Drug addiction is a condition that affects the brain and your behavior. It changes the functioning of your brain making quitting physically and mentally challenging. Drug addiction can involve addiction to illegal drugs, alcohol, nicotine, anxiety, sleep, and anti-anxiety medications. You can also become addicted to illegally acquired narcotic pain medications or opioids. You can get early treatment from your addiction medicine specialist Charlotte to prevent future complications from drug addiction. To effectively treat your addiction, you will need lifelong care and therapy.
Symptoms
Bloodshot eyes, changes in appetite, craving drugs, challenges completing school, work, or home tasks, weight loss, and problems with money. You can experience changes in physical appearance like looking ungroomed or having a poor complexion. Engaging in risky behaviors that you know lead to negative consequences like having unprotected sex or driving when impaired is another common symptom of drug addiction.
Risk factors
Drug addiction can affect anyone, regardless of age or gender. Unlike other diseases, drug addiction is often associated with your environment and the decisions you make. Several risk factors can increase your likelihood of developing a substance use disorder. These elements include:
Biology: Your genetic makeup, gender, and ethnicity can increase your chances of developing a drug addiction. It affects more men covering about two-thirds of all patients. Particular ethnicities have higher chances of getting addicted than others.
Environment: Surrounding can affect the likelihood of getting drug addiction. For example, peer pressure, sexual or physical abuse, stress, and early exposure to drug abuse can increase the risk.
Age: If you start taking drugs in your teenage years, you have a high chance of developing a drug addiction. In your teenage stage, the parts of your brain that control judgment, decisions, and self-control are not fully grown. Teens are more likely to do risky behaviors. In developing brains, drugs are more likely to cause changes leading to drug addiction.
Mental disorders: When you are depressed or get constant frustrations, you are at high risk of developing a drug addiction. Depression leads to drug abuse to try to feel better. A history of trauma can also make you turn to drug addiction when you grow older.
Troubled relationship: If you grow up with family problems and apart from your siblings or parents, you have a high chance of turning to drug abuse.
Treatments
Detoxification: During detoxification, you have to stop taking drugs, allowing these substances to leave your body. You may need to be under the supervision of a healthcare provider for your detoxification to be successful.
Medications: In your detoxification period, medicine can help control your urge and eliminate withdrawal symptoms. opioids like methadone or naltrexone can help relieve opiate use disorder. For tobacco addiction, a nicotine patch, spray, gum, or lozenge can help reduce addiction.
Behavioral therapies: Your therapist can recommend cognitive-behavioral or talk therapy to deal with the cause of your addiction. Therapy can also help to build your self-esteem and assist you to acquire healthy coping mechanisms.
Getting over drug addiction can be challenging and take a lot of time, but your addiction medicine therapist can help you stop abusing drugs through medications and therapies. Schedule an appointment at Charlotte Ketamine Center for drug addiction treatment to stay drug-free.