Stages of Addiction Few people take their first dose of a drug– legal or illegal– with the hope of getting addicted. For 2009, the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reports that 23.5 million people sought some form of treatment for drug and alcohol problems. Of course, individual physiology and psychological makeup have much to do with how quickly addiction can take hold and with the amount ingested prior to passing the unseen threshold from freedom to enslavement.
While each particular instance may be different in time frame and intensity of dependency, a few patterns are standard among the entire pool of substance abusers. Out of the statements of addicts and those who treat them, researchers are able to recognize benchmarks for the stages of drug addiction.
Experimenting With Substances
Experimentation may have several different motivations. For youths, peer pressure is a top reason for taking their initial puff, drink or snort. Addiction does not have to start in youth. A middle-aged or older individual might try prescribed pain killers to address continuous discomforts and aches. Even the elderly may take alcohol or drugs to soothe loneliness. These correspond to critical moments in life when a drug is used to initiate a bodily, social or emotional affliction a little more bearable. Disconnected occasions of use may or may not be continued with increased repetition or amounts. Without a realistic self-assessment a truthful evaluation of the symptoms of drug addiction an individual can pass unknowingly into the more acute stages of drug addiction.
Consistent Use
Taking a drug or other people substance regularly does not necessarily lead a person into addiction. Some are able to take a substance continuously for a time span and afterwards end its use with little or no discomfort. The probability of addiction is based upon the duration of the consumption and the strength of the doses. Should the time-span continue indefinitely and the potency of dosage increase likewise, proper use might become drug addiction. An additional cautionary signal is certain adjustments in behavior. If speech and behaviors change dramatically, especially an increased propensity toward aggression and high-risk tendencies, it is necessary to cease using the drug.
Unsafe Use
As the stages of drug addiction are travelled through, the person’s personal choices and behavior become increasingly destructive, both to themselves and other people. For example, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health declared that 28.4 percent of young people in between the ages of 21 and 25 drove a vehicle under the influence of illicit substances in 2009. Good friends and family members are ideally fit to ascertain whether normal patterns are modifying. Telltale signs of progressively unsafe actions normally include:
• Operating a vehicle while under the influence of a sedative • Spending money foolishly to acquire the drug • Defensive during verbal exchanges • Hiding things • Adjustments in look. Adjustments in desire for food, memory failure and deteriorating fine motor skills are also manifestations of substance abuse. The demarcation line seperating high-risk use and addiction is thin and difficult to differentiate. Finding aid for yourself or a person you love should not be put off at this stage.
Addiction
Of all the stages of drug dependence, use and addiction are the most difficult to differentiate. The devastating penalties of substance abuse are definitely apparent in addiction. For example, the dependent individual is commonly absent from their job thanks to repetitive consumption of the controlling drug. In addition to the employer, the drug abuser will sometimes allow responsibilities to family members, good friends, neighbors and society go by the wayside. The hazardous tendencies mentioned above become much more regular as well. Through it all, though, the dependent stands apart from the addict by satisfying enough responsibilities to preserve the fundamental structure of his/her life. Even though the direction of drug abuse stages is still headed downward, the semblance of normalcy persists.
Addiction
If changes are not initiated– and aid is not sought– the stages of substance addiction provoke the most dangerous phase: addiction itself. Now the individual is mentally and physically bound to uninterrupted consumption of the substance or alcohol. The stage of brain disorders is achieved and the sufferer goes through many detrimental consequences of prolonged substance abuse. The heart and circulatory system may be imperiled, as can the respiratory system. The immune system is weakened, permitting hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, and some kinds of cancer to ravage the addict. Brain damage and mental deterioration can also happen. At this particular intensity, the person pursuing liberty from addiction must undergo detoxing. Because the addiction is of both mind and body, withdrawal syndromes are most effectively supervised and remedied by knowledgeable healthcare professionals. As soon as the enslaving drug has left the physical body, the substance abuser can work with pyschologists to isolate the root causes and character of the addiction. Systematic and honest therapy with mental health professionals, coupled with regular attendance in a self-help group has led numerous ostensibly hopeless addicts to lives free from drug abuse. sons of liberty
Without a sober self-assessment– an honest appraisal of the signs of substance addiction– an individual can pass unknowingly into the more distressing stages of drug addiction. Using a drug or other chemical substance on a routine basis does not necessarily lead a person into addiction. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported that 28.4 percent of young adults between the ages of 21 and 25 operated a vehicle under the influence of illicit drugs in 2009. Of all the stages of drug use, dependence and addiction are the most difficult to separate. If adjustments are not made– and assistance is not sought– the stages of drug addiction lead to the most dangerous stage: addiction itself.
Structure and Statistics from: http://www.samhsa.gov/