Introduction of Drug Addiction:
Understanding the Nature of Dependency

Being provided with an introduction of drug addiction is the beginning step in providing you with the necessary drug addiction information you or someone you love needs to firstly understand drug addiction, but that will hopefully then lead onto you doing something about it. Because all the knowledge in the world won’t make an ounce of difference if you don’t take action on what you learn.

Understanding Drug Addiction

First off, you need to understand what you’re dealing with. Drug Addiction Is a Disease, whether you choose to believe that or not. People don’t choose to become addicts, but due to a combination of hereditary, genetic, personality and environmental factors, some of us are unfortunately more pre-disposed towards addiction than others. That’s why like alcoholism, drug addiction is medically accepted as a disease because it meets the necessary criteria/definition to be regarded as one ... it’s a primary illness ... and also progressive, chronic and fatal.

Having said that though, it isn’t necessary that you get caught up in labels of what it is/isn’t. The main thing to realise is that drug addiction is a devastating and massive problem with the potential to be fatal, so irrespective of whether you agree on the disease label or not, getting proper help and treatment is paramount to overcoming it successfully.

Recognising the Signs

How do you recognise a drug addict or how do you know if you yourself are suffering from an addiction? Because not necessarily everyone who abuses drugs is a drug addict. Some people are lucky in that they can use drugs on a recreational basis on occasion, without it ever becoming a problem.

So the main two symptoms of drug addiction are physical and/or emotional dependence as well as loss of control. Certain drugs like heroin, crack, and amphetamines are highly physically addictive that can have you hooked in no time, whereas drugs like ecstasy and marijuana tend to create more of an emotional dependence. Loss of control is identified by being unable to control your using, especially once you’ve started, even if you don’t necessarily use every day.

There is also a third symptom, but that will be a natural by-product of the other two, i.e. a pre-occupation (mental) or craving to use when you’re not. There is a pretty good diagnostic Drug Addiction Test you can take that will give you an excellent idea as to the extent of a drug problem, so be sure to try it out.

What to Do About a Drug Addiction

Having the above drug addiction information as part of your understanding and introduction of drug addiction does no good whatsoever if you don’t know what action to take to get yourself or someone you love the help and treatment they need.

There is no shame in suffering from an addiction, so don’t carry any pre-disposed notions that this is something you need to hide and carry in secret or silence. It takes a lot of courage to admit to a problem and then get necessary help, because overcoming drug addiction is practically impossible to achieve alone. There are no shortcuts or quick fixes in the Treatment For Drug Addiction – but with professional help and the support of others, it is possible to leave the life of addiction behind you.

So finding a good Drug Rehab is the place to start. Most insurance policies make provision for 3-4 week inpatient programs and if money is a problem there are also government subsidised rehab programs available so money need never be an issue in getting proper treatment.

An effective treatment program is only the first step however in leaving a life of addiction behind. To avoid relapse and ensure success in recovery requires ongoing commitment and work to banish those old self-destructive thinking and behavioural patterns.

This is where having an Addiction Recovery program to continuously work at is so crucial, whether it be a formal 12-step program like NA or another spiritual/self-development based one that forces you to grow and develop emotionally, mentally and spiritually. The bottom line is this – if you’re not constantly working at yourself whether or not it’s through a formal recovery program, you can forget a life of sobriety because relapse is then almost inevitable.

For Family and Loved One’s

There can be nothing worse than watching someone you love destroy themselves through active addiction. It’s a painful and terrible thing to witness. You want to help, yet whatever you say or do doesn’t work. So understand this ... you are powerless over someone else’s addiction. You can’t control the decisions and choices they make, however much you’d like to. Until they are ready to receive help, there really is nothing you can do.

So you’re going to have to learn to let go and understand the person you love is entirely responsible for their addiction and ultimately overcoming it. Guilt and blaming yourself helps no one. Having a strong support network is crucial for you, and this is where groups like Naranon can be a life-saver because they’re full of people just like you who are experiencing the life of addiction through someone they love. The bottom line is that you need to remember this: You didn't cause the addiction, you can't control the addiction, and you can't cure the addiction.

This introduction of drug addiction has meant to serve as an overview to drug addiction and what it entails. Most of the principles that apply to drug addiction also apply to alcoholism, so for more in-depth information be sure to explore this website in more detail.