Drug addiction is a condition in which a person takes medication too often and usually in too high doses. Some people are predisposed to drug addiction, for example because of their underlying mental he alth problems. Drug addiction is a very dangerous phenomenon, because drugs used in inappropriate doses (and often without any medical indications as to their taking) can cause serious side effects. What may suggest that our loved one suffers from drug addiction?

Drug abuse is also known as drug addiction. Contrary to appearances, this problem is by no means uncommon - drug abuse ranks at the forefront of addiction along with alcohol or drug addiction. Theoretically, a person can become addicted to anything, and it is exactly the same with pharmaceutical preparations. There are drugs with various addictive potential - opioid analgesics and benzodiazepine anxiolytics are among the most rapidly developing drugs.

Drug addiction is dangerous due to many aspects. The main risk is that each drug has its own side effects. In the case of taking medications inconsistently with the indications (e.g. in significantly higher doses than recommended), the risk of side effects of pharmaceuticals used by the patient increases dramatically.

Some medications are only available by prescription, and as you might guess, this is the case for a reason. In the case of the benzodiazepines or opioids mentioned, they are even prescribed by doctors on prescriptions with special markings. Probably the purpose of the existence of such specific regulations is, inter alia, just reducing the frequency of drug addiction. Before issuing a prescription for a potentially addictive drug, the doctor may consider whether his patient is at increased risk of drug dependence - there are certain conditions in which the patient may have an increased tendency to develop drug addiction.

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How to find out if our loved one is abusing drugs - symptoms of drug addiction

Drug addiction may be associated with two phenomena: with mental addiction and with psychological addiction. The second of these isespecially dangerous due to the fact that in the event of a sudden discontinuation of overused (especially long-term) drugs, withdrawal symptoms may occur - some of them, such as severe fluctuations in blood pressure or breathing disorders, may even be life-threatening.

However, before such dangerous situations as mentioned above occur, the family may notice other symptoms of drug addiction in their loved ones. It may be surprising (especially in the case of addiction to drugs available on prescription) the increase in the frequency of visits to the doctor. Characteristic for people addicted to drugs is that they attend many different doctors - the same doctor may not want to prescribe excessive amounts of drugs to the patient, therefore the addicted person may try to obtain pharmaceuticals from other specialists who do not know him.

In the course of drug addiction, tolerance to drugs also develops - the patient usually takes higher and higher doses over time. The patient is compelled to take the drug, even if he or she has used painkillers before when he experienced pain, he or she can use them together with the onset of addiction, regardless of whether such ailments occur or not. Patients addicted to drugs may also underestimate the side effects of pharmacotherapy - such conduct is definitely dangerous, as it may even lead to permanent he alth detriment.

Drug dependence may also lead to the fact that drug possession becomes the most important issue for the patient. The patient may experience obsessive thoughts about whether he has the right amounts of pharmaceuticals and wonder about where to get the next packages of his drugs. The focus on drugs can be so great that the patient will begin to neglect all other matters, e.g. professional or family matters.

The way the patient reacts to remarks about drug abuse should also definitely arouse family vigilance. In a person with drug addiction, such conversations usually arouse considerable irritability, the patient may refute even the most reasonable arguments or become furious. Drug addicts usually deny that they have any problem. It is not worth arguing with a patient addicted to drugs, because it may cause him to simply hide more about his problem.

Causes of drug addiction

One specific cause of drug addiction simply cannot be mentioned. Rather, in this case, there are conditions that predispose patients to develop drug dependence.Most often, drug addiction is diagnosed in women between the ages of 30 and 50. An increased risk of drug addiction occurs in people who are already addicted to some other substances - this applies to both alcohol-dependent patients and those who smoke cigarettes. It is also worth noting that drug addiction is more common in patients suffering from some mental disorders. The existence of depression, sleep disorders or anxiety disorders in the patient makes the patient at increased risk of drug addiction.

It is also noted that drug addiction is more common in lonely people and those experiencing little support from the environment. Yet another group susceptible to the development of drug dependence are people suffering from hypochondria - their belief in various he alth problems may lead such patients to misuse drugs and become addicted to pharmaceuticals.

Important

Drug addiction treatment

Help should be sought from psychiatrists and addiction treatment centers. Specialists will be able to provide expert advice on how to deal with a loved one suffering from drug addiction, and most importantly - thanks to their help, it will be possible to bring help to the loved one. Treatment of drug addiction may not be easy and may take a long time, however, drug addiction can be cured.

Category:

Psychology