoid turning back to the substance you are recovering from.

Recovery Has No Standard

It is different from one person to another, but the common denominator is support. You will need the best support system if you are to recover from drug or alcohol addiction completely.

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