Prescription medications can put people at risk of addiction. That can happen even if you take the drugs as prescribed. It’s common in situations where a person struggles with pain or mental health disorders that require stimulants. Prescription drug addiction is serious and can impact the quality of life and a person’s life span. It…
Addiction is an epidemic that has run rampant across humanity for centuries. Helen of Troy was said to have utilized opium, given to her by an Egyptian queen, in helping to treat the Greek warriors in Homer’s Odyssey – “…presently she cast a drug into the wine of which they drank to lull all pain and anger and bring forgetfulness of every sorrow.” Roman addictions, as well as Spartan and Greek, are well documented. To go “berserk” is a term that comes from Viking Berserkers, a much feared warrior who would rush into battle mostly nude, no matter the weather, incredibly high on psychedelic drugs to cancel out all fear and pain during battle. Yes, addiction has quite literally been a part of humanity since the earliest days of our existence.
Yet, despite that, addiction is not something that runs throughout humanity. There are many millions of humans alive today who seem to be immune to addiction. No matter what they do, or what they try, when they tire of it, or they just don’t feel like it anymore, they stop. Just like that. They drop it, they’re done, they never think about it again, nor do they suffer side effects from stopping whatever “it” was.
Addiction not only rips apart a life, it does the same thing to the relationships and loved ones held most dear by the addict.
It is a very difficult thing to watch a loved one slip into addiction. Suddenly, someone that you once knew so well has become a completely different person, a person that you can’t trust, a person who seems to fight every helping hand and seek out every harmful situation they can possibly find, a person who pushes away love, a person who pushes away you. You know that this is the addiction working, taking control, but you can’t help but be affected by it. You can’t help feeling hurt, angry, helpless. You can’t help feeling like you want to give up.
And, unfortunately, many people do give up. They try and try until they’ve had enough – enough betrayal, enough rejection, enough hurt. Their addict loved one has hurt them so many times, maybe even betrayed their trust as well, that the need to protect themselves from more hurt and more harm has overtaken the love that they feel for this person who has been changed so drastically by addiction. And they give up. They cut ties, they banish, they forget, they toss aside.
Whether it is for yourself or a loved one, selecting the best drug and alcohol detox center is critical to ensuring a successful recovery for the addict. For first those entering recovery for the first time, you may be wondering what there is to consider that you aren’t thinking about. For an addict who has relapsed and is entering detox again, you may want to consider factors that you did not think about before.
Whatever the case, below is a comprehensive list of factors to consider and questions that the addict or the addict’s loved one should ask when contacting a detox facility.
There’s a stigma with addiction – that of the addict passing out in an alley somewhere, unable to move, barely able to function at all. While that image of addiction does come from a real place, there’s a far more prevalent face of addiction out in the world – that of the highly functioning professional. Drug & alcohol addiction knows no bounds. It is not a poor person’s disease, it does not care about race, religion, social status, or career. Addiction affects every tier of society. That fact can be very surprising to people on the fringes of the addiction disease. Below are the career fields that rank highest for addiction among the workforce. You’ll see that addiction really does run the gamut, and permeates some unexpected places.
“What’s going to happen to me?” It’s one of the most common questions we hear when the heroin addiction treatment process is in its beginning moments. And that makes perfect sense! Something that your body depends on to feel “good” and “normal” isn’t going to be available anymore. What does that mean for you? What will your body and mind go through? And what does a treatment facility do to help in that process?
While everyone’s treatment journey is unique, a few generalities exist. These include things that can be highlighted to help answer some of those burning questions about your journey from addiction to recovery, and what happens in between.
By the time addiction has become truly problematic, a person will come up with a bunch sophisticated defense mechanisms to continue feeding his/her addiction. One of these defense mechanisms is playing the victim role.
Why do addicts play the victim?
Knowingly playing the victim role helps an addict to control and influence the thoughts and feelings of others, most commonly parents and spouses. An addict hardly copes with their actions — they’re ashamed or afraid to acknowledge this and seek help — so they justifies their actions as a way of controlling the situation.
Over the past years, relapses have taken the lives of addicts and alcoholisms all around the world — people who have been struggling to live another day. Unfortunately, too many succumb to chemical dependency, despite measures taken by local and federal government against the opioid epidemic in the United States.
No one person or organization can be blamed solely for this rise in relapse rates. For many, getting clean is a long and messy process, and failure points are in abundance. Admitting is one thing, but accepting is what can prevent a relapse and lower relapse rates over time.
Valium is often prescribed by a doctor to alleviate anxiety and panic attacks, in addition to other ailments. This drug works by slowing down brain activity and acting as a depressant. Since the use of the Valium results in a relaxed feeling, individuals may begin to abuse the drug in order to feel calm and reduce stress. However, valium addiction can lead to serious short term and long term effects, making it necessary to seek treatment and detoxification.
Short-Term Effects
Users of Valium can experience a short-term feeling of happiness and a feeling of drunkenness that is accompanied by a lack of coordination. However, once the effects of the drug begin to subside, and the brain function returns to its normal amount of activity, the individual can feel irritable and anxious. More serious effects include a rapid heart rate and possibly seizures.
Xanax is a calming drug typically prescribed by doctors to reduce the symptoms of anxiety by acting as a sedative for the central nervous system and brain. When used properly, the drug can effectively alleviate anxiety, but a growing number of people have been abusing it and taking the drug in large amounts and longer duration.
When an individual becomes dependent on Xanax and increases the frequency of usage, the withdrawal symptoms become more intense and difficult to deal with, making the person feel like they cannot be without it. Symptoms of withdrawal can include: