How Does Drug Addiction Develop?
The development of drug addiction isn’t a character flaw or weakness; however, it takes a lot of willpower to overcome it. Over 2% of the world’s population is involved in drug or alcohol addiction. Consuming certain medicinal drugs or illegal drugs results in a change in brain activity, causes powerful cravings for the respective substance, and makes you lose your sobriety. Help is never too far away, no matter how bad things are. It takes just the right amount of willpower, treatment, and support to create a difference.
Accepting Your Addiction:
The first step towards recovery is identifying that you have an addiction, a problem taking your control away from you and deciding to solve it. It is the toughest step in the process of recovery. Choosing to deal with the addiction is where most people falter. It is normal to be unsure about whether you want recovery at that moment in time or not and whether you have the willpower to overcome this addiction.
Suppose you are addicted to a prescribed drug. In that case, your primary concern should be identifying which drug can be taken in place of the previous medicine. That would also treat the medical condition and stop the addiction.
Committing to sobriety can bring many changes in your life, including:
- How you deal with anxiety
- Your leisure activities
- Your self-image
- Your social circle
- Your medicinal drugs prescription
It is important to realize that quitting addiction takes time, motivation, and effort. The more patient you are with yourself and the more motivation you have to get your life back on track, the more successful you’ll be.
Look For your Treatment Options:
Once you have decided you want to recover from drug addiction, the first step is to explore your treatment options. Look for rehabilitation centers and other places that can help you. The Palm Beach Institute is one great example of places you can contact either directly online or physically to guide you through the recovery process.
Although addiction treatment can vary according to the specific drug that is being abused, most successful programs often comprise of the following steps:
- Detoxification: The first step is to stop drug consumption and try to manage the symptoms of the addicts.
- Counseling: Individual, group, or family counseling can help you understand the actual cause of your addiction, help you overcome it, and repair your relationships with your loved ones.
- Medication: It can be useful to control withdrawal signs, prevent relapse, or treat any mental problems such as anxiety and depression.
- Follow-up: Long-term follow-up can prevent relapse and preserve your abstinence. It may include daily check-ups or daily counseling sessions.
Assess The Implications of Your Choice:
Consider the consequences of your decision to let go of your addiction on yourself and those around you. Some examples to go about it are listed below:
- List the advantages and disadvantages of quitting and continuing the addiction.
- Think about the people that mean the world to you; your family, friends, pets, etc.
- Ask someone you have trust and believe in about their opinion and review of your drug abuse.
- Keep track of the amount you spend on drugs, your intake, and how you use them. It will help you understand their impact on your life. Also, it will help you understand where you would have invested that amount for better returns.
No Generalizations:
Just because a certain treatment option worked for one person does not mean it will work for you too. Everyone has different needs and different motives. While they can be generalized to some extent, they cannot be IT. Contact a professional who can guide you through the recovery process and tailor a recovery plan to your needs. Find a treatment program that feels right to you!
Identify Why The Addiction Started:
It is advised that you look for the reasons that prompted you down the path of addiction and eliminate them from your life if they are still a part of it. Suppose you don’t do so; the chances of relapse increase at an alarming rate. The success of a treatment plan solely depends on the new approach to life that you adopt and your motivation to change.
Seek Hobbies and Distractions:
The more hobbies and distractions you have, the easier it will be to keep your mind occupied. Seek things that interest you, read, look for new skills that you can learn and are rewarding, see your friends, watch a movie and spend quality time with your loved ones. All these hobbies and distractions help the urge to go away.
Talk About It:
When you identify that you have developed an addiction and can seek help from those around you, talk about it. When you feel the cravings and urge kick in, talk to your family, friends, or psychologist. It helps identify the source of the craving. Moreover, it helps restore trust and honesty in a relationship. Sometimes talking about the craving can help kill the urge.
Urge Surfing:
It is a relatively complex technique and can lead to a relapse if not supervised properly in addicts, so ensure that you have professional help on standby for this one. Many people try coping with drug addiction by ignoring it or distracting themselves. While it might work for mild urges, what will you do when the urge is too strong to hold back? When such a situation happens, staying with the impulse until it passes is called urge surfing. When you surf through the craving without fighting it, ignoring it, or judging yourself, you see that it passes much more quickly than it would’ve otherwise.
Make a Drug Diary:
Start keeping a drug diary. Document everything related to the drug in it, when you took it, how much it was, so on and so forth. Try looking for patterns in your addiction cycles. If you spot those patterns, it can make the journey to recovery a lot easier because then you can put countermeasures in place.
Bottom Line:
Always remember that thousands of people are fighting this battle just like you, and a large percentage of them succeed in their journey to sobriety. Remember being kind to yourself and coping with addiction takes time and determination. Still, it is worth it in the end. Don’t give up.