Signs of Addiction

Millions of Americans struggle with addiction to drugs and alcohol every day. Addiction is a disease of the mind, and it is characterized by many different signs and patterns of behavior. Despite negative consequences and failed efforts to stop or reduce use, drug addicts will continue to use. If you are wondering whether or not you have an addiction, or if you are worried about someone close to you that may be struggling with a drug or alcohol problem, there are a wide range of signs to look for.

Drug Addiction & Alcohol Addiction Signs

Addiction can destroy lives and in many cases lead to death or imprisonment due to drug and alcohol abuse. What may start out as recreational and occasional use can easily lead to increased tolerance and physical dependence. One of the primary characteristics of addiction to look for is the failure to resist the impulse to use. Temptation plays a huge part in addiction, and addicts find it difficult and sometimes even impossible to resist their urges to drink or take drugs. This compulsive behavior is developed over time as the condition worsens, and addicts can soon find themselves being under the influence most of if not all the time due to their lack of impulse control.

When addicts begin to realize that they have a problem, they try to stop or reduce their use, often with failed efforts. Despite suffering from health issues, problems with work or school, or alienating themselves from friends and family because of their addiction, addicts will continue to use. They may have periods of abstinence, sometimes for months or even years, but the addiction can come back at any time. When they do start to use again, the addiction is usually stronger and they use more. With continued use of drugs and alcohol, people begin to build up a tolerance. It takes increasingly more to get the initial effect each time. This can led to spending large amounts of money on drugs and alcohol and eventually having serious financial problems.

Addicts have a preoccupation with using drugs or drinking alcohol. It consumes their thoughts, and if they do not have access to substances, they may begin to suffer from withdrawal. Withdrawal symptoms can range from mild to severe, and they can even be fatal in some cases. These involve anxiety, depression, tremors, headaches, nausea, vomiting and even seizures. If you experience any of these symptoms when you are not under the influence or coming down from drugs or alcohol, you most likely have an addiction.

Physical & Behavioral Signs of Addiction

When people take drugs and alcohol for extended periods of time, they may begin to exhibit physical and outward signs of their addiction. These involve an overall decline in physical appearance, such as weight gain or loss, looking disheveled, poor hygiene, always looking tired, paleness, and even losing teeth with some types of drug use. Behavioral signs include being secretive or sneaky, being inaccessible for long periods of time, sleeping more or less than usual, and hanging out with people that also drink or use. Many of these behaviors result in no longer participating in normal activities and dropping them to drink or use instead.

Rehab

For most addicts, they cannot stop without professional help. There are thousands of drug rehab and alcohol rehab centers across the country. If you or someone you know is addicted to drugs or alcohol, there is help available. Many health care plans are also starting to cover the costs of drug and alcohol treatment as well. Since addiction has been recognized as a disease, health care organizations and medical professionals are treating it like one. Before your life or the life of someone close to you spirals out of control, looking into the options for rehab may be the best answer.

How Do You Detox?

Well, before the drug detoxification process, certain factors must be present in the patient. Let's call the patient Jim. Before detox, Jim will have some sort of physical dependence to a substance of some sort. The drug that Jim is addicted to may vary, but it will be a physical addiction, where withdrawal symptoms are present. A withdrawal symptom is some response the body has to the absence of a drug. This happens after frequent and sustained exposure to a substance. For example, Jim may have used heroin for a period of time, and afterward had several withdrawal symptoms after ceasing use. He will lie in bed, vomiting frequently and have extreme trouble sleeping. This will be extremely uncomfortable and especially so on the second day of the detoxification drug process. After one week, Jim will have gotten over the worst bulk of the symptoms and be approaching a healthy state once again. It may have been several months or even several years since he has experienced this healthy state, and there may be irreparable damage done to the body, but after the detox process, he will be far healthier than he has been.

The process is fairly similar for alcohol addiction. As alcohol can have a strong physical effect on the user's body, to detox alcohol from a patient's body is also quite common. Let us assume that a similar patient, Jill, is going through the alcohol detoxification process. She experiences some seizures during the treatment, though it is not nearly as severe as it would have been without professional help. Some instances of withdrawal symptoms can result in very intense seizures and, in some cases, death. After three weeks, Jill finally finishes the withdrawal symptoms. Though the process has not been extremely long, for the patient it can feel like a tremendously long detoxification. Alcohol as a drug can cause especially difficult physical responses during the recovery process and is known to last a long duration.

Whether an alcohol addiction or another drug addiction, the detox process is a necessary one. After detox, drug addiction patients will often transfer to a residential treatment center, or to a residential area with a strong support network. Jim may check into a halfway house, where he would live with other recovering heroin addicts. He can try to find a job and live as a functional member of society, leaving his drug addiction behind. Jill can move back in with her parents, who can support her through the difficult time in her life and attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings on a regular basis. In both instances, the recovering addict has an understanding and supportive team of people close by, which is important for the individual to find a healthy path. If left to his or her own devices, an individual might quickly relapse, ending up victim to the alcohol or drug addiction very quickly.

During the detoxification process, the patient is in a facility where professional help is available to ensure that each patient is cared for properly. This is very important to assist the patient through such a difficult recovery process, while maintaining a state of physical and mental health throughout. The risks for physical harm are especially common, and without professional help, many could find serious harm from the withdrawal process.

Before any of that, the first step to detox is to find a treatment facility equipped to handle that specific detoxification. If you are in need of detox, please contact a drug treatment center to find more information and begin the process to recovery. 

What Are Drug & Alcohol Addiction Treatment Programs?

The Outpatient Treatment Programs (OTP) is a common drug addiction and alcohol addiction program. It is often used after a longer-term rehabilitation program, or, most commonly, to allow for treatment while still maintaining presence at work or school. Offered for those who are stabilized in their addiction, this program seeks to bring effective treatment at a moderate level of care. Ambrosia Treatment Centers, as well as thousands of other treatment facilities around the United States, is certified and accredited to provide outpatient treatment programs.

Outpatient treatment is offered as group therapy several times a week, day and/or night, and as individual therapy outside of those sessions. This allows for a person to attend school, work, or their family life, and still receive treatment because of the flexibility. The duration of the program depends on the individual's personal needs, but can range up to 90+ days.

These addiction treatments are an excellent choice for those who wish to get help for their drug and alcohol abuse as well as uphold their commitments in their home life. Outpatient treatment allows the individual to interact with the real world and get help from a peer-oriented, therapeutically structured program. Drug abuse is a serious issue and should not be taken lightly. That's why there are programs that focus on getting you the help you need, and allowing for your interaction with your outside life. If you feel that you want this interaction, but are not strong enough to go right back home where your spouse or friends are using, sober living homes are commonly recommended. Part of the outpatient addiction treatment programs is to provide the option of safe, supportive, sober living. This is often provided, but not required.

Common programs provided through the outpatient treatment programs include an evaluation or assessment, legal system advocacy, educational groups, counseling (group and individual), individualized treatment planning, family educational groups, discharge planning, relapse prevention, 12-step recovery and self-help group contacts, and referral to various other needed services. After outpatient rehabilitation programs, aftercare programs will be touched upon and provided as needed. There are thousands of different addiction support groups all over the United States, such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA). In these groups, you will be encouraged to share your personal experience and how you're doing now. Aftercare programs are very helpful ways to release all of the pent up emotions that are commonly stored. There are others out there, many others, who are experiencing similar situations and frustrations that you are. Going to support groups and therapy sessions, you can connect with these people. You can help others, and by doing so, help yourself!

Don't hesitate to get treatment. Many people think that they have no time to get help because it would take them away from their family or there job – the place they need to be. But working through an outpatient treatment program, you are not only able to stay at your job and home life, you are also able to focus more of your energy and concentration on these more important things.

What Is Binge Drinking?

There are many people who are able to drink in moderate and healthy amounts. However, there are also many people who are not. Though in some cases it constitutes an alcohol addiction, this is not always true. There are many people who do not have alcoholism that will participate in negative and dangerous drinking behaviour. One extremely common form of dangerous drinking is binge drinking.

Binge drinking is defined as consuming enough alcoholic beverages in a short period of time to accumulate a BAC of at least .08. This amount, when driving in the United States, becomes illegal, as the drinker is quite impaired in this state. The BAC stands for "blood alcohol content." This means how much alcohol is in the bloodstream? An individual with a BAC measured at .10 has a tenth of one percent of their blood's volume consisting of alcohol. This may not seem like a lot, but it is. To give you an idea, a BAC of less than .50, less than one half of one percent of volume, is considered the lethal dose of alcohol.

Many factors play into the BAC level. Averages that instruct how many drinks would reach a certain BAC are often vague, as there are so many variables. A person's weight can influence the number quite a bit. More weight and more muscle mass are able to better absorb the alcohol consumed. While the average person may be heavier, some people will be affected by less drinks, reaching a high BAC level after only a couple of drinks. Certain individuals simply have a higher or lower tolerance for alcohol than others. Also, the BAC gradually reduces over time. One of the best ways to ensure safety while drinking is to give each drink time before starting another. The time varies per drink, but it is suggested that each drink be equivalent to about an hour of drinking time.

Unfortunately, this guideline is rarely adhered to, as many drinkers are binge drinkers. Whether the individual is an alcoholic, with a disease causing them to be dependent on drinking, or simply has a habit of drinking in a dangerous manner, the situation can cause great harm. Often, people will advocate or encourage others to drink as quickly as possible, insisting that it is cool. In other circumstances, people will try to quickly consume as much alcohol as they can before heading to another establishment or event, possibly one where they can't drink. Often, individuals brag to one another about how many drinks they have consumed in one night, eliciting responses of laughter or admiration, rather than fear or concern. Our culture has a backward view of what is important and what is the healthy way to live. 

Whatever the case, it may be necessary to seek out alcohol treatment. It can be done in a residential treatment setting, or as an outpatient, while living in their own home. Either way, this process can greatly assist the drinker to see the consequences of their actions and avoid great possible dangers in the future. Binge drinking is a very serious occurrence and, if not approached in the correct way, could result in legal trouble, injury, or death. If you or someone you know is having difficulty with binge drinking, please find out more information about alcohol rehab, as it could save a life.

What is Alcoholism?

As defined by the American Medical Association, alcoholism is a "primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations." Before sufficient medical research was performed, alcoholism was not considered to be a disease, but rather a lack of will power on behalf of the alcoholic. There came to be a social stigma associated with alcohol abuse and people with alcohol addictions were deemed to lack good moral fiber. However, medical researchers have now determined that alcoholism is indeed a disease just like cancer or diabetes, and it should be treated as such. There are many different alcohol treatment options available today, and recovery is possible when people commit to and work through the programs.

There are many different factors that influence one's likelihood to become an alcoholic at some point in their life. There are both physical and mental characteristics that should be taken into account, and certain people have a higher chance of having alcoholism abuse problems in their life than others. According to the World Health Organization, there are roughly 140 million alcoholics worldwide, and about 10 percent of the American population suffers from the disease of alcoholism.

Circumstances such as social environment, stress, mental health, family history, age, ethnicity and gender all play a part in how likely someone is to become an alcoholic. Those who are constantly surrounded by alcohol or people that are always drinking will have a higher chance of having alcohol problems themselves. Studies have also shown that people with high-stress jobs also drink more alcohol. Genetics has a lot to do with alcoholism. If your family has a history of heavy drinking, unfortunately you are predisposed to have these problems as well. Not to say that everyone who has alcoholic parents or grandparents will turn into an alcoholic themselves, but the chances are higher. Certain ethnicities also have higher rates of alcoholism, and research has shown that more men are alcoholics than women.

But what makes an alcoholic? And what is the difference between someone who simply drinks a lot and a full-blown alcoholic? This is somewhat of a blurred line, kind of like the one that someone who has had too much to drink might see. Even if someone only drinks on the weekends but still consumes massive amounts of alcohol, they might still be an alcoholic. Some of the telltale signs of alcoholism include an extended period of frequent and heavy alcohol consumption, the inability to stop drinking once you have started, withdrawal symptoms when coming down from alcohol, the need to drink more and more (building up a tolerance) to achieved the desired effect of alcohol, and social, legal and family or relationship problems resulting from alcohol abuse. If you or someone you know exhibits one or more of these symptoms, visiting a drug and alcohol therapist or counselor may be a good idea in order to regain control.

Having alcohol withdrawal syndrome when you do not have alcohol in your system is one of the major indicators of alcoholism. Symptoms of withdrawal are much more than the normal hangover sensations such as headache, nausea and fatigue. Withdrawal includes symptoms such as shaking, vomiting, diarrhea, anxiety, sleeplessness, depression, and sweating. Severe withdrawal can be deadly due to cardiac arrest or stroke. Anyone experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms such as confusion, hallucinations, or convulsion should immediately seek medical attention. Alcoholism is a deadly disease, and it kills millions of people every year. Knowledge is the best way to prevent people from falling into the trap of alcoholism, and educating the youth about the dangers of alcohol abuse will hopefully keep them from getting involved into this vicious cycle.