Drug Addiction: Psychological and Physical Dependence

According to PubMed Health, drug addiction is characterized as the presence of both psychological and physical dependency on at least one illegal substance. Marijuana, cocaine, crystal meth, methamphetamine, synthetic drugs, and even medically successful prescription drugs are highly addictive. People develop drug addictions are many, but every recovery process is the same: intensive treatment that addresses individual barriers to achieving sobriety.

What Is Drug Addiction and How Do You Know If You Have It?

Active drug addiction manifests itself when you cannot quit using your drug of choice despite a willingness to live a life free of drug addiction. When you experience physical withdrawal symptoms, you try to stop getting high when you crave your drug of choice and obsess about getting more because it is a medical condition. The diagnosis of drug addiction should be treated urgently, including medical detox and psychotherapy.

What Do Opioid Withdrawal Signs Look Like?

The symptoms of being under the influence differ depending on the product of preference. However, opioid abuse can cause a slew of issues that affect anyone who struggles with it.

What Are Drug Addiction’s Risk Factors?

While there is still controversy in the medical community, it is widely accepted that there is no single reason for drug addiction. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, contributing factors include a hereditary predisposition to develop addictive tendencies, a drug-abusing climate, access to illegal drugs, and some developmental problems. One of the most significant risk factors for the development of addiction is a dual diagnosis of drug addiction.

The risk of addiction and the pace at which you become addicted differs depending on the medication. Opioid painkillers, for example, have a greater risk of drug addiction and induce addiction more rapidly than most medications.

You can need greater doses of the medication to get high as time goes on. You may soon need the medication to feel healthy. You can find that going without the medication becomes increasingly difficult as the drug use increases. Stopping drug use can lead to extreme cravings and make you physically ill (withdrawal symptoms).

What Does It Mean to Have a Dual Diagnosis?

A Dual Diagnosis is characterized as a patient who has been diagnosed with both a substance abuse disorder and a mental health problem.

Popular Mental Health Disorders that Appear to Occur Alongside Drug Addiction, According to Medline Plus, Include:

• Anxiety disorders
• Depression ranges from mild to extreme
• Psychiatric conditions
• Mood disturbances
• Schizophrenia

The first sign of a mental health condition is usually the symptoms. Symptoms from drug addiction may become overwhelming for patients who can “treat” them with various medications. In many cases, a patient who suffers from depression can improve their mood by using heroin or prescription drug addiction to improve their mood. A ring from anxiety can try to relieve their symptoms by smoking marijuana. However, when someone who suffers from an eating disorder uses stimulant drugs, such as cocaine or crystal meth, to lose weight, they also suffer from drug addiction.

If a Drug Addiction Exists, how And when Should It Be Treated?

A Dual Diagnosis Drug Addiction treatment facility treats both opioid abuse and mental disorders simultaneously, regardless of when they manifest. One condition’s symptoms and effects often exacerbate and push the symptoms and effects of another, so each condition needs to be handled holistically. You can get more information on Dual Diagnosis rehabs for drug addiction by calling the above number.

Recognizing Family Members Who Are Abusing Drugs

It can be difficult to tell the difference between typical adolescent angst and symptoms of drug use.

The Following are Potential Symptoms that Your Teen or Another Family Member is Abusing Drugs:

• School or Work Problems: All of the symptoms of physical health problems drug addiction include recurring absences from school or at work, a sudden loss of interest in school or work, lowering grades or performance, energy and motivation issues, weight loss or gain, and red eyes.
• He or she exaggerates attempts to keep family members out of their room or is secretive about where they go with friends, or they are dramatically changing their actions and relationships with family and friends due to drug addiction.
• Financial Problems: You may receive unexpected money demands without explanation; you may notice that money has disappeared, that it has been robbed, or that clothes or other objects from your home have vanished, implying that they have been sold to fund drug addiction or use.

Recognizing Symptoms of Intoxication or Drug Use

Depending on the type of drug, the signs and symptoms of drug use or intoxication can differ. Several examples are given below.

Marijuana, Hashish, and Other Cannabis-Based Products

Inhaling a vaporized form of cannabis or smoking the drug are common ways of using cannabis. As with alcohol or illegal drugs, cannabis is often combined with or preceded by other substances, such as cannabis, and is often used to treat drug addiction. Several methods are used to consume cannabis, including smoking, chewing, and inhaling vaporized cannabis. Cannabis is commonly used before or combined with other substances, such as alcohol or narcotics, and is sometimes the first drug used by someone with a drug addiction.

• Euphoria or the sensation of being “high”
• Enhanced visual, auditory, and gustatory perception
• Blood pressure and heart rate are also elevated.
• Eyes that are bright red
• Mouth is parched
• Coordination issues
• Having difficulty focusing or recalling items
• Reaction time is taking longer
• Anxiety or paranoid thinking are also examples of anxiety.
• Yellow fingertips or a cannabis odor on clothes
• Excessive cravings for certain items during inconvenient times

Long-Term (Chronic) Use is Often Associated With:

• Long-term (chronic) usage is often linked to: Poor performance at school or at work
• Reduced number of friends and interests

Drugs widely used in bars, concerts, and parties are known as party drugs. Ecstasy or molly (MDMA), gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), flunitrazepam (Rohypnol, a brand used outside the US, also known as roofie), and ketamine are several examples. Although these drugs don’t all belong to the same category, they are all subject to many of the same side effects and risks, including drug addiction in the long run.

Club Drugs

Drug addiction to drugs like GHB and flunitrazepam can cause sedation, muscle relaxation, confusion, and memory loss, leading to the possibility of sexual misconduct or assault.

The Following Are Some of The Signs and Symptoms of Club Drug Use:

• Visual and auditory hallucinations
  A sense of unease
  pupils that are dilated
• Sweating and chills
• Shaking that isn’t voluntary (tremors)
• Changes in behavior
• Muscle spasms and clenched teeth
• Muscle relaxation, a loss of balance, or trouble moving

Hallucinogens

Use of hallucinogens can produce different signs and symptoms, depending on the drug. The most common hallucinogens are lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and phencyclidine (PCP).

The Use of LSD can Result in Symptoms, These Include:

• Visual and auditory hallucinations are two types of hallucinations
• Significantly decreased meaning comprehension, such as mistaking feedback from one sense for input from another, such as hearing colors
• Impulsive behavior is characterized by a lack of control over one’s behavior
• Emotional swings are normal
• Lifelong shifts of perception
• A rapid heart rhythm and low blood pressure
• Tremors are a form of tremors that can happen to everyone
• Flashbacks and re-experiences of hallucinations will also occur years later

Inhalants are Substances that are Inhaled

Inhalant use can cause various signs and symptoms, depending on the drug addiction. Paint thinners, glue, correction fluid, felt tip marker fluid, diesel, cleaning fluids, and aerosol household products are some of the most commonly inhaled chemicals used in drug addiction. Users can suffer brain damage or death due to the toxic nature of these substances.

Drug Addiction Can Manifest Itself in A Variety of Ways, Including:

• Possession of an inhalant drug without a valid purpose
• Euphoria or intoxication for a short period of time
• Inhibition has decreased to an extent.
• Belligerence or combativeness
• Feeling dizzy
• Vomiting or nausea
• Face gestures that aren’t voluntary
• Slurred voice, sluggish movements, and impaired coordination give the impression of intoxication.
• Heartbeats that aren’t normal
• Tremors are a form of tremor that occurs
• Rash around the nose and mouth due to the residual odor of inhalant content

When Do you See a Doctor?

Get professional help if your drug addictions have gotten out of hand. The earlier you seek treatment, the more likely you will make a long-term recovery. Consult your primary care physician or a mental health provider, such as an addiction medicine or drug addiction psychiatry specialist or certified alcohol and drug counsellor.

Make an Appointment to See a Doctor if You’re Having Any of The Following Symptoms:

• It is impossible to avoid using a drug.
• Despite the fact that the medication causes harm, you continue to use it.
• Your drug use has resulted in risky activities, such as sharing needles or engaging in unprotected sexual activity.
• You believe you are experiencing withdrawal symptoms as a result of your drug use cessation.

Guide to Seeking Prompt Assistance

Now that you have learned about drug addictions when you observe people around you undergo a rapid alteration in their behaviour, it is advisable to learn more about the change. Professionals in that field are available to assist with this. Contact the number 615-490-9376 to assist with around-the-clock information on dealing with behavioural changes from experts. It is courtesy of Foundations Recovery Network on drug addiction.